Pull List Roundtable 8/23/17 – Secret Empire #9, Letter 44 #35, War Mother #1, Manhunter Special #1 & More

Columns, Features, Roundtables, Top Story

James Fulton

  • Doctor Aphra Annual #1 – Kieron Gillen writing Dr. Aphra is never a bad thing, even though I’m not usually a fan of annuals.
  • Letter 44 #35 – I’m very sad to see Charles Soule and Alberto Albuquerque’s political science fiction series come to an end. This has been a fantastic read from its beginning over three years ago, back when Soule was an unknown writer. Is anyone going to survive this title? I look forward to finding out.
  • War Mother #1 – I don’t really understand Valiant’s publishing plan lately. They introduced this character a year ago as part of the 4001AD event, but then shelved her until now. It doesn’t matter to me though, I learned a while ago that if Fred Van Lente is writing a comic, I should buy it, so that’s what I’m going to do.

Matt Graham

Someone remind me to not fill gaps when books cancel or end. This X-Men and Venomverse barrage is brutal on my wallet.

  • Josie and the Pussycats #9 – Hot, sweet, super-cool, don’t you know these kitties rule? Somebody sure doesn’t. It’s the final curtain call for Margeruite Bennett and Audrey Mok’s world tour with the band. I don’t know where this book fell on billboard charts or sales records, but it breaks my heart to see it go.  With this and Jughead canned, and the sporadic shipping of Afterlife with Archie and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, I am bouncing out of Riverdale for the time being.
  • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #18 – There is a part of me that wants to see Kyle Higgins given a shot at Champions or Generation X to work this same magic, but I’m cool with this take on the Rangers. Eighteen issues in, and I still can’t believe that not only do I have no interest in keeping up with the recent Avengers and JLA titles, but it’s the Power Rangers that satisfies that itch. This book is what I used to look to the Avengers and League for – over the top adventure, fun team dynamics and drama, and straight up superheroics.
  • Red Sonja #8 – Red Sonja continues her modern day biker road trip back to Hyrkania. That includes dishing out ass kickings at every rest stop.
  • War Mother #1 – I picked the one-shot up a year ago and have been waiting for her series to get back into Valiant.
  • Mother Panic #10
  • Generation Gone #2
  • Grrl Scouts Magic Socks #4
  • Cable #4
  • Daredevil #25
  • Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again #4
  • Edge of Venomverse #5
  • Generations Thors
  • Dr. Aphra Annual
  • Weapon X #7
  • X-Men Gold #10

John Babos

At least 9 books this week.

  • Action Comics #986
  • Cable #4
  • Detective Comics #963
  • Generations Unworthy Thor & Mighty Thor #1
  • Hal Jordan And The Green Lantern Corps #27
  • Manhunter Special #1
  • Suicide Squad #24
  • Teen Titans #11
  • War Mother #1

Mike Maillaro

  • JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS #9 – THIS IS THE LAST ISSUE! JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS has been one of my favorite comic series, so I am real sad to see it go. Not sure what’s going on with Archie, but this seems like another in a series of real bad decisions to me.
  • GENERATIONS: THE UNWORTHY THOR AND THE MIGHTY THOR #1 – Last week’s GENERATIONS: WOLVERINE was the best one so far, but I’ve enjoyed each of these specials. Curious how this all fits in with LEGACY and SECRET EMPIRE.
  • SECRET EMPIRE #9 – Issue 8 was basically my favorite comic to come out this year. Loved seeing the Marvel universe heading in a more positive, optimistic light for a change. Hope that they keep this up!
  • LETTER 44 #35 – Been waiting a while for the last issue of this great series. Charles Soule has taken us on one hell of a roller coaster. This series started with the president receiving a letter from his predecessor telling him about an alien ship, and things have just gotten crazier since. Can’t wait to see how this all wraps up.
  • NIGHTWING: THE NEW ORDER #1 – Kyle Higgins returns to Nightwing in this Elseworlds story. In the future, Dick Grayson leads a powerful regime looking to outlaw and eliminate superheroes. But now this regime is targeting Dick’s family, putting him at odds with the very system he created. I have no idea why Dick Grayson is being used here. This sounds more like an indy book, but I like Higgins and will definitely check it out anyway.
  • DONALD AND MICKEY #1 – IDW decided to end their monthly DONALD DUCK and MICKEY MOUSE books and replace them with a quarterly anthology book instead…with a cover price of $6. Not really thrilled with this change, but I really enjoy these stories and I’m glad that IDW is continuing to publish them.
  • FIRST STRIKE #2 – FIRST STRIKE is IDW’s newest Hasbro line crossover. I liked the first issue, though it was marred a bit by REVOLUTIONARIES lateness making a mess of the lead in. A huge shock reveal kind of came off as a whimper here because of that. After FIRST STRIKE, the Hasbro line is getting a huge facelift with Rom and Micronauts sharing a book and GI Joe and MASK sharing a book.
  • MOONSTRUCK #2 – Picked up the first issue on a whim, but I really enjoyed it. Very much in the spirit of PATSY WALKER AKA HELLCAT. Supernatural characters hanging at a coffee shop. Definitely check it out!
  • WEAPON X #7 – Took a little while to get here, but at the end of the last issue of TOTALLY AWESOME HULK, the WEAPON X team has started to take shape. A little slow moving at times, but still a real solid read.
  • WAR MOTHER #1 – As much as I love Valiant, I have to admit that the WAR MOTHER one-shot didn’t really grab me all that much.  Just haven’t really liked this new version of Rai and his world.  But Valiant is still one of my favorite publishers, so I am willing to give it another shot anyway.
  • Shipwreck #5
  • Archie #23
  • Sabrina #8
  • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #18
  • WWE #8
  • Action Comics #986
  • Batgirl #14
  • Batman Beyond #11
  • Blue Beetle #12
  • Detective Comics #963
  • Flash #29
  • Hal Jordan And The Green Lantern Corps #27
  • Kamandi Challenge #8 (Of 12)
  • Suicide Squad #24
  • Teen Titans #11
  • Revolution Aw Yeah #3
  • Rom Vs Transformers Shining Armor #2 (Of 5)
  • Ben Reilly The Scarlet Spider #6
  • Cable #4
  • Daredevil #25
  • Doctor Strange #24
  • Edge Of Venomverse #5 (Of 5)
  • Iceman #4
  • Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-Man #3
  • Punisher #15
  • Star Wars Doctor Aphra Annual #1
  • X-Men Gold #10
Mike Maillaro is a lifelong Jersey Boy and geek. Mike has been a comic fan for about 30 years from when his mom used to buy him Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Adventures at our local newsstand. Thanks, Mom!! Mike's goal is to bring more positivity to the discussion of comics and pop culture.