The Weekly Pull: Tales of the Human Target, Damage Control, and Rogues Gallery

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, a new series spotlighting Marvel’s Damage Control, Archie and Webtoon’s webcomic Big Ethel Energy comes to print, and the latest title from Sabrina‘s Nick Drnaso. Plus, new series from AWA Comics, Image Comics, 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.

Acting Class

• Created by Nick Drnaso
  
• Published by Drawn & Quarterly

Nick Drnaso has quickly made himself an undeniable force in the world of comics. Sabrina, his debut volume following the short story collection Beverly, revealed an artist deeply engaged in the anxieties and tensions of life in the 21st century. Parsing Drnaso’s idiosyncratic narratives leads readers through lives contorted by the internet and ever-more-distancing forms of communication. His refined linework neatly depicts human beings constrained by unseen forces with emotions bubbling just below the surface of precisely selected details. Acting Class appears to be every bit as promising, especially once one reflects upon this New Yorker excerpt. It centers upon ten individuals drawn together in a free acting class with an enigmatic instructor providing lessons. Questioning the nature of identity and how we perform for one another has never seemed more essential and Drnaso addresses those ideas with depth they demand. Overlapping lives and perspectives create space for readers to contemplate multivarious meanings and tug at the many threads layered into the narrative. As the fall approaches, Acting Class is prepared to make itself one of the most talked about comics of the year and for good reason. Don’t miss it. — Chase Magnett

Damage Control #1

• Written by Adam F. Goldberg and Hans Rodionoff
• Art by Jay P. Fosgitt
• Colors by Ruth Redmond
• Lettering by Clayton Cowles
• Published by Marvel Comics

I’ll take any Marvel title that spotlights an eclectic corner of Marvel canon, especially one that can include cameos like She-Hulk, Moon Knight, and more. This week’s Damage Control #1 , the first in a five-issue miniseries, spotlights the unsung heroes cleaning up after the superhero battles of the Marvel universe, particularly through the lens of a new hire named Gus. With The Goldbergs‘ Adam F. Goldberg at the helm as a co-writer, Damage Control is sure to be a fun and unexpected spotlight of Marvel lore. — Jenna Anderson

Emmett #1

• Written by Ian Grody
• Art by Yishan Li
• Directed by Justin Fair
• Letters by D.C. Hopkins
• Layouts by Chieh Ying Yu
• Published by AWA

This is a bit of an unusual sort of recommendation from me because it’s one I’m making just because it sounds cool. Part of AWA’s overall “Lesser Evils” which is a sort of “Brooklyn Through the Looking Glass” packed with colorful characters in a pop-culture filled universe, Emmett #1 was initially released digitally back in May and features Emmett, a “golem with benefits” who is described as mixing a mean cocktail, being handy around the house, and of course, useful in helping artisan potter Lydia Loew exact revenge with a vengeance as part of this wild universe exploring spite, intimacy, selflessness, and friendship in a modern world. The overall universe also includes a bad-vibes-eating demon and a mischievous mermaid so it sounds like not only a wild ride, but an interesting one as well. Generally, these kinds of characters are very My Thing and putting them together in a larger, introspective context with humans seems like a fun read. — Nicole Drum

Rogues Gallery #2

• Written by Hannah Rose May
• Art by Justin Mason and Triona Farrell
• Published by Image Comics

Rogue’s Gallery is a comic that its first issue took a minute to grow on me, but grow it did and I’ve been eagerly waiting for this second issue ever since. The series, which sees a group of rather unhinged fans deciding to actually attack an actor who had been playing a popular comic book character  in a television series (in a way not to their liking) only for said actor to not exactly be willing to take things lying down, is an interesting examination of toxic fan culture as well as the other side of that all while still somehow itself being an interesting comic book adventure. You’ll want to check out the first issue before jumping in and try to do so with an open mind all around, but this issue and this series is just too fascinating not to check out. — Nicole Drum

Olympus: Rebirth #1

• Written by Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad
• Art by Caitlin Yarsky
• Colors by Jordie Bellaire
• Letters by Pat Brosseau
• Published by DC Comics

The expansion of the Wonder Woman lore has been one of the biggest highlights of recent DC canon for me, and that’s sure to continue in a pretty massive way in Olympus: Rebirth #1 . A one-shot following Hippolyta’s induction into the Greek pantheon, this issue promises to be a gorgeous and surprising look at the gods and monsters of the DC universe. With Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad at the helm, and the stellar Black Widow artist Caitlin Yarsky making her DC debut on art, Olympus: Rebirth #1  is a one-shot you won’t want to miss. — Jenna Anderson

Step By Bloody Step

• Written by Simon Spurrier
• Art by Matías Bergara
• Colors by Matheus Lopes
• Published by Image Comics

From its very first issue, it was abundantly clear Step By Bloody Step was bound to leave an impression upon the comics landscape. The silent story woven by two modern masters of the medium with monumental imagination, artist Matías Bergara and writer Simon Spurrier, sought to address a scale that words can rarely encompass. It’s the story of generations centered upon a child and her guardian compelled to move ever forward through an endlessly difficult world and no promise of respite. What’s most impressive in the narrative is how this strange and wondrous landscape opens up deep, complex emotions to be shared on a universal stage. The fear of what awaits our children; the frustration of being forced into a world not of our making; the desperate love that comes with possessing another living being – these operatic ideas hold up a mirror to readers who can see themselves reflected in at least one, if not both of these archetypes marching forward. It seems impossible to summarize the pages of Step By Bloody Step because there is so much to them. The depths of wonder and emotion stem from stellar design work and careful craftsmanship of character. What each reader finds in these pages is bound to be personal and different, but the masterwork inspiring those reactions does not require a single word to make itself known. — Chase Magnett

Tales of the Human Target #1

• Written by Tom King
• Art by Greg Smallwood, Mikel Janin, Kevin Maguire, and Rafael Albuquerque
• Colors by Dave Stewart, Alex Sinclair, and Arif Prianto
• Letters by Clayton Cowles
• Published by DC Comics

Human Target has remained one of the most consistently-surprising DC books I’ve read as of late, offering a take on Christopher Change and the Justice League International that twists and turns in some revolutionary ways. This week’s Tales of the Human Target bridges the gap between the two “seasons” of the maxiseries, recounting four new stories of Chance teaming up with members of the JLI. To be honest, this book is worth the price of admission just to see Kevin Maguire draw the bwa-ha-ha era once again, but there’s so much else in store that is sure to delight and intrigue — and only further complicate the series’ central murder mystery. — Jenna Anderson