Originally posted on cxPulp on 4/15/2012. Comment here
Welcome back to another week of the $40 Pull List!
This week we have just one issue – Batgirl #8 from DC Comics. It is a light week for sure – so we will just dive right into it!
NEW ISSUES: APRIL 11th, 2012
Batgirl #8, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 04/11/2012 ON TIME
Written by Gail Simone, Pencils by Ardian Syaf, Alitha Martinez, and Vicente Cifuentes, Colors by Ulises Arreola, Inks by Vicente Cifuentes and Alitha Martinez
I complained last issue that the focus wasn’t on Grotesque nearly enough, and that complaint still holds true. Granted, this issue wasn’t handicapped by the completely unnecessary non-linear scenes, but in a way it was almost too focused on Barbara’s angst. Don’t get me wrong – I love good character elements in a story, but some of her actions made no sense at all. Why would she let someone escape who just helped to commit a murder? Why would the murderer take a back-seat to the main villain himself? I understand the obsession with Weaver, but Grotesque was treated as almost an afterthought during the whole story.
I was hoping for a story in which Barbara struggled with her demons while she confronted a serious threat – instead she pretty much shut down and ignored the murderer in favor of the two-bit henchman who she knew was at least partly reformed. That wouldn’t have been so bad if that poor decision had some sort of negative consequence – but it didn’t. She defeated Grotesque almost by accident – he happened to be there, and she was able to defeat him with almost no effort at all. A real poor showing for a character that had real potential as a long-term antagonist.
So these two issues have been something of a downer. There is some interesting potential with James Gordon, Jr., and that is keeping my interest for next month. However if the kind of story we got in the past two issues is a sign of things to come, it could mean bad things for this title. There are hints of a better Barbara Gordon character here, but the negatives kind of outweigh the positives. To me, this isn’t a strong, independent heroine – the Batgirl we got in this issue was a basket-case who lets murderers go free, and if she had confronted a more serious threat, there would be a lot of blood on her hands.
Simone has definitely given us better.
RELEASED SO FAR
Daredevil #10.1, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 04/04/2012 ON TIME
Batgirl #8, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 04/11/2012 ON TIME
STILL TO COME
The Defenders #5, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 04/18/2012
Reed Gunther #10, $2.99, Image Comics, Due out 04/18/2012
Batman #8, $3.99, DC Comics. Due out 04/18/2012
Blue Beetle #8, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 04/18/2012
Nightwing #8, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 04/18/2012
John Carter: Gods of Mars #2 (of 5), $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 04/18/2012
The Sixth Gun #21, $3.99, Oni Press. Due Out 04/18/2012
Daredevil #11, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 04/25/2012
Wolverine #305, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 04/25/2012
TRADE BANK – $6.00
Daytripper TP, $19.99, DC Comics. Due out 02/01/2012
$1.98 (Bank from March) + $40.00 (April Budget) = $41.98
$41.98 – $36.89 (April Issues) – $2.86 (tax) – $2.00 (Trade Bank Deposit) = $0.23 Banked for May
We’ve got a heavy week next week, with seven titles from the list coming out. It is a strange pattern – it seems like no matter what titles we pick, they tend to eventually gravitate to one week of the month. I don’t know if that is just the titles I am picking or if it is an ordinary thing in the comic industry – it could just be a wild coincidence.
Thanks again for reading, and as always – I look forward to hearing what you think. See you next week!
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