Pull List Review (9/28/11 Comics)

Most of the comics from that week were DC’s new number ones and Travis & I reviewed them in the latest LBR podcast. To find out what I thought of those fourth week DCnU 52 comics*, have a listen.

Now on with the rest of the comics I read from that week.

FF #9: The moments in this comic just keep coming. After fellow villains turn on Dr. Doom, he triumphs and attacks Diablo, which prompts the Mad Thinker to wax a bit metatextual in that he tries to convince Doom to do what is unexpected, what is missing in the story, i.e., him being merciful, and the Mad Thinker says, “Shock the world, Victor. Shock the world.” To which Doom replies, “I think not,” as he blasts Diablo (and presumably the Mad Thinker). Later, I noticed that the alternate Reeds have various weapons, one of which is the Infinity Gauntlet and another has Rom’s blaster! Finally, one of the Reeds not only captures Doom, but humbles the dictator by literally collaring him under the threat of frying Doom’s brain if Doom does not help that Reed. Wow.

Mighty Thor #6: Well, at times, this was a fun ride. This is my last issue of this series, since I’d read that Marvel is bringing in a new Thunder God in this title, so I’m gone! While this storyline started out with a BANG, it ended in a much more subtle way, though, do we really need to have Silver Surfer trapped on Earth or is it Asgard? I’m not clear on where exactly the Surfer is stationed. Also, the bit involving the preacher becoming Galactus’ new herald seemed very fast in coming. I didn’t get the sense in the previous five issues that this character would want to become what he does here. Also, when did Silver Surfer become the uncaring character that he describes himself to be? Granted, I do not read a lot of Marvel titles and haven’t for many years, so maybe this depiction of the Surfer is currently accurate? It just felt like well-trodden ground to me. My final complaint involves the timeline in the last few pages. After the battle between Asgard and Galactus is averted, one of the next pages indicates the time being “Later”, yet Thor now has a full beard. So, either Thor’s beard grows really fast, or the timeline here is messed up. However, despite these small issues, I actually really enjoyed this title overall. It made me a fan of Matt Fraction’s writing, and the Olivier Coipel art was pretty good. I especially liked the characterization of Loki and his relationship with Thor. I think I’ll miss it.

New Avengers #16.1: You know, I used to really like Neal Adams’ art, but apparently not any more. This issue is even more poorly drawn than Adams’ work in Batman: Odyssey. In fact, my dislike of the art colors my overall impression of the issue. Anyway, this issue is just a set up of the return of the Dark Avengers arc that appears to be the next major storyline in this title. I almost dropped the title after hearing that Osborn and his team were coming back, though I thought Marvel and Bendis were allowing the Dark Avengers to take over the book again and I wanted nothing to do with that, but some solicitations I’d read indicated to me that my beloved New Avengers will still be a focal point of their book.

Sixth Gun #15: Talk about decompressed storytelling. Plot-wise, not much happens in this issue, but man, the Gord Cantrell part of the issue was C R E E P Y! In fact, some panels reminded me of the The Shining. And the final page with Becky and her dead father showing up was a nice cliff-hanger to get me wanting the next issue! Hmm, now that I think about it, ghosts are a connecting element between both mini-stories in this issue.