Pull List Roundtable 1/27/2016 – Old Man Logan #1, Faith #1, Hellboy Winter Special 2016 #1 & More (Spoilers)

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Mike Maillaro

I had no intention to go into this week sounding negative, but there were quite a few books I wanted to talk about just to say they are not living up to their potential (which is exactly what my teachers often said about me). But let’s talk about some books I am actually excited about first, shall we…

  • FAITH #1 – Hard to believe that it took this long for Faith to get her own mini-series (she did get a one-shot in 2014). She’s always been one of the most popular members of Harbinger. I have been looking forward to this for a while. Faith is just a fun, very different character. Actually, I am hoping that someday we can get an Ms Marvel/Faith crossover. I think they would get along really well.
  • OLD MAN LOGAN #1 – We still have no idea how Old Man Logan ended up in the new Marvel universe, but so far he’s been a real compelling character, seeing how the world reacts to him and how he reacts to the Marvel universe. I think they can do something really cool here. I kind of hope they keep this version of Logan. It’s a way to bring Wolvie back to life, without actually bringing Wolvie back to life.
  • CYBORG #7 – Last issue had a huge shift in the status quo with Cyborg now being able to turn himself back to a human form. But at the end of the last issue, Cyborg seemed like he was more inclined for the world to keep thinking of him as Cyborg. I thought that was a pretty cool twist and I’m curious where David F. Walker plans on taking this story from here. Easily one of DC’s strongest books.
  • GRAYSON #16 – ROBIN WAR SPOILERS AHEAD! So at the end of Robin War, the Court of Owls had managed to convince Dick Grayson to embrace his legacy and become a member of the Court. I have no idea where this series will be going from here, but Grayson always surprises me with great twists and turns. Though with DC’s loosey goosey take on continuity they may just ignore it entirely. I actually don’t think that will happen since Robin War said TO BE CONTINUED IN GRAYSON…but with DC these days, you never know.
  • RINGSIDE #3 – When you read a book like Ringside, you wonder how authentic it is to the source material. Ringside takes an insider’s look at the world of professional wrestling, adding a bit of a crime drama to the story. I’ve really enjoyed this book a lot, but I can’t help but wonder “is any of this accurate to what it’s like to be a wrestler or is this just the writer’s imagination?” I had the same question about the movie The Wrestler.
  • SPIDER-WOMAN #3 – The first few issues of this series were a bit of a departure from her previous series, but I still love this comic. Like Cyborg, Spider-Woman is a series that doesn’t get anywhere near the attention that it should. Consistently awesome and a lot of fun to read.
  • TEEN TITANS #16 –Teen Titans has been kind of spinning it’s wheels again. This is one of DC’s most inconsistent series. When it’s good, it’s real good. But too often, it just gets into these periods of BLAH. It might have made more sense if they just told Titans Hunt as an arc in the main Teen Titans series. Because right now, this book is being far overshadowed by Titans Hunt. I barely even remember what happened in the last issue of Teen Titans.
  • ALL-NEW ALL-DIFFERENT AVENGERS #4 – Well, it took three issues for us to really get started, but I am still pretty hyped up for this series. I love the roster, and Waid has been one of my favorite writers for as long as I can remember (KINGDOM COME is one of my all-time favorite comics). This book hasn’t quite lived up to its potential yet, but I definitely think it can be one of Marvel’s best books.
  • EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN #6 – This is another Marvel series that has been off to a real slow start. I actually was surprised that we were already at issue 6 since so little seems to have happened in the first five issues. Like All-New All-Different Avengers, I do think this book could be really good, but I’m not quite seeing it yet. Hopefully as we move into the second arc, business will pick up.

Matt Graham

  • Strayer #1 – I like Justin Jordan’s enthusiasm for the medium, and a monsters and magic title with art by Juan Gedeon is something I support.
  • Hellboy Winter Special 2016 #1 – It’s Hellboy.
  • Black Canary #7 – Sometimes it feels like this book takes forever to come out, but then I remember Marvel fires books out at a ridiculous pace and this one is right on time.
  • Monstress #3 – Marjorie Liu is one of the nicest writers I’ve ever met and her X-23 run is one of my favourite runs in years. I enjoyed her stint on Black Widow as well. I’m not one for steampunk, but Monstress uses that to layer in Kaiju and fantasy epic touches all with a psychic heoine and her pet monster. Artist Sana Takeda worked with Liu on X-23. Bonus for me.
  • Deadly Class #18 – My favourite book on my pull list.
  • All-New Inhumans #3– It’s classic X-Men in all but name and cast. I found the last issue’s approach to the “hates and fears” that the Inhumans are now branded refreshing thanks to the fictional North Korea stand-in (that even has old Avengers ties!) and I look forward to how this plays out.
  • Daredevil #3 – I like how the hammer dropped last issue. After a hell of a cliffhanger, I think I’ll read this first on Wednesday.
  • Old Man Logan #1 – I found the original series to be one of the more compelling What If… concepts I’ve read. The Secret War mini succeeded where I didn’t think it would and now I’d like to see how this unfurls. I hope they keep this title as far away from The Extraordinarily Disappointing X-Men title as possible.
  • Spider-Woman #3 – Last issue had an even bigger cliffhanger than Daredevil’s. Spider-Woman post Spider-Verse was one of the best titles out there on the racks. The relaunch changed the tone, but Dennis Hopeless and Javier Rodriguez seem primed to hold that course.

James Fulton

Big week this week, and a lot of great stuff coming out.

  • Cry Havoc #1 – I don’t know much about this series. It’s been promoted as not being about a lesbian werewolf who goes to war. It would be funny if that’s because none of those elements exist in the story at all. All I know is that Si Spurrier has impressed me lately, especially on Crossed Plus One Hundred, and I’m willing to give a chance to any comic drawn by Ryan Kelly.
  • Island #6 – Nothing gets me more excited than a new issue of Island, the best comics anthology series I’ve ever read. I don’t even know who is contributing to this issue, but I’m sure I’m going to like it.
  • Old Man Logan #1 – I do not now, or at almost any point, have I liked the Green Arrow. That said, Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino made me care about the character during their impressive run together on that title. Now, they are taking Old Man Logan, and hopefully doing the same thing. Lemire’s Marvel work has so far left me cold (All-New Hawkeye) or severely disappointed (Extraordinary X-Men), but I’m willing to give him one more chance, before just reading his superior work at Valiant (Bloodshot Reborn) and Image (Descender and Plutona). I know the book will be pretty no matter what happens.
  • Omega Men #8 – Kyle Rayner finally knows that he’s been manipulated by the Omega Men since this series began. I’m looking forward to seeing where things are going to go next, now that Tom King only has four more issues to wrap up this excellent series.
  • Prophet Earth War #1 – It’s been a long wait for the conclusion to Brandon Graham’s excellent relaunch of Prophet. He, Simon Roy, Giannis Milonogiannis, and a bunch of other amazing artists have done terrific stuff with this bad 90s character. This should be amazing.

Phil Allen

Not a big week for me! Sad for the eyes, good for the wallet.

  • Hellboy Winter Special 2016 – An all-star cast of creators tell tales of Hellboy in winter? How could I not get this?
  • Vertigo Quarterly SFX #4 – Another great group of creators tell one-off stories in this continuation of Vertigo’s popular quarterly series.
  • Southern Bastards #13 – The big game we’ve been waiting for!
  • Island #6 – A big week for collaborative books! Island continues to be a pleasure for the mind and the eyes, more than worth the $7.99.
  • Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga Vol. 3 – I appreciate that DC is digging through the archives to find older stories to share with new fans, I hope this pattern continues (psst, DC, more 70’s to early 80’s please!)
  • Other issues I’m looking forward to:
  • Deadly Class #18
  • East of West #24
  • Jupiter’s Circle #3
  • Justice League of America #7
  • Outcast #15
  • Saga #33
  • The Fuse #17
  • The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #4
  • Wild’s End: The Enemy Within #5

John Babos

Probably 10-11 books this week.

  • Aquaman #48 – The march to #50 continues.
  • Batman and Robin Eternal #17 – The 26 issue weekly maxi-series gains new relevance after the end of Robin War. Curious about Dick Grayson with the ending to Robin War #2 and the ending of Titans Hunt #4.
  • Bloodshot Reborn #10 – Analog Man begins!
  • Deathstroke #14 – I continue to enjoy the insane adventures of DC’s top merc. Really hoping he shows up in the Suicide Squad movie as is being rumored. That may get more eyes on this title.
  • Faith #1 – Valiant’s female-led book whose silhouette is not the usual one in entertainment. Is that a good reason to sample it? I’m not sure. I’ve never been a Harbinger team fan. So, I’m iffy on this.
  • Grayson #16 – Not sure if this book picks up from the end of Robin War #2 or not. The solicit for Grayson #18 seems to make that book the more likely continuation. Will check this issue out to find out.
  • Omega Men #8 – The little series that could continues solely based on the passion of fans. The march #12 continues as Kyle Rayner’s story continues along with the Omega Men.
  • Suicide Squad Most Wanted: Deadshot and Katana #1 – Part of me was happy that I was any early fan of the Suicide Squad from the 1980s. I also picked up the solo Deadshot mini back in the day too. I’ll check out this mini, but hope DC doesn’t over-saturate stands with lots of Suicide Squad books in time for the 2016 film.
  • Superman #48 – The march to #50 continues and back to his blue costume plus super-powers.
  • Superman: Lois and Clark #4 – A great read for classic Superman fans. A family adventure with wife and son.
  • Teen Titans #16 – Not sure why I’m still reading this.

Phil Miranda

  • STRAYER #1
    Shock after shock after shock!!! Like the clever wordplay??? Admittedly, I see the importance of #1’s. Aside from that, Aftershock is really making strides as a new publisher. Why wouldn’t they?? Top talent all across the board!
  • SCALES of TIME
    This one-shot is a joint effort from Cosmic Times and Inverse Press. My exploration of the indie world continues!!
  • BATMAN & ROBIN ETERNAL #17 (of 26)
  • CYBORG #7
  • DEATHSTROKE #14
  • GRAYSON #16
  • JUSTICE LEAGUE of AMERICA #7
  • SUPERMAN #48
  • SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP #14
    I’ll applaud this DC book. This should be a cartoon!! Aquaman, King of the Seven Seas and Mystery, Inc. Two daringly different properties that mesh.
  • HIP HOP FAMILY TREE #6
  • CHAKRA the INVINCIBLE #7
  • JEM and the HOLOGRAMS #11
  • ISLAND #6
  • MONSTRESS #3
  • COMING of RAGE #4 (of 5)
  • ALL-NEW ALL-DIFFERENT AVENGERS #4
  • DAREDEVIL #3
  • OLD MAN LOGAN {2nd Series} #1
    A Canadian citizen chronicling a Canadian character. Who’d have thunk it!! The Canucks/Canuckleheads have finally taken over!! One would be a fool to not gush over Andrea Sorrentino’s masterful art.
  • TRUE BELIEVERS: DEADPOOL – the MUSICAL
  • TRUE BELIEVERS: DEADPOOL variants
  • TRUE BELIEVERS: EVIL DEADPOOL
    Had your fill of the motormouth mercernary?? Too frickin’ bad!! The motion picture starting Ryan Reynolds in the titular role is out in three weeks. It’s definitely intentional that Marvel is milking this man for what he’s worth. That being said, these are all one-dollar reprints.
  • MEAN GIRLS CLUB
    Nobrow Press titles are hard to come by, but not impossible. I know where to find them wink emoticon Fingers crossed that my local comic shop qualified for this one-shot,
  • HENCHGIRL #4
    Scout Comics continues its one (and only) on-going. Kristen Gudsnuk is a respectable creator!! Mary Posa continues her struggle with doing the right thing.
  • FAITH #1 (of 4)
    It is my personal mission to fully plunge into the Valiant universe as the year unfolds. This mini-series is receiving all the right attention. The crazy thing is that the second printing is released the same day as the first!! The hype has merit!! “Zephyr in the sky at night I wonder … / Faster than the speed of light she’s flying…” Name that tune!!
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.