The Pull List: 14 February 2018, Part 2

It is not a surprise to see Grant Morrison's name on the cover of The Wild Hunt, alongside co-writers Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV and Joshua Williamson. This entire Metal tie-in positively screams Morrison, not simply because it's playing with a lot of his ideas - the Multiverse, inter-dimensional harmonic travel, and the like - but because structural it feels like a Morrison event book. It boasts a wide cast of second-string heroes (Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman are MIA), has a complex and jargon-filled story that is packed with offhand references, and scenes that are almost implied rather than played out. You definitely get your money's worth here, as long as you keep up with it.

There is always a certain disjointed quality when a book has multiple art teams on it, and despite three strong teams working here there don't precisely sew up together. It's up to the reader whether that's a big problem or a minor one.

The biggest criticism that can be levelled at this book is that it really deserves to be an issue of Dark Nights: Metal proper, as it tells a whole section of story that improves and illuminates the main narrative. A few too many readers will skip it, assuming it's unnecessary. I'm not sure that's the case. (4/5)

Dark Knights Rising: The Wild Hunt #1. DC Comics. Written by Scott Snyder, Grant Morrison, James Tynion IV, and Joshua Williamson. Art by Howard Porter, Jorge Jimenez, Dough Mahnke, and Jamie Mendoza. Colours by Hi-fi, Alejandro Sanchez, and Wil Quintana.

Under the cut: reviews of Action Comics, Doctor Strange, and Xena: Warrior Princess.

The Pull List: 29 November 2017

The latest movie property to be adapted into a comic book is John Wick, the 2014 action film directed by Chad Stahelski and David Leitch. Thanks to Dynamite Entertainment and writer Greg Pak, John Wick's ultra-violent gun-shooting adventures come to comic books on a monthly basis.

It's a wonderful concept to adapt, given Wick's stripped-back nature and reliance on near-endless, brutal gunfights. It is also heartening to see a talented writer like Greg Pak taking the reins. This first issue kicks off with Wick revisiting his childhood with lethal intent, and fills in some back story in the process.

Telling an origin story feels in some small part a betrayal of the films, since Wick's pre-existing reputation and anonymous history forms a fairly key part of his appeal. At the same time Giovanni Valletta's artwork does not seem dynamic and energised enough to capture the tone of the two John Wick films. There's promise in a John Wick comic book, but based on this first issue Dynamite is struggling to find it. (2/5)

John Wick #1. Dynamite. Written by Greg Pak. Art by Giovanni Valletta. Colours by David Curiel and Inlight Studios.

Under the cut: a bumper crop of reviews including Aquaman, Atomic Robo, Batman, Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter, Doctor Who: The 11th Doctor, Green Arrow, Poe Dameron, Sacred Creatures, Spy Seal, Star Trek: Boldly Go, and Star Trek: Discovery.

The Pull List: 22 November 2017, Part 1

Swordquest has been one of the big surprises of my comic-reading year: an adaptation of an Atari 2600 videogame that came from a right angle and told an unexpected and inventive story about a terminally ill gamer, an unfinished competition, and a planned heist at a retro-gaming convention. As it went on the book made a shift from realistic and light-hearted crime book into an actual fantasy, which I was prepared to run with because I'd enjoyed it all so much.

Sadly when the time comes to tie everything together in a final issue, Swordquest stumbles and falls. The art and colours by Ghost Writer X remain solid and enjoyable, but they work best with a relatively mundane, realistic setting, and don't do anywhere near as well with the fantasy elements. It is the script by Chad Bowers and Chris Sims that actually causes the book to collapse. Everything feels rushed, causing the issue to feel less like a conclusion and more like a set-up to a sequel miniseries or ongoing book. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

I'm sure some readers will enjoy the fanciful manner in which the book concludes. I found myself longing for the grounded tone of earlier issues. (2/5)

Swordquest #5. Dynamite. Written by Chad Bowers and Chris Sims. Art and colours by Ghost Writer X. Colour flats by Ellie Wright.

Under the cut: reviews of Batgirl, Giant Days and X-O Manowar.

The Pull List: 18 October 2017, Part 2

Four issues in, and Swordquest is really firming up as one of the most surprisingly good comic book miniseries of 2017. I find myself how things possibly worked out as well as they did. Dynamite, a publisher mainly responsible for remakes of old pulp characters like John Carter of Mars and Vampirella, picked up the rights to make comic books out of Atari videogames. I expected fairly tedious attempts to expand 8-bit arcade games into science fiction narratives. I didn't expect Swordquest.

Writers Chad Bowers and Chris Sims did the cleverest thing by noticing that the most interesting aspect of Swordquest was its real-life background. A four-game series, in which players who completed each game and solved its puzzles, could write into Atari and register for a special event. The best player at each game's event would win a special game-related prize. The final prize - a sword - was never given away, because Atari essentially collapsed before it could be awarded. It is that weird set-up and downfall that is powering this series, as a terminal ill ex-games player works to steal the never-awarded sword from a retro games expo. This issue things get a little weird, in the best possible fashion. The pseudonymous Ghostwriter X illustrates the book beautifully, with a very grounded, thickly inked style that add to its sense of real world, small-scale criminality.

That this series is not only readable but genuinely great is possibly the biggest surprise of my comic-reading year. (5/5)

Swordquest #4. Dynamite. Written by Chad Bowers and Chris Sims. Art and colours by Ghostwriter X.

Under the cut: reviews of Doctor Strange, Green Arrow, Poe Dameron and Super Sons.

The Pull List: 6 September 2017, Part 1

Penniless treasure hunter Luvander sets out from the city in search of hidden treasure and adventure, in this charmingly written and illustrated high fantasy comic. While Scales & Scoundrels will have its worked cut out for it to stand out among the growing number of fantasy comics on the market, writer Sebastian Girner and artist Galaad are off to a pretty sensational start.

The book benefits enormously from its whimsical tone, one that gives the story and characterisation a nice lift and also soaks through the wonderfully simple but evocative art and design. There's a sense of Boom's successful all-ages book Lumberjanes in the air that suits the material well and gives it a fresh and hugely entertaining new angle.

This is a book that is playing with genre stereotypes, but it does so energetically and knowingly. It's the latter that makes the difference. It also benefits from a great protagonist in Luvander, whose spiky, cynical wit is already establishing her as a great character. The plot of this first issue perhaps falls just a little bit short of fully satisfying - it is a little too open and unresolved - but as a complete package this looks like another great Image title to watch. (4/5)

Scales & Scoundrels #1. Image. Written by Sebastian Girner. Art and colours by Galaad.

Under the cut: reviews of Daredevil, Darth Vader, Giant Days, Green Arrow and Swordquest.

The Pull List: 2 August 2017, Part 2

What if all of the famous people who vanished over history did not simply get murdered or die in obscurity somewhere, but actually found themselves transported to another universe? That is the basic premise of Elsewhere, a new fantasy series by writer Jay Faerber (Copperhead), artist Sumeyye Kesgin and publisher Image Comics.

To begin with, the series introduces us to Amelia Earhart, famous American long-distance pilot whose plane vanished over the Pacific Ocean in July 1937. After being rescued from a tree by a pair of goblin-like rebels on the run from their totalitarian government, she goes looking for her co-pilot Fred.

Kesgin's artwork has a quite traditional sort of look: clean, bold and immediately readable. Faerber's script is where the book staggers a little: it's relatively early, so the story could go either way, but there really is not a huge amount of plot here and nothing really leaps out to feel inventive or especially attention-grabbing. The basic premise is a cool one, but the execution really does let it down just a little. (3/5)

Elsewhere #1. Image. Written by Jay Faerber. Art by Sumeyye Kesgin. Colours by Ron Riley.

Under the cut: reviews of Robotech, Spider-Man and Swordquest.

The Pull List: 21 June 2017, Part 2

Some days it seems like every media property not properly getting nailed down is being picked up and adapted into a comic book. Cartoons, old TV shows, movie franchises, and even toy lines are getting tidied up and re-developed as comics. Some have been great; the majority have been pretty ordinary, and occasionally downright awful.

When independent publisher Dynamite announced they would be producing a range of comic books based on old 1980s Atari videogames, I was immediately fairly cynical. It is ostensibly a ridiculous idea, given how simple and slight those old games were. In effect it seems little more than a branding exercise, using a name like Yar's Revenge or Centipede to attract readers of a certain age to check out an otherwise unrelated book on the comic store shelf.

Sword Quest, then, comes as a complete surprise. Rather than adapt the game itself - a simple fantasy game released over three instalments between 1982 and 1984 - writers Chad Bowers and Chris Sims have instead taken inspiration from the real-life competition that accompanied the original games' release. Players who solved the console games could write in to Atari and get shortlisted for a Sword Quest championship, the winner of whom would receive a one-off genuinely expensive jewel encrusted artefact based on the games' in-universe lore. When the fourth game in the series was cancelled the grand prize - a jeweled sword - was never actually awarded. This new comic miniseries sees one man attempt to steal it.

It is another heist comic, coming hot on the heels of the likes of 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank  and Night Owl Society, and to an extent it shares much of the DNA of those books. The artwork, by the pseudonymous Ghostwriter X, reflects that to a large degree, and the writing has a very down-to-earth and grounded quality - until the final page, at any rate. Some times a comic can really surprise you: Sword Quest is definitely one of those comics. (4/5)

Sword Quest #1. Dynamite. Written by Chad Bowers and Chris Sims. Art and colours by Ghostwriter X. Colour flats by Karl Fan.

Under the cut: reviews of All Star Batman, Darth Vader, Silver Surfer and Star Trek: Boldly Go.

The Pull List: 4 November 2015

This week Dynamite publish the first issue of their much-anticipated James Bond comic book, written by Warren Ellis with art by Jason Masters. It's a perfectly timed laugh, with Spectre unrolling into cinemas around the world over the next few weeks. What strikes me as unusual is that it seems to have taken this long for a proper James Bond comic book to exist at all. Sure there have been newspaper strips in the past, and a few miniseries adaptations of Roger Moore's films back in the 1970s and 1980s, but an original serialised comic book? I'm not sure there's ever been one before now. (Note: it turns out Dark Horse produced a few miniseries in the early 1990s.)

It's an odd issue, to be honest. Masters' artwork is great, and suits the material well with the sort of clean-line style I tend to prefer in comic books. Warren Ellis' script, however, seems to lean heavy on pastiche and stereotype, with Bond's own personality expressed in such an extreme fashion I felt inclined to check the cover to ensure I wasn't reading Archer instead. The action prologue is deftly handled. The subsequent scenes of Bond flirting with Moneypenny, getting a mission from M, and some equipment from Q, all feel remarkable old-fashioned and dreadfully creaky.

There's so much potential in a monthly James Bond comic book. The art is top-notch. The script needs a lot of work if it's going to stand out enough. One feels that in this case Ellis is taking the money and running. (3/5)

James Bond 007: Vargyr #1. Written by Warren Ellis. Art by Jason Masters. Colours by Guy Major.

Under the cut: reviews of two Doctor Whos, Detective Comics and Doctor Strange.

The Pull List: 15 August 2012

Before getting onto the comics I did buy this week, I do want to give a shout out to the most idiotic book published by a comics company this month. It's something that, with one tweak, I would have purchased without hesitation. As it stands, it's driving me up the wall.

I'm talking about DC's publication of Grant Morrison's The Invisibles in hardcover format. In one volume. That's right, 59 issues of the comic - the complete three-volume run - in one volume. More than 1,500 pages. How am I supposed to read that book? It's the size of a church Bible. You can't read it easily in bed, lying on the couch, on a train- I'm not sure you can read it anywhere other than at a desk or table like it's an university textbook.

I can't stand these ridiculous 1,000+ page omnibus editions that DC and Marvel keep releasing. They're too heavy, too unweildy, they look terrifyingly close to snapping their spines every time they're opened, and they look ridiculous on the shelf.

I'd buy a hardcover edition of The Invisibles if the 59 issues were split across, say, five volumes. I'm buy the absolute hell out of those books. You could put one of each of the five main characters on each cover. It would look great. The omnibus edition just looks ridiculous and unreadable. It's on sale from next Wednesday if you're completely insane.

Under the cut: Batman Beyond, Batwoman, Daredevil, Legion of Super-Heroes, The Massive, Pathfinder, Revival, Saga, The Shade, Wander: Olive Hopkins and the Ninth Kingdom and Wonder Woman.