On The Pull 24/12/2014

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. To see what’s available at Paradox this week, click here.

Matt C: Man, why do the publishers do this every year?? Christmas is on the immediate horizon, and if you're like me you've been caught up in the annual spending whirlwind as gift-purchasing reaches fever pitch, and with funds diminished you kind of hope the likes of Marvel, DC, Image, et al use the festive season as an opportunity to provide the cash-strapped fanboy or fangirl with a bit of respite before normal service is resumed in the New Year. But, no, they see to see it as an opportunity to make it one of the busiest week's for comics in the year, dropping a plethora of titles right at the moment that many of us have limited time to devote for additional comic book reading! So, on the night before Christmas I've got two finales heading my way, The Massive #30 and Avengers & X-Men: AXIS #9 - you can probably hazard a guess as to which one I'm more looking forward to! There are a couple of new books I'm keen to check out - Graveyard Shift #1 and They're Not Like Us #1 - along with some reliable favourites such as Black Science, New Avengers and C.O.W.L. I suppose I shouldn't moan too much as a) we're due to get the bare minimum of books the following week, and b) there's no doubt some real treats in store for us, and so, I'll end on a thoroughly positive note and bid everyone who's supported us in whatever way over the last 12 months a very Merry Christmas!

Stewart R: As Matt says, it seems that the publishers realise that there isn't going to be much to read next Wednesday (though there are a handful of things to pick up New Year's Eve) so they throw a stocking or ten's worth of titles our way before Christmas Day hits. It's not quite as busy a week for me compared to some of those crazy delivery days during 2014, but it's still chock full of reading. I'm a touch behind on Brian Wood's The Massive as I had a massive (whe-hay!) catch up session which left me at the cusp of this final arc and I fancied reading the conclusion all in one sitting so #30 will allow me to do that and I'm confident that it'll be worthy of what has been a really great series. I'm certainly not fussed about AXIS one bit now aside from getting it out of the way and done, and even if this final issue proves to be shocking and leave permanent scars on the Marvel landscape it's done far more damage to my desire to pick up any big Marvel crossovers in future. Dark Horse get a good look in this week with the aforementioned The Massive alongside trippy, supernatural thriller Sundowners #5 and the promising Resurrectionists #2. Meanwhile, it's a glorious double-header for Charles Soule work as She-Hulk #11 and Letter 44 #13 both come to town. I'm still sulking a little at the cancellation of She-Hulk but can take solace in the fact that Soule looks likely to be a writer who'll bring us top quality books for years to come.

Enjoy your reading and have a great festive holiday everyone! Merry Christmas!