Soss' Pull-List Reviews 9/6/12

Green Lantern Annual #1

It was a treat to see Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver join forces once again to bring us a quality Green Lantern tale. While my GL readership is not consistent I'm always down to see what these two have to offer.

This was an uneven read for me. On one hand I loved the idea of a Third Army rising to serve the Guardians. I don't mind that the Guardians, obsessed with bringing order to the galaxy, have now officially lost their minds. After The War of Light and Blackest Night it seems the only logical direction this story can go in. Van Sciver's art is first rate. His take on the Green Lantern universe is by far my favorite. 

While on the other hand I HATE the design of the Third Army warriors. It comes off not only as a lazy design but kind of silly as well. Who are these dudes? Rejects from an episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers? Their normal eyes bugging out of their head is enough to make me not want to buy this storyline.

This book had a lot of promise but in the end I'm not 100 percent sold on the upcoming Third Army story. I guess I'll just ask Gint for the highlight.

Justice League #12
Let me ask this question right off the bat. Why did this book require nine inkers and five colorists? What was going on there? Anyway, back to the review.

As the David Graves storyline comes to a close we see cracks forming in the already disjointed JL. Hal begins to act like the version we are accustom to in the pages of Green Lantern, Aquaman questions Batman's leadership and Superman and Wonder Woman get to first base.

This was a nice finishing touch to a solid second story arc. I'm interested to see what that skinny bitch Amanda Waller does with David Graves' blueprint for defeating the Justice League.

Before Watchmen: Minutemen #3

The Before Watchmen books are bursting with talent. As I was reading the credits I came across a prime example. The colorist on Minutemen is one of my current favorite pencilers Phil Noto. For the uninitiated here is a link to his Tumblr http://philnoto.tumblr.com/. This guy is hands down one of the most talented creators out there and he is just the colorist on this book! 

Minutemen #3 follows the ramifications of the Minutemen casting the Comedian out of their ranks. This team really doesn't like one another and it shows. Throughout the book we are treated to panels from the Minutemen comic of that time. It reads like an issue of Archie. In one panel we see Hooded Justice saving a kitten form a tree while the next panel snaps us back to the reality of his brutal style of justice. 

We also see the development in the relationship between The Silhouette and Nite Owl. It shines a light on the reason why Hollis Mason treated her with such respect in his memoirs.

Avenging Spider-Man #12

The birthday celebration issue of Avenging threw a twist at me. Usual writer Zeb Wells was on duty but an unusually choice was made in the art department. Artist Steve Dillon handled pencils and inks. Yes, Steve Dillon of notoriously gruesome and super-powerless books like Punisher and Preacher. After reading the book I understood why Dillon got the assignment.

Typically Spider-Man books are full of acrobatics and action, not really Dillon forte. Avenging #12 was all about emotion. Peter and Aunt May visit Uncle Ben's grave and discuss the regret and sadness they both feel. The depiction of Aunt May is the best this side of Bendis' Ultimate Aunt May. She actually gives Peter shit and basically tells him to stop feeling guilty, whatever his reason maybe. 

A different kind of Spider-Man story but a fitting birthday gift to all us web-heads out there. -Soss 

Panel of the Week: The top-down view of this apartment highlights Cooke's creative take on storytelling through his penciling.