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Weekly Pull Review 1/14/15

Jupiter’s Legacy #5- Image

Holy hell, it actually came out. Issue #4 came out in March of last year- I’d essentially given up on seeing this one. This one’s got a bit of a hefty price tag, at $4.99, but you do get 29 pages out of it, which is pretty impressive. I picked it back up surprisingly quickly, so it was at least memorable for me. Many comics I read I forget things just month to month- Mark Millar, love him or hate him, at least does pretty memorable work. Jupiter’s Legacy, while good, however, hasn’t especially felt groundbreaking. I’m somewhat doubtful that it’s possible for many superhero comics to be groundbreaking anymore, of course. The art in Jupiter’s Legacy is odd- it looks really good, but at the same time very spartan and minimalist, but not in the way you’d usually imagine it. I’m having trouble explaining what I mean here, but you’ll understand when you see it.

Copperhead #5- Image

Copperhead’s first story arc ended in a very different way than I expected. It played it as a straight mystery- no plot twists, no sudden reveals, just a steady path to the conclusion. It’s a fresh breeze in comics, where the big twist is king. The mystery here, though, isn’t the brilliant, convoluted plot that it takes a genius to solve- it’s the kind of crime you expect a small-town sheriff to be able to solve. The characters of Copperhead don’t exist to support the plot, though- the plot exists to support them. The story is about Sheriff Clara Bronson and Co solving the mystery, not about the mystery being solved by Sheriff Clara Bronson and Co. It’s a fine distinction, but an important one. It’s part of what makes a good story. Also, don’t get me wrong- I’m talking about this story like it’s a mystery, but it is definitely a Western, and a good one at that.

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Weekly Pull Review 1/7/15

Anyone have any suggestions for a DC title I should give a try? I’ve got Vertigo stuff, but I don’t have anything main-universe DC.

ODY-C #2- Image

Slightly less action packed than the first issue, Matt Fraction and Christian Ward still hit it out of the park with this one. This issue focuses more heavily on Zeus and Poseidon, and really plays up the spiteful, vicious, petty, and dangerous facet of the Greek gods, which largely gets ignored in modern takes on Greek mythology. While Zeus and Poseidon are plotting Odyssea’s downfall, the captain and her crew have arrived at the planet of the Lotophages (The Lotus Eaters), which is a colossal hedonistic park-like planet, with the world-sized, delirious, drug-addled, near-comatose body of Promethene, creator of the third gender sebex, chained to it. This book is insane in all the right ways. Also, it’s written in dactylic hexameter. Matt Fraction is shouldering his way in among the great comic book writers, and Christian Ward is tossing down the gauntlet to all challengers with his gorgeous visuals. If ODY-C keeps being this awesome, I’m going to start being as excited for issues of it as I am for issues of Saga.

Birthright #4- Image

The newest title from Robert Kirkman’s Skybound studio, it once again proves that the Walking Dead creator is absolutely right in chaining up comic book creators up in the basement and depriving them of food and water until they produce art is the way to go. (Kirkman isn’t actually on the production team for this one). Birthright is great, though. Essentially, it’s a what-if title that riffs off the classic C.S. Lewis/ Susan Cooper story, involving children being taken into magical worlds for grand adventures, but it goes a step farther, to explore what happens when the child gets back. (The story archetype goes much farther back, of course- the fairy changelings of European folklore, the fairy rings, etc.) A young boy, Mikey, is stolen into a fantasy world to become a chosen hero. One year later, his family has collapsed. His parents are divorcing, his dad is suspected of murdering Mikey, his older brother is getting in fights at school, the whole thing has become a media circus. Then an enormous behemoth of a man, covered in armor and carrying dozens of medieval weapons shows up in town. (Surprise, surprise, it’s Mikey). Issue #4 opens with Mikey, his dad, and his brother on the run from the cops, and, well… spoilers. Check this one out.

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Weekly Pull Review 12/31/14

This one’s several days late, because New Years. Plus, you know, the absurd amount of comics that come out the last Wednesday of the year. (That’s a lie).

East of West #16- Image

East of West continues to please- the art is great, the story is awesome, if a bit dense and hard to follow at times. My only real complaint is that the characters aren’t super sympathetic, but then this isn’t the type of story that you want particularly sympathetic characters in. The Endless Nation has started- and finished- its conquest of the Texan Republic with ease, but Governor Bel Solomon isn’t done yet. The creepy child Horsemen of the Apocalypse continue their hunt for Death, and… well, it’s hard to explain if you aren’t reading it. (Why aren’t you?)

Great Pacific #18- Image

Great Pacific #18 is the rather abrupt conclusion to the series. It’s not a bad one, necessarily, but it does feel rushed. For those unfamiliar with the series, it follows the rich scion of a Texas oil fortune as he embezzles the entire fortune of his company and uses it to found a nation (New Texas) on the Pacific Gyre- specifically, atop the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. (The book fictionalizes it to make it sturdy enough to walk on, which isn’t possible in real life. The actual patch largely consists of tiny plastic particles suspended throughout an area between the size of Texas and twice the size of the Unites States, making a kind of plastic soup- clumps are pretty rare.) The series follows him solidifying the Garbage Patch into an actual continent and forming a new nation atop it. (Also, finding old Soviet Nukes floating around. Don’t forget the giant octopi and genetically engineered, plastic eating anglerfish, either!) The art is good, though I don’t much like the faces. They frequently seem to slide around the faces. Overall, the series is pretty good. If you get the chance to read it, I’d go for it. The ending is kind of rushed, and leaves a lot open for a potential future followup, but I have my doubts about seeing that. As for actually buying the trades- well, read it first.

Weekly Pull Review 12/24/14

Yes, I know the 24th was a couple days ago. Whatever, it was Ebenezer Scrooge Day. Anyhow…

Hawkeye Vs Deadpool #3- Marvel

If you had told me that one of the enjoyable comics in my pull lately would be one of the bajillion Deadpool miniseries that have been coming, I probably would have… well, maybe not have laughed, but given you a skeptical look. It’s not that most of them are bad, it’s just that they don’t tend to be super interesting. While Deadpool Vs. Hawkeye doesn’t quite measure up to Deadpool at its best, or Hawkeye at all, it does manage to pull in a lot of the charm of both. The characters all click amazingly well, too. Kate Bishop is the real scene-stealer (“Oh god, I blew up New York”), despite Clint Barton and Wade Wilson getting top billing. Watching the bad guys have minor computer problems, like not being able to find a thumb drive on the desktop was the kind of bizarre, mundane, wonderful scene that doesn’t really exist outside this miniseries and its parent series. I’m kinda sad there’s only one more issue left. Also, Deadpool continuing to use Uber (Ooper) to get to and from missions? YES.

Dead Boy Detectives #12- Vertigo

This series just keeps growing and growing on me. The characters feel more fleshed out, the art is really getting into stride… it’s feeling less like just a Sandman Spinoff, and more like its own beast. The philosopher ghost cats work much better as amusing animal sidekicks than the usual addition, which tend to rely on cuteness over actual interesting behavior. The detectives interacting with a medium while she tries to ignore them was confusing, but not in a bad way at all- all of the characters involved in that scene, especially the customer, are absolutely bewildered themselves. It’s a great little setup. Despite the videogame being the cover hook, it doesn’t actually get a lot of screen time, but what we do get looks really good. (more…)

Weekly Pull Review 12/17/14

Hey, look, it’s my 100th post! I actually meant to do that this weekend, for a rather bigger article, but… eh.

Ms Marvel #10- Marvel

Finally. It took forever for this one to come out. Ms Marvel has been consistently good so far, if a little slow at times. They’re really pushing the action forwards, though, with the conclusion of this arc approaching next issue. Lockjaw has really solidified the cast in this comic- he’s a great character, but one that can be very easily misused. (*Cough* Pet Avengers *Cough*). Kamala Khan is rapidly turning into one of my favorite characters in the Marvel universe, and she’s really starting to find her footing and self-confidence, as well as a very sarcastic, cynical sense of humor that just clicks for her character. The art remains awesomely quirky, which makes me really happy. Marvel has really loosened up on their cookie cutter art direction lately, with this book, Hawkeye, and a few others. It’s not to say they even remotely approach Image’s diversity, but they’re moving in that direction.

The Sandman: Overture #4- Vertigo

Yes, it’s THAT Sandman. And no, it’s not a Before Watchmen-style cash-in, it’s actually written by Neil Gaiman. It’s a 6-part miniseries, set before Dream’s imprisonment that began the whole series back in the day. The publishing schedule has been very, very slow, but I’m not complaining very much about the months between each issue, since the art is absolutely top notch, and you can really see how much Gaiman’s writing has matured. Also, you get to see the father of the Endless! How cool is that? Seriously, if you’re a fan of Sandman at all, you need to be reading this.

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