By Joe C.
Sorry for the lack of Pull last week, everyone! I trust you all found something good to read in my absence? New readers might be at a disadvantage because GeekingAlly is in a bit of a transition period at the moment. The big summer events are in full swing, so there aren’t a lot of jumping-on points, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to read! This week drops you in the middle of several stories, so grab your water-wings and get ready to dive into the deep end!
At the time of writing, the big surprise in our first selection had already been revealed. However, if you haven’t read the news in the past couple days and don’t want it spoiled, stop reading now. Ready? I’m serious, if you’re still reading it could potentially ruin it. OK? OK. The latest big announcement from Marvel is that in today’s Astonishing X-Men No. 50, Northstar and his boyfriend, Kyle, get engaged. Yes, Archie beat them with the whole same-sex wedding thing, and yes, this could be viewed as a desperate attempt to stir up readership, but none of that 
matters because Northstar is awesome and that’s all you need to know. There have only been a few issues since the creative team on Astonishing changed, so it’s too early to make a definitive call on whether this new run is going to be a winner or not, but this is a good start. Regardless of how you feel about the topic, this is, to my knowledge, Marvel’s first same-sex wedding, so it’s worth it just for the cultural value. If nothing else, at least it’ll give you a reason to celebrate/feel indignant on the message boards later.
This next book has neither weddings nor same-sex couples, but it does have lots and lots of monsters. Hulk No. 52 continues the “Haunted Hulk” arc and has the titular character (the red one, anyway) searching for the source of his current supernatural woes. While the first two parts of this arc have been enjoyable, the big draw for this issue is that it guest stars the Legion of Monsters! Astute readers will remember that I’ve already recommended the Legion of Monsters miniseries, and since I’m sure you all went out and got a copy, you should be just as excited as I am. It’s almost too good to be true. Not only do we get the Legion, we get them scripted by Jeff Parker! Parker is a master of working with random, seemingly cast-off characters, so this is a match made in heaven. 
Don’t let the fact that it’s the middle of an arc keep you away. Anything with the Legion of Monsters, especially when handled by someone like Parker, is worth your time.
If you can’t bring yourself to jump on in the middle of a story, DC’s got you covered. The new Batman Inc. series launches today, rebooting the worldwide Caped Crusader network that Grant Morrison started last year. It’s not so much a dynamic duo as it is a dynamic…dozen? I don’t know. I lost track of how many members that Bat family had. Like most things Morrison gets his hands on, the story in the first series was epic, confusing and like nothing else you’d find on the shelves. Considering that the Bat Universe didn’t change much in the “New 52”, I don’t expect this round of Batman Inc. to be much different than its predecessor. For those who like their Batmen and Batwomen multicultural, this one’s for you.
