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The Pull List: ITTY BITTY HELLBOY TPB, BEAUTIFUL SCARS HC & CAPTAIN AMERICA V.3: LOOSE NUKE HC

graph·ic nov·el

noun 
1.  a novel in comic-strip format.

I read them all.  The good and the bad, so you don’t have to.

Welcome to The Pull List.

And, as always…Spoilers ahead!

Itty Bitty Hellboy TPB
Writer: Art Baltazar, Franco
Artist: Art Baltazar
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Price: $9.99
Release Date: April 16, 2014

I think it’s safe to say that Art Baltazar and Franco have an insane amount of fun while creating childlike caricatures of our favorite heroes.

Their brand of humor and creative reinterpretation produces a heartwarming awesomeness that is thoroughly enjoyed by all ages. Hellboy, a property known for its paranormal characteristics really lends itself to the cute and clever style of the Eisner Award winning duo.

I mean, a demon from hell hanging out like a kid in the neighborhood can bring a smile to anyone’s face.

Of course, the adventures are all over the place – including heaven where God proclaims that Hellboy shall don a new name in his kingdom.

The dialog is simple and the pacing is great but it is the “Run, run, trample, trample, jog, skip, run” lettering and facial reactions that give the book its special charm.

Liz freaking out about touching Roger’s underwear was priceless considering how willy nilly he is about his under garment and Grigori Rasputin calling for more “duct tape reinforcements” made me long for the days when I was building cardboard forts with my friends. If I had to sum up this book in one word it would be FUN!

Casual and hardcore Hellboy fans will thoroughly enjoy this collection because it takes a character you know and reverses how seriously you take him while poking fun at the mythos that have made this such a beloved franchise.

After all, Lobster Johnson should have a trusty blue lobster as his sidekick.

Score: 8/10

Beautiful Scars
Written and Illustrated by D.S. Talon & E.G. Thompson
Letters: Deron Bennett
Design: Scott Newman
Editor: Rebecca Taylor
Publisher: Archaia Entertainment
Price: $19.99
Released on April 2, 2014

This book has garnered a good amount of hype
among critics, reviewers, and pundits. I didn’t want to read it because I assumed my heightened expectations would be let down by the finished product.

It turns out, I was worried over nothing.

Beautiful Scars seamlessly weaves together two stories that centralizes on the relationship between a grandfather, Ridley, and his granddaughter, Maddie.

Imagination is the skeleton key a person’s heart and soul and Ridley helps Maddie unlock her own voice through his memories of how his scars came to be. This makes it a personal read because everyone has received a scar at some point in their life and with that lies a story on how it got there. Plus, we all have fond memories of that one person or family member who inspired us.

The true brilliance of the book lies with how D.S. Talon and E.G. Thompson made two stories feel like one.

In many ways, Maddie’s book of fantastical adventure and Ridley’s tales of days gone by are one in the same. Hearing about Ridley’s influence and seeing it unfold as it bears creative fruit is truly marvelous accomplishment in storytelling.

Maddie’s book is a part of this collection which was a real nice touch because it gives you the sense that her story is real because in many ways, it is. I absolutely loved how the creators used their artist talents to make the two stories look and feel different while not taking the reader out of the experience.

I ended the last paragraph with the word “experience” because that’s what Archaia has given us. It’s not a book, it’s an experience that not only encourages but reminds us of the most important things in life.

Score: 10/10


Captain America: Volume 3 – Loose Nuke HC
Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Carlos Pacheco, Klaus Janson
Colorist: Dean White, Rachelle Rosenberg
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $24.99
Released on April 9, 2014

If you have Winter Soldier fever, this is the book for you.

Steve Rogers is very much the man out of time and many saw how he coped with that on the silver screen. Rick Remender took that compact and flipped it upside down as he physically and psychologically kicked the crap out of Steve Rogers for years in Dimension Z.

Now that he has returned home, things aren’t the same. This time, it is he who has changed instead of the world around him.

Just like in the movie, The Falcon tries to help him adjust which is another great example of their friendship.

However, no one can speak to Rogers’ experience in this situation. Sure, no one can speak to being frozen for 80 years, either. The difference is Rogers can fall back to military life as a way to use something familiar to bridge the gap. There is no fall back with the torture Arnim Zola put him through.

Now enter Nuke, who is a deranged super soldier, and Cap has a new purpose. Nuke isn’t the most intriguing character but more of a plot devise because he is the living embodiment of what Rogers almost became in Dimension Z. This makes Captain America more determined than ever, if you can imagine that.

Worry not though, there are a couple of twists and turns that serves the story well considering our hero is in a delicate place.

Score: 9/10

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