July 11, 2024

Welcome to EYG Comic Cavalcade, issue 106.

I would like to welcome anyone reading this column from the Comic World newsletter. I approached the owner of Comic World, Ben, on the Fourth of July and asked him about including this column as well as a couple others that I do, in his weekly newsletter. It needed some more comic references as it had a lot of game parts (it is Comic World and Games) and Ben thought it was a great idea. We started last week, but I had already written those columns so I was not able to welcome anyone new.

With the Comic Cavalcade, I include books that I have purchased recently. It is not necessarily a review per se. It is more about my own thoughts about the books. It is not only books released this week, although it may be that as well.

The look at eBay this week. I picked up some Groo the Wanderer books from his Marvel/Epic run. I loved Groo and I am working on getting that series filled out. It is not easy to find Groo, but eBay has been a great use.

There was another story at eBay. I was looking at finding a copy of Amazing Spider-Man #207 and I was looking through the different possibilities. Most had a range of $8-$20 for the book, before shipping & handling. However, I came across someone who had posted the book and had listed the price as $299.00. HUH? I could not believe it. Did someone actually expect anyone to pay that much for the book? I thought about making a “Best offer” of like $15 dollars to see what the response would be.

Books this week:

Amazing Spider-Man #53. Written by Zeb Wells and art by Todd Nauck & Ed McGuinness. McGuinness & Marcio Menyz did the cover art. The Spider-Man/Green Goblin showdown continues in this book and Osborn’s sins are anxious to get back to Peter Parker. I am not sure how this is going to wrap up, but I am excited to see. Plus, Ms. Marvel using Doc Ock’s arms? Yes, please.

Avengers #16. “Blood Hunt Finale“. Written by Jed MacKay and art by C.F. Villa. Josua Cassara & Guru-eFX did the cover art. This brings Cap and his Avengers crew that he recruited story to a close as Cap vs. Baron Blood ends. I really enjoyed the chemistry with this team, in particular, Quicksilver and his snarkiness. It was cool too to see Hazmat back involved with the Avengers. I loved the reference to Avengers Academy, which I loved as a series back when.

Spider-Boy #9. “The Lost Boy” Written by Dan Slott and art by Nathan Stockman & Paco Medina. Cover art was by Paco Medina & Edgar Delgado. Spider-Boy is involved in a new story, featuring the Spiderverse. With Bailey lost in the Great Web of Life and Destiny, I feel as if we are getting an answer as to why Bailey was forgotten by the entire world.

Ice Cream Man #40. “Decompression in a Wreck [Part Two]” Written by W. Maxwell Prince and art by Martin Morazzo. Morazzo & Chris O’Halloran did the cover art. I did not expect last issue’s story of a car crash to be expanded into a second part, but this book made it so. I’m not sure many books would be able to make this work in one issue, let alone two, but Ice Cream Man did it. Very impressive work.

Union Jack the Ripper #3. “Hunger” Written by Cavan Scott and penciled by Kev Walker. Cover art by Rod Reis. Violent vampire action from Union Jack. These three issues have bene fun as we get a look at a character that we do not get to see very often. This is a decent Blood Hunt crossover series that gives us an idea of what is happening in another corner of the Marvel Universe.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #22. Written by Cody Ziglar and art by Brent Peeples & Daniel Picciotto. I have a variant cover by Ron Lim & Israel Silva showing Deadpool shooting Miles Morales with little suction cups. It is the Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Variant cover. My biggest question I had when I started this issue was… why does Miles’ mask get torn every issue? How many masks must Miles actually have at home? I swear every time I see Miles, he is having his masked shredded. Was this time so they could show Miles’ fangs? I don’t know, but I like Miles and Bloodline together.

X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse #3. Written by Steve Foxe and penciled by Netho Diaz. Dotin Akande did the cover art. I think last issue I commented on the deaths that was happening in this series. Here, of course, we find out that none of those characters actually died. That did feel as if it undercut the story that was being told. Still, I do like the use of Angel here as well as some of the others involved. My guess is that Doug Ramsey will wind up the winner here. He seems the least likely.

The Incredible Hulk: Blood Hunt #1. Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and art by Danny Earles. Nic Klein did the cover art. Bruce Banner arrives in an apparent Western ghost town that was spooky, but not what it seemed. The Hulk vs. scary underground vampires? That sounds like fun.

Transformers #10. Written by Daniel Warren Johnson and art by Jorge Corona. Johnson & Spicer did the cover art. The Image Transformers continues to be an excellent read. We get some action with Beachcomber and a truly shocking moment with the Decepticons and a whale. This has been the best Transformers we have gotten since the 1908s cartoon.

Geiger #4. Created by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. Gary Frank & Brad Anderson did the cover art for this Ghost Machine title. Barney, Geiger’s dog, has been taken and he is going all John Wick on everything in his way. We also get a strong help from Nate for once.

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1. Written by Derek Landy and penciled by Ron Lim. Cover art was done by Salvador Larroca & Edgar Delgado. The Infinity Watch storyline continued in this annual as Overtime, the bearer of the time stone, meets up with Spider-Man in a very Groundhog Day-type story. The back up story with Coulson’s return from the dead with the Death stone is great too in the few pages it gets.

Daredevil #11. “Introductory Rites Part Eleven.” Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by Aaron Kuder. The cover, which had a huge closeup on Bullseye’s face, was by John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna and Richard Isanove. Elektra rescued Matt from his beating at the hands of the possessed Kingpin, and they prepare to face off with Wilson Fisk once again. Daredevil is one of the most consistently good comics from Marvel no matter who is writing it. Saladin Ahmed has taken the reigns of the book from Chip Zdarsky without missing a beat.

X-Men: Psylocke-Blood Hunt #1. Written by Steve Foxe and featuring art by Lynne Yoshii. Stephen Segovia & Alex Guimaraes did the art for the cover. This was one of my favorite of the Blood Hunt one shots so far as I enjoyed the action of the book while getting to know more about this Psylocke as a character. I do not know much about Kwannon as Psylocke but this issue would make me want to learn more.

Get Fury #3. Written by Garth Ennis and penciled by Jacen Burrows. Dave Johnson did the cover art (Silver Medalist). I am very glad that I decided to give this series another look after my first read of issue one did not hook my attention. After re-reading issue one, I was in on the story and this issue continues to showcase both Frank Castle and Nick Fury. Intriguing set up and I enjoy the use of the narration as a framing device.

Domain #1. Written by Chip Zdarsky and art by Rachel Scott. This is an original idea. This gives us the comic that is being created for Zdarsky’s Public Domain book, which returned for the next arc recently. Wildly, this gives us the comic story of the Domain, now a woman. I am curious to see where this goes from here, but Zdarsky is one of my most trusted writers around.

Kid Venom #1. Written and drawn by Taigami. Cover art by Taigami and Richard Isanove (Bronze Medalist). Very manga like, Kid Venom was not a book that caught my interest. I liked the look of everything, but I just did not find myself engaged with the story or the character. The last Kid Venom book was intriguing enough for me to give this a look, but I do not think it is something that I am going to keep buying after this week.

Giant Size Silver Surfer #1. “Hierarchy of Power” Written by Mat Groom and art by Tommaso Bianchi. Bryan Hitch & Alex Sinclair did the cover art. This featured Silver Surfer vs. Terrax where we see that the Silver Surfer is more than just a powerhouse. However, the cover is what bothered me. It made ask the question… does the Silver Surfer have toes? It sure looks like it on the cover and that made me question if he has just had bare feet this whole time. This cover needed Rob Liefeld to draw it (if you know, you know).

Ain’t No Grave #3. Written by Skottie Young and drawn and cover art by Jorge Corona. This comic feels about as much of a Skottie Young comic book as you will ever get. It reminds me very much of Middlewest in ways that is unexpected. Centered around a card game, this gives us some extremely dramatic moments for Ryder.

Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance #5. “Chain Gang”. Written by Benjamin Percy and art by Danny Kim. Juan Ferreyra did the cover art. This is setting up a big finale next issue as Johnny Blaze and Zeb are finding their way to the new Ghost Rider, The Hood. Chicago has already seen better days.

Crocodile Black #3. Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and illustrated by Som. Cover art is by Andrea Sorrentino and Dave Stewart. The variant virgin cover art is by Gabriel Hardman (Gold Medal). This is a complex book that is dealing with mental illness, PTSD, and the rejection of family members in a dramatic and violent manner. Crocodile Black is an amazing story that gets better each issue.

Kill All Immortals #1. Script by Zack Kalan and art from Fico Ossio. Oliver Barrett did the cover art. This new Dark Horse book introduces us to the family named Asvald whom seem to have a special power and an understanding among them. This new series kicks off with a very fascinating and unexpected first issue.

Doctor Strange #17. Written by Jed MacKay and art by Pasqual Ferry. Alex Ross did the cover art. Bats, Doctor Strange’s loyal ghost dog, proves himself to be a good boy as he helps Mordo save Doctor Strange from his vampire curse.

The Ultimates #2. Written by Deniz Camp and art by Juan Frigeri. Cover art is by Dike Ruan & Neeraj Menon. The villainous Midas takes on Cap and Iron Lad while wearing Iron Lad’s father’s original armor. Mind games galore as this fight takes place inside the White House. The Ultimates have been interesting so far, and the arrival of America may make things every more interesting.

Other books this week: Wonderland: Return to Madness #1, Werewolf By Night: Blood Hunt #1, Blood Hunters #3, Black Panther: Blood Hunt #3, Life of Wolverine, and Wolverine: Blood Hunt #3.