Comic Book Day!

Today I did not go to the comic book store to get my pulls for this week. Instead I got home to see a very special little box waiting for me with my comics for the entire month of November, minus a few that I bought at the store. Here's the list:

Journey Into Mystery #631
Anticipation:   6/10


I really loved the Fear Itself tie-ins of this book. Gillen is killing on story duties. I have been really turned off due to Whilce Portacio's art. I just hate it. Another problem that probably just emphasizes my weaknesses is that these are some wordy bastards. There is alot of text in both narrative and dialogue form, and it's starting to lose me. It's disappointing that these things are hurting the book for readers like me, but I'm not feeling it like I did eight issues ago.

Venom #9
Anticipation:  7/10


I have only read Venom #7, and it was in the middle of an event, but I enjoyed it pretty decently. The art was clean, and Rick Remender just continues to blow me away with his sensitivity to the characters that he writes. I'm hoping this issue will pull me on board more. I may end up buying the first trade if this one rocks.

Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.  #3
Anticipation:  9/10


After the deluge of books that I had to make decisions about in September, Frankenstein is sticking around out of pure fun. There's nothing I need to know to enjoy this book, and that is what I was looking for in the New 52. I was a Marvel guy looking to taste some new books from DC and this one hooked me. I love Alberto Ponticelli's gestural artwork. It's so organic. Jeff Lemire is knocking my socks off with Animal Man, and I can't wait to get caught up on Sweet Tooth. I am discovering that I love the old movie monster genre with this book. I think folklore and fairy tales are perfect for the comic book medium.

Sweet Tooth #27
Anticipation:  --/10


As I mentioned above, I am not caught up with Sweet Tooth.I have read the first trade and I intend to get every trade until I am caught up. This unfortunately means that I refuse to read current issues as to not spoil the series. I have faith in Jeff Lemire and want to support him by buying his comics, even if I can't read them just yet. I guess you could say my anticipation is very high, but I really can't say because I haven't read the last issue yet.

Punisher #2
Anticipation:   5/10

I have never read a Punisher book. Okay, that isn't exactly true. I remember reading a few Punishers back when I was a kid. Something about a war journal and some guy named Jigsaw, probably nothing worth mentioning. Uh huh, I went there. I bet those comics are worth a small fortune now. Anyway, this comic was on special discount from DCBS and I refuse to turn down a 35 cent comic. If it's crap, oh well. If it isn't, then awesome. Punisher should be something that appeals to me because I tend to enjoy self-contained, street level comics. I honestly don't have any expectations, so I don't see how it can be bad.

Daredevil #6
Anticipation:  10/10

Speaking of street-level comics, this iteration of Daredevil has got it all. I think this is the best comic from Marvel that I am reading right now. The artistic presentation of this is so clever and dynamic. I think the best part about the art is that it just looks like a comic, but with those brilliant touches that just push it into greatness. The cover, for instance, is a tribute to DD's father, who was a boxer. It looks like an old fight poster. I love it. Mark Waid is outperforming every writer at Marvel and most other publishers at the moment. He was made for this book. I can't wait to read this, but I will probably save it for last just because I know it will be amazing. What I am dreading is seeing DD as an Avenger in this. Just leave him alone, dammit!

Ruse #1
Anticipation:  4/10

This was another 35 cent comic. I saw some promos for this, but have no idea what this is about other than it's kind of a Sherlock vibe. No expectations really.

Sigil #1
Anticipation:  4/10


Same as above. No idea, but it was 35 cents.

Villains For Hire  POINT 1
Anticipation:   6/10


So, I ordered the second issue of this and didn't realize that this was a dreaded point one issue. Wtf is that Marvel? Why are we still doing this? It's especially confusing when a first issue is a point issue. Anyway, this looked appealing to me simply because it sounds like a Secret Six or Thunderbolts kind of comic. Then I remembered that Marvel already has a Thunderbolts kind of comic. It's called Thunderbolts. I can't believe I used that logic to choose this comic over, well, Thunderbolts. I keep wanting to just on for Thunderbolts, but I somehow always end up cutting it from my pull list. I had the comic shop pull last weeks issue, so I'll get a taste of it.

Batwoman #3
Anticipation:  8/10

What's not to love about this comic? The art is awesome. The story is kind of easy to follow, sometimes. I don't care, it's just beautiful. You can tell I'm getting burnt out on this post. I've never precapped a load of comics this large, and my neighbor has started slamming kitchen cabinets downstairs. I'm losing focus. FIGHT THROUGH IT! DIG DEEP! Gonna speed things up.

Swamp Thing #3
Anticipation 9/10


Love this book.Can't wait to see when it ties into Animal Man. Snyder is rocking it. Should be reading Batman as well. Moving on!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4
Anticipation:  9/10

This is bringing back memories of my youth. Nostalgic awesomeness. Love love love. Should be reading Ghostbusters and Godzilla. Moving on!

Wolverine and the X-Men #2
Anticipation: 10/10


I think Wolverine took all the fun with him when he left Utopia. Who'da thunk it? It's such a weird switch for Jason Aaron also wrote the super dark, super serious Red Right Hand arc in Wolverine. Then again, Wolverine is pretty funny in his own title now, too. I think Chris Bachalo's art is awesome and I have always liked his whimsical style. This comic is wonderful. I am going to hate it when Bachalo inevitably gets taken off of this book for no reason. I predict he will be moved to Avenging Spiderman after Joe Mad and Greg Land get rotated out. Please keep the art fun on this, Marvel!

Chew Vol 1 Taster's Choice
Anticipation:  9/10


This trade was super-cheap on DCBS (only $5.99). I have heard nothing but positive things about this comic. Can't wait to read it!



Well, that's my entire order. I'd better get to reading them! Now the problem will be choosing what to read first!