Pull List Roundtable 3/21/2018 – Vampirella #11, Weapon H #1, Baby Teeth #9, Cable #155 & More!

Columns, Features, Roundtables, Top Story

Matt Graham

  • Vampirella #11 – Final issue of Volume 4, as Jeremy Whitley and Andy Belanger pit Vampirella against longtime frenemy Pantha. Vampirella as a woman out of time in this colourful hellscape future has been a refreshing and different take on the character, so I appreciate Paul Cornell and Jimmy Broxton leading that charge before the reins were passed to Whitley and Belanger. One of the smoothest transitions I’ve read in a while, really.

Haven’t heard any word on what’s happening with Vampirella for the rest of the year, outside of the Savage Tales one-shot in May, which flings Vampirella into a barbarian world ala Conan and Red Sonja. I’m in.

  • Witchblade #4 – As an old guard Witchblade fan, I like that this restart to the franchise is rewriting rules and lore so I can be surprised. Alex is an interesting lead and the breadcrumbs of backstory for her and this supernatural world have me hooked. The book does a wonderful job of weaving in social issues without becoming detracting soapbox. Artist Roberta Ingrata has some of the best acting and backgrounds on the shelves these days.

Where I falter on the book is author Caitlin Kittredge’s pacing. The story and dialogue are snappy and what keep me coming back, Witchblade brand or not, but Kittredge’s page pacing is still feeling itself out, which further muddles the time lapses and surreal sequences driving the conflict.

I think this book is something special, more akin to a Black Mask or Aftershock horror thriller than the supernatural superheroics of Witchblade’s past, and I am all for it. All the same, the pacing and vagueries of the story can slow down the book, and I’m hoping for some pay off to the build up in the next 2 issues.

  • Babyteeth #9 – I like Donny Cates for his horror-fantasy stories about the mythical land of Texas. God Country. Red Necks. Babyteeth. Sadie is a teenager who gave birth to the Antichrist. She named him Clark. Her mother belongs to a cult that worships the Devil.
  • Cable #155 – Zac Thompson & Lonnie Nadler wrote The Dregs, which is one of Black Mask’s best comics. It’s a riveting story about class war and horor. It’s about the Rich eating the Poor. Probably the best book to come out of 2017. They’re teaming up with German Peralta to tackle Cable.

This is Cable’s third creative team since his return, and while the last arc played with a New Mutants throwback, Thompson and Nadler (both longtime X-Men fans) are pulling a different type of nostalgia – Cable’s burden of the Techno-Organic Virus and a reunion with his adopted daughter, Hope Summers.

I do worry that Cable’s recent volume has been making shallow nostalgia plays like X-Men Gold, but The Dregs buys a lot of goodwill for me.

  • Go Go Power Rangers #8
  • Monstress #15
  • Batwoman #13
  • Spider-Gwen #30
  • X-Men Gold #24

James Fulton

  • Cable #155 – Like Matt, I’m pretty curious to see what Thompson and Nadler could do with a character like Cable, although the nostalgia-heavy approach seems pretty done at this point.
  • Dept. H #24 – Matt Kindt’s latest series (that he writes and draws) is coming to an end this week, and I’m going to miss this imaginative murder mystery set deep below the ocean’s surface. It was never as wild as his Mind MGMT, but it was a very rewarding read.
  • Justice League #41 – When Christopher Priest started his run on Deathstroke, he made use of the Red Lion, an African dictator who seems to be the opposite of the Black Panther, as if Priest was announcing that he’s headed in a new direction with his writing. Now the Red Lion’s going up against the League, and I couldn’t be more excited to see it.
  • Southern Cross #14 – It’s been a long time since we last saw an issue of Becky Cloonan and Andy Belanger’s excellent science fiction series. It’s getting close to ending, so I’m hopeful that the remaining issues will show up in short order.
  • I’m also looking forward to new issues of Descender, Kill or Be Killed, Outcast, Regression, Stray Bullets, Star Wars, Tales of Suspense, and Ninja-K this week.

John Babos

7 books this week.

  • Batman #43
  • Damage #3
  • Justice League #41
  • Mighty Thor #705
  • Nightwing #41
  • Ninja-K #5
  • Super Sons #14

Mike Maillaro

I am buying quite a few books this week, but not a lot of new and exciting books to talk about…It’s always hard to find something new to say about “issue 43” even of a series I am enjoying.

  • WEAPON H #1 – I really don’t know if Weapon H needed his own book, but I liked his appearances in WEAPON X, so I am genuinely curious about this one. No idea if it’s a book I will buy in the long term, but enough to give first issue a shot.
  • KICK-ASS #2 – This new KICK ASS series is so different in tone from the earlier series that is kind of jolting. But the first issue was very good, and I am glad to see Millar returning to this world again.
  • MS MARVEL #28 – I have been enjoying this current arc with Ms Marvel out of action and the many people she inspired stepping up to fill the role. MS MARVEL has long been one of my favorite Marvel books. Still hoping that it will be part of Marvel Fresh Start…
  • Babyteeth #9
  • Archie #29
  • Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers #8
  • WWE #15
  • Batman #43
  • Batman Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #5 (Of 6)
  • Damage #3
  • Future Quest Presents #8
  • Green Lanterns #43
  • Justice League #41
  • Nightwing #41
  • Super Sons #14
  • Superman #43
  • Ice Cream Man #3
  • Witchblade #4
  • Youngblood #10
  • Amazing Spider-Man Renew Your Vows #17
  • Avengers #685
  • Cable #155
  • Doctor Strange Damnation #3 (Of 4)
  • Incredible Hulk #714
  • Iron Man Hong Kong Heroes #1
  • Mighty Thor #705
  • Monsters Unleashed #12
  • Runaways #7
  • Star Wars #45
  • Star Wars Poe Dameron #25
  • Tales Of Suspense #103 (Of 5)
  • X-Men Gold #24
  • Ninja-K #5
  • Quantum And Woody #4
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.