Issue #1 – Blood, Ink, and Resurrection: 5 Killer Reads That Should Be in Your Longbox
💀 Welcome to the Crypt
You made it.
You clawed your way through overpriced slabs, bootleg bundles, and way too many variant covers with no substance — and now you’re here, inside The Reaper’s Pull List. Every week, I’ll drag five comics from the longbox to the light — whether they’re keys, underappreciated gems, or beautifully brutal stories worth your time and money.
Let’s get to slicing...
⚔️ 1. The Maxx #1 (Image Comics, 1993)
“He’s not crazy. You are.”
A surreal, violent journey into the psyche of a homeless anti-hero — The Maxx is one of the most unique Image titles from the '90s. Sam Kieth’s art is unhinged brilliance, and if you’ve never read this series (or only saw the MTV animated show), you're missing out on an acid-drenched masterpiece. Grab issues 1–5 if you can.
🪦 Reaper’s Take: Criminally underrated. Bag it, board it, re-read it.
🦇 2. Valeria, The She-Bat #1-2 (Malibu, 1995)
“Gothic vibes, genetically altered wings, and more attitude than Spawn.”
This short-lived series from Malibu Comics is like Batman met Witchblade at a vampire rave. Killer character design, early girl-power anti-hero writing, and fun ’90s art. These issues pop up cheap, but that won’t last once some indie horror streaming deal hits.
🪦 Reaper’s Take: One of those series you’ll brag about owning when it inevitably gets reprinted.
🧠 3. Fight Club 2 #6–9 (Dark Horse, 2015)
“Tyler never dies… he just reboots.”
Chuck Palahniuk returned to his chaos cult with a comic continuation that shouldn't work — but somehow does. Wild layouts, unreliable narration, and fourth-wall-breaking mayhem make this arc a brain-melter. Not for everyone, but perfect for the chaos-curious.
🪦 Reaper’s Take: Meta, messy, and mesmerizing. Grab these before the sequel gets adapted.
🛡️ 4. Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #4–6 (Marvel, 1989)
“Spy-fi at its finest.”
Before Samuel L. Jackson made him iconic, this run captured the pulp-espionage roots of Fury. There’s a beautiful balance of Cold War tension and Marvel bombast. Plus, it’s one of the few places Fury is still smoking cigars and kicking ass without a filter.
🪦 Reaper’s Take: Undervalued gems. Slick storytelling with old-school swagger.
🧙 5. Grendel: War Child (Dark Horse, 1992)
“One man, one boy, one brutal future.”
Matt Wagner’s Grendel saga is dense lore, but War Child is a brutal, standalone story of legacy and violence. Think Lone Wolf & Cub meets dystopian nightmare. The art? Slick as a blade. The tone? Bleaker than a reaper’s day off.
🪦 Reaper’s Take: If you love dark sci-fi with meaning, this is your jam.
🧛 Final Panel: The Moral of This Week?
Don’t chase hype. Chase impact. These books aren't just collectibles — they’re statements, relics of eras that punched a hole in the medium. And if you see any of these in the wild, snag them fast — before I do.
👁️ Next Week’s Forecast:
Indie horror, post-apocalyptic pulp, and a forgotten Marvel mutant you probably never gave a chance…