The $40 Pull List

So I’ve been wrestling a bit with the way I buy comics lately. I’ve realized that there are some weeks where I just don’t care about buying comics because my budget doesn’t allow me to buy more than one or two on that week. I considered switching to only buy trades, going as far as to cancel my pull list, but then after agonizing over it for a couple of days I changed my mind. Instead, I decided to steal a concept form Craig Reade over at ComiXtreme and create some rules and guidelines for my $40 pull list. So here they are:

1. My base monthly budget will be $40
2. A tax rate of 9.75% shall be added to each book’s cover price.
3. Bags and boards will not be included in expenses, as they are not technically necessary for buying comics
4. Any money left over in the budget each month will be “banked” for use later on overages from “Giant-Sized” issues and the like.
5. I will try out at least one new comic a month. This will hopefully prevent me from getting into a slump where I’m getting bored reading all the same stuff and continue to pick up books of lowering quality out of habit.
6. Money from unreleased books will be banked, for overage uses or to pay for the book when it does arrive.
7. If a book is not released as solicited for two consecutive months it will be dropped. This one is most open to being bent and broken for various reasons, but its a good rule of thumb to have.

Good? Good. I guess all that’s left is to bring out the first pull list. Note that usually I will try to add books onto the list that are starting new story arcs rather than jumping in the middle of one, but you have to start somewhere right? so here we go:

Action Comics #870, #2.99, DC Comics. Due out 10.18.08. Geoff Johns has breathed new life into this series and with All Star Superman just wrapping up, this book is now the #1 Superman title on the stands.

Batman #860, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 10.1.08. This one is actually a hold over from last month. Not sure why it was delayed, but I’ve loved Morrison’s Batman R.I.P arc so far (as well as most everything else Morrison does), so I’m willing to wait.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #19, $2.99, Dark Horse Comics. Due out 10.1.08. I just found that this has been delayed until November, which is dissapointing. I love Buffy, but I hope Joss can get this last issue out before handing off writing duties for a while again.

Captain Britain and MI:13 #6, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 10.15.08. I finally tried this series out last month after hearing it continually recommended by friends and sources on the web. I was suprised by how much I found myself caring for character I know little or nothing about. I’ll definitely be on board for the next issue.

DMZ #35, $2.99, DC/Vertigo Comics $2.99. Due out 10.22.08. The end of the “Blood in the Game” arc left Brian Wood’s DMZ ready to take a new direction as it enters its second half, with Matty taking a role being ina  position of power rather than just an observer. I’ve loved this series since issue #1 and see no reason to drop it any time soon.

Final Crisis #4, DC Comics, $3.99. Due out 10.22.08. I’ve begun to go pretty tired of the big event comics that have been out of the big two, but Grant Morrison’s epic has the depth that most crossover comics lack. As a huge Morrison fan, seeing him at the helm of DC Universe on “the day evil won” is a little dream come true.

Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #2, DC Comics, $3.99. Due out 10.15.08. Though I’ve never really read much about the Legion, its hard to beat a superhero comic written by Geoff Johns, and the fact that it ties into Grant Morrison’s curretn DC Universe epic just makes it sweeter.

Final Crisis: Submit, DC Comics, $3.99. Due out 10.10.08. A Final Crisis tie-in one-shot taking a look at the Crisis from the eyes of two super-beings on the run, written by Grant Morrison himself? I’m in.

Four Eyes #1, Image Comics, $3.50. Due out 10.3.08. I’ve been hearing some good things about writer Joe Kelly, especially concerning his series Godland which is coming to an end soon. This new series sounds pretty interesting, and it’ll be my first exposure to his work.

Invincible Iron Man #6, Marvel Comics, $2.99. Due out 10.10.08. Matt Fraction is hottest rising star in comics right now and after reading the first volume of Casanova I knew I had to find room in my budget for his Iron Man series.

Northlanders #11, DC/Vertigo Comics, $2.99. Due out 10.29.08. Brian Wood’s viking series gets ready to enter its second 8-issue arc.

Perhapanauts #8, Image Comics, $2.99. Due Out 10.24.08. Been wanting to check out this light-hearted sci-fi/horror series for a while, and their Halloween special seems the perfect time.

Runaways Vol. 3 #3, Marvel Comics, $2.99. Due out 10.22.08. Terry Moore’s continues his stint on Runaways, and while its not as good as Vaughan’s, its still pretty decent in it’s own right.

Uncanny X-Men#503, Marvel Comics, $2.99. Due out 10.15.08. As a big X-Men fan I happy to see that Matt Fraction was joining Uncanny’s creative team with issue #500. I was less happy to find that Greg Land was the new artist. So far the series’ story has been good enough for me to deal with the art, but its one that’s close to chopping block.

X-Factor #36, Marvel Comics, $2.99. Due out 10.22.08. X-Factor looks like its finally on the rebound after being hijacked by crossovers for a while. Hopefully it will find time to pick up on the threads left by the Quicksilver and Layla Miller one shots realased in recent months.

And that’s all of it. I’ll be back with reviews of my pulls each week, as well as other news an commentary throughout. Thanks for reading.