Welcome to another edition of The Pull List Comic Reviews! We’ve got a lot off good issues to get through, so let’s get to it. As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

S.W.O.R.D. #1 – Marvel Comics – $3.99 US
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artists: Steven Sanders, Jamie McKelvie
Score: 9.0

Spinning out of Joss Whedon and John Cassaday’s seminal Astonishing X-Men run, S.W.O.R.D. is the new title focusing on the organization entrusted to ensure that alien invasions are kept to a minimum. The Sentient World Observation and Response Department’s co-commander, Abigail Brand, has enough on her plate as it is, but having Henry Peter Gyrich – yes, THAT guy – as your co-commander simply can’t be a good thing.

After making a name for himself with the critically acclaimed Phonogram series, Marvel thought that writer Kieron Gillen would be able to handle the launch of a new, ongoing series that has a lot of ties to it, and boy were they right. The juggling parallels between what Agent Brand must endure and the various plot threads that Gillen must keep going wasn’t lost on me; in fact, I’d say it only added to the story’s flow. Imagine Men In Black done up right.

So new that he could be considered a rookie, artist Steven Sanders is anything but. Sharp, clean pencils fill this issue from cover to cover, and while his interpretation of how Beast looks takes a little getting used to, ultimately it’s nit picking on an otherwise near-perfect comic. His rendition of Gyrich, especially, should be noted, as the character has never looked more dick-ish.

About as entertaining as an issue can be, this first issue manages to draw you in with quirky moments – Beast’s lovesick commentary, Lockheed’s binge drinking – and stunning revelations – hello, Kitty! – made this an incredibly easy selection for our Pull of the Week.

OTHER PULLS:

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This week I am personally fired up for the new Marvel series S.W.O.R.D. #1 by new Thor writer Kieron Gillen and Steven Sanders. The last time I saw Sanders he did the Five Fists of Science with Matt Fraction that feels like it was a century ago. The series is a spinoff from Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men where we follow Agent Brand, Beast and Lockheed through the cosmos.

Following that is the new Doctor Strange spinoff, Strange by Mark Waid and Emma Rios. Being a nut for all things Deadpool, the latest issue of Amazing Spider-Man guest stars the Merc with a Mouth. But that’s not really why I’m buying the issue, its ’cause the awesome Eric Canete draws the issue.

For Matt, this week we have a Doc Savage special guest starring Batman. Written by the brilliant Brian Azzarello and drawn by Phil Noto, the Man of Bronze encounters the Dark Knight in non-period specific Manhattan.

A personal favorite of mine is the new Escapists trade paperback. This is a fairly old story, written by Lost’s Brian K. Vaughan and based on a Michael Chabon character. The Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Chabon created a new character called the Escapist.

This comic is about the character being re-imagined by Cleveland indy comic creators.  Its a fun read about friendship and comic creator rights written by the superb Vaughan through Dark Horse comics. I can only give it my highest possible recommendation.

As always, we here at The Flickcast care about what you read, so leave us a comment and let us know what you liked/didn’t like from this week’s comics. For a more complete list of what comes out this week, check out the one at Midtown Comics.