Gint's 7-15-15 Pull-List Review

Want to know what I thought of the final Matt Fraction Hawkeye issue and Justice League #42? Read on, children. 

Fifth Place:

Superman Wonder Woman #19

I suppose even your heroes can write a stinker every so often. Look at Flash: Rebirth. Peter Tomasi and Doug Mahnke are masters of their craft. They're responsible for tons of great comics. But now they're saddled with writing the current DCU, which isn't a place I'm all that interested in.

Superman is de-powered, and seems to be getting worse. When Deadshot can mess him up pretty good (with special bullets of course) you know Supes is in trouble. That, coupled with the fact he can't fly and wears jeans and t-shirt doesn't seem to be my bag. As interesting as it is to see Supes covered in bruises, that should be reserved for special events like Doomsday or Darkseid, not a quick tango with Deadshot. (That's a lot of D's).

My current favorite DC books (Justice League and Bryan Hitch's JLA) are books that are outside current continuity. The current DC Universe is a strange place. I don't like it ... but I'd like to. If anyone has a shot at selling me on it, its Tomasi and Mahnke. Unfortunately they've got an uphill battle ahead of them.

Fourth Place:

Green Lantern: Lost Army #2

I'm still treading lightly with this one. Bernard Chang's art is an easy sell, but the concept of the entire Green Lantern Corps being mysteriously plucked out of our universe and dropped in another is one I don't think can be satisfactorily reconciled. Writer Cullen Bunn has his work cut out for him.

Unfortunately at the end of this issue we see Relic. Relic is a character created by Robert Venditti in his Green Lantern run that is the poster boy (for me anyway) of all that is wrong with the current Green Lantern line. Venditti helped flush that book down the toilet and now that shit is seeping into other parts of the GL house.

After two issues, this book hasn't moved the needle much. As much as I appreciate what John Stewart and Guy Gardner bring to the GL mythology, I will always wish they were Hal. Again, this isn't a bad book, but I want more.

Third Place:

Hawkeye #22

Its been so long since the last issue released that I wasn't sure what I was seeing in my Pull-List this week. The new Hawkeye written by Jeff Lemire is what... 5 issues deep now? But I guess better late than never.

Unfortunately, as the final issue in Matt Fraction and David Aja's (with other guest creators) run, its not all that poignant. Through the whole series there was a level of really interesting storytelling concepts and character bits that made this run fantastic. This issue carried some of that, but felt like those quirks that became this books trademark were just plopped in to make it feel like the rest of the run. There wasn't much interest or point this issue.

That said, this was a really great run. The creative teams knocked it out of the park besides the various delays. In a lot of ways, this book is responsible for the different styles of storytelling we're seeing across superhero comics right now. So, bummer of a last issue aside, slow clap for this team that had a hell of a run on a great book.

Second Place:

Martian Manhunter #2

There are many reasons I'm not a professional comic book writer. One would probably be that I would be unable to force fights between heroes. I've read a bajillion comics and it never ever makes 100% sense. So, Martian Manhunter breaks into a science installation to use a machine to kill himself before the White Martian's use him to end the world. The Justice League tries to stop him. A fight breaks out. Seems like a conversation would take place instead, right? The neat trick we get from writer Rob Williams is that whole fight is in their heads – an implant by J'onn before he escapes. Tricky.

I loved the first issue. The second ... a little less. The business with some alien named Mr. Biscuits is intriguing, as is the stuff with Indian thief Pearl. But I wanted a little more out of J'onn. I guess I'm jumping the gun. We need setup before we get character payoff.

I would classify this is a surprise hit of the DC You campaign. Books like Prez and Bizarro and Black Canary were highly hyped, but there was nary a word about Martian Manhunter. Nice to see a book sneak onto the Pull-List and surpass its expectation, even if those expectations didn't exist.

First Place:
Justice League #42

I am having an incredibly enjoyable time reading this book. Jason Fabok and Geoff Johns have tapped into the magic Johns did with Ivan Reis during their Green Lantern run. They've been delivering each issue. They're even making the New Gods cool (sort of... they will never actually be cool).

There's been some hubbub about Batman finding out the Joker's true identity this issue when he sits on Metron's chair and gets the answers to the Universe. Because of course, Batman has to be the one to do it. I'm willing to bet by the time he's off the chair, he (and we by extension) doesn't retain any of that knowledge, and the Joker remains anonymous.

I wish the rest of the DC line was as good as this book. This and Bryan Hitch's JLA are two of few DC books that give you a good depiction of real DC heroes. This team (sans Shazam, add J'onn J'onzz) should have been together for a long time since the relaunch in 2011. Too many lineup's have shuffled throughout the company, so its nice to see one book that gives me legitimate DC goodness each month.

Panel of the Week:

David Aja really hooked up his time on Hawkeye. The way he closes out the run on the book here really stuck with me. Reminded me of something from an 80s cop show.

-Gint