Gint's 8-20-14 Pull-List Review

Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason continue to hold court with Batman and Robin – a seriously tough book to beat.

Third Place:

Nova #20

Gerry Duggan and David Baldeon conclude the team-up between Sam Alexander and Rocket Raccoon. They handily defeat evil former Nova Adomox with a little help from Cosmo. It was awesome seeing Cosmo in the book after his cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy.

We're getting closer and closer to Sam finally bailing out his dad. This through-line has been weaving in and out of different crossovers since issue #1. Jesse Alexander is being kept on Chitauri Prime, a sort-of gladatorial world. Jesse is in deep shit.

I suppose these two issues, and the alleged dirty dealings Jesse Alexander did are what demanded the Original Sin trade dress on the cover. I see through your ruse, Marvel. This was a blatant cash grab. And yes, before Soss scolds me for taking the mickey out of Marvel, DC's September Futures End issues are ALSO a blatant cash grab.

Second Place:

Futures End #16

So, the newest member of the Justice League five years down the road is a former soldier called Stormguard. He wears the American flag and looks kind of corny, but after an official introduction to him he could be pretty cool. His haircut sucks though.

What's most interesting this issue is that we see who the big bad really is. And its Brainiac. Looks like Mr. Terrific really fucks up by using some tech he doesn't understand, which uses him at the same time to take over the Earth. Making Brainiac a world-level threat instead of just a Superman-level threat is a pretty neat concept.

Next month each DC comic jumps into a "Futures End" story, telling an Elseworlds-type tale of where each book "could be" five years into the future. There's a really good chance I will be getting very few of these books.

First Place:

Batman and Robin #34

Bruce is going to Apokolips alone to bring back Damian alive. He makes amends with Tim, Barbara, Jason and Dick before going off on what he calls a suicide mission. The bulk of the book is Bruce talking to the team in the Batcave. What makes Pete Tomasi's books great is how naturally he writes all of his characters. An issue of characters doing nothing but talking is okay with me if Tomasi is writing it.

That's not to dilute the effectiveness of Pat Gleason's pencils or Carlos Mangual's letters. Their flow of storytelling guides you flawlessly through Tomasi's words. And it doesn't hurt that Gleason draws a frightening, hung parademon corpse.

Lastly, Bruce gets a final bit of help from the newest member of the Justice League, Lex Luthor. I thought it was going to be silly having Lex in the JL, but its been quite brilliant. The back and forth between Lex and Bruce is just as amazing in Tomasi's hands as Geoff Johns'.

Panel of the Week:

A sample of Pete Tomasi's work that gave me chills this week.

-Gint