I Know You Got Pull
May 15th, 2009 by david brothers | Tags: DC comics, economics, Marvel comicsI’ve been using Comixology to handle my pull list. They’ve got a pretty robust pull list feature going on, and it integrates with my comic shop, so it’s very convenient. Adding and subtracting things is just a matter of pressing a button. I dig it. Check it out, you might, too.
I pulled up my pull list to see how many books I’m regularly buying. This doesn’t count things I grab off the shelf, but it’s a pretty good representation of what I buy.
Marvel- Amazing Spider-Man #593
Vertigo- Seaguy: The Slaves of Mickey Eye #2 (of 3) (MR)
Marvel- Black Panther Vol. 2 #4
Vertigo- Young Liars #15 (MR)
Marvel- Amazing Spider-Man #594
DC Comics- Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance #1 (of 6)
Vertigo- Hellblazer #255 (MR)
Marvel- Amazing Spider-Man #595
Marvel- Immortal Iron Fist #26
Vertigo- Unknown Soldier #8 (MR)
That’s the entire month of May for me. Eight distinct franchises, a total of ten comics. That comes up to a hair over 30 bucks a month on average.
I pared my pull list down a lot over the past few months. I vastly prefer trades, and DC has done a pretty good job of chasing me away from a lot of books. In fact, I think I buy two main DCU books– Power Girl and Dance. I’m waiting for Batman & Robin to come back, and the Rucka/JHW3 Detective might pull me in depending on how the first issue goes. In fact, just looking at May… I’m not really bothering with the big events from either company. Final Crisis Aftermath counts, I guess, but I expect that to be good, unlike Battle for the Cowl or the other Aftermath books. It’s the only one that sounded appealing to me, anyway.
I made a decision a while back not to buy books I felt were mediocre. If I’m not loving it, or at least liking it a whole lot with a chance of love, I’m not buying it. Life’s too short to read bad comics, and if a comic isn’t pushing my buttons, that’s the very definition of a bad comic. The way my list is now, I really look forward to picking up my books. I know I’ll get a couple of books a week that’ll float my boat.
What’s your pull list looking like? Are you policing your stack by quality or price? I generally don’t buy 3.99 books as a rule, unless it’s genuinely extra sized, as in Amazing Spider-Man’s special issues.
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I used to buy fucking everything back when I worked at a comic shop, but over the past year or so I’ve pared down my pull list pretty considerably. Not as small as yours, david, but here’s what I got:
Captain America
Captain Britain and MI-13
Criminal/Incognito (basically counts as one book, since Criminal’s on hiatus)
Daredevil
Dark Avengers
Fantastic Four
Ghost Rider
Incredible Hercules
New Avengers
Thor
Ultimate Spider Man
At least three of those I’ll be dropping pretty soon, as their current runs are coming to an end (Ghost Rider, Fantastic Four, and Daredevil). I’m currently not reading any DC stuff, but I’ll be adding Detective Comics when the Rucka/Williams run starts and Batman and Robin when the Morrison/Quitely run starts. I’ve been hearing fantastic things about Secret Warriors, but I just can’t afford to hop on for another series right now, so I may wait for the trade.
I’m one of those apparent freaks who still likes DC so my pull list is mainly made up of GL, the Superbooks, the batbooks, etc. (like Rebels or SS). with vertigo titles like Fables, Scalped, and I’m checking out unwritten.
marvel is mainly just cap, iron man, herc, thor, and a few others.
oh and Kirkman’s two Image titles
I’ve honestly found that when it comes to superheroes, the best way to avoid shitty comics is not to have a pull list, but instead choose writers I like and pare down their worse offerings, while occasionally taking chances on things I hear good things about or think I might like. When I started reading comics again, I stuck to Bendis and branched out into DC with random buys until I found Grant Morrison. Now I’m finding Kirkman’s a good bet, thanks to the Bendis team-up on Secret Warriors; Fraction’s been hit or miss, etc. I tend toward skepticism about new books and I don’t buy that many comics as a result.
Can I ask a question in response? What is appealing to you about the new Power Girl series?
It’s DC finally dipping a toe into something Marvel’s been pushing for ages– a solid mid-tier title that isn’t focused so much on Final Crisis/Dark Reign/Countdown whatevers as it is on Power Girl herself. To be honest, before picking up the series, I’d forgotten Power Girl had a real name and a secret identity, because all of her stories in recent memory have been about Kingdom Come or whatever was going on in JSA. I found the first issue fun and pretty funny, and enough of a good start that I genuinely wondered what the next issue would be like.
Like you said, the creative teams are key. I chose Power Girl because I liked some of the Gray/Palmiotti’s work in the past, particularly their Terra mini from late last year. All of those books I pull are based on creators– I love Milligan, I dig Cammo, so I buy Hellblazer. Amazing Spidey has the best art teams in superhero books right now. Young Liars has David Lapham, Iron Fist has good buzz, Seaguy is Morrison/Stewart, and Unknown Soldier I took a chance on.
It’s all about the creators, and I place a greater value on them than I do the characters.
@david brothers: which is why I like SS and Rebels so much. disconnected from the main continuity, yet damn good books in their own right.
that and Simone’s Bane, Deadshot, and Ragdoll are hilarious
My pull list is..pretty big. Not Chris Sims’ big, but still…
“Lockjaw & the Pet Avengers”
“Jack Staff”
“War of Kings”
“Savage Dragon”
“Fables”
“Secret Six”
“Knights of the Dinner Table”
“Agents of ATLAS”
“Marvel Zombies 4”
“X-Men: First Class”
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”
“Jersey Gods”
“Astro City”
“Groom Lake”
“Nova”
“Jack of Fables”
“Rasl”
“Phonogram”
“Proof”
“G0dland”
“Avengers: the Initiative”
“Guardians of the Galaxy”
“Wolverine: First Class” – though I’m not a huge Peter David fan, so I may drop it soon
“Invincible”
“Dynamo5”
“Ex Machina”
“DMZ”
“Angel”
“Incognito”/”Criminal”
Any of the Power Pack minis or Franklin Richards one-shots
I used to have more of a DC/Marvel balance but they keep cancelling titles I want like “Blue Beetle” or “Manhunter” and “Army@Love” and “100 Bullets” are over…
And more than a few I pick up more in tpb like “Scalped” or “Hellblazer”…
Also Hudlin’s Panther? Really? No, really?
Yes, really. You’ve got a few titles on your list I could quibble with, too, so I guess them’s the breaks.
Why exactly are you reading Hudlin’s Panther?
Just heard Hudlin’s off the book sometime soon. Though Marvel tapped a white writer of horror to replace him. Odd choice…