Welcome to another edition of The Pull List Comic Reviews! An incredibly solid week as we’ve got three Blackest Night tie-ins, some speedster action and a particularly “horrible” tale, but only one issue each week tops the “list.” Be sure to let us know what you thought of these issues, we’re always interested to hear from you, the readers. As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

Dark Reign: The List – Amazing Spider-Man One-Shot – Marvel Comics – $3.99 US
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Adam Kubert
Score: 9.5

Norman Osborn made a list and he’s checking it more than twice as certain thorns in his side have gotten his full attention. Everyone from the X-Men to the Avengers have had to deal with him, and by now you’ve heard of how the Punisher went to pieces over his clash with the H.A.M.M.E.R. Director, so how will Spider-Man do? Hint: Spidey doesn’t win this one.

I’ll start with Dan Slott’s writing in this issue, and simply state that he crushed it. There’s no other way to say it, really. Sure, an argument could be made that Spidey should have done something by now, especially considering his history with Stormin’ Norman. Put that aside, if you ever wanted to see Peter Parker triumph at anything – he’s had a ridiculously long losing streak since “Brand New Day” – then this is the issue for you.

It’s been a few months since artist Adam Kubert penciled some pages, but with that amount of lead-time you knew this issue would be stunning. He failed to disappoint. Crammed with gorgeous visuals, the entire one-shot was a treat, even when the action had decidedly died down for the last act. One look at the very first page is all you need to know in regards to how good the art is.

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Fans of Dr. Horrible rejoice! If you have been laying in bed at night, unable to sleep at the prospect of one day hoping to hear Neil Patrick Harris belt out some more power chords as a devious super villain, then look no further than last week’s episode of Batman Brave and the Bold.

For those who don’t watch the show regularly, Brave and the Bold is a different, younger take on the DC animated universe. The show’s creators have managed to take elements from the Silver Age of comics, such as a young Green Arrow, and the Modern Age, such as the new Blue Beetle. The animation also borrows and references styles from the Bruce Timm animation to the undertone of the Adam West Batman series.

In the episode, Mayhem of the Music Meister, NPH guest stars as the villain Music Meister, who has the power of hypnosis through the sound of his voice. Much like in the musical episode of Buffy, the characters all succumb to song and dance due to the villain, which makes for an easy one-shot story.

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Hey, remember the Emmys last year when five different reality show hosts tackled the duties of hosting the show?  Yeah, me either. Dismal ratings required a change of course, and this year the Emmys were…dare  I say it…entertaining! Thanks in large part to Neil Patrick Harris’s impeccable charm and wit, the 2009 Emmy Awards were enjoyable start to finish.

A dapper Neil Patrick Harris (let’s call him NPH for brevity’s sake) was the perfect host.  He started off the show with a musical number that was not awful, and kept the show going at a steady clip throughout the night. His performance garnered accolades from Ricky Gervais and John Stewart, along with millions of us watching at home.  A few highlights from the evening:

Awards were presented in categories.  A genre had all its awards given out before moving on to the next.  Comedy, Drama, Miniseries, Reality and Variety were all represented.  The show producers definitely pushed a comedic theme this year. Hilarious pre-taped clips of  nominees showed them  giving advice or answering a question.

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The nominees for the 61st annual Primetime Emmy Awards were announced this morning in Los Angeles by Grey’s Anatomy star Chandra Wilson, Big Bang Theory‘s Jim Parsons and Television Academy chair John Shaffner. Among the nominees were some past winners, some past nominees and a few who’ve never had the feeling of “Its just a thrill to be nominated.”

The real surprises were the nominations of both Family Guy and Flight of the Conchords in the “Outstanding Comedy” category, the nomination for Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog in the “Outstanding Special Class – Short-format Live-Action Entertainment Programs” category (Say that three times fast) as well as the 22 nominations for 30 Rock, which is an Emmy record.

A rules change expanded the number of comedy, drama and key acting category nominees from five to six for which intensified the competition for those extra slots. Ties in the voting actually yielded seven contenders in both series fields so the change in the rules ended up helping out more shows than originally intended. The 61st annual Primetime Emmy Awards will be broadcast on Sunday, September 20th at 8/7C on CBS and are hosted by Neil Patrick Harris.

Here’s the nominees in the major categories:

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