Our pull list at our local comic shop seems to get longer every month. Every time a series ends or starts to flag enough for us to cancel it, another two or three come along. I’ve mostly been leaving those new series to Tim but today I decided to try out a handful and see what grabbed me.

Gamora issue #1
by Nicole Perlman (writer), Marco Checchetto (penciller) and Andres Mossa (colourist)

This new series centres around a character from Guardians of the Galaxy, which I personally only know from the excellent film. Gamora is the adopted daughter of Thanos, raised by him as an assassin and heir, despite him having created his own daughter Nebula. Consequently, Nebula hates Gamora. In the meantime, Thanos has given Gamora the gift of destroying a whole race. It’s an interesting, if violent, set-up. The artwork is an interesting, watercolour style. But I must admit this didn’t grab me.

Published December 2016 by Marvel.

Hawkeye issue #1
by Kelly Thompson (writer), Leonardo Romero (penciller) and Jordie Bellaire (colourist)

It’s yet another Hawkeye series, but so far they’ve all been good – and are all in the same continuity, which is less confusing. This series concentrates on Kate Bishop, the younger hipper Hawkeye. She’s decided to stay in LA and set up a PI agency, but while she’s great at the superhero thing, she’s not so clear on the PI thing. Kate’s still a fun character to be around and this is a fun story. In this iteration she’s a bit less capable than she seemed when I first met her in Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye, but perhaps that was just her seeming super mature in relation to Clint Barton. I’ll definitely be sticking with this one.

Published December 2016 by Marvel.

Jessica Jones issue #1
by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Michael Gaydos (penciller) and Matt Hollingsworth (colourist)

Brian Michael Bendis is one of the real star names in comic books, but in recent years I’ve tried half a dozen titles written by him and not really liked any. Having loved the Netflix show Jessica Jones, based on the character Bendis himself created, I was interested to see what this new series would be like. Well, I surprised myself by loving it. Jessica has just got out of jail and gone home to restart Alias Investigations. There are mysteries set up, cameos from multiple familiar characters and the least sexualised art style I’ve seen in quite some time. I’m really excited about this title and hope the comic shop still has issues 2–5 in stock.

Published October 2016 by Marvel.

Cage! issue #1
By Genndy Tarkovsky (writer and penciller), Stephen Destefano (inks) and Scott Wills (colours)

It’s 1978 in Harlem and Luke Cage is patrolling the streets, keeping them clean…with his fists. This isn’t the forward-thinking lovely Luke Cage of the Netflix TV show, but he does share the “man of few words” thing, along with a proficiency for fighting. I can’t say I’m a fan of the story so far, which has been pretty minimal, but I’m still eager to read on because the art is so beautiful. Tarkovsky’s style is different from everyone else’s, unmistakably his. I am curious to see where this goes, and how it makes use of the 1970s setting beyond the clothes and hair styles.

Published October 2016 by Marvel.

Lumberjanes issue #1
by Noelle Stevenson (writer), Grace Ellis (writer) and Brooke Allen (artist)

I’ve kept hearing positive things about this series. As it’s from the same studio as Giant Days, which I love, I expected something very similar, only set at a summer camp. And I suppose that’s what it is, but somehow I was thrown by the level of weirdness. It opens with a group of teenage girls fighting strange creatures in the woods, then sneaking back into their cabin at the summer camp before their camp counsellor spots that they’ve been out all night. There’s definitely potential here for some great tales of female friendship alongside general ass-kickery and some fun, albeit weird, humour.

I did very much enjoy the playlist supplied at the end and I might just put it together. I’ll be skipping the Spice Girls though. Just, no.

Published 2014 by Boom! Box.