Pull List 10/31

Hey!

     I have ordered my weekly comic books online today. They should get to me on either Saturday or Monday. The reviews that I decide to do for these issues will be published early next week. These comic books are:

Image: Bedlam #1 (I am super excited for this book!)
           Fatale #9
           Happy #2

Marvel: Hit Girl #4

Zenescope: Wonderland #4


Oh I am also purchasing a couple more books this week ( today in fact ). The review for these if I decide to review them will be published in the next couple of days. These are:

Ultimate Spider-Man #16.1
Wolverine and the X-Men #19

I hope you all have a great Halloween! Stay safe.


         

Punisher War Zone #1 Review

After the fantastic conclusion of the Punisher series we now step right into this mini without missing a beat. The premise I believe is that the Avengers are not too happy with what Frank Castle has been accused of, so are taking it upon themselves to hand out their own kind of justice.

This issue sees Spider man confront the Punisher in order to let him know how he feels about how he carries out his business. What I really enjoyed was that it was Spider Man who got to be the first to show his displeasure. As we all are aware, in recent times he has been used for light relief in regards to his Avengers appearances, so it was nice to see him be more serious for a change. What he said to Frank was heartfelt, and it was clear to see just how Franks' action affected him on a personal level as they go against all his beliefs. They had a brief fight during this encounter, and I really enjoyed how Frank got away from it. It was clever and it really needed to be considering Spidey has superpowers and he has none.

Spider Man then approaches the Avengers with the idea to take Frank down. This was met with complete disinterest from the whole group. Going back to Spidey being light relief, this reaction from the group made perfect sense for me. However he ended up striking a nerve with Captain America, which of course led to the whole team then getting involved. 

The question that remains is just how is Frank supposed to fight a war that he knows nothing about? Well that is where Wolverine steps up. The encounter of theirs only lasted a few panels, but the mutual respect they shared was clear to see. They both believe in violence, as well as having no limits set for themselves. I do not know much about the history between them, but this scene for me completely made sense and was great to read through.

Although I believe the artist is different from Rucka's Punisher run, it still has the same feel to it that that series had. There are a lot of panels without any dialogue in this issue, but they really do not need them. The art speaks for itself. I know that is pretty cliché but it really does. By looking at these panels you can tell exactly what Frank Castle is thinking without him even having to open his mouth.

To be honest I was expecting this mini series to just tie up any loose ends from the ongoing which has just finished. I could not have been more wrong. Instead it is carrying the story on, while also acting as an explanation for Frank Castle's situation when Marvel NOW! comes a long. Or thats what I believe anyway. We will have to wait and see. I am definitely picking up the next issue as well as the rest of the series. If you are a fan of the Punisher or Greg Rucka then I suggest you do the same.

Rating: 9 / 10

Amazing Spider Man #696

With the last issue of ASM hitting stores in December, we are currently working our way through the build up to that historic event. So lets see what happened in this issue, and if I am more excited for #700 (if that is even possible).

So Peter Parker has been kidnapped by the current Hobgoblin (Phil Ulrich), and taken to the Kingpin. Luckily for Peter they just assume he is a friend of Spider Man, and not the main man himself. Max Modell was then sent a video of Parker tied up, and told to bring a suitcase that Spider Man had taken from them to their current location.
This next scene of Modell snooping around Parker's lab was genius  and really had me believing that Modell would find evidence proving that Peter was the wall crawler. It is clear to see that Max is currently in the process of putting the pieces together, but I am not too sure whether he will figure it out in time for #700 or whether we are just being teased.

Another nice scene was seeing Roderick Kingsley (the old Hobgoblin) looking around Ulrich's apartment. It felt creepy, while also making Kingsley seem dangerous at the same time. It may have only lasted two pages, but this was one of my favourite scenes in the book, which is impressive considering my knowledge of Hobgoblin history is pretty minimal.
This led us to a fight between the two Hobgoblin's which to be honest I was pretty disappointed with. I thought the art made it slightly confusing, and it just was not as epic as I expected it to be. But I guess with so much going on in this issue, it may have been hard to give it any more room.

I enjoyed Peter Parker using the web shooters against Kingpin's group of Ninjas in order to escape. He had to pretend that he was only slightly familiar with them, which you could tell Max was not too sure he believed.
The two Hobgoblins then realise they must team up in order to retrieve the Goblin Key, which has been stolen by Peter and Max. This leaves us waiting until next issue to see just how the two "geeks" escape the Hobgoblins, as well as what happens next in general in this series. Surely Peter is going to use some of his powers to fight them off, but can he hide this from Max?

I really enjoyed this issue, which is not unusual for an issue of ASM considering that Spider Man is my favourite superhero. However, issue #700 feels a long way away unfortunately, and I believe that if this milestone was not approaching then I may have enjoyed this issue even more so. I think I can speak on behalf of many Spidey fans when I say I am just desperate to have the last issue in my hands, and to know how everything ends. Saying that, #700 would be nothing without the build up leading up to it. So with that in mind, yes, this was another solid issue of ASM. Pick it up as I am sure it will make #700 even more enjoyable when it finally does arrive.


Rating: 7.25 / 10