The Weekly Pull: Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, Carnage, Rain, 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, Superman and Batman team up for a brand new series, Carnage gets his own ongoing series and there’s a new issue of Joe Hill’s Rain. Plus, a new collection focusing on Batman villain The Penguin, and plenty 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.

Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #1

• Written by Mark Waid
• Art by Dan Mora
• Letters by Aditya Bidikar
• Published by DC Comics

It’s hardly an original idea, pairing Batman and Superman for an epic team-up adventure. DC Comics has seen the value in pairing its two most iconic and popular characters together into a single comic book story for decades, dating back to the original World’s Finest Comics series debut in 1941. That idea has reemerged as various iterations of the Superman/Batman or Batman/Superman series in more recent times. It’s a pairing that makes sense, too, as Superman and Batman’s different personalities and approaches to being a hero offer plenty of exciting dynamics for writers to dig into, and their iconic nature offers artists plenty of opportunities to show off. Batman/Superman: World’s Finest is the latest take on this concept. Writer Mark Waid knows how to write the tried and true superhero stories that this book seems to offer, but the real draw here is artist Dan Mora. Mora’s incredibly expressive and bold style (not to mention his surprisingly prolific output) makes him one of mainstream comics’ top talents working today. For that reason alone, Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #1 is worth a look.  — Jamie Lovett

Batman: The Penguin

• Written by Various
• Art by Various
• Published by DC Comics

With The Batman in theaters earlier this month and a spinoff HBO Max series greenlit late last week, Colin Farrell’s take on The Penguin is hitting a whole new audience. If you want the opportunity to experience some of the character’s most significant and entertaining stories, DC’s newest collection is right up your alley. From key appearances within Detective Comics and Batman books, to key one-shots, this issue reprints a compelling and varied collection of some of Oswald Cobblepot’s biggest adventures and crimes. With contributions from the likes of Bill Finger, John Ostrander, Paul Dini, and more, there’s surely going to be something in this collection for any kind of comic fan. — Jenna Anderson

Carnage #1

• Written by Ram V
• Art by Francesco Manna
• Inks by Roberto Poggi
• Colors by Diijo Lima
• Letters by Joe Sabino
• Published by Marvel Comics

I’m not too fond of Carnage. That might seem an odd sentiment coming from someone suggesting that you should purchase and read a Carnage comic book, but it’s true. He’s always seemed to me to be one of the few characters who truly encapsulate the worst excesses of the 1990s. Why have a character who stops at causing bloodshed when you can create a character whose entire personality is being gleefully murderous and looks like a literal pile of blood? And it isn’t like he hasn’t seen much use recently between the Extreme Carnage and Absolute Carnage events. But knowing how low my opinion of the character is should hopefully convey how much esteem I am for writer Ram V, who is scripting this new Carnage ongoing series. V has shown an exceptional talent for crafting original horror stories with weight, from his breakout Vault Comics series These Savage Shores to composing a new saga for DC Comics’ Swamp Thing. In interviews, he’s promised that he and artist Francesco Manna are taking a similar approach to this Carnage series, turning the villain into the focal point of a thoughtful horror saga. If anyone can pull off making a Carnage story worthwhile, it’s Ram V and his collaborators. — Jamie Lovett

DC Horror Presents: Soul Plumber #6

• Written By Marcus Parks and Henry Zebrowski
• Art by PJ Holden and John McCrea
• Colors by Mike Spicer
• Letters by Becca Carey
• Published by DC Comics

The finale of one of the wildest, sometimes weirdest, and easily the best DC series this year and last is here, and while this is certainly a case of “you need to read the previous issues to have any clue of what the heck is going on” this book and this series is one you do not want to miss this week. The Church’s plans have come to fruition and now it’s up to Edgar and his few allies – including the alien being Blorp – to stop “heaven” from coming to Earth. With themes of faith, corruption, and even a bit of weird genre nostalgia to boot, this is a bonkers issue, but one that is packed with action, and really, just do yourself a favor and check it out. — Nicole Drum

Eternals: The Heretic #1

• Written by Kieron Gillen
• Art by Ryan Bodenheim and Edgar Salazar
• Colors by Chris O’Halloran
• Letters by Clayton Cowles
• Published by Marvel Comics

Eternals has quickly become one of the most ambitious and exciting properties to read at Marvel Comics. The core series has never faltered in its propulsive deconstruction of Eternals’ lore and some literal Eternals, and it is still littered with multifaceted characters capable of ratcheting up humor, horror, and everything in between in a single page. The one-shots have provided some much-needed decompression, though, and none has been more anticipated than The Heretic. This story focuses upon Thanos and his “grandfather” Uranos, the Undying, who solicits claim is even more reviled by Eternals than Thanos himself. It’s difficult to imagine a more black-hearted soul than Thanos, especially given his merciless portrayal in Eternals thus far, so the thought of him discovering a source for his own cruelty is frightening in its possibilities. Knowing Gillen’s take on Eternals it’s likely also going to be quite funny and bordering upon genius in its ramifications for the larger story. I can’t wait to read it. — Chase Magnett

Hawkeye: Kate Bishop – Team Spirit

• Written by Various
• Art by Various
• Published by Marvel Comics

Now that Disney+’s Hawkeye series is officially in the books, it’s time to speculate about where Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop could show up next, whether that be in another solo story or in a team context. If you’re looking forward to that latter possibility, this week’s Team Spirit collection is right up your alley, reprinting some of the best ensemble books regarding Kate. To be honest, I would immediately recommend any collection that compiles arcs of Kelly Thompson’s West Coast Avengers and The McElroys’ War of the Realms: Journey Into Mystery, as I thoroughly enjoyed both books in their entirety. But this book is a great jumping-on point for new fans of Kate, and who want to see her rapport with other heroes. — Jenna Anderson  

Rain #3

• Written by Joe Hill, David M. Booher
• Art by Zoe Thorogood
• Colors by Chris O’Halloran
• Letters by Shawn Lee
• Published by Image Comics

Rain isn’t a book for people hoping to feel uplifted, but if you don’t mind being in your feels, this week’s Rain #3 is a must-read. Every issue of this book thus far has been absolutely stunning and a haunting, gorgeous read, and this week, Honeysuckle’s journey to Denver to find her only remaining family continues. There’s something about the optimism of finding that family against the contrast of a world gone to hell that feels extremely timely, but this issue, in particular, is unflinching. It’s not an easy read, but it’s a worthy one. Definitely check it out. — Nicole Drum

Time Zone J

• Created by Julie Doucet
• Published by Drawn and Quarterly

Time Zone J introduces itself simply: “This book was written from bottom to top. Please read accordingly.” I now take this introduction to mean it builds upon itself like age. It is a comic that invites readers to take their time with each individual page and carefully parse the overlapping images for meaning. The only struggle in taking in the complexity is discerning when you’ve reached the top. To put it simply, Julie Doucet’s return to comics after a nearly two-decade hiatus from published work is a triumph. It engages readers with a masterful consideration of feminist themes that resonate in the dense swirl of wonderfully inked images. Time Zone J reads like a dream without ever threatening to fade from one’s memory. — Chase Magnett