I had a tough choice this week that I wussed out of. I was down to four covers for the three medals and, once again, I decided to have there be a tie. Oh well…
Last week we did not have any variants in our medalists. This week, there are two of the four covers.
Also-Rans: Narco #1, Avengers #36, Batman #7, Moonstar #1, The Twilight Zone #5, Bloodland #2,
Bronze Medalist
(TIE)
Disney Villains: Gaston #1
Cover art by Milena Ciccarello
Variant Cover C
I loved this cover, helping me decide to pick this Dynamite Comics book up. I love how we get Gaston and LeFou running inside the outline of Gaston’s body. The black background makes this standout all the more.
Hello Darkness #19
Cover art by Jenny Frison
Variant Cover B
Another variant that I saw on the shelf and decided to pick it up. I have been enjoying Jenny Frison’s work on the Clean Room Vertigo series that I have been reading on the Daily Read and I think her touch really helps make these horror comic covers effective.
Silver Medalist
Sleep #8
Cover art by Zander Cannon
I have been waiting for the finale of this series for quite awhile now and I was excited to see the book come out this week. The covers of Sleep have been consistently excellent and this one is no exception. The black and white background with the blood red running down creates an exceptional contrast for the cover and really makes me want to see what the finale has in store for me.
Gold Medalist
Nectar #1
Cover art by Chris Shehan
Another new hot book has a beautiful cover featuring butterflies. How does that fit into the story? I am very curious about this book. The orange color of the butterflies and the title jump off the page, especially with that big white moon behind them.
I love this issue. We get a couple of major face offs and sets our two main protagonists on a course for each other.
Astrid video called into the board meeting, revealing that she was very much alive. The confrontation with Mr. Wenuka was like the worst Zoom call ever. Astrid sure showed that even on a mountain top, she had everything under control. I loved how she dealt with Todd, who was the assassin who attempted to kill her on the mountain. She treated him way better than I expected.
Meanwhile, inside the Clean Room, Chloe embraced her ability to control the Clean Room and to show Spark his past… something Spark did not want to see. There were some horrible scenes with Spark possessing a little girl and the tragedy around it. Chloe seemed to be in control as much as Astrid was during the video conference. Killian was shocked since she only knew of one person, Astrid, who could activate the Clean Room.
Both of the assassins, Todd and Duncan, were shown to have been hypnotized and the people around them forgave them quickly. I like that very much. It also seems as if Spark may have taken a step back from the evil that it had looked to reclaim last issue.
Astrid’s brother’s baby was discovered by Astrid’s people. They told her the baby was normal. Of course, Astrid is able to see things differently as the last shot shows the baby with the monstrous head.
Every issue has a twist that I did not see coming. I love how this series feels like a roller coaster that is just flying without me knowing where it was going.
So I have been under the weather over the last few weeks, and I chose to stay at home this past Saturday. I had intended on going to the new Scream 7 film that came out, but I wanted to take the time to try and get better. Today, I was able to go to the film I missed last weekend.
I am going to say that I had heard a lot of negatives directed toward Scream 7 and so my expectations going into the theater today were rather low. I do think that it helped having such low expectations, because I did not hate watching this. Don’t get me wrong, it is a dumb movie and I would not recommend it. I just didn’t find it to be a horrible watch. It was certainly better than the Psycho Killer film from a few weeks ago. That is not saying much, though.
We are back with Sydney Prescott, now with the last name of Evans, and the film took every opportunity to comment on Scream 6 being the film (or the Ghostface killings) where Sydney did not get involved. The meta aspect of this fits in a Scream franchise, but it feels odd that the implication was that the last movie sucked because Sydney wasn’t there.
A new Ghostface finds his/her way to the town where Sydney was living and began killing off easily replaceable characters who have little to no characterization. For example, Asa Germann, who played Sam on Gen V, was only ever referred to as the “weird one.” There is no reason or explanation. That was his sole character trait. McKenna Grace was here too, but all I know about her character was that she was the blonde friend who was in the school play. There were actually some good actors in this film, but they were not given anything worthy to do.
We knew from casting news that Matthew Lillard was returning to the film as Stu Macher, who had been killed in the first Scream film. There was a lot of speculation about whether he was returning as the same character, but that is one of the most obvious bit in the film. No spoilers, but you’ll get it.
Then speaking of no spoilers, the ending reveal is perhaps the dumbest part of the entire movie. There are some cameos in this movie that are just terrible and make zero sense.
It felt like this movie played only on nostalgia without having any original thoughts of its own.
As I said, I didn’t hate this, but I am only a guy who has liked the Scream franchise. I think that if you are a big fan of Scream and its sequels, you are going to hate this. If you just want a dumb time at the movies, set your expectations low and you may not hate yourself for watching it.
Weird Al wound up with a Saturday morning program on CBS and this was the theme song he wrote for the show. The theme has been used by Al to kick off his concerts since the ending of his TV show.
There is a meeting of the Honest World Foundation Board, called by Wenuka, to try an take control away from Astrid.
Meanwhile, Astrid is still in the mountains with Capone, trying to gage her loyalty. Astrid believed she could be a traitor, sent to the mountain to try and finish her off.
It was shown clearly that Capone was loyal as she prevented a sniper from killing Astrid, though the sniper that was sent seemed to lack any real skills in the subject.
Chloe was able to get herself into the Clean Room with Killian to try to save Spark. While inside the Clean Room, the real traitor was revealed… Duncan.
The battle between Duncan and Killian was dope. However, in the end, it took Spark controlling the Clean Room to stop Duncan.
The only way Spark could do that was to reclaim the darkness. The final shot of Spark with an evil grin plastered across it was both scary and sad at the same time.
Things are moving quickly with this book. Only 7 more issues to go.
What a fabulously emotional and powerful episode. The first three episodes were strong, but this episode of Paradise was tremendous. It was surprising, engaging, emotional. I found myself tearing up at a specific spot in the episode.
One of my favorite things was that as Xavier and Annie were on their way to Atlanta, they came across some people in another wagon. If The Walking Dead and The Last of Us have taught us one thing, it is that the real monsters in any sort of post-apocalyptic world are other humans. Annie begged Xavier not to look at these people, just to ignore them, and not speak to them. Xavier greeted them anyhow.
Later, Annie goes into labor, and Xavier ran for help from them. I swear I have seen this scene before on one of the aforementioned dramas. However, Xavier returned with a group of these people who went right into helping with the situation. I loved the fact that this show led with the message that not everyone has become monsters. There are good people still around.
The show did a juxtaposition between two births: Annie’s baby birth, and the first birth of a baby in the Colorado bunker (it was great to see James Marsden, once again). I was so on edge the whole time expecting something to happen to one of the babies, and they both survived. I was so happy.
Then, the show threw a twist that fit right with those other shows. Annie died from the birth. I couldn’t believe it. It was such a major shock. This was where I was nearly crying. The scene where the horse would not leave her graveside was so great.
Excellent episode. Next week looks like the story will be taking off, big time.
So, what I wrote about last issue is a touch different now.
It appeared that Spark is not dead. The electricity that was sent through him last issue did not turn him into a pile of ashes. That is what I thought happened, but we see Spark this issue, still alive, still in the Clean Room and being tortured for information. The panel where Spark spoke for Chloe Clim Clam, begging for her to help him, made me worry that Spark is going to resent her for leaving him.
In fact, Chloe knows Spark is alive and I wonder why she left him in the first place. We see her investigating Mueller holdings, and she called Astrid all kinds of nasty names, but why did she leave in the first place?
We return to the scene several days later and Astrid has left the Clean Room and gone to a mountain retreat. Killian sent Capone to retrieve Astrid, but Astrid does not seem to be planning on coming back. Suddenly, there is some feeling for Astrid, a character who I called cold and sent straight t team bad guy last issue. I had some pity for her as she dealt with the idea that her brother shot her through the heart. I am such a manipulated mark.
We also have a new pair of horrendous individuals to fill that villain role. Wenuka and Pete are Jesus-loving corporate businessmen who are looking for a takeover of Astrid Mueller’s followers. We met them earlier, but this issue, we discover that they are darker than we imagined. They had their own “Dark Room,” which made me think it was similar to the Clean Room, and they seem to be ready to torture a poor couple. Weirdos.
I was sure of how I felt about these characters after issue #9 and then #10 flipped it over again. I love that this series is able to play with my emotions. I just hope Spark does not turn angry after his suffering, blaming Chloe.
So bringing Spark into the Clean Room by Chloe was a strategy to try and save Astrid’s life from the gunshot wound that she received from her brother. It was a highly controversial idea that Killian was not a fan of, but Chloe seemed to have the drop on everyone.
As Astrid is coding, Spark possessed her to try and save her. He is able to remove the bullet and save her. As Astrid was coming around, she ordered Spark to be destroyed with 60,000 volts.
Whoa. I did not see that coming as the electricity shot through Spark and left it ashes on the Clean Room floor. Right in front of Chloe, who had promised Spark, who did not want to save Astrid, that she would protect him. Even Killian was surprised by the move… how cold, seconds after your life is saved, you kill what had saved you.
Astrid’s brother, who was the person who shot her, claimed that Astrid had killed their father, which was why he had shot her. So it looks like the questions I had about Astrid’s motivations are gone now and that she is nothing more than a cold-hearted monster.
Does this mean that I have to look at the people in this book and re-evaluate their motives? How about the Surgeon? Do I owe him another look?
Okay, so Astrid is currently planted herself on team bad guy. Is that where she is going to end up? Or is there something more that we don’t know?
CBS’s long-running show had this frenetic theme song that followed every cold open of the show (except the finale, which had an accustic version recorded).
When Monarch: Legacy of Monsters debuted on Apple TV + a few years back, the show was definitely hit and miss. Most of the misses came from the human characters in the present day.
It’s clear that those characters in the present day have not learned anything since season one.
Cate Randa showed off her selfishness and her stubbornness in the last half of this episode and wound up getting Natalia Verdugo, the Deputy Director of Monarch, killed by a new monstrous Titan that also escaped into the world when she opened a rift to retrieve Lee (Kurt Russell), who was stranded in the other world last season.
She would not listen to anyone else. She was going to do things her own way and to hell with any consequences. Well, Cate, you got an innocent woman killed. A woman who was just trying to get you and your foolish group to safety. She may be a bureaucrat, she may have different viewpoints, but she did not deserve to be swept away by some giant tentacle.
Cate really should be held accountable for Verdugo’s death. It was her fault.
The new Titan is going to be called Titan X and it sure looked as if Kong wasn’t happy Titan X was here.
Of course, Kong is supposed to be guarding the island, but he is too busy sleeping away in the middle of the afternoon.
Kong looked great in this episode. He was massive and the effects were movie-like. My memory of the first season was that everything did always look great, but the humans in the present day were just insufferable.
However, any time we spent time back in the 1950s, this show was so much better and it seemed as if that trend is going to continue. Wyatt Russell, Anders Holm and Mari Yamamoto appeared in the flashbacks and they were always smarter, more engaging and less likely to do something deftly stupid. This season looks to be the same way.
I was up and down with the first season. At least this year, the action was top notch. The question will be… can I stand the stupidity of Cate and her friends in the present? Will there be enough positives in the rest of the show to keep me from hating her?
Up to Issue #8 in the Daily Read of Clean Room by Gail Simone. It is truly epic so far. I really am enjoying that Vertigo series from 2016.
I bought the first appearance of Mockingbird in Marvel Team-Up #95. I am down to six more of the volume 1 run of Marvel Team-Up to complete my collection. That’s fun.
Comic of the Week:
Amazing Spider-Man/Venom: Death Spiral #1
What a massive list of Comic Book writing royalty working on this book. #1 is listed as written by Joe Kelly, Al Ewing & Charles Soule. That is three pretty solid writers for this series. Then the whole thing is drawn by Jesus Saiz. The book started off strong as Symbie (Peter’s little symbiote friend) gnawing of Johnny Storm’s head. I almost fell over. I will say that one thing could ruin it all and that would be a romantic pairing of Mary Jane and Flash Thompson. NO THANK YOU, PLEASE!
Books this week:
Is Ted Okay? #1. Written, drawn and cover art by Dave Chisholm (Silver Medalist). The runner of for Comic of the Week this week is Is Ted Ok? #1 from Mad Cave. It was a very intriguing and interesting idea that I am excited to see expand even more. What is up with Ted and why are we needing to keep an eye on him? Ted is isolated and antisocial, and Sarah, who has been assigned to watch him, starts to wish there was something she could do to help him. It’s complex and different and those are always welcomed.
Murder Drones #1. Written by Wyatt Kennedy and illustrated by Jo Mi-Gyeong. Cover art was done by Alessio Zonno. I was surprised to see this book in my pull list, because I did not think I had it on my list. I had planned on picking #1 up so I was happy I had it. I noticed that I was missing Murder Podcast #5, so I assume the wrong “Murder” book got pulled. As for moving ahead, this one will not be on my pull list. I did not enjoy Murder Drones much at all.
Murder Podcast #5. Written by Jeremy Haun and illustrated by Mike Tisserand. Cover art was done by Jeremy Haun. Unlike the Drones, Murder Podcast is a great story that has that ongoing mystery that is easily filling this story. There are so many brutal kills (some of which were hilarious) that it engages the reader. The issue ended with some military intervention that seemed important (?).
Bat-Man: Second Knight #3. Written by Dan Jurgens and art and cover art by Mike Perkins. The noir style Batman Elseworlds story comes to an exciting close as Batman and Superman learn how to work together and to stop the poisonous fear gas of the Scarecrow. The Black Label book was a lot of fun and reminded me some of Spider-Man Noir.
Universal Monsters: Phantom of the Opera #1. Written by Tyler Boss and art and cover art by Martin Simmonds. I also grabbed the die-cut cover by Andrea Milana. The next installment of Image Comics reboots of the Universal Monsters is up and it is Phantom of the Opera. The well-known saga of the man with the scarred face but beautiful voice. I have enjoyed all of these Universal Monster books and I am looking forward to more Phantom of the Opera.
Iron Man #2. “Under Pressure” Written by Joshua Williamson and art by Carmen Carnero. Cover art was done by Ryan Stegman & Frank Martin. Tony Stark is trying to figure out what Madame Masque is up to… that is, when she is not sharing his bed. Ooooh Tony. Also, who would guess that Iron Man would have to fight side by side with MODOK?
The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery#1. Written by Chris Condon and art and cover art by Jacob Phillips. This is the newest Vertigo book from DC and this is the standout one for me so far. The other two were fine, but this noir detective thriller is the one I am most interested in. I have been a fan of Chris Condon over the years with That Texas Blood, The Enfield Gang and News from the Fallout, so his name on this helps to sell the book even more.
Detective Comics #1106. “The Courage that Kills” Finale. Written by Tom Taylor and art and cover art by Mikel Janin. The virus storyline comes to a close this issue as Batman is able to find the antidote to save the day from the Lion.
Infernal Hulk #4. “Alone” Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson with art and cover art by Nic Klein. How many Hulks are too many Hulks? Well, when you are banished into the Hulkscape, that answer may not be an easy one
The Punisher #1. Written by Benjamin Percy with are by Jose Luis Soares. Cover art was done by David Marquez & GURU-eFX. Picking up right after the end of Punisher: Red Band, Frank Castle is back and out for vengeance. His rogues gallery got a return too as Jigsaw made another return from the dead. I also picked up a virgin variant cover by John Tyler Christopher..
Spider-Man & Wolverine #10. “Reunions and Partings” Written by Marc Guggenheim and penciled by Gerardo Sandoval. Cover art was done by Kaare Andrews. This brought the team-up series to a close this week. I have enjoyed this second half of the series more than I did the first arc and it is fun to see these two characters matched up.
Mortal Thor #7. “The Accelerationist” Written by Al Ewing and art by Pasqual Terry. Cover art was done by Alex Ross. The world around Sigurd Jarlson is just getting crazier. Mister Hyde is after him. People are starting to realize that he is pretty decent with a hammer. Then, that he may have a connection that they can exploit. Sigurd has some trouble coming.
Red Book #4. Written by James Tynion IV and art and cover art by Michael Avon Oeming (Gold Medalist). UFO stories out of China continue to affect the world and the way the US looks to the skies. This is the final issue of this volume of this UFO book, where Tynion IV provides us with some real world incidents and how they may be conceived. I have enjoyed these Blue/Red Book series and I will look forward to the next one in the future.
Disney Villains: Ursula #1. Written by Sherri L. Smith and art by Gabriele Bagnoli. Cover art was done by Mirka Andolfo. I grabbed this one off the shelf for the heck of it. Dynamite Comics has surprised me before with some characters that I did not think would interest me only to be enthralled by their series. Honestly, picking up Ursula #1 was just the collector in me. Let me tell you, I thought this was a great book and a fascinating story of Ursula and her missing sister. Damned if Dynamite didn’t do it again.
Maid Cafe #1. “Welcome Home, Master: Chapter One” Written by Aimee DeLong & Kazue Watanabe and adapted & illustrated by Remy “Eisu” Mikhtar. Cover art by Mark Spears. This one surprised me too, but not in the positive way. I thought this was another Mark Spears book like Monsters or Monsters and the Wolf, but it was more of a manga type, black and white book with a killer maid. Honestly, I passed on reading it so it may be more entertaining than I thought, but it did not appeal to me at first glance. There are fun trading cards inside the polybagged book.
Save Now #3. Written by Matt Kinot and art and cover art by Tomas Giorello. There is a lot of pain and anguish in this time travel series. There is a lot of loss too. Saver sticks around with Jan for awhile, watching the young girl grow into a young woman. Is his time traveling over? This is the penultimate issue of this series.
Wrestle Heist #3. Written, drawn and cover art by Kyle Starks. Our team of pro wrestlers, both active and retired, get together for Thanksgiving dinner to continue to discuss their plan on stealing from the evil promoter Buddy Hansen ( who looks a lot like Paul Heyman). Little do they know that there is a traitor in their midst. As a pro wrestling fan, there are a lot of insider things in this book that make me giddy. It is fun connecting these characters to the real life versions out there.
Absolute Wonder Woman #17. “Season of the Witch” Part 2 of 5. Written by Kelly Thompson and art and cover art by Hayden Sherman. Diana is able to free Zatanna from the control that was forcing her to take Diana’s magic and then she winds up facing a crew of her villains including Absolute Cheetah and Absolute Giganta.
Hyde Street #10. Written by Geoff Johns with art by Francis Portela. Cover art was done by Ivan Reis, Danny Miki with Brad Anderson. Sisters Hood are the newest pair arriving in Hyde Street. I do not think they are tied to the Sisterhood series we just got as they seem to be fortune tellers. Hyde Street has a lot of fun, weird horror going on.
Final Boss #4. “Stage Four: Forgotten Desert” Written by Tyler Kirkham with art by Tyler Kirkham and David Miller. Cover art was done by Tyler Kirkham (Bronze Medalist). The battles rage on as the tournament continues. The video game-like comic continues to have fun moments throughout.
Other books this week: Void Rivals #27, New History of the DC Universe: Dakota Incident #1, Nights #18, The Author Immortal #5, Be Not Afraid #5, Alice Forever After #2, Power Fantasy #16, Absolute Martian Manhunter #9, Liquidator #4, Return to Sleepy Hallow #4, Conan the Barbarian #29, and 30 Days of Night: Falling Sun #3.
Quick Hits: The Ultimates universe’s story is coming to a close as we get The Ultimates #21 this week with more Luke Cage. Escape #6 dropped the last issue of the series for a while. There will be a break for this series by Rick Remender, but it is not finished. Wiccan: Witches’ Road #3 is back with more magical shenanigans in the Marvel Universe. Wiccan’s mother, Wanda is still at it in the new Sorcerer Supreme #3 book. Rogue is after the truth from her past in Rogue #2. Cable and the members of X-Force are here in Inglorious X-Force #2 as they continue to try and prevent the future murder of Kamala Khan. The second series comes to a close with the new Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong 2 #7. Lots of DC heroes/Titans action. I grabbed two covers of the Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Book One (Facsimile Edition) that came out this week. The first cover is one of the most iconic covers of all time. More boobs and sexual chicanery going down in Voyeur #4 from Ignition Press. Malevolent #2 had me thinking a lot of Leeloo from Fifth Element. The art from Oni Press’s new book Spirit of the Shadows #2 reminded me of Jack Kirby. The story of the heroes out of time came to a brutal end in Justice League Unlimited #16 this week. I was not a huge fan of the start of this group, but I did like what they did with them over the last several issues. Keenspot sent me the Pecos Bill and the Guns of Oz #2 this week. It was a fun book.
So this book took a WILD turn that I was not expecting…
Astrid Mueller is shot, the bullet going into her heart. It sure looks as if she is dying and she compels Killian to get Chloe because she needs someone to take over her role. Astrid says it can’t be Killian because Killian is a follower and the leader can not be a follower.
She also dropped a bomb…
Hell is real and the demons are trying to break through.
There are so many fascinating things going down here, including it apparently Astrid’s own brother Peter who shot her.
When Killian called, Chloe brought her own little squad with her, including Detective Avil Demaros and the Haverlin Brothers. Chloe insisted that she be allowed to bring a witness into the Clean Room with Astrid and Killing, which would be Rene.
Although, with a great ending surprise, it was not just Rene Haverlin. It was also Spark, who had possessed Rene and showed itself at the end of the book. It’s as if Chloe was really thinking ahead of the game.
What is next in this series. I can’t even think what could possibly be coming.
Another funny episode of Shrinking dropped on Apple TV + this week.
Maybe the scene of the season so far was Jimmy and Brian singing the song, “The Confrontation” from Les Misérables as they were driving to pick up Paul’s daughter Meg. I had seen Jason Segal do this before with Neil Patrick Harris and it was tremendous. This was every bit as awesome, but I spent much of the time watching Harrison Ford reacting in the back seat. Paul’s comment at the end of their song, “Did you guys make that up?” nearly knocked me out of my chair.
We looked at the relationship between Derrick and Gabby as well as the relationship between Sean and Marisol.
I suppose it is more about the individuals in Gabby and Sean than it is in their relationships. They have wonderful significant others at the moment, but both are dealing with their own issues to overcome.
The episode ended with the surprising kiss between Meg and Jimmy, although, to be honest, it did not seem to be a surprise kiss to me. I saw some flickers between them, at least with Meg, earlier this year, that made me think that there might be something here.
Jimmy is struggling to move on, clearly. He wanted one uncomplicated kiss to help kick him into the next level, but, of course, that is not from Meg, who is like a sister to him and is the daughter of his best friend and mentor Paul. Maybe it was me, but it felt like Paul was pushing for Meg and Jimmy to go get the files together. Was he playing matchmaker? That does not seem like Paul, but that is how I took those scenes.
Shrinking continues to be one of the most entertaining shows of TV, with the best dialogue you will find anywhere. This talented cast never fails to fill the show with laughs as well as true feels.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 