Gint's 1-8-14 Pull-List Review

When I buy my weekly books, my expectation is to be entertained and derive enjoyment from what I'm reading. Every so often you get a week that's neither enjoyable or entertaining.

Third Place:

Green Lantern: New Guardians #26

This issue goes off the rails pretty quick. Part 2 of a two-parter, Part 1 was a well-told, concise sci-fi story teaching the lesson that we have to take responsibility for all our actions. Instead of wrapping up the story in a nice, tight package, this issue devolves into one big confusing fight between two identical races.

Brad Walker's art is great as usual, and Geraldo Borges fill-in work on seven pages more than holds up. But due to questionable character design and a convoluted planetary eco-system setup, this issue is really hard to understand. Since the races are identical, their design makes it hard to easily follow who's doing what.

Justin Jordan has had a really nice run so far. He was bound to have a stinker sooner or later.

Second Place:
Green Lantern #27

I think I can officially say I don't like the current direction of this book. The whole, "not allowed to use the color spectrum" angle is dumb. Why bother reading about Superman if he can't fly or use his powers? See? Dumb.

The GL's also get fucking PUNKED in this issue. Writer Robert Venditti should have come up with a better plan for the Durlan's to take out the GLs because this issue just made them all look utterly incompetent. If THIS is how easily our GLs get the beat down, they SHOULD get beat down.

Dale Eaglesham fills in on art and he's a welcome change from the regularly inconsistent Billy Tan. The story is still stupid, but at least its nice to look at.

First Place:

Star Wars #13

I wasn't very favorable in my last couple reviews of this book. In thirteen issues, not a lot has happened. This issue, which clearly feels like filler, was still kind of interesting. Not all that good, but interesting.

This issue follows African/Latino-American-ish, female Ensign Nanda on an unauthorized mission with Darth Vader to see how Colonel Bircher infiltrated the Empire so easily. They take six elite Stormtroopers with them and there's a LOT of senseless killing, just like in A New Hope. The Stormtroopers and Vader do quite a bit of killing, some warranted, some not. Ensign Nanda narrates it all.

My cheif problem with Ensign Nanda is that she's a woman. I know in this day and age we're trying to be more inclusive of minorities in comics, but after watching six Star Wars movies, do you think the EMPIRE would be very minority-friendly? I do not. They're kind of nazis. In the context of the story and the universe, I don't believe the Empire would run a woman up the ranks so fast.

What's promised on the cover is an issue about Darth Vader. What we get is an issue about a fake Star Wars character created for this issue. Had this issue actually taken you through the mind of Darth Vader, and made him the point character, it would have been a lot more effective.

Panel of the Week:

An example of the wanton violence in this week's Star Wars as illustrated by Facundo Percio.

-Gint