NCBD Pull or No Pull: November 21, 2018

American Carnage #1 (DC/Vertigo)

Bryan Hill and Leandro Fernandez team up to for a dangerous undercover operation. Disgraced FBI agent Richard Wright is offered a chance for redemption when he's sent to infiltrate a white supremacist group possibly responsible for the death of a fellow agent. White supremacists are all the rage lately when it comes to finding a handy-dandy bad guy to rail against, so we're hoping Hill has a unique take on this.

Archie #700 (Archie Comics)

It's a landmark issue for Archie since the series ended for the classic version of the character in Archie #666, shortly after his adult version was shot to death. With the new look Archie, the company has resurrected the old numbering to celebrate the 700th appearance of the Riverdale Redhead. With Nick Spencer writing and Marguerite Sauvage (DC's BOMBSHELLS) doing the art, it's quite probable this issue is just as much a launchpad as it is a landmark.

B & V Friends Jumbo Comics Digest #265 (Archie Comics)

Digest comics don't get nearly enough love, and it's heartening to see that Archie is still in the business. (Yes, they publish some of the Marvel stories in digest form, but that really only goes to show how crowded the comic pages are when shrunk down to digest size.)

This classic version of the Archie characters, Betty & Veronica, leads off with a brand new story by Bill Golliher and Dan Parent, fidning Betty working at a fancy shoe store. But will her friendship win out over customer service whe her most difficult to please customer turns out to be Veronica Lodge?

Bettie Page #1 (Dynamite)

Coming off the Bettie Page Halloween One Shot, this new series continues the adventures of the historic model, reimagined as a model/spy like Mata Hari. David Avallone and Julius Ohta spin a yarn about a missing Elizabeth the Second and our heroine's role in saving Britain from a royal panic! Bettie Save the Queen in "The Princess and The Pinup."

Damage #11 (DC)

The latest adventure of HourHulk, The Hulk of the Hour (aka Damage) finds Ethan Avery returning to the military installation that made him into a monster -- and pits him against the might of the Justice League itself. Robert Venditti, Aaron Lopresti and Matt Ryan give us this monster melee that pits the power of Damage aganst the Man of Steel himself.

Dick Tracy Dead or Alive #2 (IDW)

Caling Dick Tracy! Calling Dick Tracy!

Or at least calling all his fans, because the comic-strip cop is back in action, and reimagined for the modern audience (which pretty much had to happen after the invention of the iPhone). Lee and Michael Allred, joined by Rich Tommaso, lead Dick Tracy on a crusade against a city of crooked cops and bizarre mobsters.

Harley Quinn #54 (DC)

Harley and Petite Tina get on each others nerves as they continue their road trip, encounting a new villain, Minor Disaster, whose 'Disaster Dial' can create personal catastrophes. Sam Humphries and Lucas Werneck have my curiosity piqued with this one, so I'll probaby have to take a look.

Immortal Hulk #9 (Marvel)

So in this series, Hulk is immortal, even though Bruce Banner is not. Kill him, and he'll just rise again as Hulk. Can the Absorbing Man complete the job? Well, unless there's no issue next month, I'd say he's taken on a sisyphean task from Al Ewing, Joe Bennett and Martin Simmonds, but that Alex Ross cover is definitely going to be a selling point.

Hey, if Hulk is really immortal, might he survive entropy and live into the next Big Bang as that new universe's Galactus-like entity? Just a thought...

Jughead The Hunger #10 (Archie Comics)

It's the tenth issue of Jughead's life as a werewolf, and he's fought off a lot of powerful enemies. But when he comes up against the powerhouse dubbed FrankenMoose, he may have met his match. We'll have to see what Franke Tieri has in store for these two characters, with art from Pat Kennedy, Tim Kennedy and Joe Eisma.

Smooth Criminals #1 (Boom! Studios)

Kurt Lustgarten and Kirsten Smith have what could be a distaff Austin Powers story on their hands here. When hacker/thief Brenda finds master thief Mia, cryogenically frozen since the 1960s, they form a couple odder than anything Neil Simon could have imagined. But now they must work together. Yeah, baby, yeah!

Star Wars #57 (Marvel)

At home with the Solos? Marvel isn't telling us much about "The Escape" by Kieron Gillen and Angel Unzueta, but it looks like Han and Leia have landed in a world of Alderaan Gothic. But if you're major selling point is "shirtless Han Solo chopping wood," it may be an indicator there are other problems with the story.

(I always thought Leia was either supernaturally well-adjusted or somewhat sociopathic to have one little cry over her entire planet being destroyed before her eyes, and then be fine the rest of the trilogy.)