The TALKING COMICS Review Round-Up

Every week, the Talking Comics collective posts a mega-list of the comics they’re most excited to pull off the shelves that week. Check back here to see if the comics on the Pull List met the team’s expectations with reviews and quippy quotables!!! Click the links to go to full reviews and reflections!!!

Also, check out our weekly Favorite Comic Book Covers of the Week column for more coverage of last week’s new books!

This week’s contributors:

• Jesse Bowden (@JesseBowden)
• Huw Parry (@h_paz)
• Deanna Chapman (@deeechap)
• John Dubrawa (@thisjohnd)
• Bob Reyer (bobreyer@talkingcomicbooks.com)
• Steve Seigh (@dead_anchoress)
• Max Mallet (@globetrottermax)
• Nathan Ryan (@Clown_Prince52)
• Kelsey Hlavaty (@kelssamus)
• Vivek Kembaiyan (@just_Vivek)
• Hernan Guarderas (@hguarderas93)
• Lorna Maltman (maltmanlorna@gmail.com)
• Nate Mondschein (@33andMoonshine)
• Greg Brothers (@popculturegeek3)
• Matthew Iung (@iceo1000)
• Miguel Canales-Holler (@Beefsandwich28)
• John Burkle ( @johnpburkle )

And lovingly edited by Joey Braccino (@joeybraccino)

New Comic Book Day – December 7th, 2016

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ACTION LAB

The Circle #1 – Damon Clark & Alyzia Zherno

• Give it a shot.  Clarke uses this first issue as a establishing one before we delve into the occult. There are a lot of cliches, but Clarke and Zherno injected enough character to make me interested to come back for the oncoming issues. The art and layout are good even if at times the faces look like something from a Dr Seuss. – Lorna.

AVATAR PRESS

Über Invasion #1 – Kieron Gillen & Daniel Gete

• BUY!  I’m a history geek.  Gillen clearly knows his stuff, and the notion of an enhanced Nazi army that operate as something akin to evil X-Men is bone-chilling.  You don’t need to know WW2 history to fully appreciate it, but it certainly helps.  Gete’s artwork is some of the most beautiful — but also brutal — that I’ve come across this year.  -Max  

[Editor’s Note: For Max’s full review, click here!!!]

DC COMICS

Green Arrow #12 – Ben Percy & Otto Schmidt

• Check it out. This is the first Green Arrow comic I’ve read and it’s been pretty good. I love the Black Canary dynamic and you can always count on some jokes being made. – Deanna
• Buy this book. It’s nice to have a quality Green Arrow book on the shelves. Other then the Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino run the past few years have not been kind to the Emerald Archer. Percy is writing a solid story and it doesn’t hurt to have Otto Schmidt back on the artwork. Whether you’re a long time fan or finding your way to this book from Arrow this book deserves your love as Green Arrow has been one of the most consistent Rebirth books and #12 does not disappoint. – John B

[Editor’s Note: For John’s full review, click here!!!]

Nightwing #10 – Tim Seeley & Marcus To

• Buy! Nice to see Dick back in Bludhaven. One of my favorite Nightwing runs was Dixon & McDaniel when they introduced the city that made Gotham look clean. A nice call back & Seely really has a handle on DIck right now. Interesting new mysteries and antagonists. Hope this is the new status quo for the foreseeable future.  – John B.

• Buy! Dick Grayson’s first time/return to Bludhaven (this timeline is wacky) serves not only as a nice change of pace for the character but works to give new readers a fresh point of entry to the series. Sure, there’s a fair amount of history already packed into the last 9 issues, but Tim Seeley does an admirable job of summing all of that up and moving on with Dick’s new adventures. Marcus To’s artwork gives a series a new look, as well, but don’t worry, the abs are still there in all their glory. -John D.

• Buy! For me it was great to see Dick return to Bludhaven. It was a great setup to the arc going forward but didn’t read slow at all. I didn’t like the art quite as much as the first arc but it might grow on me as it certainly wasn’t bad. Nathan

• Buy. I’m not too familiar with Bludhaven, so this was a nice introduction to it. It looks like this will make a nice Nightwing story, especially with the distance between him and Gotham now. I look forward to how this arc turns out. – Deanna

Superman #12 – Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason & Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza

• Buy.  An alien farm boy goes head-to-head with one of the most iconic horror figures in modern literature.  Oh, and the monster works as a government agent.  As icing on the cake, there are some unforgettable splash pages here.  Superman continues to be one of the best new runs of the year.  -Max

[Editor’s Note: For Max’s full review, click here!!!]

IDW PUBLISHING

Yakuza Demon Killers #2 – Amit Chauhan & Eli Powell

• Wait and See.  This series definitely shows promise.  It’s strength is in abstract horror art.  However, the first issue was significantly better — its prose was poetic and insightful.  This issue’s dialogue was too cutesy considering the dire circumstances in the story.  However, it’s early in this series’ lifespan, and I’m willing to stick around for the artwork and the potential for more consistency moving forward.  -Max

IMAGE COMICS

Motor Crush #1 – Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart, and Babs Tarr

• Buy.   I wasn’t into this comic in the beginning.  It grew on me. FAST.  I didn’t see the, “holy crap” moment until it snuck up on me.  The cliffhanger is unfair, and now I’m definitely on board for the next one.  -Max

• Buy! One of the most anticipated titles from this past April’s Image Expo, Motor Crush #1 doesn’t disappoint. Cameron Stewart, Brendan Fletcher, and Babs Tarr prove once again that their superstar status is well earned with a book that’s positively brimming with personality. The former Team Batgirl are left to their own devices and the result is a fast-paced, kinetic, and engaging from start to finish. Stewart, Fletcher, and Tarr are jointly created as creators on this book for a reason: it feels like a book only they could create. -John D.

[Editor’s Note: For John’s full review, click here!!!]

MARVEL COMICS

Great Lakes Avengers #2 – Zac Gorman & Will Robson

• Buy.This book has its flaws and it is not for everyone but, at the end of the day, it’s a fun time with good art and a helping of corks with faces on. – Lorna

[Editor’s Note: For Lorna’s full review, click here!!!]

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #1 – Kieron Gillen & Kev Walker, Salvador Larroca

• Verdict: Buy. If you like Darth Vader, you’ll want to check this out. It’s a new character, with not much as far as prior history goes. For Star Wars stories, it doesn’t seem to be often that we get all new characters to dive into. This is well worth the shot, even with the $4.99 price tag. – Deanna[Editor’s Note: For Deanna’s full review, click here!!!]

Unworthy Thor #2 – Jason Aaron, Olivier Coipel, Matthew Wilson, VC’s Joe Sabino

• Verdict: This is the best book Marvel has put out in 2016: With Unworthy Thor, Aaron and Coipel are holding a masterclass in how to write comic book series. I don’t know of any other Marvel title currently on the market that is able to convey more action, more emotion, and more drama than this mini-series. Together, Aaron and Coipel are crafting one of the finest redemption stories I’ve ever read and the only critique I have is that it’s three weeks till the next issue comes out. Drop whatever is on your pull-list and pick up these issues as they come out. – Jay

[Editor’s Note: For Jay’s full review, click here!!!]

• BUY! What Jason Aaron has done with Thor over the past few years is some of the Best Thor Stories ever! Unworthy Thor is an incredible book. Jason Aaron is writing a masterpiece. Oliver Coipel’s art is awe inspiring. Any fan of Thor, old or new, must read this book. It will not disappoint. – John B.

TITAN COMICS

Norman: The First Slash #1 – Stan Silas

• Buy. It’s weird to say that a book about a child serial killer is light and refreshing, but it is. This book was a hilarious fun and quick read that shows character dimensions from multiple angles and that is something I did not expect. I tend to not enjoy this style of art, however for this book it was the perfect fit and was great to look at. $3.99 seems a bit steep for this, but it is 32 pages and the enjoyment that I got out of it was fully worth the price. Nathan (Read Nathan’s Full Review Here!)

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And that’s our Pull List for this week!!! If you happen to pick up any of these books, please join the conversation here or on twitter and let us know what you think! As we update the site with reviews and verdicts on these comics, we’d love to include your input!

#READCOMICS