When it comes to the Terminator mythology, I often wonder if the War Against the Machines is best left unexplored. I mean, let’s be honest — it’s the glimpses of grilled rats and a desperate humanity that made it so frightening. Once Terminator: Salvation and Fox’s The Sarah Connor Chronicles spent a lot of time in the Can’t-Really-Be-Changed future, it became rather boring.

However, I think if you’re going to explore that bleak future, a Dark Horse series is the place to do it.  As you may have heard already, Zack Whedon has been given the enviable task of penning a new series that will explore the life and times of Kyle Reese. Before Reese was sent to 1984 to save Sarah Connor and inadvertently fathered John, he was just your average soldier. Whedon’s six issue series aims to bring him to life, and describe just what it’s like to live under the robotic regime.

Whedon is joined by some top-notch artists. The new “Terminator” series will be drawn by Andy MacDonald, who you’ll recognize from NYC Mech, Punisher War Journal. If you’ve read NYC Mech, you should be pretty excited as he’s really the man for Skynet’s rubble. But if you prefer to judge a comic book by its cover, you’ll undoubtedly be pulling these, as the covers will be done by Y: The Last Man’s Massimo Carnevale

The first issue will be on shelves by March 2010. Even though my interest in the Terminator franchise has really cooled, I’d be interested in picking this up.  2 hours of raging against the machines and scrounging for food is a bit much, but 6 issues strung over a period of months? That’s a dystopia I can invest in.

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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