Comics/Graphic Novels

What’s On Your Pull List?: March 9, 2016

Paul Montgomery

Staff Writer

In addition to comics, Paul thrills to Frank Capra and kaiju movies, crime fiction, TV dramas, professional wrestling, and whatever the Muppets are doing at any given time (hopefully in combination with those other things). He tweets as @fuzzytypewriter

Every week, a different Panelteer will give you a rundown of the comics they’re most looking forward to for the week. Floppies, trades and omniboo are all fair game here. This week, Paul tells us what’s on his pull list.

So, the highlights.

variant cover by James Stokoe

variant cover by James Stokoe

Head Lopper #3 by Andrew MacLean

I love the excess and bluster of an honest-to-Crom sword and sandal tale, and as its name suggests, MacLean’s Head Lopper micro-epic cuts right through the gristle to the very core of the genre. This chapter promises a “mega-arachnid from Hell,” so my mandibles are clicking in anticipation. And dig that terrific, horrific Stokoe variant! Phew!

thorstp

Thors TP by Jason Aaron, Chris Spouse, Karl Story, Marte Garcia, etc.

I mostly avoided last summer’s big event comics, but I adored what I read of this particular Battleworlds tangent, a high concept send-up on the police procedural, particularly the Law & Order brand. Here, the gumshoes are various Thors–Ultimate, Groot, Beta Ray, Odin-riginal recipe, etc–from various realities, all united to solve a string of murders. This trade paperback also collects classic Walt Simonson material recounting the origins of a certain Asgardian amphibian.

theonlylivingboy
The Only Living Boy HC by David Gallaher and Steve Ellis

A young lad named Erik runs away from home and finds himself the sole human child capable of saving an unfriendly new world. Add in a mermaid and a bug lady, and you have the makings of a rollicking action fantasy in the spirit of Jack Kirby’s Kamandi.

vision5
Vision #5 by Tom King, Gabriel Hernandez Walta, Jordie Bellaire, Marco D’Alfonso

You’ve likely already heard the superlatives here or elsewhere. But just in case. Vision is a consistently masterful family drama and thoughtful meditation on human frailty. As brilliant a science fiction comic as you will find in 2016, and that is saying quite a lot.

So. How’s about you folks?