March 14, 2023

I have been going through the piles once again, and I have found a few more complete independent series that I could read. That made me excited and so, along with continuing the ones that I have been catching up on, there are a few new ones to start today.

Shadecraft #1-5. Written by Joe Henderson and drawn by Lee Garbett. This was a series I remember starting after seeing number one promoted in the Previews. It looked cool and I did enjoy issue one back when it first came out. However, I did not read any more of the series so when I found the five issue series, I was excited to see where it would go. I re-read #1 to make sure I remembered the storyline, and there were sections that needed the refresher. This was a very creative series that I would love to see continue on at some point. The relationship between Zadie and her shadow-brother Ricky was sweet and actually quite realistic for the situation. This was a quick read and I feel as if there is a lot more that they could mine for stories.

Gideon Falls #5 & 6. Written by Jeff Lemire with art by Andrea Sorrentino. God, I love this series so far. This is just so compelling and full of anxiety and tension. I am so intrigued by everything surrounding the Black Barn and the different characters involved in the story. The psychadelic scenes with Father Fred inside the Black Barn were some of the best images across this entire series so far. The end of issue six indicated that this was the end of Book One and I am anxious to see where Book Two takes us.

Black Panther #9. “Range Wars Book One.” Black Panther comes back to the Avengers. He, Cap, Carol and Thor come across a being called The Colonialist. I am not sure if this is his first appearance or if he was a new character. Some of the writing made me think that this character had shown up before, but I don’t know. It was a very creative and original character though as I liked the look of him a lot. And the end of the issue brought us… Buffalo Soldier! Huh?

Sleeping Beauties #1. This was based on the novel by Stephen King and Owen King. It was adapted by Rio Youers and had art by Alison Sampson. Like many of King’s work, this takes place in a small town, this one named Dooling. There is a sleeping sickness that has fallen over the world, or, at least, women. There is a mysterious woman who comes out of the woods and seems to be immune to falling asleep. The first issue was okay, so we’ll see how it moves along.

I Walk with Monsters #1. Written by Paul Cornell with art by Sally Cantirino. This was extremely interesting, as we Jacey is dealing with some horrible monsters while in search of her brother Jake. There is a flashback to her childhood with her father. We saw a scene with a new boy joining them on their farm as a worker who… well, I am not sure what happened to him, but I have that feeling in my gut that I have an idea. I am looking forward to see more.

The Me You Love in the Dark #5. Written by Skottie Young with art by Jorge Corona. Big finale of this series as Ro revolts against the creature in the house. The art is fabulous and it was a satisfactory conclusion. The story felt a little light, but I did like the book.

Basilisk #3. “That Taste for Blood.” Written by Cullen Bunn with art by Jonas Scharf. Basilisk started to pick up as a group of killers, from the Chimera, are on their way to confront Regan. The Chimera were very cool and real bad ass. This book has been slow but it has beautiful art work. We’ll see how it continues.

Newburn #1. “Chapter One: Carmine’s Apartment.” Chip Zdarsky and Jacob Phillips are listed here (I suppose as character creator, maybe) but Nadia Shammas is listed as the writer of Part One while Ziyed Yusuf Ayoub is the listed artist. This was original and unexpected. The former cop Easton Newburn apparently is now working for the crime families as a problem solver. This first issue made me curious about the character and where this will go from here. I have had a bunch of these books that I had originally bought because of the name ‘Chip Zdarsky’ and I’m intrigued at continuing the series (even though it does not look like he is writing it).

Immoral X-Men #1. “Part 4: The Bond Age.” Written by Kieron Gillen and penciled by Paco Medina. This is in the on-going Sins of Sinister arc currently underway and I just couldn’t get into the issue at all. I just feel as if it is just another alternate future reality starring the X-Men and it is not tripping my trigger. I wasn’t even a half way through the book before I was skimming it, looking for it to end. I don’t think I am picking up this one again.

Moon Knight #16. “Chinatown” Written by Jed MacKay and penciled by Alessandro Cappuccio. Stephen Segovia and Rachelle Rosenberg were the cover artists. Moon Knight continues to be a very enjoyable book as Mr. Knight goes to negotiate with the vampires in charge around Chinatown. Meanwhile, things look bad for Hunter’s Moon. More good stuff from Moon Knight.