Phase III: The New Pull List Review

It's been awhile since I've done a Pull List Review. Since moving to MA, my Pull List has reduced in size pretty dramatically. Most of the series I dropped were simply because I preferred something more and was trying to limit the amount of books I'm getting.

Now I hope to get to my local comic shop (back at Rubber Chicken Comics in MA, though I will miss Joker's Child in NJ) once every week or two, and I'll do Pull List Reviews quicker due to having less items to read.

For now, here is where I am with the issues that made the cut:

Saga #13

The Writer and our Narrator.

The writing/art break is over and the series has started up again! As much as I dislike having to wait so long for my favorite series currently on the shelves, I am very happy that they can keep the same artist and writer by giving them the necessary time.

Quote of the issue: "No one makes worse first impressions than writers." This issue picks up Marko depressed at the death of his father while on the hunt for the author of the book that brought him and Alana together. They eventually find him on a planet covered in death and, well, it's really not the greatest first impression. Elsewhere, The Will and his crew are trying to get back on track, though he seems to be a bit out of touch with reality, having visions of The Wisp. Two new characters, journalists of some kind, are shown early in the issue; no doubt we'll see more of them soon.

Nothing super exciting in this issue, but the writing and art are still top notch and I'm looking forward to what comes next. 8/10.

Superior Spider-Man #15 and #16
In these issues, Spidey-Ock has it out for the Hobgoblin, who has been able to avoid his Spider-Bots due to the programming edit the Green Goblin (who still hasn't been revealed) did several issues back. The Green Goblin doesn't want Spider-Man too suspicious of the Spider-Bot error, Spidey does manage to get enough tracers on  Hobby to learn that his identity is Phil Urich, which he then broadcasts to all of New York City in the hopes of apprehending him quickly. This culminates in a tense showdown at the Daily Bugle, which brings to a head Phil's status at the newspaper and his relationship with Nora Winters, as well as putting a small rift between Robbie and Spidey.

The issue ends with Phil arrested and then freed by Menace, who is working for the new Green Goblin (or the old one, I guess, though I don't expect it to actually be Norman). Gobby gives Phil his own Green Goblin attire, calling him the Goblin Knight, which will be interesting when the current trio of Goblins throw down with Spider-Man. Next issue, though will see the return of Spider-Man 2099, for which I'm super excited
about!

Yeah, this could work.

These issues were a 9/10. Still want Peter back, but as it stands, the story is interesting enough.

Scarlet Spider #21

Sigh.

If you listen to the most recent The Podcast is a Lie episode (whenever we actually publish it...), you'll here me rant a bit on this issue.

The cover shows the original Scarlet Spider fighting Kaine. The cover reads, "Because you demanded it, Ben Reilly the original...". Fairly early on the fight starts between the two Scarlet Spiders. The original says it's Ben, Kaine confirms this when the original is unmasked, and there's a quick-but-acceptable background given as to why he isn't dead (well, I would have bought it).

Then, at the end of the issue (and this is potentially a spoiler if you weren't expecting it), it is revealed to actually be Kraven the Hunter. Kaine is seeing Ben due to the poison injected into his system (which we see in the beginning of the issue in an airport.

BAH HUMBUG. Issue isn't bad in and of itself, but this playing with my heart results in a 1/10. Maybe, if I was being impartial, I could see it landing a 7/10, but I think this was a cruel move on Marvel's part. :(

Thor: God of Thunder #12
If you don't like the character of Thor, I strongly suggest picking up this issue. It is a downtime issue, where Thor simply visits with his friends and does good deeds around the planet, but it has some really wonderful character brush strokes and makes me feel very confidant that, even with the God Butcher arc closed, this title will still continue to be awesome.

Also, the final panel showing Future Thor standing on a future-wasteland Earth is pretty promising too.

Cover isn't that bad, sans Marvel graphics.

This issue is a solid 10/10 for me, I really connected with it. I'd love a better cover though, this one just didn't pop enough compared to how much I enjoyed the content.

Superior Carnage #2

The plan.

The Wizard is still at it, now having Cletus in his grasp. Alongside them is Klaw, whom we get more insight to in relation to his employer, the Wizard, and a new face, a wheelchair-bound  scientist named Dr. Malus. Malus quickly recognized that the Wizard is insane, which we are shown pretty clearly during this issue (at one point, Klaws points out that the Wizard has labeled and image of the Tarantula as "Agent Venom"). Klaw defends the Wizard as he considers him family due to their extended and colored history, which involves a few resurrections of Klaw by the Wizard.

Due to Cletus being lobotomized, the Wizard can't control his mind, though he tries multiple times while almost dying in the process. It also doesn't work on the Carnage symbiote. Then he gets the idea to transfer the symbiote to someone he can actually control, and settles on Dr. Malus, mostly due to the fact that his is crippled in a similar fashion to Flash Thompson, Agent Venom. We'll see how that goes next time.

I actually enjoyed the Wizard losing his mind and the dynamic between him and Klaw, but I find the Carnage aspect to be really minimal and I'm upset that we were promised a more lethal Carnage with its host lobotomized, but now we're going to get a new, randomly introduced guy as the host. Meh. I would have been more interested if they tried it on a face we knew.

Overall, issue is a 6/10, but I'm still holding out hope that they'll surprise me.

---

For the rest of the list, I still have to read Star Wars Legacy #6 and the last issue of Five Ghosts, but I'll add them to the next review.

The only series I actively dropped in disgust was Red Hood and the Outlaws. The art has changed dramatically and is inconsistent from panel to panel, much less issue to issue. The story is also boring and, for a title with his name in it, the Red Hood has been side-lined for months. Sad, because that was my last DC pull.

Keep an eye out for future PLRs and I'll be supplementing them with Trade Paperback Reviews as well.

Pull List Review: Gotta Catch 'Em All

This post is going to be a whirlwind storm of back issues that I've yet to review for a PLR. These will be short and sweet -- if you see something you want me to expand upon, let me know in the comments section below:

Err... I have some catching up to do...

Favorites (Best of the best)

All-New X-Men #4 - #7: This series is still going strong, though it has slowed down a bit. My favorite parts are Angel meeting Angel, young Cyke blasting Wolverine, and Jean working with Kitty. I really can't get enough and wish these would come out faster! 10/10
Star Wars #1 and #2: The rebels have to find a new base after Yavin 4 and the destruction of the Death Star while rooting out a spy. The spy bit is WAY overdone in Star Wars Extended Universe, but I'm liking the classic characters and the new roles Leia is being put in. Nice to have a strong leading lady who isn't falling for men left and right. Also, loving the art. 10/10, this is a good book.

Staying Strong (Nothing special, good or bad)

Ultimate Spider-Man #17 - #20: An Ultimate Venom is back and attacking Miles (and his dad). Interesting, Venom looks especially monstrous, and I'm looking forward to seeing where this is going. 7/10
Venom #29 - #31 - Nothing super special, but Venom is now in Philly and dating Valkyrie. Oh, and being stalked. I do NOT like how Flash is having possessed blackouts, but I guess they won't leave well enough alone. 7/10
Age of Apocalypse #11 and #12: The series is coming to a close. Maybe? Weapon X is deposed, things have been shaken up, but there seem to be more changes on the horizon. An 8/10 for finally getting interesting.
Cable and X-Force #2 - #4: I don't know any of these characters particularly well, but so far seeing their connections and an X-team screwing up royally is always nice. Not sure about the series, but I'll stick with it for some more, I'm enjoying the Cable exposure. 7/10
Avenging Spider-Man #15.1 and #16: Doc Ock being in the shoes of Spidey and teaming up with all of Peter's old pals? Avenging may have just gotten interesting. It loses a point for having a Spidey/Wolverine (my favorite pairing) fight that made me sad :( 7/10
Uncanny Avengers #2 and #3: I'm liking the Red Skull action, the possession shtick is ok, and Wolverine just got his ass kicked by Thor. Yeah, that's pretty solid, and looks like Apocalypse is coming up soon! 8/10
Nova #1: This was a random grab. I know nothing of Nova so am a bit in the dark, but though it was interesting. Reminded me of The Last Starfighter a bit, netting it an 8/10 in my book, and added to the pull list.

Missteps (Series with recent issues being sub-par)

Scarlet Spider #12.1 - #14: Mexican werewolves. Kaine dies again. Kaine comes back all spidery again. This series is too new to already be repeating itself with a death and pointless reincarnation. Also, Spider-Kaine looks really, really stupid. Hoping this picks up soon. 4/10
Red Hood and the Outlaws #15 - #17: The issues aren't particularly bad, but as a tie in to the Death of the Family tie in, they are especially weak in regards to events happening, aren't coherent at all, and don't advance the Outlaws at all, other than apparently Jason getting some face melting at the last page. Hopefully, with the event having wrapped up, we'll see some interesting stories again. 3/10

Dropped Series (Series I've dropped from my Pull List)

Deadpool #1 - #3: The story is funny, but the writers have completely given up on any interesting plot to fill it with camp. That's fine for some, but for me, I don't like sacrificing interesting for funny. 2/10 because I did laugh some.

Thunderbolts #1 - #4: I only got to issue 4 because they came out so fast. Honestly, this would get a low score on the art alone (I HATE THIS ARTIST! Everyone looks the exact same, why does Marvel still employ him!? Every book he touches leaving me feeling dirty after), but compound that with the cliche story and lackluster character choice, and mark this as a 0/10 and the official death of the Thunderbolts for me.

This is a sad day because the Thunderbolts are what prompted the creation for this blog :(

A+X #2 - #4: I don't remember if I actually dropped this yet or not, but it's only being dropped because I've grown tired of the too-quick stories that really won't amount to anything in the end. Still, not a bad series, so it's getting an 8/10 because I DID enjoy them.

Avengers Arena #1 - #4: Marvel's Hunger Games with maybe 3 characters I actually enjoy. Not an awful premise, but drags along too slow to keep my interest. 4/10


Ok, I know this is a really compacted version, but that's just because I've been too lazy to do a PLR on time. This format is what future PLRs will look like, though I would like to go into a bit more issue specifics.

If you have any thoughts or comments to add on the above issues, please post them, I'd love to hear them!

UPDATE: Sorry this post took a bit longer to go up... My PC has died (NOOOOOOO!), and I'm not sure when I'll be able to fix it. I still have a laptop I can use, so the Nerd is down but not out!

Coming up next: First Impressions of Bioshock Infinite. Sometime after that, I'll finally take a look at the Thor: God of Thunder series.

Seriously. It will happen.

Pull List Review: For Better...

First, I'm still looking for suggestions on how to do future Pull List Reviews  Click the link and comment with your thoughts.

Now, here's another chunk of my most recent Pull List. Seeing as how I hope to hit up Joker's Child (which is where my Pull List lives) on Sunday, I should probably get cracking on these last two posts...

This will be the remaining issues I enjoyed, while my next post will be those that hit the mark a bit.

All-New X-Men #1 Beast is changing (again) and this time he knows his body won't handle it. Mutantkind is in turmoil and he isn't going to be there to help fix things. Cyclops, Emma Frost, Magneto, and Magik are seen recruiting new, powerful mutants to their cause -- even if they have to harm humans in the process. The other X-Men are at a loss as to what to do -- they don't agree with Scott's new views and know they need to stop him, they're just not sure how. Beast thinks he knows. He travels back to the time of the original X-men: Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Angel and Beast himself. Future Beast tells the startled young Cyclops, "I need you to stop yourself from committing mutant genocide." A lot of events happen back to back in this issue and I even feel that Beast's reasoning makes a sort of sense -- he's dying and desperate and just wants things to be how they were. Also, the interaction between the younger team and present Beast is done very well, the art is great, and I'm really interested to see what comes next. This issue is a 9/10 for me.
All-New X-Men #2 Shadowcat and Iceman are wondering what's taking Beast so long (heh), so they decide to search his lab. The notice some odd things relating to Beast's physiology, but can't make much sense out of it. Next they fail at hacking his computer. Beast is trying to convince the X-Men of the past that he is who he says he is and why he needs them. This becomes interesting when he starts spoiling things -- such as Marvel Girl eventually developing telepathic powers (in addition to her telekinetic ones). Or, you know, that Scott killed Professor X. The Hank v. Hank conversations are great, and Past Hank trying to figure out what could possibly drive Present Hank to come to them is actually fairly moving. The young X-Men are eventually convinced and they arrive at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. Because that won't be awkward for Past Jean... Wolverine, in the middle of teaching class, smells (Past) Scott and charges out in a beserker rage, stopped from killing Scott by Jean's telekinesis. This draws the attention of some of the other current X-Men (leading to Iceman meeting himself). They present folks being yelling at Beast, who promptly falls into a coma. The two teams of X-Men are trying to aid the ailing Beast. Logan calls the past X-Men out and begins to tell them he's sending them back ASAP. Jean, realizing she DOES have telepathic powers, is able to cause Logan to falls asleep. This is odd because Logan is usually immune (or at least very strong) to mental attacks. Possibly screwing with the time line will have some more adverse effects. At this point, Jean knows she's dead and Scott knows he's gone renegade. They steal a Blackbird and go to confront him -- they know Present Scott is hunting new mutants, so they plan on getting there first. The final panel is Logan saying, "It was her. It was really her. Jeannie." I wonder how Present Scott will react. Also how Present Emma will... I loved this issue, though it was a touch slower than the last. Still, solid art, story, and I'm loving the reactions we're given so far -- they're a bit too abrupt to sink in for long; we'll see how long that lasts. This is another 9/10 for me.
All-New X-Men #3 This issue starts ten days before events last issue. Scott, Magneto, and Magik are overlooking their new base -- the old, abandoned Weapon X facility. Two days later, they are seen attacking a convoy, only something goes wrong -- Magneto is having problems controlling magnetism and Scott can't control the power of his optic blasts (which looks pretty badass). They eventually succeed in freeing Emma Frost, who has no interest of seeing Scott; she blames him for turning on her when they were the Phoenix Force. Scott says that it wasn't him, it was the Phoenix. Then Emma reveals that her powers have changed since the Phoenix as well. Magneto says that doesn't make sense, but Emma reminds him that Cyclops blasted him with a full dose of Phoenix exposure. Scott is determined to make things right, though Emma isn't interested. They do leave together, however, when the authorities arrive at the site of the convoy wreckage. We then pan to a college peace rally. We see a student find they are a mutant when the begin to morph into whomever they're speaking to. Back to Scott, we see him blasting away with his massive optics blast, repeating the word "No" over and over again. Mags comes to knock some sense into him, at the same time as threatening him if his powers, the only thing that made him important, weren't returned. Magik pops up and tells them that her powers have only gotten better, giving her access to the Limbo dimension. Emma joins the club and points them to the changeling mutant we saw moments before. They teleport to the mutants location, only to be intercepted by the young X-Men. Shit will hit the fan next issue, and I for one can't wait. This issue, being focused on the renegades, wasn't as interesting for me and moved a bit slower than I would have liked. I'm still not sure where present Scott is coming from with his New World Order idea, so I'd like to see that more. Most of all, however, I want to see the showdown next issues. This was an 8/10 for me.
Cable and X-Force #1 Cable, Domino, Colossus, and Dr. Nemesis are seen murdering unarmed civilians in some sort of industrial plant. The Uncanny Avengers show up and Havok tries to reason with Cable to understand what's going on. In response, Cable and Co. teleport away, leaving Havok looking like a biased schmuck. Then, as Marvel loves to do lately, we're taken to "days earlier". Hope is complaining about being in public school while Cable stalker-watches her. He then goes back to his secret base (an airplane graveyard) and talks to Forge. He gets a new arm and then starts having pains in his head, which have apparently been a thing as of late. Next up, we see Domino breaking into an A.I.M. facility, only to be beaten to the punch by Hope, who recruits her to find Cable. Cable is busy recruiting Dr. Nemesis to fix his head. Back at base, Hope confronts Cable, complaining about him leaving her (I didn't know that Cable was her father, that's interesting). He tells her he missed her and they hug. Cable gets another headache, causing Hope to catch some kind of vision of disaster. The end of the issue is the vision of disaster appearing on the TV. I'm interested. I don't know much about the characters, but the might just keep it interesting. This issue was an 8/10 for art and interest at the very least, and I'll add this as a recurring issue to the pull list.
Red Hood and the Outlaws #14 Superman shows up at Starfire's spaceship, knocking to be let in. Instead of answering, the Outlaws teleport to Starfire's crashed ship (back on Earth). Red Hood is immediately on the defense, expecting Supes to catch up. He does, of course, and the gang throws down. Superman... Well, let's just say that not a single shit was given that day. Red's civilian friend cuts through the nonsense and tells the group to hear Superman speak. Superman explains that a powerful alien entity, Helspont, approached him with a job offer. Starfire admits she was similarly asked. Turns out other aliens on Earth are getting the same "join or die" speech and Superman wants to make sure that, when the time comes, that they'll band together against the cause. He says he wants to drag the Outlaws back to the states to pay for their crimes, but Batman has vouched for them (woot woot). The end of the issue is Red spending some private time with his lady friend. He takes a shower and comes up to her, almost dead on the floor (via some sort of drug overdoes). This mirror's Red's mother's death. The television ends up revealing the Joker, who is back in action and has set Jason up, which we'll see next issue. My favorite part of this issue is that Superman gets so much shit and is basically looked upon like a tyrant, which is SO unusual from normal perception. The lack of any real story progress does hurt the issue, though. Still, dumping on Supes is worth another arbitrary point, so the issue lands at an 8/10.
Age of Apocalypse #9 This issue starts out with Jean being discovered and reported by Daredevil, while the X-terminated are busy learning from Doom's DNA. They are able to develop a weapon, which the promise to give to Penance, as long as she sets aside a refuge (Australia) for humanity once she takes over Weapon X's energy. Jean and Graydon go on a fancy date. It ends poorly when she brings up Sabertooth one too many times. Then they are attacked by Weapon X's forces and they know their cover is blown. Jean flees into the sewers while her allies cover her. Flash to Prophet releasing Sabertooth to go help. Flash to Weapon X saying he's getting into the hunt. This issue is only a 6/10 for me, but the next one brings it up a bit. I still dislike the art and characters, but the story spikes here and there with being interesting.
Age of Apocalypse #10 Jean is on the run. The weapon, a pill, is created to remove Weapon X's Celestial given power. Jean fights off some random tunnel dwelling mutants. Some maneuvering goes down at the Hellfire club so the X-terminated can find the Shadow King (in an effort to get to Jean, supposedly). Jean meets Logan, but is interrupted by Sabertooth. Jean escapes while Sabertooth gets his ass kicked and blows himself up with a grenade. This is actually a pretty cool moment; Logan says "If it makes you feel better, bub." They both know it won't actually hurt him. And it shows that Logan is still somewhere back there, or at least his personality hasn't been obliterated. I don't feel like looking it up, but wasn't this the Sabertooth in Exiles? Pretty big deal that he'd dead then, even though he's been useless (and wasted) this entire series). Jean is learning that the pill is the weapon and it has to be ingested. Also, she learns that she was being groomed to take over for Prophet (should anything happen_, but now she was conveniently the only one to possibly get close enough to administer the pill. The issue ends with the Shadow King getting surprise visit from Quentin Quire (I assume some kind of clone, because he blew his brains out in an awkward plot filling issue a while back). The pace is ramping up for some big stuff next issue and I'm looking forward to things coming to a close. I'm not sure how much life this series has left in it, but I feel this particular book hasn't been able to keep enough interest and will be wrapping up soon. Or maybe I just hope so. This issue barely scrapes by getting into this post by scoring at 7/10. I'm really hoping the following issue is an interesting climax.

If it wasn't obvious, my favorite series this Pull List (and with Marvel NOW! in general) was All-New X-Men. The past X-men can really stir things up in today's world without ever jeapordizing that past -- if they DO get planted back where the belong, which seems inevitable, Professor X can always wipe their minds (they alluded to as much already). I know the focus is supposed to be some Scott on Scott action, but I'm really hoping Jean Grey finds some way to stick around or at least stir things up. I miss her as Marvel Girl, even though it would be pretty hard to go back to that (you know, besides re-reading some First Class).

I will do a post ASAP on the remaining issues from this month, seeing as how I've already picked up another pull list, which will have some doozies... I'm going to go ahead and switch up the PLR (Pull List Review, let's try and make this stick...) a bit after next post. If you hate it, let me know.

For now, have a good one!

Extra! Extra! Pull List Review

Hi all! Sorry for another missed Friday, my schedule has been very crazy these past few weeks. I'm on call all week this week, so, barring any major incidents, Friday should come out on schedule this week. We'll see.

This is late... because I was playing Halo 4. More on that Wednesday (more like Wednesday-ish).

For now, this week's Extra! Extra! will take a look at my most recent Pull List!

Scarlet Spider # 10 (Minimum Carnage Part 2) In this issue, Venom and Carnage meet after Carnage disappeared into the Microverse last issue. At first, things seem to go well, until the Venom symbiote goes batshit insane (my favorite because it reverts to the Eddie Brock style suit) and lashes out at Kaine (probably recognizing him). This fight ends pretty quickly (though is still pretty awesome). It does show that Kaine is willing to do anything to survive, which I'm sure will come in to play soon. After they make up, they jump into the portal to the Microverse, getting separated. Venom finds allies, Scarlet finds a giant monster. Carnage, meanwhile, is being prepped for an assassination, though has some plans of his own... The art, while not as good as Alpha, is still pretty awesome. This issue gets a 9/10.
Venom #26 (Minimum Carnage Part 3) In this issue, Venom finds out that his allies don't like him very much because the symbiote seems to infect/eat the Microverse simply by being there. He joins with them, however, to help get to their leader, the Redeemer, who just happens to be Carnage's target. Scarlet fights a giant monster while the Redeemer watches. Carnage... Well, does what Carnage does. He kills the villains that freed him and decides to hunt down the Redeemer anyway. At the end of the issue, Venom goes even more batshit insane during a fight against a bunch of random enemies, while Carnage runs into Scarlet and the Redeemer. Next issue should be awesome! I love the issue, but didn't care as much for the art, especially the depiction of Carnage. Issue was definately a solid 8/10 for me, though.
Amazing Spider-Man #696 As I guessed it, Peter Parker is held hostage to be used as bait for Spidey. The go between is Max Modell, who manages to give Peter the opportunity to escape without revealing his identity, though Max should really be catching on by now. The main event in this issue, however, is the fight between the original Hobgoblin and the New Hobgoblin. They go at it while Kingpin shouts and waves his arms. The end of the issue has them coming to an agreement, however, to recapture the escaped Parker and Modell -- they managed to steal the "Goblin Key" that Spidey stole from the New Hobby last issue. A decent issue overall, and I don't mind a regression to the old using Parker as bait to catch Spidey shtick from times past. I'd give it an 8/10, with a note that at least one point is for the awesome cover. Oh, and if Superior Spider-Man turns out to be in anyway a Doctor Octopus controlled character or the Doc himself, I will be very, very displeased. In this issue, we see one of Ock's bots crawl out of the water, and this one is special because it's a golden snitch gold.
Avenging Spider-Man #13 This issue is pretty much just a long fight between Spidey and the Hypno Hustler's mind control, with a little bit of Deadpool thrown in on both sides. The only notable thing is the way Spidey and Deadpool choose to team up... A 6/10. It wasn't aweful, I just didn't care for the HH and I don't care for issues in which Spidey is made out to be a bad guy. THAT shtick was done to death.
Avenging Spider-Man Annual #1 This is another Spidey team-up in which minds are altered. This time, it's due to an alien artifiact a couple of chumps dig up in Central Park. It makes everyone hate eachother and become violent. They try to sell it to a gangster-type while NYC tries to kill itself. Spidey and the Thing also throw down. Of course, Spidey is mostly able to shrug off the effects and finds the source. When the device is damage, everyone begins to love each other... physically. The issue ends in a neat, tidy bow. A relatively fun issue. I didn't care for it, so a 6/10 -- at least the art style and writing kept it interesting.
Ultimate Spider-Man #16 Miles narrowly avoids getting arrested by Cap when Hydra attacks the base. Miles teams up with Cap and SHIELD to repel the invaders, impression Cap enough to accept his request to join the Ultimates. ... Little sick of Cap needing to be impressed every other issue. The end of the issue reflects the major (and quite startling) major change that comes from the Divided We Fall event -- Captain America becomes President of the United States. Issue is a 7/10. I still don't care for Ult. Cap, but it was good to see Miles in action some more.
Ultimate Spider-Man 16.1 This issue takes place directly after the death of the Prowler, in which Betty Brant, who is a huge douche in the Utlimate universe, tries to uncover dirt on Spider-Man and find his identity. She mistakenly comes to believe that Miles' father is the masked vigilante, and goes to Jameson with her "proof." Unlike 616 JJJ, the Ultimate version is against A) slamming Spider-Man and B) ruining a family's life just to sell a story. I LOVE Ultimate Jameson. Betty decides to take her story elsewhere, though is killed before she can do so... by Venom! Finally! This issue gets a 6/10, and that only because I liked JJJ and am looking forward to Venom. I dislike Marvel's confusing "Point One" system -- it was launched as a way for new readers to jump in mid-series, and is now a lazy way to say "Hey, we're writing about a story we probably should have done earlier, hope you don't mind! Also, nuts to future collectors who expect whole numbered issues!" I mind.
Red Hood and the Outlaws # 13 First, the covers of this run have been VERY misleading. It's an old school technique that I don't particularly care for; a cover should have SOMETHING to do with what's going on in the story. Instead of fighting (as most fans might have expected), Starfire and her sister team up (along with the other Outlaws) to take back Tameran. Blackfire gets seriously wounded, but the good guys pull through and the Outlaws decide to head on home. The end shows that Blackfire is aware of the Thirteen and knows they must be stopped, even if she doesn't share that info with anyone. Also, the Joker is shown back on Earth at Starfire's old, crashed ship. He's pulling the original Red Hood's (Joker's first alias) helmet out of a box and laughing... Issue is a 9/10 for me. Really enoying this series, and it's the only DC item still on my pull list.

Because the Wife picked up the Pull List, she ended up picking a few other issues she thought I might like. Thus, we have the Pull List BONUS ROUND!

Uncanny Avengers #1 I was NOT going to pick this title up. I've never really cared for a team book, especially the Avengers. That being said, I enjoyed this issue! It's just the recruitment issue, showing how Cap, Thor, Rogue, Scarlet Witch, Wolverine, and Havok all wind up on one team, but it shows some interesting character dynamics (especially between Rogue and Scarlet Witch) and has me interested for the next few issues. That being said, I'd rate it an optimistic 8/10. The art on some characters is terrible (what the HELL did they do to Wolverine?), but mostly it was decent and there was a nice scene between the Summers brothers (thought I hate what they've done to Cyclops). We'll see how long this stays on the Pull.

A+X #1 This is another surprise. I normally dislike team-up titles as a rule and ESPECIALLY hate comics that tell more than one story -- there's not enough room to really flesh out two full stories, and comics don't do short stories well as far as I'm concerned. That being said, I liked both the stories here. The first has Cap and Bucky during WWII teaming up with Cable to stop Sentinels being produced before their time. The enemy, notably enough, is a Trask descendant from the year 2099. Here's hoping we see more of that!! The second story has Wolverine and the Hulk going toe to toe with... Wolverine and the Hulk? Future Wolverine and Future Hulk (called Maestro) fight it out in Avengers tower when the future pair randomly teleports in, hunting for "a Hulk." They don't find who they're looking for and leave quickly. They return to their time (I didn't recognize it, honestly. I'd say NOT 2099, but could be wrong) and wind up in what appears to be the Oval Office, being told that the Red Hulk MUST die by none other than... the Red Hulk himself? What the... So, a pretty interesting issue. As long as the team up pairs are interesting, I'll keep it on the Pull List.

That's all for this time, though keep an eye out for the following Marvel NOW! titles I've added to my Pull List:

Brand New X-Men (can't wait to see the interactions)
Deadpool (just a test run)
Superior Spider-Man (this won't be out for a bit)
Avengers Arena (has some interesting characters)
Thunderbolts (these might not be added to my reviews until I catch up with the past volumes)
Uncanny X-Force (because the current run has gone so well)

Alright, that's all for tonight! Sorry for the late and long post, I'll see you Wednesday with some Halo and CoD talk!

Pull List Review: Zeroes and Heroes

Sorry I'm late! I was hoping to be farther along in Dishonored for tomorrow's post and forgot about Monday's! As it stands, you're getting the rest of my Pull List Review, in which I tell you how I dropped some issues and will be picking at least one up to replace it...

Red Hood and the Outlaws #0 This issue is the back story of Jason Todd. It's not particularly different from the previous DC Universe -- Jason lost his scummy parents early on, became a thief, and was eventually recruited by Batman, only to die at the hands of the Joker. A trip to the Lazarus Pit revived him, and now we have the Red Hood. The interesting part in this issue came in a mini chapter at the end of the issue, where it is revealed that Joker had a hand in every individual part of Jason's life that led up to his parents dying and him meeting Batman and becoming Robin (and dying). I believe that's a new spin, though not particularly interesting (to me). Unfortunately, this issue was all Jason all the time. I read this book for Jason, Arsenal, and Starfire. So this gets a 6/10. Art was fine, story ok, but I'm already tired of DC rehashing old tales.
Teen Titans #0 Similar to the above, this issue was all about an ex-Batman sidekick! It focused on Tim Drake and his obsession with Batman, which eventually leads to him working with the caped crusader. It was mildly interesting due to my lack of familiarity with the character, but that's about it. My problem with the issue is the way they "solve" the time gap where Tim should have been Robin -- he never becomes Robin! He takes on the moniker of "Red Robin" upon inception, weakening the character development and leaving me to wonder if he immediately left Batman to form the Titans, or if Bats really partnered with a Red Robin for a bit... 6/10, and I'm really not liking #0s. And I haven't been enjoying Teen Titans for a bit now. It is officially being dropped as of this issue, though I'll keep an eye on the series to see if it perks up.
Batman #0 This is an early adventure of Bruce Wayne (pre-cowl) attempting to apprehend the Red Hood (Joker's first moniker, not Jason Todd) and his gang. It shows Bruce being excessively sloppy and doesn't do much as a background issue. Funnily enough, it is also "to be continued" in such a way that there should be a direct sequel. Which I guess would make... issue 1/2? Didn't Thunderbolts pull something like this? 4/10. Extremely uninteresting and I've dropped the book. I know Joker's coming back in a big way... But I just don't care. I think I might stick to picking up arcs that interest me as they come out, the in-between issues really detract from Batman for me.
The Ravagers #0 This backstory is mostly about Beast Boy, with a bit of Terra and the rest of the gang thrown in. I'm already sick of how slow this book has been moving, I'm not even going to bother going into detail for this -- it takes place while the cast is still being tortured/altered in The Colony, and that's enough of that. 6/10 for art and some general interest, but I'm dropping the book. I'll wait until a) each character gets an individual style (I'm sick of Tron suits on everyone) and b) picks up with some decent stories (not this poorly plotted escape plan). I like the concept, though, so I WILL keep an eye on it. There's just no reason to read it one issue at a time, it's painful.
Avengers vs X-Men #11 This issue is the big showdown between the Avengers and the remaining Phoenix Two (Scott and Emma). It's interesting on the action scale, though it suffers from the comic book scale of powers -- earlier issues have the Avengers struggling against 1 character with 1/5th of the power Scott and Emma now have split solely between them, and they manage to go almost toe to toe with the duo, thanks to a little help from Xavier (and the rest of the mutants who've turned on Scott and Emma). So much so, in fact, that Scott takes out Emma so he can have all the power to himself... becoming DARK PHOENIX! Oh no! I couldn't have possibly seen that one coming! ... :/ Oh well. Also, the "heavy hitters" Hope and Scarlet Witch do literally nothing the entire fight. Because that makes sense. 7/10 for action and art, loses points for plausibility (which may seem inane in a comic book review, but bite me).
Avengers vs X-Men #12 Scott's first action is to kill Professor X. That's right, Charles is dead (again). Then he pounds on the Avengers until Hope and Wanda finally step in and... well, pretty simply take him out. This issue (and end of the arc) reminds me of a Dragon Ball Z episode. The Phoenix Force possesses Hope, which it should probably have done from the first place. Hope feels that she can control it but, with a little nudge from Wanda, decides that there should be "No More Phoenix." The Nerd has decided that there should be "No More No More." The most interesting result of this action? The Phoenix Force explodes into a bunch of little fireballs that reignite the X-Gene across the globe, meaning mutants are no longer the endangered species they've been since House of M. I, personally, kind of liked it being a more exclusive club, but I'll accept it if it leads to interesting storylines. Scott is seen imprisoned for his misdeeds, while the other ex-Phoenix members are in hiding. Scott's just a bit smug, and I like it. Issue gets an 8/10, series gets a 7/10. I dislike comic book reset buttons, but at least this one took awhile... right? This is the end of this event, and I'll not be picking any of the related follow ups, so I guess this is dropped, to some extent.
Age of Apocalypse #7 The gang is looking for away to take away Wolvie's Celestial given powers. They hope to find the answers in the late Reed Richard's notebooks, which AoA's Emma Frost tells them Victor Von Doom has. Woot! Some Doctor Doom action! The team travels to Latveria, find it a human reservation of sorts, and split up! One group is captured by Emma (that sneaky witch! Apparently the lobotomy to remove her powers was a ruse!), while Prophet and the others meet up with Doom. Oh, and a subplot with Graydon hanging out with his pops (Sabertooth) starts (and starts to go poorly). Meh. I don't mind a change of scope and pace, so we'll see how it goes. 6/10, because I still don't care for the art.
Age of Apocalypse #8 BAM! Prophet and crew are betrayed by Doom and handed over to Emma as part of Doom's plan to win favor with the mutants. Nightcrawler-wanna-be shows up, appraised the goods, then goes to tell his masters. Doom pushed a button and basically resets Emma, freeing the captives and giving them an ultimatum -- help HIM gain the power of the Celestials, or deal with Weapon Omega on their own. Prophet doesn't want Doom to be the ultimate power and bails. Deadeye disagrees and decides to stay with Doom... Long enough for the group to leave and her to hook up with him, where she promptly removes his head and brings it to Prophet. Because they can plumb his disembodied cranium for info, there's an app for that. Oh, and Graydon and Sabertooth didn't get along at all. Which is pretty much all that can be said for that. Well, the issue had some interesting twists (and some not so much), but it did see a Doom killed, and that's pretty rare. I'll give it a 7/10 and will stick it out for another issue before cutting it. I really do have a soft spot for Post Apocalyptic setting, obviously.

In other news, I also read Uncanny X-Force #1 and really enjoyed it. I'll be hunting down the series and giving it its own review in the future. And it is part of the reason I'm trying to stick it with the current AoA, being that is spawned from events that happened in Uncanny X-Force.

As I mentioned in my post about reboots, I also picked up some other Batman #0s. The only one that was mildly interesting to me was Batman and Robin, though I still have issues with the timeline, so I'm not adding anything new to my pull list from DC.

Currently, I'm only adding All New X-Men, though I am looking at some other Marvel Now! titles. I need something to bolster the hits taken this month...

Tune in tomorrow (night) for my follow up to my Dishonored review (... even though I haven't finished the game) and my quest for an old RPG...

Pull List Review: Agents and Outlaws (and Stuff)

This post will finish off this month's Pull List Review -- there shouldn't be that many more titles than the last post.

Venom #22 This issue stands as a sort of epilogue to the Crime Master run. It is the "final" show down between Venom and Jack O' Lantern. Between images of Venom hunting and then fighting Jack, we are shown many images of his childhood in relation to his abusive father. It's laid on pretty thick, leading up to the ending where, despite all the horrible things Jack has done (including killing Venom's uncle and desecrating Venom's father's corpse), Venom decides to capture instead of kill him, sending him to a super-villain prison. Because it would be wrong to kill the big name killer, but not the several foot soldiers we saw Flash kill on the way to Crime Master... This is a 5/10 for me. Art is fine, writing is fine, alcoholic father is harped on too much and the ending makes little sense for a character like Venom.
Venom #23 This issue has Venom tracking down and then fighting an Occult Nazi group, apparently led by the fallen Hellstrom. For some reason, Venom has some mild protection from Hellstrom's magic and fire, something about a mark Mephisto placed on him. The issue ends with Venom getting covered in possession goop, turning Flash/Venom into a campy, demonic-looking symbiote (with horns and wings to boot). Throughout, more harping on Flash's abusive father. Apparently we've forgotten since last issue or every other time it's been brought up. 6/10, only because I'm interested to see what happens. I'm already sick of Flash's flaws being spelled out every issue.
Red Hood and the Outlaws #12 The cover alone makes this an awesome issue. As always, I love the art style. The story is interesting as well, with a fairly nice twist that has Starfire's sister being a good guy, only pretending in the last issue. We'll see how long that lasts, but I'd be happy to see something a bit different. I'm still really enjoying the differences with this trio, it almost reminds me of Marvel's Thunderbolts -- they're all damaged characters trying to get by in their own way. This is a solid 8/10 -- it's not higher simply because it was a relatively low key issue and I feel like Red Hood has been tacked on for this adventure.
The Ravagers #4 This title, more than any other, really drives home that the New 52 was a complete universe reboot. Sure, some things stayed in tact, but apparently more did not. Since I only had a working knowledge of DC before, this comes as a bit jarring when I'm learning something that doesn't quite mesh with my understanding of characters. In this issue, we are following Beast Boy (and Terra) as they rescue the others from Brother Blood. In an attempt at humor, the ritual Brother Blood is trying to accomplish is elaborate and not fully understood. That being said, we do lose Lightning to the "Red Place" and the group escapes, finally back together (well, sans Lightning). Early on, we find that Terra and Best Boy's powers seem to be growing/changing as they get farther away from the Colony -- it will be interesting to see how this plays out in them and the others. The final note is Caitlin asking herself if she's made a mistake -- not longer are the young Meta-Humans abused children to her; now she realizes that they are time bombs waiting to explode, with no thought given to the lives of others or themselves. Issue gets a 6/10 for the characters being mildly interesting. The story itself is still in the 'meh' stage, which isn't good for a new series -- they need to pick it up somehow. ... And, instead, next issue is going to be #0, the origins of Terra and Beast Boy. Maybe the promised Superboy vs. Caitlin after that will be interesting.
Avengers vs X-Men #9 Namor is defeated but many of the Avengers are held captive. With the help of Storm, the Avengers locate their missing team members and stage a rescue mission. Unfortunately, Colossus and Illyana are waiting for them. Spidey steps up to the plate and stays behind to hold them off while the other Avengers make their escape. Spidey takes an epic beat down but, as he's on the floor in a pool of blood, he goads the siblings into fighting each other -- neither feels the other is using the Phoenix Force appropriately. They are both knocked out, transferring their power to Emma and Cyclops. The power is affecting Emma negatively -- she is beginning to reach out and read everyone's mind, and is concerned about what she'll do next. Cyclops uses his extra power to punch a hole between dimensions, uncovering the Avengers' hide out. Rated a 9/10. I liked the Spidey last stand, and Emma going nuts will be interesting.
Avengers vs X-Men #10 This issue is the first show down between Scott and Hope. The few Avengers available throw themselves at Scott while Hope flees. While Cyclops ruins everyone in his way, Hope meets up with the Thunderer, and they use a mystical dragon (who apparently beat the phoenix in a previous incarnation) to hurt Scott. Unfortunately, the dragon is too young. Hope surprises herself, then, when she unleashed mystical dragon flames at Scott -- somehow she absorbed the power. Then she flees and runs into Scarlet Witch. Scarlet takes a stab at Scott but is inneffective against his new strength -- and then there's Hope, who's now absorbed the dragon fire AND Scarlet's Chaos magic. She CHAOS PUNCHES Scott to the moon (literally), and the turning point in the battle is revealed. Scott, after waking up, realizes he's going to need Emma's power. Emma is busy on Utopia, making sure every mutant thinks what she wants to think -- or else. Next issue looks to be Scott vs. Emma. This issue gets a 7/10. It's interesting enough, but the mystical dragon popping up was a little too convenient (possibly because I'm not reading any other related issues). I'm hoping this event ends soon, it hasn't particularly held my interest.
Age of Apocalypse #6 In this issue, we see Monet St. Croix revealing herself to the world as Penance. She plans on making the world a better place for mutant-kind so that they aren't living in filth and squalor. Weapon Omega decides to recruit her, but in the process she reverts Colossus back to his old, Apocalypse hating ways. Prophet reveals himself after the confrontation and explains his hand in her rebirth, and makes a trade -- he'll give her Sugarman and help her overthrow Omega for special consideration in regards to the remnants of the human race. Deadeye, whom this book follows, doesn't agree with this plan at all -- the only good mutant is a dead one, as far as she's concerned. Pretty boring issue, actually, and I don't care for the art still. 4/10, but I'm not kicking the book yet -- next issue promises the inclusion of Dr. Doom, and I'm looking forward to that at least.
Batman #12 This issue... was barely about Batman at all. It's about a girl who lives in the Narrows with her brother. They run into trouble and Batman saves them. She then tries to help him out after figuring out how Batman accesses the power grid (because she's an engineer down in the sewers where the grid is kept). She sort of helps Batman, he tells her to cut it out, and it ends with her saying no, basically. I ran a Google search and found out that she actually made an appearance in Batman #7, where she uses a defibrillator on Batman after he is beaten by the Owls. I assume they have bigger plans for her, but I don't know why they'd give her such a backwards introduction. 5/10. The writing was done well and I didn't hate the overall story, but the art was very inconsistent and I'd rather have Batman in my Batman comic...

I am still missing/behind on Teen Titans. I'll lump them all together next month or do a quick catch up post if I get the missing issue before then.

Additionally, I'll be dropping Batman from the pull list -- I'll pick up issue zero the next time I pick up pulls, but after that I'm done. Eventually, Batman and Robin will take its place, I just need to do some catching up. I'll also be looking to catch up on X-Force and see if I should add that, but for now there will just be a short reduction. Ravagers and Teen Titans haven't held my interest very well, so their suspect to be dropped soon too. We'll see.

Remember, if you're ever looking to get into comics and needs some suggestions or tips, feel free to ask! I reply to all comments!

Dusting off the Pull List (Updated and Finished)

Got a large batch from Joker's Child and I've been finally catching up on my pull list.

I'll post a short, potentially spoiler-ific synopsis, my brief opinion on the issue, and add any additional notes I have as needed. If that works well, I'll be doing the same for all future renditions of "Pull List" posts.

Amazing Spider-Man #688
This issue revolves around a fight between Spider-Man and the Lizard in the sewers. There are flashbacks set hours before the encounter, leading up to Morbius and the Horizon Labs crew helping Spider-Man take the Lizard out, permanatly:

I really thought he was going to do it. In my head, I said "finaly!" Spidey was finally going to put down one of his villains that would never be rehabilitated or that had taken many lives. I was, of course, let down. Morbius had cooked up a serum to permanently regress the Lizard. Unfortunately, that's all it did; after the end of the "Shed" arc, Curt Connors' mind is gone. Unbeknownst to anyone present, the Lizard's mind is now stuck in Connors body.

That alone is an interesting twist that I look forward to seeing. After the death of his son, I thought Connors had finally lost all potentially interesting stories. I was wrong. If I were to arbitrarily give it a number score, I'd say an 8. What that means to me is that I liked it. It didn't wow me, but it was solid.

Hmm, explaining that kind of makes it less arbitrary... but there it is.

Amazing Spider-Man #689 Connors-Lizard plots to re-inject himself with Lizard juice. To this end, he turns Spider-Man on Moribius by causing Morbius to attack Sajani (of Horizon Labs) due to extreme blood lost. Morbius flees, apologizing constantly. Spidey follows and pounds on him, sounding like a drug addicts relative tired of throwing interventions. Connors-Lizard injects himself but only succeeds in regrowing his arm (Connors' original goal). He then injects Max Modell (head of Horizon Labs) so he can study the change and find a way to overcome it. Modell begins to transform at the end of the issue. Spidey has become a little too proclamation heavy. It's almost like the character is bipolar, going from wanting to save everyone to eradicating everything he determines is a monster (we'll see he far he goes on this end). This issue gets a 7. Good content, good story, poor Spidey dialogue throughout.
Amazing Spider-Man #690 Connors converts the Horizon Labs staff to Lizards while Spidey beats on Morbius. In the middle of the fight, Spidey gets a DIRE warning from Madame Web (... not a character I approve of AT ALL). Spidey wraps up Morbius, has an opportunity to pull out his literal Avengers membership card, then makes it back to Horizon just before it locks down due to the Lizard epidemic. Connors himself has finally found the correct serum to get his scales back, but the issue closes on a moment of doubt -- is being a mammal all that bad? Considering the harsh words Spidey has for Morbius, the ending of their one sided fight was anti-climactic. I believe next issue is supposed to be the true turning point for Spidey -- maybe the (Curt) Lizard will die (again)? A 7 for me. No problems, but nothing particularly exemplary.
Avenging Spider-Man #9 Spidey hitches a ride with Carol Danvers in a junk heap of a plane. They are almost hit by a young girl using a faulty jetpack. They save her and are immediately fired upon by some private security forces working alongside Boston police. Carol, now using the name Captain Marvel, fights the mech-equipped security while Spidey tries to learn information from the jetpack girl, who is apparently a Robin Hood (calling herself Robyn Hood) style bank robber. After she surrenders and is still fired on by the security force, she absorbs the blow and grows into a giant as more security forces arrive. Like other Avenging issues, this wasn't much of a Spidey story. I found the security forces to be unbelievable in the level of violence they were allowed to use in the name of the law. Issue gets a 6.
Scarlet Spider #7 Scarlet is baking in the Houston heat when an exploding building almost falls on him. He ends up saving a helpless crowd and a falling victim. The victim turns into a one night stand who turns out to be the one who blew up the building who turns out to be the daughter of the Roxxon CEO, the owner of the building. Scarlet finds all this out after some digging, which leads to the introduction of one of the campiest looking super teams I have ever seen, the Rangers! The most interesting thing in this issue was Kaine hooking up with the girl, who was ostensibly on an adrenaline high. It's a situation Peter would have handled wildly different and a refreshing reminder that Kaine is NOT Peter. Hopefully it will stay that way. Arbitrary rating is a 6.
Ultimate Spider-Man #12 This issue is the apparent final showdown with the Prowler, Miles' uncle. Miles decides not to work for him or be bullied by him. He decides to tell his parents (though we don't see if he does or not in this issue), then he was a pretty awesp,e fight that ends with one of the Prowlers gloves (stolen/borrowed from the Shocker) explodes, apparently killing him. So far, this Spider-Man has his own new sets of problems, and they seem pretty interesting. I'd like to see him more interaction on the external world, but for now this was at least a good issue. Gets an 8 from me.
Spider-Men #1, #2, and #3 So for, not a terrible cross over, if a little forced. Mysterio has somehow stumbled onto a way to travel between dimensions (or at least is at the site of a portal). Spidey finds the abandoned warehouse due to an obligatory shaft of light and is eventually pushed into said portal. He almost immediately meets Miles-Spidey. The next issue features Miles, (Ultimate) Nick Fury, and (Amazing) Peter trying to figure out what's going on, after a short fight scene (where Ultimate Spidey somehow manages to win -- silly venom sting). After the longest word bubble I have ever seen, Nick fury decides to send Peter with Miles to learn about this dimension's Peter. The third issue features a Mysterio avatar fighting the Spider-Men. His surprise tactic is to slip them a chemical that causes their fears to manifest and be able to physically hurt them (not explained well -- yet anyways). Mysterious loses, per usual, though the avatar does blow up and knock Miles out. He comes to with the Ultimates having arrive and Peter having run off. Last panel is Peter unmasking to (Ultimate) Aunt May and Gwen, crying (... not really sure why. Maybe seeing a young Gwen? We'll see). So far, my favorite part about the run is Miles reaction to meeting a Peter Parker, though I wish they could take some training time together (and someone get that boy some webs, damn it!) I'll rate the series as a whole when it finished in a couple episodes.
Venom #20 This is a fairly eventful title that doesn't sell itself as large as I would expect. Flash discovers his mother missing and is attacked by Death Adder. This is followed by the death of Death Adder when Flash snaps his neck, finally doing as a Venom character should -- taking out the trash, permanently. Flash then finds the Human Fly (along with his mother) and procedes to maim him (by ripping his wings off) to find out where the Crime Master is. The end of the episode shows Betty meeting the Crime Master face to face, only to learn that it his her brother, Bennet. I'd have to re-read the Crime Master introduction to see how I feel about the reveal. For now, it was a decent issue and gets an 7 for being a turning point for the new Venom. It'd be better if I was more interested in the villains he's taking on. I'd like to see what happens to Eddie Brock, specifically.
Venom #21 Another eventful title, but it feels VERY rushed for all that happens. Venom kills off random Crime Master thugs while making his way into the hidden base. Crime Master is busy getting a little too touchy-feely with his sister (it's not overtly creepy, but close enough). Venom fights Megatek, who has his head bitten of by Eddie Brock in the modified (I guess) Toxin symbiote. Venom and Toxin fight, which apparently ends in the fiery death of Toxin AND Eddie Brock. I doubt they're killing off Eddie right now, but at the very least he wasn't looking much better then Anakin at the end of Episode III. Speaking of Star Wars, after Venom easily dispatches Jack O'Lantern, he his disabled by Crime Master. Flash looks very Luke Skywalker-esque and then pleads with Betty for help, who ends up shooting Crime Master in the back, causing him to fall into the same vat of liquid Jack just went into. ...Uh. Why build all that up just to kill almost everyone off? So far, I'm not pleased with Flash's rouge gallery. This issue gets a 7, though only because a lot of interesting things happen. It loses points for happening so quickly.
Avengers vs X-Men #7 and #8 The first issue is the follow up to Scott's statement of "No More Mutants." We see the Pheonix Five taking the high road by continuing to rebuild the world while discrediting the Avengers (supposedly -- I assume you need to be reading the ancillary issues, but I don't personally feel the need, I'm getting a bit sick of cross-overs). There are a couple fights here and there (because everyone and their mother can teleport), with the biggest news being that the Scarlet Which is the Avenger's biggest gun, actually able to hurt the Five. The issue ends with some dissent among the Five -- Namor wants to rule the world his way. Emma helps him by giving him and only him the location of the Avengers (and kissing him?). The follow up issue opens with Namor destroying Wakanda and it taking the full might of the Avengers just to knock him down. Fortunately, that was all it took -- the Phoenix Force abandoned Namor and was spread among the remaining Four. The heroes then take refuge in the mystical city where Kung Fu was born... Yup. The idea is that Hope is going to undergo some secret, mystical training to combat the Phoenix Force. This series has become the Michael Bay film of comic books. Tons of explosions, not very much plot movement. I'm not going to bother rating the individual issues -- I'll rate the event after the 12 issues have run their course.
Age of Apocalypse #5 This series... isn't as interesting to me as the earlier AoA stuff. This issue featured Jean getting more training from the X-Terminated and then going on a mission to try and recruit the up-and-coming Quentin Quire, who had managed to build a network of psychics that were subservient to him. Jean has a mental conversation with him, explaining that she has lost all of her powers and showed when Wolverine became infected with Apocalypse's seed. She then offers to help Quentin sort through the voices in his head. In response, he kills himself. Uh. What? This issue gets a 4 from me. I don't care for the art, the X-team and, really, the series hasn't been as interesting as I'd hoped. As an ongoing title, the pace doesn't keep up with previous AoA arcs. If next issue doesn't redeem it, I'll drop it from my list and wait to pick it up when the series has ended. Maybe I'll swap in something else -- a hunt of old Exiles issues or maybe switch in X-Treme X-men. We'll see.
Batman #11 This issue the conclusion to the Night of Owls. I've seen a lot of praise for the story arc, but I'm personally not seeing it. This issue has B-Man squaring off against the man once called Lincoln March, now calling himself Thomas Wayne. Supposedly, his is Bruce's long lost brother that Bruce's parents kept secret in a home for damaged children -- he had been hurt in a car accident that, as far as anyone else had known, had led to the early birth and death of the actual Thomas Wayne. Batman denies it, and a fight ensues. Thomas, in his advanced Owl Armor, drags Bats throughout Gotham, going on a tirade about how his parents left him and Bruce forgot about him so Gotham could belong only to Bruce. Batman eventually shuts the rant up and the fight concludes with an under-construction tower exploding and falling on top of Thomas. No body was found, of course. Later, Bruce has a conversation with Dick Grayson. The main purpose for this convo is so Bruce can explain that he looked up all the records on Thomas Wayne, and there is no way that Lincoln-Thomas could really be his brother. Or, you know, Probably not. With a capitol P. And that's how they leave use -- probably, mostly sure. But not really. Which, in my opinion, is a lousy way to end it. Going hard one either side of the fence wouldn't detract from a new, potentially interesting villain. Obscurity in a comic following the greatest detective... As if Batman wouldn't have managed to collect a DNA sample during the fight. It's BATMAN! Issue gets a 6 after all is said and done, which is pretty much how I felt about the entire "Night of the Owls" run. Solid art and a decent story, but it relies far too heavily on the DC reboot to be vague and interesting. I might just be expecting too much from Batman, so I'll hang on for a bit and see what's coming up next before I kick the title to the curb.
The Ravagers #3 This issue... wasn't that exciting. We're introduced to Brother Blood (kind of), see Thunder and Lightning fighting in the buff against a horde of mindless zealots, and watch while Beast Boy and Terra make their way back to the group in order to save them. I'm waiting to see where this series goes. So far, it doesn't seem to have any major direction, at least nothing I would consider sustainable. Then again, most of Gen 13 was spent with a team of teenagers on the run... This issue gets a 4. Still sticking with the series, but this issue didn't interest me much at all.
Red Hood and the Outlaws #11 This issue shows Roy Harper being interrogated by the enemy (soldiers of The Blight) while regaling his captors with a brief tale of Starfire's origin. Major spotlight for this issue is the revelation of Starfire's sister, who looks pretty damn awesome at the moment. Cat-fight next issue. I'm NOT really sure what's going on with Jason's date. She travelled with them to Starfire's ship (... Starfire), and given a warriors jumpsuit to wear. I dunno if the Isabel is a known DC entity or not, we'll see (I refuse to look it up). If not, her inclusion seems pointless, other than a potential catalyst of motivation (which will be a bit contrived, if you ask me). At the tail end of the issue is a snippet involving Essence in her quest to kill the All Caste. I... don't particularly care about these snippets -- if the All Caste are so dangerous, why have I seen several offed already? Rating is an 8. It got me looking forward to the next issue, gave me some interesting background, and I love the art of this title.

I am going to go ahead and post this now. I still need to review Spider-Men #1, #2 and #3, Avengers vs X-Men #7 and #8, Venom #21, Age of Apocalypse #5, and Batman #11, but I'd rather have something up now and update it as I'm going along. All set! And next Pull List I will definitely be doing something different with how I break these posts down.

Unfortunately, I never put Teen Titans on my Pull List and am missing issue 10. Next time I get a chance, I'll pick it up and add Teen Titans to the next Pull List post.

For now, expect this post to be updated with the listed issues in the near future! For future posts, I'll consider breaking Pull List Reviews up a bit more -- I have enough Spider titles to make an entire post, I think.

Tell me what you think about the new theme please!