The Pull: November 2020 Edition, Part 1

 

So, I kinda fell off the wagon as far as The Pull was concerned. I am back. And dear God we have a lot to focus on. Due to some budgetary stuff we'll be going down to just Amazing Spider-man, Star Wars, and Darth Vader. Titles will be re-added as I can afford to add them. 

Obviously, SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT

Darth Vader #6

One of the most interesting things about ROTJ is the shift that Vader has had since ESB. Vader goes from begging Luke to help him overthrow Palpatine to a seeming timidity, insisting that Palpatine is to be obeyed above all. It's a very odd shift.

Which is what makes this comic so great, because dear God Palpatine is a SCARY SCARY BAD MAN.

Like, the utter simplicity of this comic is almost beyond reproach. Palpatine jumps Vader, who is trying to figure himself out, beats the snot out of him, cripples his apprentice, and then leaves him to rebuild on Mustafar.  Oh, and as if that was not enough, Palpatine sends an assassin after a very weakened Vader, and Vader is not allowed to use the Force but must work under his own crippled strength, because otherwise Palpatine will just kill Vader?

This is straight out of a heavy metal album.

And I mean that in the best way possible. This is fun.

Star Wars #8

I adore this cover. Just, straight up love it. If you needed to know who Zahara is this one cover just sums it up in the best way possible. Grieving and vicious, Zahara's got a personal stake in this, given her stance as the rejected foster daughter of Tarkin. I love her motivations and how she is inherently out to stop more Death Star incidents from happening. The Empire is a means to that end, for her. It's interesting to see someone so vicious be so vulnerable.

If there's anything this issues fails to do it's to give Leia a compelling arc. I get this is Zahara's story and whatnot, but we've barely seen Leia in the title and it would have been nice to give her something to do beyond show up and get made a fool of. I get that Luke's the combatant of the two, but it really felt hollow having him show up. Leia is a smart cookie, she can definitely handle Zahara by herself. Not by outfighting her, but by outthinking. Maybe they're saving that for a future issue? I don't know, but Leia seemed to be the weak link in this issue. Luke shouldn't be the dude who just gets Leia out of her scrapes once he's got his power figured out. That just makes them both plot devices, and these characters deserve better than that.

Amazing Spider-Man #50, 50.LR, 51, and 51.LR

Holy shit Kindred is Harry Osborn. I have thoughts on that. But I wanna wait until #52 until I say more.

I love how this issue begins to finalize the repudiation of One More Day. It was a bad decision, made by a man who belonged nowhere near the franchise. Reading JMS's take on it is nothing short of bone-chilling. And, as much as I enjoyed some of Slott's take on Peter, his refusal to show Peter as a functional adult really grated on me by the end of that run. And for years we've just watched Peter run around with this shadow over him. Slott didn't want to deal with it because he agreed with it.

I've no idea why that changed, or why they let Spencer have the title. But Last Remains is, so far, everything this bitter fan of JMS has ever wanted to happen after the travesty that is OMD. Peter is paying, in full, for the stupidity that he wrought with Mephisto. And it is playing out a hell of a lot better than I ever thought it would.

Norman Osborn is a joy to read. I love how guilt-ridden he is, how utterly repentant and desperate, but not despairing! He knows his part in this whole mess and is trying to fix it, working against Kindred because Kindred is the one who accidentally set it up. Or, at least I think it's an accident. This is an angle on Norman I think that may be actually unique. And it's a lot of fun. 

I love how Sin-Eater isn't down and out, even after being abandoned by Kindred. It's cool to see a character who is so focused on who he is that, even abandoned by his dark god, he continues on with his mission. There's just this really cool vibe of a fallen paladin coming off the dude. And I have no idea how the heck Morlun got back to the 616 universe but... um.... that's not what I expected. At all.

And there's a Black Cat and Dr. Strange team up going on? Be still my beating heart! This is great! Having these two characters bounce off each other is the ultimate Odd Couple. Black Cat's hedonistic but still noble tendencies really piss of Dr. Strange, and he really tries her patience with his lack of caring about "minutiae".

My wallet cried when I saw how much these folks have in mind for The Amazing Spider-Man title, but so far this is shaping up to be exactly what I wanted out of this run. I don't get to say that very often. And I'm going to relish it.

UNDO IT, SPENCER. I'M ROOTING FOR YA

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The Pull: October 2020 Edition

 

We are at a couple of different points in each of our respective titles this time around: Amazing Spider-Man is building to a conclusion, I think, Star Wars is building a new arc, and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is building to a conclusion, but I sure can't see the road right now. But that doesn't mean there isn't one.

Amazing Spider-Man 49

Okay, so this sucker is ten bucks, on its own. That is a lot of money. I already struggle with the price point of comics as they are, so for me the question is: is this worth my ten bucks? Did this issue  need to be this freaking large??

The main story, the teaming up of Spider-Man and the Green Goblin, is done rather well. It's essentially three issues plopped together as one, which means I already saved money! So check on that score! The story is well written and it's nice to see them acknowledge the shifting of artists with differing chapters, which allows for a cleaner break. I really like how they gave this particular story some room to breathe. Spencer manages to take even the worst parts of Peter's and Norman's relationship and breathes a life into it that is refreshing. One of Spencer's strengths has been using all the points of Spider-Man's lore, especially Strazcynski, who was all but ignored by Slott. Before Slott Peter had been on his way to becoming an actually mature individual, something that was walked back hardcore by Quesada and Slott. That unfortunate path seems to be in the process of being slowly undone, and this issue is proof that one does not need to see Peter Parker as an adolescent for forever to make him an engaging character. 

And that goes double for Norman, who is written with a sympathy and villainy that feels amazing to read. So many times people just want to write Norman as just a psychopath who is trying to keep his sanity, but Norman is so much more than that. He is a widower, a father, a terrible human being, a genocidal maniac. All of those things are true. 100% of the time. And Spencer treats Norman as possessing all those qualities and a lot more. So I had a great time just reading the main feature!

The backup features are acceptable, except for the last one "Family Affair", which features the Vulture's grand-daughter. I've never seen this character before, but I love how she was handled. Just love it. I love that Adrian Toomes has this softer side to him, dark and twisted as he can get, and I adore that Peter defeated her by just being himself, which I always think is the point of Peter as Spider-Man. I really want to see more of "Firecracker". I hope we do.

So yes, I'm pleasantly surprised to say that I think I got my money's worth here. Even the stories I don't like as much as what I've mentioned are good-hearted stories that are edifying. 

Star Wars 7

So this issue as a whole took me by surprise. I did not expect to see a tough-love side of Admiral Tarkin, of all people. Nor did I know I really wanted to! But they pulled it off really well here! Yeah, he's still an evil jerk, but I really like little twists like this, as it shows a more human side. Which does not mean sympathetic, by the way. Tarkin is a freaking monster, but he's really not that much different than most military officers that I met in my time in the Army, except in terms of scale. He wanted Commander Zahra to be the best of the best, and so he did what he thought he had to so she would be. If you think an officer wouldn't throw a protege away like this I'm going to disagree. The military means suppressing the part of yourself that feels compassion and light, at least for the majority of folks. And that's exactly what we're watching here, as Tarkin molds Zahara into someone who can do just that. It's quite a sight, particularly with the ending explaining Zahara's central drive. It will certainly make the rest of this story more relatable.

Might Morphin Power Rangers 54

This has been a very interesting title since I picked it up again. Parrott continues his puzzle pieces, detailing another threat to the universe that the Omega Rangers have to deal with. Up until the end I wondered why Parrott had taken the time to outline this episode in the Omega Rangers' lives, but given that they're coming to Earth at the same time the Dark Rangers are manifesting themselves to the Mighty Morphin team there's an inevitable crash incoming. It should be glorious!

I love how Parrott has nailed Jason's voice. Jason has always been one of those characters that so thoroughly believe in what he is doing that what we think of as corny one-liners and whatnot are actually complete and total belief. We  think it's corny because most of us can't conceive of someone believing that strongly, but that's the beauty of Jason: he does. He always does. He's a freaking amazing character and Parrott completely nails him in this issue.

All in all this was a really good pull. We're back to building for most of the titles, but that's not a bad thing. 

The Pull: September 2020 Edition, Part Two

I can honestly say I've not been so excited for comics in my entire life. Not a single issue in my pull this month has been a dud. At first I just thought the last few months have been lucky, but no my friends, I do not believe this to be the case. Even the ostensibly weakest title in my pull, X-Men, is still a great title. I will not ask how I lucked out so; American comics can be very fickle, quality-wise. I'm going to take what I can get. 

The Amazing-Spider-Man #48

Oh my goodness. This title. This month. Sin-Eater has been going around and killing people... who come back to life with all their flaws gone. But the guilt is still there. And they're tormented by it. And if they were super-powered Sin-Eater gets their powers as well, which makes him practically unstoppable. 

Now he's going after Norman Osborn.

The whole issue revolves around Peter agonizing if he's going to try and save Norman from Sin-Eater or not, or even if what Sin-Eater is doing is actually evil in the first place. Well, everyone else is wondering about that last part. But not Peter. He's got no doubts about that, to his credit. But the thing that Spencer brings up is that Peter has sworn two oaths: Norman Osborn must die for what he did to Gwen Stacy, and no one will ever die on his watch, ever again, in part because of what happened to Gwen. The first oath was sworn with all the rage of a heartbroken lover, the second one was forged over years of selflessness. 

I've come to the conclusion that Peter's arc was to become the man Uncle Ben had become to him in death, for everyone. There's a story where, when someone asks Spider-Man what his name is so they can name their baby after them, he tells them the name "Ben".  I don't think that's an accident. Ever since Uncle Ben's death Peter has demonstrated a universal truth: our dead loved ones live on, inside of us. We live out their life, their values, in us. We may not be aware that we do this, but everything I've seen has convinced me this is the case. I bring this up because the entire issue revolves around Peter deciding to let himself be a little bit more like his Uncle Ben, the kind man who would not let his pain stand between him and his principles. 

Uncle Ben wins out. And everyone else is horrified by Peter's decision to save Norman Osborn, a man who will assuredly kill again. And they're going to try to prevent him. 

A small note on the art: I thought the issue was penciled by Mark Bagley. It's not: Marcelo Ferreira is the culprit. This guy is clearly influenced heavily by Mark Bagley, which is not a bad thing... but it's still a bit weird to see someone copy the master so much. I'm still a little weirded out by it, but at least the dude's good, y'know?

X-Men #12

I am officially in awe of Hickman. He finds the smallest cracks in the Marvel Universe, little spots where nobody has thought to go, and makes them explode with life. There's a vitality to this issue as Summoner explains the world of Amenth and sets us up for Storm of Swords. I will not be sinking the small fortune necessary to follow that crossover, which is a pity. The mythology of this issue is just freaking spot on. The gaps that Hickman finds and exploits are just a genuine pleasure to read, not counting the art from Yu, which feels gritty but epic at the same time. Every time I read one of Hickman's issues my brain breaks open and has to go and reboot. And that's certainly not any different this time.

Darth Vader #5

"No one is ever really gone" says Luke, decades later. If ever there was a phrase that sums up Star Wars it's that one. And this comic leans into that phrase as hard anything ever can. Anakin goes to find where Padme gave birth, on Polis Massa. It's a journey that thrives upon the emotional turmoil that Vader now feels because of Luke's rejection. Forced to destroy the folks who practically worship his dead wife Vader is finally able to hear his wife's last words: "There is still good in him. I know it". 

This was not something I expected. I'm not sure why I didn't, but it gives this amazing shot of Vader looking down, at the droid and into his own heart, to hear Padme's final words of love and faith. That hit me much harder than I thought it would, which has been the story of my time with this series so far. Fantastic.

Star Wars #6

Luke Skywalker is, at his heart, a person who simply wants to help those who need it. When faced with Leia's imprisonment Luke went to whatever lengths necessary to rescue her, including almost sacrificing his life and the lives of his compatriots. When Luke in Battlefront II spares an Imperial trooper's life he says he did it simply because he was given the chance to do so. A simple desire to preserve life is at the core of Luke's motivation. And then begins to show its head here, in Star Wars #6. Luke simply will not take the life of anyone that he does not have to, even if they almost killed him. He wishes to help, no matter the cost. 

The struggle for Luke, as Verla hints at, is not whether he can help or not, but whether or not he should. Verla is very open about how worthless a life of sacrifice had become to her. It's of importance to note that Luke doesn't necessarily argue with her. Verla's arguments do seem to have some form of impact. He does hear them, but disagrees. This follows up on Anakin's frequent frustrations in trying to do the good that he can; Anakin wants to help but cannot, Luke can help but does not know if he should.

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The Pull: September 2020 Edition

 

Boy what a month so far! This has been a really amazing haul folks. I can't wait to get into it with you.

By the way, SPOILERS

The Amazing Spider-Man 46 and 47

I've read a lot of Spider-Man. I've loved the character since I was two. I've read his history, multiple times, and have tried to get into whatever sources I can to learn more about Peter Parker. I won't pretend to have a perfect memory about the character, but I do know a whole hell of a lot.

This is a truly unique story arc. I'm telling you now, it's going to be a classic.

Yes, really.

Jump on it. Now.

Throughout all his years Spider-Man has had a rule against killing. Unlike most heroes Spider-Man's rule against killing has a very poignant edge: he's lost so many friends, in some truly brutal and awful ways, that he cannot imagine inflicting that same pain on someone else, for any reason. He believes in the sanctity of life because it's been desecrated so many times in his life that he must hold onto it with every ounce of strength. And that's been directly challenged plenty! When Otto became Spider-Man he laughed at the rule. Peter's had many conversations with folks like The Punisher and Wolverine about the necessity of taking lives. And they keep pointing out the same thing: Peter is only a deterrent. He cannot solve anything.

I've never seen a Spider-Man story where this point was hammered so hard. Sin-Eater isn't just killing people, but he's bringing them back without their powers and their evil tendencies! They're peaceful! Reformed! I mean Sin-Eater has a bunch of powers now, but all these people are reformed. Right? Right?

And Peter doesn't have a freaking clue yet. It's beautiful. I've not been this excited by a Spider-Man story for a very long time. And that's because we're seeing something incredible.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 53

So I'd accidentally stopped following this title a while back and decided that I wanted to get back into it. 

Power Rangers has always been a concept that I found was hampered by its medium. I don't know of many adults who would say no to a story about a group of disparate peoples defending the world from perpetual alien invasions. I mean, Pacific Rim exists people and it's awesome. I'm not saying that Power Rangers is Pacific Rim without a budget, but... OK, that's what I'm saying. We're going to move on.

I have found that the concept of Power Rangers has always been respected by the comics. Without the constraint of budget and corporate idiocy the creative teams have been free to explore concepts that the TV fluffed, like the Dark Rangers. Zedd is terrifying. Legitimately. The rangers are well-written and... I can't believe I'm saying this... but Rocky has a freaking personality. 

That alone is worth it to me.

X-Men 11

I don't think anyone's really caught the joke of Hickman's X-Men comic run yet. Everyone's been talking about the incredibly progressive approach of this comic to a lot of things, and how Xavier's initial dream is dead. But that would be to ignore who Hickman is, as a writer, an artist, a person. 

Hickman constructs machines of truly epic proportions, details them out, makes sure they work, and then throws them at characters whose flaws are just as big as the machines he constructs. None of the characters are moral; they're constructed of virtues and flaws, miniaturized versions of his universal machines, all running around and trying to manipulate everything to get what they need. Hickman is not a moral writer. That's what gives his stories such a mythological scope and what makes him so beloved:

That is full on display here. Magneto is painted as Exodus as a true hero, someone who is willing to defend those who cannot defend themselves. The tone is appropriately mythic, painting a former genocidal maniac as the hero of the mutant, while making sure that we see Magneto as some messiah to the mutant race.

This is Hickman.

He's doing it on purpose.

I'm excited.

Darth Vader 4

I was told very specifically to pick up this comic. I was told that it was amazing and deserved my attention. I've actually heard that about all the other Darth Vader comics. And honestly I fight that sorta hype. Hard. I wasn't initially that interested in the comic, so that didn't help. But a buddy of mine insisted and he knows my... reservations, about hype. And Star Wars. And he told me to buy the damn comic anyway.

Boy I'm glad he did.

This is not what I expected. 

Vader is post-Empire Strikes Back, reeling from being rejected by Luke. He goes to Naboo, only to encounter the handmaidens of Amidala. The sheer visual story-telling chops of this comic are... just amazing. I loved all the intercuts, color variations, the emotional build up, all of it... it adds up to something that could not have been done in any other medium but a comic book. I don't see that very often. I'm wonderfully surprised to see it here.

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The Pull: August 2020 Edition

The Amazing Spider-Man: Sins Rising #1

As a supposedly conservative Christian, this was a painful read. I'm not Pentecostal, but there's a duality that I've encountered inside of myself that is not Christian, not of what is taught, that this comic brings to the forefront and criticizes, openly, painfully, and honestly. I found I had a lot more in common with Stan than I would like to admit. Good art holds up a mirror. This book held up a mirror in a way that was uncompromising to some of my experiences of American Christianity. 

Actually, a good deal of it.

The Amazing Spider-Man #44

There are a few times when comics really show what they're capable of as sequential art. They transcend the usual trash that is humanity's attempts at art and become something... more. When this happens you get a sublime, almost surrealistic blending of image and letter. 

This issue one of them.

There's a level of "come to this as it is" that is what makes the issue so special for me. There's no attempt to make the issue make sense, and so you have to go along, just accepting the issue as it is. There was a very similar eerie quality in Sins Rising which I didn't comment upon so much there. But the craftsmanship of both comics is just beyond what I would expect for any comic book. Truly art.

The Amazing Spider-Man #45

...and now we're dropped back into Spider-Man's world. There's this jarring and off-putting feeling which matches the story so incredibly well! The compositions have changed, in part because of the change of artist; the more grounded feel is what classic Spidey artist Mark Bagley is known for. Unfortunately Bagley's drafting just isn't up to snuff in this issue, which is sad, given his immense skills. That being said, Bagley's actual visual storytelling is just phenomenal and is used to contrast with the previous issues in ways that are entirely intentional. I love that they took two issues to build up to this one. It feels right and creates this divide from Spider-Man, isolating the character from you, the reader, and leaving him totally alone. You know too much. Spidey knows nothing. 

And your knowledge matches his confusion. Fantastic.

X-Men #10

When most writers swing big, they usually go for about fifty or so issues on a single book. Maybe a little bit more. When Hickman goes big he does at least fifty issues, over the course of at least two or three (or more) books. His new X-men initiative spans authors and comics, and is probably his largest thing he's done so far. And it shows. The thing that most people do not realize that makes a long run is that the concept has to be big enough to where you can go for forever. Hickman's early part of his Avengers run was criticized for being almost obtuse in the amount of plates that he juggled. The series didn't seem to have any connectivity. 

That, of course, missed what Hickman was doing: setting up the points that he was going to start bouncing the ping pong balls off of.

And he's still doing it in X-Men. And yeah, sometimes that's really frustrating, like it is here. Vulcan is not a character I have a whole lot of appreciation for. And I love what Hickman does with the character here, by fleshing him out to make him a hero I can actually root for! And I can't wait for the points to start to connect.

But it can be really frustrating to wait for that. 

That being said, I'm taking notes. When this sparks it's going to catch real good.

Star Wars #5

Luke has recently discovered he's Vader's son, and has to grapple with what that means. Luke has the black he eventually becomes known for in ROTJ, combined with the brown jacket he had from an earlier run. He's still a good kid, but a hurting one, seeking answers. And the person he's seeking answers from gives him answers he didn't expect or want, particularly about Order 66, the Inqiuistors, and Vader's role with them. Of all the people that Luke has to run into, this particular person seems to be the one to pop the idealistic bubble he had about the Jedi.

There's been a dream-like quality to this book for me. Each point they set down I find myself saying "But of course! How else could it be?" There's a magic to this title that is hard to put into words, but this whole run has felt right since the word "go". These folks get Luke. They get Star Wars. And watching that unfold is magic.

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