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.

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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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Welcome to The Pull List Comic Reviews! Get comfy as a few titles elected to go with short stories this week, meaning we’ve got a lot to cover. As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

Deadpool #900 – Marvel Comics – $4.99 US
Writers: Jason Aaron, Fred Van Lente, Mike Benson, Joe Kelly, Duane Swierczynski, Victor Gischler, Charlie Huston Artists: Chris Staggs, Dalibor Talajic, Damion Scott, Rob Liefeld, Shawn Crystal, Sanford Greene, Kyle Baker
Score: 9.0

Has there been a hotter commodity in recent times than Deadpool? Hard to argue, but looking back you’ll find that the first issue of this title was launched last year amid much fanfare. Fast-forward twelve months and the character has starred in a one-shot (Deadpool: Games of Death), a mini-series (Deadpool: Suicide Kings), a second ongoing series (Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth) and an upcoming third ongoing (Deadpool Team-Up). What better way to hammer home his arrival in the spotlight – yeah, there was a Marvel Spotlight issue, too – than to give him a #900 issue, a first for comics?

The line-up of creators that contributed to this issue is ridiculous, so it’s no surprise that these seven short stories completely shine in their own right. Not a single dud in the mix. How could there be? He fights mimes in one short while staging a Vegas CSI scene in another, both with cataclysmic results. He gets abducted by aliens (poor aliens!) and spends quality time with his shrink (poor shrink!). He even puts the blinders on as he aims to collect on a childhood bet! Obviously, there’s no limits where ‘Pool is concerned.

Fourth walls be damned, in one memorable short he has a philosophical debate with his other inner-voices to determine which came first, the chicken or the egg. Accompanied by Kyle Baker’s visually trippy art, said short doesn’t end well for one reader, and bodes nothing but ill tidings to the rest of the readers out there, yourself included. But fear not as Deadpool embarks on a vacation cruise, systematically infuriating the entire crew and guests, and ultimately settling his differences with a fierce battle against Doc Ock… in ping pong.

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Are you wondering how a series that’s only hit issue #13 recently could be releasing issue #900 in October of this year? Well, to be honest, we’re a bit confused ourselves. Fortunately, as often happens, our confusion can be cleared up with the liberal application of this official Marvel press release. And, as always, be sure to check out the larger cover art from this mysterious comic after the jump.

It is I, the whimsical Wade Wilson, wishing you a wonderful warning (That’s not too much alliteration is it?) – Buy Deadpool #900, with seven all new stories, my first team up and more!  It seems like only yesterday I was starring in Deadpool #13, but here I am, at the apex of comic glory!  This issue is so big only the most hardcore Deadhead (Isn’t that the name for fans of the Grateful – Shut Up!) creators could handle it!  In the first of seven stories, “Pinky Swear”, is presented by Joe Kelly and Rob Liefeld.

“One Down” is brought to you by Charlie Huston and Kyle Baker and “Close Encounters” is created by Jason Aaron and Rick Staggs.  Mike Benson and Damian Scott deliver “Shrunken Master” while Fred Van Lente and Dalibor Talijic present “Silent But Deadly.”  “What Happens in Vegas” is told by Duane Swierczysnki (Is that how you spell it?) and Shawn Crystal.  And lastly, we have “Great Balls of Thunder on the Deep Blue Sea” by Victor Gischler and Sanford Greene  Watch as your favorite crimson comedian faces off against probe-happy aliens (They didn’t even offer us a drink!) and killer mimes (Did their guns have silencers? Bwahaha)!  But the fun doesn’t stop there, I also meet a shrink that’s crazier than me (You’re crazy?) and partake in a heinous assassination (My favorite type!)!

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