March 30, 2024

Good day. Happy Saturday. I hope everyone who celebrates it has a wonderful Easter Sunday tomorrow.

I had my first negative experience on eBay this week. I had ordered the back issue Amazing Spider-Man #400, which I initially thought I had already owned, but it was not among the Spider-Man box I went through recently. When it arrived in the mail, the package was not what I was used to for eBay and as I pulled out the book, it was all wrinkled and damaged, including a tear on the spine at the top left of the book. I could not believe it was in such poor shape.

I went back to see if it had been listed as such and it did mention a slight bend in the left corner, but nothing like what I had seen. I went to leave negative feedback for this seller as I was pretty unhappy. I had everything written out and eBay sent a message to me saying if I was sure if I wanted to leave this negative review. It suggested that I consider contacting the seller first. I looked and saw that the seller had 100% positive on his account so I decided to give it a chance.

I messaged the seller and he responded very quickly, saying that the book was not damaged when he sent it and that he did not understand how this happened. Honestly, he did seem more concerned with his 100% positive feedback than anything else as he begged me not to leave any negative comments. He refunded my money with me asking for it, so I decided to let it slide. He seemed pretty grateful for my decision.

He wanted me to send it back to him, but I am not doing that. I am not going to go through the expense or the trouble of boxing this one comic up and sending it back to him.

This did not put me off purchasing on eBay, because I have not had any other negative experiences on the site, but it may make me a little more cautious than I was before.

New books this week:

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #18. “Retribution: Part 2” Written by Cody Ziglar and with art by David Marquez, Sara Pichelli, Juann Cabal with Matt Horak, Luciano Vecchio and Federico Vicentini. Vicentini and Richard Isanove did the cover art. This was legacy number 300 for Miles and it was a big issue featuring Miles facing off with Rabble and also dealing with the Cape Killers. Old school double-sized issue without a bunch of back-up stories. I appreciated that.

Feral #1. Written by Tony Fleecs and drawn by Trish Forstner. Cover by Trish Forstner & Tony Fleecs (Bronze Medalist). I loved Stray Dogs, which was from the same creators of this comic. Feral had the same type of feel and flow as Stray Dogs and I really enjoyed the set up of this book.

Zorro: Man of the Dead #3. Written and illustrated by Sean Gordon Murphy. Cover art by Dan Panosian (Gold Medalist). An amazing cover this week on Zorro and I have really been enjoying this new take on Zorro. Present day setting and our hero may be just crazy, delusional as he deals with the dangers around him.

Ultimate Spider-Man #3. Written by Jonathan Hickman and art by Marco Checchetto. Checchetto and Matthew Wilson did the cover art. Peter gets his classic costume after a whole section of trial and error with his daughter, May. Spidey meets the Green Goblin and together they take down Bullseye. Goblin is Harry and he and Peter are getting a drink. Cool switch up.

Amazing Spider-Man #46. Written by Zeb Wells and drawn by guest artist Carmen Carnero. Cover art was by John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz. Electro shows up to try and reclaim Sandman for the Sinister Six. Spidey and Jackpot team up to stop him.

Newburn #16. Written by Chip Zdarsky and drawn by Jacob Phillips. This series comes to a close with Emily wrapping up the story for the supposedly dead Newburn. Of course, I never once thought that Newburn was actually dead. It does provide a decent end for the series’ protagonist.

Incredible Hulk #10. “Frozen Charlotte: Part Two.” Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and drawn by guest artist Danny Earles. Nic Klein was the cover artist. Charlie has been taken by some creature and the Hulk is in pursuit. However, New Orleans Hulk comes across a ghost that is ready to help him. Weird and different, I definitely like where this is heading.

Thunderbolts #4. “World Strike: OP-04// Operation Doomstrike.” Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly with art by Geraldo Borges. Terry Dodson & Rachel Dodson did the cover art. The wrap up of this new version of the Thunderbolts was great as they confronted Red Skull inside Latveria as a ticking clock counted down until the arrival of Dr. Doom! Very satisfying ending.

Deer Editor #3. Written by Ryan K. Lindsay and art by Sami Kivelä. Bucky is still at it and he is on the trail of the story. He also has one scene in particular that is so kick ass that it stood out as one of my favorite moments of the week. It all involves a flip down by Bucky. Deer Editor continues to be one of the more interesting books published outside of the big three (Marvel, DC, Image) each month.

Jill and the Killers #3. Written by Olivia Cuartero-Briggs and illustrated by Roberta Ingranata. Cover art by Sanya Anwar. Another great book published outside of the big three, Jill and the Killers keeps me off balance and this issue dove deeper into characters as Jill felt very unlikable for much of the book. I am enjoying this one a great deal.

Superior Spider-Man #5. “The Heel Turn.” Written by Christos Gage (from story by Dan Slott) and penciled by Mark Bagey. Bagley & Edgar Delgado did the cover art. Big twist at the end of the book involving Spider-Boy! Can’t wait to see what happens next.

Daredevil #7. “Introductory Rites: Part Seven.” Written by Saladin Ahmed and drawn by Aaron Kuder. John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna and Richard Isanove did the cover art. Daredevil has been chasing the demons of his seven deadly sins, and he has found the person possessed by the next one. Unfortunately for him, it’s Wolverine.

Jackpot & Black Cat #1. Written by Celeste Bronfman and art by Emilio Laiso. Adam Hughes did the cover art. I have not been a huge fan of MJ being this super hero named Jackpot, but I do enjoy the chemistry between her and Black Cat, Felicia Hardy. The connection between Peter’s former lovers makes for an intriguing dynamic and carries a lot of this book.

Rise of the Powers of X #3. “The Ex Life of Moira.” Written by Kieron Gillen and illustrated by R.B. Silva. Silva and David Curiel did the cover art. Charles Xavier goes back in time to one of the past lives of Moira McTaggert as a little girl with the intentions of killing her. What results from the confrontation is very engaging.

The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos #8. Written by Tate Brombal (based on idea by James Tynion IV) and art by Soo Lee. Nick Robles did the cover art (Silver Medalist). The back story of Adam Frankenstein continues in this issue. Looks like Christopher will return next issue, but I really enjoyed this detour into the past of Adam.

X-Men ’97 #1. Written by Steve Foxe and art by Salva Espín. Todd Nauck & Rachelle Rosenberg did the cover art. This is a prequel series from the period before the X-Men ’97 Disney + series began. You can see the details being set up in this book that will happen in the first few episodes of the series, but it is also telling a story involving Dazzler.

Other books this week: Local Man: Bad Girls Special #1, G.O.D.S. #6, The Six Fingers #2, Nights #6, and Killadelphia #34.