Check out what I checked out this week.
Whether the comics are inspiring or disappointing, I read them all.
Welcome to The Pull List.
And, as always…Spoilers ahead!
Action Comics #3 (Pick of the Week)
Writer: Grant Morrison
Art: Rags Morales, Gene Ha & Rick Bryant
Colors: Brad Anderson & Art Lyon
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99
The third time is a charm for Action Comics as Superman’s journey in the new DCU is finally getting interesting.
The culprit of Krypton’s demise is revealed; Clark Kent, rabble rousing crusader for the truth; and the citizens of Metropolis want the alien menace with the red cape to just go home.
As good as the writing is, and believe me its good, the art steals the show in this book. The panels of life on Krypton are drawn with carefully crafted detail and the color brings the pages to life as you are pulled in the fancy soirée comprised of Kryptonian socialites. There is one picture where baby Kal-El, who appeared to have just learned to walk, had a big smile on his face and the stars in his eyes were simply amazing. Past incarnations of Krypton have seen Kal as a toddler. Seeing him walk around, as a joyful and happy baby makes the fall of his planet even sadder because he had some semblance of his life and surroundings before it was ripped away.
The thought of Clark living in a messy one room apartment with people hating and fearing Superman bothers me. Seeing it through the eyes of Grant Morrison gave me the opposite feeling because it was done in a way where you feel there is still hope for this strange new visitor to prove himself. John Corben’s ascension to becoming Metallo comes to fruition and Lex Luthor is in league with an alien threat, believed to be Braniac, who has Earth’s destruction in mind. Seeing him struggle with his personal life and crime fighting gig makes it easier to relate to him because like the real world, things are not easy.
Remember, nobody’s perfect, not even Superman.
Grade A+
***
Heart #1
Writer: Blair Butler
Art: Kevin Mellon
Color/Ink: Crank!
Publisher: Image Comics
Price $2.99
Blair Butler has combined her two favorite passions to bring us the story of an up and coming professional fighter, Oren “Rooster” Redmond.
Redman leads a a boring life and he decides to escape his depressing 9-5 grind.
He finds his escape when he decides to train at an MMA gym to learn the ropes.
Kevin Mellon’s art work depicts a realistic look of a fight in progress. One page displays the Tale of the Tape ,which lists the fighters attributes such as height, weight, win/loss record, reach and fighting style. It also listed the fighters entrance music which is never ever listed in in real life because promotions like the UFC don’t own the music rights but I see why it was listed because Butler was trying to give you the genuine feel of the fight atmosphere.
“Rooster”, has the stereotypical look of an MMA fighter: white, jacked, tattoos and a Mohawk. The fight sequences were done with stylish detail but I wonder if non-fight fans will be able to appreciate what is happening in the cage if they are not familiar with the techniques. An outstanding idea was the placement of the time clock on each page which gets the reader into the fight more since they know how much time has gone by.
It’s not the next big thing in comics but if you want something different and well done this week, in the words of referee “Big” John McCarthy, “Are you ready? Let’s get it on.”
Grade: B
***
Amazing Spider-Man # 673
Writer: Dan Slott
Art: Stefano Caselli
Colors: Frank Martin
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99
It’s the day after the events of Spider-Island and things may never be the same for our favorite web crawler.
Eddie Brock is the hero of the day and the people of New York are both happy and dejected because there are back to normal, thus, no more spider abilities and Kaine is leaving town to find his own way in the world.
The writing in this book covers Peter feeling more out of place than ever before. He felt he was no longer special because he was like everyone else during the crisis. Now that everything is back to normal, Kaine is the one delivering the crushing blow to the Spider-Queen and Brock is receiving all the adulation and his relationship comes to a screeching halt with a shocking revelation in tow.
Just as Spidey is feeling as blue as his tights, once again, Mary Jane reminds him of how great he is and gives him the strength that only she can provide. This makes me want them to get back together even more but for now, it is more compelling if they are not together.
Grade: B+
***
Uncanny X-Men #1
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Art: Carlos Pacheco & Cam Smith
Colors: Frank D’Armata
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price $3.99
The latest incarnation of the X-Men is led by a militant Scott Summers who is sick and tired of mutant-kind being picked last for kickball. Xavier’s mission of creating peace between humans and mutants has fallen by the wayside.
Instead, they are now charged with bringing mutants to the forefront and are no longer satisfied with being second class citizens. They will still fight everyone regardless of genetic disposition but there is zero tolerance for any attack on mutants.
Gillen’s writing reinforces this attitude through Cyclops’ dialog and one line in particular comes to mind during an attack by Sinister when he says “If we can’t handle it, what chance do the Avengers have?”. The art and colors scream “This is the future” compared to Wolverine’s X-Men where the story was we need to go home again before we can move forward. The action panels in this are spectacular and are a treat to gaze at.
The book finishes off with a flow sheet listing the chain of command of the “Extinction Team” and displays a written letter from Summers to the world leaders telling them they will not be pushed around anymore.
This book is filled with action packed entertainment you don’t want to leave on the shelf.
Grade: A-
***
Justice League International #3
Writer: Dan Jurgens
Art: Aaron Lopresti & Mat Ryan
Colors: HI-FI
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $2.99
The third installment of JLI reminded me of an episode of “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” where nothing compelling happens but it’s still a fun adventure.
Andre Briggs is worried about his career going down the toilet since the world witnessed the JLI retreat in the last issue and the group has teams split up in pairs and venturing across the globe to fight giant alien robot invaders. As the battle ensues, Red Rocket is hitting up Ice for Fire’s phone number while Batman and Booster Gold find the robot’s central control on Earth.
The art work was nothing to complain about and the cover’s imagery was taken from The Dark Knight movie. This is the perfect tale for you if you are looking for something simple and fun.
Grade: B-
***
Detective Comics #3
Writer: Tony S Daniel
Art: Tony S Daniel & Sanou Florea
Colors: Tomeu Morey
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $2.99
Tony S. Daniel is a forced to be reckoned with as Batman’s fight for survival against the Dollmaker and his deranged family takes an ugly turn.
The artwork drawn with detail that depicts the grim situation the Caped Crusader is in during the his fight to escape the building he was held captive in.
Once again, Daniel’s dialog is strongest during Batman’s narration as he puts his detective skills to work. Don’t get me wrong, the dialog through the book is outstanding but there is something about watching Batman put two and two together that extremely intriguing. There are also some of the simpler stuff such as Gordon getting a note to Batman with having signed his name with a backwards “R” which immediately tips off Bats that something is afoot.
There is not a lot of hype around this book but for my money, it has consistently been the best book of the new DCU!
Grade: B+
