July 19, 2023

Forty-two is the answer to the question, “What is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything?”.

It is one of the numbers from LOST (4, 8, 15,16, 23, 42)

It’s the retired number across all Major League Baseball in honor of Jackie Robinson.

And today, it is the 42nd edition of EYG Comic Cavalcade on NEW COMIC BOOK DAY (which also happens on National Hot Dog Day!)!

UPDATE: We are down to two missing independent comic issues #3: No/One #3 and Neighbors #3 (got Neighbors #4 today, which was missing last week). Blue Book #3 was in the books this week.

There were only five Knight Terrors books this week, continuing the 46-issue run in DC Comics with the villainous Insomnia causing terrifying nightmares for the DC Heroes and Villains. This week the five issues included: Knight Terrors: Wonder Woman #1, Knight Terrors: Superman #1, Knight Terrors: Nightwing #1, Knight Terrors: Catwoman #1, and Knight Terrors: Punchline #1. Wonder Woman, Superman and Nightwing were all really good. The Punchline one was a character I did not know at all, but it was still okay. I did not like the Catwoman issue at all. So far, the overall enjoyment of the Knight Terrors event has been good. I have enjoyed most all of the 17 books so far, with Catwoman being the sole flop for me. Next week should bring us to about the halfway point.

Then… what a shock! I could hardly believe it…

A Vicious Circle #2. Written by Mattson Tomlin and art by Lee Bermejo. I can’t believe it. This large scale book from Boom! Studios came out after issue #1 was released on December 14, 2022. Yes, I said 2022. There have been a couple of times when I was looking at my pull list and I came across the title A Vicious Circle and I had no idea what t was. As I was reading #2 today, I could not tell you much of anything about #1. What do I remember about #1? I remember the spectacular artwork that it featured and that part of it was in black and white. I should probably re-read it at some point. However, issue #2 was phenomenal. The art, once again, was breathtaking. The story was awesome with two characters, Sean (who I do remember from issue#1-though I remember nothing about him) and some other guy and these two are jumping across time. Some absolutely stunning visuals in the book and, while I may not necessarily say that it was worth the wait, I am absolutely happy that it is finally here and I hope I do not have to wait until 2024 for the next installment.

Something is Killing the Children #31. “Showdown at the Easy Creek Corral: Part One.” Written by James Tynion IV and drawn by Werther Dell’edera. It has also been awhile since we have gotten a new SiKtC issue too (while nowhere near as long as A Vicious Circle). It is setting up a huge showdown between Erica Slaughter and Charlotte Cutter. It was good to see this one again.

Deadpool: Badder Blood #2. Script by Chad Bowers and story/pencils by Rob Liefeld. Deadpool finds himself in a weird situation, fighting… Shatterstorm?… and then Killville (which is not “a hallucinogenic-torture chamber/fun house where super people with a price on their heads are taken to die.”) Fun Deadpool action.

Blade #1. “Mother of Evil: Part One.” Written by Bryan Hill and featuring art by Elena Casagrande. The Daywalker is back in his own series finding himself stuck in several plots that are meant to help save the world. And he’s not happy about it. Some fantastic artwork in this new issue with some wonderful full splash pages that jump off from the book.

Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones #5. Written by Emily Kim and penciled by Kei Zama with Geoffo. This short series came to a close with all of the Spider-Gwen clones coming together to help. Fact is this issue did not keep my attention. I am not a fan of clone stories and this one is one that I am glad is over. I did not hate the issues leading up to this one, but I just did not find it engaging today.

New Mutants: Lethal Legion #5. “Vampire Heist II.” Written by Charlie Jane Anders and penciled by Enid Balám. Here was another short story where this finale did not grasp my attention much. I have struggled with knowing who these character were the entire series and this continued. I did kind of like their giant dragon that they took to Krakoa. Otherwise, this was a meh.

All Eight Eyes #4. Written by Steve Foxe and featuring art by Piotr Kowalski. However, this Dark Horse short series brought it to the finale. No ‘meh’s or lack of attention in this one. This had some great artwork, some visceral imagery and a very cool wrap-up to the story of Reynolds. Great conclusion.

Guardians of the Galaxy #4. “The Star-Sheriff.” The Star-Sheriff is Rocket and we find out where he has been and what he is trying to do to replace his connection with Groot (who has become the Grootfall). Looks like Rocket is reunited with the Guardians and they are teaming back up to help their wayward friend.

Big Game #1. Written by Mark Millar and drawn by Pepe Larraz. The Mark Millar Universe of characters all come together for a five-issue series that is pretty fun. I did struggle with who some of these characters are, but I did know the Ambassadors and Kick Ass. This is an interesting beginning.

Black Panther #2. “Reign at Dusk Part 2.” Written by Eve L. Ewing and penciled by Chris Allen. Issue two of this new Black Panther series was a struggle to get through as well. There are a lot of characters that I am not sure about and not quite enough T’Challa. Still, I expect this to pick up as we go.

Blue Book #3. Written by James Tynion IV and art by Michael Avon Geming. This series has been weird to read. I read it in the following order: issue #1, issue #4, issue #5, issue #2, and then issue #3. It was all connected to the story of Barney and Betty and so the differing order messed things up a bit. Still, the individual issues were engaging and I do like UFO stories.