Last week’s Raw gave us a mixed bag of angles, but the big story led to a match scheduled for tonight featuring John Cena vs. C.M. Punk.  Cena is putting up his title shot with The Rock in the main event of WrestleMania on the line against the former champion, and the Road to WrestleMania may take sometimes takes unexpected turns.  There are some other superstars who should be returning tonight to help populate the rest of the card including Brock Lesnar and a rumored individual who may have made a return over the weekend at the house shows.

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Weekly comic books are a big part of my life and below is a list of what I’ll be picking up this Wednesday along with cover artwork and previews courtesy of Comixology’s Pull List app.

Eight new books on my list again this Wednesday, but there’s a strong possibility I’ll only be bringing home seven.

• AVENGERS #6 – I liked where Jonathan Hickman‘s Avengers series started, but I’m not crazy about the single character focus of the last two issues. They’re not bad stories by any means, but it’s not exactly what I’m looking for and this issue featuring Captain Universe appears to me more on the same.
• CAPTAIN MARVEL #10 – I’ve fallen very far behind on my reading for this book, but I know I’m going to want to read it once I make the time.
• JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1 – I’m really not sure about this title. The upsides are that Geoff Johns has been slowly developing the foundation for the book in the pages of Justice League, I’m a big fan of David Finch’s artwork, and the solicit claims this is where Trinity War begins. The downside (and it’s a big one) is that I don’t really care about any of the characters on the team.
• JUSTICE LEAGUE #17 – Throne of Atlantis comes to an end and I really need to catch up if Trinity War is on the horizon.
• NOVA #1 – I don’t know what to make of this one. I enjoyed the last Nova series, but this one features a different lead character so that’s not much to go by. The new Nova’s appearance in AvX was fleeting, but not anything that would turn me away. The only thing that stands out as a potential problem is that his identity seems to be a bit of a mystery and I just don’t trust we’ll see a satisfying payoff on a mystery from Jeph Loeb. I did enjoy his last outing with Ed McGuinness for Avengers: X-Sanction, even if the timing of Cable’s return before AvX didn’t make a difference in the event.
• SAGA #10 – Another strong issue in the series. I particularly enjoyed the opening scene.
• SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #4 – It’s likely I won’t be picking this up today, but I’m still debating it. I gave the series three issues to sell me and I think it may have been two too many. The main reason I’m considering staying with it is the indication from advanced solicits is that the current Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus story will be resolved by issue #9, but that’s no reason to buy a bunch of issues I’m not into.
• X-FACTOR #252 – The Hell on Earth War continues and a lot of combustable elements from the last year of X-Factor stories are colliding. It’s made for a decent arc so far.

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Check back every week to see what’s on My Latest Pull List and please share your thoughts on these titles and everything you’re reading this week in the comments.

As the last major stop on the road to WrestleMania, we’d thought last night’s Elmination Chamber PPV would bring WWE’s biggest event of the year into greater focus. In part it has, as the expected rematch between the Rock and John Cena, which was never really in doubt, appears to be set in stone with Rock’s defeat of C.M. Punk. However, many other areas of the card still seem hazy… including the surprising choice of Jack Swagger as the World Championship contender for WrestleMania coming out of the Elimination Chamber match. Needless to say, this week’s Warm Up begins with a “Huh?”

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This past weekend Greenberg’s Train and Toy Show took up residence in The Greater Reading Expo Center in Reading, PA. The surprisingly large traveling event features seemingly hundreds of tables selling new, used and classic model trains as well as a variety of accessories used to build and maintain layouts. In addition, the event showcases a series of massive train displays in a variety of scales. There were even a few tables selling things we at MLD are a little more familiar with such as old action figures and computers(?!?!?). Admission to the events costs $7 for a two day pass and kids under 12 are free, which makes it affordable both to families looking for a fun day out and hardcore collectors looking for a new $500 locomotive. Read more of this article »

Weekly comic books are a big part of my life and below is a list of what I’ll be picking up this Wednesday along with cover artwork and previews courtesy of Comixology’s Pull List app.

Eight books officially on the list this week, but I’m on the fence about the second issue of Brian Wood’s Star Wars series from Dark Horse. There are also a bunch of variant covers for the latest Uncanny X-Men #1 shipping today that I’m sure I’ll track down, so “eight” isn’t really a number I’d put much stock in.

• BATMAN #17 – Death of the Family concludes and we’ll finally learn exactly what the Joker is serving up for Batman. This has been a bold and disturbing story from Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo that follows perfectly from what they’ve established since issue #1. I didn’t pay much attention to any of the other Bat-titles that this series touched on and it seems like I haven’t missed a thing, although I have heard good things about the Batgirl and Batman and Robin issues this story set up.
• CABLE AND X-FORCE #4 – I want to like this series a lot more than I do. It has Cable and Hope along a host of other characters that I’m interested in, but I feel like it’s taking a long time to establish itself. There’s a certain mystery surrounding the action and that should have the opportunity to unfold, but so far it’s lacked a bit of cohesion from issue to issue. If I was holding it to the same standard I am for the Marvel Now line outside of the X-books, I may not have made it past the first issue. For now, I’ll continue to give it a chance. 
• CYBER FORCE #3 – Even though I don’t remember much from reading earlier incarnations of Marc Silvestri’s Image series Cyber Force, this miniseries has provided a fun return to that world. I’m particularly enjoying learning about the various generations of cybernetic technology used to power the characters. The book is also free so there’s no reason not to try it out.
• THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS #9 – Jonathan Hickman‘s pair of Marvel Now Avengers series have really taken off in the first few issues and we began to see the larger story being told in those two books unfold last week. As intriguing as that story is, nowhere does Hickman cut loose more than in The Manhattan Projects. An advance look at the issue promises more crazy as the Los Alamos science team continues to consolidate power.
• SECRET AVENGERS #1 – A Marvel Now debut coming hot on the heels of Rick Remender‘s finale to the previous volume just last week. I’m sure a new direction is in store and I’ll read the first issue, but I think I might be ready to step away from the Secret Avengers franchise for a while.
• UNCANNY X-MEN #1 – Even though this title just relaunched in 2011, this latest debut is kind of a big deal to me. The first volume of Uncanny is the heart of my collection and the place where I started reading comic books. I hated to see it end, but I truly enjoyed Kieron Gillen’s volume that followed X-Men: Schism. I was sad to see that volume (and Gillen) gone from the X-line back in October. The shelves have been without an Uncanny X-Men series since that time and the hiatus, along with the fact that Brian Bendis‘ All New X-Men is fantastic, makes his relaunch of Uncanny (along with a personal favorite artist in Chris Bachalo) something I’m really looking forward to. I’m also planning to track down some of the variants shipping for this issue and a full report will arrive here on MLD before the week is through.
• WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN #25 – A milestone issue for Jason Aaron‘s X-series. It looks like this will be one of the few titles that will escape a Marvel Now relaunch, but its days on my pull list may be numbered. I’ve fallen a few issues behind and I’ve always felt the series was a bit silly for my tastes. It also doesn’t help that I’m getting a much more satisfying story out of All New X-Men with some of the same characters (particularly Kitty Pryde who was my main draw for this series).
• X-MEN #41 – The final issue of the 2010 X-Men series. I can’t say I’m sad to see it go as it always seemed a bit superfluous, but I am considering picking up the Dale Keown final issue variant for this book if it’s readily available in my local shop. While this series never really thrilled me, I am interested to see Brian Wood’s female-focused Marvel Now relaunch. A lot of the characters featured in the promotional images are at odds, and I’m curious to see how they’re able to put their differences aside when the story begins. 

As an addendum to last week’s list, I found myself adding Iron Man #6 and Venom #31 to my collection before Wednesday was through. Neither were under consideration until I saw them. Iron Man‘s “Godkiller” cover and the Phoenix flames piqued my interest and I’m always willing to give a Kieron Gillen penned book a shot. Venom  caught my attention when Brave New Worlds in Olde City pointed out that the title character had not only moved to Philadelphia, but took up residence in what appeared to be an apartment above their Second Street store.

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Check back every week to see what’s on My Latest Pull List and please share your thoughts on these titles and everything you’re reading this week in the comments.