NCBD Pull or No Pull: November 14, 2018

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Pull or No Pull November 14 2018

No matter how fastidious you are in maintaining your comic shop pull list in your never-ending battle to make sure you don't miss anything good (or accidentally waste your money on something not so much), it never hurts to do a last minute check on what's coming out this week so you can make those fine-tuned adjustments.

Here are our looks at this week's upcoming comics, and our hot takes on whether they're a pick or a pan. Your mileage may vary.

Bitter Root #1 (Image)

This entry into the comics market from David Walker and Chuck Brown looks to be a different kind of SUPERNATURAL. It's 1920s Harlem, and the city is facing a threat of monsters. The good news is that the Sangerye family has been fighting monsters for generations. The bad news is that the familyis currently in disarray. They better get it together, or New York is toast. This one is mildly interesting and worth a look.

 

Dr. Horrible Best Friends Forever #0 (Dark Horse)

Sometimes in comics, the hero finds himself fighting alongside the villain, taking the lesser of two evils. But these enemies never become friends -- unless you're Batman and Catwoman, or in this case Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer! There's a problem with the timestream thanks to Hourglass, but Joss Whedon and company bringing the team-up we never thought we'd see. Here's hoping the Captain doesn't leave the Doctor at the altar. Pick this one up and sing along.

Catwoman #5 (DC)

Speaking of Catwoman, someone's bombed her supposedly secret lair. But that's the least of her problems, when the police show up and arrest Selina for murder. I'm betting nobody comments, "Hey, weren't you Bruce Wayne's fiancee? Boy, he sure dodged a bullet!"

We're old enough to remember when Selina was in jail for murder and Batman had to bust her out to go fight Bane.

Electric Warriors #1 (DC)

Gather round, children, and let grandpa tell you about a time called the late 1980s, when any idea that could be a comic book did become a comic book, including a series called ELECTRIC WARRIOR. If you want to find out about it, check any quarter bin, which is where they went rather quickly.

This series has nothing to do with that other than the title. By Steve Orlando and Travel Foreman, the story takes place between the Great Disaster and the Legion of Super-Heroes, where Earth and other planets peacefully coexist by sending out gladiators to fight for a voice at the galactic table. (I don't get it either, but it is what it is.) Each planet must pick one, but Earth picks two. That ought to go over well, even if one of them has a "powerful relic from Earth's past" -- that being Superman's cape. Unless this is the indestructible cape of the pre-Crisis Superman, all that kid has is an antique cloth. Not enough to interest us here. 

Flash #58 (DC)

It's the beginning of "Force Quest." Barry Allen is no longer the Fastest Man Alive -- but what else is new? Barry has to travel the globe to learn the "secret history of the Speed Force," so that he can use that knowledge to fight Hunter Zolomon and other evils unleashed on the Multiverse. Joshua Williamson, Rafa Sandoval and Jordi Tarragona give us this one that reminds us once more just how complicated Flash has gotten ever since the Speed Force was introduced by Mark Waid. Does anyone else miss the simpler times when powers could be embued by a lightning bolt striking a shelf of random chemicals? Barry's search for meaning is something we can skip.

Mister Miracle #12 (DC)

It's the final piece to what has been a psychedelic roller coaster of a comic. At the wrap of issue 11, we don't know if the entire story arc has been a dream, the last mind spark before dying, or something of tremendous cosmic import. We don't know, but we're compelled to find out if we have to laud or excoriate Tom King and Mitch Gerads, and you should be too.

Avengers #10 (Marvel)

This is one of those landmark issues ruined by renumbering. It's #10, but it's really #700. It's the Marvel Universe against the Earth's Mightiest Heroes who find themselves personae non gratae with just about everybody, including super-teams from Atlantis, Russia, and -- oh yeah -- the U.S. Government. Jason Aaron, David Marquez, and Ed MCGuinness also promise a new Avenger, the prehistoric Avengers team, plus some insight into that whole Wolverine resurrection we keep hearing about.

Domino #8 (Marvel)

Looking at this bloody gorgeous cover by Ron Lim and Gang Hyuk, we couldn't help but be drawn in. I mean, look at that presentation! That's one dangerous looking Morbius, and one seriously in trouble Domino.

And then we looked at the preview. The cover is the high point. The cartoonish representations of the characters rendered by David Baldeon, and the overuse of Gail Simone's humorous approach to storytelling told us in just a few pagest to put a stake in this one.

(Can we get the cover as a poster?)

Firefly #1 (Boom! Studios)

Not only is Joss Whedon doing a Dr. Horrible comic (see above), he's also treading into the volatile territory of giving fans more FIREFLY. If you've ever met a FIREFLY fan, you know what I mean by volatile. A more ardent group of fans you won't find anywhere else this side of the galaxy.

FIREFLY #1 is written by Greg Pak with art by Dan McDaid, and tells the origin of Captain Mal Reynolds. Go back where it all began, and enjoy this new chapter of the FIREFLY saga.

Apama, The Undiscovered Animal #5 (Hero Tomorrow)

Ted Sikora and Milo Miller deliver another chapter of the superhero, Apama, as he goes up against his arch-nemesis, a psychodelic psycho who is determined to give Apama a bad trip! Hero Tomorrow is mastering the art of out-of-the-panel thinking when it comes to innovative comics, so we'll definitely be looking for this one.

Tap Dance Killer #3 (Hero Tomorrow)

The second series from Hero Tomorrow rocked our world when we read the first two issues. We still don't know if Nikki is a hero, a villain, a victim, or all three, but we're happy to go along for the ride as she and her fellow Vaude-Villains -- Sir Terror, Punchline, and Uzi Clown -- find themselves facing no shortage of enemies.