The Weekly Pull: Shazam! Fury of the Gods, X-Men: The Animated Series, Phantom Road, and More
Barbarella: The Center Cannot Hold #1
- Written by Sarah Hoyt
- Art by Riccardo Bogani
- Published by Dynamite Comics
With a new movie adaptation in the works starring Sydney Sweeney, now is as good of a time as ever to get into the wacky and compelling world of Barbarella. Dynamite's new comic sequel, The Center Cannot Hold, arrives for the occasion this week, and puts its titular heroine in the grandest cosmic conflict yet. I'm very excited to see what Sarah Hoyt, Riccardo Bogani, and company have in store for this chapter in Barbarella's story. — Jenna Anderson
Defenders: Beyond
- Written by Al Ewing
- Art by Javier Rodriguez
- Colors by Javier Rodriguez
- Letters by Joe Caramagna
- Published by Marvel Comics
Even as an avid fan of many of Marvel Comics' current publications, it can be intimidating to provide recommendations to new or returning readers; the publisher works best at developing crossover sagas immersed in continuity – the opposite of friendly material for fresh eyes. That's where writer Al Ewing and artist Javier Rodriguez excel in Defenders, as both the original and sequel series, Defenders: Beyond collected in trade paperback this week, provide brilliantly realized standalone tales still bolstered by lore and history. Defenders: Beyond assembles a collection of iconic and barely recognizable superheroes as they delve into the layers of Marvel's history in both a literal and metaphorical sense. Each new issue lays out the stakes clearly and provides a colorful pulpy adventure on the service with layers of depth commenting on the publisher's history and eras of superhero comics beneath. It's rewarding regardless of whether readers are following the Silver Surfer and Doctor Strange down a rabbit hole for the first or forty-fourth time. What's more, it displays the stunning dexterity of Rodriguez's style and approach to storytelling, a testament to what the superhero genre can still inspire and accomplish. Wherever readers are approaching from, those interested in Marvel's mighty Defenders will find themselves rewarded in the pages of Beyond. -- Chase Magnett
Hallows' Eve #1
- Written by Erica Schultz
- Art by Michael Dowling
- Colors by Brian Reber
- Letters by Joe Caramagna
- Published by Marvel Comics
Hallows' Eve is, admittedly a character who appears absolutely ridiculous on paper – Janine Godby, the paramour of Peter Parker-clone Ben Reilly, is gifted supernatural powers to utilize various Halloween masks to gain the appearance and abilities of iconic horror monsters. Yet the events of "Dark Web" made clear that this seemingly silly idea holds a great deal of potential. Godby's road with Reilly has been a particularly rough one over the past several years and she's quickly become one of the more sympathetic figures in recent Spider-Man comics. Her choice to break bad and embrace a villainous alter-ego always made sense. Combine that with a set of designs and powers that always pop off the page, and this new C-lister possesses a lot of potential. It's unclear exactly where her path will lead in the wake of a brutal showdown in New York City, but Janine's love and loyalty guiding a fearsome bag of tricks positions her for a quick upgrade in the Spider-Man villain rankings. With up-and-coming writer Erica Schultz and artist Michael Dowling attached, it appears that Hallows' Eve could be a breakout story for characters and creators alike. -- Chase Magnett
The Human Target #12
- Written by Tom King
- Art by Greg Smallwood
- Letters by Clayton Cowles
- Published by DC
Across the past year and some change, Human Target has been a consistently weird and wonderful bright spot in DC's arsenal. I have consistently been in awe of the work that Tom King, Greg Smallwood, and company have been doing on this book and the way they've been able to thread the needle between Christopher Chance's noir adventures and the zaniness of the Justice League International. Now, with this week's twelfth and final issue, the book's shocking murder mystery is sure to really come to a head. I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to Human Target yet, but I know that this finale will be something significant and memorable. — Jenna Anderson
Phantom Road #1
- Written by Jeff Lemire
- Art by Gabriel Herenandez Walta
- Colors by Jordie Bellaire
- Letters by Steve Wands
- Published by Image Comics
Jeff Lemire has made some great comics as an individual creator and a writer working with other talented artists. Gabriel Hernandez Walta, whose work includes elevating comics series like Magneto and Vision, is one of those artists. Together, they created Sentient, a knockout sci-fi story published by TKO Studios in 2019. Having loved Sentient, I'm excited to see Lemire and Walta teaming up again for the new Image Comics miniseries Phantom Road. Billed as grindhouse horror meets high-concept supernatural fantasy, the series follows Dom, a long-haul trucker with a dark past. After Dom stops to help someone involved in a car accident, a strange artifact turns their lives upside down. Where Sentient offered a space-set tale, Phantom Road seems likely to soak up the rural surrealness for which Lemire is known. Seeing that filtered through Walta's sharp style should be something special. -- Jamie Lovett
Shazam! Fury of the Gods: Shazamily Matters #1
- Art by Various
- Published by DC
- Written by Various
In just a matter of weeks, Shazam! Fury of the Gods will be finally making its debut in theaters, and DC is celebrating with its most ambitious tie-in comic yet. Shazamily Matters is a one-shot anthology recounting various stories involving the film's ensemble of superhero adoptive siblings. These tales are not only crafted by a who's-who of comic creators but by nearly all of the film's principal cast, director, and screenwriter. That novelty alone should be enough incentive to add this to your collection, but it's safe to assume that there will be delightful stories within as well. — Jenna Anderson
X-Men: The Animated Series - The Further Adventures
- Written by Ralph Macchio
- Art by various
- Published by Marvel Comics
I'm a sucker for comic book continuations of animated series. My appreciation for superhero comics began with discovering X-Men: The Animated Series in the early 1990s (not an original origin story, I know). Yet, despite still appreciating that show and the comics that inspired it, I've never read the comics that it inspired. In 1996, Marvel replaced X-Men: Adventures, which had adapted stories from X-Men: The Animated Series' first three seasons, with Adventures of the X-Men, offering original stories set in the same universe (though its continuity eventually clashed with the fourth and fifth seasons of the TV show). Those comics have been hard to come by due to their niche appeal and the lack of collected editions until Marvel recently released a handful of trade paperbacks. With X-Men '97 set to debut later this year, Marvel has decided to re-release those stories in a single volume bearing the familiar television show's name. X-Men: The Animated Series – The Further Adventures collects all 12 Adventures of the X-Men issues, along with the crossover issue of Adventures of Spider-Man, and stories first published Spider-Man Magazine and Spider-Man Magazine Special. Fans should be thrilled to have these bits of X-Men ephemera available in one definitive collection. -- Jamie Lovett
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