Seems the Pull-List gets whittled down a little more each week. This week Superman was the book to get cut. One person doesn't make all the difference, but if we all quit buying, maybe DC will go back to some likable stories and characters.
Fourth Place:
Chewbacca #2
For as cutely entertaining as issue #1 was, #2 takes a step back. I hope Gerry Duggan and Phil Noto have a couple tricks up their sleeves because this story turned pretty pedestrian this issue.
I shut my mouth after #1 saying, "maybe we do need a Chewbacca solo mini," but after #2, it seems like we're getting your basic filler story. That may sound a little harsh. I DID enjoy this book. Its a quick fun read with a little heartstring tugging looking back at Chewie's past. But unlike Lando where you're invested in the new supporting cast, I don't give a shit about anyone in this book but Chewbacca... and the hit man trying to kill him.
The cliffhanger ending tells me Duggan and Noto do have something interesting planned going forward. I really want to like this book, so don't let me down, guys.
Third Place:
Prez #5
It was only a week ago that I was considering dropping this book. Not because its bad, but because maybe it just isn't for me. I'm a fairly simple guy that political satire usually gets lost on. But there's been enough in this book to keep me hooked.
This issue has given it a stay of execution. Seeing Beth Ross go on an apology tour of all the countries that hate the U.S. is fun. Seeing a sentient killer robot called War Beast look to the church for guidance is also a lot of fun. Mark Russell and Ben Caldwell keep introducing future tech and concepts that are so out there, but ideas you can totally see being created in the next twenty years.
Its a bizarre book that is completely unlike anything else on the book shelves. But Russell and Caldwell have such a tight vision it makes it hard to put down.
Second Place:
He-Man: The Eternity War #11
Quite a while ago Dan Abnett and Pop Mhan had the balls to kill off Man-At-Arms and Roboto in one fell swoop by sending them on a suicide mission to take out one of Hordak's satellites. Its been so long since that issue that I was getting concerned they really did kill them. But this issue covers what exactly happened to Man-At-Arms during that time.
Duncan winds up clashing one on one with Tri-Klops and we get to see him be a total badass. Seeing Duncan have to fight hand to hand with just his wits about him shines a light on just how badass this character is. You get the sense Man-At-Arms could fight Batman to a stand still.
I've got some technical questions about just how King Hsss is going about doing the business he's doing, but this book has been so tight, I can't imagine Abnett and Mhan covering all their bases and getting us readers completely caught up.
First Place:
Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1953
This is the first time Hellboy has been featured on the Pull-List. For years, I've only gotten Hellboy and B.P.R.D. stories via trade paperback. It is absolutely one of my most beloved universes in all of comics. Mike Mignola and his various co-creators over the years are responsible for some of my favorite works in comics. I'm sure I'll get this book when its collected too, but I felt like I needed a new Hellboy story now, so I bought it. And it was excellent.
Having Mignola dive back into Hellboy's early years and cases is a brilliant idea. While everything from Seed of Destruction to Hellboy In Hell is wonderful in its scope and vision, its these little stories of Hellboy fighting a disembodied hand that really make the character who he is. For my money, you can tell me a story of Hellboy fighting some strange ghost or monster over and over again and I'll never get tired of it.
These two stories, The Phantom Hand and The Kelpie, written by Mignola and drawn by Ben Stenbeck do just that. Mignola is a master of taking real world myths and legends and folding them into his Mignolaverse and having Hellboy punch them out.
Mignola's been able to tell consistently good stories since he launched Hellboy in 1993. Heck of a career.
Panel of the Week:
The title panel with font treatment and location introduction is as much a part of a Hellboy story as the scrolling text before a Star Wars movie. It provides a certain comfort knowing what's to come.
-Gint
No comments:
Post a Comment