Ok, this is getting embarrassing. There's only so many weeks I can get away with having a mostly-Marvel pull list before it starts to look like I'm a massive Marvel stan (a term I hate and immediately regret using). Don't get me wrong, I obviously really like Marvel, but my Marvel-heavy pull lists are more of a comment on the current state of the comics industry than my personal taste. Go to any twitter page/message board/Reddit sub, you'll see a surprising amount of comic book fans reporting confusing and lazy editing, writing, and events at DC Comics in the past year or so. I'm sad to say it's a pattern I noticed as well, and the reason I only have a handful of DC books on my subscription list at all. And, of those, they're almost entirely Black Label books--the publishing house under DC where they put all their out-of-canon hero stories and non-cape comics. For these reasons, I've been working on adding more independent publisher content to by subscription list. There's a lot of new indie books starting in 2020, so now is the perfect tie to spread my comic-reading wings. And, if you've been keeping up, none of this is news. These are trends I've been writing about for months now, and it's only getting more obvious. Publishing giant disappointments aside, there's always amazing comics still coming out. INCLUDING some great DC books ;). Continue reading to see what I have this week! Being the smallest portion of my pull list, I guess I'll start with Indie books again this week.
I have one indie book this week, which is Vampirella/Red Sonja #5 from Dynamite. The past two issues of this series were, for lack of a better term, filler. Actually, scratch that. Backstory is definitely a better term for it. Either way, these past two issues gave us some insight into these two ladies, and the steps that brought them to their current situation. As this issue picks up the story again, here's where we were at: Vampi went on a search for mysterious disappearing people in the mountains and found Sonja, transported to our dimension and time by a strange witch's amulet. Together, they find the answer to the missing people, but only just before being magically transported to--who knows? Now, it's a new time and place, and our heroines are reunited. I can't wait to see what new shenanigans they get up to, what problems they'll have to work to get out of, and of course the burgers they will eat along the way! While I only have three books total from DC Comics this week, it's a surprisingly feminist load from the notoriously frigid-white-male publisher. First up, Catwoman #20! It's been a long, strange, and sometimes confusing road, but Joelle Jones has been back as head of the series again for a while, so things are straightening out. If there's one thing that will kill the readability of any comic series, it's constantly changing creative teams. These days, Selina's solo story-line is still working on catching up the the end of Tom King's Batman run, so that goes back to the "off" editing at DC lately. Trouble has been following the Cat all over Villa Hermosa, and now it's taking aim at her friends. Only a few more issues in this series, which ends right on the 80th anniversary of Catwoman herself! The last issue of Jody Houser's Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy arrives this week! I've been enjoying this series so much, because I have strong opinions on what Ivy should be. In the end of tom King's Heroes in Crisis, Ivy was reborn as a being of the Green--the intertwined system of planetary fauna that all plant life on Earth is connected through (think: Swamp Thing). This series is the fallout of that massive personal change, as well as Harley trying to prove herself as a hero after being accused of series and despicable crimes in Heroes in Crisis. This final issue boasts two things: the reveal of Poison Ivy's secret, and Harley's test of their friendship. I'm honestly hoping Pamela Isley is gone, and Ivy remains as protector and voice for the Green, as Swamp thing once did. How will this affect Harley? knowing her best friend is virtually gone won't be easy to face. Are one of the two facing "good", and one "evil"? With Harley on this trip for being a hero for good, has Ivy really had a chance to voice her opinion? Or will Ivy become a problem for her new do-good-er pal? The character of Pamela Isley has so much potential, and I'm hoping this series finishes by giving her a wide open door directly to her own solo series. And don't miss Mark Brooks' dual variant covers! Following the trend of Harley Quinn, mt third and final pull from DC this week is a Black Label title, Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey. This is incredibly appropriate, as I just saw the film by the same title on Saturday (I loved it. more on that to come)! This series is written by Amanda Palmer and Jimmy Palmiotti (who happen to be married)--the team who first set Harley Quinn on her road to current glory. Without this team and their work with the character, we NEVER would have gotten the Birds of Prey movie. So, here is their follow-up the their original Harley Quinn run.Harley is back in Gotham after breaking up with the Joker, and, much like the film counterpart, most of Gotham wants her dead. The Birds of Prey are here to protect here! I can't wait to read this series after seeing the film,. I don't expect the two to be the same at all, because of the obvious creative changes DC made in the film, but it's bound to have a similar feel. This will also be a magazine format comic series, which means it's BIGGER and badder! Over at the Marvel Mutant Division ( I made that up), there are 3 new X-Books this week. I think it's starting to be a time where we get a better view at what each of the X-men comic books will contain, so we can start being picky about which we read. With only a few out there, I wanted to rad them all! But now that more are starting, I can take a step back and choose which path I want to rad the mutants taking. For now, I still have the main X-Books. X-Men #6 is one I definitely don't see myself taking off my pull list. As the main mutant book,it stars Charles, Magneto, and Apocalypse, as well as the core X-Men team of Scott, Jean Grey, and the Summers clan. Written by Head of X Johnathon Hickman, I feel like this book boasts the most accurate portrayal of the X-Men as they currently are. And, since it's a Big Picture kind of book, it's a easier to see where the mutants are headed as a whole. Pius, there is some excellent writing in every issue so far, so you can't beat it. X-Force #7 is out this week as well. The last X-Force, I have to admit, was a bit of a snooze for me--a filler issue. The issue before that one, was one of my favorite single comic issues I have ever read, so go figure. I think this week will show the pattern of which path writer Benjamin Percy will take--the lazy bore road, or the fantastic, mind opening road. Either way, i should have a good idea if this book is worth keeping by the time I read this issue. The third x-book is Marauders. This is another one I have soured to a little, as a few issues ago their captain (and my main reason for reading the book at all) seems to have been killed by an inside man. There's nothing more frustrating to me than watching people with the same goals attack each other because their methods of attaining the goal isn't the same. However, we haven't seen a body (of Kate's, that is), so who knows if she's really dead. With Kate out of the picture, that leaves the Marauders ship and crew in control of Emma Frost and Storm. While these ladies are some of the most capable on Krakoa, at least one of the, is far from being impervious to the same machinations that killed Kate, so they're no safer than she. There are two #1's coming from Marvel this week that I find noteworthy: Nebula and Gwen Stacey, although I have to admit for the longest time I was under the impression the latter was about Earth-65 Gwen who becomes Spider-Woman on that earth. This is not the case. Instead, Gwen Stacey is about the earth 616 Gwen who had her neck snapped as a device for Spider-Man's character growth. I, for one, think I've gotten really good at phrasing that so you see how problematic it is. However, it's a part of comics history and a part, at that, that has been worked on to be made better through the years since it happened. So, I can't be mad. But we know how this story is going to end. Nebula #1 is less predictable. I personally have never read anything by either of the creators, although it's very worth mentioning it is an all-female creative team--and with covers by Jen Bartel? It's a female geek's wet dream! But in all reality, this series sounds cool. We all know Nebula's story: abused and often hated sister and daughter of Gamora and Thanos, respectively. her drive is the desire to prove herself just as good-of not better- than either of them. it's a drive many readers can relate to, so don't sleep on this one! Which leaves us with the final 3 from Marvel. Jessica Jones: Blindspot was a series released a few years ago as digital only. Now, they're re-releasing it for the first time in comic shops. It's written by Marvel Superstar Kelly Thompson, and I have to say, is a damn good Jessica Jones book. I didn't read it on the original release, so it feels brand new to me. The story is a mystery, of course, with Jess all caught up in the center. I honestly have no idea who's driving the car, but the road is windy and leaves me begging for more! I'm not sure that metaphor worked, but you get my point. I'm really into this story, adn the mystery it follows. Thor by Donny Cates has got to be one of the fastest catching-on Thor books in a long time. By the end of #1, my jaw was on the floor with the creative changes and steps Cates is taking this very old, somewhat dusty and predictable character. Even older characters in the Thor mythos, like Lady Sif, have been revamped into something new and better than before, and I'm all here for it! This week brings in #3--and a very angry Beta Ray Bill. Bill is an alien who wields his own cosmic hammer from Odin, and who has a massive bone to pick with Galactus. This is problematic only in that Thor is acting as Herald of Galactus, and needs him alive to help fight an oncoming war. No question, thigs will get messy, and Thor will no doubt have to lay down the law with his old friends as he did in the last issue wth Galactus himself. Finally, we have Matthew Rosenburg's Hawkeye: Freefall #3. If Thor by Cates is the fastest growing Thor solo book, this is the fastest growing Clint Barton one. Someone is back as Ronin, but it isn't Hawkeye! We got proof of this, when Clint and so,e friends personaly fought the new Ronin--and when Ronin took down a drug ring while Clint was on stage, giving a speach. So how is it that when Ronin removes the mask, Clint's face is underneath? That wasn't rhetorical, and there's a few ways it could work. it could be a mask: in the recent Jody Houser Black Widow series, Natasha took down an enemy who'd been wearing a mask of her face so believable, her own friends wren't sure it was fake. In the current Marvel continuity, clones have been made of various heroes who die, both with and without their knowledge. My last theory, Clint has a brother (no really, he does). Whatever the case may be, I'm dying to find out just how aware of his situation Clint is! Is he behind the whole mess, or just being taken advantage of? And that wraps up comics for the week! i have some very big life changes coming up in the next few months, so I apologize if my editing and proofreading are worse than usual. find yourself some reading material and fall in love with the story. Stay Sweaty.
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