The Weekly Pull: Batman, Spider-Man: Reign 2, Public Domain, and More
This week also brings a new issue of Birds of Prey and more.
Batman #150
Batman #150 cover
- Jorge Jiménez, Alejandro Sánchez, DC)- Written by Chip Zdarsky
- Art by Denys Cowan, Jorge Jiménez, John Stanisci, Mike Hawthorne, and Adriano di Benedetto
- Colors by Tomeu Morey and Romulo Fajardo Jr.
- Letters by Clayton Cowles
- Published by DC
Anniversary issues for the biggest superhero characters may not always be successful, but they always attract big talent and big names resulting in big opportunities. Batman #150 feels like a very big opportunity, regardless of how readers have been interacting with the series. Writer Chip Zdarsky is set to deliver two stories in an over-sized issue that reflect very different perspectives on the character. The first tale is a standalone featuring legendary DC artists Denys Cowan and Jorge Jiménez as they depict Batman's struggle with a low-level criminal who discovers his true identity. The second draws in Mike Hawthorne who aligns with DC's current house style and a plot tying into DC's big summer event "Absolute Power." So whether readers just want to focus on the character of Batman or delve into his next expansive adventure, there's a flavor for every taste. Zdarsky has shown himself to be a thoughtful curator of their character's expansive history and themes, and both of these stories are set to present that considered approach along with outstanding artists in very different formats of superhero storytelling. It's an anniversary issue that emphasizes the talent involved and the sorts of stories available to continue thrilling Batman fans rather than insisting on its own importance. Batman #150 isn't a can't-miss issue because of the number on the cover; it's what's inside that counts. -- Chase Magnett
Birds of Prey #11
- Written by Kelly Thompson
- Art by Robbi Rodriguez, Javier Pina, and Gavin Guidry
- Colors by Jordie Bellaire
- Lettering by Clayton Cowles
- Published by DC
The "Worlds Without End" has been more than a high-concept complication for the Birds of Prey, it has been a delightful outlet to examine the team's relationships and insecurities. As the story grows weirder and wilder — quite literally, thanks to some dinosaurs — the work that Kelly Thompson and company deliver is truly something special. I can't stop thinking about this issue. — Jenna Anderson
Free Agents #1
- Written by Kurt Busiek, Fabian Nicieza
- Art by Stephen Mooney
- Colors by Triona Farrell
- Letters by Comicraft
- Published by Image Comics
Free Agents #1 cover
- Stephen Mooney, Image Comics)There's no shortage of nostalgia for the 1990s in direct market comics right now, with Marvel seemingly trying to recapture the "Mutant Genesis" magic in its X-Men relaunch. But while Marvel may be trying to tap into the 1990s vibe, creators at Image Comics, which launched in the early 1990s, have been revisiting the era with more to say about it. Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs' Local Man has garnered awards attention for its examination of a semi-retired 1990s-style superhero, and the Joe Casey-penned Blood Squad Seven – a loving but legally distinct homage to a founding Image Comics property that is no longer part of its IP stable – got off to a strong start just a few weeks ago. Free Agents looks like the latest Image Comics title to follow that trend. It's written by two luminaries of the 1990s, Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza, teaming with artist Stephen Mooney. The series follows a team of heroes who have fought bloody battles across space and now hope to save their souls. Busiek has described Free Agents as "a superhero series with a twist." And, as the creator of Marvel's original Thunderbolts, Busiek knows a thing or two about superhero stories with twists. We can't wait to see what Busiek, Nicieza, and Mooney have in store for readers with Free Agents. -- Jamie Lovett
Grendel: Devil's Crucible - Defiance #1
Grendel: Devil's Crucible – Defiance #1 cover
- Matt Wagner, Dark Horse Comics)- Written by Matt Wagner
- Art by Matt Wagner
- Colors by Brennan Wagner
- Letters by Rob Leigh
- Published by Dark Horse Comics
After more than 40 years of comics, Matt Wagner's Grendel saga is as strong as it has ever been. While the complete collection runs the gamut of romantic tales of thieves and werewolves set in a bygone past to space-bound odysseys across mankind's far future, themes of violence, corruption, entropy, and identity weave each iteration of the haunting mask into a masterful whole. It's a remarkable accomplishment for a single cartoonist and marks Grendel as one of the most resonant comic book creations from the 1980s. This week Wagner returns in Grendel: Devil's Crucible – Defiance #1, a sequel to Grendel: Devil's Odyssey in which Grendel Prime searched the galaxy for habitable planets and encountered many forms of sentient life. Now Grendel Prime has returned to Earth and discovered humanity reduced to a feudal state rejecting the Grendel legacy. It is a culmination of decades of comics and stories accessible both on its own terms as dystopian sci-fi and as a new consideration of themes, ideas, and legacies built across so many years of past Grendel comics. What's certain is that Wagner's work as both a comics writer and artist has never seemed more confident. No matter how long readers have been following his work, they'll find themselves lucky to discover the newest installment in the Grendel saga this week. -- Chase Magnett
JSA: The Golden Age
- Written by James Robinson
- Art by Paul Smith
- Colors by Richard Ory
- Letters by JOhn Costanza
- Published by DC
Through reboots and retcons and various publishing hiatuses, the Justice Society of America have been unique paragons in the superhero world. The 1993-1994 miniseries The Golden Age was one of the team's first explorations into the Elseworlds banner, delivering an out-of-continuity tale set amid the backdrop of the team's fight against McCarthyism. The events of The Golden Age have only gotten more prescient in both our political and popular culture, and this week's new printing definitely deserves your attention, if you have yet to check out the series. — Jenna Anderson
Public Domain #6
- Written by Chip Zdarsky
- Art by Chip Zdarsky, Racheal Stott
- Published by Image Comics
Public Domain certainly isn't the first comic book about comic book creators and how their creations changed their lives, for good or ill, but it stands out from the rest thanks to creator Chip Zdarsky's approach to the material. While several of those other, similar comics have the whiff of yearning for bygone days, Public Domain is a thoroughly modern reckoning of a world where comic books are no longer niche nerd material or counterculture but cannon fodder for a wider media landscape addicted to intellectual property and averse to fairly compensating creators. Those other comics also tend to get lost in the meta-fiction, forcing its (sometimes barely) fictional creators to face their creations in a way that gives the whole effort the feel of a drug-fueled fever dream. Zdarsky, by contrast, is focused on the people in his story, making it squarely about their practical reality. Zdarsky brings a human touch to everything he writes, enhanced by his sharp cartooning skills, and Public Domain feels like the story he was born to write. Its return is more than welcome. -- Jamie Lovett
Spider-Man: Reign 2 #1
Spider-Man: Reign 2 #1 cover
- Kaare Andrews, Marvel Comics)- Written by Kaare Andrews
- Art by Kaare Andrews
- Colors by José Villarrubia
- Letters by Joe Caramagna
- Published by Marvel Comics
It has been nearly 20 years since the lease of Spider-Man: Reign and I still recall the buzz surrounding it at my comic book store. What began as "Dark Knight Returns for Spider-Man" as the miniseries presented a washed-up, middle-aged Peter Parker living in a dystopian future dominated by his enemies became something far stranger; today it's best remembered for killing Mary Jane with Peter's radioactive sperm. What a self-serious young reader of superhero comics interpreted as offensive has, upon revisitation, offered something delightfully strange. Spider-Man: Reign is a tragicomic presentation of a universe with no moral arc where heroism doesn't offer its own rewards and it's delivered in Kaare Andrews' distinctively dynamic style filled with razor-sharp lines and dripping atmosphere. It's unlike anything else in the Spider-Man canon in large part because it is such a strange reimagining of Spider-Man's essence. Rather than repeating the same Spidey story or even aping other superhero greats, Reign is entirely itself and worth revisiting, especially for those who may have dismissed it out of hand in 2007. Now in 2024 with the threat of an authoritarian surveillance state more relevant than ever and cynicism about superheroes (or the notion of heroism, even) reaching new peaks, Reign seems prescient in its concerns and relevant in its desperate presentation of underdogs fighting for a better world. Bring on Spider-Man: Reign 2; we could use more superhero stories willing to shatter our expectations like its predecessor did in another era of Marvel Comics. -- Chase Magnett
ThunderCats: Cheetara #1
ThunderCats: Cheetara #1 Cover
- Sozomaika, Dynamite Entertainment)- Written by Soo Lee
- Art by Domenico Carbone
- Colors by Chiara Di Francia
- Letters by Jeff Eckleberry
- Published by Dynamite Entertainment
Honestly, my knowledge of the ThunderCats franchise is few and far between — but the accessibility of Dynamite's comic relaunch has been enticing to me. In particular, the prospect of a solo series about the warrior Cheetara, diving into her massive origin story, is intriguing. This could be a fun detour akin to the classic heroines like Sheena and Barbarella, and I'm curious to see what Soo Lee, Domenico Carbone, and company do with the titular protagonist. — Jenna Anderson
