The Pull List: 19 July 2017, Part 2

Poe and fellow X-Wing pilot Snap head off to track down the traitorous Oddy Muva. Meanwhile Suralinda and Jess are sent in an old Y-Wing to undertake reconnaissance for the Resistance's propaganda war against the First Order. At the same time Commander Malarus resolves to hunt Poe down and stop his interference with First Order business once and for all.

There is a sense of story threads pulling together in this issue, which makes me wonder if Poe Dameron is streaking towards a conclusion some time in the next few months. It makes a lot of sense: The Last Jedi debuts in cinemas in December, bringing with it not only more on-screen action for Poe Dameron but also opening up further possibilities for tie-in comic books.

That sense of building towards a climax helps this issue a lot. It's an engaging read that juggles quite a lot of characters, and pushes them towards conflict in the next issue. Angel Unzueta's artwork is strong, and nicely coloured by Arif Prianto. This has been a relatively uneven series, but it does seem to be improving as it goes. (4/5)

Poe Dameron #17. Marvel. Written by Charles Soule. Art by Angel Unzueta. Colours by Arif Prianto.

Under the cut: reviews of Daredevil, Doctor Strange and Ms Marvel.

The Pull List: 19 July 2017, Part 1

The king is dead - or so the villainous Corum Rath believes. Instead the deposed King Arthur hides out in the depths of Atlantis, defending the city's poorest and most vulnerable from Rath's soldiers. Meanwhile Mera bombards the city from above in an attempt to break inside and rescue her lover.

This second issue of the now-monthly Aquaman comic is great. Sejic's artwork makes it a visually beautiful read, and Abnett's story has gracefully repositioned the series as a sort of underwater high fantasy. After making her post-Flashpoint debut last month, Dolphin gets a proper re-introduction. She seems a hugely promising character.

It is great to see Aquaman stretch into a fresh style and direction, particularly with such strong artwork on it at the moment. It deserves to be a huge success. (4/5)

Aquaman #26. DC Comics. Written by Dan Abnett. Art and colours by Stjepan Sejic.

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

Doctor Who: "The End of Tomorrow"

It is 12 December 1964, and time for the fourth part of "The Dalek Invasion of Earth".

Barbara (Jacqueline Hill) and Jenny (Ann Davies) attempt to flee London in a truck. Susan (Carole Ann Ford) and David (Peter Fraser) attempt the same, using the city's sewers as an escape route. In Bedfordshire, Ian (William Russell) and Larry (Graham Rigby) are trying to go back in the opposite direction, but have not counted on the monstrous Slyther that stands in their way.

To a large extent "The End of Tomorrow" is a typical mid-serial episode of Doctor Who, in which everybody is effectively running from one place to another. The episode cross-cuts between three storylines, all about escape and a hope to reunite as soon as possible. Thankfully there is more to see than just running around; there is plenty of solid character work to be found as well.

The Pull List: 12 July 2017, Part 2

It has been several years, but Marvel has finally made good on the promise at the end of their miniseries Spider-Men and finally started publishing the sequel. The original series featured Peter Parker following the villain Mysterio to an alternate universe where he was dead and teenager Miles Morales had taken his place. Now both Peter and Miles live in the same re-ordered reality, but the portal that opened for Peter has now opened once again.

This is top-notch superhero entertainment, with a witty, well-paced script by Brian Michael Bendis that adds ominous foreshadowing through flash-forwarding and which uses the earlier miniseries as a starting point without disenfranchising readers who didn't read it. At the same time Sara Pichelli and Justin Ponsor are doing some of the best art they have ever done with a Spider-Man book; for both it feels like they are charting into new stylistic territory. It looks phenomenal.

It is absolutely wonderful seeing the two Spider-Men interacting with one another and working together. This series is off to a great start. (5/5)

Spider-Men II. Marvel. Written by Brian Michael Bendis. Art by Sara Pichelli. Colours by Justin Ponsor.

Under the cut: reviews of Action Comics, Darth Vader, Doctor Aphra, and Hulk.

Doctor Who: "Vincent and the Doctor"

It is 5 June 2010, and time for another episode of Doctor Who.

When the Doctor (Matt Smith) and Amy (Karen Gillan) spy the image of a monster hiding in a Van Gogh painting, they travel back in time to 1890 Artes to question the man himself. They find Vincent Van Gogh (Tony Curran) living in fear of a creature that only he can see - and which is murdering the villagers each night.

When Steven Moffat assumed control of Doctor Who in 2010, one of the bigger surprises was in the names of some of the writers hired to contribute to Season 5. One was Simon Nye, creator of the sitcom Men Behaving Badly, who wrote the excellent "Amy's Choice". The other was Richard Curtis, then a popular screenwriter of romantic comedy films including Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love Actually. Curtis seemed an odd choice for a science fiction drama; indeed seven years after the fact he still does. The biggest surprise, however, is just how outstanding his one script for the series is.

The Pull List: 12 July 2017, Part 1

Batman's quest draws him closer to the mysterious metal that may hold the secret to the entire existence of superheroes. Back in the Batcave, Duke Thomas and Hal Jordan confront the Joker - who has been held captive there without anybody's knowledge.

This second prologue issue to the upcoming miniseries Metal is nowhere near as effective as the first. Where the first felt provocative and foreboding, the second feels off-base and awkward. The various artists jamming together also feel a lot more discordant this time around, suggest perhaps the labour would have been divided better giving each artist their own issue instead of getting them to each one all together.

There is some big and provocative hints thrown around regarding the origins of DC's pantheon of superheroes as well, with an admittedly quite clever new take on the concept of 'metahumans'. It even shows off its roots back in Scott Snyder's hugely successful Batman run. Altogether it's adding into something that is certainly ambitious in places but could quite easily collapse into hideous and self-indulgent mess. I have my fingers crossed that once Metal commences in August it will also settle down and prove a large-scale entertaining epic. (2/5)

Dark Days: The Casting #1. DC Comics. Written by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV. Art by Jim Lee, Andy Kubert, John Romita Jr, Scott Williams, Klaus Janson and Danny Miki. Colours by Alex Sinclair and Jeremiah Skipper.

Under the cut: reviews of Detective Comics, Dread Gods and Freeway Fighter.

The Pull List: 5 July 2017, Part 2

In Sacred Creatures, an unwitting university student gets dragged into a supernatural conflict at the behest of a mysterious and seemingly diabolical family of magically enhanced siblings. It takes its time in doing so too: this first issue is practically its own graphic novel at 66 pages of story, more than justifying its US$4.99 price tag. You're definitely getting value for money.

The art by Pablo Raimondi is detailed and enormously readable. The story, by Raimondi and Klaus Janson, is where the book struggles a little. It tells a reasonable enough story in many respects, but it is saddled by two core problems. First, it feels terribly out of date. Stories like this seemed very popular a decade ago, and to an extent it seems the book is simply retreading old ground.

Secondly it just feels fiendishly complicated. The book begins with an ominous but incomprehensible prologue, and then flashes back. Then a few pages later it flashes back again. Then it simply becomes a bit of a non-linear mess, so much so that for a few pages in the middle I became genuinely confused as to what was going on. It also introduces too many characters too quickly, making it difficult to engage with either the story or its relatively bland protagonist.

There is potential, but in all honesty I am not sure there is enough. Some story knots will need to get untied very cleanly in the second issue to make this a comic worth chasing down. (3/5)

Sacred Creatures #1. Image. Written by Pablo Raimondi and Klaus Janson. Art by Pablo Raimondi. Colours by Chris Chuckry.

Under the cut: reviews of Diablo House, Extremity, Giant Days, Rat Queens, Spider-Man and The Wicked + the Divine.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Dark Page"

It is 1 November 1993 and time for another episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett-Roddenberry) has returned to the Enterprise to help a race of psychics better learn verbal communication. When she collapses unconscious in the ship's arboretum, her daughter Deanna (Marina Sirtis) is forced to enter Lwaxana's dream-state to uncover the cause of her collapse.

The merest mention of Lwaxana Troi is usually enough to make me run for the hills shrieking. She is a complete tonal mis-match for Star Trek: The Next Generation, adding an unwanted sort of 'saucy' sex comedy banter to any episode that she inhabits. There have been some exceptions for sure, but not enough to stop that instinctive flinch the moment she appears on the screen. What a pleasant surprise, then, to discover that in her final episode of The Next Generation the characters get her best story yet - and arguably ever, if one includes her handful of Deep Space Nine appearances.