August 23

Sunday afternoon and I am ready to start working on the EYG Comic Cavalcade. I am still worried about writing this when school starts. I stayed home Saturday and spent all day reading comics, but when some more movies come out in the theater, that option won’t be around. Because of time, I might have to write the Comic Cavalcade before I read everything. We’ll see how it goes.

Comic of the Week

The Last Driver #1

I almost chose Redcoat #19 for this award, but I could not overlook this comic from Image. It is such an original story and the format of the book was awesome. Sean Murphy and Simon Gough are the creators of this book and they do a great job of creating a new world and making it feel lived in in the very first issue. We also have compelling characters introduced immediately and I was engaged with them.

The format of the book, turned to the landscape look, was so great and I wondered why comics didn’t do this more often. I think it is similar to Anime from Japan, except this starts at the front instead of from the rear.

Books this Week:

Redcoat #19. The creators are Geoff Johns & Bryan Hitch. Cover art was done by Bryan Hitch and Brad Anderson. I read this one early this week, and I was totally flustered by it. It was so good and it made me feel something. I saw the tragic events coming in the middle of the book, but I really wished I was wrong. I wasn’t.

Uncanny X-Men #34. “Chapter Two: Repent.” Written by Gail Simone with art by Luciano Vecchio. Cover art was done by Luciano Vecchio & Matthew Wilson (Silver Medalist). More mutant goodness as we see more of the new demonic face of Gambit and Rogue attempting to save him. We also have a new character at the end of the story named Howler, who looked very cool. There’s also a new villain named Repent. Lots going on here.

Mortal Thor #800. “Ouroboros” Written by Al Ewing with art by Pasqual Ferry. Cover art was done by Alex Ross. Variant cover C art was done by Declan Shalvey (Gold Medalist). The 800th issue of Thor comes along taking Sigurd in a new direction. He has to do battle with the Serpent. There are a cople of back up stories in this issue, including stories written by Chris Condon and Kieron Gillen.

Queen in Black #3. Written by Al Ewing with art by Iban Coello & Paco Medina. Cover art was done by Ryan Stegman & Frank Martin. The third installment of the Queen in Black includes Spidey, Venom and Dylan trying to get to the Baxter Building. The issue ended with Torch, Nova and Captain Alliance facing off with a Firelord symbiote. Not good.

Punisher vs. The Amazing Spider-Man #2. “Central Intelligence” Written by Dan Abnett and art by Alvaro Lopez. Cover art was done by Jonas Scharf & Alex Guimaraes. Early days of the relationship between Spidey and Frank Castle as we see the connection between them and the differences of them as well.

Daredevil #5. Written by Stephanie Phillips with art and cover art by Lee Garbett. Daredevil’s first arc comes to an end as Daredevil battled the new villain Omen, ho either dies at the end or only seemed to die at the end. It was not clear.

Spider-Man/Hulk: Fire and Brimstone #1. “Sacramental Health” Written by Kevin Smith & Andy McElfresh with art by R.B. Silva & Federico Blee. Spider-Man and the Hulk wind up facing off with a group of villains called The Manosphere, including Absorbing Man, Stilt Man, Plantman, Molten Man, Sandman, Titanium Man, Mole Man, Man-Bull, and Everyman.

Avengers Armageddon #3. Written by Chip Zdarsky with art by Ario Anindito. Cover art was done by Dike Ruan & Moreno Dinisio. Wolverine tracks David Colton and things do not go well for him. Things in this comic are turning to a really bad situation. Nuclear weapons are launched at the end of the book. This book is going to alter the Marvel Universe moving forward.

Zorro’s Legacy #2. “Friend or Foe.” Written by Dan Abnett and pencils by Aaron Lopresti. Cover art was done by Aaron Lopresti with Walter Pereyra. David de la Vega jumps into action as a present day Zorro as his uncle Donny recovers in the hospital. This new take on Zorro is a fun new way to look at it and I have been enjoying this book.

Altered States: Warlords #3. Written by David Avallone with art by Mariano Benitez Chapo. Cover art was done by Joseph Michael Linsner. This issue of the Warlords focused on Tarzan’s arrival, joining up with Red Sonja and John Carter. There is only one more issue of this story which seems very quick as these characters have only just arrived.

The Last Starfighter #2. Written by Benjamin Raab & Deric A. Hughes with art by Willi Roberts. Cover art was done by Taurin Clarke. The construction of the Star League is underway, though problems arise very quickly and the end of the book is highly tragic and surprising.

Lazarus Order #1. Written by Sloane M. Siegel with art and cover art by Juan Doe. With a plot overview: In a medieval world, illness causes monstrous transformations. The Lazarus Order uses devout plague doctors who trade their freedom and lifespan to God for supernatural powers.

Junk Punch #3. Written by Paul Tobin with art by Carlos Javier Olivares & Christine Larsen. Cover art was done by Carlos Javier Olivares. I have been enjoying this book and, even though it still feels like it has one main joke, it has yet to become old. They added in an origin story for Clara and a steamroller. This is still a hoot of a story.

If Destruction Br Out Lot #4. “The Mystic Chords of Memory.” Written by Matthew & Mark Elijah Rosenberg with art by Andy MacDonald. Cover art was done by Andy MacDonald & Francesco Segala. The plot synopsis is Abe, a robotic replica of Abraham Lincoln, struggles with a dangerous “spark” addiction. He uses jolts of electricity to numb his memories of a mysterious human girl he encountered.

Something Epic #14. Written, Illustrated and Cover art (all three covers) was done by Szymon Kudranski. Dracula is dead. He is the latest character that has fallen during the course of the investigation by Nora and D. Ducktive. This is just one of the most entertaining book of the month mainly because you have no idea what might be happening next.

Dead Acre: Black Badge #2. Story by Rhett C. Bruno & Jaime Castle, written by Cullen Bunn with art Riley Brown. Cover art was done by Riley Brown & Fares Maese. Dead Acre is a supernatural Western following the exploits of dead demon hunter James Crowley.

Mister Nemo #2. Written by Nark London with art by Alden Kaye. Cover art was done by Duncan Rouleau. This comic book after two issues has been a hugely entertaining one. I have thoroughly loved these first two issues as we get to know Mister Nemo and his attempt to recruit others for his team. The spy aspect is just as good as the rest.

Nightwing #141. “The Courthouse” Written by Dan Watters with pencils by Denys Cowan. Cover art was done by Jorge Fornes. Will Nightwing turn himself in as he has been requested to do by the police of Bludhaven? Or will someone else step forward to support Nightwings story about what happened on that freeway that killed so many people.

Hornsby & Halo #15. Creators are Peter J. Tomasi & Peter Snejbjerg. Cover art was done by Francis Portela & Brad Anderson. Variant cover B done by Francis Portela. After the team up with the Trillion Dollar Kid, Hornsby & Halo are trying to get back to their lives. Meanwhile, a new group of Unbelievables called the DeadTones arrive and are ready to rock.

War Wolf #8. Written by Steve Orlando with art by Marco Perugini. Cover art was done by David Talaski. Bruin faces off with his alien son. The final fight wrapped the series up with a nice bow. I enjoyed this sci-fi/space opera story told in this series from Mad Cave.

Absolute Green Arrow #4. “The Longbow Killer Chapter 4” Written by Pornsak Pichetshote with art by Rafael Albuquerque. Cover art was done by Rafael Albuquerque & Marcelo Maiolo. This comic has really taken a step toward real horror, as we get a couple of scenes that shocked me, including a hand being decapitated that was unexpected. The mystery about who Green Arrow is deepened as it went along. This is one of my favorite Absolute books.

Absolute Flash #18. “Now You See Me.” Written by Jeff Lemire with art and cover art by Nick Robles. However, I do love the Absolute Flash series as well. Wally faces some new villains. What happened to Grodd at the very end of this book? It seemed very shocking, but maybe it is magical.

What If …? Runaways #1. “What If the Runaways Hadn’t Run Away?” Written by Rainbow Rowell and art by Zulema Scotto Lavina. Cover art was done by Lucas Werneck. This was one of the better What If books during this recent new run. I really enjoyed how the Runaways were written in this and how things played out. The only problem I have with these What Ifs are it done not feel complete at the end. Each of these new What If books should be double issues to tell their story more completely.

Dispatched #2. Written by B. Clay Moore with art by Daniel Gete. Cover art was done by Daniel Gete & Lee Loughridge. This has been one of my newest favorite books of the month. It makes me think a lot of the movie Die Hard and the TV series MacGyver. “Ben”, our delivery driver, is in the building showing off his tremendous, but mysterious skills.

GI Joe #25. Written by Joshua Williamson with art by Tom Reilly & Andrea Milana. Cover art was done by Tom Reilly. The Baroness is on the run after Hawk killed a witness. It was not Hawk, of course. It was Zartan, but he took advantage of the undercover to make it look as if Baroness was the actual killer. The GI Joe force called Nightforce is on the case. Can GI Joe survive this internal struggle?

Bug Wars: The Coming of the Wardoom #1. “Bugs in the Walls” Written by Jason Aaron with art by Mahmud Asrar. Cover art was done by Mahmud Asrar & Matthew Wilson. Bug Wars is back with Slade Slaymaker struggling to get through the day as cockroaches crawl all over his body…even while he was at school. It did not do great things for his reputation.

Other books this week: American Caper #10, Lady Mechanika: Mechanical Menagerie #4, Bishop #3, Reborn: Ultimate Impact #4, Everyone Loves a Jewel Thief #4, Inglorious X-Force #8, and Star Trek: The Last Starship #10.

Quick Hits: We are kicking off this week with an ashcan from Marvel’s upcoming Midnight Universe. The Midnight Universe Black & White Ashcan Edition is a cool ad for what is coming in September from Marvel. Monsters abound in Dark Horse’s Only the Savage are Left #3. This week’s Queen in Black: Defenders of Light and Dark #2 featured a close-up on Cloak & Dagger. The new issue of Mad #601 had a fun cover featuring Alfred E. Newman as the Devil in Hell. The final issue of Image’s Nights #20 came out this week. This has not been my favorite book recently since around #7 or #8, but I kept buying it to keep my collection complete. Alien King Killer #5 wrapped itself up with this issue. Kyle Starks’ Vertigo series End of Life #7 is getting rough on Eddie. Vampyrates! #2 has vampire action on the seven seas. How could you ask for more than vampires and pirates? Tankers vs. Ancient Aliens #3 goes way back for some origins. I mean, way back. A great cover from Mark Spears appeared on The Phantom vs. The Singh Brotherhood #1 where the Phantom has to go into a prison to help stop an incursion. Nathan Fillion’s concept Witness Point #2 continued with the story of the town with all of the witness protection people hiding out. Doesn’t seem like it isn’t going to last much longer. We dived into the reason why some racers are monsters in M1: Monster Racing League #3. Rogue and Captain Marvel have a great scene between the two of them in the finale of Captain Marvel: Dark Past #5. This book kind of gave Rogue another sister. The Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day #4 comic has received an extended run and this issue included a Mister Negative controlled Punisher. Then, Lucky Devils #9 was released and was initially the final book in the series, but at the very end of the book, it stated that there would be a Lucky Devils #10 to wrap things up. Killer Influences #2 is getting darker, which is impressive considering this was about a serial killer. Kill Switch #4 is another series this week that feels like the book is over, but the story is not done yet.