On The Pull 18/12/2019

New comics are due to hit the shelves on Wednesday so here’s a look ahead at some of the books we’ll be picking up this week along with a full list of titles that will be available from Paradox Comics.

Matt C: With Christmas falling on Wednesday next week, Wednesday this week is a wallet-buster with a veritable wealth of great comics arriving for us to somehow find the time to read across the festive season. And it's a week of endings.

Away from the printed page we've seen the sublime finale to Damon Lindelof's how-is-it-possibly-this-good Watchmen TV series while the final Star Wars film of the Skywalker Saga is unleashed at the end of the week. Comics-wise, we start off with the concluding issue Doomsday Clock, Geoff Johns' and Gary Frank's sort-of sequel to Watchmen. It's obviously been massively overshadowed by the aforementioned TV show (which started and finished in between the release of issues #11 and #12 of this book), and no matter how impressive and intelligent it's been, Lindelof's version has it beat - maybe it'll take time to appreciate both as individual entities without the need for comparison. Either way, it's certainly exceeded initial expectations and the conclusion promises an epic confrontation between Doctor Manhattan and the Man of Steel.

Also from DC is the last issue of Tom King's run on Batman. Of course we know he's carrying on with the Bat in the forthcoming team-up book with Catwoman (due at some point early next year) but what he's done on this particular title over the last couple of years has been provocative and frequently exceptional. It'll take some beating. Also putting a cap on a long tenure of writing Dark Knight tales are the team of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo in Batman: Last Knight On Earth. As with King, they've helped to shape Batman in the 21st century, and personally I feel Bruce Wayne and his costumed alter ego are in a pretty good place right now thanks to these creators.

Someone else who's had a long stint writing an iconic character is Jason Aaron, and over at Marvel he says farewell to the Odinson in King Thor #4. He has hit some real peaks across the past seven years or so, most noticeably by having Jane Foster pick up Mjölnir for a period of time, and his lasting impact on the character will be felt in the next Thor movie, Love And Thunder, which will have Natalie Portman returning in a more thunderous role. The House of Ideas also has the final instalment of Mark Waid's insanely ambitious and incredibly detailed History Of The Marvel Universe.

It's not all endings though, as 'Dawn Of X' continues with new issues of Mauraders and New Mutants (the former perhaps the best of the bunch), more of Chip Zdarsky's excellent Daredevil, more peculiarity in Jeff Lemire and Phil Hester's Family Tree and, also from Lemire (along with Andrea Sorrentino), the second part of the startling Joker: Killer Smile, which is shaping up to be one of the best tales featuring the ubiquitous Clown Prince in recent years. Then there's the return of The Old Guard, Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez' tale of immortal warriors in a sequel entitled Force Multiplied.

Looks like we all better prepare to apologise to friends and family for our sudden lack of funds to purchase suitable Christmas gifts...

DARK HORSE:

American Gods: Moment of the Storm #8 £3.45
Count Crowley: Reluctant Monster Hunter #3 (of 4) £3.45
Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins II #4 £3.45
Invisible Kingdom #8 £3.45
Skulldigger & Skeleton Boy #1 (of 6) £3.45
Strayed #5 (of 5) £3.45
Tales from Harrow County: Deaths Choir #1 £3.45
Witchfinder: Reign of Darkness #2 (of 5) £3.45

DC COMICS:
Aquaman #55 £3.45
Basketful of Heads #3 (of 7) £3.45
Batman #85 £4.25
Batman: Last Knight on Earth #3 (of 3) £5.15
Batman / Superman #5 £3.45
Catwoman #18 £3.45
Dollar Comics: Flash #164 £1.00
Doomsday Clock #12 (of 12) £5.15
Flash Forward #4 (of 6) £3.45
Harleen #3 (of 3) £6.75
He-Man & Masters of the Multiverse #2 £3.45
Infected: The Commissioner #1 £3.45
John Constantine: Hellblazer #2 £3.45
Joker: Killer Smile #2 (of 3) £5.15
Justice League #38 £3.45
Last God #3 £4.25
Legion of Super-Heroes #2 £3.45
Low Low Woods #1 (of 6) £3.45
Lucifer #15 £3.45
Metal Men #3 (of 12) £3.45
Nightwing #67 £3.45
Scooby Doo, Where are You? #102 £2.60
Shazam #9 £3.45
Suicide Squad #1 £4.25
Superman Smashes the Klan #2 (of 3) £6.75
Supermans Pal Jimmy Olsen #6 (of 12) £3.45
Teen Titans #37 £3.45
Wonder Woman #83 £3.45
Wonder Woman: Dead Earth #1 (of 4) £5.90
Wonder Woman Giant #2 £4.25
Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #1 (of 4) £4.25

IMAGE:
Family Tree #2 £3.45
Farmhand #12 £3.45
Hardcore Reloaded #1 (of 5) £3.45
Heart Attack #2 £3.45
Middlewest #13 £3.45
Old Guard: Force Multiplied #1 (of 5) £3.45
Outpost Zero #14 £3.45
Pretty Violent #5 £3.45
Project X-Mas #1 £3.45
Savage Dragon #247 £3.45
SFSX Safe Sex #4 £3.45

MARVEL:
2099 Omega #1 £4.25
Agents of Atlas #5 (of 5) £3.45
Amazing Spider-Man #36 £3.45
Annihilation: Scourge Omega £4.25
Avengers #28 £3.45
Black Panther #19 £3.45
Conan: Serpent War #2 (of 4) £3.45
Daredevil #15 £3.45
Eternals #1: Facsimile Edition £3.45
Excalibur #4 £3.45
Fallen Angels #4 £3.45
Future Foundation #5 £3.45
Ghost Spider #5 £3.45
Guardians of the Galaxy #12 £4.25
Gwenpool Strikes Back #5 (of 5) £3.45
History of the Marvel Universe #6 (of 6) £4.25
Invaders #12 £3.45
King Thor #4 (of 4) £5.15
Marauders #4 £3.45
Marvel Tales: Annihilation #1 £6.75
New Mutants #4 £3.45
Revenge of Cosmic Ghost Rider #1 (of 5) £4.25
Runaways #28 £3.45
Scream: Curse of Carnage #2 £3.45
Spider-Man #3 (of 5) £3.45
Spider-Man: Velocity #5 (of 5) £3.45
Star Wars: Empire Ascendant #1 £5.15
Star Wars: Rise of Kylo Ren #1 (of 4) £4.25
Tony Stark: Iron Man #19 £3.45
True Believers Annihilation: Mantis #1 £1.00
True Believers Annihilation: Moondragon #1 £1.00
True Believers Annihilation:Odinpower #1 £1.00
True Believers Annihilation: Super-Adaptoid £1.00
True Believers Annihilation: Super-Skrull #1 £1.00
X-Force #4 £3.45

MORE:
2000AD #2162 X-Mas Special £4.99
Angel #8 £3.45
Blade Runner 2019 #5 £3.45
Bloodshot #4 £3.45
Chastity #4 £3.45
Doctor Who: 13th Doctor Holiday Special #2 £5.15
Firefly #12 £3.45
Folklords #2 (of 5) £3.45
GI Joe #3 £3.45
Gung Ho #1 £3.45
Heartbeat #2 (of 5) £3.45
Jim Henson Dark Crystal - Age of Resistance #4 £3.45
Klaus: Life & Times of Joe Christmas #1 £6.75
Knights of the Dinner Table #269 £5.15
Magic the Gathering: Chandra #4 £3.45
Marvel Action Classics: Spider-Man - Two in One £4.25
Marvel Action Spider-Man #12 £3.45
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #46 £3.45
Mirka Andolfos Unsacred #2 £3.45
Mountainhead #3 (of 5) £3.45
Narcos #1 (of 4) £3.45
Once & Future #5 £3.45
Rick & Morty #57 £3.45
Roku #3 (of 4) £3.45
Shades of Magic: Rebel Army #2 £3.45
Shows End #5 (of 5) £3.45
Star Trek: Picard #2 (of 3) £4.25
Star Trek: Year Five #9 £3.45
Vampire State Building #3 £3.45
Vampirella #6 £3.45
Visitor #1 (of 6) £3.45
Wellington #1 (of 5) £3.45
Wolvenheart #3 £3.45

GRAPHIC NOVELS:
Batgirl Vol.6: Old Enemies Tp £14.99
Batman Vol.11: The Fall and the Fallen Tp £15.99
Deaths Head: Clone Drive Tp £14.50
Defenders Epic Collection: End of All Songs £35.99
Green Lantern V.1: Intergalactic Lawman Tp £15.99
Green Lantern Vol.2: Day the Stars Fell HC £24.99
Magic the Gathering: Chandra Vol.1 Tp £14.50
Sonata Vol.1 Tp £17.99