by Sal Loria, Jan 7 2010 // 11:00 AM
Welcome to the first edition of The Pull List Comic Reviews for 2010! This week both Blackest Night and Siege took center stage with numerous titles, but don’t worry as the Caped Crusader and the Wall Crawler make appearances, too. As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.
PULL OF THE WEEK:
Blackest Night #6 [of 8]
DC Comics – $3.99 US
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Ivan Reis
Score: 9/10
When we last saw our heroes, well… let’s just say that some of them were no longer heroes. As black rings zoomed towards the Flash and Green Lantern, their friends and allies who had suddenly switched sides surrounded them. Superman. Wonder Woman. Green Arrow. And so on. With the universe slipping precariously into a never-ending pool of black, a new group of Lanterns have risen to the cause, and you won’t believe your eyes when you see who they are.
I’m starting to think that Geoff Johns should have been a major league pitcher as opposed to a writer, just with the sheer number of curve balls he’s thrown at readers throughout this series so far. Clearly outdoing himself, Johns put together a new group of Lanterns consisting of some of the most inspiring choices to date. The story beats keep pumping along, making the rapidly approaching ending all the more bittersweet.
Artist Ivan Reis continues to weave his magic in this series. Classic speedster moments? Check. Glorious double-page spreads? You bet. Jaw-dropping panels for significant moments? Of course! All this, and a slew of costume re-designs for the new Lanterns, just in case you didn’t know that Reis is drawing at a level that’s almost peerless. The art in this issue, and the series overall, can be summed up in one word: unparalleled.
The fifth installment of this mini-series received a Pull of the Week and a spot on the Best of 2009 list, so I wasn’t expecting an encore performance with this latest chapter. Shame on me. Both Johns and Reis raise the bar once again, and let the record show that, if this upward trend continues, I might not survive the series in its entirety. For sheer comic brilliance – and Lex Luthor! – this was easily the Pull of the Week.
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Posted in: Comic Reviews · Comics · Dark Horse Comics · DC · Marvel · Pull List
Tagged: Adriana Melo, Amazing Spider-Man, Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Jackpot, B.P.R.D. 1947, B.P.R.D.: King Of Fear, Batman Confidential, Bill Sienkiewicz, Blackest Night, Blackest Night: Wonder Woman, Brian Michael Bendis, Brian Reed, Chris Samnee, Dan DiDio, Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller, Front Line, Gail Simone, Geoff Johns, greg rucka, Guy Davis, House of M, Ivan Reis, J. Calafiore, John Arcudi, John Ostrander, Jonah Hex, Lobo: Highway to Hell, Marc Guggenheim, Mike Mignola, Nation X: X-Factor, Nicola Scott, Olivier Coipel, Peter David, Renato Arlem, Sam Kieth, Secret Six, Siege, Siege: Embedded, Suicide Squad, Utopia, Valentine De Landro, Weird Western Tales
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by Sal Loria, Dec 21 2009 // 11:00 AM
With 2009 coming to a close, the challenge was to pick and rank the 10 best comics from the entire year. I’ve estimated reading approximately 1,500+ issues over that time frame, so obviously it wasn’t the easiest task to complete. Still, after much deliberation, these are my picks for the 10 best comics of 2009.
1. Jonah Hex #50
DC Comics
Writers: Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti
Artist: Darwyn Cooke
Originally reviewed on December 3, 2009
Perfection. Defined as the highest degree of proficiency, skill or excellence, perfection is near impossible to achieve, especially when every comic ever printed is subjective in nature. You know, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and all that jazz. Still, when I thought about all the comics I’ve read this past year, this issue of Jonah Hex kept coming back to me. While not perfect (frankly, what is?), it’s pretty close.
A wonderful done-in-one tale following our “hero” as he diligently goes about his day job, in this specific case while hunting down 50 various bad guys who had it coming to them. A fine story on it’s own. Now add a dash of romance – or the bounty hunter’s version of it – to the mix, sprinkle in a little personal vengeance, and top it off with a jolting reminder of how cruel life can be, and you’re left with a portrait of a man who makes no excuses for who he is or what he does, life expectations be damned.
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Posted in: Best of 2009 · Comics · Dark Horse Comics · DC · Flickcast Presents · Marvel · Pull List · Vertigo
Tagged: Adam Kubert, Amanda Conner, Andy Diggle, Batman, batman and robin, Batman R.I.P., batwoman, Ben Caldwell, Best of 2009, Bing Cansino, Blackest Night, Brendan Fletcher, Brian Azzarello, Brian Stelfreeze, Civil War, Crisis On Infinite Earths, Cully Hamner, Dan DiDio, Daredevil, Dark Reign, Dark Reign - The List: Daredevil, Dark Reign - The List: Punisher, Dark Reign: The List - Amazing Spider-Man, Darwyn Cooke, Dave Bullock, Dave Gibbons, David Lapham, Deadman, detective comics, Eddie Berganza, Eduardo Risso, Fábio Moon, Fantastic Four, Final Crisis, Geoff Johns, Green Lantern, greg rucka, Ivan Reis, JH Williams III, Jimmy Palmiotti, Joe Kubert, Joe Quinones, John Arcudi, John Romita Jr., Jonah Hex, José Luis García-López, Joss Whedon, Justin Gray, Kamandi, Karl Kerschl, Karl Moline, Kurt Busiek, Kyle Baker, Lee Bermejo, Madrox, Marco Santucci, Mark Millar, Marvel 1985, Messiah CompleX, Metal Men, Mike Allred, Neil Gaiman, Old Man Logan, Paul Pope, Peter David, Question, rick remender, Roberto De La Torre, Ryan Sook, Sean Galloway, Secret Invasion, Sgt. Rock, Siege, Steve McNiven, Sugarshock, Superman, Teen Titans, The Road Warrior, Thelma & Louise, Vinton Heuck, Walt Simonson, Wednesday Comics, X-Factor, Young Liars
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by Sal Loria, Nov 26 2009 // 3:30 PM
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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Posted in: Comic Reviews · Comics · Dark Horse Comics · DC · Image Comics · Marvel · Pull List
Tagged: Angelo Torres, Archie, Blackest Night, Blackest Night: Superman, Brian Michael Bendis, Brian Reed, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Creepy, Dan Braun, Darker Image, Dave Sims, Derec Donovan, Doug Mahnke, Erik Larsen, Geoff Johns, Green Lantern, Greg Ruth, Image United, invincible iron man, Ivan Reis, James Robinson, Jason Shawn Alexander, Jim Valentino, Joe Bennett, Joe Harris, Joe R Lansdale, Joss Whedon, JT Krul, Justice League of America, Marc Silvestri, Mark Bagley, Matt Fraction, Michael Uslan, Mike Avon Oeming, Mike Baron, Mike McKone, Ms. Marvel, Nathan Fox, Powers, Rahsan Ekedal, Rob DiSalvo, Rob Liefeld, Robert Kirkman, Russ Heath, Salvador Larocca, Stan Goldberg, Teen Titans, The Blair Witch Project, Todd McFarlane, Whilce Portacio
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by David Press, Sep 17 2009 // 2:00 PM
Because we want to keep things fresh, we’ve decided to bring you an edition of The Pull List by guest reviewer Dave Press today. Keep it here tomorrow for another guest reviewer! –Ed
EX MACHINA #45
Rating: 7.5
My favorite series of the last couple of years is beginning to wind down and I’m getting quite sad about it. This issue picks up where we left off with New York City Mayor Mitchell Hundred discussing the effects of the previous arc and how Village Voice reporter Suzanne Padilla may be on to the White Box.
Our Mayor who can talk and control machines created The White Box around his election night. Padilla was convinced that it helped elect Hundred as Mayor. What happened was the White Box went off and implanted itself in Padilla’s brain, in a similar manner that the device that gave Hundred his powers.
Ex Machina is essentially The West Wing mixed in with some super heroics and tracks a retired super hero during his first and only term as New York City mayor. With five issues left, Padilla possessed by the White Box, she is slowly picking off members of Hundred’s cabinet. Who knows what she has planned or for that matter Vaughan.
The question we have now is what will Vaughan be doing after Ex Machina concludes? He’s left the writer’s room for Lost and his spec script, Roundtable, is a modern day re-imagining of the Arthur legend. To say the least his life as a writer is expanding and if he has any time for comics now post-Ex Machina I’ll be quite pleased.
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Posted in: Comic Reviews · Comics · DC · Pull List · Reviews
Tagged: Blackest Night, Ex-Machina, Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, John Cassaday, Planetary, Warren Ellis
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