The Weekly Pull: Birds of Prey, Deadpool, Deep Cuts, and More

It’s almost another new comic book day, which means new releases hitting stores and digital platforms. Each week in The Weekly Pull, the ComicBook.com team highlights the new releases that have us the most excited about another week of comics. Whether those releases are from the most prominent publisher or a small press, brand new issues of ongoing series, original graphic novels, or collected editions of older material, whether it involves capes and cowls or comes from any other genre, if it has us excited about comic books this week, then we’re going to tell you about it in The Weekly Pull.

This week, the Birds of Prey welcome a new member to the team, Marvel launches its new Deadpool series, and Deep Cuts concludes. Plus, new volumes of the X-Men Epic Collection, The Forged, the complete Unstoppable Doom Patrol, and more.

What comics are you most excited about this week? Let us know which new releases you’re looking forward to reading in the comments, and feel free to leave some of your suggestions as well. Check back tomorrow for our weekly reviews and again next week for a new installment of The Weekly Pull.

Bad Dream: A Dreamer Story

• Written by Nicole Maines
• Art by Rye Hickman
• Published by DC

After television, video games, and a jump into mainstream comics, the story of Nia Nal / Dreamer is continuing to reach a larger audience. This week, that spans into the world of YA graphic novels with Bad Dream: A Bad Dreamer Story. Penned by Nicole Maines, Dreamer’s original actress-turned-steward of the character, Bad Dream is set to recontextualize her origin story in a delightful and poignant way. With Rye Hickman on the art, and a bonus crossover with fellow trans superheroine Galaxy, Bad Dream is sure to be a wonderful addition to any DC fans’ collection. — Jenna Anderson

Birds of Prey #8

• Written by Kelly Thompson
• Art by Javier Pina and David Lopez
• Colors by Jordie Bellaire
• Letters by Clayton Cowles
• Published by DC

I know I have become something of a broken record with how often I recommend this Birds of Prey run, but each issue is continuing to justify it in spades. This week’s installment takes the Birds’ high-fashion predicament to utterly delightful heights, with sequences that are sure to break the Internet. Kelly Thompson’s voice for the Birds is as excellent as ever, and guest artists Javier Pina and David Lopez perfectly fit into the fold. If you’re not reading Birds of Prey, fix that immediately. — Jenna Anderson

Deadpool #1

• Written by Cody Ziglar
• Art by Rogê Antônio
• Colors by Guru-eFX
• Letters by Joe Sabino
• Published by Marvel Comics  
  

Despite Deadpool’s continuing popularity and the success of the Deadpool films, Marvel Comics hasn’t been able to find a consistent vision for the Merc with a Mouth in its comics since Gerry Duggan finished his years-long run writing the ongoing Deadpool series in 2018. The publisher has launched three Deadpool ongoing series since then, none of which have lasted long or proven particularly memorable (at least in the mind of this casual-at-best Deadpool fan). With the Deadpool & Wolverine movie only a few months away from release, Marvel is giving it another go, with Cody Zigler writing the new Deadpool series and Rogê Antônio providing the artwork. Ziglar is the current writer of Marvel’s stellar Miles Morales: Spider-Man series whose background is as an Emmy-nominated television writer with credits on subversive, off-beat comedies like Robot Chicken and Rick & Morty, all of which should make him a good fit for Deadpool. Antônio is an artist who does solid work but hasn’t had a big breakout showing yet, which perhaps this Deadpool relaunch could provide. Hopefully, this all amounts to a Deadpool series that will stick around for a while and give fans of the character something to look forward to every month. — Jamie Lovett

Deep Cuts #6

• Written by Kyle Higgins, Joe Clark
• Art by Toby Cypress
• Colors by Igor Monti
• Letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
• Published by Image Comics

Pulling off a comic book about music is notoriously difficult, but the Deep Cuts team has pulled it off admirably. Each of Deep Cuts‘ issues has focused on a different character and, importantly, the human story that goes into every song. Deep Cuts #6, the final issue of the series, focuses on a band embarking on their first world tour. Is this when they take it to the next level, or where everything falls apart? The series’ writing team of Kyle Higgins and Joe Clark offer one final tale, teaming with Toby Cypress to close out a stellar set. Here’s hoping there’s a reunion and encore somewhere down the line. — Jamie Lovett

The Forged Vol. 2

• Written by Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann
• Art by Mike Henderson
• Colors by Nolan Woodard
• Letters by Ariana Maher
• Published by Image Comics

Each new volume of The Forged provides cause for fans of science-fiction and comics to celebrate with three oversized issues beautifully presented in a format that invites readers to get lost in a distant future and galaxy. With the story established in the first volume, this second collection of The Forged provides an opportunity to expand the narrative with a distinct focus on each of the core cast’s personalities and backgrounds as they return to their homeworld. Politics, intrigue, and the terrifying scale of an alien invasion all emerge in addition to the same fast-paced action and thrilling sci-fi concepts that made their first mission into can’t-miss comics. There’s no denying Mike Henderson’s stunning design for this far-future setting, whether it’s present in the mechs and ships or the very layout of a city and its many sectors. The series continues to present an immersive experience that makes setting down new installments difficult. The crew of Forged warriors it focuses upon grows more endearing with each page, too, as their battle-tested relationships and personal desires make each elite soldier seem more human, especially in their flaws. There are few better-presented series in the direct market today and any fan of sci-fi comics will find themselves in for a treat as the second volume of The Forged arrives this week. — Chase Magnett

Unstoppable Doom Patrol

• Written by Dennis Culver
• Art by Chris Burnham and Darko Lafuente
• Colors by Brian Reber
• Letters by Pat Brosseau
• Published by DC

Doom Patrol is a superhero team with some of the greatest highlights found within the genre – ranging from their idiosyncratic origins to the transcendently strange work of creators like Grant Morrison and Gerard Way. Writer Dennis Culver and artist Chris Burnham’s 7-issue Unstoppable Doom Patrol fits neatly into those historic ranks. Its spin on the team is familiar enough for any reader who recognizes the name to jump in, but their mission of collecting new individuals with strange (and often dangerous) abilities offers a new fold, and the inventive nature of those new members combined with their colorful depictions provides every issue with instantly memorable concepts and panels. Beneath all of the wonderful new visuals and riveting action sequences lies the same tender heart that has often made the team as endearing as the best X-Men comics. Burnham can depict human pathos every bit as well as blood-spattered action and Culver ensures every figure on the team is more than an interesting set of powers. Although 7 issues still feels far too short, it does allow readers to (re)discover this excellent single volume for many years to come. — Chase Magnett

X-Men Epic Collection: Children of the Atom

• Written by Stan Lee and Roy Thomas
• Art by Jack Kirby, Werner Roth, and Alex Toth
• Published by Marvel Comics

With X-Men ’97 currently airing on Disney+, and the MCU’s impending reboot of the team still on the way, now might be one of the best times yet to get into X-Men comics. Even though large swaths of the pasts of Marvel’s mutants have been out of print for years, this week works to remedy that with a new Epic Collection. Collecting the first twenty-three issues of the team’s first comic appearances, this is definitely a must-have for Marvel fans. — Jenna Anderson