Shameful: My Pull List for 3/4 of January!

Okay... Please, forgiveness?
Because sadly this blog does not rain pennies down upon me, and I need to get an education, and because I've been catching up on the new season of Gilmore Girls (what? I don't work ALL the time...), I kind of let my pull-list back up. So here's all the books I've either gotten or will be getting in January. The bonus of doing this late is that I've actually read some of them!

I'm also going to get all wacky and group them by publisher... Okay, KINDA - the Big Two and then Misc.!

MISC:

Metal Gear Solid Vol. 2 TPB & Metal Gear Solid: Sons of Liberty #3 -
Good stuff, and I'm glad that they seem to be publishing the entire game series as comics. Ashley Wood's art is perfect for this surreal world of giant shamans, cloned secret agents and giant, war-head launching tanks. The only bad part is that you don't get the signature sound-track that comes with the game...

Penny Arcade: Attack of the Bacon Robots -
Does Penny Arcade really need me to talk about it? It's a enjoyably profane comic, and the second listing here that's video-game related. It's also the only webcomic that has a CONVENTION all about it. Here's a link to the site, where you can read the comics archived in this volume, but I want to have it bound and bathroomable:
Penny Arcade!

Sexy Chix -
Have I mentioned lately how much I love anthologies? Because I do. Throw in dozens of amazing female creators, from Gail Simone to Jill Thompson to Joyce Carol Oates, and you've got something that should make you sit up and take notice. There's a lot of hoopla about the name of this book, but if our friend 50 Cent has taught us anything, it's that you can't really fight marketing.

WETA Kong vs V-Rex Statue -
I know that this is not a comic book.
I know that it's something that, priced at 500 dollars, is what I like to call a "relationship-ending-purchase."
That being said, it's King Kong, and he's fighting a dinosaur... And he could be doing that in my living room every day till I die.
Feel free to pick one up for me.

Marvel Comics:

Daredevil #81 -
Last Bendis/Maleev issue! The Murdock Papers has been an amazing ride, and I can't wait to see where all the characters end up by the last page of this issue.

New Avengers #15 -
I was really impressed with the last issue, not just with Frank Cho's always outstanding work, but with the depth of Jessica Drew's backstory. It's easy to have a character that betrayed a team seek redemption, and often kind of dull, but to draw an incredibly complex and logical series of events leading to what happened in #13 is well, art. Good show, Bendis.

The Pulse #13 -
What? ANOTHER book I love that Bendis is leaving? The Pulse is more of an off-beat superhero title, and it sadly didn't receive the editorial support of DC's excellent Gotham Central. I'm hoping the new creative team (whoever they are)
understands the behind-the-scenes concept, and gets the book on a monthly schedule.

She Hulk 2 #4 -
Woo! Scott Kolins! He did some amazing work back on Avengers & The Flash with Geoff Johns, but they lured him to She Hulk because of the former. This is a flashback issue, shining new light on the events of the Avengers: Search for She-Hulk story arc that Kolins penciled, and giving us a peek at the aftermath. It's amazing character work, and Dan Slott shows us that even though he's brilliantly funny, he can tug a heart string or two when he needs to.

Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil That Men Do #6 -
This took a surprising turn with the last issue... And no, I don't mean "It came out." While the Dodson's work has a very cheese-cake feel, work like this and Trouble really highlights their subtle expression work. There's a lot of emotion packed into Kevin Smith's script for #5, and I hope #6 continues the trend.

Ultimate Spider-Man #89 -
This issue ties up the Silver Sable arc. Lately this book has fallen into the trap that Brian K. Vaughn's run of Ultimate X-Men has: spending each arch introducing the "Ultimate" version of some character from the regular Marvel U. Ultimate Spider-Man is a whole big sandbox full of toys: play with the ones you've got for a bit. The next arc introduces Ultimate Deadpool but at least we get some Spidey/Kitty pride interaction.

DC Comics:

All Star Superman #2 -
"Can YOU Guess The Secret of Superman's FORBIDDEN ROOM?!"
I miss the days before barcodes, when that would be a big box taking up 1/4 of the cover. The fact that it's on there at all is really a testament to the wacky silver -age feeling of the book. While generally not a member of the Morrison/Quietly Mob (I say mob because they CAN get violent), I'm really enjoying this book.

Green Lantern Corps: Recharge #4 -
Kilowog says to pick up this book, poozers.
While I'm not nutty about Hal Jordan coming back to life, or the direction they've taken his series in, DC at least did us the favor of returning Guy Gardener to the ranks of the Green Lanterns and restarting the Corps. Look for this to turn into a monthly OYL, and for this to lead into Ion, which I'm really looking forward to.

Infinite Crisis #4 -
The Crisis gets bloodier. Weather this issue is more extreme than the Freedom Fighters scene from #1 is up for debate, but there's no arguing that this is a big issue. I really don't want to spoil any of the stuff for you, but now that all the exposition is done, I can't imagine how much nuttier it's going to get in #5.

JLA #124 -
Dawn Raven? More like YAWN Raven!
I feel like a lot of books DC is putting out right now are just waiting to be canceled and re-booted. The Flash had the same problem: Geoff Johns finished his run, and since there was a few months left before the book ended, they've had some really bland filler stories featuring Vandal Savage. JLA, on the other hand, brought back the Key, and ties up the loose ends from the Justice League Elite mini series. While I don't mind Green Arrow getting some face-time, with all the insane things that the League could be dealing with right now his fling with Dawn Raven shouldn't be at the top of the list.

Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle #3 -
A particularly cool take on the New Gods, where the people of New Genesis seem to be homeless crazies, and DeSaad is a conniving therapist. I'm curious to see how this all ties into the Seven Soldiers books, as right now it seems to be in a parallel kind of universe. I have faith as the other soldiers stuff have been an impressive, lego-like piece of work.

This brings us to the last book I'm getting this month:

Wonder Woman #225 -
Issue #225 marks the end of Wonder Woman Vol. 2, and the end of Greg Rucka's tremendous work on the book. This was a character that I wasn't really attached to one way or another 30 issues ago, and now I'll fiercely defend her and the title. I'm going to post a big look back at this particular chunk of Wonder Woman on Saturday/Sunday, and give some speculation about the future of the character. Something this great deserves it's own post.


That's it for me, folks. That's a big chunk of change (especially if I somehow score that Kong statue... With my discount it's only 450 dollars... hmmm...).

Until next time!

_casey_