Soss' Pull-List Reviews 2/28/13

Justice League #17

A bunch of really kick ass splash pages. That's all this book had for me. I have no interest in Aquaman or Atlantis or really anything that has been going on in Justice League for the past few months. Since I have no real investment in the story arc I'm pretty happy that next month the League will be climbing out of the pool and into some different water.

I was disappointed to find there was no Shazam backup story. That's been my only reason to read Justice League recently and I felt cheated when I got to the end to find there was no Billy Batson.

Captain America #4

There is no way anyone would recognize this as a Captain America book if it didn't say so on the cover. Mind you, that's not a bad thing. 

Cap continues his training of young Ian while the Queen of Dimension Z readies her army for war. Wild art by JRJR and a interesting story keeps me coming back to this crazy book each month.

I'm having fun with this different take on Steve Rogers but I'm wondering how long Remender and Romita will get to play in this new universe they have created.

Guardians of the Galaxy #0.1

All it took was a well written, relatable origin story and I'm in. I'm not one to get too deep into space comics but I always try to have an open mind. I read the old Abnett and Lannings stuff and was not impressed. The characters never came across as likable and I never cared much about their missions or villains. That's not a problem here.

I liked Bendis' choice to ground this story of the stars with an origin that takes place on a farm in Colorado.  J'son of Spartax ship crash lands on Earth and after he is nursed back to health by a kind "Earther woman" he begins the long task of repairing his ship to return to his place on a galatic throne. As time passes he grows closer to this Earth woman and...well 9 months later Peter Quill is born. Of course the heir to the throne of Spartax can't hide forever no matter how out of the way Earth is.

Bendis tells a brief but informative story. When I got to the last page I knew all about Peter Quill's motivations and was invested in him as a character. Space battles are well and good, but they mean nothing if the characters can't be interesting on their own. Steve McNeiven's highly detailed art is a perfect fit for this space adventure.

I find myself very excited to join The Guardians as they defend the Galaxy or at least Earth. -Soss

Panel of the Week: Peter Quill finds his destiny