March 2

It is Sunday morning and the EYG Comic Cavalcade is a little bit late. That was because much of Saturday was taken up for me with watching Last Breath, the Animated and Live-action Oscar nominated shorts, and the Elimination Chamber, where John Cena turned heel. It was an epically busy day and so, while I was able to finish reading the books Saturday morning, this write-up had to wait.

One of the things I received in the mail this week was a graphic novel that I had supported through Kickstarter. It was called Oxymoron, and I actually got two graphic novels. The second one was the most recent book entitled Oxymoron: Killing Time. The book is edited by Tyler James and he was the driving force behind the Kickstarter. Oxymoron is a killer clown type character going through time to wipe out those who deserved it… in his own warped opinion. It was a fun book that I am happy to have supported.

Still a pretty big week at Comic World this week. I had to take two trips up to Dubuque because of the shipment problems facing Diamond, but it was worth my time for sure.

Books this week:

Black Canary: Best of the Best #4. “Round Four.” Written by Tom King and art and cover art by Ryan Sook. I love this series so far. I have never been a fan of Black Canary. I mean, she was always fine, but she was never anything special to me, but this series has taken her and made this book one of the first ones I read when it comes out. Black Canary takes a turn in her battle with Lady Shiva. Tom King is excellent at these story arc type series.

Amazing Spider-Man #68. DEATHS. “Cain is Able.” Written by Christos Gage and art by Mark Buckingham. Buckingham & Richard Isanove did the cover art. Spidey is dead, and the Juggernaut steps up. I still do not understand why Marvel wants to do these dot issues (.DEATHS). Why do you just make this #69 instead. I have not been a fan of the 8 Deaths of Spider-Man arc and I will be pleased when it comes to a close in a few issues.

The Department of Truth #28. Written by James Tynion IV and art and cover art by Martin Simmonds. Tynion’s conspiratorial series continues with a shocking return of Hawk at the end of another trippy episode. It is always difficult to know what is going down with the Department of Truth, but it is a lot of fun to try and figure it out.

Behemoth #2. Written by Grant Sputore & Ryan Engle. Art and cover art was done by Jay Martin (Bronze medalist). This Dark Horse comic has been awesome so far. Who knew the dangers that could be found after your bus has been swallowed by a monster. I mean besides digestion. There are all kinds of shocks in this book and I am here for it.

Ultraman X Avengers #4. Written by Kyle Higgins & Mat Groom. Art was done by Francesco Manna. This special crossover comes to a conclusion as the Avengers and Ultra Guard match up with Galactus in an attempt to save the universe. All of which ends in a karaoke party. Yup, that is true.

Sentinels #5. “Factory Settings” Written by Alex Paknadel and art by Jason Mason. Cover art was done by Jason Mason and Federico Blee. This mini series ends with this issue. Sentinels has been an okay book, but I am not sure that it will be a memorable one. Will I remember anything about it in a month or so? Not sure. I’m glad I own it though.

Silence #2. Written by Evan K. Pozios and art and cover art by Alex Sanchez. It has been awhile since issue number one came out and so it required some recollection on what was going on. A famed comic artist is in a small town called Silence and weirdness is going on. I do like the art style in this book, as it feels different than what I am used to. There is only one more issue remaining of this book from Afterlight Comics.

Hello Darkness #8. This anthology book continues to be highly entertaining from Boom! Studios. I do enjoy a horror anthology. This issue featured the continuation of James Tynion IV’s Erica Slaughter story has has been in three other issues prior. It also saw the end of the Garth Ennis story, “The War.”

Justice League Unlimited #4. Written by Mark Waid and art and cover art by Dan Mora. Tefé Holland is recruited by Mister Terrific to do what she can to stop the inferno and save the Green. Batman and J’onn J’ones interact as well. The Justice League continues to be a solid read each issue with so many possible guest stars.

Ripperland #2. Written by Steve Orlando and John Harris Dunning with art and cover art by Alessandro Oliveri (Silver medalist). The mystery of the serial killer that has some ties to Jack the Ripper continues in the distant future.

Green Lantern Dark #3. “New Camelot.” Written by Tate Brombal and art by Werther Dell’Edera. Cover art was by Werther Dell’Edera and Giovanna Niro. I really enjoyed the Elseworld version of Green Lantern. This has been a fun and engaging series so far, even if the book reads like what if Erica Slaughter had the power of Green Lantern.

The Human Fly #3. Written by Christopher Sequeira and Jason Franks. Art and cover art was done by Jan Scherpenhuizen (Silver Medalist). This IPI Comics book is very intriguing so far. I like the superhero/super spy type feeling the Human Fly gives us and there are some interesting mysteries of what is going on.

Red Hulk #1. “Think Tank.” Written by Benjamin Percy and art by Geoff Shaw. Variant cover B art by Todd Nauck & Rachelle Rosenberg. Hot off his appearance in Captain America: Brave New World, Thaddeus Ross is back as the Red Hulk, under control of the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Doom. There is an eclectic band of other characters in the same Latverian prison as Ross, so we will be seeing a team up mving forward.

Captain America & Volstagg #1. Written by J. Michael Straczynski and art by Bernard Chang. Terry & Rachel Dotson did the cover art. This is the latest issue in the whole Marvel teams up some characters that you would never expect to team up series of books. Cap and Warriors Three member Volstagg would not have been my first choice, but they worked together nicely. It made sense, which is an important factor.

Hellhunters #3. Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and art by Adam Gordon. Cover art was done by Jonas Scharf & Alex Guimaraes. Back in World War II, welcome to the Hellhunters… Bucky Barnes. Young Bucky is out to prove his worth and he joined up with Fury, Ghost Rider and the rest. Fun WWII action in this series, with plenty of supernatural flow as well.

Iron Man #5. “Destroy the Machines.” Written by Spencer Ackerman and art by Jeremy Pina. Cover art was done by Yasmine Putri. Iron Man, Ironheart and Melinda May battled Lucia Von Bardas and her Stark Sentinel.

TVA #3. Written by Katharyn Blair and art by Pere Perez. Cover art was done by Pere Perez and GURU e-FX (Bronze medalist). Thankfully, Mobius survived his attack from last issue, even though he looked really dead, in a pool of his own blood. I have enjoyed the grouping of these characters in this issue so far.

X-Men #12. “Work Release.” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Netho Diaz. Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, and Marte Gracia did the cover art. Helping out with the X-Men in this issue… it is Alpha Flight! I always loved Alpha Flight so it was cool to see so many of their classic characters back in the pages of the X-Men where they were originally born.

Ultimate Spider-Man #14. Written by Jonathan Hickman and art by Marco Checchetto. Cover art was done by Marco Checchetto and Matthew Wilson. I also picked up the variant (1:25) with cover art by Carmen Carnero. With Richard and Black Cat growing closer, there is a shocking death at the hands of Kraven. I did not expect this death, so maybe there will be some shenanigans coming with it.

Fantastic Four #29. “The Dream Team.” Written by Ryan North and penciled by Cory Smith. Cover art is by Joshua Cassara & Dean White. Welcome back as a special guest star this issue… She-Hulk! Jen, Ben and Sue team up to try and save some vampire children. There is a weird sentence.

Uncanny Valley #8. Written by Tony Fleecs with art and cover art by Dave Wachter. Oliver is still in the world of cartoons, and he is trying to find his way back to his mom and grandpa, while avoiding the First. There are a group of purple creatures that may bear some resemblance to the Smurfs (only not blue) that Oliver meets. Uncanny Valley is an entertaining and creative book every month.

Nights #13. “Viva Las Gray-gas.” Written by Wyatt Kennedy and art by Luigi Formisano. I thought Nights was done, but then I was surprised by issue #13 in the previews. I wonder how much the continuation of this series was based on the animated series that is in the works from Titmouse, the company behind Netflix’s Big Mouth. I’m sure Image is not above using the publicity to sell more comics. It is a smart idea. And this issue was a nice one to jump on to if you were unfamiliar with the first 12 issues.

Absolute Wonder Woman #5. “The Last Amazon Part 5 of 5.” Written by Kelly Thompson and art by Hayden Sherman. Cover art was done by Hayden Sherman and Jordie Bellaire. Diana takes some drastic steps to defeat the giant monster… she turned herself into Medusa. I do like how this series ties Diana to Greek mythology even more than before.

Metamorpho #3. “The Man from J.A.V.A.” Written by Al Ewing and art by Steve Lieber. Steve lieber & Lee Loughridge did the cover art. This issue is heavily including Java, who was once Rex Mason’s second hand. Java is now a secret agent. Oh and Metamorpho and Sapphire split up. And then there is Java, Java, Java, Java, Java, Java, Java and Java (Happy Todd?)

Hornsby & Halo #4. I started to read this issue from Image’s Ghost Machine imprint, but I was really confused. It felt as if I was missing something from this story because Hornsby and Halo were together and they both were using their powers together. I did not remember that so I went to my CZL app and found out that I was missing issue #3. So I stopped reading this one and put it aside until my order from eBay gets here.

Other books this week: In Bloom #3, FML #4, Women of Marvel: She-Devils #1, The Seasons #2, Rogue the Savage Land #2, Ultimate X-Men #12, and Milestone Universe: The Shadow Cabinet #4.