April 28, 2024

It was a regular week of comics, and yet there are still a pile of them to get through. I really do collect a ton of books from the different companies.

There are also a couple from eBay this week as I had seen an advertisement for these two in one of the Dark Horse books that I had read (I think it was the Count Crowley book) and I was interested in them. Dark Horse has been a company that I have not paid as close of attention to as I have Image or Boom! Studios when it comes to independents, but I think that is changing.

Todd also continued to pick up back issues of Amazing Spider-Man for me. He grabbed me issue #199 and #331. He did not try to price gouge me this time though. 🙂

This week’s books:

Superior Spider-Man #6. “The Greater Good” Written by Christo Gage (from a story by Dan Slott) with art by Mark Bagley. Bagley & Edgar Delgado did the cover art. The Doc Ock-Spidey team up to stop Supernova continues as the enemies are forced to work together, but they are anything but copacetic. Things are also going poorly for Spider-Boy and a bunch of people in New York City.

Borealis #1-3. Written by Mark Verheiden & Aaron Douglas with art by Cliff Richards. Borealis is one of the mini series I saw advertised and I dug the concept. It had a True Detective: Night Country vibe to it as a current trooper returned to her home in Qinu. The series included organized crime and mystical spirits. This was a quality story that I was captivated by.

Lunar Lodge #1. Written by Tyler Marceca and art & cover by Mirko Colak. This was the other Dark Horse book that I picked up on eBay and this was another hit. The first issue has a lot of set-up, but it is very intense and there is a real feel that something horrible is about to happen.

Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver #3. Written by Steve Orlando and art by Lorenzo Tammetta. Cover art by Russell Dauterman and variant cover by Romy Jones (Gold medalist). I bought two copies of this, specifically for the one cover, which I loved. Wanda and Pietro are still fighting with each other, but the Wizard is still a problem. Thankfully, Vision is there as an impartial observer.

Something is Killing the Children #36. “Road Stories: Part One” Written by James Tynion IV and illustrated and cover art by Werther Dell’edera. This felt like a one-shot issue of Erica Slaughter’s past and I liked it a lot. Just Erica helping a kid fight off a monster. The basis of the story. I wonder if the “Road Stories” arc will deliver more like this or if it will end up as an overarching tale.

Ultimate Spider-Man #4. Written by Jonathan Hickman and art by guest artist David Messina. Cover art by Marco Checchetto & Matthew Wilson. What an amazing issue. This was literally a dinner meeting between Peter and MJ and Harry Osborn and his wife, Gwen Stacy. The interactions between the four adults brought as much drama as a slugfest with a super-villain. Ultimate Spider-Man has been a spectacular Peter parker story so far.

Amazing Spider-Man #48. Written by Zeb Wells and art by guest artist Todd Nauck. Cover art by John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz. Ben Reilly, Hallows’ Eve & Dr. Kafka are all involved going after the Winkler device which Spidey and Betty Leeds also want. It might be able to clear Ned Leeds’ name, and motives are everywhere.

Universal Monsters: Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives #1. Written by Dan Watters and Ram V and illustrated by Matthew Roberts. Roberts and Dave Stewart did the cover art (Silver Medalist). Thought eh Creature from the Black Lagoon may not be my most favorite of the Universal Monsters, this issue was fantastic! I liked it way more than the Dracula book, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I am totally in on this new Universal Monster series.

Drawing Blood #1. Story by Kevin Eastman & David Avallone with artwork by Ben Bishop. Kevin Eastman did the cover art. This was quite a story. Last week, I had, what I thought, was this issue in my pull list. It looked weird, as it was wrapped in a plastic covering. When I opened it (which I considered not doing as the collect in me), it turned out to be just a series of fliers of this issue’s cover. I assume that was meant as promo material for the store and since I was down for the book (maybe the only one?) they assumed this was the book. That got all straightened out and this came out this week. It is an interesting story of a cartoonist.

Man’s Best #2. Written by Pornsak Pichetshote and illustrated and cover by Jesse Lonergan. Our three animal characters are trying to find their way home while avoiding the Klangers. The two dogs and a cat have issues with listening to each other which puts them all in danger. This has been a intriguing Boom! Studios book so far.

The Infernals #3. “Chapter Three: Covenant” Written by Noah Gardner & Ryan Parrott. Art by John J. Pearson with Lola Bonato. Pearson & Sam Wolfe Connelly did the cover art. More demonic offerings from Sam and Jackal as they are being pursued by Saturday and Sunday, the Devil’s assassins. Wild storytelling in this series.

X-Men: Forever #2. “Quiet Council” Written by Kieron Gillen and art by Luca Maresca. Cover art was by Mark Brooks. The X-Men, including Hope, look to resurrect those killed, but the biggest force they look to bring back…the Phoenix!

Wolverine: Madripoor Knights #3. “Black Widow: Spy” Written by Chris Claremont with art by Edgar Salazar. Phillip Tan & Sebastian Cheng did the cover art (Bronze Medalist). Black Widow takes center stage inside Madripoor as Wolverine and Captain America stay in the background ready to help when needed. These three characters really work well together and make for an enjoyable series so far.

Feral #2. Written by Tony Fleecs and art by Trish Forstner. Fleecs and Forstner teamed up for the cover art. The three cats are stuck in the woods with a bunch of rabid animals chasing them. Can they escape from the danger and find their way back to their home before something eats them?

Jackpot & Black Cat #2. Written by Celeste Bronfman and art by Emilio Laiso & Giada Belviso. Adam Hughes did the cover art. Jackpot is forced into trying to steal something from the White Rabbit and her friend Black Cat tags along to help. However, there is more to the story than you would expect (although I had it figured out not too long into the story).

Daredevil #8. A oversized special edition of Daredevil with several stories contained. Some focus on Matt Murdock, some focus on Elektra and others are them together. Writers include Saladin Ahmed, Ann Nocenti, D.G. Chichester, Elsa Sjunneson and Erica Schultz. Artists include Tommaso Bianchi, Stefano Raffaele, Ken Lashley, Eric Koda and Jan Bazaldua. John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna and Richard Isanove did the cover art.

Pine & Merrimac #4. Written by Kyle Starks and illustrated and cover by Fran Galan. Parker and Linnea are stuck on an island with a cult and they have been discovered. They are desperately trying to escape from their clutches, which leads to one of the most shocking final panels of the book.

Avengers #13. “Hit Back: Part Two” Written by Jed Mackay and art by Francesco Mortarino. Cover art is by Joshua Cassara and Marte Gracia. The Avengers continue their battle with the Stark Sentinels and MODOK/3D man. However, little did we know that Black Panther has a plan.

Blade #10. “Mother of Evil: Finale“. Written by Bryan Hill and art by Elena Casagrande. Casagrande and KJ Diaz did the cover art. Blade faces off in a showdown with the ancient evil called Adana in this volume’s final issue.

Other books this week: GODS #7, W0rldtr33#9, The Six Fingers #3, Project Cryptid #8, Rare Flavours #5, The Bloody Dozen #5, and Night Thrasher #3.