October 12

Happy Monday everyone. It is the EYG Comic Cavalcade. I am trying to write this up between innings of the Dodgers-Brewers Game 2. I sure hope that I am not doing this still into the night. I had trouble sleeping last night so I don’t want a repeat of that.

Another strong week, as we had another major Marvel event, with Amazing Spider-Man #1000 last week and this week the debut of the Midnight books.

Comic of the Week

Midnight Spider-Man #1

Probably not a surprise. This was my favorite of the three new Midnight books (though the other two were really strong too). The story was not as different from Peter Parker’s origin story than what you might have expected, but I did find it intriguing. I am anxious to see what happened to Uncle Ben and what was going on with Aunt May.

The look of the Midnight Spider-Man is top notch and I think this book has a ton of potential.

Books this week:

Midnight X-Men #1. “Teeth” Written by Jonathan Hickman and art by Matteo Fonte. A cover art was done by Dike Ruan. I grabbed multiple variant covers including one by Skan Srisuwan (Silver Medalist). I was a little iffy on this one goin gin. I mean, X-Men and vampires are something that we have seen before. However, Jonathan Hickman’s book was tremendous and really pushed Midnight Spider-Man #1 as the book of the week. The characters involved here were just amazing, including a cool use of Nightcrawler and Cyclops. This was a fantastic start to this series.

Midnight Fantastic Four #1. “Storm Systems” Written by Benjamin Percy with art by Kev Walker. Cover A art was done by Kev Walker & Guru-eFX. I picked up a bunch of variant covers including one by Jaeyung Lee (Bronze Medalist). I liked the new Midnight versions of the FF as we focused in on Reed Richards and meet Ben, Sue and Johnny in some different looks (Johnny with a missing leg?). I expect there to be some body horror coming in this book. This was the lowest of the Midnight books for me, but I still enjoyed the book quite a bit.

Jonah Hex and the Shadow of Death #1. “Chapter 1: A Strange Wind Blows” Written, art and cover art by Michael Walsh. The new DC comic featuring Jonah Hex was great. I do like some supernatural Western action and Jonah Hex is right in the middle of it. This had a Clint Eastwood Unforgiven vibe to it. I loved this first issue.

The Demon #1. Written, art and cover art by James Harren. This new DC book in the Next Level initiative features a different look at Jason Blood and the Demon. Jason deals with a shattered mind and a split soul, trying to fight off demons using improvised magical tools while Etrigan remains largely a voice inside his head. Another fun new series from DC with this joining Legion, Teen Titans, Doom Patrol and Jonah Hex.

Something is Killing the Children #50. “Past is Prologue” Written by James Tynion IV and illustrated by Werther Dell’Edera. Cover A art was done by Werther Dell’Edera with Miquel Muerto. I picked up a blind bag where I got a cover by Joe Palmer (Gold Medalist). Erica Slaughter is back, revealing her living status, but the House of Slaughter is under new leadership. Erica feels as if her days are behind her. Or are they? The fiftieth issue of this book was great. This is one of the books that inspired my expansion into the world of independent comics.

The Ring: The Man Who Beat the Man #4. Written by Gail Simone and art by Elisa Romboli. Cover art was done by Oliver Barrett. We get the battle between Ivan “The bear” Volkov and Liam “The Bulldog” Atkins. This boxing comic has been one of the big surprises of the year. It is all thanks to the amazing Gail Simone.

Absolute Superman #24. “Get Brainiac” Written b y Jason Aaron and art by Juan Ferreyra. Absolute Superman teams up with Steel, and Steel gains his new outfit. Steel becomes Superman’s partner as they continue the search for brainiac.

Batman #14. “Home Invasions” Written by Matt Fraction and art by Matteo Scalera. Cover art was done by Matteo Scalera & Tomeu Morey. Bad Seeds continues with Batman looking for some specific help… from Mr. Freeze? But he may need to get the help from Nora Fries instead.

Superman: The Stranger #2. Written and art by Wes Craig. Cover art was done by Wes Craig and Jason Wordie. “Clark Kent’s early populist crusade to help the downtrodden in 1930s Metropolis has struggled because the people who need him most are invisible. That changes when he crosses paths with Lois Lane, a fearless reporter dedicated to highlighting the unseen.”

Minor Arcana #19. “The Emperor” Written and cover art by Jeff Lemire and illustrated by Jeff Lemire & Shawn Kuruneru. Budd St. Pierre drifts through life after an terrible tragedy. While he feels a sense of rebirth and tries to make peace with his past, the story explores whether he can maintain that momentum and how his choices ripple through the future of his family tree, impacting Theresa and her family.

Of the Earth #6. “Why Would I Lie?” Written by Andrew Ehrich & Chris Condon with art and cover art by Charlie Adlard. Abby faces off with the oil creature, the Wildcatter, in the final issue of this mini series. I have enjoyed this one over the last six months or so.

Pop Kill: Big Candy #1. “Learn How to Fall.” Written by Dave Johnson & Jimmy Palmiotti with art by Juan Santacruz. Cover art was done by Dave Johnson. With the Cola Wars over, this issue sees the beginning of the “Sugar Wars.” Jon Pyle and Dina Delux are having struggles with their relationship and Dina is at it again with special formulas. Fun issue one.

The Dirt Beneath the Devil #3. “Savage Land” Written by Dan Panosian with art by David Ferracci. Cover art was done by Dan Panosian. June and her remaining heirs are being chased by a mysterious band of Native riders. Then the legacy of William Buckley has its true nature revealed.

The Deadman #5. “I’ve Just Seen a Face.” Written by W. Maxwell Prince with art by Martin Morazzo. Cover art was done by Martin Morazzo & Chris O’Halloran. Deadman is alive again as Boston Brand and he is in a future without Heaven, Hell, or karmic consequences. He finds himself in a swamp known as “The Gr33n.” Deadman has been creatively clever during this series so far.

Other books this week: Eternal: Honor and curse #7, Conan & Dragonero #6, Absolute Green
Lantern #19, MASK #5, Flux House Presents #1, Tales of Wonder #2, Minotaur #3, and Starhenge Book Two: A Kiss for Atticus #4.

Quick Hits: It was a strange book, but Ben 10 Creator Files #1 came out from Dynamite. It was kind of like the Comics! The Magazine, with articles and background stories about the Ben 10 Dynamite book. I did not know where it came from, but it was a neat idea. Speaking of Comics! The Magazine, Comics! The Magazine #8 also came out this week. An article about Dungeon Crawler Carl is featured. We got the big team up issue GI Joe/Tomb Raider #1. I did not find this very appealing. Godzilla (Kai Sei Era) #13 came back after quite a lay off. Snip #1 released this week with a story pretty close to the Local Comic Shop issue from a couple of weeks ago. An anthology book featuring Raven called DC’s Quote the Raven #1 is right on time for some Halloween hijinks. And then with more Halloween action, Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Halloween Special #1 also came out. This was the first time I picked up the IDW book and I found it interesting. The Altered States: Warlords #4 came to an end as Vampirella joined the party. It ended with the feel that this was not the last we were going to see this conglomerate of characters. Land of Never #4 sees how Peter came to be as he is, and Wendy steps it up. Crowbound #2 brings Jeff Lemire back to his roots of mysterious horror-ish. Kingdom of Earth #3 dropped this week from Dark Horse. A new book called Axon: Infinity #1 came out from Amp Comics. This was an interesting book featuring a character called Sylar and it involved aliens. Dinner Date #1 is a new vampire book mixed with romantic storytelling. Witness Point #3 and Only the Savage are Left #4 are two books that I did not get to this week.