Author Archives: Doc

Bates Motel S4 E3

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“Til Death Do You Part”

Every episode that sees Norma and Romero getting closer reminds me of how much I loved them as a couple and how I wanted to root for them, despite the fact that I knew this was doomed from the start.

Their relationship feels as if it has been built since day one. While it may seem as if it were tossed together in one moment, the truth is that they have had interactions with each other since the first season and this all makes sense.

Norman is totally frightening as he is dealing with his anger at Norma for putting him in the psychiatric home. His ability to manipulate is being shown, and it is still up in the air if anyone around there believes him. Dr. Edwards seems to be very low-key and calm when dealing with Norman, but even he gave a look at the end when Norman was accusing his mother of murder that made me wonder where he was going to fall on it.

It was good to have Dylan return to lend an ear for Norma and to face off with Chick. His time with Emma has been great, but he belongs in the Bates craziness too.

Tension is building this season and I can’t wait to see what is going to happen once again.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

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It has been literal decades since the release of Beetlejuice and this weekend we finally arrive with a sequel to the 1988 comedy. Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder resume their roles from the first film in this sequel, also directed by Tim Burton.

I will be honest. When I first saw the trailer for this sequel, I was not very excited. It looked like this movie was going to just revisit the same bits as the 1988 film did and I saw no reason to get excited for this. I do like Michael Keaton though and I had some hope.

After seeing the sequel, I found it to be a fun film that is definitely worth a viewing, even if it is far from perfect.

According to IMDB, “After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s (Winona Ryder) life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened. With trouble brewing in both realms, it’s only a matter of time until someone says Beetlejuice’s (Michael Keaton) name three times and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.”

The cast of this film is sensational. Michael Keaton pulls of Betelgeuse with the deft touch of a master, losing not one step from the first film. Jenna Ortega is a wonderful addition to the cast, making a perfect daughter for Winona Ryder’s Lydia. Catherine O’Hara is over the top as Delia Deetz, who was recently widowed. The cast was excellent and pulled off the comedy with an ease.

I do have to say that I thought the storylines going on in the movie were very messy and chaotic. Some of them felt as if they were there just to fill time. The individual plot points did not form together into a tight and cohesive story. Instead it was much more of a disjointed tale. Some of them worked well, especially in this type of a movie, but the overall story was not what this movie will be remembered for. Some of the storylines in this movie could have easily been removed from the movie and there would be little to no change in what happened.

The world of the dead is totally fascinating and fun to watch as the film treks though it. The special effects were great most of the time and the extended use of practical effects made the dead world feel like it was in the same world as the original. For most of the time, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice looked great.

There is a fantastic scene involving “MacArthur’s Park” near the end. I loved that. Michael Keaton may be the best lip syncher in movies.

I had fun watching this sequel. It is far from a great movie and the story is completely messy. I think you could easily take Willem Dafoe and Monica Bellucci out of the film without missing a beat and you would never miss them. Still, the drawbacks of the film did not detract from my enjoyment of the film. It was worth my time and I would recommend it, especially for those who were fans of the 1988 Beetlejuice.

3.6 stars

EYG Comic Cavalcade #114

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September 6, 2024

Friday afternoon and I am diving into the EYG Comic Cavalcade for the week.

This weekend, I am heading up to Dubuque to the Dubuque Comic & Toy Show this Sunday at the Five Flags Event Center. I went last year and had some fun. This year WWE Hall of Famer Honky Tonk Man is in attendance. Not sure I am going to do anything with him, but he does connect back to my childhood. I know Comic World will have a presence at the event, so I will probably go to their table as well.

Books this week:

Exceptional X-Men #1. Written by Eve L. Ewing and art by Carmen Carnero. Carnero & Nolan Woodard did the cover art. Another new X-book, this time featuring Kate Pryde, who has apparently stopped demanding that people call her Kate and reclaimed the name of Kitty. Thank goodness. I was very tired of that little bit of character development. I am very pleased with Kitty becoming a somewhat happy person again.

Plastic Man No More #1. Written by Christopher Cantwell and art by Alex Lins. Alex Lins & Marcelo Maiolo did the cover art (Bronze Medalist). Plastic Man has always been a comedy character, but this new take on him brings a more serious tone to him as he is starting to break down. Can he escape the Justice League’s laughs to help himself or save the fate of his son?

Minor Arcana #1. Written, illustrated, and cover art by Jeff Lemire. The brand new series from the creative mind of Jeff Lemire appeared this week, focusing on the daughter of a local psychic who returned to her hometown to try and take care of her mother. Of course, there are more things going down than just that as any Lemire book can tell you.

Daredevil #13. “Introductory Rites, Part Thirteen” Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by Chris Campana. John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna, and Richard Isanove did the cover art. Daredevil is facing off with the demons that have been torturing him over the last thirteen issues as things are coming to a head. And you see the Kingpin unlike you have ever seen him before.

The Ultimates #4. Written by Deniz Camp and guest artist Phil Noto. Dike Ruan & Neeraj Menon are the cover artists (Gold Medalist). Doctor Doom of the Ultimate universe is trying to reestablish the Fantastic Four, but there has not been a huge success as of yet.

Incredible Hulk #16. “Lament for a Fallen Crown, Part Two“. Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and art by Danny Earls. Nic Klein is the cover artist. This weird Hulk story arc continued this issue and I have just not been much of a fan of what is happening so far. I remain optimistic that things may pick up.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #24. “Birds of a Feather, Part Two.” Written by Cody Ziglar and art by Federico Vicentini. Federico Vicentini & Neeraj Menon did the cover art. Newly vampired-up, Miles is desperate to maintain his bloodlust, but his anger is loosed upon The Vulture.

What If…? Donald Duck Became The Mighty Thor #1. “Donald Thor vs. the Stone Ducks of Saturn.” Variant cover art by Walter Simonson & Laura Martin. The fun Disney/Marvel mishmashes return with Donald Duck this time finding the enchanted walking stick that would transform into Mjolnir and change Donald into the Mighty Thor.

The Spectacular Spider-Men #7. “The Kitchen Sink.” Written by Greg Weisman and penciled by Humberto Ramos. Cover art was done by Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado. Peter and Miles bring down K.N.A.I.V.E. (which stands for New Artificial Intelligence Villain Extreme… the K is silent).

Animal Pound #5. “Who’s A Good Dog?” Written by Tom King and illustrated by Peter Gross. Variant cover art by Jorge Fornes. This thrilling series brought to a conclusion with plenty of shocking moments. Animal Farm mixed with the ins and outs of current day politics brings you this amazing series. I have no idea who Piggy is meant to represent (hmm… it ain’t Tim Walz).

Spider-Boy #11. “Massive Course Correction.” Written by Dan Slott and art by Paco Medina. Paco Medina and Edgar Delgado did the cover art (Silver Medalist). Bailey Briggs is back in the memories of the world after spending the last three years out of their minds. The memories bring Bailey’s mother back into the mix, and her parenting style may be shunting his buzz.

The Immortal Thor #15. “Return of the King.” Written by Al Ewing and art by Jan Bazaldua. Alex Ross did the cover art. Thor has taken in the power of Zeus… and it may be too much. And how does Loki play into this? Thor is the King of Asgard and he has some power.

Scarlet Witch #4. Written by Steve Orlando and art by Jacopo Camagni. Cover art was done by Russell Dauterman. Wanda vs. Griever battle to see if Wanda can come back alive. Quicksilver and Polaris play huge roles in the adventure too.

Public Domain #8. “New Life.” Written and drawn by Chip Zdarsky. More drama surrounding the creation of the new Domain comic book. How fun is it to hire a new letterer? Find out here.

Uncanny Valley #5. Written by Tony Fleecs and art and cover art by Dave Wachter. Oliver is facing off with The First, with a little help from his mother and his grandfather Pecos Pete. This has been a remarkably creative series so far and this penultimate issue sets up a powerful final.

Rook Exodus #5. Creators Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok. Jason Fabok and Brad Anderson did the cover art. Rook is having problems connecting with his flock because of his own deep seeded traumas. Can Pumba help Rook straighten things out? Rook Exodus has been a really solid part of the Ghost Machine imprint.

Moon Knight Annual #1. Written by Dan Watters and artist Marco Renna. Salvador Larroca & Edgar Delgado does the cover art. The Mind Stone is playing havoc with Colleen Wing. And Nightmare does not help the situation at all. Moon Knight steps up and tries to help out.

Get Fury #5. “As Flies to Wanton Boys.” Written by Garth Ennis and penciled by Jacen Burrows. Cover art was done by Dave Johnson. Frank Castle has finally found Nick Fury in the Hanoi Hilton… or at least what remains of Nick Fury. There are some actually disturbing images of Nick Fury in this book. There is a reason it is listed as ‘explicit content.’

Other books this week: Venom War: Spider-Man #2, The Boy Wonder #5, Spider-Man: Homeroom Heroes #1, Marvel Zombies: Dawn of Decay #1, Arkham Horror #2, and The Infernals #5.

Upcoming Comics Preview

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September 4

Well, I picked up my edition of this month’s Preview at Comic World tonight and, to be honest, this catalogue does not have a large number of new books that interested me.

What jumped out at me was a new issue from Dynamite, Green Hornet/Miss Fury #1. Dynamite has been releasing some quality work recently which included Space Ghost and Jonny Quest. The new series is a noir mystery book, which I always enjoy, and, at least, Green Hornet is an interesting character to add to Dynamite’s oeuvre. Written by Alex Segura and art from Federico Sorressa.

Image is preparing to release a new version of G.I. Joe #1, with what looked like a ton of possible covers. Some of the G.I. Joe books have been okay for me, and i will most likely at least pick up issue one of this new series.

Another company that has been fire lately has been DSTLRY. The only drawback I have seen from this new comic company has been release time. They put out a new issue and it seems like forever before the next issue comes out. Still, there are two intriguing new books from DSTLRY from Previews. You Won’t Feel a Thing #1 is a new series from Scott Snyder and Jock. It is a story about a retired homicide detective with a brain tumor sapping his mind. A serial killer from his past has returned… or has he? This sounds very psychological and thrilling.

The other new DSTLRY book is written by James Tynion IV and featuring art from Love everlasting artist Elsa Charretier. I have a total trust in James Tynion IV and, while the synopsis is not overly clear about the premise, there is a hint of mystery and Tynion is a huge selling point for me.

That was about it in this Previews. I’ll probably skim through it again before making a final judgment, but this looks like a slow month.

EYG Favorite Comic Cover of the Week

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Week of September 2

It is NEW COMIC BOOK DAY so it is time to pick our medalists for this week. Last week we had no Marvel, but will the House of Ideas make its way back to this week’s medalists? Let’s see…

Bronze Medalist

Plastic Man No More #1

Cover art by Alex Lins & Marcelo Maiolo

I have always enjoyed Plastic Man, but this cover is a little unexpectedly frightening and that’s cool.

Silver Medalist

Spider-Boy #11

Cover art by Paco Medina & Edgar Delgado

This Spider-Boy cover is just a lot of fun. Just hanging out on the back of a school bus. While holding on to his Spider-Man lunch case. This works so well.

Gold Medalist

The Ultimates #4

Cover art by Dike Ruan & Neeraj Menon

A Doctor Doom mask with Fantastic Four mice. What a fascinating cover, plus I love the white background. White background is always a personal favorite.

Bonus Action Vol. 2 Ep.1

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“A Spring’s Awakening”

Bonus Action returned to officially kickoff their second volume of D & D role-playing action with the wonderful cast of characters and a remarkably creative DM.

One of last year’s top surprises was the arrival of Bonus Action from the Preview’d guys, Adam lash and Jay Schmidt. They had decided to film their group’s gaming as a YouTube series and I found it to be very fun.

The cast returned this season with DM (Or as he says, friendly neighborhood campaign manager) David Armstrong as well as Jay and Adam (playing Bric and Victor respectively), Amanda Nicholas as Barb’E, Ja-Ron Young as Marlon, Josh Hurley as Todd, and Jason Spina as Rory. This only works because of these talented individuals with their acting, improv and interpersonal skills. They all have a total grasp on their characters and it makes it a total rush watching them play into the amazingly constructed and described world of Wild Country.

This episode kicked off with an unexpected one-on-one with David and Amanda, in a flashback for Barb’E, and it was tremendous, emotional and thrilling.

The rest of the episode was set up and character development, both important and silly in many manners. Making Todd’s 4th Wall Breaking a part of canon is truly a hoot.

I will say that the cliffhanger at the very end was fairly shaky. How could you?

This was a ton of fun and next week’s combat at the parade (or is it Pear-Raid?) will be something special. Glad this is back.

Only Murders in the Building S4 E2

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“Gates of Heaven”

Two episodes in and I am completely enthralled with this new season of Only Murders in the Building.

Steve Martin may be doing some of his best work of his long and illustrious career as Charles went through the episode trying to wrap his mind around the fact that he might have been the target of the murder attempt that claimed the life of his friend and stunt double, Sazz. Martin’s performance was beautiful as he spoke to the delusion he was seeing of Sazz. This was both sad as could be and relatable in a situation that just was crazy.

While Charles was breaking our hearts in his apartment (and kind of reuniting with escaped killer Jan), Oliver and Mabel went to investigate the Westies, people who could be the shooter in apartments across from Charles’ place, in the west end of the Arconia. These were some weirdos, led by Richard Kind’s “Stink Eye Joe” aka Vince Fish and his moving pink-eye. We also met a family who invite Oliver and Mabel to join them in a card game called Oh Hell. Some of the things that happen with the Westies are truly crazy and are either meant to throw us off or to highlight how crazy things are in this part of the Arconia. We certainly see that they know something more than they let us know.

We do not meet the Westie that Charles dubbed Christmas Guy, played by Kumail Nanjiani. Apparently, his apartment is decorated for Christmas year round. Oh, and by the way, when Oliver and Mabel were in the apartment where they believe that the shooter took the shot, Oliver found some tinsel. That clue may be too on the nose to be anything but a red herring, but you never can tell with this show.

I thought this was tremendous, with Steve Martin and Jane Lynch were amazing. I found the documentary that was the only time Sazz’s own face was on the screen packed a powerful wallop. Steve Martin’s moments at the beginning of the episode when he had Sazz’s ashes all over his hands and he did not know how to wash them off respectfully was both funny and crushing at the same time. His plan of washing off the ashes and catching the water in a bucket, putting the water in a Mason jar and allowing the water to evaporate to leave the ashes was never going to work, but it displayed the tremendous shock that Charles was suffering from.

I love the start of this season and I am thoroughly enjoying each episode so far. Only Murders in the Building airs on Hulu.

Battlestar Galactica S2 E14

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“Black Market”

The black market of goods aboard the fleet is given some light in this episode that focuses on Lee and his recent struggles since the ejection of the blackbird.

Truth be told, the whole Apollo arch feels sloppy. Much of what was going on, things that seemed to be a huge problem for Lee felt like it just showed up now and did not seem to fit in to what I knew of the character. There were a bunch of things in this episode like that. One in particular is Lee who had been taking up with a prostitute on Cloud Nine, a prostitute who had a child. I was not sure where this was supposed to have come from and it was jarring when she was there.

It was the same thing about the flashbacks to Lee’s former girlfriend prior to the Cylon attack. I knew little to nothing about this woman and, because of that, I had little to no emotional connection to her.

I also was not sure about the relationship between Apollo and Dee. This did not seem like much of a relationship before. It always felt as if Apollo was more with Starbuck, and Dee was with Billy. Maybe I missed something important, but it just felt lacking.

The stare down with Apollo and black market head Phelan was intense and ended surprisingly. I kind of liked that, even if it felt like it went against Apollo’s character. At least that felt like a choice he made to make things better.

Overall, this was not a strong episode and felt as if it lacked the narrative that this show is used to presenting.

Bates Motel S4 E2

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“Goodnight Mother”

I really love the relationship that developed in this series between Norma Bates and Alex Romero. Alex, who is anything but an angel, goes to such lengths to help Norma.

Freddie Highmore is exceptional. You can see how he is slipping deeper into his own insanity with every scene. Despite what we know of the eventual fate of Norman Bates, you can’t help but hope he makes it through.

That said, Norman’s mental break this episode was absolutely frightening. You could tell that Norman really believed that Norma was the person who had killed all the other women, even though none of that made any sense. It just fueled his rage and Highmore was compelling the whole time.

The show then juxtaposed Norman’s story of downward spiral with the new hope given to Emma after the lung transplant. The scene of Emma taking her first breaths in the hospital was just as powerful and engaging as the scenes of Norman and Norma.

With all her flaws and lack of trust, Norma Bates truly loves Norman, which makes everything that goes down here even more tragic. Bates Motel succeeds dramatically at making Norma Bates a deeply three-dimensional character and the fact that she winds up dead and in an attic is even more tragic. It provided even more layers to the film Psycho than it had before.

The X-Files S6 E16

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“Alpha”

It has been about a year since I started this X-Files rewatch and we have enjoyed some really great episodes. When The X-Files is doing well, few shows can match it. Sadly, there have been several clunkers during this time frame as well, which included the current episode, “Alpha.”

There were some ideas in the episode that could have worked well. It just felt run-of-the-mill and as if the execution of the overall story was just underwhelming.

Several concepts that did not work, that could have worked better with a different script, included the weird “love” angle between Mulder and the canine expert  Karin Berquist. While the character of Berquist was quirky and different, her motives were messy and convoluted. Another concept that did not work was the villain and his entire plan, as it were. Dr. Ian Detweiler was initially shown to be the man who captured and imported the dangerous dog, which we first seen locked in a cage on a boat. Later we find out that Detwiler is the dog himself and can shapeshift. How this happened was never discussed and none of this made any sense.

Worse yet was the finale, the final confrontation between Berquist and Detwiler, which was simply laughable. The cliche of a werewolf being impaled on a fence spike is used here in just the most painfully obvious manner.

I didn’t understand why any of this was happening and nothing made sense. It felt as if the entire story between Mulder and Berquist was just constructed so Mulder could get his “I Want to Believe” poster back after his own one burned in the fire set by CSM at the end of season five. Somehow, Berquist had the same poster and somehow, someone sent it to Mulder to have… for no apparent reason.

Season six has had some highs, but it has had its shares of lows too. “Alpha” is clearly one of the lows.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #113

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September 1, 2024

2024 is flying by. We’ve reached September already, and, before you know it, we’ll be ringing in 2025.

We are currently running the EYG Hall of Fame ballot on the main page. As I was thinking about that, I realized that I should have announced the EYG Hall of Fame Comic Wing Inductees for 2024 in the EYG Comic Cavalcade. I inducted the following earlier this year: Avengers Annual #10, Saga #54, Future Imperfect #1-2, New Mutants #98, Top 10 #8, The Boys #1, and Tales of the Teen Titans #44. Congratulations to this year’s class.

EBay pick ups this week included The Tick #11 from the original run of comics from New England Comics. I am down to just two Ticks from that first series missing in my collection. I also had some trouble with an eBay seller who apparently couldn’t find two of the books that I had purchased from him. He wanted to replace the books with a couple of other books. This was the second time this had happened, so, just because I was annoyed, I said fine. In the end, he did find the two books I wanted and he also sent me the Amazing Spider-Man variant #666 for free. In the end it turned out acceptable and I got the Amazing Spider-Man books (#554, 632,659,660, and 662) I had ordered.

Books from this week:

Something is Killing the Children #40. “Road Stories Part Five” Written by James Tynion IV and illustrated and cover art by Werther Dell’Edera (Bronze Medalist). This might have been my favorite book of the week as Erica goes through the memories of one of her most traumatic monster fights that ends with an unspeakable tragedy. This “Road Stories” has been some of the best stand alone issues of the series so far.

Last Mermaid #6. Written and drawn by Derek Kirk Kim. The final issue of Last Mermaid, for now. This book has been an amazing one, with beautiful art, with sweeping imagery filling each page. The very end of the book lists a “To Be Continued” tag so it tells me that we may not be done yet with the story of the Last Mermaid.

Life #1. Written by Brian Azzarello and Stephanie Phillips with art and cover art by Danijel Žeželj. DSTLRY have been doing some of the most creative and original books. Admittedly, the release dates of them have been a bit… scattered, shall we say. However, Life#1 has two stories and two covers and brings some solid sci-fi storytelling to comics.

Hello Darkness #2. This anthology series continued this month with a bunch of stories from the horror genre. My favorite one this issue is probably “The Clown” by Azam Raharjo. I love the stylistic black and white this story is presented in. There are other stories from Frederik Hornung, Wes Craig, Robert Hack and Garth Ennis.

X-Men #3. Written by Jed MacKay and penciled by Ryan Stegman. Cover art is by Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, and Marte Gracia. Scott Summers has a meeting with Agent Lundqvist in a little coffee house and they have an intense discussion about the X-Men and the future. Scott end the issue looking as if he were having a panic attack. The new X-books have all been very solid to start and I hope they can maintain this quality.

Aliens vs. Avengers #1. Written by Jonathan Hickman and art and cover art by Esad Ribić. I wonder if Jonathan Hickman can ever write a Marvel story inside of continuity? With the resurgence of the Xenomorphs on the big screen, a conflict with the Avengers feels right. This book was pretty good too.

NYX #2. Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly and art by Francesco Mortarino. Sara Pichelli & Federico Blee did the art on the cover. Young mutants are being lured to the control of the mysterious Mr. Friend and Laura wants to do something about it. A surprising villain is shown as being behind Mr. Friend.

Fantastic Four #24. “If It Wasn’t Forever…” Written by Ryan North and art by Carlos Gomez. Cover art by Alex Ross. Marvel’s First Family continued with the adventure from last issue by trying to help save a little tentacled alien that was choking Johnny Storm. I was not as fond of this space story as I have been of the rest of this run of FF. It was still a competent read.

Saga #68. Written by Brian K. Vaughn and drawn and cover art by Fiona Staples. There are so many awesome characters in Saga that you could go issues without seeing them and not miss out on anything. Saga is one of the easiest and yet most involved reads every month and I am so glad that it has come back to a regular release schedule… hopefully for the foreseeable future.

The Nice House By the Sea #2. Written by James Tynion IV and art and cover art by Alvaro Martinez Bueno 9Gold Medalist). The group of people together at the end of everything continue to interact and show more about their characters. They are doing that while wild things are going on around them. Tynion IV still one of the best writers working today and this is a great example of his work.

Deadpool Team-Up #1. Written and drawn by Rob Liefeld. Liefeld and Juan Manuel Rodriguez did the art for the cover. Deadpool fighting dragons? Yes please. But I will be honest and say that the biggest draw of this series is the appearance of Crystar, Lord of Crystallium. I was shocked when I saw him on the cover back in the Previews because I knew he was based on a toy and I did not know that Marvel had the rights to the character. I bought the Crystar books when they first came out and I like the character a lot.

Universal Monsters Frankenstein #1. Written, drawn and cover art by Michael Walsh. This is the third series of Universal Monsters from Image, following Dracula and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Frankenstein is one of the most iconic of all monsters and this fresh take blends the classic bits of the story with some new takes that really work.

Amazing Spider-Man #56. Written by Zeb Wells with art by John Romita Jr. Cover art was by Romita Jr., Scott Hanna and Marcio Menyz. This is Legacy number 950 for Amazing Spider-Man. I still wish they would just leave the legacy number as the number of the issue, but who am I? I love it when Peter shows how smart he is and he does so when Tombstone tries to deliver a message to Spider-Man by killing his “friend” Peter Parker.

Captain America #12. “The Last Stand of the Front Door, Part 1” Written by J. Michael Straczynski with art by Jesus Saiz. Taurin Clarke did the art for the cover. I am not a fan of this Cap and the demons and this weird door story that has been going on through the Captain America series recently. I hope the “Last Stand” doesn’t take them too long.

X-Force #2. “Igubu Lika-Anansi” Written by Geoffrey Thorne and art by Marcus To. Phil Noto did the variant “Disco Dazzler” cover art. X-Force heads into Wakanda to confront someone claiming to be Black Panther. I do like this new team, but I really do not know the characters very well. I hope to learn more about them as this series progresses.

Ultimate X-Men #6. Written, drawn and cover art by Peach Momoko. Shadow King makes his appearance in this book and it takes an intriguing turn. I am not 100% sure I know what happened, but I do like the seemingly bizarre twist that the book took. I still love how this book is so different than any other X-Men book we have and how this Ultimate book is not just the same X-Men in a different setting.

Drawing Blood #5. Written by David Avallone and art by Ben Bishop. Kevin Eastman did the art on the cover. Shane “Books” Bookman is facing all kinds of troubles. Now the FBI wants a piece of him. Books has to try and weave through the Lithuanians as well as keep his comic publishing company afloat. Oh, and he has to go to Hollywood. While this series originally was not one I looked forward to, by now I am into it and I have enjoyed the last several issues quite a bit.

Void Rivals#12. Written by Robert Kirkman and art and cover art by Lorenzo De Felici. I just complained last issue that things were starting to feel repetitive with this series. So this issue, Solila and Darak head in their own separate directions, with their own missions to complete. We get a powerful goodbye between these two who have spent the last eleven issues together and have developed something more than just friendship.

Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #4. “Haunted, Part 4” Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Paolo Villanelli. Mark Brooks did the cover art. Gwen is going through some troubles in 616 universe. It seemed as much of it was coming from Chameleon. Is it though?

Chasm: Curse of Kaine #1. Written by Steve Foxe and art by Andrea Broccardo. Leinil Francis Yu & Dean White did the cover art. Ben Reilly is back and the focus of this new series which includes his “brother” Kaine. There is also a intriguing appearance from the Eternal Druig and the Mole Man. Lots going on here.

Marvel 85th Anniversary Special #1. This featured a ton of writers and artists as Wolverine and Deadpool’s head take a special tour of the Museum of Heroism in the 85th Century. We get several shorts featuring such characters as Ms. Marvel, Spicer-Man, Excalibur, and a Moon Knight. Koore Andrews did the cover art.

Incredible Hulk Annual #1. Written by Derek Landry and art by Geoff Shaw. Cover art is by Salvador Larroca & GURU-eFX. What more could you want besides Hulk vs. Thanos for the Mind Stone? And you may be surprised who winds up with it. This also includes the sixth chapter of the Death Stone Saga written by Derek Landry and art by Sara Pichelli. Fury and Coulson vs. Nighthawk.

Zatanna: Bring Down the House #3. Written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Javier Rodriguez. Variant cover by Tula Lotay. The Zatanna series is getting stranger by the issue as we get a woman with rabbit ears and we follow her down the Bunny Well. This has been a weird series so far, as a book about using and not using magic should be. And it is only going to get weirder as John Constantine shows up on the last page.

Phases of the Moon Knight #1. “The Once and Future Knight” and “Crusader“. First story written by Erica Schultz and penciled by Manuel Garcia. Second story written by Benjamin Percy and art by Rod Reis. Cover art was by Mateus Manhanini. This is an anthology series that will tell stories of the different Moon Knights over the years. This one starts with the Shroud and ends up with the Moon Knight of the Old Crusades. It is an intriguing concept. I’m not sure there is enough to sustain this over time, but we’ll see.

Other books: Kill All Immortals #2, Nights #10, Killadelphia #35 (Silver Medalist), The Mammoth #3, and The Butcher’s Boy #4.