EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week

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Week of July 22

This week was a giant week of books, so there are a lot of choices for the best cover this week. Once again, there are two variant covers in the final three. One of which Todd selected for me and one that I beat him to.

Bronze Medalist

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1

40th Anniversary Variant

Cover art by Eric Talbot

The brand new TMNT book was one that I picked off the stand and I had a choice of three different covers. This was labeled as the 40th Anniversary Variant with Raphael inside a red spotlight. This cover is so bad ass and it went very well with this excellent story.

Silver Medalist

The Nice House By the Sea #1

Cover art by Nick Robles and Hayden Sherman

Another book that I pulled off the stand. This book from DC’s Black Label is a sequel to another Tynion book called The Nice House on the Lake and the cover with the burning building in the background with this person in front with a skull creates a powerfully tense tone for this book.

Gold Medalist

Feral #5

Variant cover

Cover art by Trish Forstner & Tony Fleecs

This is the variant Todd chose for me and it is exceptional. The way the cover makes these animals look so… feral… with the freaky shadows that make it look like a forest is beautiful. The bright sun in the background is a great contrast.

2024 Eisner Awards- at SDCC

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Here are the nominations for this year’s Eisner Awards. The Eisner Awards are presented at San Diego Comic Con on Friday, July 26.

BEST SHORT STORY

“Friendship Is Forever,” by Sam Maggs and Keisha Okafor, in My Little Pony 40th Celebration (IDW)

“The Kelpie,” by Becky Cloonan, in Four Gathered on Christmas Eve (Dark Horse)

“The Lady of the Lake,” by Joe S. Farrar and Guilherme Grandizolli, in BUMP: A Horror Anthology #3 (BUMP)

“Talking to a Hill,” by Larry Hancock and Michael Cherkas, in Comics for Ukraine (Zoop)

“World’s Finest, Part 1,” by Tom King and Belen Ortega, in Wonder Woman #3 (DC)

BEST SINGLE ISSUE/ONE-SHOT

Horologist, by Jared Lee and Cross (Grim Film)

Nightwing #105, by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo (DC)

Star Trek: Day of Blood—Shax’s Best Day, by Ryan North and Derek Charm (IDW)

Superman 2023 Annual, by Joshua Williamson and others (DC)

Sweet Paprika: Black, White, & Pink, by Mirka Andolfo and others (Image)

BEST CONTINUING SERIES

Birds of Prey, by Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Basto Romero (DC)

Nightwing, by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo (DC Comics)

Shazam! by Mark Waid and Dan Mora (DC)

Transformers, by Daniel Warren Johnson (Image Skybound)

Wonder Woman, by Tom King and Daniel Sampere (DC)

BEST LIMITED SERIES

The Cull, by Kelly Thompson and Mattia De Iulis (Image)

Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons, by Frank Tieri and Inaki Miranda (IDW)

Kill Your Darlings, by Ethan S. Parker, Griffin Sheridan, and Robert Quinn (Image)

PeePee PooPoo, by Caroline Cash (Silver Sprocket)

Superman: Lost, by Christopher Priest and Carlo Pagulayan (DC)

BEST NEW SERIES

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, by Patrick Horvath (IDW)

Black Cloak, by Kelly Thompson and Meredith McClaren (Image)

Local Man, by Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs (Image)

Phantom Road, by Jeff Lemire and Gabriel Hernández Walta (Image)

Somna: A Bedtime Story, by Becky Cloonan and Tula Lotay (DSTLRY)

BEST PUBLICATION FOR EARLY READERS

Bigfoot and Nessie: The Art of Getting Noticed, by Chelsea M. Campbell and Laura Knetzger (Penguin Workshop/Penguin Random House)

Burt the Beetle Lives Here! by Ashley Spires (Kids Can Press)

Go-Go Guys, by Rowboat Watkins (Chronicle Books)

The Light Inside, by Dan Misdea (Penguin Workshop/Penguin Random House)

Milk and Mocha: Our Little Happiness, by Melani Sie (Andrews McMeel)

Tacos Today: El Toro & Friends, by Raúl the Third (HarperCollins/Versify)

BEST PUBLICATION FOR KIDS

Buzzing, by Samuel Sattin and Rye Hickman (Little, Brown Ink)

Mabuhay!, by Zachary Sterling (Scholastic Graphix)

Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir, by Pedro Martín (Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Young Readers)

Missing You, by Phellip Willian and Melissa Garabeli. translation by Fabio Ramos (Oni Press)

Saving Sunshine, by Saadia Faruqi and Shazleen Khan (First Second/Macmillan)

BEST PUBLICATION FOR TEENS

Blackward, by Lawrence Lindell (Drawn & Quarterly)

Danger and Other Unknown Risks, by Ryan North and Erica Henderson (Penguin Workshop/Penguin Random House)

Frontera, by Julio Anta and Jacoby Salcedo (HarperAlley)

Lights, by Brenna Thummler (Oni Press)

Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story, by Sarah Myer (First Second/Macmillan)

My Girlfriend’s Child, vol. 1, by Mamoru Aoi, translation by Hana Allen (Seven Seas)

BEST HUMOR PUBLICATION

How to Love: A Guide to Feelings & Relationships for Everyone, by Alex Norris (Candlewick/Walker Books)

I Was a Teenage Michael Jackson Impersonator, and Other Musical Meanderings, by Keith Knight (Keith Knight Press)

It’s Jeff: The Jeff-Verse #1, by Kelly Thompson and Gurihiru (Marvel)

Macanudo: Optimism Is for the Brave, by Liniers (Fantagraphics)

The Yakuza’s Bias, by Teki Yatsuda. translation by Max Greenway (Kodansha)

BEST ANTHOLOGY

Comics for Ukraine, edited by Scott Dunbier (Zoop)

Deep Cuts, by Kyle Higgins, Joe Clark, Danilo Beyruth, and others (Image)

The Devil’s Cut, edited by Will Dennis (DSTLRY)

Marvel Age #1000, edited by Tom Brevoort (Marvel)

The Out Side: Trans & Nonbinary Comics, edited by The Kao, Min Christensen, and David Daneman (Andrews McMeel)

Swan Songs by W. Maxwell Prince and others (Image)

BEST REALITY-BASED WORK

Are You Willing to Die for the Cause? by Chris Oliveros (Drawn & Quarterly)

Last on His Feet: Jack Johnson and the Battle of the Century, by Adrian Matejka and Youssef Daoudi (Liveright)

Messenger: The Legend of Muhammad Ali, by Marc Bernardin and Ron Salas (First Second/Macmillan)

Thing: Inside the Struggle for Animal Personhood, by Samuel Machado and Cynthia Sousa Machado with Steven M. Wise (Island Press)

Three Rocks: The Story of Ernie Bushmiller: The Man Who Created Nancy, by Bill Griffith (Abrams ComicArts)

BEST GRAPHIC MEMOIR

Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam, by Thien Pham (First Second/Macmillan)

A First Time for Everything, by Dan Santat (First Second/Macmillan)

In Limbo, by Deb JJ Lee (First Second/Macmillan)

Memento Mori, by Tiitu Takalo, translation by Maria Schroderus (Oni Press)

Sunshine: How One Camp Taught Me About Life, Death, and Hope, by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Scholastic Graphix)

The Talk, by Darrin Bell (Henry Holt)

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM—NEW

Ashes, by Álvaro Ortiz, translation by Eva Ibarzabal (Top Shelf/IDW)

Eden II, by K. Wroten (Fantagraphics)

A Guest in the House, by Emily Carroll (First Second/Macmillan)

Parasocial, by Alex De Campi and Erica Henderson (Image)

Roaming, by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki (Drawn & Quarterly)

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM—REPRINT

Doctor Strange: Fall Sunrise Treasury Edition, by Tradd Moore (Marvel)

The Good Asian, by Pornsak Pichetshote and Alexandre Tefenkgi (Image)

Hip Hop Family Tree: The Omnibus, by Ed Piskor (Fantagraphics)

Orange Complete Series Box Set, by Ichigo Takano, translation by Amber Tamosaitis (Seven Seas)

Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons, by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Phil Jimenez, Gene Ha, and Nicola Scott (DC)

BEST ADAPTATION FROM ANOTHER MEDIUM

Bea Wolf, adapted by Zach Weinersmith and Boulet (First Second/Macmillan)

#DRCL midnight children, vol. 1, based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, by Shin’ichi Sakamoto, translation by Caleb Cook (VIZ Media)

H.P. Lovecraft’s The Shadow over Innsmouth, adapted by Gou Tanabe, translation by Zack Davisson (Dark Horse Manga)

The Monkey King: The Complete Odyssey, adapted by Chaiko, translation by Dan Christensen (Magnetic)

Watership Down, by Richard Adams, adapted by James Sturm and Joe Sutphin (Ten Speed Graphic)

BEST U.S. EDITION OF INTERNATIONAL MATERIAL

Ashes, by Álvaro Ortiz, translation by Eva Ibarzabal (Top Shelf/IDW)

Blacksad, Vol 7: They All Fall Down, Part 2, by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido, translation by Diana Schutz and Brandon Kander (Europe Comics)

A Boy Named Rose, by Gaëlle Geniller, translation by Fabrice Sapolsky (Fairsquare Comics)

The Great Beyond, by Léa Murawiec, translation by Aleshia Jensen (Drawn & Quarterly)

Shubeik Lubeik, by Deena Mohamed (Pantheon Books/Penguin Random House)

Spa, by Erik Svetoft, translation by Melissa Bowers (Fantagraphics)

BEST U.S. EDITION OF INTERNATIONAL MATERIAL—ASIA

#DRCL midnight children, vol. 1, based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, by Shin’ichi Sakamoto, translation by Caleb Cook (VIZ Media)

Goodbye, Eri, by Tatsuki Fujimoto, translation by Amanda Haley (VIZ Media)

The Horizon, vol. 1, by JH, translation by ULTRAMEDIA Co. Ltd. (Yen/Ize Press)

My Picture Diary, by Fujiwara Maki, translation by Ryan Holmberg (Drawn & Quarterly)

River’s Edge, by Kyoko Okazaki, translation by Alexa Frank (Kodansha)

The Summer Hikaru Died, vol. 1, by Mokumokuren, translation by Ajani Oloye (Yen Press)

BEST ARCHIVAL COLLECTION/PROJECT—STRIPS

Dauntless Dames: High-Heeled Heroes of the Comic Strips, edited by Peter Maresca and Trina Robbins (Sunday Press/Fantagraphics)

David Wright’s Carol Day: Lance Hallam, edited by Roger Clark, Chris Killackey, and Guy Mills (Slingsby Bros, Ink!)

Popeye Sundays Vol 3: The Sea Hag and Alice the Goon, by E.C. Segar, edited by Conrad Groth and Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)

Walt Disney’s Silly Symphonies 1932-1935: Starring Bucky Bug and Donald Duck and Walt Disney’s Silly Symphonies 1935-1939: Starring Donald Duck and Big Bad Wolf, edited by David Gerstein (Fantagraphics)

Where I’m Coming From, by Barbara Brandon-Croft, edited by Peggy Burns and Tracy Hurren (Drawn & Quarterly)

BEST ARCHIVAL COLLECTION/PROJECT—COMIC BOOKS

Adventures Into Terror: The Atlas Comics Library, vol. 1, edited by Michael J. Vassallo (Fantagraphics)

All-Negro Comics 75th Anniversary Edition, edited by Chris Robinson (Very GOOD Books)

The Ballad of Halo Jones Full Colour Omnibus, by Alan Moore and Ian Gibson, edited by Olivia Hicks (2000AD/Rebellion)

The John Severin Westerns Featuring American Eagle, edited by Michael Dean (Fantagraphics)

Michael Golden’s Marvel Stories Artist’s Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)

BEST WRITER

Stephen Graham Jones, Earthdivers (IDW)

Mariko Tamaki, Roaming (Drawn & Quarterly)

Tom Taylor, Nightwing, Titans (DC)

Kelly Thompson, Birds of Prey, Harley Quinn, Black White and Redder (DC); Black Cloak, The Cull (Image); It’s Jeff, Captain Marvel (Marvel)

Mark Waid, Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, Shazam!, World’s Finest: Teen Titans (DC)

G. Willow Wilson, Poison Ivy (DC); Hunger and the Dusk (IDW)

BEST WRITER/ARTIST

Emily Carroll, A Guest in the House (First Second/Macmillan)

Bill Griffith, Three Rocks (Abrams ComicArts)

Daniel Warren Johnson, Transformers (Image Skybound)

Mokumokuren, The Summer Hikaru Died, vol. 1 (Yen Press)

Zoe Thorogood, Hack/Slash: Back To School (Image)

Tillie Walden, Clementine Book Two (Image Skybound)

BEST PENCILLER/INKER OR PENCILLER/INKER TEAM

Jason Shawn Alexander, Detective Comics (DC); Killadelphia, with Germán Erramouspe (Image)

Tula Lotay, Barnstormers: A Ballad of Love and Murder (Comixology Originals/Best Jackett)

Inaki Miranda, Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons (IDW)

Dan Mora, Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, Shazam! (DC)

Chris Samnee, Fire Power (Image Skybound)

Jillian Tamaki, Roaming (Drawn & Quarterly)

BEST PAINTER/MULTIMEDIA ARTIST (INTERIOR ART)

Jason Shawn Alexander, Blacula: Return of the King (Zombie Love Studios)

Chaiko, The Monkey King (Magnetic)

Juanjo Guarnido, Blacksad, Vol 7: They All Fall Down, Part 2 (Europe Comics)

Liam Sharp, Nocterra: Nemesis Special (Best Jackett); Starhenge: The Dragon and the Boar (Image)

Martin Simmonds, Universal Monsters: Dracula (Image Skybound)

Sana Takeda, The Night Eaters: Her Little Reapers (Abrams ComicArts); Monstress (Image)

BEST COVER ARTIST

Jen Bartel, DC Pride 2023, Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville #1 (DC); Captain Marvel: Dark Tempest #1, Demon Wars: Scarlet Sin #1, Scarlet Witch #9, Sensational She-Hulk (Marvel)

Evan Cagle, Detective Comics (DC)

Jenny Frison, Alice Never After #1, BRZRKR: Fallen Empire #1, and other alternate covers (BOOM! Studios); Knight Terrors: Harley Quinn #1–2, Poison Ivy #8, #12 (DC)

E. M. Gist, Expanse Dragon Tooth #1, Something Is Killing the Children #28 & #34, Wild’s End, vol 2 #4 and other alternate covers (BOOM! Studios); Amazing Spider-Man #23, Doctor Aphra #36, Moon Knight #3, Nightcrawlers #1, Wolverine #38 (Marvel)

Peach Momoko, Demon Wars: Scarlet Sin, various alternate covers (Marvel)

Dan Mora, Coda #3, Damn Them All #4, MMPR 30th Anniversary Special #1, Rare Flavours #3 and other alternate covers (BOOM! Studios); Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, Outsiders #1, Poison Ivy #9, Shazam!, Titans #1 (DC)

BEST COLORING

Jordie Bellaire, Batman, Birds of Prey (DC); Dark Spaces: Hollywood Special (IDW)

Matt Hollingsworth, Captain America, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, Punisher (Marvel)

Lee Loughridge, Red Zone (AWA); Edgeworld, Grammaton Punch, Nostalgia (Comixology Originals); The Devil’s Cut, Gone, Somna (DSTLRY); Star Trek (IDW); Killadelphia (Image); Hunt. Kill. Repeat. (Mad Cave)

Dave McCaig, The Sacrificers (Image), The Walking Dead Deluxe (Image Skybound)

Dean White, Conan the Barbarian (Titan Comics)

BEST LETTERING

Emily Carroll, A Guest in the House (First Second/Macmillan)

Benoit Dahan and Lauren Bowes, Inside the Mind of Sherlock Holmes (Titan Comics)

Bill Griffith, Three Rocks (Abrams ComicArts)

Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, The Unlikely Story of Felix and Macabber, The Witcher: Wild Animals, and others (Dark Horse); Batman: City of Madness, The Flash, Poison Ivy, and others (DC); Black Cat Social Club (Humanoids); Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees (IDW); The Cull, What’s the Furthest Place from Here? (Image); and others

Richard Starkings, Barnstormers: A Ballad of Love and Murder, Canary (Comixology Originals/Best Jackett); Parliament of Rooks (Comixology); Astro City, Battle Chasers (Image); Conan the Barbarian (Titan Comics)

Rus Wooton, Monstress, The Sacrificers (Image); Fire Power, Kroma, Transformers, The Walking Dead Deluxe, Universal Monsters: Dracula, Void Rivals (Image Skybound); Hunt. Kill. Repeat., A Legacy of Violence, Nature’s Labyrinth (Mad Cave)

BEST COMICS-RELATED PERIODICAL/JOURNALISM

The Comics Journal #309; edited by Gary Groth, Kristy Valenti, and Austin English (Fantagraphics)

“The Indirect Market,” by Brandon Schatz and Danica LeBlanc, comicsbeat.com

Rob Salkowitz, for Forbes, ICv2.com, Publishers Weekly

SKTCHD, by David Harper, http://www.sktchd.com

SOLRAD: The Online Literary Magazine for Comics, http://www.solrad.co (Fieldmouse Press)

BEST COMICS-RELATED BOOK

Bryan Talbot: Father of the British Graphic Novel, by J. D. Harlock and Bryan Talbot (Brainstorm Studios)

Confabulation: An Anecdotal Autobiography, by Dave Gibbons (Dark Horse)

Flamed Out: The Underground Adventures and Comix Genius of Willy Murphy, by Nicki Michaels, Ted Richards, and Mark Burstein (Fantagraphics)

I Am the Law: How Judge Dredd Predicted Our Future, by Michael Molcher (Rebellion)

The Pacific Comics Companion, by Stephan Friedt and Jon B. Cooke (TwoMorrows)

Thalamus: The Art of Dave McKean (Dark Horse)

BEST ACADEMIC/SCHOLARLY WORK

Asian Political Cartoons, by John A. Lent (University Press of Mississippi)

The Claremont Run: Subverting Gender in the X- Men, by J. Andrew Deman (University of Texas Press)

Desegregating Comics: Debating Blackness in the Golden Age of American Comics, edited by Qiana Whitted (Rutgers University Press)

If Shehrazad Drew: Critical Writings on Arab Comics, by George Khoury-Jad (Sawaf Center for Arab Comics Studies and American University of Beirut Press)

In Visible Archives: Queer and Feminist Visual Culture in the 1980s, by Margaret Galvan (University of Minnesota Press)

Super Bodies: Comic Book Illustration, Artistic Styles, and Narrative Impact, by Jeffrey A. Brown (University of Texas Press)

BEST PUBLICATION DESIGN

Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein boxed set, designed by Mike Kennedy (Magnetic)

Gratuitous Ninja, by Ronald Wimberly, designed by Chloe Scheffe (Beehive Books)

Inside the Mind of Sherlock Holmes, designed by Benoit Dahan andDonna Askem (Titan Comics) 

Iron Maiden: Piece of Mind, designed by Josh Bernstein and Rob Schwager (Z2)

Toilet-bound Hanako-kun First Stall Box Set, designed by Wendy Chan (Yen Press)

BEST WEBCOMIC 

Asturias: The Origin of a Flag, by Javi de Castro, https://www.javidecastro.com/asturias-the-origin-of-a-flag

Daughter of a Thousand Faces, by Vel (Velinxi), https://tapas.io/series/daughter-of-a-thousand-faces/info (Tapas)

Lore Olympus, by Rachel Smythe, https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/lore-olympus/s3-episode-226/viewer?title_no=1320&episode_no=231 (WEBTOON)

Matchmaker, vol. 6, by Cam Marshall at https://matchmakercomic.com/. (Silver Sprocket)

3rd Voice, by Evan Dahm, https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/3rd-voice/list?title_no=828919 (WEBTOON)

Unfamiliar, by Haley Newsome: https://tapas.io/series/unfamiliar/info (Tapas)

BEST DIGITAL COMIC

Blacksad, Vol 7: They All Fall Down, Part 2. by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido, translation by Diana Schutz and Brandon Kander (Europe Comics)

Friday, by Ed Brubaker and Marcos Martin, vols. 7–8 (Panel Syndicate)

Parliament of Rooks, by Abigail Jill Harding (Comixology Originals)

Practical Defense Against Piracy, by Tony Cliff (delilahdirk.com)

A Witch’s Guide to Burning, by Aminder Dhaliwal (Instagram.com/aminder_d)

Oddity

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A new horror/suspense film opened this past week, and I wanted to make sure that I had a chance to see it. I was hoping to see it on Thursday before Deadpool & Wolverine, but there was only one showing for Oddity on that day and it would overlap with D&W.

That meant that I made time today to go see the film.

According to IMDB, “A psychic medium attempts to uncover the truth behind her sister’s murder at the site of the crime.” There is not much for the synapsis here, but it is generally what happened.

This was a new version of a haunted house type story and it was very successful in creating a creepy feel.

I did have some trouble following the story at first as there were a lot of details that were difficult to grasp, but as it moved along, things got much clearer and helped with the enjoyment of the film.

Carolyn Bracken did a nice job as both of the sisters in the movie, Darcy and Dani. She provided the spooky tone to both characters and kept the tragic aspects of the film for the audience to see. There were plenty of other frightening characters involved including ones played by Tadhg Murphy, Johnny French and Steve Wall.

Gwilym Lee played Ted, the husband of the murdered sister, Dani, and he did an excellent job as well.

The film was amazing with the sound design and music cues. These helped manage that mood and kept the audience on edge as the film progressed.

Overall, I thought this was pretty decent, though I did have some initial problems with it. I did like the manner in which the film wrapped itself up. This is an unexpected gem in the horror genre, directed by  Damian McCarthy.

3.75 stars

The Greatest American Hero S1 E3

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Spoilers

“Here’s Looking at You, Kid”

Perhaps the title of this episode should have been “Here’s Looking Through You, Kid” instead because Ralph discovered a new power of the suit, invisibility. And, of course, he struggled controlling it.

Maxwell had Ralph trying to do telekinesis when Ralph disappeared. They then spent the rest of the episode with Ralph fading in and out of visual in the most inopportune times.

The Greatest American Hero’s strength as a show is the comedic moments between Ralph and Bill and this episode was very solid, from the fading in and out, to Ralph taking a bus so he did not have to fly. William Katt and Robert Culp really work as a wonderful team together.

There is a case that Bill is working on, but it is truly unimportant. It just provided Ralph and bill with bad guys to fight while the suit causes troubles.

We meet Pam’s parents in from Minnesota for the episode. June Lockhart was Pam’s mother and Bob Hastings was her father.

It was a fun episode that took a different power of the suit to mess around with.

The X-Files S6 E4, E5

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Spoilers

“Dreamland, Part 1 and Part 2”

I recently spoke about the X-Files having episodes that are taking premises from movies such as “The Thing,” or “Speed” to fit them into the X-Files. This two-part episode takes the “Freaky Friday” premise and made it into the X-Files world.

Body swap films and shows were big at the time and it is understandable that the X-Files would go ahead and put their own stamp on it.

I love Michael McKeon. I have loved him as far back as Lenny from Laverne and Shirley, and then as David St. Hubbins from This is Spinal Tap. Seeing him as Man in Black, Morris Fletcher, was great and McKeon was awesome through the whole two episodes playing the new version of Mulder.

Seeing both Morris and Mulder in situations they were unfamiliar with brought some really good comedic moments. I enjoyed the Duck Soup-type mirror bit with Mulder and his reflection of Morris.

I saw some negative responses to these episodes and I did not agree with it. I found this to be a fun look at the idea of body swap and a new way to look at the Men in Black. Seeing how Morris responded to being Mulder was interesting, and Scully’s confusion was fun. I can understand that some may have wanted the main overall aliens story to continue instead of another funny episode. I love the funny episodes of the X-Files, as many of them are my absolutely favorite ones from the show.

I do think this could have probably been one episode instead of two as part of the second episode did feel stretched out. And some of the resolution of the story felt off. Even if the end of the episode with Mulder opening his apartment door to see of it was because of the furniture that Morris had bought. I guess this did not snap back in time as other things seemed to. That end plot hole was a little messy.

Otherwise, I enjoyed Dreamland.

Twisters

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I was not a fan of the original Twister film with Helen Hunt. I had only watched it once so I decided to give it another viewing about a month ago and I found out that I still did not like the film. So continuing the series with a new Twisters felt unneeded for me.

So imagine my surprise, I thought Twisters was way better than that original film and it was a film that I really liked.

According to IMDB, “As storm season intensifies, the paths of former storm chaser Kate Cooper, lured back to the open plains after a devastating encounter years prior, and reckless social-media superstar Tyler Owens collide when terrifying phenomena never seen before are unleashed. The pair and their competing teams find themselves squarely in the paths of multiple storm systems converging over central Oklahoma in the fight of their lives.“

Why does this work more for me than the original. Fact is there is not too much different between these two stories. The actors are all decent in those roles.

I think part of reason is that I felt more for these new characters, especially Kate Cooper, played by Daisy Edgar-Jones, who I really liked. She had a truly tragic past that I felt that they used during the film. I do think they could have gone into more of this tragedy than they did, but I felt like Kate was a deeper character than anyone from that first Twister movie.

Glen Powell continues his run as a huge star in movies today. I liked this character a lot too though he felt more like Glen Powell playing himself than anything else. I liked the relationship between Powell and Edgar-Jones and I thought the movie did a good job of taking it slowly between them.

The action in the film was solid and the tornados looked great. The tension of the situation was well built and the anxiety of seeing individuals being pulled away into the tornado was always effective.

It is not a perfect film by any stretch. There are holes in the story and some weaknesses in the characters, but none of them were major issues for me. This was a fun, summer movie watch with some good action, some exciting special effects and a couple intriguing characters. I like this more than I expected to.

3.8 stars

Battlestar Galactica S2 E3

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Spoilers

“Fragged”

Adama is still in bad shape, and they had to go back in for more surgery. I liked this since they now have an actual doctor working on him. The emergency surgery performed last episode was not done by a full-fledged doctor. Now that Dr. Butch is there, he should be able to help.

The drama on Kobol was off the charts this episode. I do not know why Crashdown was such a jerk about everything, completely unwilling to listen to anyone else. I understand that it is a military concept of following orders, but this was anything but a typical setting.

I also wondered why Baltar’s comment about being the Vice-President did not carry more weight than it seemed to carry.

Tigh is struggling with the command of Galactica and takes some big swings at the end. Dissolving the Quorum of Twelve because of their demands and insistence for President Roslin’s release and then declaring martial law to the reporters… whoa, that does not seem to be good choices. I am curious how far Adama would have taken the same situation. Tigh is still sneaking those swigs of alcohol as well.

Richard hatch was back, but he felt fairly minor here. President Roslin admitted to her breast cancer in front of the pre-dissolved Quorum of Twelve, who seemed to buy into her as the religious leader to take them to earth.

No sign of Starbuck. I wonder how she is meant to return to Galactica?

Polkamania

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Whatcha gonna do, when Weird Al polkas all over you!!!!

Yes, EYG Hall of Famer Weird Al Yankovic is back with a brand new polka! The last time we had any recording by his weirdness was The Hamilton Polka in 2018. Al is back with his own level of insanity with some great songs in a polka medley.

I always wonder if I am going to know any of the songs in a polka medley since I am not as knowledgeable with recent pop hits, but there were a few here that I recognized.

Today is the 10 year anniversary of the last studio album Al released, “Mandatory Fun” and this polka celebrates that while blending together songs from the last several years into that new polka medley.

Wikipedia already had a full listing of the tracks inside Polkamania. Here they are:

  • “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish
  • “Hello” by Adele
  • “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus
  • “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” by Lin-Manuel Miranda
  • “Vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo
  • “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X
  • “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi feat. Daddy Yankee
  • “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran
  • “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars
  • “WAP” by Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion
  • “Thank U, Next” by Ariana Grande
  • “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift
  • “Ear Booker Polka” by “Weird Al” Yankovic

All I can say is…. I want more!!!!

Cobra Kai S6 Part 1

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Spoilers

The final season of Cobra Kai, a series that started on YouTube Red (remember that?) before moving to Netflix, dropped five episodes today completing the first part of the final season. I binged them through the afternoon today. Honestly, Cobra Kai has no right to be as good as it is. However, there were a couple of things that made me uncertain about where they were heading.

The show felt like it was really struggling to inject conflict among the kids despite the fact that everyone came together at the end of the fifth season. It did not always work.

John Kreese continued to be a cruel villain, as he worked to get himself back into a position to assume his role as main antagonist. The flashbacks of Kreese were tough to watch at times, but they all made a lot of sense for this character.

The mystery of Mr. Miyagi’s background is iffy too. I hope this turns out to be more than what it feels like because the initial reveal is questionable. I understand the conflict that it creates in Daniel with the questions about his mentor’s past, but I hope it becomes more than just some minor thing.

I hated what the show did to Kenny. It was played for some humor, but it was not funny and I was mad toward the others in the dojo and their reaction to him.

Having said all that, there was little better than that reveal of Kreese at Sekai Taikai at the very end of episode five. That was awesome.

Overall, I enjoyed more things about this season than I had nitpicks about it. It does feel like the second part of this finale could be sensational.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #107

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July 18, 2024

The summer is flying along. I have just about a month to go before I return to school for the next group of kids and I can no longer spend NEW COMIC BOOK DAY at Comic World sitting at the back table and reading my new books. I do love being able to spend the afternoon with the cool people at Comic World and getting time to read the new books out. I will miss it when I am back at school.

Until then, though, welcome to EYG Comic Cavalcade #107. Every year, I look at the list of Eisner nominated graphic novels and I purchase several of them to see what they were like. Most of them are books that I do not see during the year, but I look forward to reading after. I have several ordered via Prime Day on Amazon and I expect them to arrive any day. One of the nominated graphic novels was called Parasocial by Alex de Campi and Erica Henderson. It was a really powerful read and I would recommend it to anyone.

New books this week:

The Change. Script by Whoopi Goldberg and Jaime Paglia with art by Sunkanmi Akinboye. Khary Randolph did the cover art. I saw this graphic novel promoted on The View by Whoopi Goldberg and I was curious. It is about a woman going through menopause who developed super powers. It may not necessarily be a story that I could relate to, but it was an interesting read. It was definitely left on a cliffhanger so we’ll see if it ever continues.

Napalm Lullaby #5. Written by Rick Remender and art and cover art by Bengal. This was the first time this series hooked me more than just a bit. This spent a good deal of the issue diving into the background of what was going on in this world with Sarah and Sam’s mother and her plans moving forward. It has always looked great.

Namor #1. “Prince of the Blood” Written by Jason Aaron and art by Paul Davidson and Alex Lins. Variant cover art by Alex Maleev (Gold Medalist). I have always enjoyed the character of Namor and this series starts off very strong. We see where Namor is currently at, seemingly depressed and having given up, but we also flashback to a young, arrogant teen Namor. I think this book has a ton of potential and Jason Aaron is always a solid storyteller.

Incredible Hulk #14. “The Hulkscape.” Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson with art and cover art by Nic Klein. The horror elements of the Hulk seem to be back with a vengeance as Bruce Banner tries to navigate the Hulkscape, trying to convince the Hulk to help him save Charlie. The Hulk appears to have some deep seeded trauma involving Banner.

Invincible Iron Man #20. “End of the Line“. Written by Gerry Duggan and art by Andrea Di Vito. Cover art was done by Kael Ngu (Silver Medalist). This issue wraps up the marriage of Tony Stark and Emma Frost, with neither of them seemingly thrilled by putting it to bed. Emma also gave Tony a check for…. a lot of money, seeding his return to a company and … maybe the West Coast Avengers? This might be the end of this series. Not sure on that. It is definitely the end of the creative team. I have really been pleased with where this book has gone lately so I am looking forward to the next chapter of Tony Stark’s life.

Immortal Thor Annual #1. “The Idiot Abroad” Written by Al Ewing and art by David Baldeón. Variant cover art by the iconic Walter Simonson (& Laura Martin) [Bronze Medalist]. The Infinity Watch storyline continues throughout the series of annuals, with Powerstone (both the character and the actual infinity stone) making an arrival. Powerstone dealt with the Champion of the Universe inside, and then changed his name again… to Apex. The Death Stone Saga is here too from creative team of Derek Landy & Sara Pichelli.

Elric the Necromancer #1. Adapted by Julien Blondel & Jean-Luc Cano. Story and dialogue by Julien Blondel. The art and cover art was by Valentin Secher. Michel Moorcock’s iconic albino and his sword that thirsts for souls finds himself in this new mini-series from Titan Comics and it looks epic. I remember Elric from an early Marvel Graphic Novel and I have loved the character since.

Laura Kinney: The Wolverine- Blood Hunt #1. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Robert Gill. Bjorn Barends did the art for the cover. Another of the one-shot issues during the Blood Hunt, Laura is in battle with the vampires to save Gabby. What happens when vampires get ahold of mutant blood? Bad news for sure.

Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys #1. Story and words by Neil Gaiman. Script by Marc Bernardin. Shawn Martinbrough did the art. Cover art was by David Mack. I know there is a controversy with Neil Gaiman right now, but I have always tried to separate a person’s work from who they are. I do hope that Gaiman turns out to not be a worthless loser, because this first issue was extremely compelling and set up a real intriguing arc.

What If…? Aliens #5. Written by Leon Reiser and art by Guiu Vilanova. Phil Noto did the cover art. The finale of the mini-series focusing on Paul Reiser’s character Carter Burke comes to a close here with a solid finale and plenty of aliens running around the base. I would love to see other What Ifs of the properties Marvel owns like this one. What If for Planet of the Apes or Predator or Star Wars… those would all be really cool and would help continue the concept of What If. I do miss the Watcher though…

Fishflies #7. Written, drawn and art for the cover by Jeff Lemire. This story comes to an end as Jeff Lemire brings the story full circle. Fishflies has been another exceptional story from Jeff Lemire, who is one of my favorite writers in comics today.

Scarlet Witch #2. Written by Steve Orlando and drawn by Jacopo Camagni. Russell Dauterman did the cover art. Wanda is dead. Pietro and Darcy are trying to save the town from the Griever. And Wanda is seeing what her future holds. If she returns, will she and Pietro lead to the destruction of all?

Redcoat #4. Creators are Geoff Johns and Bryan Hitch. Gary Frank and Brian Anderson did the variant cover art. We get a glimpse into the past of Einstein as well as get introduced to our main, big bad of the series, The Grand Architect, who is revealed to be a very much living George Washington. Between here and the Killadelphia series, those Founding Fathers are pretty rotten.

Daredevil: Woman Without Fear #1. Written by Erica Schultz and art by Michael Dowling. Cover art was done by Mahmud Asrar & Matthew Wilson. Elektra is back on the streets of Hell’s Kitchen and is facing off with Crossbones. We also get a guest appearance from the new Punisher.

Plastic: Death & Dolls #2. Written by Doug Wagner and art and cover art by Daniel Hillyard. We get a little background on Edwyn’s past with dolls and removing their heads. This, of course, leads to his present day decapitations. I would think that keeping these heads in his refrigerator may not be the best choice.

Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu #0. “Khonshu: Strikefile” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Alessandro Cappuccio. E.M. Gist did the cover art. Moon Knight is alive again. This issue zero is to go over all of the details of the series: characters, location, villains that will be focused on in the upcoming new Moon Knight book.

Phoenix #1. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Alessandro Miracolo. Yasmine Putri did the cover art. Jean Grey is in space, using the Phoenix Force to do good for once. This was a really good start to this series. I especially liked the mental scenes between Jean and Scott, showing that even the distance of space could not come between them.

Spider-Woman #9. “The Price of Liberty“. Written by Steve Foxe and art by Ig Guara. Leinil Francis Yu & Rachelle Rosenberg did the cover art. The new super team The Assembly is not as they look. Liberty from the group was ‘awakened’ by the scream of Angar and she and Jessica Drew head into the holding facility to try and get Angar free. Bad things happen.

Spectacular Spider-Men #5. “Contingencies” Written by Greg Weisman and penciled by Humberto Ramos. Miles and Peter slug it out, thinking that the other one is a robot. They are inside the new combination world designed by Arcade and Mentallo, while Hammerhead watches on.

Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt #3. Written by Justina Ireland and penciled by Marcelo Ferreira. Cover art was done by Marcelo Ferreira, Roberto Poggi & Rachelle Rosenberg. I loved this last issue here as Morbius designed a cure for the vampires that had been turned by Beyond Corp and Spidey helped save them. That is what Spider-Man would be doing… using science to help save people… not just killing vampires that had been changed against their wills.

Other books this week: Man’s Best #5, Ultimate X-Men #5, The Mammoth #2, Blood Hunters #4, and Lawful #2.

The Boys S4 E8

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SPOILERS

“Assassination Run”

They filmed this season over a year ago, and yet it feels as topical as ever. Perhaps even too topical.

Season five finale was brutal throughout as The Boys set the table for the final season, season six, with a massive cliffhanger and Homelander standing tall.

So many things happened, so let me touch on a couple.

The Frenchie/Kimiko scene near the end was just one of the most beautiful scenes of the series but I was holding my breath the entire time because I was afraid of the portents that this scene may hint at. I do not want to see Frenchie or Kimiko die and I was afraid that was what was going to happen before the end of the episode. I was grateful when they survived, although separated by Gen V’s Kate.

The Annie/Hughie relationship was tortured by the shape-shifting shooter, but seems to have survived as well. I had honestly forgotten that Annie was being held captive and so when she proposed to Hughie at the beginning and he ran off to get his mother’s ring, I was happy. Then I remembered and it was sad again. However, Annie’s line about shifting syphilis was both funny and hopeful for out first couple.

Ryan is being torn apart by every side as everyone has their own agenda for him and it is starting to really hurt the boy. When he was told all about Homelander’s evil, he realized that they just wanted him as a weapon against his father.

No sign of A-Train this episode. I am glad he survived. I am sure that he has a role to play in the conclusion of the series next season.

Sister Sage’s return was epic. She has been behind the scenes of everything, setting up the events to drop as they did. What , then, is ‘phase two?’

Butcher’s tentacle powers are horrific, and seeing them rip Neuman in literally two pieces was shocking. I did not expect that to happen and it solidifies Butcher as just slightly less crazy than Homelander. I think that is the idea setting him up as a person who would do absolutely anything to kill Homelander. I have never been a fan of the character of Butcher as a hero. He is, at best, an anti-hero and probably more of another antagonist.

I believe season two of Gen V will come first, but this season really sets up some major events for the finale of the series in season six. Can’t wait.