November 1

Forty-five years ago today, I woke up at my friend Jeff’s house after we went trick or treating and spent the night reading his comics. Jeff had a “folder” at Comic World in Dubuque and he had a bunch of X-Men and Avengers. It was the next day that I decided that I would begin to collect comics too.

Of course, there were years where I did not buy many books. Specifically during the college years and immediate years after when I subbed. I just did not have enough money for the hobby. However, I always considered myself a comic collector. I have always considered November 1st as my anniversary. Now a days, I buy a bunch of books a month.

This month is the fifth week of the month, which generally means a lower amount of books. I still was able to get a group of solid comics.

Books this week:

Sleep #6. Written, drawn and cover art by Zander Cannon. Jonathan found a way for him to contain the shocking transformation… or so it seemed. It was a fascinating issue as Jonathan seemed to be protecting Tabby. There was also a post credit scene. Very cool. Two more issues in this book which has been so great.

Black Cat #3. “III: Word Gets Around.” Written by G. Willow Wilson and art by Gleb Melnikov. Cover art was done by Adam Hughes (Bronze medalist). Lots of cool cameos in the newly super heroic Black Cat. Ms. Marvel, Sandman… Cat has to face off with Tombstone.

Feral #17. “Onslaught” Written by Tony Fleecs and art by Trish Forstner & Tonbe Rodriguez. Cover art was done by Trish Forstner (Gold Medlaist), I was talking to another Comic World customer who told me that his girlfriend read Feral and described it as a cross between Lion King and Walking Dead. It is a perfect example. This issue really feel like a Walking Dead book with cats. I love the horror movie homage covers for this book.

Undeadpool #1. Written by Tim Seeley with art by Carlos Magno. Cover art was done by E.M. Gist. It is the Age of Revelation and X Years Later… Wade Wilson has an all new way about him as the X-virus changed him into an undead zombie-like being, but he still had his narration skills. Undeadpool is another cool concept in the current Marvel storyline.

X-Vengers #1. Written by Jason Loo and penciled by Sergio Davila. Cover art was done by Mike McKone & Morry Hollowell. The Age of Revelation moves along X Years Later with a different variation of the Avengers. Dani Moonstar has cap’s shield, Shang Chi, Cannonball, Hawkeye (with multiple arms), Vision, Water Widow (yes, it is Natasha), and Variable Man (Scott Lang, thank you). Seeing how the X-Virus affected the heroes of the Marvel Universe is fascinating.

Cloak or Dagger #1. Written by Justina Ireland with art by Lorenzo Tammetta. Cover art was done by Mike McKone & Rachelle Rosenberg. In the Age of Revelation, X Years Later… Tyrone and Tandy are married, but they can only exist on the same plane of existence at the same time very a very short time. They tag each other out like they are in a WWE tag team. Cloak & Dagger have been a favorite of mine for awhile now and I am glad they get a book in this new adventure.

Expatriate X-Men #1. Written by Eve L. Ewing and art by Francesco Mortarino. Cover art by Francesco Mortarino & Raul Angulo. Ms. Marvel is leading a group of X-Men featuring a bunch I am not as familiar with including Rift, Bronze and Melee… with a connection to Mystique.

Return to Sleepy Hollow #1. Written by Casey Gilly and art and cover art by Savanna Mayer. Ichabod Crane is back in Sleepy Hollow to investigate a new murder. This is apparently a follow up to the movie Sleepy Hollow.

Runaways #5. “Think of the Children” Part Five. Written by Rainbow Rowell and art by Elena Casagrande & Roberta Ingranata. Cover art is done by Stephanie Hans. The storyline with the Runaways and the Doombot’s identity crisis is wrapped up here. I really love these characters and hope they return again.

Stake Presents: Jessamy #1. Written by David A. Byrne and illustrated and cover art by Francesca Fantini (Silver Medalist). I had no idea what this book was about when I spotted it on the shelf. The cover was what attracted me to the book. It was not a book that I found that intriguing after reading it, but it is a beautiful looking book. More vampire stuff.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Annual 2025. Written by Kenny Porter and art by Michael Shelfer. Cover art by Mateus Santolouco. The annual that is like the end of the Jason Aaron run of TMNT, but without Jason Aaron. I found myself less than interested in this annual which may not be a good sign for this book moving forward with Jason Aaron gone.

Absolute Batman Annual 2025 #1. Written and art by Daniel Warren Johnson with cover art by Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer. However, this Absolute Batman annual really kicked some ass. Some of the best imagery from the series yet. This was excellent.

Rocketfellers #10. Written by Peter J. Tomasi and art and cover art by Francis Manapul. It is Halloween for the Rocketfellers and they allow the kids to go trick or treating before they attempt to get away. Aunt Raina finds them and chases them away.

Mortal Thor #3. “The Father of Lies.” Written by Al Ewing and art by Pasqual Ferry. Cover art by Alex Ross. The Serpents attack Sigmund at his construction site. Not a good idea for them. Sigmund is a real bad ass with that little hammer. It is a really violent book.

All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #3. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Paolo Villanelli. Cover art by David Marquez & Federico Blee. Ghost Spider showed up to battle her old symbiote. Flash Thompson has returned as Agent Anti-Venom. I am very happy that Gwen’s symbiote and weird powers are gone and she is back to the regular Spider-Gwen.

The Beauty #1. Written by Jeremy Haun & Jason A. Hurley and art by Emanuela Lupacchino. Cover art by Jeremy Haun & Nick Filardi. New book from Ignition Comics. There is a new STD disease, but it is one that people want to be infected by because it turned the infected into their most beautiful selves. This was a great new series.

Moonshine Bigfoot #4. Written by Mike Marlow & Zach Howard and pencils by Steve Ellis. Cover art by Steve Ellis & Zach Howard. Moonshine Bigfoot’s first arc is all done with this. The book really does feel like a Dukes of Hazzard cross with the X-Files. I have enjoyed Moonshine Bigfoot.

Supernatural #1. Written by Greg Pak and art by Eder Messias. Clayton Crain did the cover art. I never watched this TV show, despite it having been on TV for like 125 years. I was curious about the book because Dynamite has done some really good stuff lately. I will say that I did like the book, but I was not blown away by it. I am not sure if I enjoyed it enough to add this to a pull list with my other massive list of books. Fans of the show should enjoy this.

Sam and Twitch: Case Files #19. Script by Thomas Healy and art by Von Randal. Cover art was done by Federico Sabbatini. There is a new arc for Sam and Twitch with a story in the past of Sam which is coming back around today. I liked this new issue quite a bit.

Death of the Silver Surfer #5. “Farewells” Written by Greg Pak and pencils by Sumit Kumar with Tiago Palma. Cover art was done by Frank D’Armata. Not sure how I felt about this. Is this a future event or is it in continuity? A new Silver Surfer is out there.

Voyeur #1-2. Written by Leah Williams and illustrated by David Baldeón. Covers were done by Joelle Jones. I saw issue to on the stand on Thursday. I was not sure when issue one came out, but I was able to pick it up too. I had the ashcan of the book and I was wanting to pick it up. Love this issue. The first two issues show the same events in different POV (which always reminds me of LOST). Good stuff so far.

Blue Palo Verde #5. Written by Ray Fawkes and art by Rimanti. I have to say, I loved this book at the beginning, but it feels like it fell off hard. I was not as interested in the conclusion as it went way weirder than I expected.

Star Wars: Han Solo- Hunt for the Falcon #2. Written by Rodney Barnes and art by Ramon Rosanas. Ramon Rosanas and GURU-eFX did the cover art. Han and Chewy continue to try and find the missing Millennium Falcon.

Other books this week: Rivals: King in Black #1, Emma Frost: White Queen #5, Nights #16, Toxie Team-Up #5, and the Treat or Read Comics (X-Men ’97 #1, Godzilla vs. Fantastic Four #1, Venom: Lethal Protector, and Hallowed Hauntings #1).

Quick Hits: I picked up the Universal Monsters: Dracula Black & White Special. I have the issues from Image, but this looked so beautiful that I needed to pick it up. The Phantom #2 came out this week with a fun adventure that felt very much like a Phantom book. Battleworld #2 brought a bunch of heroes from across the time frame. Keensport’s book Don’t Run With Scissors #4 concluded with one of the oddest ending possible. Sonja Reborn #3 and Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #2 both have classic characters thrown into different situations. Another book with the question about where the continuity falls is Imperial #4, which ends that little series. I don’t know if it is the actually happening. I know that other Marvel books seem to have ties to it even though I don’t know how Hulk could be involved if this is current continuity. It hurts my head when I think about it. Thanks a lot Hickman. Then, Blink and You’ll Miss It #3 is fairly confusing too.