July 6, 2023

Welcome back to EYG Comic Cavalcade.

We are looking into the MYSTERY OF THE MISSING INDEPENDENT ISSUES #3.

Last week, I discovered that I was missing several issues of Blue Book as #5 had come out that week and I only had #1. I thought this was an anomaly, but it may be a trend. As I was boxing up some of the other books I got last week, I spotted No/One and Hairball and I thought to myself, ‘geez, it’s been awhile since I got one of these.’ Again I did not think anything of it since independent comics are notorious for their release schedules and I do not have a location like I have for Marvel.com that shows me when certain issues are comng out.

So when I was at Comic World yesterday for NEW COMIC BOOK DAY, I saw on the stand Hairball #4 and No/One #4. I thought, ‘Hm, weird. I did not think these books were that far.‘ I sat down and ran through the past issues of EYG Comic Cavalcade and I could not find a review of either of those issues. I found the write up for #2 of both issues.

I am also missing Neighbors #3, a fact that I just now investigated (#4 too, BTW).

There was the trouble I had a few months ago with Where Monsters Lie #3. There was White Savior too (but that was a #4, so it does not fit the pattern 😦 )

There seems to be some kind of deep seeded conspiracy with issue #3. I see that The Seasons Have Teeth #3 (though the Image website claims this should have come out on June 28th) and Deep Cuts #3 are due out soon so there may be some continued trouble.

What is it about Independent comics and issue#3? What is the weirdness going on? Marvel and DC never seem to have the same problem. Only Image, Boom and other independent books. Coincidence????? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Moving on, I have committed to the GIGANTIC DC crossover, Knight Terrors that will be out in July and August. This is unlike me as I am not much of a DC Comics collector, but I read and enjoyed the Knight Terrors book given out during Free Comic Book Day and I decided I would go ahead and read all 46 issues of the crossover event. I have enjoyed the horror style books and I have always enjoyed the DC characters even though I have never been a huge fan of their actual comics.

Yesterday, the first six of 46 came out. This included the Knight Terrors: First Blood #1, Knight Terrors: Batman #1, Knight Terrors: Black Adam #1, Knight Terrors: Poison Ivy #1, Knight Terrors: Ravager #1, and Knight Terrors: The Joker #1. I read them together and I was reasonably pleased with what was here.

I have always liked Deadman and his presence in First Blood was entertaining as well as his interactions with Batman. The main book was written by Joshua Williamson. My least favorite of the six was Black Adam#1. It seemed just like the beginning of the movie and I kind of sped through it. Ravager #1 was decent, but I did not know who this character was. G. Willow Wilson wrote the Poison Ivy issue which was intriguing taking a Stepford Wives tone. The Joker issue was kind of weird, but I want to see where it goes because it seemed to pick up near the end.

Overall, I would give the first 6 issues a combined B+/B so far which is a solid start. We’ll see what next week brings.

Other books this week…

Daredevil #13. “The Red Fist Saga Part 13.” Written by Chip Zdarsky and drawn by Marco Checchetto. Chip Zdarsky’s Daredevil run is coming to an end soon, and he is wrapping up his brilliant work on the character with some more jaw-dropping work. Matt has to die to save Foggy, and he will take the risk. The final page is something else.

Doctor Strange #5. “The Infernal Marriage.” Doctor Strange and Clea Strange are off to attend a wedding, but it is not the type of wedding you would expect. Or maybe this is exactly the type of wedding you would expect that would invite Dr. Strange and Clea. Dormammu is officiating the service. The mysteries of the recent murders continue in an extremely entertaining book written by Jed MacKay and illustrated by Pasqual Ferry. Alex Ross added the art on the cover.

Swan Song #1. “The end of…the World.” Written by W. Maxwell Prince and drawn by Martin Simmonds. I believe this is a new anthology series with stories taken place just before the apocalypse. This was a good story about a boy going to retrieve a magazine to read to his sick mother. This one was really good.

Fantastic Four #9. “Art is Long-and Life is Short.” Written by Ryan North and illustrated by Ivan Fiorelli. Alicia Masters-Grimm steps up in a big way as the narrator and one of the main protagonists as a mind controlled Reed and Ben try to kill her and Susan. I have really enjoyed this newest run of FF and Ryan North really has a good grasp on these characters, bringing out the family aspect once again.

Captain America #750. Multiple stories from Tochi Onyebuchi, Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly, Stephanie Williams, J.N. DeMatteis, Dan Jurgens, Cody Ziglar and Gail Simone with art by R.B. Silva, Carmen Carnero, Rachel Stott, Sara Pichelli, Dan Jurgens, Marcus Williams and Daniel Acuna. Short stories from both Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson’s world. These were easy reads and had some solid emotion behind it.

Spider-Man #10. “Maxed Out: Part Three- Shocking Behavior.” Written by Dan Slott and drawn by Mark Bagely. Peter has maxed out his Spider-sense so he senses danger for EVERYONE and he has to battle Electro. Thankfully, he is not alone. Spider-Boy!!! I do love this new character and I look forward to the mystery surrounding who he is and where he came from is revealed.

X-Men- Before the Fall: The Sinister Four #1. “Lonely Hearts Club.” Written by Kieron Gillen and featuring art by Paco Medina. Lucas Werneck did the cover art. This give a background look at Doctor Stasis and Mother Righteous. I liked this more than last week’s Before the Fall book, but it was the last book I read today so this X-event has some work to do to engage me.

Peacemaker: Tries Hard #3. Written by Kyle Starks with art by Steve Pugh. Poor Chris is going through the emotional wringer here. This felt very much like an episode of the HBO series so that is a good thing.

Captain Marvel: Dark Tempest #1. “Part One: The Curious Case of the Exploding Man.” Written by Ann Nocenti and drawn by Paolo Villanelli. Mike McKone and Jesus Aburtov did the cover. New Captain Marvel series kicked off with a solid issue as Carol has to deal with a weird space anomaly that winds up sucking her and a group of others into a portal. Started off with a cool cold open with Carol sving a boat in a storm, the normal way!

Phantom Road #5. Written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Gabriel H. Walta. This continues to be one of the better apocalyptic comics on the market. And there is no doubt that there is a totally weird arrival of a furry guest. This ended Book One and I am excited to see it continue. It also avoided the curse of the independent #3s.

Love Everlasting #9 . Written by Tom King and drawn by Elsa Charretier. Joan has been in the same location for awhile now. There are several things that have been happening to her (kids, marriage, etc.) that hadn’t happened before because she would snap away or be killed by the cowboy when she fell in love. She was never in love with her husband Don here, and the newest thing she is facing is the death of him. What happens next?

Thor Annual #1. “Mythos.” Written by Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing and featured art by Ibraim Roberson. Adam Kubert & Matt Milla did the cover art. Thor takes on the new villain, M.Y.T.H.O.S. who is a face that we recognize.

Grim #11. “Chapter Eleven: Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun.” Jess and Edward are trapped in a prison beneath the river Styx, with screaming souls above them. Adira comes to ask for help.

X-Men #24. “Once an X-Man.” Written by Gerry Duggan and featuring art by Joshua Cassara. This issue crosses around with lots of mutants. Sunfire to Otherworld? Jean and Scott with a interactions between them. The X-Men battling at Gameworld. Lots of stuff.

X-23: Deadly Regenesis #5. “The Past Haunts Us All Part 5.” Written by Erica Schultz and drawn by Edgar Salazar. Kalman Andrasofszky did the cover art. This short flashback series finished up with this issue. Kingpin showed up and Laura and Jordan get themselves out of trouble. This was a reasonably fun series.