The Pull List for October 15, 2014

I'm slowly starting to shave off a few titles from my monthly pull list. Sensational Comics Feat. Wonder Woman, Transformers, and Death Vigil are just a couple that I've decided not to read any longer, which is a huge sigh of relief from my pocketbook. There are a couple on this week's list that might not make it for many more weeks, but for the most part, I think I've established my rhythm for the time being.

Batwoman #35 (DC) - Oh, Batwoman, how far you have fallen. Based on the ridiculous one-shot from last month, I am about ready to give up on this series. However, there is a whole new creative team coming on, so I'm crossing my fingers for an awesomeness revival. As far as I can tell, they're still sticking with that lovely old lesbian vampire trope, but I'm hoping that goes bye-bye. Ugh. Kate deserves better.

Via Dark Horse

Dark Horse Presents 2014 #3 (Dark Horse) - Last month's DH Presents was actually pretty decent, and I am starting to really like anthologies. Short fiction in any form can be incredibly tough to do, and when you do it well? You have my attention. I really enjoyed the short comic, "Banjo," where a girl (I think) resurrects her father, who was killed in the Civil War, by playing a song they wrote together on his banjo, and I hope I'll see more of that caliber this month.

Deadpool: The Art of War #1 (Marvel) - You know what? I actually prefer the short-run Deadpool series over the ongoing one. Deadpool Killustrated was high up there on my list of favorite things I've read this year, and the biannual issue that had Deadpool kinda joining Brute Force (after being hired to stop them) made me laugh out loud more times than I can remember (it was the giant orca mecha that really sent me over the roof). And, as usual, Marvel has hammed up the description on their website: "Sun Tzu's Art of War has been called the definitive work on military strategy and tactics and has influenced leaders in both warfare and business for hundreds of years ... which means it's totally in the public domain and ripe for being ripped off by Deadpool!" I'm totally excited about this one.

Earth 2: World's End #2 (DC) - I really wasn't too impressed with the first issue of this. Every time I read "Apokolips," I rolled my eyes a little. Like, really, DC. Do you know how absolutely silly that looks? I imagine this guy as a giant set of lips just floating freely in the air, and not even in a menacing way, like that cartoon mouth that ate Twizzlers (what, it scared me as a kid). And that's not even what really kept me giving the first issue a whole lot of side-eye. There was just so much backstory to cover, so I felt like it was one of those filler episodes from a television show, full of flashbacks and exposition. However, I have the feeling that things will speed up and I'll be able to really connect with the story. Even if the main villain is called Apokolips. Sighhhh.

Via Marvel Comics

Edge of Spider-Verse #5 (Marvel) - Really, the main reason I'm sticking with this series is because I really enjoyed Jake Wyatt's artwork in Ms. Marvel, but also because, despite my general distaste of the last two installments, I am hopeful that the story can get back to the level that was given in the second issue with Gwen Stacy. I've never read any of Gerard Way's comics, but I'll give him a chance to wow me. No pressure there, I'm sure.

Green Lantern: New Guardians #35 (DC) - Now, New Guardians is what got me interested in the Lantern saga in the first place, and by God, I'm going to be superbly irritated if Justin Jordan, Andrew Hennessey, and Bradley Walker don't deliver here. I know next to nothing about the universe of the Lanterns, and the last three books (Godhead, Green Lantern, and Green Lantern Corps) have not convinced me that there is any worth in trying to learn. It's one of the drawbacks to trying to get into a well-established series. I'm trying to remain optimistic at this point, but DC only has this, plus two more issues (Red Lanterns and Sinestro) to win me over.

Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Witches #2 (Archaia) - The first of this series was so beautifully done, so I was already highly anticipating the second installment, and when I found out more about it, I clapped my hands like a giddy little girl. The Yuki-onna fairy tale is probably one of my favorite Japanese stories that I read as a kid (I also loved the one about Kaguyahime, the moon princess who was found as a baby in a bamboo stalk), and if this is as immaculately done as #1, I'm going to be one happy, happy lady.

Ms. Marvel #9 (Marvel) - Leaving Kamala last issue was difficult, since, as a good storyteller should do, I simply had to know what was going to happen to her now that her healing powers weren't working. G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona are a power team with this series, and it never ceases to please me that it is doing as well as it is. Now, as long as they can keep Lockjaw in the story, I'll be satiated.

Via Image Comics

Sex Criminals #9 (Image) - This was one of the first trade paperbacks that I bought when I moved up to Louisville, and it was the first comic that Three and I bonded over. He was never really interested in anything else - other than The Tick, obvs - but this series opened his mind up to what comics could do. I haven't been able to get him to read Saga yet, but I'm working on it. Anyway, I've been anticipating #9 since I finished #8, and I'm really hoping that, since Matt Fraction's run with Hawkeye is over soon, he'll be able to focus more on his indie titles ... you know, so we won't have to wait for months for the next issue. I know, I know, I'm being demanding, but I just love this comic - the characters, the story, etc. - so much. /poutyface

Sleepy Hollow #1 (Boom!) - I just started watching this show - I know, I KNOW, I'm horrible - so I'm a little behind on things. When I watched the second season premiere, I was so fucking confused, but as I've binged on the first season - while staying up-to-date with the new episodes - I am nearly bouncing in excitement. Boom! has had a pretty steady success rate with their titles as of late, so I'm curious how well this limited series is going to do, but I'm hopeful!

Via Marvel Comics

Storm #4 (Marvel) - Possible unpopular opinion: I am actually kind of glad that Wolverine is dead? I mean, okay, not glad, really, but looking forward to how his death (if it is indeed permanent) will affect the Marvel Universe as a whole, and in particular, how it will affect Storm. She and Logan have been in a romantic relationship for some time now, and the past three issues have at least touched on how Ororo will respond to his death. If the above cover is any indication, this will not be an easy transition, but I can only imagine that Storm will come out stronger than ever.

Supreme: Blue Rose #4 (Image) - This was a series I was sure I was going to drop after the second issue, but you know what? They surprised me. I definitely recommend reading it in lumps of several issues, though, since the main drawing point for me was Tula Lotay's artwork. Greg McElhatton on Comic Book Resources said it best when he was describing my favorite sequence in the second issue, where dimensions are bending right before our eyes: "Lotay's able to make her art look like overlapping realities, with the ghost image of Chelsea hovering behind her as she asks how it ends, or the strange burn-in upside down triangle hovering within Chelsea's chest." There's a ton of foreshadowing and seemingly unrelated plot points - if you can call them that - but when you read them all together, it will probably make a lot more sense. I had to reread the previous issues before reading #3 last month. I would wait for the paperback to come out, since I'm pretty sure that's how Warren Ellis intended it to be read. But, like I'm doing with Low, I'm collecting the covers to frame, not to read.

Via TFAW

Teen Titans Go! # 6 (DC) - Maybe it's my weariness with the big bad world of "adult" comics, where it's the "death of" everything or whatever, but I am really starting to enjoy comics geared toward kids. Sure, they're silly and don't really leave a whole lot of commentary in their wake, but sometimes, it's just nice to read a goofy story about teen superheroes who have a fucking slumber party with no boys allowed. Also, this has inspired me to start watching the cartoon, too. So, good on you, marketing team. You all get raises now.

Trees #6 (Image) - I do believe that I'm giving up on this title. It's just boring me now. The last two issues have been sitting in my pull list folder, and I've read them a couple of times, without being able to determine if I even cared any longer. I dunno; I might continue to pick it up once in a while, but it's not going to be a concerted effort.

Trinity of Sin #1 (DC) - Way back when the New 52 first came out, I declared that Pandora was the character I was most interested in seeing. Well, two years later, I can't say that I have the same enthusiasm for Pandora, but this title seems like it could be akin to the popular Suicide Squad, but with immortals instead of criminals. We'll see how this goes.