The Pull List: 2 December 2015, Part I

Tom King appears to be one of big new stars among DC's writers. Omega Men, while not a strong seller, has been very well received by the critics, and he's been put in charge of writing their big new Batman crossover "Robin War" - the first issue of which is reviewed below. He also has a new eight-part miniseries launching this week from DC Vertigo: Sheriff of Babylon. The comic is set in 2004 and follows three disparate characters - Christopher, Nassir and Sofia - in three separate incidents across Baghdad. All three involve someone being shot and murdered, and it seems very likely that all three are connected.

This is an impeccably written crime drama with a post-war setting. The narrative is beautifully structured, with deliberate echoes from one plot thread to the other. There is a beautiful sense of time and place to the comic, and realistic characters showing both variety and depth. It does precisely what a first issue is supposed to do: hook in the reader, introduce the characters, and set up the narrative. I'm not surprised King's name is popping up everywhere at the moment. He's enormously talented.

The artwork by Mitch Gerads is well suited, reminding me quite a lot of Garry Brown's excellent work on The Massive a year or so ago. It's realistic, nicely gritty, and coloured in a way that makes the whole book look sun-bleached.

People often argue that Vertigo is a dying imprint, with its best work behind it. I've probably been guilty of saying that myself. Books like this prove us all wrong. It's fantastic. (5/5)

DC Vertigo. Written by Tom King. Art and colours by Mitch Gerads.

Under the cut: reviews of Magic Whistle, Robin War and Star Wars.