State of my Comic Book Pull List 2019

With the holidays now firmly behind us, the beginning of a brand spanking new year is the perfect time for everyone to look back at the things in our lives which may have changed over the past twelve months.

Each person probably has his or her own things they like to revisit every January, for me, one of those things I look back to is my weekly comic book pull list. And boy has my pull list changed since January 2018.

Since the last State of My Comic Book Pull List blog in January 2018, I’ve added a ton of titles to the list, some regular series and some mini-series. Since last January, I’ve subtracted a number of other titles, while other books ended or were canceled.

Also, one publisher, I was barely reading this time last year, had now overtaken all other published in stack pile. But let’s start with what I’m currently reading. As of this moment, these are the comic books I’m buying on a regular basis:

• Amazing Spider-Man
• Archie 1941
• Archie
• Asgardians of the Galaxy
• Betty & Veronica
• Captain Marvel
• Detective Comics
• Doctor Strange
• Doctor Who (13th Doctor)
• Domino
• Doomsday Clock
• Fantastic Four
• The Green Lantern
• Hawkman
• Justice League Odyssey
• Mage: The Hero Denied
• Mr. and Mrs. X
• Shazam!
• Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider
• Supergirl
• Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Urban Legends
• Tony Stark: Iron Man
• Uncanny X-Men
• X-23

 

 

At this time last year, I was reading just four Marvel books. Today I’m reading eleven Marvel titles, by far the most of any publisher. It would have been more than eleven Marvel books, but recently Astonishing X-Men, Infinity Wars, and X-Men Red all came to an end recent;y..

To make room for some of the Marvel comics I’m currently reading, some other books had to get. Therefore in 2018, I said goodbye to Aquaman, Batgirl, Batman, Captain America, Flash, Moon Knight, Red Hood, and the Outlaws. and others.

I stopped reading some of those books due to low funds, but I dropped Batman after the whole wedding debacle. It wasn’t so much that Catwoman and Batman didn’t get married, but more of why the wedding didn’t happen. Sure, Catwoman dumped Bruce Wayne this time, but how many times have we seen Batman pass up happiness because it interferes with him being the Bat?

Anyways, after reading Batman #50 this past summer, I just felt like I had wasted the last two-plus years reading the book, so I stopped buying the title cold turkey. No worries though, Detective Comics is fat and away a better Batman book.

I’m always looking to add more books to my pull list. But just like last year, I’m also hoping to add more variety to the list. In 2018 I read several books from Dynamite Entertainment, but they were all limited series. Recently I’ve gotten into the more adult Archie titles, so I’m hoping to explore that line more this year.

I thought 2018 was a good year for comic books, despite the fact my favorite pastime is getting more and more expensive. Stoll.  let’s hope 2019 is an even better year for comics.

Advertisements

Trailer Park: Avengers 4

 

wow, just wow.

Trailer Park: Captain Marvel (trailer 2)

 

DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN!!!!

 

 

 

Venom Review

Possible spoilers ahead!!

“Venom” tells the story of Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), an investigative reporter who’s finally found success in San Francisco as the host of his own network news show. Brock’s personal life is also doing well as he lives happily with his fiancé Anne Weying (Michelle Williams).

However, after Eddie betrays Anne’s trust and ignores explicit instructions from his boss in order to go after the leader of the Life Foundation, Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), Eddie is fired from his show. Within hours Eddie Brock is essentially blacklisted from working in journalism, and Anne breaks up with him.

Months later, Eddie is still down on his luck, until he’s approached by Life Foundation scientist Dr. Dora Skirth (Jenny Slate). She explains that Carlton Drake had been experimenting with alien creatures called symbiotes. These symbiotes must bond with an Earthen host in order to survive on the planet, and Drake means to fuse symbiotes with humans as a way to survive in space. But more often than not, the symbiotes end up killing the human hosts.

Hoping to stop the symbiote experiments by making them public, Dr. Skirth sneaks Eddie into the Life Foundation. Once in the lab, one of the symbiotes named Venom bonds with Eddie and the pair help to each other alive. But, when Venom informs Eddie of a plot by another symbiote – Riot, who bonds with Drake – that endangers Earth, Venom and Eddie must set aside their differences and work together to take down Riot.

I’ll be honest with you: I had very low expectations for “Venom.” I just didn’t see how a live action Venom movie could work without Spider-Man. After all, Venom’s origin is forever linked to Spider-Man. But the filmmakers did something very smart by turning “Venom” into a buddy comedy between Eddie and Venom. This not only made me forget about Spider-Man’s absence, but it also made the origin changes seem organic, rather than forced.

The buddy aspect between Eddie and Venom also lead to some of the film’s funniest moments. Some of which had the entire theater laughing. Another nice thing about the script for Venom is that the writers recognize how wild and crazy the premise is. They poke fun at it here and there, but in a fun way. The film never takes itself too seriously, and I liked that.

I thought the script and the directing were pretty solid throughout. But one thing that was noticeably was the pace of the film, or rather, the slow pace. The first act is very interesting and shows how good Tom Hardy is at playing crazy, creepy, and weird. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say the first act of “Venom” could have moved faster, or been cut down by 10-15 minutes.

However, Tom Hardy’s performance had me from his first scene. Instead of focusing just on Venom, the movie is all about Eddie Brock, his life, and how he’s adjusting to this new situation. Hardy made Brock funny, charismatic, and relatable. But most important of all, Hardy made the character someone I could root for. For the first time ever, I gave a damn about Eddie Brock. And for someone that’s been reading comics for 30 years, that’s saying something.

Michelle Williams also did a good job as Anne. I liked how even after the breakup, she never judged Eddie. She was mad and hurt of course, but she never stopped caring for him. When things hit the fan in the movie, Anne is the only person Eddie can trust, and she sticks with him through it all. Anne even saves him a couple of times and has one really cool scene where she bonds with Venom.

I do wish the filmmakers had done something else with Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed). The performance wasn’t bad by any means. Ahmed can play a cool exec with a heart of steel, but he looked so young compared to everyone else. I kinda wish they’d given him a goatee, or glasses, or even a Blofeld scar. Anything so he didn’t look like a 12-year-old.

Perhaps “Venom” isn’t as good as an MCU film, but it isn’t trying to be. “Venom” is trying to tells its own story, with brand new characters, and they pulled it off. “Venom” was much better than I expected thanks to plenty of laughs, good action, and a great lead in Tom Hardy. The special effects on Venom were stunning, and beter than anything we saw in “Spider-Man 3.”

Maybe its due to my low expectations going in, maybe not. Whatever the case may be, by the time the credits rolled, I was ready for “Venom 2.”

“Venom” score: B+

5 Underrated Venom Comics

As crazy as it sounds, the first ever live action “Venom” is only a couple of days away from hitting your local multiplex! I’m still not sure he needs his own movie, but maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised this weekend when it comes out.

For now however, I thought this would be the perfect time to talk about some underrated comics starring Spider-Man’s favorite brain eating villain. Venom has been in a ton of comics over the last 30 years, so there is plenty to choose from.

But to be clear: these comics are by no means necessary to enjoy “Venom” on the big screen. Nor are they in any particular order. These are just good comic stories you might enjoy before or after seeing Tom Hardy’s latest accent this weekend. Got it? good, and away we go:

Venom #1-5 (2011)

Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Tony Moore

After the 90’s, I was burned on anything Venom related. Them. om 2011 my comic book guy kept telling me to try the Venom monthly book. I hesitated for well over a year, and then at 2012’s New York Comic Con I found issues #1-9 for 50 cents each.

I was in for a shock though, because this wasn’t the same Venom I remembered from before. In this series the world was introduced to an entirely different version of the symbiotic anti-hero.

This series saw Peter Parker’s friend Flash Thompson, become a war hero who lost his legs saving others. Thus making him a perfect candidate to become a government-sponsored Agent Venom.

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Venom: The Madness #1-3 (1993)

Writer: Ann Nocenti
Artist: Kelley Jones

This mini series was an all-out battle between two of Marvel’s most intimidating enemies: Venom and The Juggernaut! I’m not positive, but this might be the only time Venom and Juggy went toe to toe.

During the confrontation between the two, Venom is exposed to some chemicals that make him go even crazier than usual. Sounds fairly tame by today’s standard, but in 1993 it made for some good reading. Plus the creative team is Ann Nocenti and Kelley Jones ain’t to shabby.

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Venom: The Enemy Within #1-3 (1994)

Writer: Bruce Jones
Artist: Bob McLeod

Because so many of the 90’s Venom mini series were bad, stuff like The Enemy Within is often forgotten. This was one of the Venom miniseries that pitted symbiote against some of Spider-Man’s more obscure villains.

This particular 3 issue tale sees Venom matched up against a pair of supernatural foes: the Demogoblin and Morbius, the Living Vampire!

The story by Bruce Jones if a fun one, and the art by Bob McLeod never disappoints. But the main reason I bought this series back in the day, was that kick ass glow in the dark cover to Venom: The Enemy Within #1.

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Planet of the Symbiotes (1995)

Writer: David Michelinie
Artists: Dave Hoover, Joe St. Pierre, Kyle Hotz, Darick Robertson, Steve Lightle, Ralph Cabrera, Greg Adams, Armando Gil and Arne Starr.

Fearing the growing influence of his “other,” Eddie Brock takes the drastic step of splitting himself from the Venom symbiote. But the result is a full-scale invasion by its alien race! As more and more humans are taken as hosts, Eddie must team with Spider-Man and the Scarlet Spider to save Earth from being overrun. And to do so, they must journey to the Planet of the Symbiotes! But whose side will the Venom symbiote be on? And amid all the chaos, Carnage awakens from his coma – and plans to absorb as many symbiotes as he can! Can our heroes deal with a 50-foot-tall psychopath? It’s a symbiotic sci-fi super hero spectacular!

Planet of the Symbiotes ran in Amazing Spider-Man Super Special #1, Spider-Man Super Special #1, Venom Super Special #, Spectacular Spider-Man Super Special #1, and Web of Spider-Man Super Special #1 There books were basically the 1995 Annuals for the Spider-Man line. They were big overpriced comics, so I think a lot of fans missed out on what was an entertaining story.

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Spirits of Venom (1993)

Writer: Howard Machie
Artists: Alex Saiuk and Adam Kubert.

Running in Web of Spider-Man #95-96 and Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #5-6, Spirits of Venom brought together two of the most popular characters at the time: Venom and Ghost Rider! Plus the Demogoblin and Johnny Blaze are there too, and stuck in the middle of it all is your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!

Maybe this isn’t the best Venom story out there, but I loved it when I read it during 8th grade science class. I got detention fo my trouble, but I used the time wisely and read the rest ot the trade paperback during detention.

Trailer Park: Dark Phoenix

 

Hmmm… me thinks they’ve gone and screwed up this story again. Nothing here reminds me of the classic comic arc. To me, this trailer looks too much like “X-Men: The Last Stand.” And I don’t recall Jean Grey ever causing a car accident that involved her family.

This is only the first trailer, but so far I am no excited to see “Dark Phoenix.” Maybe it is time for Kevin Feige to snap his fingers and start X-Men over again at Marvel.

Ant-Man and the Wasp Review

Possible spoilers ahead!

“Ant-Man and the Wasp” picks up nearly two years after the events of “Captain America: Civil War,” with Scott Lang close to completing his house arrest sentence that was part of his deal to get out of prison after violating the Sokovia Accords. However, days before his time is up, Scott reunited with his former associates Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), both of whom are wanted by the FBI and have been on the run for the past two years.

But if the FBI catches up with scott, it will sabotage the new life he’s trying to build for himself, like starting a security business with his friends Luis (Michael Peña), Dave (Tip “T.I.” Harris) and Kurt (David Dastmalchian). Another arrest would also put in peril his relationship with his daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Forsten), ex-wife Maggie (Judy Greer) and her new fiancé Paxton (Bobby Cannavale).

During the same period of time, the Pym’s have assembled a lab where they’ve been building a Quantum Tunnel in an attempt to rescue Hank’s wife and Hope’s mother, Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer). Janet went missing in the Quantum Realm about 30 years ago. But Hank and Hope have their own problems, thanks to criminal named Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins), who is after their research. Add to that the mysterious entity only known as Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and you got major problems for the heroes. As a result, Scott, Hank and Hope turn to an old associate of Hank’s for help: Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne).

Now with the FBI, a gangster, and a super powered villain all after the trio and Hank’s work, Scott must decide whether to protect his new life, or suit up again as Ant-Man to help his friends.

It is a very rare thing when a movie sequel is better than the original film. But you know what? For me “Ant-Man and the Wasp” is miles better than the first “Ant-Man”, and I’m a huge fan of the 2015 film. But when it comes right down to it, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” was as close to a perfect sequel as you can get.

Like the first film, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” has the right mix of super-heroics, and silly humor. But the sequel goes even further than the 2015 film. The story in “Ant-Man and the Wasp” is sharper, and wastes no time to get going. The film also manages to make the science stuff easy to understand for people like me who were always horrible at science. And yet, this film still feels grounded thank to the main story about saving Janet Van Dyne.

Paul Rudd delivers yet another solid performance as Scot Lang, but this time he even added more inner conflict to his character. It was nice seeing him battle with wanting to help his friends the Pym’s, but at the same time not wishing to hurt his daughter. The filmmakers did a superb job balancing Scott’s heavy stuff, and the funny bits.

But for me, the biggest highlight of the movie was Evangeline Lilly as the Wasp. She not only steals the movie, but in many ways is the lead character. Hope Van Dyne is more skilled at combat than Scott Lang, and she’s often the one in charge. Also, Hope gets an equal number of action scenes as Scott, and some of the best one liners. In particular, I enjoyed how she teased Scott when the two had to sneak into a school.

The banter between the two also helps balance the film’s comedy, and we actually get to see their relationship grow. Plus, Hope is at the center of the emotional arc of the movie, since they’re trying to rescue her mother, and Evangeline Lilly carries off that dramatic storyline as well as anyone. This part of the movie even leads to a touching, and funny moment in the lab as the Pym’s comfirm if Janet is alive.

It was also nice to see Scott’s friends Luis (Michael Peña), Dave (Tip “T.I.” Harris) and Kurt (David Dastmalchian), all back for the new adventure. The three are involved in one of my favorite scenes of the movie which involved some truth serum. Plus Kurt’s reaction as seeing Ghost for the first time, was just priceless.

Also of note is Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost. Going in I thought she might be a weak villain like Yellowjacket was, but the filmmakers stepped up their game and made Ghost a surprisingly complex character. John-Kamen gave the character some great depth too, to the point where you understand what drives her motivations.

If I have one complaint about “Ant-Man and the Wasp” it would be with Sonny Birch’s character. I don’t think the movie needed him, and whenever the film went back to him, it only slowed things down. Plus with the FBI also serving as antagonists to Scott, Hope and Hank, it was almost a case of too many villains.

But as I said earlier, I thought “Ant-Man and the Wasp” was better than the original, and a lot of fun to boot. The cast was terrific, the action was awesome, and the Wasp stole every moment she appeared on-screen. I don’t know what the future holds for this little corner of the MCU, but I for one would love another adventure with Ant-Man and the Wasp.

“Ant-Man and the Wasp” score: A