Gint's Pull-List Review 6-22-11

Nice, juicy five books in the pull-list that shook out much differently than I thought.

Finishing at a boring Fifth Place:

Action Comics #902

This story isn't interesting. Doomsday, as has been noted here before, is dumb. So this book was pretty much, "ho hum."

When we last left Action Comics I was happy to see Kenneth Rocafort on pencils only to be let down because it wasn't as good as I remembered. Well, Kenneth ups his game this issue and draws some cool stuff. BUT as soon as you get in to a groove with his art... they bring in another artist to finish the book. Axel Gimenez draws the last half of the book. And while his art is by no means poor, its not Rocafort's either. DC pulls the old bait and switch and the book suffers for it.

I don't believe Action Comics should be renumbered for the relaunch. I don't think ANY of the books should. But the Superman books ARE an example of books that need a refresh. Someone, maybe it'll be Grant Morrison, needs to put the Superman Universe on the right track.

Filling-In in Fourth Place:

Superman #712

 
Now, this story is supposed to replace part of the Grounded story that involves Superman helping an ethnic superhero in LA. For some reason, that story got bumped and we get a fill-in story by Kurt Busiek and Rick Leonardi.
 

As far as why we got this story and not the intended Grounded story is inconsequential. We review what we're given here at Mc$oss. The story and art are pretty standard. Its the tale of what Krypto did while Superboy was recovering from his "death" at the end of Infinite Crisis. Krypto apparently traces Superboy's trail from his initial fight with Superboy Prime in Smallville til his death at the North Pole. Its a quick read, and there's really nothing to it.
 

What makes it cool for me has nothing to do with the story at all. I happened to just finish rereading volumes 4 and 5 of Geoff Johns' Teen Titans (which really are incredible books) that tell the story of Superboy during this time Krypto is remembering in Superman #712. So all this is very fresh in my mind and adds another layer to what else was going on at that time in continuity.
 

Another potentially cool note is that Carlos Pacheco with Jesus Marino and Dave Stewart did the cover. I would love to see this as that Pacheco's exile to Marvel is over and he can come home and draw some killer books for DC.

In Third Place:

Flashpoint: Lois Lane and the Resistance #1

Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning's first foray into the world of Flashpoint (Flashpoint: Wonder Woman and the Furies) couldn't have been more impressive. This issue didn't meet those lofty standards. There's a lot of information to run through in order to get to the last couple pages, but we make it there.
 

The biggest problem with this story is that Lois Lane falls into the Resistance on accident. If the Flashpoint characters are the same ones we know and love, wouldn't Lois already have her finger on the pulse of the resistance movement in some way? Not joining it on accident? It doesn't ring true and the story suffers for it.
 

Eddie Nunez's art is passable. Nothing that blew me away.
 

So, on to bigger and better things next issue... hopefully.

A strong Second Place Finish:

Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost #1

I've been picking what ancillary Flashpoint titles I'll read based on character and creative team. If I don't like or don't know either (see the Frankenstein book) then I'm not going to get it. However, I know Sterling Gates and Bart Allen, so that's potentially a win-win for me. And overall I think it was.

Sterling Gates is a good superhero writer. He's not fancy, and doesn't use gimmicks. He doesn't have a distinct style, but he knows how to write. And a lot of the time, that's all it takes. A lot of the time, that seems to be the missing ingredient for some writers. Funny how that goes, huh?

Kid Flash gets pulled out of the current timestream and gets sent to the year 3011, 5 years into Brainiac's occupation of Earth. A new Hot Pursuit (still a stupid name) shows up to help him out and we're off to find out where things went wrong.

Oliver Nome is on pencils. I have no idea who this guy is, but he draws a solid enough book. He also doesn't have a Wiki page, so I can't even look him up.

What this book accomplishes, along with my rereading of the first so many Geoff Johns' Teen Titans books, is it reminds me of how much I like Bart Allen as he is now, and makes me afraid of the relaunch of all the Teen Titans' characters.

And a surprising First Place Finish:

Green Arrow #13

This was a good issue. And I really wasn't expecting it to be. I had it slotted in at 4th place at best. After the disappointment over Supergirl last week, when I saw a new writer and artist on this issue I thought, "Great, another shitty fill-in team until the relaunch in September." But oddly enough, this issue gave me everything I was hoping I was going to get but didn't during the Brightest Day issues.

James Patrick's dialogue is sharp and quick. He doesn't mince words and gets right to the point with each word balloon. Ollie and Federal Marshal Haley Donovan have smart and exciting play off each other.

Agustin Padilla has the art chores and does a pretty swell job. I've never heard of this guy and wasn't expecting much, but he delivered a solid issue. Besides a couple panels that made me pause, its a solid book.

What was great about it was that it was about Green Arrow catching bad guys in Star City. Brightest Day was too far out of Green Arrow's element running through an enchanted forest with a bunch of magical characters and creatures. This issue has him riding on top of a paddy wagon making impossible shots through downtown traffic. Not once in the J.T. Krul arc do I remember Ollie making trick shots and doing what he's known for: using the bow and arrow. This "homegrown" story was refreshing. I think more books could take a cue from it.

Our Panel of the Week:

This panel is brought to you by Kenneth Rocafort. Its not the splashiest panel in the book, but conveys so much as Clark tries to stop the progress of an alien spaceship as it burns up entering Earth's atmosphere.

-Gint