The Weekly Pull: Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey, Alienated, and More

It’s that time again. New comics day is here and as usual, ComicBook.com’s team is here to highlight some of the new releases we’re most excited about. Be it a release from the big two or smaller publishers, be they single issues, graphic novels, or trade paperbacks, should they involve a superhero or not, if it has us excited and is going on sale this week, we’re going to let you know about it.

This week, love is in the air with two Valentine’s Day specials, plus graphic novels as political fables, and more Birds of Prey.

Keep reading to see this week’s pull, and check back next week for more recommendations.

Alienated #1

Written by Simon Spurrier
Art by Chris Wildgoose
Published by BOOM! Studios

BOOM! Studios has been killing it with original series lately, and their newest debut loos to continue the trend. The title is called Alienated, and it comes from the all-star team of Simon Spurrier and Chris Wildgoose. Alienated follows three teenagers who come across an alien entity as it is born, and thus starts their crazy journey of responsibility, ego, power, and judgment as they try and navigate the sudden power that they now have at their disposal. With such a compelling hook and gorgeous look, we’re betting Alienated takes off like a rocket. — Matthew Aguilar

Batman and the Outsiders #10

Written by Bryan Hill
Art by Dexter Soy
Cover by DC Comics

While the title of the book may be Batman and the Outsiders, the current run has been very much a Black Lightning story and this week that’s poised to continue as the hero finds himself dealing directly with one of Batman’s worst enemies: Ra’s al Ghul. With the villain being so tied to the Dark Knight, the current story in which Batman’s allies are dealing with the Head of the Demon so directly is a fascinating twist making for a great read and with things just heating up, #10 is a great place to jump in. — Nicole Drum

The Golden Age, Book One

Written by Roxanne Moreil
Art by Cyril Pedrosa
Published by First Second

In The Golden Age, Book One, writer Roxanne Moreil and artist Cyril Pedrosa introduce readers to a medieval world of intrigue on the cusp of change. The story follows a princess who suffers a coup by her own family following the death of her father, the king. After escaping from her kingdom, the princess embarks on a journey that forces her to see the world from new angles. In this way, The Golden Age uses a tale that blends the story of Joan of Arc with the events of the French Revolution to discuss the politics of rebellion and the price of utopia. Pedrosa employs a gilded color palette that creates a sense of medieval art or illuminated manuscript brought to life. By contrast, his characters have a modern expressiveness. They wear their emotions plain and powerful on their faces. The Golden Age starts a bit slow, but it doesn’t take long before it invests readers in its characters, leaving them eager for the story’s next volume. — Jamie Lovett

Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey #1

Written by Jimmy Palmiotti
Art by Amanda Conner
Published by DC Comics

Whether you’ve already flocked to the theaters to check out the Birds of Prey movie, or are making plans to do so over Valentine’s weekend, this comic is absolutely for you. The first in a four-part miniseries brings the very specific partnership of Harley, Renee Montoya, Black Canary, Cassandra Cain, and Huntress into the world of the comics, and it’s safe to assume that chaos will ensue. With Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner – whose prolific run on Harley Quinn absolutely influenced the film aesthetically and spiritually – at the helm, there’s quite a lot to get excited about with this issue. — Jenna Anderson

The Life of Captain Marvel Select

Written by Margaret Stohl
Art by Erica D’Urso, Carlos Pacheco, and Marguerite Sauvage
Published by Marvel Comics

The Life of Captain Marvel took on the tall order of streamlining Captain Marvel’s origin story and making it compelling for a modern audience, and it did so in spades. Margaret Stohl, Carlos Pacheco, and Marguerite Sauvage created a gorgeous book that enhanced Carol’s mythos and set her up for the future in a big way, and now you can get the whole storyline in one place with The Life of Captain Marvel Marvel Select Hardcover. If you want a great starting point for Cap, you can’t go wrong with this, and that awesome Artgerm cover doesn’t hurt either! — Matthew Aguilar

Loud

Written by Maria Llovet
Art by Maria Llovet
Published by Black Mask Comics

Written and illustrated by Faithless‘ Maria Llovet, Loud follows a motley crew of characters at its titular night club and the unforgettable and potentially deadly night that ensues from there. Early previews of the graphic novel have given off profound and incredibly punk-rock vibes, with a plot that will have to be seen to be believed. This looks like a spiritual sequel to books like Phantogram and How to Talk to Girls at Parties in all the right ways, and it will hopefully find an audience that is as eclectic as it is. — Jenna Anderson

Sports is Hell

Writing and art by Ben Passmore
Published by Koyama Press

Having picked up Sports Is Hell as last year’s Small Press Expo, we overlooked that it got its wide release last week. We’re addressing that now since it’s too good of a comic not to comment on. Ben Passmore’s Sports is Hell is a raw political fable that uses a sports night riot to express disillusion with the calculated human sacrifices made in the interest of political gain. The riot soon spreads, turning the entire city into a post-apocalyptic wasteland, inheriting a desolation expressed through Passmore’s artwork. Passmore peppers the story with sly references to the state of modern politics, pulling no punches as he drives home the analogy of politics as a team sport. This is a can’t-miss, subtle rending of our political state-of-being that reaches past the symptoms to grab the systemic illness by the throat. — Jamie Lovett

Star Trek: Year Five Valentine’s Day Special

Written by Paul Cornell
Art by Christopher Jones
Published by IDW Publishing

Star Trek: Year Five has been an absolute delight since IDW Publishing launched the series. For the holiday, IDW is taking a detour with a Valentine’s Day Special that sees Captain Kirk in his natural element — vying the heart of a woman. The issue is written by Paul Cornell, who is best known for his work in the Doctor Who universe, but has also written cult favorite Marvel and DC Comics like Captain Britain and MI13 and Demon Knights, as well as stellar runs on bigger titles like Wolverine and Action Comics. Here he’s teaming with artist Christopher Jones, who looks to have the perfect style for blending Star Trek adventure with romance. — Jamie Lovett

Superman: Heroes

Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Matt Fraction, Jody Houser, and Greg Rucka
Art by Kevin Maguire, Steve Lieber, Mike Perkins, and others
Published by DC Comics

The reverberations of Superman’s choice to reveal his secret identity are just beginning to echo across series beyond Superman and Action Comics, but the one-shot Superman: Heroes provides an opportunity for some of DC Comics’ top talent to explore how it is changing the status quo. The creators involved have helped to reshape the Superman line of titles and have excellent reputations. Simply seeing Fraction, Lieber, Bendis, and Rucka on a cover provides plenty of reasons to pick up any comic. What’s perhaps just as exciting is that this one-shot format allows those creators to tell smaller tales, emphasizing the quiet conversations and personal joys and concerns related to this story that might otherwise be lost in never-ending superhero brawls. This is an opportunity for Superman and his sprawling cast of family, friends, and superpowered coworkers to deliver well-crafted short stories that will likely provide readers with plenty of smiles and a bit of insight. — Chase Magnett

Swamp Thing: Tales From the Bayou

Written by Tim Seeley, Tom King, Brian Azzarello, and Mark Russell
Art by Joelle Jones, Steve Pugh, Kyle Hotz, and others
Published by DC Comics

Swamp Thing has been without an ongoing series for several years now, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. While Swampie has delivered some of the most memorable runs and stories at DC Comics, he also doesn’t possess the soap operatics or rogues galleries that allow a monthly series to continue ad infinitum. The best Swamp Thing stories of the Rebirth era have been found in one-shots, anthologies, and a Wal-Mart exclusive. All of those different takes and tales have now been collected in one easy to read volume. “Tales from the Bayou” offers up an immense collection of talented artists and writers, each of whom delivers their own unique twist on the collection’s titular character. Some emphasize the horror genre, while others read more like war stories or psychedelic trips. They all serve as a reminder as to why Swamp Thing is one of DC’s most valuable players and combine to offer up a must-read collection of exploits from the deep south. — Chase Magnett

Transformers Valentine’s Day Special

Written by Various
Art by Various
Published by IDW Publishing

“Transformers” and “romance” aren’t two phrases that you might typically associate with each other, which is exactly why this special issue is so weirdly appealing. The main story of this installment is expected to follow Glyph and Tap-Out in an unconventional and adorable love story, which elevates their respective roles as robots in disguise in the process. This issue – and its backup story written by Internet darlings Kate Leth and Cohen Edenfield – is sure to highlight the emotion and nuance that the Transformers franchise brings, and it will probably be enough to get through to even the most robotic of hearts. — Jenna Anderson

Wonder Woman #751

Written by Steve Orlando
Art by Jan Duursema
Published by DC Comics

Fresh off the love letter to the character that Wonder Woman #750 was, this week’s issue jumps right in with the question of whether Boston is a safe place for Wonder Woman to be — meaning, is the city safe from the chaos that seems to follow the heroine. It’s an interesting premise that is set to offer a fresh and interesting Wonder Woman story and it’s one that you won’t want to miss. — Nicole Drum