NCBD Pull or No Pull? December 12, 2018

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Submitted by RJ Carter on Tue, 12/11/2018 - 12:48

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.

The Batman Who Laughs #1 (DC) If there's one thing DC fans like, it's Batman-gone-bad. From Owlman to The Wrath to Prometheus, the idea of someone capably playing the other side is of perpetual interest. And now that Scott Snyder has brought us a Dark Multiverse Batman infected with Joker toxin, fans can't get enough. You thought he died at the end of DARK KNIGHTS: METAL, but JUSTICE LEAGUE has shown he's alive and a willing captive of Lex Luthor. But what are his true intentions for Batman and the rest of the DC Universe? And more importantly -- how does he see through that thing?
Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise (Dark Horse) We're hearing many many good things about BLACK HAMMER that require deeper investigation. This title is one of those, spinning out of the pages of SHERLOCK FRANKENSTEIN. Jeff Lemire and Emi Lenox bring us the girl that MONSTER HIGH has to be kicking itself for having missed.
Detective Comics #994 (DC) Batman gets called in to examine a murder staged to look exactly like the Wayne murder. Well, that kind of thing is going to happen when The Joker knows your secret identity. With Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke on board, we're all-in on this one.
Fantastic Four Wedding Special #1 (Marvel) The last time there was a Fantastic Four wedding, it was a call for everyone and their evil brother to attack. Can we expect anything different when Ben Grimm and Alicia Masters tie the knot, especially when the evil Puppet Master might be walking her down the aisle? Featuring storytelling by Gail Simone, Fred Hembeck, and Dan Slott, this multi-covered event comic is either going to be a milestone or an end-of-year budget-hole-plugging gimmick. Meh, we don't care. Bring us a slice of that cake!
Goddess Mode #1 (DC/VERTIGO) In some video games, you could enter a code that made your character invincible. It was called God mode. That's what this is, only Goddess, because it's women doing it in a future society to the AI that runs the world. It's from Zoe Quinn and Robbi Rodriguez. It's needing more to pique our interest.
How the Trump Stole Christmas (Antarctic) If you missed it last year, now's your chance to get this Antarctic Press political satire from Dr. Meuss, portraying President Donald Trump in the role of the holiday favorite, The Grinch. This one's going to be yuge!
Jingle Belle: The Homemades' Tale (IDW) Paul Dini's Jingle Belle is back. That's all you need to know. But we'll tell you more. Santa's teenage daughter is all that might save Christmas from the Queen of Toys and her army of cast-off homemade Christmas presents. There, you in yet? We are!
Mage: The Hero Denied #14 (of 15) (Image) I started reading Matt Wagner's Kevin Matchstick when I was in college. While there, I ended up with all three trade paperback collections of MAGE: THE HERO DEFINED. That was a great experience, and I decided I'd read the rest of the adventures, when they came, in the same collected format. I didn't realize at the time that I'd be over 50 before that happened. But a commitment is a commitment...
Sasquatch Detective #1 (DC) She's a sasquatch. She's a detective. She's written by Brandee Stillwell. The rest writes itself.
Vampirells vs. Reanimator (Dynamite Comics) Herbert West against the Darling of Drakulon? We'd put our money on Vampi, but she's vanquished a lot of enemies and Herbert could bring them all back. That might just be more than she could handle, but at this point we're just guessing as to where Cullen Bunn's story may go.