Pull List 101: September 12, 2012

With my admittedly harsh comments yesterday regarding the recent output of the comic industry's Big Two publishers I should probably clarify exactly what it is I am reading. You might be surprised to find my LCBS pull list is nearly half what I so offhandedly referred to as New 52 fluff. While my opinion of DC's continuity relaunch is mixed at best, its probably left to a blog post all its own. Suffice it to say, there are some great comics to be found among the editorial muck.

On the flip-side, I have exactly two Marvel titles reserved in paper copy. This can fluctuate from week-to-week depending on rotating creative teams and might change entirely with the coming Marvel New 22NOW! relaunch starting this October. Secret Avengers, Uncanny X-Men, and Wolverine & the X-Men were solid reads until they took on the role of token summer event tie-ins, the latter looking to be the first AVX victim to be released from the asylum with this week's issue. *psst* Chris Bachalo's back on art; can't miss it.

My love of Rob Liefeld's relaunched and completely re-purposed Prophet and Glory kill me a little inside with each recurring issue. Brandon Graham (King City, Multiple Warheads) and crew have taken the former comic atrocity and re-imagined it into a Heavy Metal romp—an intergalactic barbaric adventure through the artistic lens of three of the industry's best. It could only be topped by Brian K. Vaughn's (Y: the Last Man, Ex Machina) adult Star Wars space saga Saga, which is ironic given its childhood inspiration and children's book illustrated narrative style.

Having been raised on pioneer indie publishers Image Comics and Dark Horse, Sam Keith's psychological head-fuck the Maxx and Mike Mignola's brimstone bruiser Hellboy were my two watershed influences. It only makes sense I would seek out similarly unique and non-editorially shackled books. Luckily Image has become an increasingly popular presence in the industry—arguably on the back of the Walking Dead's success—and has been pumping out creator owneds and this December sees the return of Mignola on story and art with Hellboy In Hell. All I asked was a jumping on point on one or two indie titles and I've been given a cornucopia.

Today being New Comic Day, as Big Bang Theory has attempted to catch-phrase into popularity, I should probably list today's purchases and downloads. Reviews/comments/vague oversight to come, possibly maybe. Check it:

Purchase: Wolverine & the X-Men #16, Batman #0, the Victories #2, Uncanny X-Force #31, the Manhattan Projects #6

Download: AVX #11, Uncanny X-Men #18, Batman & Robin #0, X-Treme X-Men #3, Creep #1

Tomorrow, some music news: the passing of an indie label great, and an update on colossus fave Black Moth Super Rainbow. Lates.

THIS WEEK IN PANELS: March 7, 2012

THIS WEEK IN PANELS features the best in comic book panels each week. No criteria, no rhyme, no reason. Excelsior! (Click pictures to embiggen)

Swamp Thing #7 by Scott Snyder & Yanick Paquette; DC 2012

Snyder and crew absolutely killed it this week in Swamp Thing. Paquette's art here is the best we've ever seen, its beautiful and gruesome (that child's head on the Rot's abomination) and minutely detailed in all of the Green fauna: the sunflower in panel border bloom, Swampy's cabbage coccoon, the psychedelic haze, leaves, and distortion of the Rot borders. J.H. Williams III better come back from his break on Batwoman with a vengeance because Paquette's progressive page designs are giving him a serious run.

Oh, and did I mention Swampy? This is the issue we've all been waiting for. Although I could have posted any damn panel here there was only ever one. The beast is back.

THIS WEEK IN PANELS: Feb. 29, 2012

THIS WEEK IN PANELS features the best in comic book panels each week. No criteria, no rhyme, no reason. Excelsior! (Click pictures to embiggen)

Wednesday I tweeted a lack of variety among new titles this week and indicated I may feature some titles I was late to the draw on from past weeks. Rather than backtrack, I'm going to feature more than one panel of this week's comics

So, with only three titles what say we blow our load right off the bat. Spoiler alert, an' all 'at.

Venom #13.4 by Rick Remender, et al, & Lan Medina; Marvel 2012

Having just plowed through a stack of Ghost Rider comics from my childhood, the final page of part four -- no, wait... five? Can we just agree this point system is ridiculous? -- is every aggressive, adolescent, comic geek's wet dream. All that amalgamation of Red Hulk, Venom, and Ghost Rider up there needs is a set of adamantium claws and this would be a million-selling title for Marvel each month in 1996.

THIS WEEK IN PANELS: Feb. 22, 2012

THIS WEEK IN PANELS showcases our favorite comic book panels each week. No criteria, no rhyme, no reason. Excelsior! (Click pictures to embiggen)

The theme this week seems to be superhero team dynamics. And, go:

Secret Avengers #23 by Rick Remender & Gabriel Hardman; Marvel 2012

Secret Avengers has Hawkeye on the verge of a breakdown, unable to manage his new team and clearly opposed to Captain America's newly appointed recruit. Remender does a great job of establishing a new villain in The Father who threatens the creation of a new species homo synthezoidus -- superior even to the homo superior mutant -- and for making Ant-Man a total bad-ass, even if he had to kill him to do so.

THIS WEEK IN PANELS: Feb. 8, 2012

THIS WEEK IN PANELS showcases our favorite comic book panels each week. No criteria, no rhyme, no reason. Excelsior! (Click pictures to embiggen)

A common theme across Marvel Comics this week seems to be economic and civil unrest. To quote the late, great comedian Bill Hicks, they must be "going for the righteous indignation dollar. That's a big dollar. A lot of people are feeling that indignation. We've done research -- huge market."

First, Sgt. Nick Fury lays into a couple "candy-ass pogues" over the handling of the UC Davis protestors and more in the finale to what can and should be considered the equivalent to Morrison and Quitely's All-Star Superman -- the quintessential continuity-free Punisher story:

PunisherMAX #22 by Jason Aaron & Steve Dillon; Marvel 2012

Then the England riots in Secret Avengers and general economic woes (albeit of the supernatural variety) in part 2 of the "Circle of Four" storyline in Venom: