Welcome to another edition of The Pull List Comic Reviews! The latest mutant milestone issue gets top billing, Spidey winds up in the wrong sandbox and Guy Gardner sees a whole lot more than just red. As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

X-Factor #200
Marvel Comics – $4.99 US
Writer: Peter David
Artists: Bing Cansino, Marco Santucci, Karl Moline
Score: 9.5/10

X-Factor Investigations makes the move from Detroit to New York in hopes of wrangling some new clients of the super-hero variety, but when their first client winds up being Franklin and Valeria Richards – the children to Reed and Sue Richards of the Fantastic Four – the team realizes that all is not what it seems.

Long-time X-Factor scribe Peter David continues to mix jaw-dropping plot bombs with great characterizations and intelligent humor in this over-sized anniversary special. The mystery of the missing Invisible Woman, on it’s own, is a great story, but throw in Monet’s father being abducted by terrorists, Siryn’s shocking rendezvous with an old flame (hint: he’s nuts) and Layla Miller’s surprising allegiance to Latveria, and you’ve got one hell of a jump-on issue.

The art team of Bing Cansino and Marco Santucci do a great job of pacing this mammoth story, and their takes on the characters are both familiar and fresh. With a title that relies heavily on many speaking scenes, which should come as no surprise to current readers, their art is right on the money, but they also flex their proverbial muscle in the action scenes, especially where the Thing is involved.

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.