One of our favorite comic book companies will be showcasing a whole bunch of stuff during next week’s San Diego Comic-Con. Top Cow, probably most well known for Wanted, will be bringing lots of exclusives and their talent to the show so we can all meet and enjoy.

Here’s all the info you could want on this from the official press release from the company.

TOP COW UNVEILS 2010 SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON EXCLUSIVES

LOS ANGELES, Calif., July 14, 2010 – Top Cow Productions, Inc. is proud to announce their exclusive offerings at this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego, which includes an exclusive wraparound cover variant to the publisher’s most ambitious project-to-date, Artifacts.

Attendees of the convention have a chance to grab the following exclusives at the Top Cow booth #2629:

ARTIFACTS #1 WRAPAROUND SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON VARIANT
Exclusive SDCC variant cover art by Michael Broussard and Sunny Gho of IFS
(W) Ron Marz (A) Michael Broussard (I) Rick Basaldua, Sal Regla (C) Sunny Gho of IFS
Price: $10

Thirteen mystical Artifacts, including the Witchblade, the Darkness and others, guide the fate of the Top Cow Universe. For centuries, it’s been whispered that bringing together all 13 Artifacts would herald mankind’s destruction. But a mysterious figure has been manipulating events, laying plans to put Armageddon into motion.

Continue Reading →

Welcome to another edition of The Pull List Comic Reviews! The fall of the Hulks begins, Mogo dishes out his brand of justice and both Geo-Force and the Sentry lose their marbles. As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

Dark Avengers #13
Marvel Comics – $3.99 US
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Mike Deodato
Score: 8.5/10

The Marvel Universe has seen better days. While the disassembling of Earth’s mightiest heroes led to the breakout of a civil war, a secret invasion became the catalyst to Norman Osborn’s dark reign, and with the siege of Asgard on the horizon, surely things couldn’t get worse (see what I did there?), could it? The Sentry’s true origin is revealed, answering once and for all that, yes, things can get worse…much worse.

Just when I thought all the pieces were on the table, Brian Michael Bendis takes the much-maligned Sentry and turns him loose. With this latest revelation of how the Sentry came to be – not to mention how he’s more unstable than anyone thought – Bendis has taken a tragic figure and made him the definitive x-factor for the Siege event. Whether or not the character winds up saving the day or becoming the most dangerous player is still up in the air, and that’s just a tad frightening.

This issue is all about the eyes. Artist Mike Deodato nailed every beat of this issue by letting the eyes of the characters tell the story, which really focused on the horror of what resides within the Sentry’s mind. From the Sentry, the Sentry’s wife, Lindy and even Osborn himself, the eyes served notice that something wicked this way comes. For even more justification, take a gander at that last page.

Continue Reading →

Welcome to another edition of The Pull List Comic Reviews! Since the hectic holiday schedule and copious amounts of eggnog have affected my time and brain cells, respectively, this week’s reviews are more of the quickie variety. While short and sweet – well, as short and sweet as I’m going to get – there’s enough yuletide cheer to make even Gotham warm over. As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

Avengers: The Initiative #31
Marvel Comics – $2.99 US
Writer: Christos N Gage
Artist: Rafa Sandoval
Score: 8.5/10

The music’s pumping, the booze is flowing and the girls are dancing. Seems like Taskmaster’s right where he wants to be, until Norman Osborn decides to come to Camp H.A.M.M.E.R. for an inspection. Nobody said pimpin’ was easy, especially since Taskmaster has to get his place running on all cylinders before the boss arrives, bearing “gifts.”

Incredibly solid issue by writer Gage. Throughout the entire string of storylines, like “Civil War,” “Secret Invasion” and “Dark Reign,” select characters from both sides of the fight have begun to question whether or not they’re on the right side. Makes for some good reading and interesting dynamics as “Siege” starts to pick up steam. Artist Sandoval continues to be consistently good, especially where Taskmaster is included in the scene.

Continue Reading →

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.

Continue Reading →