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.