The Pull List for January 7, 2015

It's a new year, bitches, and guess what that means! NEW FORMAT! NEW LOGO! ALL CAPS! EXCITEMENT!

I actually liked the old Pull List logo but figured out with the old and in with the new, right? In addition to the new logo - created rather crudely by yours truly and may eventually be replaced by something a little more streamlined - I'm trying out categories: Definitely To Buy, I'll Read It, Slightly Interesting, and Gone, which also may change as the year goes on. Like I said on the main Pull List page, I'm doing this as much for myself as I for you guys, because shit, it's getting difficult keeping track of all these.

Anyway, without further ado, here's the first Pull List for the brand new baby year of 2015, coming out Wednesday, January 7:

Definitely To-Buy

Angela: Asgard's Assassin #2 Regular Cover
Via Previews World

• Angela: Asgard's Assassin #2 (Marvel) - One of the only problems that I had with the first issue of Angela was the fight scenes: I couldn't ever really figure out exactly what was going on. But Angela is such a badass that I was able to look at it as kind of like the fights in Batman Begins: you didn't necessarily have to know every move that was made because you got the general gist that asses were being kicked. I'm digging the relationship between the two Angels of Heven - very sister-like and playful, despite one being a murderer - and Angela's frank and brutal treatment of people that get in her way is exactly what I wanted to see out of this comic. I feel like when Marvel gets it when they listen to their women readers, they fucking get it, but when they're just trying to make a buck - as with Spider-Woman - they fall flat on their faces. Thankfully, Angela is one of the former. Can't wait for this issue.  

Birthright #4 Regular Cover
Via Image Comics

• Birthright #4 (Image) - Okay, so is Mikey working for the bad guy or not? Or does he even know? Where does the mother fit into all of this? What is going on??? Normally, those kind of questions would have me placing this series in the Gone pile, but for Birthright? It has me wanting more. The family dynamic after a tragedy is quite realistic - the distance between the parents, the simple willingness of the son to accept this man claiming to be his now-adult brother as his brother, etc. - and the flashbacks to Mikey's time in Terrenos are probably my favorite aspects of this book. Jason Williamson has impressed me almost enough to take a look at Nailbiter, although hahahaha, yeah, that's not going to happen. The name alone makes me scared to even peek.

All-New Captain America #3 Regular Cover
Via Previews World

• All-New Captain America #3 (Marvel) - I actually really like this new take on Captain America. Sam Wilson is most definitely not Steve Rogers, and quite frankly, I think he suits the title better than Rogers ever did. Now, that doesn't mean that Steve isn't an acceptable - or downright awesome - Cap, but I like that Wilson takes risks that the former CA would never take. Granted, last month's AXIS shot Wilson's "I'm Not Steve" attitude up to 11, which turned him into a giant dickweed that was willing to destroy the world, but I'm hoping they go with a more ... subtle version now. 

Men of Wrath #4 Regular Cover
Via Ron Garney

• Men of Wrath #4 (of 5) (Icon) - Jason Aaron is just killing it recently. I still maintain that, if he revealed that the title took place in Craw County, I would not be surprised, given the similarities in theme that Men of Wrath has with Image's Southern Bastards. What's funny is that I actually got an idea about a sci-fi action thriller set in the South from reading the last issue, so be prepared to be hearing more about that later on. But, ahem, about the actual comic, it has just continuously upped the anti with each installment, so I can only imagine as to what is going to happen in Issue #4, especially since there is only one more issue left after this one. Wait, maybe the Raths will make an appearance in Bastards!! That would be incredible.

I'll Look at It

• Gotham Academy #4 (DC) - I doubt that this will ever be a series that I buy, since it's cute but not to the same effect that My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic is. I definitely get a Buffy the Vampire Slayer vibe from it, which is why I keep going back to it (Dark Horse's BTVS Season 10 just isn't really doing much for me). It hasn't really dug too deeply into things, which is just fine with me, but maybe it will get meatier as it continues on. I also like that it pretty much operates separately from the rest of the DCU with loose ties to Batman's world, although there's apparently an Endgame tie-in sometime soon.

Hinterkind #14 Regular Cover
Via Djinn Comics

• Hinterkind #14 (Vertigo) - This is another series that I will only buy in trade. I fell in love with it when I randomly picked up the trade at a comic shop. Greg Tocchini (of Low fame) did the covers for the first arc - and Marguerite Sauvage is doing gorgeous work now (see above) - so it makes sense that I love it so. I've only read up until the end of the second trade, so I'm super behind, enough so that I might not even bother to read this until it's in collected form, but who knows? I may have already found a comic shop that suits my needs.
• Operation S.I.N. #1 (Marvel) - The art in this looks gorgeous, and that may be enough for me to purchase the first issue. Moreover, I really am interested in the history of the current Marvel universe, especially if it involves Peggy Carter.

Rocket Raccoon #7 Regular Cover
Via Midtown Comics

• Rocket Raccoon #7 (Marvel) - The only issue of RR that I felt I just absolutely had to buy was the one where Groot was telling a campfire story to a bunch of kids. It was just adorable. However, this next issue apparently shares my hatred of the cold - damn you, winter - so I may find myself buying it in solidarity. 
• Secret Six #2 (DC) - Well, the first issue didn't blow me away, but I was intrigued enough to keep reading the series. I like pretty much anything Gail Simone does - yes, even Red Sonja, although I, for some reason, never added to my pull list? - so I'm willing to give her several issues to establish something that will inevitably become great.

Shaft #2 Denys Cowan "Virgin" Cover
Via Dynamite Entertainment

• Shaft #2 (Dynamite Entertainment) - I was pleasantly surprised with the first issue. Like, seriously. If you wrote it off because A) it's published by Dynamite, which has a lot of not-so-good titles and B) it's based on a B movie from the 1970s (not the Samuel L. Jackson one, I don't think), you should reconsider. The art is really good, the cover by Bill Sienkiewicz was absolutely gorgeous, and the story was quite poignant. I felt like I was actually getting to know the main character, which wasn't something that was accomplished by the source material. I will most likely place this in my Definitely Buy category if the second issue continues the awesome.
• Storm #7 (Marvel) - While I got incredibly bored during the whole Death of Wolverine tie-in extravaganza, I think that this series actually dealt with the aftermath quite well, showing Storm in mourning yet trying to handle her pain in a productive way. It got her into some hot water, as evidenced by her being in handcuffs on the cover of #7 (???), but I think Storm is one of the stronger titles that Marvel has going on right now. I just hope it doesn't go the way of She-Hulk and get canceled.

Swamp Thing #38 Regular Cover
Via Newsarama

• Swamp Thing #38 (DC) - Oh, Charles Soule ... I am very happy that you are a Marvel-exclusive writer now, but in exchange, a lot of underrated, yet insanely good series are coming to a close because of it. Swamp Thing is deceptively deep and poignant, which sounds funny when you realize it's about a man who is also a plant and also an avatar for the Earth itself. Kind of like a less hokey Captain Planet, I guess? Well, I can at least purchase the trades, right?
• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1 (Marvel) - I seriously love how everybody's putting out books like this. DC has Gotham Academy and Batgirl, which, even with that latter's recent missteps, have proven to be very strong titles that appeal to more than just "fake geek girls." As a matter of fact, I had just as many men ask me about both of them as I did women. And Marvel has Ms. Marvel and now The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, soon to be followed by Spider-Gwen and Silk. I'm not entirely sure that I'll pick this up, but based on the preview? Yeah, I'm probably going to buy it.

Slightly Interesting

• Ant-Man #1 (Marvel) - I really have a hard time getting excited about Ant-Man. I know there's a movie coming out, and I'll probably see it at matinee prices, but that's about as much excitement as I can muster for this series. I may or may not decide to flip through the issue, but it will most likely go the way of the below mentioned Edward Scissorhands.
• Avengers #40 (Marvel) - This whole "Time Runs Out" thing is getting a little tedious, and this title may just go into my Gone pile soon, but for right now, it isn't too bad.
• Escape from New York #2 (Boom! Studios) - Sadly, I was disappointed by the first issue. I get the feeling that I'm going to demote this to Gone after this one, which is sad because Boom! is usually knock-my-socks-off stellar, but I'm crossing my fingers that it improves.
• Feathers #1 (Archaia) - This looks rather cute and sweet, and you all know my propensity for choosing titles that have these qualities. Archaia is even more consistent than its parent company, Boom!, when it comes to producing quality work (The Storyteller was probably one of my favorites from last year), but I'm not sure if the story will keep me. We'll see!
• Lady Killer #1 (Dark Horse) - I read about this in Previews World, and it seemed interesting enough. I haven't been too impressed with what Dark Horse has been publishing as of late, but I'll give Lady Killer a shot.
• Uncanny Avengers #1 (Marvel) - Um, why are they rebooting? I don't really know. At least AXIS is over. GAH.

Gone

• Edward Scissorhands #3 (IDW) - I'm going to be honest here: I had planned on reading the second issue but never got around to doing it because I kept forgetting that it existed. So I figure that I should just stop trying to keep putting it on my pull list. Sigh.
• Green Lantern #38 (DC) - Well, Godhead was ... interesting, I guess, but the event didn't get me invested enough with the characters to continue. Meh. And Green Lantern is the only Lantern title that's going to survive the slaughter in March. 
• The Names #5 (Vertigo) - I think I already said last year (OMG, 2014 is already last year) that I was dropping The Names, and by God, I mean it. It was intriguing up until Katya was like, "Hey, stepson whose father just mysteriously died, look at my tatas," and I basically just closed the issue and put it back on the stands. This really could have been an awesome limited series, I think, but alas, I will never find out. Oh, well.