March 25, 2023

It is fairly awesome that I am almost caught up on all of the current books that I collect. I am still working on Black Panther and, technically, I have not started Nocterra yet. But other than that, I can read whatever new book comes out that Wednesday.

Of course, I have read all of the books from last Wednesday and next Wednesday I have parent/teacher conferences so I will have to wait until Thursday to get them.

This issue of EYG Comic Cavalcade features a couple of new independent books that are cool.

Black Panther #11-12. Written by John Ridley and drawn by German Peralta. The downfall of King T’Challa continues in these issues as we find out the person behind everything and it was a bit of a shock for T’Challa. He is also tossed from the Avengers because of his actions. I have a bit of an issue with the way Captain America Steve Rogers has been written in this series so far. It just does not feel like Steve. That is a minor complaint. I do like how they are deconstructing T’Challa to, hopefully, build him back up.

The Approach #2-4. Written by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley while the book is illustrated by Jesus Hervás and Lea Caballero. This new horror short series has been cool. I did not know this was still active and that #5 was coming out very soon. This has a big “The Thing” vibes (as in the John Carpenter film) as some kind of monster arrived on the plane that had arrived that had been missing for years. I do not know if we are getting that answer next issue about what happened with that plane. I hope to find out.

Ant-Man #4. “Ant-Man Forever” Written by Al Ewing and drawn by Tom Reilly. I finally picked up the fourth issue of this series that I had started way back when. I read issues #1-3, but had missed #4. Now that I got it, it was a decent story with multiple versions of Ant-Man battling a futuristic version of Ultron. The story was fine, but getting the issue was more about completion than anything else.

Moon Knight #20-21. Written by Jed MacKay and drawn by Alessandro Cappuccio. Cover art by Stephen Segovia & Rachelle Rosenberg. This caught me up to the place where Moon Knight is currently at and I continue to truly enjoy this book. Moon Knight is being portrayed as a real bad ass and I believe that he is going to take anyone that comes against him. I am also enjoying the supporting characters that are being included in this series. Everything is going great here.

Moon Knight Annual #1. “Homecoming” Marlene makes a return when her (and Moon Knight’s) daughter is kidnapped in a play to get Marc. And the culprit behind the kidnapping… Jack Russell, the Werewolf by Night. Hunter’s Moon plays a huge part in the story as well. I found the interaction between Moon Knight and Werewolf by Night to be excellent and I would love to see more of these antagonistic duo.

Primordial #6. Written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Andrea Sorrentino. The tale of the outer space monkey and his dog friends comes to an end. I really do not know how to feel about this issue, let alone the entire series. It is far from my favorite Lemire-Sorrentino book. Still, it is a beautiful looking book and I was happy to give it a chance.

Local Man #1. “Heartland” Created by Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs . Seeley, Fleecs, along with Brian Reber, did the art for the cover. I loved this new Image book. A down on his luck super hero, Crossjack, returns to his hometown to live with his parents after something happened with the super team he was on. It had created quite the controversy and gossip among the hometown population. There was also a backup story about the super team, Third Gen (which was the team that Crossjack was on, looking very much like a team created by Rob Liefeld. I am very intrigued by this book and I am excited to see the next issue.

March 22, 2023

Welcome back to the best ‘Comic Cavalcade’ of the 21st century. For issue two of EYG Comic Cavalcade, we are diving into NEW COMIC BOOK DAY!

Women of Marvel #1. This was a number one that I got today that, at first, I wasn’t going to bother with, but, after looking at the cover and seeing some of my favorite female characters involved, I decided to give it a shot. And you know what, I liked this. There was a framing device of Jen Walters in court somehow representing a group of female heroes who had teamed up in various pairs for adventures. It included Silk & Black Cat, Kate Bishop and America Chavez, and Photon and Ms. Marvel. I liked the light stories and Jen was a fun break between.

Clear #1. Written by Scott Snyder and drawn by Francis Manapul. I have been buying many more independent books recently as I have discovered a fondness for many of them. That is why I grabbed this new book from Dark Horse Comics. Unfortunately, this one did not interest me much. I have not been a huge fan of those futuristic type independent books (and there seems to be a bunch of them).

Amazing Spider-Man #22. Written by Zeb Wells and penciled by John Romita Jr. The story of ‘what exactly has been going on with Peter and MJ’ continued in this issue. I like the design of the god being that Spidey was fighting here, but I am not sure I like where it is heading. We’ll have to see what is next.

She-Hulk #11. Written by Rainbow Rowell with art by Andres Genolet. Jen Bartel did the art for the cover. We see She-Hulk existing within the Marvel Universe as she fights on with her Fight Club with Ben Grimm, Volcana, Titania and Luke Cage. She also helps out the Fantastic Four. Some of the best parts of this issue was the interaction with Jack Hart, aka Jack of Hearts, and his attempt at feeling normal since his powers returned.

Doctor Strange #1. “The Life of Doctor Strange.” Written by Jed MacKay with art by Pasqual Ferry. I have enjoyed Jed MacKay on Moon Knight so I am excited to see what he can bring to the Master of the Mystic Arts. This issue did two things really well. One, it sent us on little interludes with Doctor Strange across the Marvel Universe and we see him help out (or just interact with) Spider-Man, Black Cat, Daredevil, and Doctor Doom. Two, it looked like it was setting up a murder mystery by making Clea look like a killer. Aggamon is slaughtered at the end of the book after Clea was angry about him killing one of the refugees that she and Doctor Strange were trying to save. I wonder if this is meant to mislead or if it is more straightforward that I think. I’m looking forward to finding out.

Avengers: Rage of Ultron – Marvel Tales #1. Written by Rick Remender with art by Jerome Opeña. This is a reprint of an Avengers original graphic novel from 2015. It is a good story involving Hank Pym and Ultron. I have original hardcover book in my classroom library.

Joe Fixit #3. Written by Peter David and drawn by Yıldıray Çınar. I have been enjoying this series with Hulk in his Joe Fixit persona, even though I am not sure where in continuity this story takes place. A big part of that is probably how Spider-Man has been a major supporting character (some might even see him as a protagonist in the book). Kingpin is here causing trouble as well.

Monica Rambeau: Photon #4. Written by Eve L. Ewing with art by Luca Maresca. Lucas Werneck did the art on the cover. Photon is jumping around the universe as reality is shifting everywhere. Things of Monica’s life is different every second and she has to defend herself against Dr. Karla Sofen (aka Moonstone).

Grim #9. “Chapter Nine: Sympathy for the Guardian” Written by Stephanie Phillips and illustrated by Flaviano. This issue introduces us to a character that is implied to be the Devil and we see the past and the ultimate fate of Marcel.

March 21, 2023

Welcome to the brand new post series called Comic Cavalcade, the reboot of the Comic catch-Up series that has been running on EYG since the end of January. Since there was not a lot of “catch-up” happening right now, I thought this the perfect time to reboot and change things up.

I recounted the whole title drama that I went through in Comic Catch-Up #50, and I thought I was in the clear with Comic Cavalcade. However, my friend Todd, who works at Comic World & Games and is a recurring fixture in these columns, dropped a surprise on me.

Here is a screen shot from Facebook…

Todd made a comment about nothing being original. It was sad that there was a previous Comic Cavalcade already in the world. I considered calling it Comic Cavalcade 2.0, but I decided against that.

I figured, why do I have to change my column title because there was a comic titled the same thing in the middle part of the last CENTURY! Something that I had never heard of before. Sticking EYG in front of it adds all the more.

With the title of the column settled, all that is left is to kick off the first issue!

Iron Man & Hellcat Annual #1. “What Fresh Hell” Written by Christopher Cantwell with art by Ruairi Coleman. Logan Lubera & Rachelle Rosenberg did the art on the cover. As I was reading Hellcat #1 last week, there was a footnote in the issue referring to this issue, and I knew I had seen it during my searches through the piles. I decided to find it, hoping that it would give me more background for the new Hellcat series. It did too. I enjoyed this quite a bit.

Middlewest #3. Written by Skottie Young and drawn by Jorge Corona. Abel’s father, who we last saw as a tornado, reappeared and started looking for his missing son. Of course, Abel is nowhere to be found as he is off to look for help from The Marvelous Mystic Mind of Magdelena. This series feels like a present day fairy tale as we also got a troll in this issue.

I Walk With Monsters #3. Written by Paul Cornell and art by Sally Cantirino. We saw what happened to the father of Jacey. A massive heart attack freed her from a fate of being the ‘next thing on the menu’ and sent her out to the rest of her life. Of course, she is following after a politician of some kind whom she wants to kill. There is still a lot of mysteries in this series.

Moon Knight #18-19. Written by Jed MacKay and drawn by Federico Sabbatini. Stephen Segovia & Rachelle Rosenberg did the cover art. Moon Knight has been a great series and these two issue were no exception to that. Moon Knight had a kick ass confrontation with the New York vampires that showed off how dangerous Moon Knight actually was. Then, Zodiac returned to the series, and Marc learned about something that would change his life.

Primordial #4-5. Written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Andrea Sorrentino. I have loved the Lemire/Sorrentino team, but, if I am being honest, I have no idea what is going on in this series. It has been fun to read, but you can’t ask me what is happening. It deals with three animals that had been sent into space on unmanned space missions by the US and USSR governments. After that, it is weird and I am both confused and enjoying it.

Newburn #2. “Chapter Two: Everything I Told You was True.” Written by Chip Zdarsky and drawn by Jacob Phillips. Newburn continues in his job as problem solver for organized crime families, showing that he has no specific loyalties and that everyone understands that. This issue deals with Emily and her position as an assistant to Newburn. Newburn has been an intriguing book so far. We’ll see how it continues.

The Silver Coin #5. “Covenant” Written by Michael Walsh and art by Michael Walsh with Gavin Fullerton. Interestingly enough, this issue turned out to be a basic origin story for the mysterious silver coin that has been finding its way into the hands of the victims of the past stories. Curses. Black magic. Horrible betrayal and vengeance. This one may have been my favorite issue of this series so far. It also announced that it was going to continue with a rendition of Michael Walsh at the end of the book.

Black Panther #10. “Range Wars” Written by John Ridley and drawn by German Peralta. Alex Ross continues to do the coves for this series. Buffalo Soldier, who arrived at the end of last issue, proved to be a serious threat to T’Challa. This series seems to be humbling T’Challa and putting him in conflict as the leader of the Avengers.

March 19, 2023

FINAL ISSUE!

Good afternoon. Welcome to the final issue of Comic Catch-Up here at EYG.

I know… it’s an odd thing, but I have been waiting to do this for awhile now. I made the mention of not starting over at a #1 a couple of times during this run, but now the time is ready.

Truthfully, I started this ‘Comic Catch-Up’ to inspire myself to work on reading a bunch of these comics that I have in piles around my room. I would be buying comics every week at Comic World & Games, my comic shop I attend in Dubuque, Iowa, but I would put the bag down and not even take the books out of them. I would read an Amazing Spider-Man every once in a while or something big, but I was so far behind on the books that I was just ashamed.

Honestly, I still have piles around the room, but they are all smaller and there are many of them that have been read, just not organized into boxes yet. In fact, of the books I buy on a weekly basis, I am nearly caught up with everything. I can ALMOST read everything that comes out on Wednesday and not be confused. I am still working on catching up with Moon Knight and Black Panther, but the rest of the pull list is up to date.

Really, this column has not been about ‘catching-up’ now for a bit. I have been picking up other series such as Gideon Falls, Middlewest, That Texas Blood, Primordial, to name a few, that I found an interest in during this time. I’m not catching up with those. I am adding to the read list with those.

So I decided that it was time to bring the Comic Catch-Up to an end and, with #50, coming up, I thought that was a perfect time for a reboot.

I made the choice to replace the Comic Catch-Up with a newly titled post. At first, I was going to call this EYG Comic Corner. I had done the banner for it even. However, then I found out that Coy Jandreau, Internet personality, had a YouTube/TikTok video/show that he called Coy’s Comic Corner, and I did not want to copy it. I mean… there’s no reason I couldn’t, but I just wanted something more original for EYG.

I went about looking for a new name and what I have come up with is EYG Comic Cavalcade. I do like it and I fixed the new banner and so everything worked out as it should.

EYG Comic Cavalcade is not going to change format much. It will be pretty much the same as what I have been doing. I will be reading new books. There will be books from the last few years that I have not yet read out of my piles that will be discussed. New independent books that I discover will be on the read list. I will be doing 3-4 EYG Comic Cavalcade posts a week, depending on how busy I am.

I just never want to go back to having piles of bags filled with unread comics from that week again.

EYG Comic Cavalcade will debut some point next week. However, we have one more Comic Catch-Up column to finish before that happens…

The Approach #1. Written by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley with illustrations by Jesús Hervás and Lea Caballero. The cover was done by Jeremy Haun. This was an issue that I looked into because the premise sounded intriguing. It had a LOST flair to it, mixed with some mysterious Stephen King book. A plane that had been missing for years, suddenly reappears in the middle of a snowstorm at an airport. Surprises abound. This limited series sounds like it is right up my alley. I enjoyed the first issue.

Home #3-5. Written by Julio Anta with art by Anna Wieszczyk. Cover art was done by Lisa Sterle. This wrapped up the story of a young immigrant boy who had attempted to seek asylum in the US, but discovered he had super powers and wound up being chased by the government. Turns out a bunch of his family members had powers too. This was extremely political but comics have always been political. I did enjoy Home. It felt like it could have used another issue or two to space things out. It ended with a cliffhanger that made me think that they are not completely done with the book.

Moon Knight #17. “Home Game.” Written by Jed MacKay with art by Alessandro Cappuccio. Stephen Segovia & Rachelle Rosenberg did the cover art. As I mentioned in the intro, I am still working on catching up with Moon Knight. I am just a few issues away and this was another banger. Moon Knight showed off what an advantage he has now with the Midnight Mission.

Ten Thousand Black Feathers #4-5. Written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Andrea Sorrentino. The first series under the Bone Orchard Mythos drew to a close with these two issues. While I did not love these like I did Gideon Falls, I did enjoy the story of Trish and Jackie. The ending was a tad weird, but that is okay. I am looking forward to where this shared horror universe goes next.

Black Cloak #3. Written by Kelly Thompson and art by Meredith McClaren. Phaedra continued her investigation into the death of her old flame, and royal family member, Frey. The book came to a close with Phaedra diving into the water to discuss things with the mermaids. Hmm.

X-Treme X-Men #3. “Things Get Worse.” Written by Chris Claremont with art by Salvador Larroca. I liked this issue much better than I did last issue. This battle with Ogun has been solid and I have enjoyed this group of mutants at the core of the team. And it looked like some of these X-Men may have to try and move on sans powers. I am interested.

Hulk #13. “Hulk Planet Part Five.” The creature Titan has taken over the body of the Hulk and he has brought the fight, practically wiping out the entirety of the Hulk Planet. Doctor Strange has been recruited to help, and he discovered that it was the villain, D’Spayre that was behind the magic to split Banner into separate beings. Why did he want to do this? He said that he was a servant, meaning that someone else was behind this. Everything is concluding, apparently, next issue. It is kind of sad that I finally start to become engaged with Hulk and it is ending.

Middlewest #2. Story by Skottie Young and art by Jorge Corona. Abel is out and about, traveling on a train before he come across a frightening creature that looked to eat him. He looked very much like Khonshu from the Moon Knight Disney + series. Abel met and followed an old man named Jeb. Turned out that Jeb was sent to retrieve the boy… by whom is the question. The art in this series is awesome, making me think of fantasy stories.

Captain America: Symbol of Truth #11. Written by Tochi Onyebuchi and drawn by R.B. Silva. Sam Wilson/Captain America comes face to face with the White Wolf in a final showdown over Mohannda. And Captain America kicks his bloody ass. Sam showed the brutal side of his personality and he had to be stopped by Nomad or else he would have killed White Wolf.

Avengers: War Across Time #3. Written by Paul Levitz with art by Alan Davis. This series continues to feel like an old throwback, with a story and art that seems to have come right out of the 1960s. There is the King of Dwarves, Lava Men and, of course, Kang. This was actually my least favorite issue of this series so far. I hope this one gets a touch better next time.

I Walk With Monsters #2. Written by Paul Cornell and drawn by Sally Cantirino. This book keeps flashing back from current day to the past with Jacey, looking at the horrific childhood she had with her father. She has also been talking with the strangest looking dog around. This has been very odd and I still think there is cannibalisms going on here. We’ll have to wait and see.

And with that, Comic Catch-Up comes to a close.

March 19, 2023

As I have continued my catch-up column, I have plunged into the world of independent comics. I very rarely read independent books, sticking mostly to Marvel. However, there have been some outstanding books that I have been very happy to have read that I missed because of my market isolation. Starting off with Something is Killing the Children to Black Cloak.

However, along the way, I came across a book that has now become one of my absolute favorite comic book series of all-time!

Gideon Falls.

As I was getting into the Black Orchard Mythos series of books from Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino, I started looking back at some of the previous work from these two. I have been getting more into horror comics over the last few years and I discovered Gideon Falls. I was able to purchase the entire series on eBay and I started reading it, two-issues at a time.

I was completely hooked.

This series was just sensational. The story flowed easily, making each issue a breeze to read. The art was horrifically beautiful, with the tone built right into it. The images throughout Gideon Falls’ run was so memorable, so spectacular, that there were plenty of times when I would be taken aback by what I saw. The art was not like what most comics are. It was a psychadelic horror movie come to the page.

I decided this morning that I would go ahead and do today’s Comic Catch-Up as an excuse to sit down and finish off the entire series. I had read up through issue #10 as of yesterday and I took #11-27 and spent a couple of hours engulfing myself in the wild world of Gideon Falls.

I loved the characters in the series. Father Fred, Daniel, Norton Sinclair, Doc Sutton, The Bishop, The Laughing Man, Joe Reddy, Sheriff Clara and Dr. Angela Xu.

I was completely captivated by the Black Barn. It gave me feelings of the Black Lodge from Twin Peaks. Jeff Lemire confirmed that the idea of the Black Barn was inspired by the dimension from Twin Peaks, but it was most definitely its own thing.

The story was both complex and simple at the same time. It was easy to follow while challenging the ideas and the concept the entire time. What did not feel like separate stories, suddenly became clear that they were. That was the first wild twist of the series, and then it went about taking these group of separate characters in storylines and smashing them together in the most unexpected ways. It was a wonderfully plotted series that never felt predictable but never lost me in the complexities.

Issue #27 was an 80-page epic that brought the series to a remarkably satisfying conclusion while still dangling that carrot indicating that everything may not be over.

Gideon Falls is one of my all-time favorite comic series as of today. I found it completely riveting and expertly told. I am going to miss having another couple of issues of Gideon Falls to read moving forward.

March 16, 2023

Yesterday was NEW COMIC BOOK DAY and so there were a bunch of books to read. I also got a big shipment in the mail yesterday featuring the series Middlewest so there is a ton of stuff to read right now.

There was also a new book that I was really looking forward to since I heard about it.
We’ll kick off with that one…

Hellcat #1. “She’s Not There.” Written by Christopher Cantwell and drawn by Alex Lins. Pere Perez and Marte Gracia did the cover art. I loved this issue. I was really anticipating it since I read about it in Previews. The sound of a mystery story where Patsy was not sure if she was the guilty person sounded great and I was very impressed with this writing. The inclusion of Sleepwalker was another intriguing surprise. Sleepwalker was a character that I have always enjoyed so it was cool that he was involved in this new series. It had a definite feel of a noir and Hellcat is a book I am excited about continuing.

Mystery in Space #103. This was not an issue that I thought I would be buying. I had never even heard of it. My friend Todd from Comic World (my comic shop) had told me to buy this issue. It was among a collection that he had purchased for the store and he was excited about how much of that collection he had already sold. This book featured a story with a character named Ultra the Multi-Alien. Todd mentioned this and talked it up. I decided to pick it up. There were actually like three or four stories in the book that was released in 1965. None of these stories were much or stuck out to me as awesome. At best, I would say it was okay.

House of Slaughter #13. “The Butcher’s Return Part Three.” This issue felt like a middle ground for this story arc. It seemed as if everything was getting into place where the story would eventually head. The very end of the book had a dramatic switch though. This was written by Tate Brombal and the art was done by Antonio Fuso.

Gideon Falls #7-8. Written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Andrea Sorrentino. I really am loving this series. Every issue brings more into the narrative about what is going on in this town with the mysterious Black Barn. It took a dark turn for one of the major characters that we have been following, Norman. Jeff Lemire has been on fire with this book and he shows his skill with the horror/comic genre.

X-Treme X-Men #1 & 2. Written by Chris Claremont with art by Salvador Larroca. I have not been a huge fan of the X-Men lately, but seeing Chris Claremont back with them was a huge selling point. I had picked up #2 & #3, but seemingly could not find #1. Thankfully, I was able to find #1 at Comic World the other day and I bought it. I have read the first two and I do like the book. They are mining some classic books by bringing back the old enemy of Logan and Kitty Pryde, Ogun, from a limited series back in the 1980s. I liked issue #1 more than #2, so we’ll see how #3 goes.

Secret Invasion #5. “Everywhere We Need to Be.” Written by Ryan North and drawn by Francesco Mobli. Sanford Greene did the cover art. This was the conclusion to this series. I have really enjoyed Secret Invasion, but I have to say that this finale felt a little underwhelming. I mean, it was fine. but there was just something that felt lacking here. There were plenty of pages where I really loved the coloring, with shades of green. It felt like I wanted more.

Superman: Lost #1. “Book One.” Plotted by Priest and Carlo Pagulayan. I saw this on the shelf at Comic World and it piqued my curiosity. I think it was the word “Lost” in the title. Todd comes into the story once again as he told me about the premise. Superman goes on an adventure and then returns claiming that he had been gone for 20 years, even though it did not seem like that to Lois and the Justice League. I do like a good mystery and I hope this one turns out to be one of those. I will most likely give it another chance.

Captain Marvel #47. “Revenge of the Brood Part Five.” Written by Kelly Thompson with art from Sergio Davila. Geez, things just keep getting worse and worse for poor Carol. She winds up in the exact place that Binary has been, just for the arrival of the biggest, most frightening Brood I think I have ever seen. I have enjoyed the use of the X-Men in this arc and I thought the interactions between Rogue and Hazmat were excellent. Not sure how Carol gets out of this.

Harrower #2. Written by Justin Jordan and illustrated by Brahm Revel. Whoa. Harrower arrived at a party and went to town. This was a cool slasher type story but, I have to say, the ending came out of nowhere and was just over. I understand cliffhangers, but I did not realize that the book was done. I kept looking for another page to wrap things up. It was a weird end, but I did enjoy what was here until that end.

Red Goblin #2. Written by Alex Paknadel and drawn by Jan Bazaldua. Normie Osborn heads into the sewers in search of his Pop-pop, Norman Osborn. Norman has been taken by the Goblin Nation and their leader, Phillip Urich. This has been good so far, but I do think that Normie speaks a little to maturely for the age he is supposed to be. Still, I like the young kid/symbiote connection going on here. Like a boy with his dog… only more vicious and murdery.

Avengers Forever #15. “The Rise of the Omni-Avengers” The creative team featured Jason Aaron, Aaron Kuder, Mark Farmer & Frank Martin. The big finale of the Avengers Assemble event is almost here as this is the penultimate issue. Robbie Reyes and Star Brand jump into action despite their troubles with their powers. There are a ton of Avengers and a bunch of other enemies including Mephisto, Doom and Dark Phoenix. Things will be wrapping up in Avengers Assemble: Omega.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #4. “Trial by Spider Part Four.” Miles is getting his butt kicked Rabble, a new villain who seems to know Miles’ secret identity. This all has put Miles in a fearful mood as he is scared for the safety of his friends and his family. Misty Knight is here to help the young Spider-Man too. Written by Cody Ziglar and pencils by Federico Vicentini. Dike Ruan and Alejandro Sanchez did the cover.

Gold Goblin #5. Written by Christopher Cantwell with art from Lan Medina. Taurin Clarke did the cover. This wrapped up the limited series featuring the new Goblin alter-ego of Norman Osborn. Spider-Man guest stars in the series too, as he plays a vital role in Norman’s life. I liked how the book manipulated the press and the public into thinking that Osborn was still the horribly evil person he was before Sin-Eater. The fact that Norman Osborn is not sure if he is worthy is a great twist. It has kept the imbalance of guilt and doubt in the head of the former super villain and it is interesting to read. This was good.

March 14, 2023

I have been going through the piles once again, and I have found a few more complete independent series that I could read. That made me excited and so, along with continuing the ones that I have been catching up on, there are a few new ones to start today.

Shadecraft #1-5. Written by Joe Henderson and drawn by Lee Garbett. This was a series I remember starting after seeing number one promoted in the Previews. It looked cool and I did enjoy issue one back when it first came out. However, I did not read any more of the series so when I found the five issue series, I was excited to see where it would go. I re-read #1 to make sure I remembered the storyline, and there were sections that needed the refresher. This was a very creative series that I would love to see continue on at some point. The relationship between Zadie and her shadow-brother Ricky was sweet and actually quite realistic for the situation. This was a quick read and I feel as if there is a lot more that they could mine for stories.

Gideon Falls #5 & 6. Written by Jeff Lemire with art by Andrea Sorrentino. God, I love this series so far. This is just so compelling and full of anxiety and tension. I am so intrigued by everything surrounding the Black Barn and the different characters involved in the story. The psychadelic scenes with Father Fred inside the Black Barn were some of the best images across this entire series so far. The end of issue six indicated that this was the end of Book One and I am anxious to see where Book Two takes us.

Black Panther #9. “Range Wars Book One.” Black Panther comes back to the Avengers. He, Cap, Carol and Thor come across a being called The Colonialist. I am not sure if this is his first appearance or if he was a new character. Some of the writing made me think that this character had shown up before, but I don’t know. It was a very creative and original character though as I liked the look of him a lot. And the end of the issue brought us… Buffalo Soldier! Huh?

Sleeping Beauties #1. This was based on the novel by Stephen King and Owen King. It was adapted by Rio Youers and had art by Alison Sampson. Like many of King’s work, this takes place in a small town, this one named Dooling. There is a sleeping sickness that has fallen over the world, or, at least, women. There is a mysterious woman who comes out of the woods and seems to be immune to falling asleep. The first issue was okay, so we’ll see how it moves along.

I Walk with Monsters #1. Written by Paul Cornell with art by Sally Cantirino. This was extremely interesting, as we Jacey is dealing with some horrible monsters while in search of her brother Jake. There is a flashback to her childhood with her father. We saw a scene with a new boy joining them on their farm as a worker who… well, I am not sure what happened to him, but I have that feeling in my gut that I have an idea. I am looking forward to see more.

The Me You Love in the Dark #5. Written by Skottie Young with art by Jorge Corona. Big finale of this series as Ro revolts against the creature in the house. The art is fabulous and it was a satisfactory conclusion. The story felt a little light, but I did like the book.

Basilisk #3. “That Taste for Blood.” Written by Cullen Bunn with art by Jonas Scharf. Basilisk started to pick up as a group of killers, from the Chimera, are on their way to confront Regan. The Chimera were very cool and real bad ass. This book has been slow but it has beautiful art work. We’ll see how it continues.

Newburn #1. “Chapter One: Carmine’s Apartment.” Chip Zdarsky and Jacob Phillips are listed here (I suppose as character creator, maybe) but Nadia Shammas is listed as the writer of Part One while Ziyed Yusuf Ayoub is the listed artist. This was original and unexpected. The former cop Easton Newburn apparently is now working for the crime families as a problem solver. This first issue made me curious about the character and where this will go from here. I have had a bunch of these books that I had originally bought because of the name ‘Chip Zdarsky’ and I’m intrigued at continuing the series (even though it does not look like he is writing it).

Immoral X-Men #1. “Part 4: The Bond Age.” Written by Kieron Gillen and penciled by Paco Medina. This is in the on-going Sins of Sinister arc currently underway and I just couldn’t get into the issue at all. I just feel as if it is just another alternate future reality starring the X-Men and it is not tripping my trigger. I wasn’t even a half way through the book before I was skimming it, looking for it to end. I don’t think I am picking up this one again.

Moon Knight #16. “Chinatown” Written by Jed MacKay and penciled by Alessandro Cappuccio. Stephen Segovia and Rachelle Rosenberg were the cover artists. Moon Knight continues to be a very enjoyable book as Mr. Knight goes to negotiate with the vampires in charge around Chinatown. Meanwhile, things look bad for Hunter’s Moon. More good stuff from Moon Knight.

March 12, 2023

Tonight is the Academy Awards and I usually watch these. I have especially started watching this more since I usually am pretty close to having seen all of them. This year, though, because there are several Oscar nominees that I am saving for the next June Swoon, there are a couple of best picture nominees that I have not seen yet.

I am also rooting for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in the few categories it has been nominated for. In particular, I will be very disappointed if Angela Bassett does not get the Best Supporting Actress. Comic book movies are always dismissed by the Academy and her win would go a long way.

Meanwhile, I have some comics to catch-up on.

Black Panther #8. “The Long Shadow; Finale” Kicking off the catch-up with Black Panther because of the Oscars tonight. This is written by John Ridley and drawn by Stefano Landini. The conflict within Wakanda comes to a close as T’Challa and his forces launch their attack against Akili. I am looking forward to the next arc of this series.

The Silver Coin #4. “2467.” Written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Michael Walsh. We get a futuristic story from the mind of Jeff Lemire. I have been reading a bunch of his work recently and I have really been enjoying it. This issue was so so. I did not feel the connection with a lot of the characters here as I have in other issues.

Moon Knight #14-15. Jed MacKay write this and the art was by Alessandro Cappuccio. Stephen Segovia & Rachelle Rosenberg were credited as cover artists. Moon Knight has been a solid series from Marvel recently. I really enjoy this last couple because it really dives back into the D.I.D. that Marc Spector has. We get some more on Steven Grant and Jake Lockley, which makes Moon Knight one of the most original super heroes in the comics.

Predator #1. “The Preserve Part 1 of 5” Written by Ed Brisson and penciled by Netho Diaz. The cover art was by Giuseppe Camuncoli & Richard Isanove. So I kinda liked this. However, I really did like the Alien book when it first came out, but it became one of my least favorite books every month. I just lost interest in it. I feel like this is going to be the same. I did like the set up of the story in this first issue, but I get a feeling that it is not sustainable.

Gideon Falls #3-4. Written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Andrea Sorrentino. This has quickly become one of my favorite books that I am currently reading. It is extremely creepy and I have loved the mystery about what is happening and the enigma over the characters and why they are doing what they are doing. This mystery of the Black Barn is compelling and I am invested in it.

The Me You Love in the Dark #4. Written by Skottie Young and drawn by Jorge Corona. Seems like Ro is starting to understand that you do not start a sexual relationship with a mysterious spirit in a haunted house. The sweetheart spirit took a bit of a turn in this issue as he began to exert his own control over Ro. I have very few ideas on how this book is bringing this story to a conclusion next issue, but I am excited to find out how. I love Skottie Young’s writing style.

Ten Thousand Black Feathers #3. Written by Jeff Lemire and art by Andrea Sorrentino. We get more about Jackie’s disappearance and we see more about how she was acting before her disappearance. Trish and Jackie had some powerful reactions between each other that has led to a frightening final page that I am dying to find out about. This Bone Orchard Mythos world has been very engaging so far.

Primordial #3. Written by Jeff Lemire with art by Andrea Sorrentino. This Cold War series surrounding the space race and the mystery about the missing dog (Laika) and the primates (Able and Mrs. Baker) moves along with some wonderful imagery that makes the reader feel trippy. Yelena took the doctor into East Berlin in search of an answer to the mystery of the space program, but that is not what they found.

X-Men #20. “Lord of the Brood Part Two.” We finally come across Broo, who had been leader of the Brood, but was gleefully unaware that the hive-mind parasites had been doing things that he did not want them to do while he slept. And then, at the end of the book, we get a surprising arrival of Wilson Fisk and Typhoid Mary on Krakoa. Written by Gerry Duggan and drawn by Stefano Caselli. Juan Frigeri & David Curiel teamed up to do the art on the cover.

X-23: Deadly Regenesis #1. “The Past Haunts Us All.” Written by Erick Schultz and art by Edgar Salazar. Kalman Andrasofszky did the art on the cover. I liked this issue. Lately, Marvel has been going back into the pasts of characters to show stories that happened during that time period. This is an example of that for Laura. She does the heroic ‘save people from a building fire’ that we have seen others do, and it worked quite well here too. We are leading into a fight between X-23 and Haymaker next issue.

Sabretooth & the Exiles #4. “Station Four.” I did not expect the end of this book. It was a shocking final page that really picked up the rest of the book that did not create much in way of excitement or suspense. As a penultimate issue, this was not great, but it does give me an excitement for the finale next issue so that part was successful. Written by Victor LaValle and art by Leonard Kirk.

March 9, 2023

Wednesday was NEW COMIC BOOK DAY, but between parent/teacher conferences and yet another snowstorm on a Thursday, this was the first opportunity that I had to write a post. I have not finished everything from my pull box (there are several X-books to go), but there were several to read.

Punisher War Journal Base #1. Written by Torunn Grønbekk and drawn by Djibril Morissette-Phan. This was a story of Frank Castle before he became the Punisher. I like the Punisher, but I have never really been a huge fan of any of the series he has appeared in. This one shot was fine, but it did not make me want to check out the ongoing Punisher book.

Mary Jane & Black Cat #4. Written by Jed MacKay and drawn by Vincenzo Carratù. Paulo Siqueria & Rachelle Rosenberg did the art for the cover. This series continues to be a weird one as I have no idea why Mary Jane Watson has some strange kind of random power generator. MJ and Felicia are still chasing after a soulsword to give to Belasco, having to confront several others pursuing the same thing. The two lead characters are fun together.

Silver Surfer: Ghost Light #2. “Part 2: Darkness” Written by John Jennings featuring art by Valentine DeLandro. Taurin Clarke did the cover art. The second issue of this new short series featured characters that had originally been introduced in Siler Surfer #5 from 1969. Talk about mining the past for stories. This is another weird series because the book is not really a Silver Surfer book. He is there, but he is absolutely a supporting character to the lead protagonist, Al Harper. I’m sticking with this one for awhile because it is interesting enough.

Blue Beetle: Graduation Day #4. Written by Josh Trujillo and drawn by Adrian Gutierrez. Jaime teams up with his ‘archfoe’ Fadeaway in an attempt to help him retrieve his family’s ‘Bag of Trix.’ If you did not guess, things did not go the way Blue Beetle had hoped. Things are looking even worse for poor Jaime moving forward too as several big gun superheroes are on the case, and not necessarily in a positive manner for Jaime.

Deadpool #4. “Eat You Heart Out” Written by Alyssa Wong with art by Martin Coccolo. Things are not going well for Deadpool. He is being chased after by a team of super powered villains trying to kill him, he has fallen in love with a woman named Valentine and Cletus Kasady exploded out of his chest. Rough deal for the Merc with a Mouth.

New Mutants: Lethal Legion #1. “Vampire Heist.” Written by Charlie Jane Anders and drawn by Enid Balám. This was an interesting first issue of this short series, but the fact is I had no idea who (almost) any of these characters were. I knew Rahne, but other than that, there was very few characters that I recognized or had any connection to.

Bloodline: Daughter of Blade #2. Written by Danny Lore with art by Karen S. Darboe. We keep close with Brielle, the daughter of Blade, who has just discovered her powers She teamed up with new girl at school, Whitney, to see exactly what hunting vampires was like. It might not have been a wise move. However, daddy arrived in the tick of time.

Fantastic Four #5. “Up to Scratch.” Written by Ryan North and drawn by Ivan Fiorelli. So we get a weird adventure for the FF when the Salem’s Seven, led by Nicholas Scratch attacks the FF on the road (causing a traffic jam) and messes them up badly. Trying to save their lives, the FF dimensionally travel, only to, apparently, bring back a bacteria that could crash the global food chain bringing about a total extinction. You know… the the FF, like a Thursday.

Scarlet Witch #3. Written by Steve Orlando with art from Sara Pichelli. Special guest star, Polaris, joined Wanda in a strange adventure to help a woman named Mardj to find the Sword in the Star. I was not a fan of this issue, although I thought the art was presented in an excellent manner. The book was filled with full page art from the early part to the very end of the book. It was an unconventional looking book, but the story did not hook me much. And the end puts Darcy into serious jeopardy.

Amazing Spider-Man #21. Written by Zeb Wells and drawn by John Romita Jr. This begins the reveal of the big story from this past year about what Peter did that was so horrible that he drove away all his friends and sent Mary Jane into the arms of another man, who had a couple of kids along for the ride. My friend Todd turned his nose up at this issue, but I thought it was decent. There was a character here called the Scribble Man, who I do not know if he had ever been seen before. It was my first time seeing him and he has some connection to what happened with Peter. I am nervous about what they are going to do. I just hope it isn’t something that is dramatically out of character for Peter (eg. One More Day).

Avengers #66. “The Final Assemblage.” Written by Jason Aaron and drawn by Javier Garrón. The multiversal Avengers battle the 616 Mephisto, despite the demon becoming gigantic. There were some surprise Avengers from across the Multiverse such as Galactus (???) or Cosmic Ka-Zar (???). This is the final Jason Aaron issue for this book, and this Avengers Assemble arc has two more issues left, with Avengers Forever #15 and Avengers Assemble: Omega #1 yet to come.

March 7, 2023

At the moment, there are so many independent comic that I am reading. I have been grabbing several series and finding issues in my piles that are intriguing me at the moment. Plus, I am more caught up with Marvel than I thought. There are a couple of series from Marvel that I am still working on, but my most favorite ones are caught up.

I have been enjoying this trip through the independents, especially those that feature some of my favorite writers working right now.

Here we go…

Gideon Falls #1-2. Written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Andrea Sorrentino. Just got the entire series of Gideon Falls in the mail today and I got the chance to start it off with two really great issues setting up what was happening. Father Quinn heads into the town only to find something dark and mysterious going on with the black barn. This was a great kick off and I am excited to continue it along.

Primordial #2. Written (also) by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Andrea Sorrentino. This book is mostly about a dog named Laika. A dog that was sent into space to eventually meet a monkey. It has been a fascinating start to this short series. Lemire and Sorrentino are an exciting pair that have brought us some really good stories.

King of Spies #3-4. Written by Mark Millar and drawn by Matteo Sealera. I loved the wrap up of King of Spies with Roland King finishing off with the worst monster of all…himself. The end of this series was rough but it was very poetic. This was a tight and exciting story that really worked.

Home #1-2. Written by Julio Anta and drawn by Anna Wieszczyk. This is one that I have found in the piles and I decided to start. I am still looking for #3 though (it’s here somewhere). This is an extremely political issue, featuring immigration problems that happened during the Trump Administration. Separating children from their mothers became a central moment for this comic. However, there is a super powered twist to this that makes it all the more interesting.

Moon Knight #13. “Knight feeders” Written by Jed MacKay and drawn by Federico Sabbatini. Still got some Marvel to read. Taskmaster guest stars and told the guy trying to hire him to go after Moon Knight that he wanted no part of Moon Knight. He scared him. This is a guy who will take on any number of Marvel heroes, but Moon Knight is the line he draws. I love the respect given by the villains to heroes.

The Me You Love in the Dark #3. Written by Skottie Young with art done by Jorge Corona. The book has really become a weird one as artist, Ro, continues to work on her painting while, seemingly, dating the spirit of the house. It even ends with some ‘baum-chick-a-bow-bow” at the end. Popcorn, movies and Netflix and chill with the spirit? Why not. Didn’t see that coming…so to speak.

Hulk #12. “Hulk Planet Part Four.” Written and drawn by Ryan Ottley (plotted with Donny Cates). This was actually my favorite of the Hulk books recently. Banner is struggling to prevent Titan from taking over. I am not sure if Titan is what I think it is, but it had a much more Immortal Hulk feel to the end of this issue. And there was a big time boom at the end too. This was the first issue of this run of the Hulk that engaged me. Hope this continues moving forward.

March 5, 2023

I have been picking up some recent graphic novels via eBay. In fact, I have three that were recently nominated for an Eisner. Two of which I will review below.

The third one is the most recent Eisner winner. It is called Monsters by Barry Windsor Smith. The problem is… this thing is like a textbook. It is a massive 360 pages and an attempt to start it is overwhelming.

I have read a few pages of the monstrosity, but I am not sure when this will get finished. Perhaps this is a book to wait with until summer. Or maybe a little bit every day. Either way, it is gigantic.

Otherwise, here are the rest…

Meadowlark. Creative duo of Greg Ruth and Ethan Hawke. Yes, Ethan Hawke the actor. The cover describes it as “a coming-of-age crime story.” I can see why this was nominated for an Eisner because this was a beautiful book. The art was spectacular and the color was very sepia-toned. It is a lovely book to look at, even if the story was one of pain. It followed teenager Cooper who had been giving his mother trouble lately. He wound up at his father, Jack’s, place of business- at a prison on a day when several inmates executed an escape plan. Things get rather personal for Jack and Cooper quickly. You can definitely see this as a film starring Ethan Hawke as Jack. I can’t imagine that this project is not down the road a bit. The book was a quick and thrilling read. I really enjoyed this.

Lugosi: The Rise & Fall of Hollywood’s Dracula. Story and art were done by Koren Shadmi. This is the life story of the famous actor Bela Legosi, who became most well known for his role as Count Dracula for Universal Studios. The graphic novel covered Legosi’s life from a youngster in Hungary until his death, sad and broken in California. We hear about his struggles getting any roles significant besides Dracula, his rivalries with Boris Karloff and his friendship with Ed Wood. We see Legosi’s marriages and his family issues. It is a fascinating look at an iconic actor in the early days of cinema.

Love Everlasting #3-5. Written by Tom King and drawn by Elsa Charretier. Joan Peterson made her way into plenty of love stories over these three issues. Issue five was a little different as it gave us a bit of background in what exactly was going on, but it did not lay out everything. Apparently, Joan’s mother has some involvement here- hiring the cowboy who has been killing Joan in the different timelines. Each of these issues had a different twist to them and I have been enjoying the mysterious story as in moves along.

Middlewest #1. Written by Skottie Young and drawn by Jorge Corona. Abel is a young kid whose had plenty of problems from an abusive and strict father. Middlewest is a beautifully looking book that I was attracted to because of Skottie Young’s work on Strange Academy. He has become one of those writers that I want to read because their work is always great. This world is magical and I want to know more.

King of Spies #2. Written by Mark Millar and drawn by Matteo Sealera. Roland King is back at it. He has six months to live and the former British spy has decided that he will use the time he has remaining to kill as many monsters as he can. It seemed that the British Intelligence knows who is behind the recent rush of murders and assassinations and they have called in Roland’s son, Atticus. Millar is really good at this style of story and I am intrigued with what is next.

Primordial #1. Written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Andrea Sorrentino. The pair that would eventually work on the Bone Orchard Mythos project, worked together on this series for Image. This is a book where the advancement of the space program took a different path in the early 1960s. The sci-fi book, which made me think of Interstellar crossed with The Department of Truth, kicks off with a great mystery involving what happened to a pair of monkeys sent into space.

Jane Foster & The Mighty Thor #5. “Part Five of Five.” Written by Torunn Grønbekk and drawn by Michael Dowling. This issue wrapped up the story of Jane Foster’s search for Thor and the attack by Ares, God of War, on Asgard. Honestly, this book was, at best, adequate. There was a lot of Thor-type action and weird names that can make it tough to follow. Still, it looked great and it leads into the current storyline running in Thor currently so, it was worth the read.

Ten Thousand Black Feathers #2. Written by Jeff Lemire with art from Andrea Sorrentino. We continue to see the background and history between Jackie and Trish, setting up the mystery beneath the series… Jackie’s disappearance. Trish is determined to help her friend, even after ten years. The splitting between the girls’ lives and the fantasy element of the book is cool and keeps things moving quickly.

Regarding the Matter of Oswald’s Body #1. “Chapter One: October 55th.” I found this number one in a pile and I was curious to read it. It was from Boom! Studios which has had plenty of solid short series. The book fell into a lot of the current books I have been reading, as a mystery man named Frank is assembling a group of people. Not sure what the mission is, but the last page has a picture of Lee Harvey Oswald. Oswald starred in The Department of Justice too. I do not think I am pursuing this book any further, but it was not a bad read.

The Me You Love in the Dark #2. Written by Skottie Young and drawn by Jorge Corona. Ro is an artist trying to rediscover her mojo, but the house that she is staying at is haunted… or something like that. This is an uncommon haunted house tale, as it really is more of a character piece with most of the book centered around a conversation. I liked it so far. It was an easy read and it keeps the suspense about what is going on.

March 4, 2023

So it is post #42… which is, of course, the answer to the ultimate question. It was Jackie Robinson’s number that was retired by Major League Baseball across all teams. It was the final number of Hurley’s numbers on LOST. Number 42 is a significant number so it is a good day to do another special edition of the Comic Catch-Up.

I was pondering some questions the other day. One that I was thinking about was what causes me to try a new title? Especially now that I have been expanding my comic reading significantly past just Marvel. Why do I try something and not others?

What I came up with was clear. It was the writer.

When I was young, I was more into the artist. I remember being more of a fan of those people creating the look, the imagery, the beauty of the book than those who were writing it. I loved John Byrne, Walter Simonson, Arthur Adams, John Romita Jr (Spider-Man, of course), Frank Miller, among others.

Now, I honestly do not know a bunch of artists off the top of my head. However, when I see certain names of writers attached to projects, I feel my curiosity piqued. I have started the Bone Orchard Mythos because of Jeff Lemire. I gave Love Everlasting another chance because it was written by Tom King (who wrote the brilliant 2015 Vision series). Tom Tayler wrote my favorite run of Spidey books called Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Donny Cates is up and down, either being brilliant with Crossover or horrendous with the new Hulk series. Speaking of Hulk, The Immortal Hulk brought Al Ewing to the front. I have purchased several of Skottie Young’s books because of his work on Strange Academy. Even the old days would make me think about Chris Claremont. Several of those artists I mentioned earlier transitioned into becoming writers too.

Though it would be up for debate, perhaps my current favorite writer working in comics today is most likely James Tynion IV. I was introduced to his work on Something is Killing the Children and I have loved The House of Slaughter, The Department of Truth and The Closet. I never read any of his Batman books that I have heard he became known for.

One of the things I love about Tynion’s writing is that he has such a variety of tones to his work and his style, which feels the same, is actually very different. In SiKtC, Tynion IV does not use a lot of dialogue or exposition, relying heavily on the art/images to move the story along. The Department of Truth is much opposite, as several of the issues were exposition-heavy. The look of many of these books are extremely original as well. Different is important.

No matter what they style, James Tynion IV is an exceptional storyteller, in many ways pushing the format of comics into areas where they have never been before. If I see his name on the cover of a book (say, Blue Book #1), I am much more likely to pick it up than I would be if it were written by another comic writer.

So, I jumped into James Tynion IV’s oeuvre today with both feet.

The Department of Truth #18-22. The art was done on all of these issues by Martin Simmonds. I was terribly upset, because as I reached issue 22, I realized that the book had ended. I did not know that before. I was upset because I had really enjoyed this book. Even worse, I think this last few issues were just amazing. The exposition-heavy part of these issues had been lowered a bit as more and more truth started to come out. They went into more specifics about what The Department of Truth and what exactly was happening. I should have seen that as a clue that the book was wrapping up. However, they left off on a massive cliffhanger so I hope that we have not seen the last of Lee Harvey Oswald and the others.

Enter the House of Slaughter Free Comic Book Day. Art by Tate Brombal. This was the prequel for the ongoing series House of Slaughter that came out on Free Comic Book Day. I had not read it when I was doing the Something is Killing the Children catch-up day, and it was in the pile just waiting for the opportunity. With the Tynion day today, the moment was perfect. It weaved together much of the background of the original arc for Erica and threw some more spice in the mix.

The Closet #1-3. Art by Gavin Fullerton. I had no idea that there were only three issues in this series, done during the 30th anniversary of Image Comics. I had read the first couple of issues, but I did not know it ended with three because I had not finished it. So I re-read the whole thing to keep myself clear on what was going down. I am pleased that I did because it was a tough story that was filled with pain and fear. Thom is such a horrible person and a rotten father and husband, but you can still relate to the loser’s struggles. Of course, in the end, his own selfishness was causing fear for his son and the imagery of what the kid was having happen was just hard to read.

The Nice House on the Lake #1-12. Artist: Álvaro Martínez Bueno. This is the series that I ordered when I was going over the Eisner Awards looking for interesting independent books. This is not independent as it is DC Comics Black Label, but it definitely has an indie-feel to it. I loved this book as some benevolent ‘alien(?)’ who had been masquerading as a human for years, was instructed to find 10 exceptional humans to save before the end of the world. However, Walter (the ‘alien’) had grabbed the friends he had made during his time as a human and he took them all to a idyllic paradise, on a house on a lake. He found out that the human nature was too erratic. The series does an excellent job of building this group of people over the run of the 12-issues so that they are important to the reader and three-dimensional as characters. Much like a lot of Tynion’s work, the narrative is not just told in the typical comic book fashion. The use of text messages, memos and sketches make this a unique and engaging series.

March 3, 2023

It’s Friday night and I have read several comics over the last couple of days. I am going to continue to read these books and when there is enough, I will continue to do the Comic Catch-Up.

I got one of my orders from eBay today with a graphic novel. It will be the first book I discuss below as I continue to find more interest in the Bone Orchard Mythos by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino.

Off we go…

The Passageway. Writer: Jeff Lemire. Artist: Andrea Sorrentino. This graphic novel kicked off the Bone Orchard Mythos where Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino team-up once again to build a horror book and several horror series that fall inside the same connected universe. That idea intrigued me a great deal and so I looked into the books. This graphic novel is a wonderful kick off to this horror world. The art is great with some beautiful images on these pages. The story is intense. These birds are really creepy. It is a great start to this project.

Ten Thousand Black Feathers #1. Jeff Lemire & Andrea Sorrentino’s The Bone Orchard Mythos continues with this new short series. It starts with am introduction to two characters, Trish and Jackie, and their relationship, how it began and where they went. The darkness is there and the mysterious events are extremely inventive and involving.

Basilisk #2. “Chapter Two: Blessings of the Chimera.” Written by Cullen Bunn and drawn by Jonas Scharf. This issue was a little more of a downward trend for me. I still enjoyed it, but there was a lot in here that felt like I wasn’t sure what was happening (and not in the good way) and material that did not still with me after reading it. Still love the character and the last page was beautifully horrific so I hope the narrative grasps my attention more moving forward.

Jane Foster & the Mighty Thor #4. “Part Four of Five.” Written by Torunn Grønbekk with art from Michael Dowling. Jane Foster continues her search to find Thor and the connection between the pair of these characters is developed more. And while that is going on… we get Ares. Looks like the finale of this short series could be fire.

The Department of Truth #17. Written by James Tynion IV and drawn by Jorge Fornés. Lee Harvey Oswald joins forces with President Richard Nixon. I had to let that idea sink in a minute. The rest of the book focuses in on the Apollo 11 moon landing mission. One of the interesting ideas with The Department of Truth is that you read the story and you are never really sure if what you read is what happened. It is the ultimate conspiracy theory book that is just fascinating with its big swings every issue.

The Riddler Year One #3. Written by Paul Dano with art by Stevan Subic. The cover featured art by the legendary Bill Sienkiewicz. I did have more trouble following this issue than I did with previous ones. I have a feeling I have a good idea where it is going, but I can also see a situation where I misjudged what the book is trying to tell me. It is still a beautifully original book with some great storytelling techniques.

Ghost Rider #12. “Neeropolis.” Written by Benjamin Percy and drawn by Cory Smith. Savannah is going up in flames and it seemed as if the Ghost Rider was to blame. This was news to Johnny Storm, who arrived in the city with Talia discovering that plenty of people thought he was behind this. Blaze had an idea of what had happened… and the idea of another Ghost Rider popped up.

King of Spies #1. Written by Mark Millar and drawn by Matteo Sealera. One of the world’s greatest spies, Roland King, is at a time in his life where he is having health issues. In fact, he had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and given 6 months to live. Instead of rolling over and dying, Roland decided to take the fight to the evil of the world. Mark Millar writes this type of character extremely well and this first issue of four was very compelling.

Cove the Dead with Lime #3. The story of Jack Teller continues as we see how he wound up becoming one of the hooded plague doktors. It is a terribly tragic tale told in a difficult manner. The art is extremely moody and tense. This has been an intriguing book written by Jonathan Chance and drawn by Hernan Gonzalez.

Love Everlasting #2. “The Hunt for Love.” Written by Tom King and drawn by Elsa Charretier. Joan finds herself in a new love story, this time as a maid who fell in love with the son of the nobleman she worked for. To say that his father approved of the love would be an understatement. Then, as the book continued, the story takes a weird turn. Love Everlasting provided, once more, a compelling and unexpectedly good story. I am very anxious to find out what is going down here.

March 1, 2023

Well, welcome to the All-New, All-Different Comic Catch-Up for March. Okay, so it may not be all-new or all-different. I got a cool new heading for March, though. Reminder that I will not be doing this post daily as I did in February, but it will absolutely be a regular post during March.

It is Wednesday, so that means it is NEW COMIC BOOK DAY. I actually bought a bunch of back issues today, including several Love Everlasting issues, but I stuck to reading the new issues tonight.

Interestingly, it was March 1st, and Marvel released like seven different books that were number ones. I got them all. There are some that I may not continue collecting moving forward, but it is a coincidence that all the number ones arrived on the first of the month.

Here is the night’s haul.

Hallows’ Eve #1. “There’s One in Every Deck.” Hallows’ Eve came from the pages of Amazing Spider-Man during the Dark Web storyline, which may not have been the biggest selling point for this book. I did not love the Dark Web event, but this issue was much more intriguing. This character had some good moments in this first issue and, I mean, she pretended to be a werewolf. Can’t beat that. Written by Erica Schultz and drawn by Michael Dowling.

I am Iron Man #1. “Chapter One: Hero” Written by Murewa Ayodele with art by Dotun Akande. I did like this book. In particular, the look of the issue was just wonderful. I was very impressed with the art from Dotun Akande. Akande’s cover was really great, harping back to a noir flavor. The story itself was a tad difficult to follow as the story trekked across several different versions of Iron Man in different time frames.

Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones #1. Written by Emily Kim and drawn by Kei Zama. David Nakayama did the cover for this issue. This was a fun book, even if the story constantly used the C-word. Clones. That word brings back some horrendous feelings of betrayal and anger. Feelings that have never truly allowed me to give a crap about Ben Reilly, no matter what position he was in. However, Gwen is just a charming character and is fun to read.

Rogue & Gambit #1. “Buy a Girl A(nother) Ring First.” Written by Stephanie Phillips and drawn by Carlos Gomez. Cover art was done by Steve Morris. This book reminded me of how much I used to enjoy Gambit. This started out with some excellent Remy LeBeau action, albeit some drunk action. Of course, when your wife is Rogue, you are usually in a pretty good place. When Destiny shows up with one of her visions, she sends Rogue and Gambit to retrieve Manifold, the teleporter. It does not go well.

Spider-Man: Unforgiven #1. “Horror Stuff” Written by Tim Seeley and drawn by Sid Kotian. Kyle Hotz & Dan Brown did the art on the cover. This looks to be the next series of books with a new group of supernatural characters. These are the Forgiven and they are vampires who do not consume human blood and are out to look to help humans. They come across Spider-Man in this issue and next issue will meet up with the X-Men. There was a surprising betrayal in this issue that caught me, and the other characters, off guard. I hope to get more on these new characters than just their vampire powers.

Murderworld: Game Over #1. Written by Jim Zub & Ray Fawkes with art from Lorenzo Tammetta. This concluded the Murderworld story with Arcade’s Squid Game (basically). I had been cheering for the regular humans to make it through the trap-filled Murderworld. Turned out that Black Widow, who appeared at the end of the last episode, was not our Natasha after all. LMDs. Arcade showed what a manipulative villain he could be and displayed the depth of his cruelness. I’m not sure I loved the ending, but I did like this series.

Cosmic Ghost Rider #1. “Dual Identity Part One.” Written by Stephanie Phillips and drawn by Juann Cabal. This was fine. I have never been much of a fan of the character of Cosmic Ghost Rider and this did nothing to change my mind. I was fine with the book and I liked the design of Kral Dravitt. While it was fine, I will most likely not continue on with this one.

Spider-Man #6. “Part Six: The Once and Future Queen.” So there were more than just number ones this month. This is written by Dan Slott and drawn by Mark Bagley. Despite this A + creative team, I just am not into this Spider-Verse stuff. I just want my Peter Parker in Spider-Man stories. I do not need all of these variants everywhere. This is labeled as the End of the Spider-verse and I hope that it is the case.

Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #10. Written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly. Art is by Carmen Carnero. M.O.D.O.C. is here and causing all kinds of trouble. Cap is still shaken from the betrayal of Bucky and the Invaders are here to help stop the giant headed villain. However, it seemed as if the book ends with some tragedy.

February 28, 2023

Well, here it is. The final day of February brings to an end the every day Comic Catch-up that has been going strong daily. I have made a dent in the piles of comics that I have but there are still several piles to go.

This feels like the letter page at the end of a series’ run. The writer saying how he/she had such an awesome experience with whichever character that was in the book. He/She thanked the artist, the other creative people, the editors, and the fans who had been so dedicated to the book.

There have been days when I had to squeeze the time in the day. Most of the days, however, I spent way more than the one hour that I had originally intended to give. It has been awesome. I had really missed reading my comics. I have caught up with a bunch of the titles that I currently collect, which makes NEW COMIC BOOK DAY all the better. I have also found myself more invested in the independent comics than I have ever been. I have found fun searching across eBay to pick up complete sets. Several of these will be coming in the mail this week.

After all of this reflection, I do plan on continuing the Comic Catch-Up as the calendar turns to March. It will just not have to be daily. If there is a day I get home from school and have something to watch on TV that evening, maybe I do not read anything on that day. I won’t feel the need to wake up early on busy days to read before I have to get ready for school. There is nothing saying when I have to do a post. All I can say is that there will be plenty of days when the Comic Catch-Up will continue.

I do plan on continuing the post numbering with #40. I am not ready to restart the numbering at number one like they do with comics…all the time. How many Deadpool #1s have there been?

So, with the final Comic Catch-Up of February, let’s go…

Crossover #9-13. Written (and starring) Donny Cates. Drawn by Geoff Shaw. I loved this series. It was one of the most meta stories that I have ever read. Who knew that Donny Cates himself would be a major character (who dies) in the book. I love Ellipses and Ryan. The section involving Brian Bendis was hilarious. Negan killing Robert Kirkman with Lucille? Did not see that coming. There were just a ton of surprises and exceptional cameos and guest stars. I had only planned on reading issue #9 & 10 tonight, but I was just so into the story that I had to finish it up. I sure hope that this is not the complete end of the book because the cliffhanger was compelling as hell. Perhaps the meta aspect of Crossover would wear thin one day, but that had not happened in the first 13 issues. Bring on some more.

The Department of Truth #16. Written by James Tynion IV and penciled by Alison Sampson. The Department of Truth and Lee Harvey Oswald goes psychadelic. Lee is stoned and the whole issue was a total trip. The art by Alison Simpson was utterly wild, full of color and like a fever dream. And all centered around RFK. Another outstanding issue.

Black Panther #7. “The Long Shadow Book Seven” Written by John Ridley and drawn by Stefano Landini. Cover Art by EYG Hall of Famer Alex Ross. Tosin meets up with Shuri and T’Challa’s group continues to grow. Despite the fact that these characters are preparing to fight with T’Challa, none of them seem to like him very much. Even Storm and the Dora Milaje had issues with the former king. Still, the forces are forming to oppose the power grab of Akili.

Moon Knight #12. “The Killing Time Part Two” Written by Jed Mackay with art from Alessandro Cappuccio. Stephen Segovia & Rachelle Rosenberg were featured as cover artists. This might have been my favorite issue of this new run of Moon Knight yet. All of these characters were coming to a wonderful convergence as Moon Knight and Zodiac were facing off and just when it looked like Zodiac was going to get his final comeuppance… Steven Grant arrives. Great issue.

Jane Foster & the Mighty Thor #3. “Part Three of Five” Written by Torunn Grønbekk and art by Michael Dowling. Jane taking on S’ym in Limbo is one thing, but the last few pages of this issue were shocking. I guess Thor does not know who Jane was. Now, true, amnesia is an overused plot device, but there was just something of the way in which this was revealed that made it feel fresh.

The Silver Coin #3. “Death Rattle.” Written by Ed Brisson with art from Michael Walsh. A brutal issue featuring a female thief who came across the cursed coin, which seemingly turned her into a vicious murderer. I did like a lot of the imagery and the kills involved, but the story itself felt a little lacking of depth. The ending was very intriguing though.

Hulk #11. “Hulk Planet Part Three“. Written, penciled and inked by Ryan Ottley. I guess this was the Hulk’s chance to play Quidditch. A game called Godball on this planet of Hulk worshipers. I found this one to be just ridiculous and not enjoyable at all. I am really hoping to get some form of the real Hulk back soon because this whole Spaceship Hulk thing with Banner and others piloting him is just not doing it for me. This was easily my least favorite book of the day.

So February comes to a close. March is coming in like a lamb weather-wise, but like a lion since tomorrow is NEW COMIC BOOK DAY!!!!