Brace your wallets for impact because there is a metric ton of awesome comic books hitting store shelves this week. On today’s edition of The Pull List, we have an epic, universe-spanning throwdown between Deadpool and Thanos, all in order to win the affections of Death herself. Plus, a John Hughesian superhero story from Jeff Lemire and Emi Lenox, as well as a provocative and chilling reinterpretation of Macbeth. So read on and find out what you should be picking up this week!

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Deadpool vs. Thanos #1

Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Tim Seeley
Artist: Elmo Bondoc
Letterer: VC’s Joe Sabino
Colorist: Ruth Redmond
Cover by: Tradd Moore & Matt Wilson

What happens when the most powerful being in the Marvel Universe and the most powerfully stupid being in the Marvel Universe come together in one insane book? Well, you get Deadpool vs. Thanos #1. Deeply irreverent and delightfully violent, Deadpool vs. Thanos #1 finds the Mad Titan and the Merc With a Mouth at loggerheads over courting Death for her hand in eternal Netflix and chill. Of course, there’s one problem: Death has been imprisoned somewhere outside the realm of the living, and both Deadpool and Thanos think the other is to blame. While this first issue feels light on substance, it has plenty of off-kilter cracks, bloody battle scenes, and enough of a plot to draw you in to Tim Seeley and Elo Bondoc’s deeply weird world. At a time when many comics can seem overly serious and too gritty for their own good, Deadpool vs. Thanos is a breath of fresh, blood-misted air. Pick it up if you’re having a lousy week and need to put a big, dumb smile on your face.

Plutona #1

Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist/Letterer: Emi Lenox
Colorist: Emi Lenox
Cover by: Emi Lenox

I’ll buy damn near anything that Jeff Lemire writes and Plutona #1 is no exception. Our own Benjamain Bailey summed it up best in his review:

“There’s a hard and fast rule in modern comics that goes something like this: if Jeff Lemire’s name is on a comic book, you buy that comic book. With that in mind, you should all already havePlutona #1 on your pull lists, but if you need an extra push we are happy to provide that. Rest assured, Plutona is as heartfelt and beautiful as any of Lemire’s pervious works, and the artwork from Emi Lenox is like a breath of fresh air. Hold to the rule, guys. Buy this comic book.

The story is a mixture of Lemire’s past works. It’s got that small town, human feeling of his graphic novels, but captures the big scope of his more recent science fiction work. The cast is a group of misfit kids that would feel at home in a John Hughes film — only these kids live a superhero universe. This doesn’t stop them from having fairly normal pre-teen lives, filled with anger, frustration, and awkwardness. That is, of course, until you get to the last page of the comic and realize that these kids are about to have their whole world upended. It’s beautiful stuff, for sure.”

Read Benjamin Bailey’s full review here.

Toil and Trouble #1

Publisher: Archaia/BOOM! Studios
Writer: Mairghread Scott
Artist: Kelly & Nichole Matthews
Letterer: Warren Montgomery
Cover by: Meredith McClaren

After geeking out over the trailer for the Michael Fassbender-starring Macbeth movie, I have had a powerful hunger for all things The Scottish Play. Thankfully, Archaia delivered with Toil and Trouble #1, the debut issue of a six-issue mini-series from Mairghread Scott and Kelly & Nichole Matthews. Finding a fresh angle on a classic like Macbeth is no small task, but Scott’s ambitious undertaking is fiercely intelligent, beautifully written, and boasts a creepy-cool aesthetic that will have you ravenously turning each page.

Rather than focusing on the Thane of Cawdor, Toil and Trouble hones in on the witches in Macbeth, specifically from the perspective of Smertae, the heretofore unnamed third witch, and her sisters Cait and Riata. For centuries, the witches have used their unholy power to influence the course of history, crowning kings and slaying opponents in the name of serving the wheel of fate. Now, though, Smertae has returned to Scotland after a nine-year exile for mysterious, unexplained reasons and she is tasked with dooming Macbeth to die in a forthcoming battle with an invading army. Perhaps Smertae’s travels have changed her, but she finds herself balking at the terrible deed that must be done. What repercussions this will have on the wheel of fate and Scotland as we know it remain to be seen.

What elevates Toil and Trouble to greatness, though, is the artwork from Kelly and Nichole Matthews, whose ginger pencils and diffused color palette give Scott’s excellent storytelling an ethereal, mystical quality–ideal for a story about witches. Whether delicately interweaving Celtic iconography or crafting a brutal and bloody battle scene, Kelly and Nichole Matthews’ work is gripping.

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The Complete List

(via Previews.com)

What are you picking up this week at your local comic book shop? Let us know in the comments below, and check out what our pals and Geek & Sundry picked as their top picks.

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Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of 100 Things Avengers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. You can follow him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious).