November 9

Here we are, back with the EYG Comic Cavalcade. This is a big week, with several star-studded releases… with a surprise Comic of the Week.

I grabbed some complete sets last week at Comic World. I got Plastic Man #1-4, Deadpool: Suicide Kings #1-5, and DC Invasion #1-3. Buying the complete sets are fun and setting me up for the Daily Read posts over the next few months.

Comic of the Week

The Infernal Hulk vs. Spider-Man #1

I was ready to give this spot to Avengers #1 until I came across this book. These Infernal Hulk one-shots have been fine so far, but this one, featuring Spider-Man, sets the Wall-Crawler up as a huge underdog, and showed off the traits of Spider-Man as a major hero. I loved the way they used Spider-Man in this book, and his efforts against all odds was awesome. It also had a painful ending that makes things compelling.

Books this Week:

Avengers #1. “Assemble Part One” Written by Chip Zdarsky and art by Marco Checchetto. Cover A art was done by Marco Checchetto & Matt Milla. I got several other covers, out of the blind bag which earned both a Silver and a Gold Medalist this week. The new Avengers book kicked off this week after Avengers Armageddon, and this was a lot of fun. Of course, Spider-Man was focused on and I loved his inclusion and his interactions with the rest of the new team.

DNX #4. Written by Jed MacKay with art by Federico Vicentini. Cover art was done by Kaare Andrews. This issue of DNX seemed to be setting up the next issue with a showdown between Cyclops and the Chairman. It did seem to be a transition issue for this book, leading into the finale.

Ghostman Haunts Again #1. Written, illustrated, and cover art was by Raymar Brunson. The return of Ghostman is awesome. This book is oversized, even bigger than the DSTLRY books. It is all black and white and the panels are gigantic. It is a beautiful piece of art that I found stunning.

The Greatest American Hero #4. Written by Don Handfield and art by Alper Geçgel. Cover A art was done by Erwin J. Arroza. Cover B art was done by Alper Geçgel. Cover C art was done by Rafael Loureiro (Bronze Medalist). What is Ralph willing to do so save the life of his son? That question seemed to be answered in the penultimate issue of the Amp Comics run of The Greatest American Hero. This book has been completely entertaining, bringing back a hero from ’80s TV that I did not know that I needed.

Uncanny X-Men #38. “Soul Deep” Part 2: In the Hands of a Wounded Child. Written by Gail Simone with art by Luciano Vecchio. Cover art was done by Juan Frigeri & Matthew Wilson. I also got the Peach Momoko cover too. I love the new Dazzler costume design that is shown in this book as she, Rogue and M were out to destroy the Graymalkin Prison . Sarah Gaunt and her new team of mutants randomly chose a mutant to hunt down… and it was Mutina. The ending shot was so shocking and I really hope Mutina will be able to survive the attack.

Mad Science Division #1. Written by Dan Watters and art and cover art was from Brian Level. Our new protagonist is Archimedes Anderson, a nepotism hire whose father is CEO of Miyashi-Smith. Archimedes is supposed to come in and cut the budget of the department. This first issue of this book was one of the best of the week. Another winner from Ignition Press.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #4. “Level 4: Locked In” Written by Bryan Hill with art by Nico Leon. Cover art was done by Simone Di Meo. I also picked up the Peach Momoko variant cover. Miles carries on his fight with Revenant, but it does not go too well, once again. I do like the Spider-Man vs. the unstoppable force. This gives Miles his own unstoppable force to fight.

Spider-Woman #1. “Along Came a Spider, Part One.” Written by Dan Watters and art by Andrea Broccardo. Cover art was done by Ito. It is great to have Jessica back in her own series. I may not love the idea of Jess with Carnage, but the appearance of Cletus Kasady was extremely curious.

Cult-De-Sac #3. Written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Fico Ossio. Cover art was done by Fico Ossio and Ulises Arreola. I considered this issue as the Comic of the Week, but the Spider-Man/Hulk book was just too good. This Ignition Press series has been sensational so far and I feel so much for these characters. Cullen Bunn has been awesome over the years.

Archie in Hell #1. Written by Patrick Horvath and illustrated and cover art by Tyler Crook. I was very disappointed by Oni Press’s Archie #1. I thought it might have a Riverdale flavor and I was intrigued for the book. However, it was anything but. So I grabbed Archie in Hell #1 and it was everything that I had hoped the other book was. I look forward to the remainder of this arc.

Hammerfist #3. Written by Rick Remender and art and cover art by Steve Epting. Mike Denton is in trouble. He is being pursued by stalker minions and the Hammerfist is not working. This has been an enjoyable book so far and the art is excellent.

Friendly Neighborhood Mary Jane #1. Written by Ashley Allen and art by Phil Noto. Cover art was done by J. Scott Campbell & Sabine Rich. I also picked up the Peach Momoko variant cover. Mary Jane wants to finance a theater show. Who better to call than Tony Stark. But how does the Chameleon play into this story?

One Zero Zero One Saves the World #1. Written by Jeremy Robinson and art by Tiago Palma. Cover art was done by Brett Parson. It is another post-apocalyptic comic, this one featuring a genetic experiment designated as 1001 (or One Zero Zero One). This book is from Vault Comics and was an interesting new book.

Wolverine #29. “Aftershocks on the Riviera.” Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by Julius Ohta. Cover art was done by Martin Coccolo & Matthew Wilson. Not sure how I felt about this issue. Using Wolverine to sniff wine and see if it is real. I am also not a fan of this character Solem. Too much use of adamantium. And all this led to just another version of the feral Wolverine. I’ve seen that before. I hope I enjoy the next issue more than this one.

The Demon #2. Written, art and cover art by James Harren. This issue gives us multiple versions of Demon over the years. And when we are in the present, Jason Blood is able to regain control only to see a wild scene with, what I am guessing is, Merlin. I have found this new Next Level DC series to be original and quite fun so far.

Jonah Hex and the Shadow of Death #2. “Chapter 2: The Smell of Blood.” Written, art and cover art was done by Michael Walsh. Once again, it feels as if this is Jonah Hex tossed into an Unforgiven-like story. There is a very supernatural feel to the book as well. We now have a mysterious preacher that rode into Ashecott and started amassing his crew. Jonah Hex is another cool new book from Next Level.

Gangs of Gotham #1. “Chapter One: ‘Dear Batman’” Written by Christopher Cantwell and art by Mike Henderson. Cover art was done by Ariel Olivetti. However, I did not like the Gangs of Gotham book that came from the pages of Bad Seeds. I usually love Christopher Cantwell but this just did not grab my interest.

Halloween: The Game Comic #1. “Chapter 1: Escape from Smith’s Grove.” Written by Hans Rodionoff & Adam F. Goldberg with pencils by Eamon Winkle. Cover art was done by Zach Howard & Nelson Daniel. This is set in canon with the video game. Michael Myers breaks out of Grove Sanitarium and started his trek to Haddonfield, Illinois. This was a decent issue, which kind of surprised me.

Rip Kirby #1. Written by Christopher Sebela and art by Tango. Cover art was done by Annie Wu. A new Mad Cave book kicked off with this issue. Rip Kirby is a 1946 comic strip that has been reimagined with this crime fighting hero. I get some Bruce Wayne vibes from him and the book had that throwback feel to it. It was a fun comic.

Batman #15. “The Assassination of Bruce Wayne, Part One” Written by Matt Fraction with art and cover art by Jorge Jimenez. I have to say, I am interested by this storyline, but I am not sure I know what is the purpose behind it. It was just the weirdest set up to the issue. I trust Matt Fraction so I am interested to see where this goes, but the whole mask on Plastic Man/Bruce Wayne was odd.

Exquisite Corpses: Fox Mask Killer #2. Written by Che Grayson with art and cover art by Adam Gorham. The synopsis for the book was “Charlotte gives Naomi her first assignment: assassinating a wealthy Floridian heir, revealing that Naomi is being blackmailed and thrust back into a dangerous web of secrets and hidden masks“

Exquisite Corpses: Lone Gunman #1. Written by Pornsak Pichetshote with art and cover art by Alberto Ponticelli. I also grabbed the virgin cover by Rafael Albuquerque. I really enjoyed this issue. I have thought that most of these Exquisite Corpses spin off books have been fine, but the Lone Gunman was easily the best of them so far. It was brutal and I found myself very invested in the characters.

Minor Arcana #20. “The Key.” Written and cover art by Jeff Lemire and illustrated by Letizia Cadonici & Jeff Lemire. Theresa has to confront her difficult past. A past that she had blocked out. It was a shocking moment in the book that made a lot of what had gone on before make more sense.

Iron Man #11. “Fantastic vs. Invincible” Written by Joshua Williamson with art by Luca Maresca. Cover art was done by Ryan Stegman & Frank Martin. Tony Stark and Reed Richards are not the best dinner companions. Both arrogant and narcissistic, their verbal sparring does not a date night make. I thought this was an interesting book.

Other Books This Week: Shaolin Cowboy: Staying A.I. Live #4, Ghost Rider: Kushala #1, Absolute Green Lantern #20, Eternal: Honor and Curse #8, No One Escapes the Dialectic #1, MASK #6, and Godzilla (Kai-Sei Era) #14.

Quick Hits: I missed out on Satanic Panic #1 last week because it was sold out at In This Issue, so I had to have Todd find me a copy in Des Moines. I liked the book so I am pleased that I was able to get my copy. Kevin Smith appeared on the cover of Comics! The Magazine #9. It is so funny to read an interview with Kevin Smith because, he is such a talker, that one question takes up a page and a half. Superman: The Stranger #3 came out this week with more with Lois Lane and Lex Luthor. Dr. Strange is the next to face off in Challenges of Doom: Doctor Strange #1. The sci-fi adventure continued in Axon: Infinity #2. Hey, we have had plenty of animal books, with dogs, sharks and others. Now, it is Marvel’s chance with Marvel Meow: Strange Scales #1 and a cat leading the way. More sci-fi action is going down in The Last Starfighter #4. Back from earth, Alex finds some major problems with the Starfighters. The Omega Book #4 faces a rush to destroy the Omega Book. There is a lot of sci-fi in this week’s Quick Hits. We have another one-shot featuring Frank Castle with The Punisher Showdowns: Wolverine #1. This follows the showdown with Black Widow. The Lion King #7 sees the end to the short arc involving Timon and Pumbaa. Absolute Superman #25 came out this week with Superman “defeating” Brainiac. I have not had the chance to read Tales of Wonder #3, Absolute Catwoman #4, and Land of Never #5 as of yet.