The Pull List: 23 May 2018, Part 2

About a year after he started, Donny Cates' run as writer on Doctor Strange comes to a sudden and unwanted end. With sales continuing to decline across Marvel, desperate times have apparently called for panicky measures. For Doctor Strange that means abandoning its recent renumbering to align with its original run, and with only 10 more issues left before its 400th issue I fully anticipate that Mark Waid's incoming run will get launched again to meet it.

Still: issue #1 is still a few weeks away, and issue #390 is here as a welcome and rewarding epilogue to both the Cates and previous Aaron run. There is an unfinished conversation with companion Zelda to be had, and - in a flash of pure comic book brilliance - an unexpected encounter with Spider-Man.

Frazer Irving's art and colours are sublime and emotionally superb, but it's the weird interruption by Peter Parker that absolutely nails the issue. It's gut-bustingly funny stuff, including a two-page segue illustrated by Chip Zdarsky, and provides the perfect contrast to the more thoughful conversation in the rest of the book. This has been a fine run for Doctor Strange, and it's a shame to see it end. (5/5)

Doctor Strange #390. Marvel. Written by Donny Cates. Art and colours by Frazer Irving and Chip Zdarsky.

Under the cut: reviews of Delta 13, Justice League: No Justice, Poe Dameron, Shadowman, Super Sons, and X-O Manowar.

The Pull List: 23 May 2018, Part 1

I am an absolute sucker for space opera comics. Anything involving intergalactic empires, freedom fighters, alien species, laser gun fights, space battles - if it's in that general area, it will probably be in my wheelhouse. It is often great when a superhero comic starts to play around in that area too. I adored the "Planet Hulk" storyline in The Incredible Hulk, as well as the most recent volume of X-O Manowar, and one of the best monthly comics of DC's "New 52" initiative was Tom King's superb The Omega Men.

Add to that list Marvel's latest relaunch of Black Panther. It's set 2,000 years into the future. The Wakandan Empire stretches across huge tracts of space, enslaving other races and ruling with a violent and oppressive fist. Into the environment comes a new group of rebels and freedom fighters, styling themselves after heroes of Wakandan history and all dressing like Black Panthers.

It's a great idea, and feels like a genuinely fresh take for Marvel at a time when the publisher is really beginning struggle with its sales. Hopefully this new story will catch on, because it really feels like a model to open the Marvel Universe to a much wider range of stories. Ta-Nehisi Coates writes one hell of a first issue, and it's very effectively illustrated by Daniel Acuna. I'm hooked. (5/5)

Black Panther #1. Marvel. Written by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Art and colours by Daniel Acuna.

Under the cut: reviews of Detective Comics, Doctor Aphra, and The Terrifics.

Star Trek: Voyager: "Tuvix"

It is 6 May 1996, and time for another episode of Star Trek: Voyager.

A transporter accident sees Lt Tuvok (Tim Russ) and Neelix (Ethan Phillips) fused into one gestalt identity: a humanoid created from the fused dna of both men who elects to call himself Tuvix (Tom Wright). As the crew scramble to find a way of separating Tuvix back out into two people, Tuvix begins to immerse himself in his new life on Voyager.

What a hell of a rollercoaster this was. It begins with a terrible and rather tacky premise: the accident creating a 50/50 blend of Tuvok and Neelix, presenting aspects of both men in a very overt and two-dimensional fashion. It then evolves into a surprisingly sensitive and well thought-out drama about adjusting to loss and change. After that, it all wraps up with Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) committing a pre-meditated homicide with almost the entire crew sitting back acting as accessories to crime. From then, I suppose the audience is simply expected to move on without ever dwelling on the fact that the star of the show is an unrepentant murderer.

The Pull List: 16 May 2018, Part 3

Aisha is in hospital, still unconscious. A neighbour witnessed her push her future step-daughter and mother-in-law down a flight of stairs, something that Aisha's best friend Medina cannot believe. In the apartment building where the event allegedly occurred, something supernatural is growing in the corner of everyone's eyes.

We are at the halfway mark of the five-issue miniseries Infidel, and at this stage it seems a strong bet to be one of the best American comic books of 2018. This is a hugely effective horror story with very effective artwork by Aaron Campbell and colourist Jose Villarrubia.

Like the best horror, however, this feels like it's about something: Islamophobia is a major theme for Infidel, and the core of this issue is a confrontation between Medina and another resident in the apartment building who swears she saw Aisha commit the assault. The manner in which the conversation turns ugly is very believable, and adds a welcome layer on top of the growing supernatural elements. (4/5)

Infidel #3. Image. Written by Pornsak Pichetshote. Art by Aaron Campbell. Colours by Jose Villarrubia.

Under the cut: reviews of Aquaman, Batwoman, Usagi Yojimbo, and The Wild Storm.

Star Trek: Voyager: "The Thaw"

It's 29 April 1996, and time for another episode of Star Trek: Voyager.

Voyager detects signs of life beneath the surface of planet rendered lifeless by an ecological disaster. They find several humanoids alive inside life support pods, each with their mind wired into a collective virtual environment. When Lieutenant Torres (Roxann Dawson) and Ensign Kim (Garrett Wang) enter the environment to make contact, they find the humanoids trapped at the mercy of an insane artificially intelligent clown (Michael McKean) - and once they arrive, the clown won't let them leave.

"The Thaw" is one of those unexpected Star Trek episodes that seems dreadful at the beginning - a mad horror circus is the sort of thing The Next Generation would do in a holodeck-based episode - but which unexpectedly unfolds into some genuinely interesting and entertaining.

The Pull List: 16 May 2018, Part 2

There is likely to be a lot of fresh interest in Bloodshot over the next year or two, now that Vin Diesel has signed on to play Valiant's immortal soldier in a major feature film release. This latest issue - the ninth in the current volume - is an unexpected shift from the usual stories of a nanite-boosted super-soldier. Instead it's the story of his dog.

A scientist comes to the trenches of World War I to test his latest invention - one that just might save the war. It's undead dogs. Impervious to pain, without fear, and able to recover from any injury, they are to be tested in a charge against the Germans. It's a bleak but cleverly developed one-shot, with a script that tells a satisfying and emotionally effective story in just a handful of pages.

The real star is artist Renato Guedes, who gives the story a much-needed realist aesthetic, one coloured with suitable levels of blood and grime. It seals the deal on making Bloodshot: Salvation #9 a hugely satisfying experience. (4/5)

Bloodshot: Salvation #9. Valiant. Written by Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes. Art and colours by Renato Guedes.

Under the cut: reviews of Daredevil, Rat Queens, and The Wicked + the Divine.

The Pull List: 16 May 2018, Part 1

The new Avengers line-up converges as they fight the newly arrived Dark Celestials, and the villain behind the scenes reveals themselves. Jason Aaron and Ed McGuinness' fresh run of Marvel's lead team does pretty much what readers would expect: big-scale widescreen action featuring a range of popular characters.

I'm still not fully sold of McGuinness' art style, but this is a broadly entertaining story which will likely appeal a lot to readers that have been waiting for Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor to return to their historical seats at the centre of the team.

I am a little underwhelmed by Ghost Rider. The character works well enough in his own comic, but is a poor match for the bright, cinematic style of this book. It's also not the 1970s heavy metal styled Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider, but rather the fairly weird and unappealing  Robbie Reyes - who doesn't even ride a motorcycle.

That's a personal niggle, however: the bottom line is that The Avengers pretty much does what it says on the cover. It's a large-scale character-based action-adventure. If that's what you're after, that's definitely what you get. (3/5)

The Avengers #2. DC Comics. Written by Jason Aaron. Art by Ed McGuinness, Mark Morales, and Jay Leisten. Colours by David Curiel.

Under the cut: reviews of Batman, Justice League: No Justice, and Superman Special.

The Angriest: May 2018 in review

A review of Star Trek: The Next Generation's penultimate episode "Preemptive Strike" was the most-read post on The Angriest last month. Other popular posts included a review of the first hour playing Kirby's Epic Yarn on the Nintendo Wii, and a bunch of comic book reviews. Over at FictionMachine, the most popular new reviews were for Solo: A Star Wars Story, Deadpool 2, and a feature essay on Tomorrow Never Dies.

All up, May 2018's activities involved one film essay, eight reviews of new or festival films, six reviews of older films, four TV reviews, one videogame review, and short reviews of 40 comic books. A full index of May's posts is included below.