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The Pull List- A New Metal Tie-In, A New Evil Batman, & Saga Heads For A Break

Geeklings, a very Happy New Comic Book Day to you all! How’s everyone doing out there? I for one am doing pretty solid. I’ve had the day off and managed to finish reading all my new comic books by eleven o’clock. A part of me felt accomplished but there was another part that felt kind of empty. All my new comics finished before noon? What would the rest of the day hold? Well, it’s a good thing that I have tons of graphic novels just sitting on the Fancy Comic Book Reader waiting to be devoured by my eyeholes. So, needless to say, I’m picking at that pile of books. I’ve done a pretty good job as of late getting down the number of books that have been piling up on my ipad. Yay for success!

Time for a humblebrag! This post right here, the one you’re reading at this very moment, just so happens to be my 300th column here on Fan Fest. How amazing is that?! I can’t believe it’s been that many already. I just thought I’d share that little tidbit of information because I was excited and I love the fact that my 300th post just so happens to be talking about comics. I love it when things align. Here’s to another 300!

And speaking of those comics, what do you say we start to break down the best books of the week? Spoiler alert, we go a bit DC heavy this week.

The Pull List- A New Metal Tie-In, A New Evil Batman, & Saga Heads For A Break

1. Flash #33– The newest issue of the Flash brings with it the latest tie-in to DC’s massive event, Dark Nights Metal. I personally have loved the way that this event has been handled with no more than two Metal books released per week, whether it’s a tie-in or a Metal book itself, the publishing company has been very mindful of readers wallets while structuring the story extremely well. I have read Flash #33 (see opening paragraph) and I enjoyed it. This book takes the first steps in setting up the battle between the Justice League and the Evil Batmen in a story being called “Bats Out of Hell”. The book is very Flash heavy (duh) but also sees action from a number of the remaining Justice League members like Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Green Lantern. While the book doesn’t totally ignore what’s been going on in Flash comics as of late it does focus primarily on the Metal storyline which means if you’re looking for more of Barry Allen’s most recent story you’re going to have to wait two weeks. It’s not my favorite of the Metal books, “Gotham Resistance” was a blast, but certainly, sets up the building blocks for what looks to be a pretty epic showdown. If you’ve been reading all things Metal then you’re not going to want to miss this.

The Pull List- A New Metal Tie-In, A New Evil Batman, & Saga Heads For A Break

2. Dark Nights Metal: Batman the Merciless #1– I’ve been waiting patiently for this one my friends. So far we’ve gotten stand-alone issues on evil Batmen with the powers of the Flash, Green Lantern, Cyborg, and Aquaman and now we finally get to catch a glimpse of the evil Batman with the powers of Wonder Woman. What whaaaaaaaaat?! More accurately this evil Batman has the powers of Ares the God of War but Wonder Woman is heavily involved. What I really enjoyed about this issue was how it took place in the current Metal timeline while still exploring just how this evil Batman came to be. With the Justice League missing it’s interesting to see the other members of the DC universe band together to come up with solutions. Those solutions might necessarily be good ones, especially when Amanda Waller is involved, and could be exactly what Batman the Merciless is striving for. A solid read that helps to add further depth to these evil Batman and how they came to be.

The Pull List- A New Metal Tie-In, A New Evil Batman, & Saga Heads For A Break

3. Saga #48– Saga #48 is a fine issue, how could it not when it’s coming from Vaughn and Staples, but it does mean that after a six-issue story arc it’s time for the book to go on vacation for a little bit. Ugh, that’s the worst. Saga continues to be one of the best books on the shelves and at least these breaks allow for new readers to jump on and see what they’ve been missing. I will say that this issue doesn’t end as gut-wrenchingly sad as the ending of the last story arc (I still have strong feels over that) but ends rather on a rather hopeful note. Whether that can carry over to the next arc, something Vaughn promises to be the series’s biggest and most ambitious, is yet to be seen. For those of you who love Ghus than this is the issue for you.

The Pull List- A New Metal Tie-In, A New Evil Batman, & Saga Heads For A Break

4. Teen Titans #13-  I told you that this week’s Pull List would be very DC heavy and continuing that trend is the latest issue of Teen Titans. After binge reading “Gotham Resistance” last week I asked myself, why don’t I read Teen Titans? The fact of the matter is I didn’t have a good answer for it so I’m looking to change that. Issue thirteen not only has my favorite cover of the week but appears to be a pretty solid jumping on point for new readers, like myself, as the Titans look for a day off that gets interrupted by the Green Arrow (who was a large part of “Gotham Resistance”). It seems that Oliver wants his sister, Emiko, to join the team since there’s an opening with Kid Flash gone, and the team needs to figure out if this is a good fit. This issue also serves as the first part of the new “The Return of Kid Flash” story arc so I don’t know what that means for Emiko’s chances but it definitely makes the book worth reading.

The Pull List- A New Metal Tie-In, A New Evil Batman, & Saga Heads For A Break

5. Black Panther #166– That new Marvel Legacy numbering is really throwing me off, but you know I couldn’t do a whole Pull List column without at least one Marvel book. With the newest trailer for Black Panther releasing last week it seemed kind of obvious that Klaw would be making his return to comics in time for the movie. Things in Wakanda haven’t really been the greatest as of late, with the disappearing of the gods and all, and Klaw certainly seems to have picked his moment with the country struggling a bit. It’ll be interesting to see just how T’Challa responds and if he can keep revenge off his mind. Klaw did kill his father after all.

The Pull List- A New Metal Tie-In, A New Evil Batman, & Saga Heads For A Break

Honorable Mention- DC House of Horror #1

There you have it Geeklings, all the books to get those geeky little hands on. As always, if you feel I’ve left a book or two off the list then be sure to shout it out in the comments below. I’m not perfect but I’m close. If you’d like to talk more comics with me then you can find me on Twitter @iamgeek32. In the meantime, happy reading and many huzzahs!

 

Images from Marvel, DC, and Image