Grabbed some back issues this week for the collection. There were some fun stuff including Champions #1 (that’s Vol. 1), A couple of older Marvel Team-Up including one with Spidey and the Cat, and an old X-Men issue that was a reprint of Along Came a Spider.
I picked up a couple of variant covers of Howard the Duck #1, the newest version of the character that came out last year. The cover included one by Skottie Young.
The highlight of the eBay adventures this week is grabbing the entire run of Groo at Image, issues #1-12. I won a bid on that just last night and discovered that I had won it just a few minutes ago.
I also picked up a couple of comics that had been graded by CDC. I’m excited to share those when they arrive.
Books this week:
Punisher #3. ”The Other Side of Terror.” Written by David Pepose and art by Dave Wachter. The cover art was done by Rod Reis. I thought this was the best issue of the new Punisher so far. It was spooky and scary and the Fearmaster felt like a cool villain for him and the end with a new version of Jigsaw looks promising.
Universal Monsters: Dracula #4. Written by James Tynion IV and drawn by Martin Simmonds. The series starring the Universal Monster’s Dracula concluded with this issue. It was a wonderful four issues, and you just had to feel for poor Renfield.
Crashdown #1. Written by “Comic Tom” Garcia and Ryan Sargeant with art by Ben Templesmith. Picked this one up off the stand. It is from the company Whatnot Publishing, which I had never heard before. It is a fun book that has some kind of sea creature.
Resurrection of Magneto #1. ”The Lightning Path“ Written by Al Ewing and art by Luciano Vecchio. The variant cover (which was the Cover of the Week) was by Stefano Caselli & Jesus Aburtov. Interestingly enough, the issue was more about Storm than Magneto as Storm was on the way to try and find him.
Superior Spider-Man #3. ”Plot Armor“ Written by Dan Slott and penciled by Mark Bagley. Spidey tries to impersonate Superior Spider-Man with Doc Ock in his headset in hopes of saving Anna Marie. This has been a decent series so far, though I am not sure I love where it’s heading.
Spider-Woman #3. Written by Steve Foxe and art by Carola Borelli. Leinil Francis Yu & Sunny Gho did the cover. Gang War continues as Jessica finds her son in a place where she least expected him. Shocking.
Immortal Thor #6. ”The Teller of the Tale.” Thor and Loki talk about a tale from their distant past and Thor sees the adventure in a new light. Thor does battle with a giant and something dealing with Marvel Comics is being set up.
G.O.D.S. #4. Written by Jonathan Hickman and drawn by Valerio Schiti/ Mateus Manhanini did the cover art. This has been a weird ride so far. The Inbetweener is involved. Wyn and Doctor Strange make a fun pairing.
Daredevil: Black Armor #3. Written by D.G. Chichester and penciled by Netho Diaz. Mark Bagely and Romulo Fajardo Jr did the cover art. Matt Murdock has to try to survive the dangers of Baron Von Strucker. The flashback series has been decent so far.
Tenement #8. Written by Jeff Lemire and art by Andrea Sorrentino. The latest in the horror building story by Jeff Lemire kept going on with the potential sacrifice of Isaac. The crew heads to the second floor.
Other books read: Miguel O’Hara: Spider-Man 2099 #4, Newburn #14, Project: Cryptid #5, The Schlub #6, Power Pack: Into the Storm #1, Damn Them All #12, Hexagon Bridge #5 and Slow Burn #4.
I got a whole bunch of books from eBay this week. The eBay books I pick up are usually those odd ball books that you may not find anywhere else. In fact, I picked up three different series of The Tick. One was The Tick Color #1-4. Then Tick and Arthur #1-6 and finally The Tick: Big Blue Destiny #1-5. I do love the Tick and my Tick collection is sparse at best.
After that, I was able to pick up Howard the Duck Vol. 3 #2, 3,and 4. Number one is actually on the way separately as this seemed as if the conditions were better than the one set on eBay that had all of the volume 3 in it. I think there was also a variant cover coming with that #1. When that arrives, I do believe that I have all of the Howard the Duck volumes in my collection, leaving only those stranger ones.
Not from eBay directly, via Todd actually, is Ice Cream Man #20. I had a second printing of this already, but this is the Local Comic Shop Day edition of the book. This was very much like the Swan Song #6 from last week and it was a ton of fun and yet still quite creepy.
New books this week:
Invincible Iron Man #14. ”Here Be Mandarin Rings“ Written by Gerry Duggan and art by guest artist Andrea Di Vito. Kael Ngu was the cover artist. Tony Stark and Emma Frost get busy!!! Then Ironheart and Forge face dangers in space.
The Colonized: Zombies vs. Aliens. Written by Chris Ryall and drawn by Drew Moss. Cover art was by Fran Cavil. This was a lot of fun. Aliens arrive on earth, trying to collect specimens. Unfortunately, their ray brought the dead back, reanimating them into zombies.
Deviant #3. Written by James Tynion IV and illustrated by Joshua Hixson. Who knew an axe to the face might not be a final blow? This story of serial killers and those investigating it has been thrilling so far.
Jackpot #1. Written by Celeste Bronfman and art by Joey Vazquez with Eric Gapstur. Pablo Villalobos & Romulo Fajardo Jr. did the cover art. Mary Jane Watson in her new Jackpot identity joins in on the Gang War storyline running through the Spidey and street level books. I’m still not sold on MJ as a superhero, but this was enjoyable enough.
Cobra Commander #1. Written by Joshua Williamson and art by Andrea Milana. One of the biggest surprises of the week, I really enjoyed this first issue starring Cobra’s head cheese. And the surprise captive that Cobra Commander has is worth the price of the book alone.
Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #4. Written by Brian Buccellato and art by Christian Duce and Tom Derenick. Drew Johnson and Romulo Fajardo Jr. did the cover art. We head to Atlantis for some watery battles and Aquaman is able to unleash the Kraken!
Avengers: Twilight #1. ”The Best of Us” Written by Chip Zdarsky and art by Daniel Acuna. Alex Ross and Daniel Acuna did the cover art. This was another surprise of the week as I typically do not love these potential future stories very much, but I was totally engaged with this one. Sad Spider-Man scene though.
Fantastic Four #16. ”Exalt Imagination“ Written by Ryan North and art by Francesco Mortarino. Cover art this week is the EYG Cover of the Week and it is by EYG Hall of Famer Alex Ross. Franklin and Valeria have to go to school in the FF’s new home of Arizona and they try to do something amazing for their science report. It might have backfired on them. Fun issue with these characters who have been gone for awhile.
Daredevil #5. ”Introductory Rites” Part Five. Written by Saladin Ahmed and drawn by Farid Karami. Cover art by John Romita Jr, Scott Hanna and Marcio Menyz. Father Matt and She-Hulk are out on the town and are eating food everywhere. Something is going on with Jen Walters and it’s going to take Father Matt to figure it out.
Amazing Spider-Man #42. Written by Zeb Wells and penciled by John Romita Jr. Romita Jr., Scott Hanna and Marcio Menyz did the cover art. Beetle and Madame Masque have a stare down as the Gang War continues. Then. sides are forming for the big thrown down.
Cable #1. ”United We Fall“. Written by Fabian Nicieza and penciled by Scot Eaton. Whilce Portacio & Alex Sinclair did the cover art. Okay, I tried to get into this, but honestly Cable has never been a personal favorite of mine and this book was meh for me.
Miguel O’Hara: Spider-Man 2099 #3. ”Beware… The Werewolf By Night of 2099“ Written by Steve Orlando and art by Jason Muhr. This was the Legacy issue #100 for Miguel as he has to deal with a Werewolf from 2099.
The Enfield Gang Massacre #6. ”Chapter Six: An Occurrence.” Written by Chris Condon and artwork by Jacob Phillips. This limited series comes to a close with a great sequence involving Enfield and a hangman’s noose. It was a sequence right out of an old Twilight Zone episode and it was well done.
Other books read this week: Phantom Road #8, Superman: Lost #10, White Widow #3, Capwolf and the Howling Commandos #4, X-Men #30, Black Panther #8, Kill Your Darlings #5, and Guardians of the Galaxy #10.
Another snowstorm opened up some time to read comics today. The last snowstorm allowed me o head to Comic World this past Wednesday. We’ve had nearly 20 inches of snow this week.
I have also gotten some eBay shopping in. This week a copy of the Marvel Graphic Novel The Death of Groo by Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragonés arrived in the mail. It is a beautiful copy and I am very happy to have it. I have ordered several older Tick books that will arrive at a later date.
Other books this week:
The Sensational She-Hulk #4. Written by Rainbow Rowell and art by Ig Guara. Jen Bartel did the cover art. I was very excited for this issue because Patsy Walker, aka Hellcat was going to appear. She was a hoot in this issue, as she and Jen head out on the town (with Carol Danvers) and there was fun for all. I don’t know why I really love Hellcat, but I find that I really do.
Miguel O’Hara: Spider-Man #2. ”Beware… Dracula!“ Written by Steve Orlando and art by Michael Dowling. Nick Bradshaw & Rachelle Rosenberg did the cover art. I liked this issue much more than I did issue #1. The confrontation between Miguel and Dracula on the moon was very interesting and compelling.
Swan Songs #6. Written by W. Maxwell Prince and illustrated by Martin Morazzo. This is my favorite book of the week (plus the winner of the Cover of the week). This is the most creative book I have seen in ages, a parody of Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends and a crossover with Ice Cream Man. The poems are funny and warped.
Captain Marvel #4. ”Shifting Lines“ Carol and Yuna are after the MacGuffin in teh Negative Zone and they come across… The Black Cat??? What?
Book of Butcher #1. Written by James Tynion IV and drawn by Werther Dell’edera. This was a surprise a couple weeks ago when it was just suddenly out. I thought comic companies usually promote releases like this. It even caught the staff at Comic World off guard. This was informational.
Ultimate Spider-Man #1. Written by Jonathan Hicks and art by Marco Checchetto. Checchetto and Matthew Wilson did the cover art. The Ultimate Universe is back and the new Ultimate Spider-Man kicks it off. Peter Parker had not been bitten by the radioactive spider and he was now a middle aged man, married to MJ with two kids. But something was missing. This was a good read and I am intrigued by the new version we are getting.
Daredevil: Gang War#2. Written by Erica Schultz and penciled by Sergio Davila. Elektra is in the Gang War in an attempt to protect Hell’s Kitchen. However, Madame Masque has a new assassin hired, and she had Wolverine-like claws. Who is she? Very curious.
Giant Size Spider-Man #1. ”Lethal Protection“. Written by Cody Ziglar and drawn by Iban Coello. Includes a reprint of Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #22 by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli. Bryan Hitch & Alex Sinclair did the cover art. Miles Morales has to face off with a wild and uncontrollable Venom.
Luke Cage: Gang War #3. Written by Rodney Barnes and drawn by Ramon Bachs. Caanan White did the cover art. Mayor Cage and his new group of heroes take on some giant robots created by Smythe.
Avengers #9. “Twilight Dreaming” Part Three. The Avengers take on the Twilight Court and pull out one of the oldest clichés around. They match up against the villains that were too even a match… so they decided to switch opponents. I saw that coming a mile away. As I was reading, I thought, watch them just switch opponents and that is exactly what they did. I have seen that countless times over the years. I found that pretty lazy.
Transformers #4. Written and drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson. Optimus puts everything on the line to try and save Spike, who was shot last episode. It did not help when Starscream and the Decepticons attacked the hospital. A shocking final scene too, btw.
Blade #7. “Mother of Evil” Part Seven. Written by Bryan Hill and art by Valentina Pinti. Cover art was by Elena Casagrande & Romulo Fajardo Jr. Blade received a call from Bruce Banner and he arrives in a small town and faces off with the Hulk. It’s a creepy issue with some horrifying imagery even though the cover is a bit of a mislead.
Deep Cuts #4. ”Blue Notes“ Written by Kyle Higgins and Joe Clark and pencils by Ramon K. Perez. I really thought this book was over. It had been months since the last issue came out. I do enjoy the different style of storytelling that goes on in this anthology book.
Rise of the Powers of X #1. Written by Kieron Gillen and art by R.B. Silva. Ugh. This one takes place ten years in the future, immediately making me uneasy about it. Then Ms. Marvel is listed as Captain Krakoa. These future storylines are never my favorites. Unfortunately, this one was not any different.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #15. Written by Cody Ziglar and art by Federico Vicentini and Federica Mancin. Still in the Gang War, Miles teams up with Captain Kra…err… Ms. Marvel against the Hobgoblin and his henchmen.
Fishflies #4. Written and drawn by Jeff Lemire. Franny Fox and her former fugitive friend who had turned into a giant bug are out and being pursued by the police. A real Frankenstein type story that is beautiful to look at (especially the colors).
Other books read this week: Thunderbolts #2, The Sentry #2, Blood Commandment #3, Antarctica #7, Spider-Gwen: Smash #2, Starsigns #7, W0rldtr33 #6, and Midlife (or How to Hero at Fifty).
The first EYG Comic Cavalcade of the new year! Happy New Year!
Kicking off things this week, I have completed my collection of Howard the Duck Vol. 1 with issues #5 and #8. There are more Howards to get from future volumes, but I am pleased that I’m done with that one. I have a bunch of Vol. 2 What Ifs on the way from eBay as well.
I have been working on inventorying my comics with the app CLZ. I have passed 5300 comics at this point with plenty of boxes remaining. It has been fun going through the collection.
Books this week:
Captain America #5. ”Sigils, Moxie and Chopped Demon Liver.” Written by J. Michael Straczynski and art by Lan Medina. Cover art was done by Taurin Clarke. The story continued with the present day battle with the demon and the past time against the Nazis. This has been a great story arc so far.
Pine & Merrimac #1. Written by Kyle Starks and illustrated by Fran Galán. The new Boom! Studios book with Linner & Parker. They are the married couple at the heart of the book. Pine & Merrimac happens to be the street corner where their detective agency was found. I enjoyed this debut very much. It was a good read and I loved the relationship with Linner and Parker.
Amazing Spider-Man #41. Written by Zeb Wells and penciled by John Romita Jr. John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna and Marcio Menyz did the cover art. The Gang War continues as Kingpin and Tombstone battled with each other over their respective children. Spidey and She-Hulk were funny with the interactions with Typhoid Mary.
Ghostlore #7. ”Babe at the Threshold.” Written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Leomacs. The cover art (which was the cover of the week) was from Reiko Murakami & Vincenzo Riccardi. A storm is coming. And it is going to be a danger for Harmony.
Thanos: Smash of the Titans #2. ”Yesterday’s Lovers Never Make Good Friends.” Written by Christopher Cantwell and art by Luca Pizzari. Leinil Francis Yu & Sunny Gho did the cover art. The Illuminati recruited the Hulk to take on Thanos, to keep the Mad Titan away from Roberta. And the ending was a shock.
Silver Surfer: Rebirth Legacy #5. ”The Devil You Know.“ Written by Ron Marz and penciled by Ron Lim. The Silver Surfer does battle with Mephisto with help from Eve Warlock and Genis-Vell. This flashback series came to a conclusion, but there seems to be something being set up for Eve Warlock and Nova (Frankie Raye).
Love Everlasting #11. ”Just West of Love” Written by Tom King and art by Elsa Charretier. This new arc seems to be revealing to us the origin of the Cowboy.
Fall of the House of X #1. ”The Trial of Cyclops“ Written by Gerry Duggan and art by Lucas Werneck. Pepe Larraz & Marte Gracia did the cover art. The Orchis storyline is coming to a head as Cyclops refuses to put up a defense. This are definitely happening in the X-verse.
Doctor Strange #11. ”Circus.“ Written by Jed MacKay and art by guest Danilo S. Beyruth. Alex Ross did the cover art. Dr. Strange and Clea take Clea’s new sister to the circus and all kinds of chaos breaks out.
Vengeance of the Moon Knight #1. ”Reese.” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Alessandro Cappuccio. David Finch did the cover art. Marc Spector is dead. Or is he? Quite an intriguing new issue with the staff of the Midnight Mission stepping up for the loss of Moon Knight. Who is the new Moon Knight? I am excited to find out.
Fantastic Four #15. ”The China Brain.” Written by Ryan North and art by Ivan Fiorelli. Cover art by Alex Ross. The Baxter Building and the children make their return after a year of absentee. This run of FF has been excellent and I am glad to see the group happy once again.
Beware the Planet of the Apes #1. Written by Marc Guggenheim and art by Alvaro Lopez. Taurin Clarke did the cover art. A prequel to the original Planet of the Apes movie from 1968. It was an interesting issue. I’m not sure if I plan on continuing with the series, but I did like the first issue. I may have to try issue #2.
Kid Venom Origins #1. Written & drawn by Taigami. This is a collected version of the original five-page sections of the Kid Venom story from Death of the Venomverse series. I enjoyed the art of the book and I kind of liked the character. There is another series coming from this character. I’m not sure whether I liked this enough to read it, but I will certainly see number one.
Other books read this week: Miguel O’Hara: Spider-Man 2099 #1, Marvel Meow #1, Destiny Gate #4, Nights #4, Marvel Zombies: Black, White & Blood #4, and The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos #6.
New Banner! Celebrating the 75th post of EYG Comic Cavalcade!
Yesterday was my last chance to go to Comic World and read the NEW COMIC BOOKS on Wednesdays during the winter break. Next Wednesday, I have to go back to school for a professional development. So I had to enjoy yesterday.
I have started to inventory my comic collection. It is a major undertaking. My goal is to have the boxes in my room done first by summer, before I start re-bagging and re0boarding the older books in the other room. I purchased the CLZ Comics app on my phone and I am currently at 664 comics. It is just a drop in the bucket. I’m starting with the boxes that have ongoing series in them so it does not get mucked up with new issues each week.
Books this week:
Ghost Rider #21. ”Teach Your Children Hell“ Written by Benjamin Percy with art by Carlos Nieto. Bjorn Barends did the cover art. The Talia arc gets resolved.. kind of. Sounded as if there is a new version of the Ghost Rider coming soon.
Local Man #8. Written by Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs and illustrations by Tony Fleecs. Local Man is investigating a murder and he goes as far as heading through the ads at the end of the book. It was a fun little bit as he is figuring things out.
Deadly Hands of Kung Fu: Gang War #1. Written by Greg Pak and art by Caio Majado. David Aja did the cover art (which was the Cover of the Week). Shang Chi is involved in the Gang War, trying to keep his moral honor while being the Supreme Commander of the Five Weapons Society.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #14. Written by Cody Ziglar and drawn by Federico Vicentini. Miles is involved in the Gang War with Misty Knight and Colleen Wing. He has to face off with the Prowler, who is, of course, his Uncle Aaron.
Sensational She-Hulk # 3. Written by Rainbow Rowell and art by Andres Genolet. Jen Bartel did the cover art. Jenn and Hulk have a nice little sit down. Unfortunately, Hulk got mad. What were the odds. And next issue… HELLCAT! YEA BABY!!!
Avengers Inc. #4. Case Number: 004 “Who is Victor Shade.“ Written by Al Ewing and penciled by Leonard Kirk. Daniel Acuna was the cover art. Whoa, big time reveal at the end of this that might have just given the answer to the underlaying mystery of the series. I wonder if the early cancellation of the series affected what they wanted to do.
Universal Monsters: Dracula #3. Written by James Tynion IV and art by Martin Simmonds. Renfield is still a major player in this issue. We do not see much of Dracula here, but his aura is all over the book.
No/One #7. Written by Kyle Higgins & Brian Buccellato and drawn by Antonio Fuso. Cover art by Geraldo Borges w/ Mark Englert. Looks as if the book has given up a possible reveal of the copycat killer and evidence is found. I love the podcast that goes with the book called “Who is No/One.”
Predator versus Wolverine #4. Written by Benjamin Percy and art by Ken Lashley, Kei Zama & Gavin Guidry. Marco Checchetto did the cover art. This limited series comes to an end with a big knock down with the two. This series turned out better than it had any right to be.
Spider-Woman #2. Written by Steve Fox and art by Carola Borelli. Leinil Francis Yu and Sunny Gho did the cover art. Spider-Woman is involved in the Gang War with Hydra. She is still looking for her baby.
Timeless #1. Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly and art by Juann Cabal. Kael Ngu did the cover art. I did not like this much at all. A future version of Luke Cage and Danny Rand and Khonshu is here. Just found this to be a trudge to get through.
Duke #1. ”A Man of Action.“ Written by Joshua Williamson and art by Tom Reilly. Another issue that I did not find too entertaining. This is an issue that I picked up to give it a try on the strength of the Transformers and Void Rivals books. This one is not at that level. Bring on Cobra Commander #1.
Other books this week: The Schlub #5, Tenement #7, Captain Marvel #3, Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars: Battle world #2, Black Panther #7, and Slow Burn #3.
Happy holidays. Merry Christmas! As I write this, it is Christmas Eve and over 50 degrees outside. Clearly no white Christmas this year, and that does not bother me even a little bit.
With a hectic schedule at EYG, I am getting last week’s books finished up. One of the best things about Christmas break is that next Wednesday, I get to go spend time at Comic World reading my pull list.
I have a group of back issues being held for me in my box, from a collection that may be sold to Comic World. It includes the Demon in a Bottle issue of Iron Man. It could still fall through, but if it comes through, I’ll have that plus some Tomb of Draculas. Cool stuff.
This is the books from last week…
Amazing Spider-Man #40. Written by Zeb Wells and penciled by John Romita Jr. Romita Jr, Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz did the cover. We are in the Gang War storyline and The Rose is making his presences known. So the new alliance between Spidey and Tombstone is bringing in another big hitter.
Spider-Boy #2. “`Twas the Fight Before Christmas” and “X-Mas Ex Machina.” Written by Dan Slott. First story drawn by Paco Medina and second story drawn by Ty Templeton. Cover art was done by Humberto Ramos and Edgar Delgado. Spider-Boy teams up with Captain America in a battle with the Taskmaster.
The Original X-Men #1. Written by Christos Gage and penciled by Greg Land. The cover art was done by Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer & Brad Anderson. A futuristic Phoenix comes back in time to see the young X-Men (who had, at one point, come to the present day Marvel Universe) for help with another universe Phoenix. This was really great and book that I wished had more than the one shot.
Spine-Tingling Spider-Man #3. Written by Saladin Ahmed and drawn by Juan Ferreyra. This horror story continues to be one of the best books on the market. Spidey comes across Mysterio in this horror house and figures out, with the help of Spidercide, the man behind the terrors. The Jackal!
Superior Spider-Man #2. ”Suit Up“ Written by Dan Slott and penciled by Mark Bagley. I was not sure if I was going to get this series. After issue #1, I was still on the fence. This book cleared that up for me as I loved this issue. Doc Ock and Spidey team up, if reluctantly, to try to save Anna Marie. This solidified this book for me.
The Deviant #2. Written by James Tynion IV and drawn by Joshua Hixson. Hixson did the cover, which was our cover of the week. This book has been so great so far. Set during the Christmas holiday, it follows the story of a comic book writer researching a serial killer from the past. This has been so awesome so far.
Capwolf and the Howling Commandos #3. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Carlos Magno. Ryan Brown did the cover art. Capwolf continues to fight in the World War II battle. Looks as if old Nick Fury may be coming back to the action.
Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #3. Written by Brian Buccellato and art by Christian Duce. Drew Johnson & Romulo Fajardo Jr. did cover art. Superheroes vs. monsters are filling these pages. Is Superman dead? Since this is not in continuity (or at least, so it seems) anything is possible. It does look like Atom Smasher bit the big one (thanks Godzilla).
Animal Pound #1. ”Chapter One: The Proud Dog Dies.“ Written by Tom King and illustrated by Peter Gross. The first issue of the new Tom King book follows the adventures of a group of animals at an animal pound and their attempted coup of the pound. First issue had a lot of dialogue but I think it will improve as it moves along. Tom King has earned the patience.
Astonishing Iceman #5. ”Out Cold Part Five“ Written by Steve Orlando and art by Vincenzo Carratù. Jesus Saiz did the cover art. Iceman has his final conflict with Clean and sees if he can reform himself without help from Romeo. This short series ended with a solid conclusion.
The Incredible Hulk #7. ”Spirits of Vengeance” Part Two. Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and art by Nic Klein. Hulk fights an undead Ghost Rider and then teams up with him as dangers abound. This version of the Hulk is interesting, but I do think it is going to pick up soon.
Uncanny Avengers #5. ”Unmasked“ Written by Gerry Duggan and art by Javier Garrón. This series closes up after a final conflict with Captain Krakoa, aka Steven Grant Rogers, the Captain America who joined Hydra a few years ago.
Killadelphia #32. ”Death Be Not Proud Part II: Whatever Happened to Blake Edwards?“ Written by Rodney Barnes and art by Jason Shawn Alexander & German Erramouspe. We have Spawn. And at the end of this issue, another independent all-star showed up… Savage Dragon. Wild series so far.
Daredevil: Black Armor #2. Written by D.G. Chichester and penciled by Netho Diaz. Mark Bagley & Romulo Fajardo Jr. did the cover art. Daredevil has to deal with a bunch of villains such as Hobgoblin, Sabretooth, Mole Man and Baron Strucker.
Uncanny Spider-Man #5. “Fade to Blue” Written by Si Spurrier and drawn by Lee Garbett & Simone Buonfantino. Another short series that comes to an end this week. Kurt finally brings down the Vulture and frees Warlock.
Doctor Strange #10. ”Nebraska Pt. 2” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Pasqual Ferry. Alex Ross did the cover art. Dr. Strange and General Strange end their war and Doctor Strange shows the compassion of a doctor.
Other books read: The Plot Holes #5, Project Cryptid #4, Hunt for the Skinwalker #4, Newburn #13, Kill Your Darlings #4, G.O.D.S. #3, Hexagon Bridge #4, and Rare Flavours #3.
Good day all. This is our #73 post of the EYG Comic Cavalcade. I was just thinking that it was about time to get a new header for this, but I am not sure that I have the time right now. With school wrapping up, plus all the movies, TV shows, rewatches, and the Year in Review, time is sparse.
Still, it is on the to do list for soon.
My friend Todd picked up a couple of comics from England featuring Spider-Man and thought of me. He knows I am a huge Spider-Man fan and he asked if I was interested in these books. I was. They included Spider-Man Comic #320 and The Spectacular Spider-Man weekly #361. These are cool, oversized books to add to the collection.
Here are the rest of the books from this week:
White Widow #2. Written by Sarah Gailey and art by Alessandro Miracolo. David Marquez did the cover art. I think this was the best cover of the week. I actually enjoyed the story much more than I did in issue #1, which was okay. I liked the characterization of Yelena in this book and it gave me a bit of the flavor of Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye series.
The Enfield Gang Massacre #5. ”Chapter Five: Death & Reasons.“ This continues to be one of the most original comic books on the market. I love how it feels like an old time comic book and it keeps on being a fun read.
Blade #6. ”Mother of Evil” Part Six. Written by Bryan Hill and drawn by Lee Ferguson. Elena Casagrande & Jordie Bellaire did the cover art. Blade gets training from Dracula. Yup. That’s what I said. The ultimate odd couple plays out as Blade prepares for what he has to face.
The Bloody Dozen: A Tale of the Shrouded College #1. Written by Charles Soule and art by Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque. Will Sliney did the cover art. An intriguing and unlikely trio is recruited to go into space after…vampires? An interesting start to this book that I did not remember ordering.
Antarctica #6. Written by Simon Birks and art by Willi Roberts. It’s Christmas time and seven year old Hannah is hoping to spend the holidays with her father. However, there is more here than what is being told. Antarctica continues to be a compelling, mind-twisting book.
Immortal Thor #5. ”Caveat Emptor” Written by Al Ewing and drawn by Martin Coccolo. Cover art was by Alex Ross. Thor and the reassembled Thor Corps has to take on Toranos and Thor has a different idea on how to stop the rampage of the god.
Moon Knight #30. ”The Terminal Seconds of Moon Knight“ Written by Jed MacKay and drawn by Alessandro Cappuccio. Stephen Segovia & Rachelle Rosenberg did the cover art. Moon Knight aka Marc Spector has been on this path for quite a while now, and he has finally died… and will not come back. It seems that his work will carry on, though.
Spider-Gwen: Smash #1. Written by Melissa Flores and penciled by Enid Balám. Gwen and the Mary Janes go on a tour, opening for Alison Blaire, the Dazzler! That is, until a hulk-creature crashes the party.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #13. Written by Cody Ziglar and drawn by Federico Vicentini. The Gang War continues in these pages as Miles takes on the Buzz Boys. Hobgoblin is around as well.
Punisher #2. ”The Negotiation“ Written by David Pepose and art by Dave Wachter. Rod Reis did the cover art. Joe Garrison is after information on what happened to his wife and who may have ordered the attack. He found out that his wife was the actual target. That did not make him too happy.
Daredevil: Gang War #1. Written by Erica Schultz and penciled by Sergio Davila. Davila, Sean Parsons & Ceci De La Cruz did the cover art. Daredevil, aka Elektra Natchios, is out to protect Hell’s Kitchen so she has to team up with Spider-Man and the others in the Gang War. She does not like that much and is happier on her own.
Luke Cage: Gang War #2. Written by Rodney Barnes and art by Ramon F. Bachs. Caanan White did the cover art. Luke, in his new costume to protect his identity, along with Cloak & Dagger, Danny Rand, and Jessica Jones take on Smythe during the Gang War, all the while trying to avoid the law against costumed vigilantes.
Captain America #4. ”A Series of Unexpected Attacks” Written by J. Michael Straczynski and art by Lan Medina. Jesus Saiz did the cover art. Cap gets messed up by the demon he was facing called The Emissary. We also see back in Steve Rogers’ past the dangers of a hidden bomb. Love this series.
Guardians of the Galaxy #9. ”The Magnificent Mantis” Written by Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing and penciled by Kev Walker. Emilio Laiso & Bryan Valenza did the cover art. Mantis and Gamora head to earth in search of the Soul Gem so they could retrieve Drax’s human soul.
Other books read: Silver Surfer: Rebirth Legacy #4, Phantom Road #7, Batman: Robin Lives #1, Superman: Lost #9, Damn Them All #11, A Haunted Girl #3, House of Slaughter #20, and Marvel Zombies: Black, White & Blood #3.
I was able to spend this past NEW COMIC BOOK DAY at Comic World as I used a personal day from school. Once again, it was wonderful. I was able to sit at the back table at Comic World and read most of the new books this week. I do love being able to do this.
It also appears that the curse of the number three in independent books is officially over. I have five #3s this week and they were all in my pull box. Mercifully, the long nightmare is finally over!
Books read this week:
Fantastic Four #14. Written by Ryan North and art by Ivan Fiorelli. Alex Ross did the cover art. The Fantastic Four returns to the site of the Baxter Building with the expectation that it would reappear after it was sent into the future. They discovered people (super villains actually) constructing something on the location.
Thunderbolts#1. “Worldstrike” Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly and art by Geraldo Borges. Terry Dodson did the cover art. A new team of Thunderbolts head out to take on the Red Skull. Included Bucky Barnes, Sharon Carter, Val and Red Guardian. I liked the interactions between these characters.
Amazing Spider-Man #39. Written by Zeb Wells and penciled by John Romita Jr. Romita Jr, Scott Hanna and Marcio Menyz did the cover art. Gang War is underway! There were some awesome interaction between Spidey and She-Hulk. Tombstone is up. This is a great arc so far.
Daredevil #4. “Introductory Rites” Part Four. Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by German Peralta. John Romita Jr, Scott Hanna and Marcio Menyz did the cover art. Daredevil confronts the Daily Bugle reporter Ben Urich. We fins out why Ben has been acting as he has been.
The Sentry #1. Written by Jason Loo and penciled by Luigi Zagaria. Ben Harvey did the cover art. The book had me immediately when Jessica Jones showed up. She is one of my favorite characters in the Marvel Universe. The recently murdered Sentry’s power seems to have been split up among a group of other people. Intriguing for sure.
Invincible Iron Man #13. “The Mysterium Marauders” Written by Gerry Duggan and art by Juan Frigeri. Kael Ngu did the cover art. Ironheart. Starfox. Tony Stark and Emma Frost. On the way to find the mysterious metal called Mysterium.
X-Men #29. “House of Doom.” Written by Gerry Duggan and art by Joshua Cassara. X-Men head into Latveria to attempt to recruit the Latverian mutants. They end up having dinner with Dr. Doom.
Blood Commandment #2. Written and drawn by Szymon Kudranski. Vampires, werewolves and absolutely beautiful art work. It is a shocking book filled with some amazing imagery. It is a remarkably designed book.
Transformers #3. Written and drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson. Big battle between Optimus Prime and Starscream. Watching Optimus beat Starscream with his own removed arm was epic. And a shocking moment with Spike.
Nights #3. “Never Knows Best.” Written by Wyatt Kennedy and art by Luigi Formisano. Vincent started off the book with a bit of a stain… it surprised me when I saw it. This book is a oddball coming of age story that looks at some supernatural as well.
Alpha Flight #5. “Divided We Stand Part Five” Written by Ed Brisson and art by Scott Godlewski with David Cutler. Leonard Kirk and Edgar Delgado did the cover art. The conclusion of Alpha Flight as they come together to save as many of the mutants from Krakoa North. I liked this book.
Avengers #8. “Twilight Dreaming” Part Two. Written by Jed MacKay and art by C.F. Villa. The Avengers have to confront Nightmare in order to get back to Vision and Scarlet Witch who were battling the Twilight Court. I loved what Thor does near the end with Nightmare. Otherwise, I do not have a great connection with the Twilight Court.
Other books this week: Destiny Gate #3, Midlife (or How to Hero at Fifty) #3, Project: Cryptid #3, The Avengers Voices #1.
Another good week of books. I got a chance to read some of the back issues that I have as well.
Books this week:
Ice Cream Man #7. “My Little Poltergeist” Written by W. Maxwell Prince and art by Martin Morazzo. Cover art is by Fabio Moon. This was an excellent issue featuring a little girl named Lucy whose best friend had died of cancer, and she was dealing with grief over it. I really enjoyed this one.
Planetary #8-10. Written by Warren Ellis and art by John Cassaday. This is an interesting series. Seriously, the books are unlike any series I can remember. One of the issues had characters killed that were basically Superman, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman. It was a strange issue.
Amazing Spider-Man: Gang War First Strike #1. Written by Zeb Wells with Cody Ziglar and featuring art by Joey Vazquez with Julian Shaw. Cover art was done by John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz. I am excited about the start of Gang War. Bringing Spidey back down to street level is a great idea, as is matching him up with the list of street level heroes involved in this series. Then, the return of Madame Masque was well done and surprising.
Predator Versus Wolverine #3. Written by Benjamin Percy and drawn by Ken Lashley, Hayden Sherman and Kei Zama. Cover art was drawn by Marco Checchetto. This book continues following Wolverine’s life and seeing how the Predator fits in to the situations.
Howard the Duck #1. This is a celebration for the 50th anniversary of Howard the Duck. There are several short stories falling under the “Waugh If…” (aka What If…) with a variety of writers and artist. Things like Howard as President of the US, Howard as a mutant, Howard as a Guardian of the Galaxy.
Captain America #3. “Stand” Written by J. Michael Straczynski with art by Jesus Saiz & Lan Medina. This series continues to be very compelling. I really do enjoy how the story goes back into the past to see Steve Rogers before he became Captain America.
Spider-Woman #1. Written by Steve Foxe and drawn by Carola Borelli. Leinil Frances Yu did the cover art. The new Spider-Woman series is involved in the Gang War story. And something else has happened with Jessica’s child.
Luke Cage: Gang War #1. Written by Rodney Barnes and art by Ramon F. Bachs. Caanan White did the cover art. Mayor of New York, Luke Cage, is looking for form a new super team. In order to skirt the anti-vigilante law in place from Wilson Fisk, Luke Cage got a new costume and a mask to hide his own identity.
Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #4. “What it Means to Be a Mutant” Written by Iman Vellani & Sabir Pirzada with art by Carlos Gomez & Adam Gorham. Sara Pichelli & Matthew Wilson as cover artist. The mini series wrapped up with Ms. Marvel taking on the Stark Sentinels.
Moon Knight #29. “The Final Hours of Moon Knight.” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Federico Sabbatini. Cover art was done by Stephen Segovia & Rachelle Rosenberg. Moon Knight and Black Spectre are facing off in the final struggle.
Something is Killing the Children #35. “Showdown at the Easy Creek Corral” Part Five. The confrontation between Erica and Cutter comes to an end with tragic results. I have to say that the resolution of this story was very surprising and emotional.
Other books read this week: Miles Morales: Spider-Man #12, Marvel Zombies #2, Local Man #7, X-Men Blue: Origins #1, Swan Songs #5, Slow Burn #2, Alien #1, Grim #15, The Schlub #4
Good Sunday everyone. We just had a bunch of snow last night and that makes for a nice day inside on my last day before Thanksgiving break comes to a close.
Then, last night on the WWE Survivor Series, former Marvel Comics Drax limited series writer, CM Punk returned to the WWE. In related news, major snowfall happened in Hell as it froze over.
I was able to finish off the remaining books from last week’s large pull of comics as well as a couple of back issues.
Comics include:
Planetary #7. “To Be In England, In The Summertime.” Written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by John Cassaday. Elijah, Drummer and Jakita go to try and find the truth about the death of an old friend named Jack Carter. I do like the way this series is going.
Ice Cream Man #5. “Ballad of a Falling Man.” Written by W. Maxwell Prince and art by Martin Morazzo. Cover art was by Frazer Irving. This was a great story. A man jumps off a building from 100 floors. We see some of the things happening in the building on his way down. Very creative and fun.
Ghost Rider #20. “The Kids are All Wrong” by Benjamin Percy and Carlos Nieto. “Kill the Blue-Eyed Man” by Steven Paul Judd and Shaun Beyale. Bjorn Barends did the cover art. Lots of weirdness as Johnny Blaze and Talia Warrroad are in search of Cult of Mephisto leader Stefan Skaar.
Deadpool: Seven Slaughters #1. Seven stories with Deadpool from a series of great writers including Cullen Bunn, Justina Ireland, Rob Liefeld & Chad Bowers, Cody Ziglar, Steve Foxe, Gail Simone, and Marc Guggenheim. The artists of the book include Phillip Sevy, Greg Land, Rob Liefeld, Federica Mancin, Gerardo Sandoval, David Baldeon, and Whilce Portacio.
Blade #5. “Mother of Evil: Part Five” Written by Bryan Hill and art by Elena Casagrande. Blade is on the way to find Adana but he was not ready for what he found. This whole issue was a set up to the final page…Blade face to face with Dracula, looking for help.
Black Panther #6. “Reign at Dusk” Part Six. Written by Eve L. Ewing and art by Matt Horak with Mack Chater. Taurin Clarke did the cover art. This was the first of the new Black Panther series that I enjoyed a lot. This told a story of a Black Panther from a century ago.
Silver Surfer Rebirth: Legacy #3. “Silver & Black” Written by Ron Marz and penciled by Ron Lim. Silver Surfer and Genis come together while Thanos battled the black Surfer. At the end, we see Nova and Galactus. Big time story developing.
A Haunted Girl #2. Written by Ethan Sacks & Naomi Sacks and drawn by Marco Lorenzana. Cover art was by Jessica Fong. Cleo is having a lot of trouble. She does not want to go back to school and she is trying to get through the horrors around her.
The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos #5. Script by Tate Brombal and art by Isaac Goodhart. Cover art was Nick Robles. Christopher, Dracula Boy and Viv join with Alex Frankenstein and go to a place beneath the ground where monsters exist.
Hexagon Bridge #3. “5. The Departure“. Story and art by Richard Blake. Adley heads out to try and find her parents who she expects Gerardus has them. I’m not 100% sure the story going on here, but it is beautifully drawn and things are interesting.
I got to go to Comic World today and sit and read my new comics on NEW COMIC BOOK DAY! It was such a treat. I have missed these Wednesday since school started. I got the entire new comics of this week right there at the little table.
Here are this week’s new books:
The Sensational She-Hulk #2. “Jen-Sational! Part 2” Written by Rainbow Rowell and art by Andres Genolet. Bonus Wyatt Wingfoot story was written by Bobby Wilson and art from David Cutler. Jen Bartel did the cover art. The Incredible Hulk makes a guest appearance with his cousin, though he doesn’t want any part of Jen.
The Uncanny Spider-Man #4. “Slice and Dice” Written by Si Spurrier and art by Lee Garbett. Tony Daniel and Yen Nitro did the cover art. Spidey is back for part of the issue and it seems that Silver Sable has made her choice about the contract that she has signed for Nightcrawler.
Amazing Spider-Man #38. Written by Zeb Wells and art by Ed McGuinness. The Rek-Rap story ends here. I had not been a fan of this story so far, but this is a solid conclusion as Peter has to deal with Re-Po, the demon that comes to earth to reclaim the escaped demons. The second half of this issue spent time starting to set up the Gang War storyline.
Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #2. Written by Brian Buccellato and art by Christian Duce. Drew Johnson & Romulo Fajaroo Jr. did the cover art. I was a little down about number one after reading it because of the confusing continuity. That does not come into play in this issue and it is so much the better for it. This was great, with more of the giant monsters showing up and the DC heroes needing to take action. And the confrontation with Superman and Godzilla is epic. Definitely better than last issue and has me excited to see the next one.
Invincible Iron Man #12. “Patron Saint.” Written by Gerry Duggan and art from guest artist Ig Guara. Kael Ngu did the cover art. We get a fun mental battle between the White Queen and Riri Williams. They also had to battle one of the Iron Sentinels. They end the issue with a Thanksgiving celebration among Tony Stark, Emma Frost (in her alias), Kamala Khan, and the Uncanny Avengers team. Cool since tomorrow is Thanksgiving in America. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Enjoy that turkey!
Incredible Hulk #6. “Spirits of Vengeance” Part One. Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and art by Nic Klein. Some new characters debut in this issue. One that sure seems to be a ghost ride of some kind and it looks like that rider is going to take on the Hulk.
Universal Monsters: Dracula #2. Written by James Tynion IV and art by Martin Simmonds. Cover art was by Jason Shawn Alexander. This is great. I love the look and the feel of this book. The story is told a lot of the time through images, which I love in this.
Avengers Inc. #3. “Case Number 003: The Man Who Died Twice.” Written by Al Ewing and penciled by Leonard Kirk. Valkyrie comes to Janet and Vic to help try and figure out who, in Valhalla, killed Skurge the Executioner. Of course, the heroes in Valhalla are already dead so being killed again is weird. This was some Asgardian fun.
No/One #6. Written by Kyle Higgins & Brian Buccellato and art by Geraldo Borges. I love this series. It is keeping me guessing with who this No/One is and how it all fits together.
Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars: Battleworld #1. Written by Tom DeFalco and art by Pat Olliffe. Giuseppe Camuncoli & Paul Mounts did cover art. This is one of those flashback series that is set in the past of the Marvel Universe. This was during the first Secret Wars. It focused on Spider-Man and Human Torch. It was fun. I am not a huge fan of these kind of flashback stories, but this was okay. Probably helped for me to have Spidey in the book. However, there is something I want to mention that I felt was very clunky. Twice heroes, during regular dialogue, used the whole name “Reed Richards” when speaking. One was Captain America who said to the whole heroes, “You heard Reed Richards. Let’s all take a break.” Why would Cap use Reed’s full name in that situation? But even worse was when Johnny Storm was talking to Spidey and he said to Spidey, “Who needs Reed Richards when we have a genius like you.” Johnny is Reed’s brother-in-law… why wouldn’t he just say ‘Reed?’ NOBODY TALKS LIKE THAT.
Daredevil: Black Armor #1. Written by D.G. Chichester and penciled by Netno Diaz. Mark Bagley and Edgar Delgado were the cover artists. Another of those flashback stories, but I did like the way this one was written.
Other books read this week: Void Rivals #6, Captain Marvel #2, Kill Your Darlings #3, Plot Holes #4, Carnage #1, Bone Orchard: Tenement #6, and Moon Knight: City of the Dead #5.
It’s been a busy week. Between a bunch of rewatch TV series, several active TV shows, a group of new movies in theater, and school, there has not been a lot of time to read last week’s books. In fact, tomorrow is NEW COMIC BOOK DAY and I am just now making a dent in last week’s large pile.
However, I am officially on Thanksgiving break and tomorrow I am excited to head into Comic World (after watching Napoleon in the morning) and spend the afternoon reading my new books. I may bring along some of the ones from last week that wound up falling to the side.
I really have missed these Wednesdays since school has started. These days of coming to Comic World and just lazily read the books while hanging out with the great people who work there. I’m thrilled this is going to work out.
I did carve out some time tonight after school to get caught up somewhat with the new comics from last week. Here they are:
Spine-Tingling Spider-Man #2. Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by Juan Ferreyra. This new Spider-Man horror series has been really fun these first two issues. The art is great and the story is rather creepy, as Peter finds himself powerless and being pursued by some true horrors. I have loved this original idea so far.
Daredevil #3. “Introductory Rites” Part Three. Written by Saladin Ahmed and pencils by Aaron Kuder and Farid Karami. John Romita Jr, Scott Hanna and Marcio Menyz did the cover art. Father Matt has plenty of problems, including one where an old friend, Ben Urich, is looking into the church Father Matt is at. Worse yet… Bullseye is back!
Astonishing Iceman #4. “Out Cold: Part Four” Written by Steve Orlando and drawn by Vincenzo Carratù. Jesus Saiz did the cover art. Iceman teams up with his Amazing friend, Spider-Man in his continued struggle with Orchis. Throws memories back to my childhood. All we were missing was Firestar.
Fantastic Four #13. “A Thing or Two.” Written by Ryan North and art by Iban Coello. Alex Ross did the cover art. Dr. Doom teams up with Dr. Doom the T-Rex against our heroes, including the FF-dinosaurs. Weird and wild issue and continues this excellent run of FF comics.
Red Goblin #10. Written by Alex Paknadel and penciled by Chris Campana. Inhyuk Lee did the cover art. Venom guest stars. Normie and Rascal come together and ‘make up’ in the series finale of this intriguing book. I do think that I am going to miss this book.
Capwolf and the Howling Commandos #2. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Carlos Magno. Ryan Brown was the cover artist. This has started off as some pulpy fun. Captain America has been turned into a werewolf and the Nazis are out there causing trouble in this WWII flashback.
The Deviant #1. “A Christmas Story” Story by James Tynion IV and Joshua Hixson with Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. A cool new horror story by James Tynion IV. It definitely has the flavor of some of his other horror books, such as Something is Killing the Children. Except this is with Santa.
Big Game #5. Written by Mark Millar and art by Pepe Larraz. This has been a bloody and shocking book so far. Sadly, they use time travel to make everything not matter any more. All those deaths were just done away with inside this finale. I must say that I was a little disappointed but not surprised. I mean, the whole Hit Girl fake out was about as cheap as you get.
The Cull #4. Written by Kelly Thompson and art by Mattia De Iulis. The crew comes back to their world to find things are considerably different, not even counting their own new powers. They are looking for their families and hoping everything is okay. Spoiler alert: it’s not.
Animal Pound Ashcan. Written by Tom King and illustrated by Peter Gross. A very thin or short issue. Admittedly, it was an ashcan, and it did give a nice flavor of the new Tom King series, Animal Pound. It feels too slight to matter. I am looking forward to the actual series though.
Antarctica #5. Written by Simon Birks and art by Willi Roberts. The first arc of this book wraps up here, with a pretty solid cliffhanger at the end. Hannah and Dr. Curtis have to unite to face their troubles. This is a beautiful looking book. I do have some challenges following with the story at times, but it has been a rewarding experience so far.
Killadelphia #31. “Death Be Not Proud. Part 1: From Hell the Dead Thing Spawned.” Killadelphia returned with an appearance by Spawn. I got into Killadelphia by reading the first 30 issues combined into trade paperbacks. This is interesting, but it really is a step in a new direction than the previous books. I’m curious to see where it goes from here.
The Immortal Thor #4. “To Possess the Power of Thor.” Written by Al Ewing and art by Martin Coccolo. Alex Ross did the cover art. Cool issue as Thor is reforming the all-new Thor Corps to help him face off with Toranos. There is Ororo, Beta Ray Bill, Jane Foster and Loki here.
Swan Songs #4. “The end of… a Sentence” Written by W. Maxwell Prince and art by Caitlin Yarsky. A man right out of prison, who loves word games such as Mad Libs, falls into a job as a watchout for his brother’s bank heist. Very original and fun to read.
Outsiders #1. “Never the End.” Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly and art by Robert Carey. Roger Cruz with Adriano Lucas did the cover art. Todd made me buy this one. I exaggerate of course, but he did point out that this is a new version of Planetary, which was a series from Wildstorm that I recently picked up and am currently (slowly) working my way through. This featured Batwoman and some other new versions of the old series. Unfortunately, this did not interest me as much as the previous series did.
Other books read this week: Uncanny Avengers #4, Superior Spider-Man #1, Superman: Lost #8, Jean Grey #4, Alpha Flight #4, Fishflies #3, and Something Epic #7.
Boy, there was a big week of comics this week. However, there was one in there that seemed not to fit with the others.
It was Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville #3. I do not buy many DC books and I certainly do not buy Fire & Ice. Sometimes, Todd sticks books in my pull list as a joke. I usually come across them because I look through the pile at Comic World pretty carefully. But Todd has been sending me pics on Tuesday of what is in my box so I can tell him if there is anything missing. Since that, I did not go through the pile as closely as I would have. I found this book at home afterwards. I texted Todd and he blamed Drew, another employee and, to be fair, Drew has put books in my box before too. I’m exchanging it next week.
I have started to collect the horror anthology series, Ice Cream Man. I read the first four issues, compiled in a trade paperback, and I really enjoyed it. So I started picking up some issues on eBay and at Comic World. I actually wound up with some doubles because the set that I purchased on eBay did not have some issues listed on it (or at least, not on the one I was looking at) and I picked up these back issue at Comic World. That is fine. I am still working on completing the series. I am missing around 11-12 issues of the 37 that have been released. It looked like #38 is scheduled to come out in January.
Other books this week:
Punisher #1. “The Bullet That Follows.” Written by David Pepose and art by Dave Wachter. Cover art was done by Rod Reis. Frank Castle is gone, and we seem to have a new Punisher. I did like what I read here and, even though the Punisher has never been my favorite character, I am going to give this new version a chance.
Predator Versus Wolverine #2. Written by Benjamin Percy and art by a trio of people, Ken Lashley, Andrea Di Vito, and Hayden Sherman. The cover art was by Marco Checchetto. They followed up an excellent number one with an okay issue 2.
Amazing Spider-Man #37. Written by Zeb Wells and penciled by Ed McGuinness. I am truly ready for the Gang War storyline that is coming soon to these pages, because I have had the right amount of Rek-Rap. Looks like there may be one more Limbo demons issues of ASM so I hope to get through it and get back to some street level action.
Inside the Mind of Sherlock Holmes graphic novel. “The Case of the Scandalous Ticket” By Cyril Lieron & Denoit Dahan. A really fun graphic novel with an original Sherlock Holmes story. This graphic novel does a great job of showing us the skills of Sherlock during the story and presents it in a creative and very original manner. I love the cover with the Sherlock Holmes head cut out on it. This was a ton of fun.
What If…? Dark: The Tomb of Dracula #1. Written by Marv Wolfman and penciled by David Cutler. These What If Dark books have been up and down. This one falls right in the middle. We get Dracula transforming Blade into a full-fledged vampire. I kind of enjoyed the ending sequence, but the whole book was, at best, okay.
Avengers Inc. #2. “Case Number: 002 The Ghost of Avengers Mansion.” Written by Al Ewing and art by Leonard Kirk. Daniel Acuna did the cover art. Wasp introduced Victor Shade to Victor Shade, aka Vision. This has been an interesting comic, with a tone of noir about it. Janet Van Dyne and Victor Shade make an intriguing pair and the story was decent.
Cereal. “Sweet Darkness.” Written by Mark Russell and drawn by Peter Snejbjerg. Another book that I technically did not ask for, but Pat (another Comic World employee) had gotten one for himself and he thought that I would like it and he put it in my box. And he was right. Cereal is a weird satire of the monster movies of the past while using the characters from American breakfast cereals such as Count Chocula or Frankenberry. I was constantly looking for more allusions to the cereal mascots (there are a bunch of them) while enjoying seeing this (sorta) serious story with them involved. The Comic World guys are good to me.
Thanos #1. Written by Christopher Cantwell and art by Luca Pizzari. Leinil Francis Yu and Sunny Cho did the cover art. Okay, I did not think I would care much about this book, but I was totally engaged with it. I loved the way this book was about Roberta, a character that I did not know, but easily started to root for and when the Illuminati arrived… well, the story picked up again.
Unleashed #4. Written by Kyle Starks and art by Jesus Hervas. David Baldeon and Israel Silva did the art of the cover. The super hero pets team up, Marvel style came to a close with this issue as D-Dog heads to the great beyond. This series had no right to be as fun as it was, but I did enjoy the exploits of these animals.
Phantom Road #6. Chapter Six: “Monsters Don’t Make Campfires.” Written by Jeff Lemire and with art by Gabriel H. Walta. This series returned after a bit of a hiatus with a strong issue as we get a name for these strange creatures…Horror Men.
Transformers #2. Written and drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson. The Decepticons, led currently by Starscream are after energy and they may have found it where Spike’s dad worked. Oh… and we get the debut of Duke, from G.I. Joe. Cool.
Uncanny Spider-Man #3. “Superpositional” Kurt Wagner and Silver Sable get their groove on. And what has happened to Cloak and Dagger? This is a continuing entertaining book.
Destiny Gate #2. Written by Ryan Cady and art by Christian DiBari. Mitchell is facing the monster in the water. Destiny Gate has been a fun new horror book with some inteersting ideas.
Nights #2. “Into the Woods” Written by Wyatt Kennedy and art by Luigi Formisano. Vince has found himself in a world of vampires and creatures while he has feelings for Gray.
Other books read this week: Dark Ride #9, Captain Marvel: Dark Tempest #5, Hunt for the Skinwalker #3, Damn Them All #10, Guardians of the Galaxy #8, House of Slaughter #19, Star Signs #6, Midlife (or How to Hero at Fifty) #2, G.O.D.S. #2, Groo: In the Wild #4, and The Enfield Gang Massacre #4.
Welcome. This past Wednesday was not only NEW COMIC BOOK DAY, but it was also my official anniversary for collecting comics. I have been collecting comics for 43 years now. Sure there were stretches where I did not have much money and so I did not buy comics (I’m looking at you 1990s), but I never considered myself not a collector.
I remember staying over at a friends house over Halloween, reading a bunch of his own comics and deciding the next morning that I was going to collect comics too. He had a folder at Comic World in Dubuque and since my dad worked at John Deere and would commute daily, I would have him stop off monthly at Comic World and pick up my folder from Al Picker, the owner at the time.
Dad always gave me crap about how much money I was spending in my collection, but he never refused to pick them up for me. 43 years later, I am still picking up comics at Comic World, though Al Picker is gone from the store and it is no longer down on Central Ave.
Being the fifth week of a month, there were not as many comics this week as usual.
This week’s books:
Planetary #6. “It’s a Strange World” Written by Warren Ellis and drawn by John Cassaday. I have been pushing this book off lately while doing Omega and Howard the Duck. I have enjoyed this book so far, so it will be nice to get back into it.
Spider-Boy #1. Written by Dan Slott and art by Paco Medina. The cover art was from Humberto Ramos and Edgar Delgado. The fun new book featuring the mysterious Spider-Boy, who claims to be Spider-Man’s sidekick though no one else remembers anything about him. At this point, I find Spider-Boy interesting enough to be curious.
Ultimate Universe #1. Written by Jonathan Hickman and art by Stefano Caselli. Bryan Hitch and Alec Sinclair did the art for the cover. The Ultimate universe is being reborn with a group of characters that are somewhat like the ones we know. This has an Ultimate Thor, Ultimate Iron Man, Ultimate Doom, Ultimate Sif, along with some others. I am giving this a try, but I have never been a big fan of those books outside of general continuity in Marvel.
Unnatural Order #1. Written by Christopher Yost and featuring art by Val Rodrigues. This was on sale at Comic World for $0.25. That was why I picked it up. I read part of it. It was not for me. It felt like a D & D campaign.
Blood Commandment #1. Part 1: “Flesh.” Written and drawn by Szymon Kudranski. I picked this up because of Kudranski. He was the creator behind Something Epic which has been one of my favorite books. Blood Commandment started off very strong too with a very intriguing character named Ezra, whose relationship with his son Wil was front and center even though there was a secret in Ezra’s life. Art is absolutely gorgeous.
Avengers #7. “Twilight Dreaming” Part One. Written by Jed MacKay and drawn by C.F. Villa. Stuart Immonen did the cover art. A new arc begins for the Avengers and this started really dark. I was not sure what was happening as characters were being killed. Then, it revealed the truth. Nightmare. Looking good.
White Widow #1. Written by Sarah Gaily and art by Alessandro Miracolo. Cover art was by David Marquez & Rachelle Rosenberg. Yelena BeLova is featured in this new series. This was okay. I may not have loved it, but I did think it was fine. May check out number two just to see how it progresses.
X-Men #28. “Jail Break.” Written by Gerry Duggan and penciled by Joshua Cassara. Firestar and her undercover work is having some success as she helped Juggernaut escape and passed some vital info to the X-Men. Her time inside Orchis may be coming to an end soo though. Not sure what is happening with Sunfire, but… was that Apocalypse?
Doctor Strange #9. “Nebraska Pt. 1” Written by Jed MacKay and with art by Pasqual Ferry. Alex Ross did the cover art. The battle between Stephen Strange and General Strange intensifies and there is a little baby girl?
Scarlet Witch #10. Written by Steve Orlando and art by Sara Pichelli. This is the last issue of this series which I have been enjoying. I am sad to see it go, although apparently there is a new series coming next year called Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Here Wanda takes on Hexfinder, the killer of witches.
Ghostlore #6. Written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Leomacs. Cover art by Reiko Murakami and Jakub Rebelka. Jakub Rebelka illustrated a few pages in the center of the story when one of the ghosts was telling his story to Lucas as he is in search for his daughter.
It’s Jeff: The Jeff-Verse #1. Written by Kelly Thompson and drawn by Gurihiru. The short stories with the shark Jeff are back. That’s about all I have to say.
Funny story to start off with this week. A few weeks ago, I read issue #3 of The Cull from Image Comics, but I actually did not know it was number three. Instead I thought it was number two. Why? Well, I had not gotten number one and when I got number two (the numbers of which are very small on the cover of the comics) I thought it WAS number one.
When I read issue two, thinking it was number one, things seemed to make sense for me. Where the issue picked up, it seemed to make sense for the story and the characters. It just felt like there were some holes that I assumed would be picked up on later in the five issues.
When I noticed that I was reading number three and not number two as I thought, I was surprised. I had The Cull on my pull list, and number two wound up pulled, but apparently, number one was not there. So I quickly went to eBay and bid on a #1 of the Cull. It came this week and I read it and, guess what? It made the actual number two and three make way more sense. Who would have thunk it?
The Cull is written by Kelly Thompson and has spectacular art by Mattia De Iulis.
Other new books read this week:
The Defenders #76-77. Written by Steven Grant and art by Herb Trimpe. I guess we are starting off with an “old” new book this week. This two issue arc of The Defenders came from 1979 and was the wrap up of the Omega the Unknown storyline from Omega #1-10. That was written by Steve Gerber and I had been following along with it for awhile now. This finished up the story, which I wonder if the fans of the Defenders hadn’t read Omega #1-10, would they understand what this was all about? It was nice to get a bow tied to the storyline though.
Howard the Duck #1-6 (MAX Comics). Written by Steve Gerber and penciled by Phil Winslade (except for issue three which was penciled by Glenn Leach. This six issue series was published in 2002 and had a “Parental Advisory Explicit Content” label on the covers. I saw this while surfing around eBay and I was able to get a good deal on it. It was strange because for most of the issues, Howard the Duck had been transformed into a 60-lb mouse instead. This was very much a satire and it poked fun at everything from politics to Witchblade to religion.
Gone #1. Written and illustrated by Jock. The larger scale book from OSTLRY is an interesting science-fiction tale. It was difficult to read at times because so much of it is new and the world building is so important in a new sci-fi series. It is a beautiful book and I will certianly be looking at in the coming weeks and months.
Universal Monsters: Dracula #1. Written by James Tynion IV and illustrated by Martin Simmonds. I do love me some James Tynion IV. I also love me some Dracula so this was a clear winner for me when I saw the ad for it in Previews a few months ago. This book is another top notch job from James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds, who worked with Tynion on several projects, brings his distinct style of artistic flair to the book. I am happy to be able to say, “Blah Blah.”
Captain Marvel #1. “The Omen” Written by Alyssa Wong and featuring art by Jan Bazaldua. Stephen Segovia & Romulo Fajardo Jr. did the cover art. The MCU movie, The Marvels is just a few weeks away, so it is time for the new ongoing series for Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel to be replaced. And the storyline seems very similar to what I know of the storyline for The Marvels. Curious timing, hm?
Amazing Spider-Man #36. Written by Zeb Wells and penciled by Ed McGuinness. Rek-Rap is back and being chased by other demons to try and get him back to Limbo. Spider-Man joins in to the excitement, but has to team up with the demon on his “big case.” I’m not a big fan of Rek-Rap, but this was a little better than his last appearance.
Uncanny Spider-Man #2. “Blue Streak” Nightcrawler, in his new Spider-Man outfit, takes on the Rhino while trying to deal with Silver Sable and Mystique too. This has been a fun book starting Kurt Wagner so far.
Marvel Zombies: Black, White & Blood #1. Three stories featuring Daredevil, Spider-Man and Moon Knight separately. The cover was a beautiful rendition of Wolverine as a zombie by Gabriele Dell’otto which was weird because Wolverine is not in this issue. The Spider-Man story was my favorite of the three with the Moon Knight one being my least favorite. Good zombie action though.
Captain America #2.“Taking A.I.M.” Written by J. Michael Straczynski and art by Jesus Saiz. I am really enjoying this new take on Captain America, going into his pre-Super Soldier past as a young boy in Brooklyn and matching it up with his current Marvel Universe world. This includes a guest appearance from Spider-Man which is always a plus for me.
Rare Flavours #2. “Chapter 2: Mirchi” Written by Ram V and illustrated by Filipe Andrade. I actually had a little hard time following this story this issue. I do find the book beautiful to look at and I am hoping that I can figure out what is happening after a re-read or so.
Money Shot: Comes Again #5. Written by Tim Seeley and drawn by Gisele Lagace. The climax of this series feels a little premature. I feel as if they could have squeezed out some more by getting a handful. It can’t be that hard. Come on…
Void Rivals #5. Written by Robert Kirkman and featuring art by Lorenzo De Felici. Solila and Darak started off together, but both had a dark future fate in their heads. Darak gets rescued by an underground resistance force and Solila has to face her destiny as a Keeper of the Light (whatever that means).
Hallows’ Eve: The Big Night #1. Written by Erica Schultz and illustrated by Michael Dowling. Ben Harvey does the cover art. Halloween is just a couple days away so we have a one-shot featuring Hallows’ Eve. She uses some new masks, including one like Captain America and another like the Hulk in her actions. This is a fun character that has been enjoyable to read and one of the better things to come out of the recent Dark Web story arc.
Uncanny Avengers #3. “The Arrogants” Written by Gerry Duggan and drawn by Emilio Laiso. Javier Garrón & Morry Hollowell did the cover art. I love it when Captain America is monologuing and everyone listens and is in awe of him. That happens this issue showing how much presence Steve Rogers has.
Immortal Thor #3. “The Riddle of Raidho” Written by Al Ewing and art by Martin Coccolo. Alex Ross did the cover art (and it is gorgeous!). Loki has Thor trapped in a dimension and seems to be playing games with his brother. Thor has to use his mind to escape instead of his typical fisticuffs.
Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #3. “Waking Nightmare” Written by Iman Vellani & Sabir Pirzada featuring art by Carlos Gomez & Adam Gorham. Sara Pichelli & Matthew Wilson are the cover artists. There is a tense story going on inside Kamala Khan’s dreams as she is confronted by her mutant mutation and Orchis is setting her up to be the ultimate weapon against the other mutants.
Something is Killing the Children #34. “Showdown at the Easy Creek Corral” Part Four. This showdown has been building for what seems months and it seems as if it is finally here as the last panel of the book gives us a huge shocker. Next issue must be the big wrap up of this storyline.
Other Books read this week: Marvel Unleashed #3, Slow Burn #1, The Schlub #3, Newburn #12, Jean Grey #3, and Plot Holes #3.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 