This week I thought I’d do a write up on what’s on my comic book pull list. There are all the comic book series that my local comic shop automatically orders for me. I’ve broken it down into ongoing stores and limited series. The limited series usually run around six issues and there is a lot of turnover of them on my pull list as they end. Some of them continue in other limited series. They are not quite ongoing series and not quite one volume stories. This week I’ll write about the ongoing ones.
My Pull List Part One of Two
Ongoing Series
Assorted Crisis Events – A relatively new comic on my pull list this one is a series of stories about regular people caught up in major multiverse events. It’s all about what happens to the little guy after Thanos snaps his fingers and wipes out half the universe. Each issue is a done in one and it’s really good. Written by Deniz Camp and drawn by Eric Zawadzki.
The Big Shakedown – I just got the first issue of this one. It’s drawn by my friend Scott Koblish (we used to work together at Marvel back in the day) and Tim Seeley and Jordan Blum are the writers on the book. I guess you could call it a post apocalyptic detective noir comic. With only the one issue out so far it’s tough to nail it down but I enjoyed it.
The Beauty – There is a TV show made out of this one. Volume one ran 29 issues and they’re up to about issue 8 in volume two. It’s about an STD that makes you beautiful. Volume one had a lot of different type of stories in it but volume two sticks more to the tone on the TV show (though it’s not the same story). There is more conspiracy and spy type stuff in volume two. It’s good. Written by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley and drawn by Ema Lupacchino.
Creepshow – A horror anthology that has two 10 page stories an issue. It’s really a series of limited series and volume 5 issue 1 just came out. I like the scary stories.
Department of Truth – This one has been going for a few years. What if people believed an urban myth so much that it became true and rewrote history? That’s what happens in this world. Lee Harvey Oswald runs the DOT and tries to make things work in the USA’s favor. But others are out to make the truth work in their favor too. Written by James Tynion and drawn by Martin Simmonds.
D’Orc – A fun fantasy book about a half-orc, half-dwarf character who the whole world is out to get because there is a prophesy that he will bring about the end of the world. Orcs and dwarves are always warring with each other anyway so he doesn’t fit in. By Brett Bean.
Feral – A book about cats trying to survive the rabies apocalypse. It’s sort of a zombie story. Written by Tony Fleecs and drawn by Trish Forstner and Tone Rodriguez.
Godzilla – This is a stand in for the zillion Godzilla books out there today. I’m not a huge Godzilla fan and certainly don’t buy most of them but it seems I’m always picking up a Godzilla comic or two.
Hammerfist – Only one issue of this grind house comic about a low rent assassin is out but I’m down for issue two. We’ll see from there. Not sure if it’s a mini or an ongoing. Written by Rick Remender and drawn by Steve Epting.
Ice Cream Man – A long running horror anthology with your host the Ice Cream Man. A fun book. Each story is a done in one and they also come out with some fun side projects like a story told with an actual deck of cards. Written by W. Maxwell Prince and drawn by Martin Morazzo.
Invincible Universe: Battle Beast – A spin off of Invincible. Battle Beast is a character who is searching the universe for someone strong enough to kill him in battle. It’s a fun book full of bloody fights with huge monsters. Written by Robert Kirkman and drawn by Ryan Ottley.
Love and Rockets – The classic Hernandez Brothers book continues with its stories about their long running characters. Two masters at work. Jaime Hernandez and Gilbert Hernandez.
M1 Monster Racing League – I’m loving the Jae Lee artwork on this one. His layouts are innovative and beautiful. The drawing is nice too. The story is about an L.A. Teenager who moves to Japan with her father and gets involved in racing. The story is secondary to me to the way Jae Lee draws it. Written by Robert and Lily Windom.
Mind MGMT: New and Improved – The first volume was 35 issues and this is volume two of the spy story. Lots of fun and intrigue as the spies have weird powers that they use in their spying. Volume one was one of my favorite books and this one looks to be two. By Matt Kindt.
Monstress – Another long time series that’s as good as ever. I just read and enjoyed issue 64. It’s a fantasy series about a world where a whole bunch of different groups are warring with each other. It’s like a long fantasy novel and has an intricate plot with lots of characters. Pick up the collected editions and give us a read. Written by Marjorie Lui and drawn by Sana Takeda.
Palooka-Ville – This one started out as a comic but now is a series of hardcover comics. It keeps the same numbering as the comic but is technically not a comic book anymore. It’s by the one named cartoonist Seth where he serializes his graphic novels. It is a a long time favorite of mine. You can get the graphic novels “Clyde Fans” and “It’s a Good Life If You Don’t Weaken” that were originally printed in Palooka-Ville.
Psychodrama Illustrated – This is a solo book by Gilbert Hernandez who is one of the brothers who does Love and Rockets. It’s pretty much the same as his stuff in Love and Rockets. Same characters and such. I think he’s more prolific than his brother Jaime so he has more stuff to publish.
Radiant Black – A super hero book that has been around for a while now. They’re up to issue 42 but there are actually 48 issues in the series due to some half issues in the 20s. It’s a fun book that I’ve been following since the start. Written by Kyle Higgins and drawn by Marcelo Costa.
Rogue Sun – This one has had 34 issues and is in the same Universe as Radiant Black so it’s another superhero book. A teenager inherits the mantle of a super hero (Rogue Sun) from his estranged father who died. Now the ghost of his father gives him advice as he fights evil. Another solid book. Written by Ryan Parrott and drawn by the one named artist Abel.
Savage Dragon – I have 280 issues of this comic so you know that I enjoy it. I stated reading it at issue 70 and went back and bought the early issues to complete the set. Its creator, Erik Larsen, always tries to keep it interesting. I enjoy reading it month after month.
The Sire: Aftermath – Another book that I like to follow because I know the publisher and creator of The Sire, Mike Dolce. We used to play touch football back in the early 2000s. It’s a fun superhero book that is continuing but it published in mini series. It’s got a 1990s vibe to it.
Spawn – I started buying Spawn a few years ago because it was the last of the $3 comics. It’s since gone up to $4 but I’ve enjoyed reading it so I stayed with it. I actually gave issues 315-350 to a student of mine a little while ago so it’s not one I plan to reread but I still like it. The latest Spawn creative team is writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Stephen Segovia.
Tales of Wonder – I think this one might be a limited series but only one issue of it has come out so far. I’ve been buying whatever Steve Scroce draws in recent years so I’ll count it as continuing for now. The first issue was just okay but I’ll stick with it.
White Sky – A post apocalyptic book where the survivors are hunted by ghosts. I, and others, have compared it to “The Waking Dead” but it’s more supernatural than that. It stars a teenage girl and her father as they try to survive. I like it. Written by William Harms and drawn by JP Mavinga.
W0RldTR33 – This one has been going for 21 issues and it’s a cyberpunk story about a group of people trying to save the world from the under-net. That’s a weird life form that lives under the internet. It’s a fun, visually interesting comic. Written by James Tynion IV and drawn by Fernando Blanco.
Here is a final few that I put in the “Are they still making these?” category.
Are They Still Being Published?
Usagi Yojimbo – I’ve been buying Stan Sakai’s rabbit bodyguard comic since the 1980s. It’s been coming out in mini series in recent years but I haven’t heard news of a new one in a while.
The Goon – Eric Powell has been working on various things over the last few years so I don’t know when he’ll be getting back to his flagship character.
What’s the Furthest Place From Here? – This one has had 22 issues but I don’t remember it actually ending. I wonder if they’ll be more? Written by Mathew Rosenberg and drawn by Tyler Boss.
Saga – This one has had 72 issues and I know is planned to be around 100 but I haven’t seen new ones in a while. It’s gone on long hiatuses before so it may be on one. Written by Brian K. Vaughan and drawn by Fiona Staples.
Next week I’ll go over the limited series.