From The Pull List: October 17, 2012

CURRENT PULL Aquaman Earth-2 World's Finest Batman Batman and Robin Nightwing Stormwatch Justice League Justice League International Phantom Stranger Avengers vs X-Men and all tie-ins The Amazing Spider-Man Spider-Men Miniseries Daredevil The Walking Dead (Trade Only) DANGER ZONE Demon Knights Redhood and the Outlaws DROPPED Resurrection Man Wonder Woman Justice League Dark Superboy Action Comics Wonder Woman Voodoo

Since this is the first entry of 'From The Pull List' I suppose I have to explain a few things---bare with me, I'll keep it as short and concise as possible. Once upon a time, I was an avid comic book reader. But then I grew up and moved on and aside from the odd trade here and there I quit reading comics. But last year's New 52 promotion by DC drew me back in and eventually, I started following Marvel as well when AvsX began. And every week I usually exchange a few tweets with Josh on twitter about what we thought about this week's comics. But I realize I have a lot more to say than what can fit into 140 characters and thus 'From The Pull List" was born. But I don't want this to just be only my voice each week. I know there are quite a few passionate and longtime comic book readers here on the site so I'm opening things up to contributions from all users. Each week I'll be posting some quick bullet reviews of the titles currently on my pull list and anything else I happen to pick up while I'm in my LCS. But I'm obviously not reading everything and I want to make this feature as all-encompassing as possible so anyone else that wants to participate can. All you have to do is the following: 1: Write a short 1-paragraph review of the current titles you read that week. 2. Email me your review (or use the Contact Mark Julian button on the right). 3. Keep spoilers to a minimum and be sure to include your 5-star rating! 4. Include your CBM User name/Twitter handle/Blog/Etc. if you have one That's it. And it doesn't have to only be titles that are not on my Pull List. You want to voice your opinion on the latest issue of Batman from Scott Snyder or The Amazing Spider-Man from Dan Slott? Covering some creator owned titles over at IDW or Dark Horse or maybe you're reading one of the Mark Millar books? If you've got something to say about what you're reading then feel free to send your reviews my way . Of course, if I get 10 reviews on Batman I can't feature them all so reviews will be selected on a first-come,first-served basis. Now with that out of the way, let's jump into this week's comics.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #13 (w) Geoff Johns (a) Tony Daniel (c) Tomeu Morey (cvr) Tony Daniels

We pick things up right where we left off last issue with Superman and Wonder Woman's kiss. The art is strong although I'm not particularly fond of the design they went with for Cheetah. Conflict with our villainess aside, it was good to see that the relationship between Superman and Wonder Woman wasn't just a one issue publicity stunt and that Johns isn't rushing to put them into a full-on relationship either. I also liked that we finally got character development on Cyborg. As the lone Leaguer without a solo-title he's often felt like a plot-device at times. The only odd thing about his exchange with Flash was that it felt as if it was Wally under the mask and not Barry. Overall, I'd say that I enjoyed the character development in this issue more so than the plot centering around Cheetah.

We also had a back-up story featuring Steve Trevor and what looks like the beginning of the new Justice League of America series starting up in 2013. It looks as if Green Arrow may be the leader of the team consisting of Martian Manhunter, Catwoman, Baz, Green Arrow, Vibe, Stargirl, Hawkman and Katana. Did anyone recognize the amulet that Arrow gave to Trevor?

RED HOOD & THE OUTLAWS #13 (w) Scott Lobdell (a) Timothy Green (c) Blond (cvr) Kenneth Rocafort

A point of view issue told from the perspective of Arsenal aka Roy Harper although Starfire is the clear star, showcasing some awesome powers. Plot-wise the trio overcame The Blight pretty quickly and in such a straightforward manner it undermines their threat-level a bit. An entertaining issue but the series as a whole has struggled to elevate itself beyond average in both writing and art. I'm primarily reading the series because of my interest in Jason Todd so if the series doesn't figure prominently in 'Death of the Family' I may ultimately drop it.

DC Universe Presents #13 (w) Marc Andreyko (a) Robson Rocha (c) Gabe Eltaeb (cvr) Ryan Sook

Picked up the title on a whim because I'm a fan of Black Lightning and while I'm only familiar with the basics when it comes to Blue Devil, I always found him to be an interesting character. The story skips the origin and dumps you right into the plot as the heroes meet and of course fight before realizing they're both after villain Tobias Whale. The art, while far from stellar compliments the dialogue very well and I applaud Rocha's use varying perspective angles. However, it has to be sais that Black Lightning has one of the blandest superhero costumes I've ever seen. Needless to say, I'm not hooked by any means but I'm intrigued enough to give the title at least one more issue.

Nightwing #13 (w) Tom Delfaco (a) Andres Guinaldo (c) Rod Reis (cvr) Eddy Barrows

An issue featuring a guest writer but a LOT of ground gets covered here. There's a brief encounter with Batgirl, the looming storyline of Death of the Family, a humorous exchange with the Penguin and of course Lady Shiva. It's a solid issue and features some very Jim Lee-esque pencils from Guinaldo. The only element I questioned was the exchange between Dick and Barbara. I wasn't enamored with the depiction of Batgirl here or the way Dick just let her go. There's too much history between them for something like that to happen and with a guest writer, it's possible that this could be something that's gets lost in the shuffle when Higgins returns. Still, it sets up the story nicely for the next issue where I'm sure we'll get a nice acrobatic showdown between Shiva and Nightwing.

Daredevil #19 (w) Mark Waid (a) Chris Samnee (c) Javier Rodriguez (cvr) Paolo Rivera

Right now, you'd be hard pressed to find another Marvel title better than what Waid and Samnee are crafting over on Daredevil. I love when series can intermix an interesting personal life along with the superheroics and that's exactly what we're getting over on Daredevil. The story and villain are perfect for the micro, street-level escapades of Matt Murdock and the art is just another foray into the creamy, surreal goodness that has Samnee listed among the best in the industry. The way the panels are ordered you're scratching your head trying to piece together what exactly is happening and then it all clicks when you find out who the villain is. Phenomenal work going on over there folks.

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