September 17, 2023

I have a plethora of intriguing books to look at this week, some from the NEW COMIC BOOK DAY last Wednesday, some back issues from the series I have been collecting, and some back issues from Quad Com from last week.

Here we go…

Spine Tingling Spider-Man #0. Written by Saladin Ahmed and featuring art by Juan Ferreyra. Two of my favorite things combining into one: Spider-Man and horror comics. This was a great combination of genres that was a lot of fun to read.

Daredevil #1. Written by Saladin Ahmed and drawn by Aaron Kuder. Cover art by John Romita Jr, Scott Hanna and Marco Menyz. Here is yet another volume of Daredevil, kicking off at the end of the run of Chip Zdarsky. Matt Murdock is alive and a priest, with uncertain memories of Daredevil. This is a fascinating start to the new arc of DD. Saladin Ahmed seems to be the hot new writer in Marvel and I am anxious to see where a new voice takes the character of Daredevil.

Werewolf by Night #1. Written by Derek Landy and including art by Fran Galan. Corin Howell and Rachelle Rosenberg did the cover art. A cool one shot involving Jack Russell’s Werewolf by Night and Elsa Bloodstone. The presentation reminded me of the Marvel Studios Special Presentation from last Halloween. The use of color and black-and-white art worked very well for the format of this book and helped to create the desired tone.

The Cull #1. Written by Kelly Thompson and art by Mattia De Iulis. This new Image Comics book featured a group of young people are investigating something that happened the year before, by entering a mysterious cave. Or is it an alternate earth? Or is it luminal space? Not sure, but it is a fascinating start.

Project Crypto #1. Three tales, one about a Yeti, one about a Mongolian Death Worm and one serial written by Grant Morrison. I liked the Yeti part, but the Death Worm was a stretch for me. This was a different sort of book that was a refreshing change.

Alligator Loki #1. Written by Alyssa Wong and drawn by Bob Quinn. This is a series of short bits, much like the It’s Jeff book from earlier this year. I believe these were released originally on Marvel Unlimited online. These were funny and cute. That’s about it.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #10. “Bad Blood: Part One” Written by Cody Ziglar and drawn by Partha Pratim and Federico Sabbatini. Dike Ruani and Alejandro Sanchez did the art for the cover. Miles has a therapy session with Doc Sampson (who is in Sasquatch form), has a confrontation with Hightail and comes face to face with Blade. A lot going down for Miles Morales.

Astonishing Iceman #2. “Out Cold: Part Two.” Bobby heads back to his hometown to confront the Sapien League, specifically Helium the Unfreezable Man. Bobby is sure that Orchis is behind this, despite the denials of Helium.

Avengers Inc. #1. “The Man Who Wasn’t There.” Written by Al Ewing and drawn by Leonard Kirk. Daniel Acuna did the cover art. Janet Van Dyne is approached by NYC Mayor Luke Cage about the murders of a group of low level super criminals. However, Cage does not want costumed help. So Janet has to move forward without costumes. She finds the body of Whirlwind, and the others who were not dead. Whirlwind comes back claiming to be Victor Shade ( a name connected to Vision). This has an X-Files flair to it.

Incredible Hulk #4. “Riddle of the Man-Thing: Part One” In this new arc, we get some background on Charlie, the young girl following Banner around. The Man-Thing arrives to spirit Banner/Hulk off to the Nexus. I have always enjoyed the Man-Thing despite not reading a ton of his books. I like the use of the character in this more horror themed Hulk title.

Red Goblin #8. Written by Alex Paknadel and drawn by Chris Campana. Inhyuk Lee did the cover art. Normie ditches Miles Morales and heads off to save Tim. Normie and Rascal continue their struggle with each other, but that is seemingly over.

House of Slaughter #17. “Alabaster Part Two.” Written by Sam Johns and illustrated by Letizia Cadonici. The cover art was by Javier Rodrigues & Werther Dell’edera. There is something creepy going on with the new boy they called Big Man. I have had some trouble following this arc so far. I hope I get better at it cause it looks cool.

Dark Ride #8. Written by Joshua Williamson and art by Andrei Bressan. Sam is being attacked by weird creatures that resemble the park’s mascot. We see flashbacks to his youth at the time his mother died. It had been a long time since the last issue of Dark Ride but each one is a great book.

Planetary #3. “Dead Gunfighters” Written by Warren Ellis and featuring art by John Cassaday. A cop, murdered by his partner, comes back as a ghost to exact some revenge. Cool issue.

Something Epic #5. Written and illustrated by Szymon Kudranski. Daniel proves himself as an epic and is allowed to head into a meeting with the source of Imagination. This series continues to be beautifully rendered and creative beyond almost anything that I have read.

Captain Marvel: Dark Tempest #3. “The Ferocious Occurrence of the Feral Five.” Written by Ann Nocenti and drawn by Paolo Villanelli. Mike McKone & Jesus Aburtov did the cover art. Carol gets back to the kids, but they have already been changed into the Feral Five.

Ghost Rider #18. “Bad Education.” This issue gives us a back story for Talia Warroad. Who knew that back story would include Doctor Strange? Or the Cult of Mephisto?

Omega the Unknown #3. “Burn While You Learn!” We continue to see the connection between Omega and James-Michael, who is having troubles at his new school with bullies. Omega is taking on Electro in the meantime. I like how they are laying this out slowly in each book. James-Michael is a little robotic (I assume that is what he actually is).

The Enfield Gang Massacre #2. “Chapter Two: Pinned Down.” Written by Chris Condon and drawn by Jacob Phillips. This continues to be one of the more original books out each month. Just the feel of the book, the way it is presented like an old time comic, right down to the paper style is awesome.

Amazing Spider-Man #655-658. These are four books I grabbed at Quad Con. They were all written by Dan Slott. This is right around the time when Marla Jameson was killed and Peter started to adopt the idea of “No One Dies.” The Human Torch is also considered dead and Spidey has taken his place in the FF (not the Fantastic Four, but the Future Foundation). Reading these took me back to a different time for Spidey and it was fun.