July 25, 2024

This day is officially here! I have my tickets and I am just counting the hours until Deadpool & Wolverine, the latest MCU film with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. I have been dying to see this movie since the minute Hugh Jackman walked behind Ryan Reynolds in the promo. The review (non-spoiler) will be up on EYG later tonight.

This was another massive week of books, mainly because the group of books that I had missed from previous weeks. They all seemed to be here this week… except for Judgment Day #1. I’m still not sure it exists. I have #2 and #3 comes out next week (supposedly), but that #1 is just the white whale.

Some cool books this week:

Hello Darkness #1. Hello Darkness is a new anthology horror book by some of the greatest writers of the current comic world, and this is awesome. Some were better than others, but it was a surprise when there was a short story (which will be continued) by James Tynion IV about Erica Slaughter coming into a bar. I was surprised to see it in the book. Paolo Rivera did the cover art on this book.

Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #3. Written by Joe Kelly and art by Adam Kubert. Cover art was done by Kubert & Frank Martin. The short series concluded with this issue. Deadpool takes the idea of regeneration to a whole new level as blood from Deadpool that had gotten inside Wolverine and then grew out of Logan’s back. I’m not kidding.

Man Goat & the Bunnyman: Beware the Pigman #1. Written by Joe Brusha and artwork by Jordi Perez. Cover art was by Guillermo Fajardo. They’re back!!!! I was really excited about this when I saw the new issue listed in Previews. I don’t know what it is about Man Goat and Bunnyman that gets to me, but it really is so much fun and filled with humor. I mean… Batsquatch? Love them.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1. “Inmate” Written by Jason Aaron and art by Joelle Jones. Cover art was by Eric Talbot (Bronze Medalist). I saw this book on the shelf. Todd had made a reference to it and I was curious with the restart of this book, especially with Jason Aaron as the writer. So I picked it up just to see and I found myself loving it. I actually think this was my favorite story of the week. Focused in on the life of Raphael stuck in prison. I really loved this book and I am looking forward to seeing what Jason Aaron has in store for the next issue.

NYX #1. Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly and drawn by Francesco Mortarino. Cover art was by Sara Pichelli & Federico Blee. I love Ms. Marvel and I am excited to see her involved in this new X-book with some very intriguing characters. Laura Kinney as Wolverine showed up with a less than friendly encounter with Kamala. The first issue began setting things up for the future and i liked the way it went.

Profane #2. Written by Peter Milligan and illustrated by Raul Fernandez. The cover art was done by Javier Rodriguez. This noir-style book is fantastic as a fictional character comes into the world of non-fiction to try and solve the murder of the fictional character’s creator. It is a exceptional premise and the noir style really works well for it.

Blow Away #4. Written by Zac Thompson and illustrated by Nicola Izzo. Cover art was by Annie Wu. Things are picking up big time in this book as Brynne survived her own fall off Asgard and is recovered by the person she believed was the hunter/killer she recorded. This is the penultimate issue of this series and it sets up the finale well.

The Nice House by the Sea #1. Written by James Tynion IV and doing the art and the cover art was Alvaro Martinez Bueno (Silver medalist). This was another book that I saw on the shelf at Comic World and did not think much about at first. I loved the Nice House on the Lake by Tynion IV, but I thought this might actually be a reprint of that. When I realized that it was a sequel, I grabbed it and read it through. I loved this book and I have to say that James Tynion IV is right near the top of my current list of favorite writers. I am excited about seeing the rest of this Black Label DC book.

Moon Man #3. Script by Scott Mescudi & Kyle Higgins and art and cover art was by Marco Locati. This was another book that was missed a few weeks ago and now I have. I was not sure about this book at start, mainly because of Kid Cudi, honestly, but it has been a good read so far and I am enjoying the development of the characters around Moon Man and how things are going.

Vengeance of the Moon Knight #7. “Incarnate”. Written by Jed MacKay and art by Alessandro Cappuccio. David Paratore did the cover art. We get to see the resurrection of Marc Specter here and his reuniting with Tigra. That was all well done, even if the death of Moon Knight only lasted a few months.

Feral #5. “Chapter Five: Fall” Written by Tony Fleecs and art by Trish Forstner. Variant cover art by Forstner and Fleecs (Gold Medalist). This first story arc of Feral ended with this issue in a dramatic and very tragic end. Fleecs and Forstner were able to build a connection to a group of cats as they are facing off with rabid animals and humans out of wipe out all those infected. The book will continue in a few months and I will be here for it.

Rook Exodus #4. Created by Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok. Jason Fabok and Brad Anderson did the cover art. The battle with Ursaw is underway and things are looking bleak for Rook and his allies. Rook is able to save Pumba in one of the best moments of the issue. However, Rook sure looks like he should have learned how to fly…

Flash Gordon #1. Written by Jeremy Adams and art by Will Conrad. Cover art by Will Conrad & Lee Loughridge. This was another book I just picked up off the shelf. I had the Free Comic Book Day issue of this, and I was curious. I have to say that, while this was okay, I do not think that I was interested in it enough to read it every month. Fans of Flash Gordon may like this.

Wolverine: Blood Hunt #4. Written by Tom Waltz and art by Juan Jose Ryp. Cover art was by Guru-eFX. The Wolverine/vampire saga wraps up with the finale against Maverick.

Void Rivals #11. Written by Robert Kirkman and art by Lorenzo De Felici. Mateo Cremona & Mike Spicer did the cover art. Void Rivals has started to become a little repetitive at this point. I would like to see this move along as it feels as the last few issues have been the same thing basically.

Captain America #11. “Trying to Come Home“. Written by J. Michael Straczynski and art by Jesus Saiz. Taurin Clarke did the cover art. Cap is dealing with Gods and Death. They return to the idea of flashbacks into Steve Rogers’ past.

Strange Academy: Blood Hunt #3. Written by Daniel Jose Older and art by Luigi Zagaria & Eric Gapstur. Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado did the cover art. I love the characters of the Strange Academy and seeing them stuck inside this vampire story works really well for them. I would love to see more Strange Academy in the future.

Something is Killing the Children #39. “Road Stories Part Four“. Written by James Tynion IV and illustrated and cover art by Werther Dell’edera. This was a great issue of Something is Killing the Children. Erica Slaughter goes to therapy. I loved this issue with the one-on-one between Erica and this therapist. It really gave us a wonderful look at this character even though there was something going on besides just Erica needing therapy. Excellent issue.

Uncanny Valley #4. Written by Tony Fleecs and art and cover art by Dave Wachter. This has been a fun series so far. We get a backstory of Oliver’s mother and how she became pregnant and how she is the daughter of her animated father. One thing that was left out though was who Oliver’s father may be. Tony Fleecs has been very creative with some of the more original ideas in comics today.

No/One #10. Written by Kyle Wiggins & Brian Buccellato and art and cover art by Geraldo Borges. I have loved this series and I have been looking forward to this finale for awhile and to be honest, I found it a little underwhelming. The mystery of who is No/One is revealed…sort of… the issue implied heavily that the person revealed as No/One was not actually No/One and that was slightly disappointing.

Dracula: Blood Hunt #3. Written by Danny Lore and art by Vincenzo Carratù. Cover art was by Rod Reis. Another issue that I had missed before, I liked the use of Dracula in this Blood Hunt saga. It is also cool to see Blade’s daughter, Bloodline, in the front of the battle considering how important a character Blade is in this story. I can see the end of the road for Blood Hunt coming quickly.

Universal Monsters: Creature from the Black Lagoon #4. Written by Dan Watters & Ram V and art by Matthew Roberts. Roberts & Dave Stewart did the cover art. I found this four-issue series engaging and exciting. The art is beautiful and the story was easy to follow. This was the first of the covers that did not receive a medal.

Local Man #12. Written by Tony Fleecs and Tim Seeley. Fleecs and Seeley share sections of the art as well. Big confrontations in this issue as Jack, Inga and Sheriff Bucholz get into their own issues. Local Man was Eisner nominated for Best New Series, so congrats and good luck.

Zatanna: Bring Down the House #2. Written by Mariko Tamaki and drawn and cover art by Javier Rodriguez. Once again, this is a very interesting take on the character of Zatanna. It seems as if Zatanna is in denial about her ability to do magic. I am not sure where in context this series is set, but I am enjoying it so far.

Something Epic #12. Written and illustrated by Szymon Kudranski. This has been an excellent arc for this series as Noa faces off with Set and Sirus in her apartment to the unhappiness of her downstairs neighbors. Honestly, there is a big reveal at the end of the book, but I am not sure exactly whom that is intended to be. It was quite dramatic though.

Self Help #1 and #2. Written by Owen King & Jesse Kellerman with art by Marianna Ignazzi. Jerry Hauser is a down on his luck driver, but he finds himself in a plot to impersonate self-help guru Darren Hart. This new Image series has had some ups and downs early, but I am curious to see where it goes.

X-Men #1. “Fire-Baptized Special” Written by Jed MacKay and illustrated by Ryan Stegman. I have the virgin variant cover by John Tyler Christopher featuring Magik. I have been waiting for this issue for awhile as it was not sent to Comic World properly. This is a great X-Men team featuring Cyclops, Beast, Juggernaut, Magneto as well as several others. The X-Men set in Alaska sounds fun too. Because of the lateness of this issue, I also ordered the Peach Momoko cover off eBay.

Other books this week: The Six Fingers #5, Ultimate Black Panther #6, The Addiction #1, Project: Cryptid #11, Minor Threats #4, Blood Squad Seven #3, and Monsters are My Business #4.