Comics: The Pull List

A Pull list. If you have ever had a comic book subscription at a store you know exactly what that is. Basically the comics that you buy every single month. The person at the comic book shop will "pull" these for you so they are ready every Wednesday when you come in.

Now living in the middle of nowhere I do not have a pull list any longer. Thank goodness for digital same day as pint copies are available on Comixology. I would not be able to read comics without such a service. So here they are, my comic "pull" list:

(In no discerning order)

Batman (Writer: Scott Snyder Pencils: Greg Capullo)

The icon, the Dark Knight! The New 52 has basically started the DC Universe over numbering wise. This was a good idea for people like me who have been out of comics for a while. Since the New 52 started, Batman has been amazing. This was the first thing by Scott Snyder I have ever read. Now I am going out of my way to find things he has written.

Batman starts the New 52 fighting a new evil, the Talon. The Talon are a secret society that employ assassins to do their bidding. This story arc, known as the Night of the Owls was simply amazing. Very well written and drawn.

The next challenge for Snyder and Capullo will be to re-introduce Batman's most famous villain, the Joker. I honestly cannot wait to see how Snyder writes the Joker. Joker is scheduled to make his first appearance in Snyder's Batman this month (October). More to come on that front.

 Nightwing (Write: Kyle Higgins Pencils Eddy Barrows)

Nightwing is a spin off of the Batman universe following the adventures of Dick Grayson. You know him as Batman's first Robin. Well now he is all grown up and fighting crime, still with Batman at times, but also on his own.

So far Grayson has been dealing with a lot. The New 52 Nightwing starts off with Grayson being framed for murder. So not only does he have to solve that mystery he also has his past coming to a forefront. The Haley's Circus, where he used to perform and lost his parents, has returned to Gotham. It has brought with it memories, former friends, and someone trying to kill Grayson.

Without giving away too much, I will stop there. My final thoughts on Nightwing so far are that I am very pleased with it. It is one of those comics I tried one day when I was bored and surfing things on my Ipad. In the long run I am very glad I started reading it and it just keeps getting better.

Talon (Writer: Scott Snyder Art: Gulliem March) 

This is a spin off of the Court of Owls story arc. It follows Calvin Rose, a FORMER Talon. He has escaped from the Court's initial grasps but will constantly be on the run from them. This story just got it's start during the zero issues month of the New 52, but the first issue showed a lot of promising things to me. I hope it takes off. Note the writer, I have a lot of faith in Scott Snyder to take this in the right direction.

Wonder Woman (Writer: Brian Azzarello Art: Cliff Chiang)

Wonder Woman starts by her protecting a normal woman who is said to be carrying the child of Zeus. This has caught the attention of all the gods and goddesses of Olympus. Wonder Woman is charged with protecting this woman from her family.

While all of this is going on Zeus is no where to be seen. He has left his thrown open basically for the taking. So not only is Wonder Woman supposed to be protecting the woman, she is also fighting off the Olympians, awaiting Zeus' return.

Confession: I am not a huge Wonder Woman fan. What I mean by that is that this is my first ever reading of Wonder Woman. Never really seemed to interest me.

So why start? Two words, Brian Azzarello. If you do not know who he is go find the graphic novel Joker, or start reading 100 Bullets, both are fantastic. So I gave Wonder Woman a shot and I have been surprised by it. The Greek mythology really peaks my interest as a history teacher.

Green Lantern (Writer: Geoff Johns Pencil: Doug Mahnke)

Another confession: Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, has always been my favorite DC character. So naturally I am going to read Green Lantern. Geoff Johns is another reason I thoroughly enjoy this series. He has been writing Green Lantern for a while and does a great job.

In the New 52 Hal Jordan has been given a new Green ring by Sinestro, who is Green again???  The fight the Sinestro Corps in the beginning but then start to uncover the plan of the Guardians of Oa, the blue dudes, to destroy the Green Lantern Corps.

In the zero of issue a new Green Lantern is introduced. He seems very generic, so hopefully Johns does good with that. Its hard for me to say but I think Green Lantern could go either way. But I will be there, reading along the way.

Swamp Thing (Writer: Scott Snyder Art: Yanick Paquette) and Animal Man (Writer: Jeff Lemire Art: Varies)

If you have read these then you know why I am discussing these two together. Because their story goes together. In the world there is the Green (Swamp Thing) the Red (Animal Man) and the Rot. They live in a balance throughout the world. Every so often one of them get out of line and try to take over the world. In this amazingly intertwined story line the Rot has over stepped its boundaries.

It is up to the Swamp Thing and Animal Man and his daughter (The true avatar of the Red) to fight off the Red. Now you may have read that and thought meh, But I don't think I can put into words how amazing this story has been to read. It has been a true delight. I will go as far to say that it has been my favorite comic book arc I have ever read. I do not want the Rotworld story arc to end. Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire work wonderfully together to capture every aspect of this story line.

There it is! My pull list! Now I want to know what your pull list is! Follow my blog and leave your pull list in the comments below!