The Pull List #32 - 12/2/15


A weekly column in which Jake gives short blurbs about the comics he’s picked up that week. Reviewed in the order read, which varies but generally by increasing anticipation.   Disclaimer: he knows very little about art, at least not enough to considerably honor such tremendous undertakings, so…yeh, there’s that.





Survivors’ Club #3


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Writers: Lauren Beukes & Dale Halvorsen

Artist: Ryan Kelley

Colorist: Eva De La Cruz

Letterer: Clem Robins

Vertigo



Therere payoffs galore in this third issue of the delightfully creepy series from Vertigo.  Some of the survivors pick up the pieces (heh) after last months violent climax and we get a better look at two of the charactersparticular curses.  As it turns out, Kiris situation was hinted at in the earlier issues and was executed in this one so well that I actually went back and read both just to see every time it popped up.  It really is a mark of what Id guess (process-wise) is excellent directing by Beukes & Halvorsen and execution by letterer Robins.  The second backstory, Simons, is a bit more of a swerve and one that leads to more questions than answers, which is refreshing at this stage as the otherscan be guessed at with finite degrees of certainty.  Kelly, meanwhile, is finally given a lot to play with and, for the most part, excels.  The finally revealed character designs of Mr. Empty and Auntie are well done and great homages to their separate source material, though the sequence in which Auntie appears could have done with more space.  This is likely a scripting issue moreso than an art one, as theres a sequence midway through the book that feels like padding and probably could have been excised for more space.  Still, it doesnt detract from the best issue of the run so far, but, if the last-page teaser is any indication, SurvivorsClub #3 wont hold that distinction for long.



The Vision #2


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Writer: Tom King

Artist: Gabriel Hernandez Walta

Color Artist: Jordie Bellaire

Letterer: VCs Clayton Cowles

Marvel



The Vision #2 takes some time to deal with the fallout of last issues climatic events, and by that I mean Virginias brutal killing of the Grim Reaper (the super villain, again).  For a series predicated on the alien exploration of emotions, it's the perfect move on Kings part.  We get to see how Vin deals with with his sisters incapacitation (not well) and the lie Virginia tells her husband about the Grim Reapers fate and the potential ramifications of that lie.  Visions confrontation with the school principal is fantastic on every level: from dialogue to narration to expressions.  Walta continues to be on top of the art game, nailing both the dread-filled scenes as well as the touching ones.  His choice of perspectives are rather inspired and keep each page feeling fresh despite the lack of actionbetween them.  Bellaires color choice reds and yellows for the visual of Virginias lie is interesting beyond just being appealing.  It almost gives the impression of heat vision which is a neat trick considering the protagonists.  Its a similarly strong outing from the creepiest Marvel book to date.  



BOOK OF THE WEEK
 
The Woods #18 

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Writer: James Tynion IV

Illustrator: Michael Dialynas

Colors: Jose Gonzalez

Letters: Ed Dukeshire

Boom! Studios



As Casey and Taishos plan is revealed, we get a glimpse into the life of young Casey and Calder in the days after their parents died.  It's a poignant issue, one that explains Casey and how he came to be what he isawfulwithout trying to make us sympathize with him, which is for the best.  More than anything it exposes more of the hurt Casey has and continues to cause in Calders life. Though his motivations throughout their life have changed, the damage remains the same.  While the the issue mainly focuses on the Macready brothers, there is some time devoted to the other members of the choice (though the consequences of Issacs damning choice last issue are conspicuously absent).  Maria deals with her loss in the worst way and Karen and Taisho have a particularly foreboding confrontation.  Dialynas squeezes the best emotion and feeling out of these scenes and he and Gonzalez make a glorious return to the seriess penchant for actual horror.  The promise of terrible events soon to come in the arcs climax is strong in this issue and should make the next all the better.


So what did you pick up this week? Were your choices as beautifully gloomy as mine? Agree or disagree with anything said here? Let us know in the comments.

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