Hey there, Bastards! It’s your old Uncle Traveling Steve, back from exploring outer space (i.e., Eurasia) to bring you my official, ComicBastards-sanctioned Pull List! Rejoice, etc. Now, you may notice that my erstwhile colleague James is also doing a Pull List this week. His is not only far superior in composition and tone, it’s also focused on DC’s ongoing Futures End specials, so I’m just here to sweep up some of the other stuff you may or may not want to check out this week.
As always, I won’t be mentioning my review books - this time consisting of East of West #15 and Spread #3, both of which I’m pretty pumped about - but here are some other things I’ll be pulling this week! [Insert nuanced masturbation joke here.]
Cyanide & Happiness Punching Zoo TPB (Boom)
Like most carbon-based practitioners of the internet with a loose moral code and the foregone conclusion of eternal hellfire, I find pleasant the quiet musings of the webcomic empire known as Cyanide & Happiness. What can I say? It touches me in a special place; one that I will most likely point to on a doll someday. If you, like me, enjoy the sort of delightfully non sequitur, soul-shatteringly offensive joy only C&H can bring, then you won’t want to miss out on this, their third such volume, Punching Zoo. The nigh-on 200 pages of material promises hand-picked favorite strips from the site, 30 new comics and something called “The Hot Date,” which the solicits describe as a (probably really messed up) choose-your-own-adventure story! This thing’s got “hoot” written all over it ... as well as other, more vulgar words.
Injustice Gods Among Us Year Two #11 (DC)
Despite the rumblings I’ve heard that Injustice is one of, if not THE best “Justice League” books on the stands today, I haven’t been regularly checking it out. I guess I feel a disconnect from the game, which I also quite shamefully haven’t played as much as I would like. Still, issue 10’s cover had my homeslice Guy Gardner squaring off with a Sinestro ring-wielding Hal Jordan. I have to say, it was misleading as no fisticuffs ensued within. This was especially disheartening for someone who really just wants to see Guy kick Hal’s smug dick in the dirt! Wait. Can dicks be smug? Anyway, issue 11’s solicits finally promise that which I crave: a Hal/Guy brouhaha. This is apparently the second to last issue of a Green Lantern-heavy arc (which is awesome) of Injustice Year Two, and I may go back and read the rest; but again, I just want to see this throw-down, and pray that for once, Guy gets his well-deserved due.
Magneto #9 (Marvel)
I find myself saying this sort of thing a lot, but I’m probably the only Bastard who is looking forward to Marvel’s AXIS event, which I guess officially kicks off here. Look, I know there’s a lot of weird shit going into this, not least of which is the return of the (rightfully) much-maligned Onslaught. Let’s face it, the only good thing that douche-nozzle ever did was get jacked in the grill by the Hulk. But the setup for this story back in the virgin days of Remender’s Uncanny Avengers run piqued a curiosity in me that is at once strong and equally embarrassing. It just sounds so goddamn Comic Book, you know? Not only that - and the fact that I think Bunn has been doing an intriguing job with his Magneto run - but I’m a sucker for Red Skull vs. Magneto. As a Holocaust survivor and a full-blown fucking nazi, these two are obvious nemeses. There’s something I’ve always really enjoyed about seeing that relationship explode, especially as they are two of the most well-known villains in the Marvel Universe. So yeah, I’m all aboard that’s going aboard. Or as the other Bastards might write it, “a-bored.” Yup, just zinged my damn self.
Avengers #34.1 (Marvel)
Yeah, I’m an Avengers guy. Always have been. Deal with it. However, I am not now, nor have I ever been, one who gets easily lured into “point” issues. We all know they’re pretty much useless and a transparent marketing ploy to drum up sales on filler books; but I have to say, this one looks interesting. I don’t hate the creative team of Ewing and Keown for starters, and while I doubt it will be as introspective as Hickman’s run has thus far been, it also happens to focus on a day in the life of Hyperion. I for one actually like the Marvel Superman analogues and have been jonesing for a more in-depth exploration into this version of the character. I am a little bummed that this may be getting in the way of my regular Hickman Avengers fare, but I’m willing to give this little guy a chance. Just one, though. I’m not Mother Fucking Theresa over here.