#72
Kiki’s Delivery Service
Released: July 29, 1989
Runtime: 103 minutes
Rating: G
Animation Style: traditional, hand-drawn 2D cell animation featuring fluid aerial movement, a warm European-inspired aesthetic, and detailed watercolor-style backgrounds
Studio: Studio Ghibli
Voice Cast: [English Dub] Kirstin Dunst, Phil Hartman, Tress MacNeille, Janeane Garofalo, Matthew Lawrence, Debbie Reynolds, Edie McClurg, Jeff Bennett, John Hostetter, and Kath Soucie.
Spoilers
Guest: Rich Little
Guest: Judy Collins
Guest: Nancy Walker
Guest: Edgar Bergen with Charlie McCarthy
Guest: Steve Martin
Some fun episodes from the second season highlighted the Muppet Show rewatch today.
Starting with the Rich Little episode. Honestly, his imitations of the Muppets were fairly weak. I have heard many better over the years. I did enjoy the final number where Rich Little sang as famous celebrities songs from musicals including “Singin’ in the Rain,” “Did You Ever?,” and “I Remember It Well.”
That first episode also started Gonzo’s affection for chickens, as he was auditioning them for a dancing act. Of course, these were live chickens.
Judy Collins came next and she sang a whole bunch of songs. I guess when you have someone with her voice, you try and use it as much as possible. The performance of “Send in the Clowns” is one of the most iconic guest songs of the show. I enjoyed her version of “I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly” too. It was neat seeing her do a piano duet with Rowlf with “Do-Re-Mi.”
We get the backstage storyline with Scooter’s uncle J. P. Grosse, who is ready to tear down the theater to put in a parking lot.
The Nancy Walker episode saw Kermit at home sick and Fozzie trying to run the show. Things do not go well for our favorite furry funnyman. My favorite bit was the accidental mixing of Veterinarian’s Hospital and At the Dance. They worked very well together.
Edgar Bergen brought his ventriloquism act to the Muppet Show, which fit in beautifully. Charlie McCarthy was very smart mouthed when it came to the Muppets. It was a lot of fun.
My favorite number on that episode was the “Time in a Bottle” song where the old scientist was making a formula to turn him younger.
Then, the best episode of this chunk was with Steve Martin. They took the typical Muppet formula and flipped it around as Kermit cancels the show for the night because they accidentally scheduled it on a night when they were supposed to be having auditions. Kermit sent the audience home and they spent the time auditioning new acts.
Steve Martin stuck around to “entertain the boys” and did a bunch of fun things from his act, including balloon animals, banjo playing, doing “Ramblin’ Guy.”
Some of the new acts we saw audition included Statler & Waldorf singing/dancing to “Varsity Rag,” a little girl named Carrie Louise and friend (who was a frog, and she would sing while the frog added the word ‘ribbit’ to the songs), Baskerville the Hound and his comedy act that reminded us all of Fozzie Bear and Marvin Suggs and his All Food Glee Club.
The show had removed the laugh track since the audience was gone and we would hear just a few guffaws from, apparently, the Muppeteers.
I loved how they took the format and tried something totally different and it really was a fresh episode.
Predator vs. Punisher, a four-issue series by Frank Tieri and Jesús Saíz, launches in November.
Blue Beetle Anniversary: Celebrating 85 years of the character at 2:15 PM in room 5AB with guest Cully Hammer.
Marvel Legends Series: Avengers Doomsday action figures revealed
Spoilers
The Boroughs
“Time To Go”
The penultimate episode of the Netflix show The Boroughs was amazing. I was into everything that was going on from the beginning to the end.
All of the arcs going on are just so exciting. Sam’s struggles inside The Manor, Wally’s attempts to save Mother, Renee and the group’s attempt to break Sam out, Claire’s realization that her father was right… all of these are working so well and blends together into a great final scene.
We even get a deeper motivation for Blaine, who we learn is more about saving his wife Anneliese from her pain (who had polio and withered limbs as a youth) than just his own selfishness.
Mary McDonnell played The Dutchess is a new great character who can also hear The Mother. It was revealed that Sam’s weird images of his wife were coming from Mother. It helped turn Sam’s thoughts about Mother around. She’s not a monster…
I love when the whole group is back together and on their way out of The Manor, only to have Sam say they can not kill Mother, they have to save her. I also loved the scenes between Claire and Paz.
Again, knowing this show will not be renewed, I sure hope there is a satisfying way for the story to end and it does not leave off on a cliffhanger. I was not sure about this show when I started it last month, but The Boroughs has been fabulous.
#73
Encanto
Released: November 2021
Runtime: 102 minutes
Rating: PG
Animation Style: vibrant computer-generated (CG) 3D animation style
Studio: Disney
We don’t talk about Bruno… no, no, no.. We don’t talk about Brunoooooo
Truth is, the first time I saw Encanto, I thought it was kind of boring. It took a second rewatch for me to enjoy it more. I was in a better frame of mind the second time and on, finding the strengths of the Lin-Manuel Miranda songs and the fun, engaging story. I don’t know why that first viewing did not do it for me, but it goes to show that thoughts do change on movies over time.
Voice cast: Stephanie Beatriz, María Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo, Mauro Castillo, Jessica Darrow, Angie Cepeda, Carolina Gaitán, Diane Guerrero, Maluma, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, and Wilmer Valderrama.
Spoilers
The fourth season of Rick and Morty on HBO Max was my binge this afternoon.
I am going to be honest here. I think there were some real high highs in this season of ten episodes, but also a few episode that I found to be lower than normal.
While there are several episodes that I did not love, there were still some really funny moments within these episodes. There were no truly horrible episodes in the season. I would just say that some of the shows were just not as strong of overall stories as they could have been.
The episodes that I did not like much were “One Crew Over the Crewcoo’s Morty,” “The Old Man and the Seat,” “Claw and Hoarder: Special Ricktim’s Morty,” and “Rattlestar Ricklactica.”
My favorite parts of the season for me were the following: the return to the Beth’s clone story from last season. I loved the episode of “The Vat of Acid Episode” which may have been the darkest of the entire series. The Rick clones across the multiverse were fun in the season premiere. The remarkably meta and fourth wall breaking episode “Never Ricking Morty” was awesome, even with the guest star role for Jesus Christ. Rick fights Zeus. They had a Covid-19 joke as well that was very funny.
It did seem like the second half of season four was considerably better for me than the beginning of this season.
Guest stars for the season included Sherri Shepherd, Sam Neill, Kathleen Turner, Taika Waititi, Jeffrey Wright, Pamela Adlon, Elon Musk, Justin Theroux, Claudia Black, Matthew Broderick, Liam Cunningham,Keegan-Michael Key, Eddie Pepitone, Paul Giamatti, Christopher Meloni, Susan Sarandon, David Herman, Chelsea Peretti, Harland Williams, Grey DeLisle, Natasha Leggero, Jake Johnson, Lauren Lapkus and Nat Faxon.
Spoilers
“Spoiler: Gary Dies”
I don’t know what I watched.
I loved The Big Bang Theory. I know that the show had its detractors, but I always enjoyed the characters and found it funny.
Then, I watched Stuart Fails to Save the Universe on HBO Max.
I am not sure how I feel.
Taking side character Stuart from the comic book shop and matching him with Bert in a sequel to a long running sitcom that is actually some kind of sci-fi adventure instead.
I did not laugh much at the show (it was nice to see long-bearded Raj), but it just felt like it had something. I do not know, that kept my mind connected.
I did not love this episode, but I think there was enough here to watch another episode or two for sure. If it does not get better, I may have to ditch the series as a whole. I guess this is a wait and see show.
Spoilers
“Whatever You Do, Don’t Go Home”
Gasp.
I literally sat up in my chair and stared in a shocked silence as Juliette pushed aside the curtain and saw Bernard lying in bed, badly burned…but ALIVE!
Did not see that coming at all.
What a great cliffhanger for the tag at the end of episode 4. After we spent the episode with Juliette escaping from people trying to kill her (that scene in the doctor’s office where the nurse ended up helping her was intense), to drop this bomb at the end was just so unexpected.
Big things happening in the flashbacks section too as Daniel and Helen were approached and an offer was made to them to get them to drop what they were doing with the investigation into the Iraq mission. This was just after Daniel tried to get a friend Sam to dig into it more. He initially refused, but could not let it go and, apparently, found something major… that we don’t learn about this week.
Back in the silo, we learn that Orla Kent was not a victim of the rat gases, but was, instead, murdered and had her body dropped in the mine. Sheriff Billings seemed to be on this case. I am not sure what side he is coming down upon, but I have a feeling he could eventually become an ally.
The reappearance of Bernard injected this storyline with a burst of energy. I was kind of glad Bernard (played the the awesome Tim Robbins) was dead, because he deserved it, but with him back, I have no idea where things go from here. Who knows that Bernard is not dead and was not incinerated as we were told earlier in the season.
So many questions…
It is Saturday at the 2026 San Diego Comic Con, which, of course, brings us the massive Marvel Studios panel in Hall H this evening. When Marvel comes to Hall H, there is always a show. What do we hear tonight? X-Men casting? Avengers: Doomsday clips? Rumors have been circulating that both Denzel Washington and Sadie Sink have been seen in San Diego, are they coming to the panel? Is there a surprise project? What is the MCU future? All of this might be too big to expect in a one hour program. Still, I do expect something big.
I will add to this post throughout the day as info creeps out of SDCC.
Dr. Doom Costume on Display!
Apple TV +
Matchbox-The Movie trailer
Dark Matter season two
Neuromancer
Skybound Comics Trailer
Marvel Studio Panel
Dr. Doom mask and cape given to crowd.
Avengers: Endgame Encore trailer was shown to the live crowd. Released September 25
Ryan Gosling will be Ghost Rider in movie
Movie released in 2028, directed by Shawn Levy
Avengers: Doomsday cast on stage
Hayley Atwell confirmed for Doomsday
DEADPOOL!!!
Avengers: Doomsday poster revealed/given to the crowd
Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther III announced
To be released December 15, 2028
NEW BLACK PANTHER ANNOUNCED– T’Challa’s son
David Jonsson
#74
Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders
Released: October 10, 2016
Runtime: 78 minutes
Rating: PG
Animation Style: vibrant, retro-modern tribute that mimics the 1960s live-action television show
Studio: Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment
I was a huge fan of the 1966 Batman show. I would watch it in syndication/reruns when I was young and it helped with my comic fandom. So when I found out that Adam West and Burt Ward were returning to their roles as Batman and Robin for an animated film, I was very excited, and it turned out better than I could have expected. Adam West passed away in June of the next year.
Voice cast: Adam West, Burt Ward, Julie Newmar, Jeff Bergman, William Salyers, Wally Wingert, Jim Ward, Steven Weber, Thomas Lennon, Lynne Marie Stewart, and Sirena Irwin.
This post will be updated throughout the night. Friday means Eisner Award winners too, so it will be a lot to post today.
Trailers
Lanterns
Batman: Caped Crusader – Chronicles
Blade Runner 2099
DC COMICS
Batman of Two Worlds #1
DC Next Level
Batman: Bad Seeds
Rick Moranis makes an appearance at Spaceballs panel
Ignition Press celebrates their one year anniversary at SDCC, where it all began.
Eisner Awards
Inductees into Will Eisner Hall of Fame
Colleen Doran, Denys Cowan, Mike Friedrich, Lee Marrs, Bud Plant, Mike Royer, Jeff Smith, Carol Tyler, Bob Bolling, Gerry Conway, Edwina Dumm, Oliver Harrington, Don Heck, Abe Kanegson, Paul S. Newman, Héctor Germán Oesterheld, Tom Palmer Sr., Go Nagai, Dave Sim, Jimmy Swinnerton, Akira Toriyama, Rick Veitch, and Chris Ware.
Awards
Best Short Story
“Blood Harvest,” in Brain Damage, by Shintaro Kago, translated by Zack Davisson (Fantagraphics)
“The Curse Room,” in Brain Damage, by Shintaro Kago, translated by Zack Davisson (Fantagraphics)
“Football Is Not War,” by R. K. Russell and Wilfred Santiago, in Come Out and Play: The Queer Sports Project (Stacked Deck Press)
“Red Snapper in the Rea,” by Michael D. Kennedy, in Milk White Steed (Drawn & Quarterly)
“trAPPed” by Anand RK, Suparna Sharma, and Natalie Obiko Pearson (Bloomberg News)
____________________________________________________________
Best One-Shot/Single Issue
Absolute Batman 2025 Annual #1, by Daniel Warren Johnson, James Harren, and Meredith McClaren (DC)
Absolute Martian Manhunter #1, by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez (DC)
Assorted Crisis Events #4, by Deniz Camp and Eric Zawadzki (Image)
Coin-Op no. 10: Wet Cement, by Peter and Maria Hoey (Coin-Op Books)
Ice Cream Man #43: “One Page Horror Stories,” by W. Maxwell Prince and others (Image)
Something Is Killing the Children: A Monster Hunter Walks into a Bar #1, by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera (BOOM! Studios)
Best Continuing Series
Absolute Batman, by Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta, and others (DC)
Absolute Wonder Woman, by Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman, and Mattia De Iulis (DC)
The Department of Truth, by James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds (Image)
FML, by Kelly Sue DeConnick and David Lopez (Dark Horse)
The Power Fantasy, by Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard (Image)
Storm, by Murewa Ayodele, Lucas Werneck, and others (Marvel)
Best Limited Series
Absolute Martian Manhunter, by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez (DC)
Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring, by Patrick Horvath (IDW)
Bronze Faces, by Shobo, Shof, and Alexandre Tefenkgi (BOOM! Studios)
Crownsville, by Rodney Barnes and Elia Bonetti (Oni Press)
Everything Dead and Dying, by Tate Brombal and Jacob Phillips (Image)
Out of Alcatraz, by Christopher Cantwell & Tyler Crook (Oni Press)
Best New Series
Assorted Crisis Events, by Deniz Camp and Eric Zawadzki (Image)
Batman Vol. 4, by Matt Fraction and Jorge Jiménez (DC)
Black Cat, by G. Willow Wilson and Gleb Melnikov (Marvel)
Exquisite Corpses, by James Tynion IV, Michael Walsh, Pornsak Pichetshote, and others (Image)
Ghost Pepper, by Ludo Lullabi (Image)
Temporal, by Stephanie Williams and Asiah Fulmore (Mad Cave)
Best Publication for Early Readers
All the Hulk Feels, by Dan Santat (Abrams Fanfare/Marvel)
The Faraway Forest: Wally’s Route, by Debbie Fong (Chronicle Books)
The Fire-Breathing Duckling, by Frank Cammuso (TOON Books)
Night Light, by Michael Emberley (Holiday House)
Steve, A Rare Egg, by Kelly Collier (Kids Can Press)
Best Publication for Kids
The Cartoonists Club, by Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloud (Scholastic Graphix)
Chickenpox, by Remy Lai (Henry Holt Books for Young Readers)
Creature Clinic, by Gavin Aung Than (First Second)
Night Chef: An Epic Tale of Friendship with a Side of Deliciousness! By Mika Song (Random House Graphic)
Oasis, by Guojing (Godwin Books/Henry Holt Books for Young Readers)
A Song for You and I, by K. O’Neill (Random House Graphic)
Best Publication for Teens
Angelica and the Bear Prince, by Trung Le Nguyen (Random House Graphic)
Clementine: Book Three, by Tillie Walden (Image Skybound)
Everyone Sux But You, by K. Wroten (Henry Holt Books for Young Readers)
Hello Sunshine, by Keezy Young (Little, Brown Ink)
This Place Kills Me, by Mariko Tamaki and Nicole Goux (Abrams Fanfare)
Trumpets of Death, by Simon Bournel-Bosson, translated by Edward Gauvin (Graphic Universe/Lerner)
Best Humor Publication
And to Think We Started as a Book Club, by Tom Toro (Andrews McMeel Universal)
Ew, It’s Beautiful: A False Knees Comics Collection, by Joshua Barkman (Andrews McMeel Universal)
The Great British Bump-Off: Kill or Be Quilt, by John Allison and Max Sarin (Dark Horse)
Jeff the Land Shark, by Kelly Thompson and Tokitokoro (Marvel)
Physics for Cats, by Tom Gauld (Drawn & Quarterly)
Spent: A Comic Novel, by Alison Bechdel (Mariner Books)
Best Anthology
Come Out and Play: The Queer Sports Project, edited by Meghan Kemp-Gee and Megan Praz (Stacked Deck Press)
DC Pride 2025, edited by Andrea Shea and Jillian Grant (DC)
Noir Is the New Black Season 2 (FairSquare Graphics)
2000AD 2026 Annual Featuring Judge Dredd, edited by Oliver Pickles (Rebellion)
Best Reality-Based Work
Black Arms to Hold You Up: A History of Black Resistance, by Ben Passmore (Pantheon)
Do Admit: The Mitford Sisters and Me, by Mimi Pond (Drawn & Quarterly)
Fela: Music Is the Weapon, by Jibola Fagbamiye and Conor McCreery (Amistad)
Globetrotters: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland’s World Tour, by Julian Voloj and Julie Rocheleau (Abrams ComicArts)
Muybridge, by Guy Delisle, translated by Helge Daschert and Rob Aspinal (Drawn & Quarterly)
Surrounded: America’s First School for Black Girls, 1832, by Wilfrid Lupano and Stéphane Fert, translated by Montana Kane (ABLAZE)
Best Graphic Memoir
The Ephemerata: Shaping the Exquisite Nature of Grief, by Carol Tyler (Fantagraphics)
My Life in 24 Frames Per Second, by Rintaro, translated by Montana Kane (Kana Manga US)
It Rhymes with Takei, by George Takei, Harmony Becker, Steven Scott, and Justin Eisinger (Top Shelf)
Precious Rubbish, by Kayla E. (Fantagraphics)
Raised by Ghosts, by Briana Loewinsohn (Fantagraphics)
Talking to My Father’s Ghost: An Almost True Story, by Alex Krokus (Chronicle)
Best Graphic Album–New
Cannon, by Lee Lai (Drawn & Quarterly)
Drome, by Jesse Lonergan (23rd St. Books)
The Fable of Erkling Woods, by Juni Ba (Goats Flying Press)
A Garden of Spheres, by Linnea Sterte (Peow2)
More Weight: A Salem Story, by Ben Wickey (Top Shelf)
Shadows of the Sea, by Cathy Malkasian (Fantagraphics)
Best Graphic Album–Reprint
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Storybook Edition, by Patrick Horvath (IDW)
Ginseng Roots: A Memoir, by Craig Thompson (Pantheon)
Goes Like This, by Jordan Crane (Fantagraphics)
Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen: The Deluxe Edition, by Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber (DC)
Tongues, by Anders Nilsen (Pantheon)
Best Adaptation from Another Medium
Alanna: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness, Book 1), by Tamora Pierce, adapted by Vita Ayala and Sama Beck (Abrams Fanfare)
The Compleat Angler: A Graphic Adaptation, by Izaak Walton, adapted by Gareth Brookes (SelfMadeHero)
Dead Man Walking: Graphic Edition, by Sister Helen Prejean, adapted by Rose Vines and Catherine Anyango Grünewald (Random House)
Ghost Boys: The Graphic Novel, by Jewell Parker Rhodes and Setor Fiadzigbey (Little, Brown Ink)
Lord of the Flies: The Graphic Novel, by William Golding, adapted by Aimée De Jongh (Penguin Classics)
A Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel, by Ursula K. Le Guin, adapted by Fred Fordham (Clarion Books)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material
Buff Soul, by Moa Romanova, translated by Melissa Bowers (Fantagraphics)
Cornelius: The Merry Life of a Wretched Dog, by Marc Torices, translated by Andrea Rosenberg (Drawn & Quarterly)
In the End We All Die, by Tobias Aeschbacher, translated by Andrew Shields (Helvetiq)
Nocturnos, by Laura Perez, translated by Andrea Rosenberg (Fantagraphics)
Raging Clouds, by Yudori (Fantagraphics)
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, by Anaïs Flogny, translated by Dan Christensen (Abrams ComicArts)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material–Asia
Hirayasumi, vols. 4–7, by Keigo Shinzo, translated by Jan Mitsuko Cash (VIZ Media)
Land, vol. 1, by Kazumi Yamashita, translated by Kevin Gifford (Yen Press)
Purgatory Funeral Cakes, by Sanho, translated by Danny Lim (Dark Horse)
Tokyo Alien Bros., vols. 1–3, by Keigo Shinzo, translated by Casey Loe (VIZ Media)
Yan, vols. 1–2, by Chang Sheng, translated by Vanessa Liu (Titan Manga)
Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips
Arthur Ferrier’s Pin-Up Parade Box Set, edited by Rian Hughes (Korero Press)
Barnaby, vol. 5: 1950–1952, by Crockett Johnson, edited by Eric Reynolds and Philip Nel (Fantagraphics)
The George Herriman Library: Krazy & Ignatz 1928–1930, edited by J. Michael Catron and Bill Blackbeard (Fantagraphics)
Rea Irvin’s The Smythes, edited by R. Kikuo Johnson and Dash Shaw (NYRC)
Terminal Exposure: Comics, Sculpture, and Risky Behavior, by Michael McMillan, edited by Lucas Adams (NYRC)
Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books
AKIRA Volumes 1–5 Hardcover Collection, by Katsuhiro Otomo, edited by Haruko Hashimoto, Ajani Oloye, and Lauren Scanlan (Kodansha USA Publishing)
The Atlas Comics Library No. 7: Girl Comics, edited by Dr. Michael J. Vassallo (Fantagraphics)
Comics of the Movement #1, by Courtland Cox, Jennifer Lawson, Alfred Hassler, and Benton Resnik (Good Trouble Comics)
Hothead Paisan, by Diane DiMassa, organized by Anika Banister (NYRC)
Scream! The Specials 1985–2024, edited by Chiara Mestieri (Rebellion)
Weird Science Vol. 1 XXL, edited by Grant Geissman (TASCHEN)
Best Academic/Scholarly Work
Comic Art in Korea, by John A. Lent (University Press of Mississippi)
Comics of the Anthropocene: Graphic Narrative at the End of Nature, by José Alaniz (University Press of Mississippi)
Graphic Narratives of Resistance, by Jennifer Boum Make and Charly Verstraet (Edinburgh University Press)
Latinx Comics Studies: Critical and Creative Crossings, edited by Fernanda Díaz-Basteris and Maite Urcaregui (Rutgers University Press)
Manga’s First Century: How Creators and Fans Made Japanese Comics, 1905–1989, by Andrea Horbinski (University of California Press)
Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
CANON, by Colin Blanchette and Alex Eklund
Comic Book Creator, edited by Jon B. Cooke (TwoMorrows)
Dummy, edited by John Kelly (The Dummy Corporation)
Shelfdust, edited by Steve Morris, http://www.shelfdust.com
SKTCHD, by David Harper, http://www.sktchd.com
SOLRAD: The Online Literary Magazine for Comics, edited by Daniel Elkin, http://www.solrad.co (Fieldmouse Press)
Best Comics-Related Book
Crumb: A Cartoonist’s Life, by Dan Nadel (Scribner)
Facing Feelings: Inside the World of Raina Telgemeier, by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic)
How Comics Are Made, by Glenn Fleishman (Andrews McMeel)
Making Nonfiction Comics: A Guide to Graphic Narrative, by Eleri Harris and Shay Mirk (Abrams ComicArts)
Only What’s Necessary: Charles M. Schulz and the Art of Peanuts, by Chip Kidd (Abrams ComicArts)
Ooops…I Just Catharted!: Fifty Years of Cathartic Comics, by Rupert Kinnard, edited by William O. Tyler (Stacked Deck Press)
Best Publication Design
The Art of Manga, designed by Tessa Lee (Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco/VIZ Media)
The Essential Peanuts, designed by Shawn Dahl with Chip Kidd (Abrams ComicArts)
Fruits Basket: The Complete Box Set (Collector’s Edition #13), designed by Wendy Chan (Yen Press)
Red Light Properties: Unfinished Business, designed by Dan Goldman (Kinjin Storylab)
The Marvel Art of Michael Allred Slipcase Edition, designed by Kurtis Findlay (Clover Press)
Weird Science Vol. 1 XXL, designed by Anna-Tina Kessler (TASCHEN)
Best Webcomic
The Accidental Undergrad by Christian Giroux (Fieldmouse Press)
Keeping Time by Kody Okamoto (keepingtimecomic.com)
The Legend of Parvaterra by Raúl Arnáiz (WEBTOON)
Sable: A Ghost Story, by Ethan M. Aldridge (sablecomic.com)
Terran Omega: The Ghosts of War, by PJ Holden (pauljholden.com)
Tiger, Tiger by Petra Erika Nordlund (tigertigercomic.com)
Best Digital Comic
DeadAss, by hakei (VIZ Media)
In the Real Dark Night, by Jimmy Gownley (G-Ville Comics)
The Lycan, by Mike Carey, Thomas Jane, David James Kelly, and Diego Yapur (Comixology Originals)
Overwatch 2: Against the Tide, by Brandon Chen and Velinxi (Blizzard Entertainment)
Practical Defense Against Piracy, by Tony Cliff (delilahdirk.com)
The World of Lublu, by Charbak Dipta (The Charbax Store)
Best Writer
Deniz Camp, Absolute Martian Manhunter (DC); Assorted Crisis Events (Image); The Ultimates (Marvel)
Scott Snyder, Absolute Batman, Batman/Deadpool (DC); By a Thread: Book 2 (Comixology Originals), You Won’t Feel a Thing (DSTLRY)
Mariko Tamaki, This Place Kills Me (Abrams Fanfare)
Kelly Thompson, Absolute Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey (DC); Jeff the Land Shark (Marvel)
James Tynion IV, Something Is Killing the Children, Wynd: The Power of the Blood (BOOM! Studios); Let This One Be a Devil, Red Book (Dark Horse); The City Beneath Her Feet (DSTLRY); The Department of Truth, Exquisite Corpses, W0RLDTR33 (Image); Universal Monsters: The Invisible Man (Image Skybound)
Stephanie Williams, Street Sharks (IDW); Roots of Madness (Ignition Press); Temporal (Mad Cave)
Best Writer/Artist
Juni Ba, The Boy Wonder (DC); The Fable of Erkling Woods (Goats Flying Press); Monkey Meat Summer Batch (Image)
Jamal Campbell, Zatanna (DC)
Jesse Lonergan, Drome (23rd St. Books)
Chang Sheng, Yan, vols. 1–2 (Titan Manga)
Linnea Sterte, A Garden of Spheres (Peow2)
Kazumi Yamashita, Land, vol. 1 (Yen Press)
Best Penciller/Inker
Elsa Charetier, The City Beneath Her Feet (DSTLRY)
Sean Phillips, Giant Size Criminal #1, The Knives: A Criminal Book (Image)
Javier Rodriguez, Absolute Martian Manhunter (DC)
Chris Samnee, Batman and Robin: Year One (DC)
Hayden Sherman, Absolute Wonder Woman, Batman: Dark Patterns (DC)
Eric Zawadzki, Assorted Crisis Events (Image)
Best Painter/Multimedia Artist
Teddy Kristiansen, Black Hammer: Spiral City (Dark Horse)
Cathy Malkasian, Shadows of the Sea (Fantagraphics)
Qu, Slices of Life: A Comic Montage (Bulgilhan Press)
Martin Simmonds, The Department of Truth (Image)
Mika Song, Night Chef: An Epic Tale of Friendship with a Side of Deliciousness! (Random House Graphic)
Linnea Sterte, A Garden of Spheres (Peow)
Best Cover Artist
Juni Ba, The Boy Wonder (DC); The Fable of Erkling Woods (Goats Flying Press); TMNT Nightwatcher, TMNT Godzilla (IDW); Monkey Meat Summer Batch (Image)
Nick Dragotta, Absolute Batman, Absolute Batman 2025 Annual, Batman #1, Batman/Deadpool (DC)
Francesco Francavilla, Cyberpunk 2077, Star Wars: Tales from the Nightlands (Dark Horse); Absolute Batman, Absolute Martian Manhunter, Batman: Full Moon, Nightwing variants (DC); Green Hornet/Miss Fury (Dynamite); Star Trek: The Last Starship, Twilight Zone (IDW); Dick Tracy (Mad Cave)
Mateus Manhanini, Absolute Superman, Absolute Wonder Woman, Mr. Terrific: Year One variants (DC); Doctor Strange, Ironheart: Bad Chemistry, Miles Morales: Spider-Man, Phases of the Moon Knight, Star Wars: The High Republic, Storm, The Ultimates (Marvel)
Javier Rodriguez, Absolute Martian Manhunter, Batman & Robin: Year One #7, The New Gods #8 (DC)
Hayden Sherman, Absolute Wonder Woman, Batman: Dark Patterns #3-12 (DC)
Best Coloring
Jordie Bellaire, Absolute Wonder Woman, The Nice House by the Sea (DC); The Exorcism at 1600 Penn (IDW); Assorted Crisis Events, The Department of Truth, Exquisite Corpses, W0RLDTR33 (Image); GI Joe (Image/Skybound); EC Catacomb of Torment, EC Epitaphs from the Abyss (Oni Press)
Ninakupenda Gaillard, Chickenpox (Henry Holt Books for Young Readers)
Jesse Lonergan, Drome (23rd St. Books)
Matheus Lopes, Batman and Robin Year One (DC); The Seasons (Image)
Javier Rodriguez, Absolute Martian Manhunter (DC)
José Villarrubia, This Ink Runs Cold (Alan Spiegel Fine Arts); Ghostbox (Comixology Originals); Dracula Book 2: The Brides, The Witcher: The Bear and the Butterfly (Dark Horse); Hunger (The Lab Press); It Rhymes with Takei (Top Shelf)
Best Lettering
Janice Chiang, Acro and the Cat, All Upon a Time, Beyond the Aural Vault, Republica, Solarblader (Sandstorm); John Carpenter’s Blood of the Taken: Next of Kin, Pause, Tales of Science Fiction (Storm King)
Clayton Cowles, Absolute Batman, Batman, Batman & Robin: Year One, Birds of Prey, Black Canary: Best of the Best, Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman, (DC); Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell #1-3 (Marvel)
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, Ill Vacation, Stillman (Comixology Originals); Absolute Martian Manhunter, Challengers of the Unknown, DC K.O., The Flash, Green Arrow, Poison Ivy (DC); Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, Starship Godzilla, (IDW); Author Immortal (Image); Our-Soot-Stained Heart (Mad Cave)
Nate Piekos, American Caper #1, Archie Vs. Minor Threats, Black Hammer: Spiral City, The Brood, Minor Threats: The Last Devil Left Alive, Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons, The Umbrella Academy Plan B, Welcome to Twilight (Dark Horse); I Hate Fairyland (Image)
Ben Wickey, More Weight: A Salem Story (Top Shelf)
https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/
______________________________________________________________
Bill Finger Award: Jenny Blake Isabella
Russ Manning Award: Stipan Morian
Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award: Books With Pictures in Eugene, Oregon
July 24
I picked up a bunch of back issues this week in several locations. At Comic World, Todd had a new small collection that included Machine Man #1,2, and a couple of older X-Men books (#143, #116). He also gave me a copy of 2001: A Space Odyssey #2 (thanks Todd). At In This Issue, I picked up a bunch of Avengers Vol. 3 and Spectacular Spider-Mans. I picked up I Hate Fairyland Vol. 2 #1-7 off eBay.
Less than one week away from Spider-Man: Brand New Day movie. I will be watching it next Thursday at noon. I can’t wait. Spidey is my absolute favorite fictional character of all time. Very excited.
Comic of the Week
Dog Tag #3
This was another unexpected winner this week. I have enjoyed this Mad Cave book so far, but this week’s issue caught me off guard and I found myself reacting in an emotional way to the story. One scene in particular nearly had me tearing up. I am not sure I can recall a time when a comic book elicited tears from me, so it was unexpected.
Books this Week:
Amazing Spider-Man #33. Written by Joe Kelly with art by Ed McGuinness. Cover A art by Ed McGuinness & Marcio Menyz. I picked up variant cover C by David Nakayama (Bronze Medalist). Legacy number #997 means that the build to #1000 is underway. Spidey teams up with a new band from Damage Control and they take down some of the villains together. Meanwhile, May and her long lost son go for dinner. I sure hope they don’t just make May’s son a villain, but I suspect that is where this is heading.
Spider-Man: Long Way Home #2. Written by Jonathan Hickman and art by Adam Kubert. Cover art was done by Adam Kubert & Arthur Hesli. The pursuit for the Cosmic Cube continued with Spidey, Punisher and the Hulk all after it for their own reasons. This has not been my favorite Spider-Man book out recently. Still, anything with Spidey is down for me.
Uncanny X-Men #32. “Mars Needs Mutants” Part 3. Written by Gail Simone with art by Rogê Antonio, Jim Towe and Federica Mancin. Cover art was done by Luciano Vecchio & Matthew Wilson. The Outliers step up their game and so Rogue and Gambit redub them “The New Mutants” and give them new outfits. However, the promotion does come with some bad news. Gambit and Rogue are leaving the group for awhile to take care of business. If Deathdream cries, we all cry.
Terminal #1. Written by Robert Kirkman & Joe Casey with art by Andy Kubert. I picked up a couple of blind bags celebrating this new series and got a couple of covers from Art Adams. The new series features all new superhero characters in an all-new superhero universe. I thought this was excellent and it gave me thoughts of Strikeforce: Morituri from Marvel.
Flash #35. “The Speed was Power, and the Speed was Joy-Part IV” Written by Ryan North and illustrated by Gavin Guidry. Cover art was done by Gavin Guidry & Adriano Lucas. Wally West was using his new power, flashes of insight, to predict future problems so he could save them before the events happened. I feel as if that has the potential for bad things in the long run, but we’ll see. I have enjoyed Flash since Ryan North took over the writing chores.
Universal Monsters: Blood of the Wolfman #2. Written by Joshua Williamson and art by Leomacs. Cover art was done by Leomacs & Pip Martin. I also picked up variant cover B by Jacob Phillips. There is a classic feel to this book as our main character Adam struggled with a possible transformation into a werewolf when he massacred a whole college party. This has been an excellent book so far, fitting nicely into the Universal Monsters books from Image.
Void Rivals #32. Written by Robert Kirkman with art by Conor Hughes. Cover art was done by Lorenzo De Felica. I have been excited for this book for a month and a half or so with the announcement that Rom is joining the Energon Universe and would make his official debut in this issue. Now, he only shows up at the very end, but I do believe that Rom is a burst of energy into Void Rivals that it has been needing for several issues now. I am looking forward to seeing Rom moving forward.
Sicko #1. Written by Tini Howard and illustrated and cover A art by Amilcar Pinna. Cover B art was done by Juliet Nneka. This is a brand new Ignition Press book featuring a character named Valentine. She has some kind of illness that she seemed to be able to weaponize. Why this is happening is still up in the air, but Valentine is not anxious to help out whomever is chasing her in the hazmat outfits. Ignition Press has had a bunch of winners in 2026 and this feels like another one.
Narco #5. Written by Doug Wagner with art by Daniel Hillyard. Cover art was done by Daniel Hillyard & Dave Stewart. I have loved Narco and this ends the series in a satisfying way. I do think that I wanted more at the end, but that I think comes about because I have enjoyed this book so much.
Wolverine #24. “Master and Monster.” Written by Saladin Ahmed with art by Martin Coccolo. Cover art was done by Dan Panosian. Wolverine’s stolen healing factor is still a major problem as he has to face off with Dr. Murat Mor, who has transformed into a huge, hulking creature. Oh, and Alpha Flight is here remaining as a pain in the butt instead of a help. I have been having a lot of fun with this volume of Wolverine over the last couple of years.
Gambit: Wanted #1. Written by Chris Claremont and art by Robert Gill. Cover A art was done by Leinil Francis Yu & Romulo Fajardo Jr. Cover B cover art(foil) was done by Kris Anka (Gold Medalist) and Cover F (Wanted variant) art was done by Phil Noto. This takes out favorite Cajun back to pre-X-Men days and places him on the streets of New Orleans with the thieves he was leading. I am not sure who (or what) ‘Lil ‘ Ro was supposed to be. Obviously it was some form of Storm, but I do not know where she was or why she was in this kiddie form. Remy LeBeau is an awesome character and I am looking forward to seeing more of him and learning, perhaps, more info on his character that I did not know. Great covers for this issue as well.
X-Men: The Hellfire Murder #1. A who’s who of writers and artists participated in this book. Writers included Saladin Ahmed, Gail Simone, Eric Schultz, Jed MacKay, Eve L. Ewing with artists including Joelle Jones, Luciano Vecchio, Aaron Kuder, Tony S. Daniel, Mark Morales, Federica Mancin, Cory Smith and Dren Junior. Sebastian Shaw is out of prison and hosting the new Hellfire Gala. Little did he know that it would be his last party as Shaw is murdered. But by whom? Wolverine and Jubilee are on the case. This is a fun book, but it felt weird as a murder case, especially since the things that were going on at the Gala. I also picked up a cover by Skottie Young for this book.
Detective Comics #1111. “Flight- Part Five” Written by Tom Taylor and art and cover art by Mikel Janin. The story of Batman, Green Arrow and Black Canary, dealing with the death of their former friend, Prion, and Prion’s brainwashed assassin daughter Arabella.
Something is Killing the Children #49. “All Her Monsters” Part Nine. Written by James Tynion IV and illustrated and cover art by Werther Dell’Edera. We are one issue away from #50 of this series. This brought an end to the Erica as a young girl story that has been running most of this past year.
Bad Thoughts #2. Written by Ande Parks and illustrated and cover art by Dave Wachter. Jack is back from his mission, but things are not good. In fact, things are escalating massively. Everyone is dying around Jack and he is being pursued by the organization. This was a big step up from last issue and led to an amazing story.
Marc Spector: Moon Knight #6. “Midnight Sons” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Devmalya Pramanik. Cover art was done by Paulo Siqueira & Yen Nitro. In an attempt to save his friends, Moon Knight is out to recruit members of the Midnight Sons. This included Clea, Daredevil, Blade, and Robbie Reyes the Ghost Rider.
Tarzan Beyond #2. “Tarzan and the Siege of Paradise.” Written by Steve Orlando and art by Renato Guedes. Cover art is done by Agustin Alessio. Tarzan takes on Blackbeard. And it does not go well. Tarzan also now has to fight his ape father Kerchak. Oh, and his ape mother Kala is here too. Not sure how that is happening, but I am here for it.
Justice League Unlimited #21. “Escape from Powers Planet: Part Two” Written by Mark Waid and art by Dan Mora & Fico Ossio. The League is in search for the Brainiac Queen and Lex Luthor is not being helpful. Secret plans from Red Tornado and Batman are the play of the day.
Excommunicated #3. Written by Jeremy Robinson and art by Tiago Palma. Cover art was done by Flaviano Armentaro. Josephine and her talking dog are heading to face off with a Father who has been possessed by some kind of demon. Excommunicated has been a lot of fun with this series so far and I am anxious to see where the next step goes.
Other Books This Week: Moonstar #5, Marvel Zero #1, Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu #1, Godzilla Conquers the Multiverse #1, Estuary: A Ghost Story #4, Captain Marvel: Dark Past #4, Terrorbytes #8, and American Caper #9.
Quick Hits: We got a brand new Red Shirts book called Star Trek: Red Shirts-Ghost of the 21st Century#1. Interestingly, I was not into this book as most of the Star Trek books have seemingly lost my attention. Hello Darkness #23 had a bunch of great covers this week, including a silver medal for Jenny Frison. Odin #3 continues to be a weird and wild book. Gotta pay attention to it otherwise you are lost. Final Boss #8 is setting up something that feels new for the book. We’ll have to see where it goes. Bloodland #5 focuses in on the President more this issue than previously. Corpse Knight #4 saw Foy and her father finally make it to Joan D’Arc and it does not go quite the way she expected. I picked up a blind bag for the 300th issue of TMNT, which was also called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #20. I used to buy the series, but left it at the same time as Jason Aaron did. I got a nice virgin cover by Laird & Eastman in my blind bag. Speaking of blind bags, I picked up the Boys Premium Mystery Variant Blind Bag, which included three issues of separate limited-edition variants of some of the key issues of the series with unique variant covers. Absolute Wonder Woman #22 was released this week too as Diana finishes up her trip to the Underworld. Another Absolute book out this week was Absolute Superman #21, which saw the end of the Superman/Absolute Shazam match up. The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery #6 wraps up the Vertigo series with Ezra taking care of business. It looked like there will be another Ezra Cain book coming up later on. Three issue number fives brought their series to a close this week with Wonder Man #5, Imperial Guardians #5 and A Quiet Place: Storm Warning #5. Imperial Guardians was my favorite of those three and I will miss that book, but it was clear they needed Carol Danvers back on earth for what was going to be happening in Marvel soon. Finally, the next issue of Hidden Spring #3 sees our old folks trying to get the alien to its parent.
#75
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Released: July 2023
Runtime: 1 hour 39 minutes
Rating: PG
Animation Style: highly stylized, “2.5D” CG animation technique
Studio: Mikros/Paramount
It seemed that we finally got the Turtles in a full animated feature and, though I hated the trailers leading up to this, it turned out awesome.
Voice cast: Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, Brady Noon, Ayo Edebiri, Maya Rudolph, John Cena, Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Natasia Demetriou, Giancarlo Esposito, Jackie Chan, Ice Cube and Paul Rudd
San Diego Comic Con for 2026 kicked off today with a series of events and news items. Here are some of the highlights from day one. I am not in attendance at SDCC so I will require the help of the internet and the wonderful websites for the news.
Hall H had peeks at upcoming series including:
Marvel’s Wolverine PS5 story trailer
Marvel Costumes- Latverian Witch
This costume reportedly caused quite a stir as it was included in the Avengers: Doomsday costumes. Many believed this was a thinly veiled hint toward the Scarlet Witch in Doomsday. Apparently, the costume switched from a green on to an orange one over night.
Avengers: Doomsday costumes display
Marvel.com
Marvel Comics
Iron Man– from marvel.com: “The journey to our epic IRON MAN #700 anniversary issue is so big that we had to split the book into two and double ship it,” continues [Joshua] Williamson. “Our amazing series artist Carmen Carnero will handle the even-numbered issues where Tony Stark is in prison. While the odd-numbered issues are taken over by the ‘War Machines.’ James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes puts together a new team of Armored Warriors to help take down Madame Masque, Adam Ware, and the new A.I.M. while Tony is locked up. For those issues we’re joined by my old partner in crime, Gleb Melnikov! I feel lucky to have two amazing artists on my team during this action-packed story!”
Avengers#1– Chip Zdarsky’s book that will follow the new team of Avengers that had been announced earlier this year.
Maximum X-Men #1– Storm steps up and recruits a new team of X-Men to replace the Avengers team that broke apart from the events of Avengers Armageddon. Strange that Wolverine is on both the new Avengers line-up and Storm’s new maximum X-Men.
Maximum X-Men will include a roster of Wolverine, Colossus, Bishop, Iceman, Psylocke, Firestar, and Justice!
Avengers will include Captain Marvel, Daredevil, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Wolverine and another character that has yet to be revealed.
Johnny Depp appears at SDCC as Scrooge! Promoting his new movie Ebenezer, out this fall, Johnny Depp appeared at SDCC and caused some chaos.
I have been a big proponent of filming stage plays and releasing them as movies, like they did with Hamilton and Good Night and Good Luck: Live from Broadway. I believe this would be such an awesome thing, allowing those who may not have easy access to Broadway plays and the such to see the magic of a stage presentation, not just a movie with the story adapted into a movie script.
So when I saw that there would be a Tony Award winner was doing this, I wanted to make sure that I made my way to the theater to see it, even though it was a play that I had never heard of before.
Hadestown: The Musical was filmed in London and tells an updated story about the classic Greek myth with Orpheus and Eurydice. It kind of mixed that story in with the Hades and Persephone myth as well. and it is placed within the present day.
I did not recognize any of the actors involved, but they were spectacular, as was the overall presentation of the show. I loved the way they presented this story. The circular moving stage, much like they had in Hamilton, was such a fabulous tool to tell this story, especially when Orpheus was walking out of Hades, unsure if Eurydice was behind him. I heard some people in my theater gasp when Orpheus turned around.
The music is amazing. I had never heard any of the songs from this musical, but the music was fabulous.
The performances that stood out the most were André De Shields, who played Hermes and heavily a narrator of the film, and Patrick Page who played Hades. Patrick Page’s voice was absolutely tremendous as the God of the Underworld. Most of the time he would speak through the songs and it worked so well for him. He was amazing in this role. In fact, he was wearing a boot during the show and I came to find out that he had ruptured his Achilles tendon before the filming. He was able to do his performance with the boot and, apparently, a few adjustments. That speaks a lot to Patrick Page’s dedication to the show.
Reeve Carney was Orpheus and Eva Noblezada was Eurydice. Amber Grey played Persephone. They were all great. Nobody had a bad performance.
I had goosebumps after the opening number and some tears running down my face at the finale. It was able to present a classic tale in an emotional, powerhouse film.
I want more like this.
4.5 stars
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 