The Pull List: 30 May 2018, Part 2

Senior high schooler Julia Malliari gets dragged out to a rock concert by a girl named Tabitha - only to discover that Tabitha is the band's drummer. When Tabitha breaks with that band, she and Julia decide to form one of their own.

I have quite a soft spot for Black Mask, an independent publisher who seem prepared to take a punt on early career writers and artists and give them a major career break. It's a strategy that can lead to mixed results, but to the credit their books are always varied and interesting.

We Are the Danger comes from Fabian Lelay (Jade Street Protection Services) and is an engaging but superficial first issue. It certainly tells an amiable story, but beat by beat it feels too derivative to make a proper impact. Anybody who has read IDW's Jem and the Holograms revival will be on overly familiar territory. It is also annoyingly superficial: the potential for a proper indie rock comic series is huge, but so far Lelay simply isn't capturing it. Future issues may expand or change the story direction, but for now this is a little too unremarkable to get worked up over. Lelay's artwork still struggles a little as well, although Claudia Aguirre's colours bring it capably over the line. If you're after a pleasant comic book with female leads, check it out - but keep your expectations measured. (3/5)

We Are the Danger #1. Black Mask. Story and art by Fabian Lelay. Colours by Claudia Aguirre.

Under the cut: reviews of The Crow: Memento Mori, Doomsday Clock, Green Arrow, Harbinger Wars, and Vs.

The Pull List: 6 September 2017, Part 2

Is there a comic book equivalent to cinema's "mumblecore" movement? The sort of shoe-gazing, low key conversational works that do not feel a need to have an urgent plot, and spend more time on introspection that traditional storytelling? Whatever that term is - and we may as well borrow mumblecore for convenience's sake - it applies very firmly to Sophie Yanow's What is a Glacier?

This autobiographical one-shot depicts a vacation to Iceland with a friend, and a bad romantic break-up. Yanow's artwork is almost gestural. Everything conforms to a simple six-panel grid in black and white. Detailed art is not the focus here, however. Instead it is a simple tool to express a rather effective exploration of anxiety.

The narrative is not clearly structured. As I alluded to above, it really is an introspective meander across a story rather than a tightly plotted drama. It is curiously effective: a simple way Yanow has drawn a line here, a description of being heartbroken there.

This is not the greatest comic of its type, but it is a good and effective one. Fans of this kind of comic - and you can probably work out if that's you from the cover art alone - will get a bunch out of this. Superhero book lovers may find it a challenge. (4/5)

What is a Glacier? Retrofit/Big Planet Comics. Story and art by Sophie Yanow.

Under the cut: reviews of Doom Patrol, 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank, Superman, Usagi Yojimbo and The Wicked + the Divine.

The Pull List: 17 May 2017, Part 2

Paige continues her attempt to stop her father from participating in a bank robbery, while her friends abandon her for their own safety. 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank is a masterful miniseries from Matthew Rosenberg, Tyler Boss and Clare Dezutti: masterful because the dialogue sparkles, masterful because the art is engaging and effective, and masterful because this isn't the sort of story we often get in comic book form.

It strikes me as inevitable that someone is going to turn this series into a feature film, because while it works beautifully as a comic book it contains the perfect ingredients to make a fantastic movie as well. That film will potentially become a moderate hit and a cult favourite, and if you act now you can claim you knew it back when it was an independent comic book.

The structure is great. The use of fantasy sequences feels pitch-perfect. The characters are immediately recognisable from anybody's childhood. This is a stunning miniseries that is worthy of a much wider audience than the one that it is getting. (5/5)

4 Kids Walk Into a Bank #4. Black Mask. Written by Matthew Rosenberg. Art by Tyler Boss and Clare Dezutti.

Under the cut: reviews of Aquaman, Batman, and Green Arrow.

The Pull List: 22 February 2017, Part 3

Sumesh and Nat are two hugh schoolers raiding abandoned technology parks for parts, in order to build a time machine. That seems to be basic premise of Quantum Teens Are Go, a marvellously energetic new comic book from Magdalene Visaggio and Eryk Donovan. There is plenty to recommend here, including the loose, agile art style and warm colours, the swiftly moving storyline, and perhaps most intriguingly of all its two distinctive protagonists.

Representation matters, and so I'm really happy to see this book not only focus on a transgendered teenage girl and her Indian boyfriend but treat it as something relatively commonplace. There's a short dialogue exchange between Nat and her mother about her transition, but that's about it. Beyond that the characters are what they, and no one seems that concerned. I like that.

Black Mask Studios are setting up quite a run of enthusiastic, original comic books. Some of them feel a little inexperienced, but I suspect that is because in many cases they are. This publisher seems to be rapidly turning into a showcase for promising early career writers and artists. This title in particular is off to an entertaining start.

Quantum Teens Are Go #1. Black Mask. Written by Magdalene Visaggio. Art by Eryk Donovan. Colours by Claudia Aguirre.

Under the cut: reviews of Detective Comics, Hulk and Justice League of America.

The Pull List: 21 December 2016, Part 2

This week DC Comics launched its first post-Rebirth event series. In Justice League vs Suicide Squad, Batman brings information to the Justice League that senior US government operative Amanda Waller is running a covert strike team comprising incarcerated supervillains. In response the League sets out to shut the Squad down. When the League arrives, Waller gives her unwilling criminal soldiers an ultimatum: take down the Justice League or die. Meanwhile a third party is secretly assembling his own super-villain team.

It is such a ridiculously simple set-up, and yet it works so much better than this sort of "versus" storyline usually does. The typical problem, in say Avengers vs X-Men or Justice League vs Teen Titans - or even Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, is that the writer has to overcome the question of why two well-meaning, good-hearted groups or individuals would want to try and kill each other. Here it immediately makes sense: the League want to take down the Squad because the Squad comprises actual violent criminals. In return the Squad are forced to take down to League (or at least try) because Waller will kill them if they do not. It's a perfect set-up, and this issue does a great job of setting the conflict up.

Meanwhile a subplot sets up a more complex storyline that will hopefully sustain this miniseries over six issues. It features the return of a character I think for the first time since the New 52 started, and it's interesting to see which of the two angles on the character DC has chosen to take. Joshua Williamson writes a strong, fast-paced script here, and Jason Fabok's artwork is - as it usually is - excellent. (4/5)

Justice League vs Suicide Squad #1. DC Comics. Written by Joshua Williamson. Art by Jason Fabok. Colours by Alex Sinclair.

Under the cut: reviews of Doctor Aphra, Doctor Who, 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank, Green Arrow, Joyride and Lake of Fire.

The Pull List: 28 September 2016, Part 1

Southern Cross is an exceptional science fiction horror series that I honestly thought was a six-issue miniseries with a bleak and abrupt ending, until an unexpected seventh issue popped onto my pull list. Those first six issues followed Alex Braithe, a woman onboard the spaceship Southern Cross on her way to Titan to investigate her sister's murder. Things did not go well, and the Southern Cross eventually vanished without a trace. Now one survivor has reached Titan in an escape pod, and the authorities there have questions for him.

There's a nice shift in this issue: new story arc, new location, and a new viewpoint character: Nathan Carter, a manager on a huge corporate mining operation on Titan. There was already a sense of the Alien franchise about the first six issues, and that sense doesn't dissipate here. Alien 3 seems an enormous influence on the aesthetic of the Romulus Rig, and artist Andy Belanger does a great job of reflecting its grimy aesthetic and its enormous scale.

I was slightly surprised to see Southern Cross continue but I am enormously happy that it has. This is smart, bleak, moody science fiction and boasts great characters, dialogue and brilliant visual storytelling. Writer Becky Cloonan is just getting better and better. In a growing range of Image science fiction books, Southern Cross remains one of the best. (5/5)

Southern Cross #7. Image. Written by Becky Cloonan. Art by Andy Belanger. Colours by Lee Loughridge.

Under the cut: reviews of Kim & Kim, Ms Marvel, and Star Trek: Waypoint.

The Pull List: 7 September 2016, Part 2

There is a beautiful touch made in the first two pages of Revival #42. They deliberately echo the first two pages of Revival #1. It's the same town, the same signs, the same forest path - only in the first issue they were charming small-town Americana and in the forty-second they are an apocalyptic nightmare. Building boarded up, the burning wreckage of a helicopter, and spectral creatures marauding the first path.

We are now well into the final act of Tim Seeley and Mike Norton's self-proclaimed 'rural noir', which means that everything has effectively gone to hell and all hope seems lost. The military seems set to simply execute an entire quarantined town full of people rather than risk letting the revived and the ghosts escape to the rest of the country. The atmosphere is palpable, and thanks to the long burn of this series it is emotionally well earned. As a special bonus this issue, one of the longest-running questions hanging over the series finally gets partly answered: we now know who murdered Em Cypress, now all that's left is the why.

Revival is a great series, and has been an absolute highlight of the Image Comics roster over the past four years. It's going to leave quite a hole in the schedule when it's gone. (5/5)

Revival #42. Image. Written by Tim Seeley. Art by Mike Norton.

Under the cut: reviews of Bounty, The Fuse, and Kim & Kim.

The Pull List: 6 July 2016, Part 3

Black Mask Studios are really going all out in launching new books at the moment. Their latest new title is Kim & Kim, from Mags Visaggio and Eva Cabrera. It follows two bounty hunters, Kimiko Quatro and Kimber Fantzler, as they hunt down criminals on the planet Vessus Secundo. It's a bizarre coincidence to see this book get released this of all weeks, since its release coincides with that of the very similar Bounty over at Dark Horse Comics.

Of the two, I think I prefer Kim & Kim. It has a much breezier tone to it, and a more relaxed kind of humour. The characters immediately seem more likeable. Visaggio's script also throws around a lot of background detail, that helps to quickly paint together an expansive fictional universe in which the story can take place.

That said, Eva Cabrera's artwork feels relatively inexperienced and below par. It is a similar problem I found with Black Mask's other recent launch, Jade Street Protection Services, but in this case the drawbacks of the art are well compensated by Claudia Aguirre's rich colours. If you ever wanted a good example of how strong colours can lift artwork, Kim & Kim seems like a great example. This is a very promising first issue, and I am keen to see more. (4/5)

Kim & Kim #1. Black Mask Studios. Written by Mags Visaggio. Art by Eva Cabrera. Colours by Claudia Aguirre.

Under the cut: reviews of The Fuse, Giant Days, Revival, The Sheriff of Babylon and Silver Surfer.

The Pull List: 29 June 2016

Let's talk about Spider-Man. Since its relaunch five issues ago it has focused on Miles Morales, who was the Spider-Man of Marvel's Ultimate Universe before they destroyed it as part of their Secret War event. I have a lot of affection for Miles. He is distinctive, goodhearted, fallible and constantly out of his depth. He's been written by Brian Michael Bendis ever since Bendis created the character, and he has benefited enormously from Bendis' keen ear for dialogue and characterisation. Miles has also received some outstanding artwork as well, with this current run being illustrated by Ultimate Spider-Man favourite Sara Pichelli.

Miles Morales has a problem though, and it is a problem shared by many of his Marvel Comics stablemates. It is event miniseries. They come along every few months, and the majority of Marvel's titles slavishly tie into them, and they throw up, switch and change around the status quo every time. More often than not they lead to half of the regular monthlies being cancelled and replaced with new editions. It's incredibly frustrating, because it not only interrupts the momentum of books like Spider-Man it often closes off intriguing story possibilities. Comic books are fighting a constant war of attrition: new titles are published every week, and old titles as a rule lose readers every month. On the one hand constantly rejigging and relaunching books seems like a smart idea, because it is constantly giving new readers an opportunity to jump onboard. At the same time it is also giving existing readers constantly excuses to jump off. This sense of what I'll call "volume fatigue" has already led to me dropping Thor. I'll probably catch up some day via collected editions. I'm pretty close to dropping Spider-Man as well, because while this issue was entertaining - Black Cat has Miles kidnapped, while Ganke further befriends the X-Men's Goldball - it ends with a proud announcement that next issue drops everything to tie into Civil War II.

I read superhero comics because I adore serialised storytelling. The more Marvel disrupts and interferes with that serial narrative, the less engaged with the book I become. It's a shame. This is a really entertaining book when Marvel aren't interrupting it. (4/5)

Marvel. Spider-Man #5. Written by Brian Michael Bendis. Art by Sara Pichelli.

Under the cut: Darth Vader, 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank, Jade Street Protection Services, 3 Devils, and X-O Manowar.

The Pull List: 27 April 2016, Part 2

Black Mask Studios is an independent comic publisher that has already published a bunch of great comics, but they have really hit the ball out of the park with their latest five-issue miniseries 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank.

Daniel, Pat, Walter and Paige are four twelve year-old kids who suffer the usual issues that twelve year-olds face - until a group of suspicious gangsters turn up at Paige's house looking for her father. From there it's an odd combination of The Goonies and a British crime flick, as Paige and her friends follow and investigate these unusual, dangerous men.

There's not a thing about this comic that is not perfectly pitched. The tone is great, the dialogue is tightly written and memorable, the art and panel layouts are bold and dense. There's a lot of story packed into 28 pages, which is exactly the sort of thing I like in a comic book. There's already been a lot of critical buzz around this series; hopefully it's profile will boost Black Mask's titles in general. They deserve the attention.

4 Kids Walk Into a Bank #1. Black Mask Studios. Written by Matthew Rosenberg. Art by Tyler Boss and Clare Dezutti.

Under the cut: reviews of Batman, Ms Marvel and We Are Robin.

The Pull List: 10 June 2015, Part II

When DC Comics launched their New 52 initiative, they clawed a lot of characters back from self-contained DC Vertigo versions and properly into the DC Universe. In the case of Animal Man and Swamp Thing this wasn't necessarily a bad thing: both characters had been well-exploited as mature-reader titles and were effectively lying fallow. In the case of Hellblazer, and its dodgy magician protagonist John Constantine, the shift was more contentious. The change meant not only cancelling Vertigo's longest-running monthly title, it also meant peeling off the less savoury parts of John's character, making him more palatable for a mainstream readership, and shoe-horning him into adventures with the Justice League.

His New 52 solo title, Constantine, was not very good. This DC You version, titled Constantine: The Hellblazer, is a hell of a lot better. Old school readers of the Vertigo Hellblazer may find this first issue a little too run-of-the-mill: it's got demons hiding in plain sight, John strutting around smoking cigarettes and being a cocky asshole, and - crucially - John being an untrustworthy bastard as a core component of the plot. Put simply, this may not be Constantine anywhere close to his best, but he's closer than he's been since his Vertigo series was cancelled. This is a good thing.

Ming Doyle and James Tynion IV clearly know and love the character, and they give him a firm foundation here. There's some rather striking panel layouts as well, making this a more inventive read that you'd normally get from a DC book. It's also definitely got an edge to it: it's not just the smoking and drinking, it's the foul language, the blood, the horror, and the sex. It's all marvellously illustrated by Riley Rossmo, who's a sensational artist well matched to this kind of material. His Constantine is perhaps a little thinner and younger than one might expect, but it's a new look that works well.

Old readers: this feels like the character's back on track. New readers: this is a good example of what the character is supposed to be like. (4/5)

DC Comics. Written by Ming Doyle and James Tynion IV. Art by Riley Rossmo. Colours by Ivan Plascensia.

Under the cut: reviews of Disciples, Gotham Academy, Silver Surfer and Ultimate End.