Welcome to another edition of The Pull List Comic Reviews! This week, the Blackest Night event takes center stage, Bendis and Oeming make a triumphant comeback and Archie gets married (again). As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

Blackest Night #5 [of 8]
DC Comics – $3.99 US
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Ivan Reis
Score: 9.0

The mastermind behind the dead rising stands revealed as the Blackest Night prophecy inches towards becoming true, but will the unified heroes of the world have enough to stop it? Not if a late dinner guest bearing gifts has anything to say about it.

Geoff Johns welcomes you all to hell. How could he not? In the thirty plus years that I’ve been reading comics, I can’t remember a time when things looked so grim in a story thanks to this issue. The big guns of the Justice League arrive in time to assist the Flashes – Barry Allen and Wally West – in confronting Nekron as the Black Lanterns’ power battery reaches full charge. Fast forward to the end of the issue and only two heroes remain standing while the rest are chomping at the bit, dying to feast on some good, old fashioned heart muscle. And this is only the fifth issue in an eight-issue series?!? Wow.

Johns, along with artist Ivan Reis, are obviously toying with us and giggling madly along the way. The re-emergence of “Bruce Wayne” – his name was in quotations in the issue as well – signaled that the next phase was about to begin, but what he did to heroes like Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, etc I don’t think anyone saw coming, characters and readers alike. The sixth issue cannot get here fast enough, if you ask me.

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Pull of the Week:

Daredevil #500 – Marvel – $4.99
Score: 8.5

70th Anniversary. 600th issue of Thor. 600th issue of Captain America. 600th Hulk. 600 issues of Amazing Spider-Man. And finally the 500th issue of Daredevil. Marvel sure has a big summer. And of the two milestones, the two best written have been those from Ed Brubaker with Captain America #600 and this issue of Daredevil. This issue of Daredevil continues building upon the deal that Daredevil had made with the Kingpin against the Hand. Though Daredevil suspected Fisk was turning against him, it was a move he was forced to make.

The twists of the story and thought processes of Daredevil during the issue just go to show how awesome a writer Brubaker is. In addition, there is a preview of Dark Reign: The List – Daredevil, a great short story about Daredevil and Bullseye called 3 Jacks, a Pinup and Cover Gallery and of course the reprinting of a past issue of Daredevil, this time choosing #191 from Frank Miller’s run on the series. While normally not a fan of reprinting old materials to fill out the length of an oversized issue, the quality of the two new, original stories are well worth the hefty $4.99 price tag.

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Since getting my iPhone a year ago, I have been greedily downloading various applications and wasting a fair amount of time in the process. Do I really need an app that taps out a Morse Code translation for any message that I input? Can I exist without the random rock/paper/scissors generator? Maybe. But here’s the thing though, I found an application that I really don’t think I can live without: Archie Comics on the iPhone and iPod Touch!

Since 1979 I have been an avid Archie reader. I spent many an afternoon reading Archie’s TV Laugh Out, Betty and Veronica, and the coveted Double Digests. I still have my threadbare Archie nightshirt from Mervyns, circa 1985, and an old VHS somewhere of the Archie TV movie. In recent years, however, I’ve read fewer and fewer copies of the “Red Headed Rapscallion.” I simply don’t have the time to go hunting at a comic book store and most grocery stores no longer carry comics.

Now, thanks to the folks at iVerse Media, I have the Riverdale High crew at my fingertips, 24/7. With the launch of the new Archie app, we can read about the months prior to our friends starting their first year at Riverdale High. “The Summer Before Freshman Year” is a five part series that chronicles the gang’s transition, apprehension and preparation for high school. Here’s the best thing: Part 1 is Free!

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Holy Goldiggers, Batman!  Just days after we brought you the story that Archie Andrews was acquiring a to-be-named-later ball and chain, the aforementioned ball has been identified.  Archie is proposing to Veronica! With a heartbreaking cover that could melt even Kate Gosselin’s icy heart, Archie is seen on bended knee putting a dazzling ring on heiress Veronica Lodge’s finger while girl-next-door Betty Cooper looks on in tears.  On her blog at ArchieComics.com, Betty posted “I am so sad, I don’t even know what to say.”

No details about the wedding have been released as of yet, but on his blog Archie has asked Jughead to be his best man. So far, Jughead has not posted a response.  Meanwhile, the newly affianced Miss Lodge wonders if Betty would like to be her maid of honor, while Reggie considers asking Betty out. You may recall the “Love Showdown” storyline of 1994-95 when the famous love triangle threatened to come to a head. After much waffling, the other and less irritating Carrot Topped funny man chose Cheryl Blossom, a longtime thorn in Betty and Veronica’s sides. Predictably, she became a persona non grata in Riverdale and things returned to normal.

This time, it seems a choice has been made, and the question that remains is “Will the marriage happen?”  If it does, it will likely be a lavish event thrown by Hiram Lodge, Veronica’s permissive but protective father. Will Betty agree to be the maid of honor?  Who will be her date to the wedding?  Will there be a chick fight to the delight of adolescent boys everywhere featuring some hot comic-book-side-boob action?  Readers can’t wait to find out.

Archie issue #600 “The Proposal”, which is part one of a six part arc, will be available in stores on September 1. It’s written by Michael Uslan with art by Stan Goldberg.

Forget choosing the next American Idol, the most talented chef or snarky supermodel, the biggest choice in history, ok, comic history, is about to be made this August — at least according to an article over at Today. Archie Andrews is getting hitched! That’s right, the Rick Astley doppelganger is finally choosing between sweet, blonde Betty and spoiled brunette Veronica Lodge. Don’t worry single ladies, it only took him 68 years to pop the question, so there’s still hope for you too.

According to Archie Comics’ official blog, the carrot topped Casanova has graduated college and may even be employed. Perhaps he’s even got a son-in-law office at The Lodge Building? Of course, with a story that takes place 5 years post Riverdale High, anything is possible and readers can’t wait to find out what Archie, Betty, Veronica, Reggie and Jughead will be up to. Issue 600 of the comic will kickoff the six-part “marriage” story and will be available in stores on September 8. Movie producer Michael Usian and veteran Archie artist Stan Goldberg will collaborate on the issues

Who will he pick? Well, that depends on the criteria he’s using, but Miss Ronnie probably comes with a sizeable dowry and Papa Lodge will likely spring for some nice digs in a swanky Riverdale neighborhood. Betty, on the other hand, will do the laundry, knows how to cook, and will be a great Mom. Both are super hotties with Barbiesque measurements and gravitationally immune breasts. So who will he choose? We’ll just have to wait until September to find out.