February 11, 2023

This weekend there was no movie that I wanted to see at the theater. I certainly was not driving down to the Quad Cities to see the new Magic Mike film. Because that was the case, it opened a whole chunk of the day for the Comic Catch-Up. Today was one of the most prolific days for the Comic Catch-Up since it started.

King Conan #1. “On Maggot-Infested Waves“. Written by Jason Aaron and drawn by Mahmud Asrar. I believe this was the last Conan series Marvel did while they still had the publishing rights. In this issue, the older Conan faces off with his old rival, Thoth-Amon in a brutal fight. I have enjoyed Marvel’s take on Conan and it is good to get a chance for the iconic King Conan.

Avengers 1,000,000 B.C. #1. “For the Phoenix so Loved the World“. Written by Jason Aaron and the art was done by Kev Walker. Ed McGuinness & Matthew Wilson were the artists on the cover. We get a good time to spend with the Prehistoric Avengers, which is an intriguing concept. The idea that these primal forces of the universe would exist in several iterations over the centuries is a cool concept and we get the story of the Phoenix force being Thor’s parent (though it was weird).

Spirits of Vengeance: Spirit Rider #1. I kind of liked this version of the ghost rider powers controlled by Kushala. The fact that Kushala and Johnny Blaze met up and had an adventure to save Blaze was well done. The story was written by Taboo & B. Earl and it was drawn by Paul Davidson. However, Leviathan origin was drawn by Jeffrey Veregge.

Alien #1. “Icarus Part 1” Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson with art by Julius Ohta. Björn Barends was the cover artist. I have to say that I really liked the first Marvel Alien #1 a few years back. This one did nothing for me. The art was excellent and the covers by Barends is a work of art, but I was disengaged with the story and felt like stopping about halfway through the book.

Stillwater #9-10. Written y Chip Zdarsky and drawn by Ramon K. Perez. Stillwater jumped with both feet into the story of the children of Stillwater, who are frozen in time at the age and physical structure they are forever because of the town’s mysterious powers. These children have become a force in the town and, with the shocking end of issue #10, the book has taken a new direction and I like it.

Cross to Bear #1-4. This series from Aftershock Comics was written by Marko Stojanović and drawn by Siniša Banović. A retired member of a group called The Order gets pulled back in by his brother to chase after The Ripper who has made his way to the American West. This series was excellent and shows that the medium of comic books do not have to be super heroes to be an exciting story. There are some really good twists in the story of Edgar and his family.

Hawkeye: Kate Bishop #2. Written by Marieke Nijkamp and drawn by Enid Balám. Kate Bishop is a lot of fun as a character and this book has doubled down on the fun for her. I love how she is constantly texting America Chavez and Cassie Lang. This book shows Kate as the young person she is and how she is still an awesome archer.

Thor #23. “God of Hammers: Finale” I have jumped into trying to catch up on the Thor series. Truth be told, I have skipped several Thor issues and started with #23, mainly because I have found 23-29 and I have not located the earlier Thor issues (except a couple out of order). Either way, I want to get up to date with Thor with the knowledge that I could always return if and when I find the back issues that are missing. Issue #23 finishes the storyline where Mjolnir becomes a personified being and fights Thor. There are some interesting scenes between Thor and Mjolnir.

Superior Four#2. Written by Zac Thompson and drawn by Davide Tinto. After this issue, I have decided that I am not interested enough in this series to continue reading it. Doc Ock is a fine character but a little bit goes a long way and I am not wanting to see a bunch of Ock variants.

Ms. Marvel & Moon Knight #1. Writer: Jody Houser. Artist: Ibraim Roberson. Cover Art: Erick Arciniega. This is a pairiong of characters that should not work well together, and yet somehow does. I really liked the interplay between Kamala and Moon Knight and they worked well together in the action. This is also the first time that I have met Hunter’s Moon and that character piques my curiosity. This book has made me want to catch-up on the Moon Knight sereis soon.

That Texas Blood #3 & 4. I really love this book so far. I really like Randy and his attempt to work through the complicated death of his brother. The local sheriff Joe is awesome, in that old time sheriff way. The book is created by Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips.

Midnight Suns #3. “Lost in the Dark” Written by Ethan Sacks and drawn by Luigi Zagaria, Midnight Suns take a trip into the Dark Dimension thanks to Clea. This allows the strange group of heroes to encounter all sorts of weirdness and to come across a Sorcerer Supreme from the multiverse… Tony Stark! I love Wolverine’s snarky remarks too a the book moves along.

Avengers #59-63. Jason Aaron wrote all of these except the Judgment Day tie-in issue, which wa written by Mark Russell. The art was done by Ivan Fiorelli and then Javier Garrón. The Judgment Day tie in was drawn by Greg Land and Jay Leisten. The Judgment Day tie-in was fun as it featured Clint Barton trying to pass judgment. I liked that issue. The other issues continued the travel through time to encounter other users of the primal Avengers powers and battling the Multiversal Masters of Evil. Issue #63 was the second part of the Avengers Assemble arc which will continue in Avengers Forever. I hope to catch up to where the Avengers comic is tomorrow or Monday at the latest.

Avengers Forever #11. Speaking of Avengers Forever, this is the book prior to Avengers Assemble storyline and this features Robbie Reyes as the All-Rider. “Last Ride” was written by Jason Aaron and drawn by Jim Towe and Frank Martin.

Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child (The Deluxe Edition). This hardcover graphic novel was written by Frank Miller with art by Rafael Grampá. This book is part of the DC Comics Black Label, meaning that it is a more adult book. This was really a compelling graphic novel with variations Lara and Jonathan Kent and Carrie in her Bat suit. They faced off with Darkseid and the Joker in a really well done series. I loved the original Dark Knight Returns mini series by Frank Miller, but some of the other Dark Knight series that followed were just not up to that original standard. However, this one took a step up and was well worth the time. It marks a return to quality work for Frank Miller.

Whew.. that’s it. Until tomorrow…