June 13, 2023

Today, I carved out most of the afternoon, dedicating the time to reading a giant graphic novel that I picked up last week at Comic World and had not gotten around to yet.

Criminal: The Deluxe Edition Volume One from Image Comics arrived at the shop last week and I thought it was interesting. I have been reading more independent books over the last year or so, especially from Image, so this looked like a collected series that I wanted to try out.

I have also enjoyed the work of Ed Brubaker, in particular his work on Captain America and Daredevil. My rule on independent books to to look to the writer and, if the writer is someone I enjoy, I’ll give it a chance. Marvel and DC are more about the character and the independents are more about writer (and to a lesser extent artist).

However, Criminal: The Deluxe Edition Volume One was an intimidating book. Four hundred and fifty-two pages of content. That is a significant time commitment. I still have that graphic novel, Monsters by Barry Windsor-Smith, that looks like a textbook which I haven’t gotten around to reading yet (maybe this summer…?).

As I said, I left time available this Tuesday afternoon after I spent the morning with the June Swoon 2 and The Daily Zone and I started in on Criminal. I was happy I did.

I will admit I had some trouble getting into it at first, but you could say that about any brand new story that you start. It did not take too long before I was engaged and reading closely on the crime story that was being unraveled before my eyes. I loved the characters and was hoping that things would work out. Things were happening that I did not expect. When the first part of the book, “Coward” was over, I was thrilled.

Then I thought this was going to be an anthology book because of the way the first arc ended. I was wrong though. Instead, the next story arc, “Lawless” took characters involved in that first story and looked at them from a different POV and a different time frame. I loved how they were able to interweave the different stories focusing on different characters who may not have been the focus of the original story.

The third arc was called “The Dead and the Dying.” It actually had the focus on three different characters around the same story which was a real novel way to present the story.

This book was awesome, filled with violence, sex and questionable choices. The characters were very well developed and three dimensional. Their arcs were well defined and you see how things blended together. It was worth the commitment required to read the book.

Other books this post…

Year Zero Volume 0 #2. Written by Daniel Kraus and art by Goran Sudžuka. Kaare Andrews provided the cover art. Year Zero continues to have multiple stories going on that all are interesting in this new troublesome world. I loved the last page which indicates a Bigfoot/zombie connection.

Sleeping Beauties #9. I skipped number eight. Oops. Oddly enough, I did not notice until just now. That does not speak well for this series. I think I may be done with this one.

Strayed #2. Written by Carlos Giffoni and drawn by Juan Doe. I was a few pages into number two and this is another book that I have decided to stop reading. I got this series in a Christmas pack at Comic World a few years back but I just was not enjoying the book.

Warlock Rebirth #2. “Mindscape” Written by Ron Marz and drawn by Ron Lim. Eve Warlock is here and she is ready to kick some butt. Meanwhile, Adam Warlock is having some issues and Gamora, Pip the Troll and Genis-Vell went to see Dr. Strange.

Money Shot: Comes Again #2. Written by Tim Seeley and drawn by Gisele Lagace. Not sure what this book is about. Lots of sex scenes with weird robots in this issue. The cover… boobies and nipples!

Damn Them All #3. Written by Simon Spurrier and illustrated by Charlie Adlard. Mr. Wax, who has one of the possessed coins in his pocket, found that his wife would pay the price. Elle Hawthorne are getting into the mix and meets up with Theo Bolster of the 500 Club, another iffy character. Things are bolstering in this series. I am having some issues with knowing who is who among these characters, but I am still engaged enough to decipher it.

June 11, 2023

There are still a couple of books from last week that I have yet to read, but a chunk more have gone down since. The biggest one that I have yet to touch is the giant hardcover book Criminals by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. It collected that series and I am looking forward to getting that one started. However, it is a big book and is a tad intimidating.

So with some of the others from last week still up, I will push that book off for awhile.

Killadelphia Vol. 1. “Sins of the Father.” Written by Rodney Barnes and drawn by Jason Shawn Alexander. This is a collection of Killadelphia issues #1-6 from Image. This series was Eisner nominated and, although I typically do not like the collected books, Killadelphia has been around for awhile and would be expensive to get the actual comic book issues. And who knows if I would have even liked it. So I grabbed the first volume at Comic World last week. This was great. It made President John Adams and his wife Abigail Adams vampires. This was so cool and told a great father/son story as well. May have to look into the next volume of books.

Damn Them All #2. Written by Simon Spurrier and illustrated by Charlie Adlard. More magic as Dora and Ellie move on with their attempts to find help with the 73 demons. We are introduced to Carlin and Pruflas in this issue.

X-Men #23. “When Cometh… the Stark Sentinels” The X-Men come to confront the brand new Iron Man Sentinel from Orchis and they discover that one of these new Sentinels is going to be very difficult to handle.

New Mutants: Lethal Legion #3. “Old Wounds, Old Weapons“. These New Mutants are strange for me. I have found them interesting to read, but I have struggled to know who was whom. Outside the familiar New Mutants such as Rahne, Dani and Karma, the rest of these characters are new or unfamiliar to me and tough to connect with. I have been enjoying the book so far though.

Fury #1 “Who is S.C.O.R.P.I.O.?” Written by Tom King. Art is handled by several people including Scot Eaton & Cam Smith, Tom Reilly, Adam Kubert, and Ramon Rosanas. Adam Kubert and Dean White did the cover art. This was an interesting book using both the new Nick Fury and the original Nick Fury, showing where they are and moments of their backstory on how they got where they were. It was neat how they told the story with different styles from the different time periods. I could definitely get into more Nick Fury, especially with Secret Invasion coming this month on Disney +.

Thor #34. “Blood of the Fathers Part Four” More goodness from Thanos, Dr. Doom and Thor. We also have Hela making a return, Loki showing up, Thor’s sister taking a step forward. Things are feeling as if they are beginning to prepare for a finale for this storyline.

Deadpool: Badder Blood #1. Story by Rob Liefeld, script by Chad Bowers and pencils by Rob Liefeld. Team up with Cable and Wolverine. I have to say there were some amazing moments of art in this book, including a couple of pages that were tilted in the other direction that made this an intriguing read. I’ve been digging Deadpool recently.

Star Signs #2. Written by Saladin Ahmed and featuring art by Megan Levens. A group of young heroes, who’ve been dubbed names of the Zodiac, are begin brought together after the stars disappeared from the sky. It looks as if there are two sides collecting powered individuals and things are getting more fascinating.

Invincible Iron Man #7. “Fight the Future” Written by Gerry Duggan and drawn by Juan Frigeri. Kael Ngu did the art on the cover. Tony and Rhodey try an assault on the Stark Unlimited facility producing the Iron Man Sentinels. Things seem to be going well until Rhodey gets captured and set up for murder. (BTW… I thought the cover art was a little weird. It looks like Tony Stark has big rollie-pollie, cartoonish eyes that are looking up and to the right. I know that is not what it was supposed to be, but now I can’t unsee it.

Peacemaker: Tries Hard #2. Written by Kyle Starks and drawn by Steve Pugh. Cover art was by Kris Anka. Peacemaker and Mallah go to assault the secret base of General Immortus to get the DNA of the Terminator. And things do not turn out well for Peacemaker.

Daredevil & Echo #1. Written by Taboo & B. Earl with art by Phil Noto. This story takes place during two distinct timelines, current day with Daredevil and Echo and in 1835 with Tommy Murdock. This was a good read, better than I anticipated it was going to be.

X-Men: Before the Fall-Mutant First Strike #1. “Here to Help” The anti-mutant organization Orchis is spreading misinformation and propaganda against mutants and the X-Men are doing what they can by helping victims of a deadly strike against a small town of Milford. The strike was intended to look like it was done by mutants, though it seemed that Orchis orchestrated it. It was cool to see some of these X-Men again (in their fun red X, white jackets). It was weird though cause I saw Angel here and then, for a few panels, I saw Archangel, and I did not know why there was no example of Warren changing. Maybe I missed something over the years of skipping X-books.

Love Everlasting #8. “Too Hip for Love.” Written by Tom King and drawn by Elsa Charretier. Joan is back from the mental ward and is struggling to maintain her grasp on sanity. Doesn’t help when she is seeing the Cowboy constantly. Plus, it never seems to change from 1963. Joan is reaching the end of her rope as she had a gun to her head this issue. She did not kill herself, but the idea is there.

Ambassadors #6. Written by Mark Millar and illustrated by Matteo Scalera. I picked up the second variant cover, which was in black and white. This is the final issue of the first arc of Millar’s newest book. This final issue was filled with some excellent action as the super heroes all come together for the first time. A brutal ending too.

June 7, 2023

Wow, what a day.

It was NEW COMIC BOOK DAY and it was the first day I was able to go to Comic World early in the afternoon and sit and do some reading. It was a pleasant day, and I got a chance then to talk with my friend Todd.

Todd had attended a convention this past weekend in Minneapolis. He got some books signed for me by Dan Jurgens (more on that later). He also had the opportunity to sit and talk with the 1970s star of Flash Gordon, Sam Jones. Sam Jones was very tall, according to Todd. Todd was standing and Sam was sitting and he was still talker than Todd (Todd may also have been a bit short…)

Comic World received about half of the Marvel comic books in from a few weeks ago when the truck had that terrible accident. That meant that there was a huge lot of books in my box. I also picked up a couple of other books (including a graphic novel that I haven’t gotten to yet). I have read a whole bunch of books this week, but I still have a pile of new books to read that rivals a huge regular week. It is quite impressive.

Starting off with what I have finished reading….

Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey #1-3. Written by Dan Jurgens and drawn by Brett Breeding. Dan Jurgens was at the convention Todd attended so I have purchased this three book series and Todd said he would take it and get them signed by the writer. So cool. Thanks again Todd. The three book mini series was a pretty decent read as well. I liked the psychological issues that Superman had when he was searching for Doomsday. You don’t see doubt creeping in to the Big Blue often, but, of course, after being killed by Doomsday, it makes sense.

The ClanDestine #1. “Apparently Unrelated Events: Family Reunion- Part One” The pretty gold foil cover attracted me to this number one, but the title reminded me of the group of villains from the Ms. Marvel Disney + show from last year. These characters were nothing like those ones. Written and drawn by Alan Davis. It was fine. It did not make me want to search out any more issues, though.

Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #13. “Cold War Part 5” Written by Jacoson Lanzing & Collin Kelly with art by Alina Erofeeva. Steve Rogers did not die in the last part of the Cold War saga (I know… surprising, right?). He’s back with Sam Wilson and he has come to his senses. Alina Erofeeva’s artwork in this issue (especially the Sam and Steve stuff in the snow) is beautiful.

Red Goblin #5. Written by Alex Paknadel and drawn by Jan Bazaldua. Honestly, I was a little confused about what was happening since I have not seen the whole part of this Carnage Reigns story. I did like the team up with Normie and Miles Morales, but I skimmed a bunch of this book since I am unclear about the story.

Nocterra #15. Written by Scott Snyder with art by Tony S. Daniel. Emory comes up with a plan to try and get Bailey’s grandpa’s equation to work, stopping the darkness. Problem is… Bill is here and is bringing the trouble. There were some amazing panels of art in this issue and it brought a feel of intensity.

Storm #1. “Blowback. Part 1: Wind-Rider” Written by Ann Nocenti and drawn by Sid Kotian. Alan Davis & Alejandro Sanchez did the cover art. This is yet another book that is set in the past. This one takes place around the time frame of Uncanny X-Men #176. I’m not sure why this has become a trend at Marvel, telling ‘untold’ stories from the past. Most of these feel very disjointed from the regular books since these characters are not acting like the characters act today. The Storm book was okay, but the conflicts within Ororo felt out of date. And I do not remember Kitty Pryde acting like this. I’m not a fan of this book. I would much rather have current in continuity comic starring Storm than setting one in the past.

Phantom Road #4. “Chapter Four: Don’t Look.” Written by Jeff Lemire and featuring art by Gabriel H. Walta. What is Project Jackknife? What does Agent Weaver know about it? How does it tie in with all the things that have happened to her? Lots of questions in a compelling book with a lot of visual storytelling this issue. Phantom Road continues to be strong work each month.

Hallows’ Eve#3. Written by Erica Schultz and including art by Michael Dowling. Janine has a confrontation with Spider-Man in this issue. Spidey is always welcome for me, and I enjoyed this issue more than the previous two. I am starting to feel positively about Hallows’ Eve and her weird mask power. I have liked the originality of the book so far.

Loki #1. “The Liar” Written by Dan Watters and drawn by German Peralta. I love the character of Loki, especially the newer version of the God of the Story. He is still chaotic and not necessarily honest, but not evil. His manipulative ways are put to the test here and the last page of the issue puts Loki’s existence into question. I’m mean… I’m sure he’s fine…

Spider-Man #9. “Maxed Out Part Two: Spider-Sensitivity Training.” Written by Dan Slott and penciled by Mark Bagley. Spidey and his super spider sense is really being pushed to his limit. It gets so bad that Spidey’s spider sense is going off in his head every time he punches a bad guy. Gold Goblin and Spider-Boy have an interaction, once again bringing into question exactly whom this Spider-Boy is. Oh, and there is Electro.

Fantastic Four #8. “If Memory Serves…!” Written by Ryan North and drawn by Ivan Fiorelli. Alex Ross is the artist on the cover. The FF is home at the Fantastic Farmhouse (as dubbed by Sue). They begin a cool mystery in their new little town with a creature that is able to reshape the world’s minds. I enjoyed the first part of this issue with Sue and Alicia and … Flame-O!

Daredevil #12. “The Red Fist Saga Part 12.” Matt Murdock is starting off his plan to bring back Foggy from death and it seems as if it requires Elektra to kill him. As the finale to Chip Zdarsky’s run on DD comes quickly to us, every issue is just better than the last one. Written by Chip Zdarsky and drawn by Marco Checchetto.

Hellcat #3. “The Know-It-All.” Written by Christopher Cantwell and drawn by Alex Lins. Cover art by KJ Diaz and Marte Gracia. I have been loving Hellcat each issue. In fact, this was my favorite comic (so far) this week (it was actually one of the issues that was on the ill-fated shipment). We get more info on Pasty’s past as well as the murder that she is trying to solve. She seems to be scaring Blackheart. Hm. And I do believe that the little stuffed rabbit (aka Damien Hellstrom, Son of Satan and Patsy’s ex-hubby) has something not so right about his motives.

That is not quite half of the books I got this week. It was a massive week and I hope to get some more read as I continue the June Swoon 2, The Daily Zone (Twilight Zone episodes) and the regular movie reviews (Transformers coming this Friday).

Hope you’ll be able to read this soon, Todd. 🙂 Seriously though hope things are better.

June 6, 2023

It is summer vacation.

One of the issues with summer vacation is that I sometimes lose track of what day is what. Especially on a day like today. I went to Cinemark for a double feature of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. I had already seen both of these movies, and they are my two favorites of the year so far. I am not sure which way they are. They feel as if the are 1A and 1B. Guardians was more emotional, but Across the Spider-Verse had more fist-pumping moments.

Anyway, as I was saying, It has been a long time since I went to Cinemark on a Tuesday. The double feature made it feel like a Saturday instead. I have to keep telling myself that tomorrow is not Sunday, it is NEW COMIC BOOK DAY, nd I get the chance to go hang out at Comic World and read some of the new books there. It is always a blast during the summer.

Oh, and by the way, I was FINALLY able to find Where Monsters Lie #1. I had been searching through every box that I had even remotely put something new into recently, but I found it in the pile of books I have yet to box. I did not think it would be there, but right there it was.

Because I was searching for Where Monsters Lie #1, I was going through one of the number one boxes that I keep issue #1s that I do not collect. While in there, I came across a book that I did not remember seeing, and one that was interesting to read.

Damn Them All #1. Written by Simon Spurrier and illustrated by Charlie Adlard. This book from Boom! Studios was one that drew my attention in Previews last week, but it was listed as #7 so I was not sure if I wanted to jump in. However, after finding number one, I went to eBay and bid on the rest of the series. Issue #1 was really engaging and fun with a magic world.

Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #4. “Earth’s Most Furious” Written by Tini Howard with art by Vasco Georgiev. Erica D’Urso & Matthew Wilson are the cover art team. There are a ton of guest stars in this issue, trying to contain Morgan Le Fey. The Avengers. Dr. Doom. Betsy had a fencing match with Tony Stark. There is some fun to be had here.

X-23: Deadly Regenesis #3. “The Past Haunts Us All Part 3” Written by Erica Schultz and drawn by Edgar Salazar. Kalman Andrasofszky (whew, what a name) was the cover artist. Laura found herself back in the clutches of her old handler, Kimura. She wanted to make an offer for an assignment for Laura, but she had to go about the process of having her agree… and that was not going to be easy.

Year Zero: Volume 0 #1. Written by Daniel Kraus and drawn by Goran Sudžuka. Another short series that I am ready to jump into this summer. This is a prequel to the first Year Zero book that I enjoyed quite a bit. This book continued its way of jumping around the globe and checking in on how the world is going with this zombie strife. Plus, a grandmother gnawed off her foot. Ooft.

Sleeping Beauties #7. Adapted by Rio Youers and art by Alison Sampson. Based on a novel by Stephen and Owen King. Getting back into this series, which only has a handful more issues to go. There is a plan afoot to launch an attack on the prison in order to get to the woman who can sleep. Meanwhile, all kinds of trippy-dippy things are going on.

Strayed #1. Written by Carlos Giffoni and drawn by Juan Doe. Another short series that has been in my ‘Too Read’ pile for quite awhile. Scientist Kiara Rodriguez developed a device that allows her to translate brainwaves into language and so she communicates with her cat. Lucky for her, her cat can travel the astral plane. It is a bizarre book.

Darkland #1. “Episode One: Stay Awhile.” Written by Nicholas Black and featuring art by Serg Acuna. Darkland was a number one in my pile of books too read so I figured to give it a chance. It was okay. There are some interesting character designs, especially Zed. There was one guy who reminded me of the Unknown Soldier. I did not find myself interested enough to go searching for any more of the series from Scout Comics. This will take its place in my number one box.

June 4, 2023

Summer is here! I anticipate some big things when it comes with my comic reading. I hope to arrange some of these comics into their appropriate boxes. I have some things ready to go.

Last time I did a Comic Cavalcade, I mentioned that there was no Marvel comic issues at Comic World. I expected that after that Wednesday when there were no Marvels shipped that there would be arriving later that week. So, as of now, it was last Sunday (a week from today)I stopped by Comic World ready to pick up those missing Marvels only for Drew to tell me that the truck from Diamond had exploded and the comic issues were all damaged.

Excuse me?

I had a difficult time finding any specific details on the accident, but I did find info from Diamond which said the truck that was carrying the comics to the “Diamond Comic Distributors’ Plattsburgh Distribution Center” suffered a serious accident that led to the comics being damaged. “While some product may ship from reserves/backstock, some will need to be sent from the printer for a delayed release,” Diamond told affected retailers in an e-mail.

https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/54168/traffic-accident-delays-diamond-shipments-retailers-northeast

Apparently, there were some people hurt badly in the wreck too so all positive thoughts to anyone involved in the accident. It makes missing out on some Marvel books for a few weeks a little less important.

Marvel had some books this week…

Amazing Spider-Man #26. Written by Zeb Wells and pencils by John Romita Jr. John Romita Jr, Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz were the cover artists. This was the big issue that Marvel desperately tried to keep spoiler-free, but failed at miserably. When the word got out anyway, they just embraced the spoiler and announced that Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel) dies in this issue and that is the big thing that sent Peter off the deep end. It was a good issue, but I do not like the killing of Kamala Khan even a little bit. Why? Because I know as I am typing this that she will not be dead for long. Heck, she may even be back in November when The Marvels comes out on the big screen. This feels like just another stunt that will not matter in six months to a year. I feel as if Ms. Marvel deserved better.

Nocterra: Val Special. Story by Scott Snyder and Tony S. Daniel and art by Francis Manapul. Look what I found. I had been having a conversation with Todd and another customer at Comic World about Nocterra and the customer referred to the series having two special issues. I knew of the Blacktop Bill special but I did not know of another. I wondered if it was missed when it came out. However, as I was looking through the ‘to be read’ pile (looking for Where Monsters Lie #1 which I cannot find. It’s in a box somewhere!), I found the issue. It was good as usual. I am glad I found it.

Starslayer: The Log of the Jolly Roger #5. Thanks to Todd for this one who gave this to me as a gift. While I just glanced at the Starslayer story (not very interested in it), the reason this is worthwhile is that there is a short backup story featuring the second appearance of Groo the Wanderer by Sergio Aragonés. It was fascinating how Groo was actually different in this story showing proof that even Groo has character development (or perhaps recession) over the years.

Deep Cuts #2. “Sorry, But I Can’t Take You” Written by Kyle Higgins and Joe Clark and penciled by Helena Masellis. Cover art was done by Chris Brunner. The second issue of this series from Image featured a story rooted in Jazz music. Specifically a woman named Gail Geldstein, a singer tying to create a Broadway show about Jazz that was lacking one really great song. It is a solid read.

Local Man #4. Written by Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs and Tony Fleecs also did the art. The cover was done by Tony & Tim and Brian Reber. Jack Xaver, being chased by the police for being Local Man (a joke about Jack wearing the same coat as the pic of Local Man in the papers was great), found the hideout of Camo Crusader, a former teammate whose plans were less than super heroic. The Local Man series continues to be very entertaining.

Avengers Beyond #3. Written by Derek Landy and penciled by Greg Land. Land and Frank D’Armata did the cover art. The Avengers, who have nobly taken up the fight with the Dark Order and the Lost One, were desperately trying to keep the shield up around planet earth. The Beyonder, who the Lost One planned on destroying, had other thoguhts and betrayed the Avengers.

W0rldtr33 #2. Written by James Tynion IV and featuring art by Fernando Blanco. Siobhan Silk and Nicky Gallo arrive in the narrative, searching for answers about the case going on. To be honest, while I enjoyed reading this, I am not 100% sure what is going on. I am hoping I can make more sense soon. Perhaps I need a re-read on these. I love James Tynion IV though.

Captain America: Symbol of Truth #13. Written by Tochi Onyebuchi and drawn by R.B. Silva. The fourth part of the Cold War arc continued here as Steve and Sam go at it hard over a disagreement on what to do next about Bucky and Cap’s kidnapped son Ian.

Doctor Strange #3. “A Day with Dormammu” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Pasqual Ferry. The backup story featuring Nico Minoru was written by Amy Chi and drawn by Tokitokoro with a title “Close Encounters of a Strange Kind.” This was a neat issue with an encounter between Dr. Strange and Dormammu, one of the more original ways for arch rivals to face off.

Deadpool #7. “Heavenly Bodies.” Written by Alyssa Wong and art by Luigi Zagaria. Martin Coccolo & Neeraj Menon did the cover art. Deadpool and Valentine had their date crashed by assassins from the group named Atelier. Meanwhile, Lady Deathstrike is trying to dogsit Deadpool’s new symbiote dog, Princess. I have been liking this new series featuring Deadpool, who, in the comics, has been hit and miss for me historically.

Silver Surfer: Ghost Light #4. “Part 4: Demolition Man” Written by John Jennings and art by Valentine DeLandro. Taurin Clarke was the cover artist. I have not been a huge fan of this series so far, but I did think this one was a decent book. Things are coming to a head with the Strangers and Al Harper and the Surfer. This is the penultimate issue for this mini series.

May 25, 2023

Terrible news.

There were no Marvel books this week.

There was a shipping issue so Comic World did not get in their Marvel books as they normally do. Todd told me it would be Friday (ish). It was sad.

However, I did still get some books. There would have been a time when I would not have had anything in my pull box had the Marvel shipping failed. Now, I collect a ton of independent books (even one or two from DC) and it filled the space lacking by Marvel.

Indigo Children #3. “Chapter Three: Adagio For a Songbird.” Story and script by Curt Pires & Rockwell White with line art by Alex Diotto. We meet a third Indigo Child, Rose. Her backstory is covered intricately and she comes together well with our familiar cast. This continues to be one of the best of the independent books I read.

Where Monsters Lie #3-4. Script by Kyle Starks and art by Piotr Kowalski. I finally got issue #3, which I have been missing for awhile. I have had #4 waiting fore several weeks now. Much like White Savior #4, Where Monsters Lie #3 went through a long and challenging pathway to my ownership. This series was bloody and brutal. I did like most of it, but it certainly did not feel like a finale of a series at the end of #4. I expect that this will continue one day.

The Ambassadors #5. Written by Mark Millar and featuring art by Matteo Buffagni. We are introduced to yet another new member, Code Name: Australia. I liked this character but the last page of the issue indicated that this was “To Be Concluded” in issue #6. It’s over? It feels as if it is just getting started. Bizarre.

All Eight Eyes #2. Written by Steve Fox and drawn by Piotr Kowalski. Another creepy issue with these giant spiders. The book though is also focusing on the relationship between Reynolds and Vin and that is as compelling as the monsters.

Harrower #4. Written by Justin Jordan and illustrated by Brahm Revel. This was another book that seemingly just ended. That ending was very out of nowhere and threw off what was a pretty well paced book to that point. It was quite jarring.

The Twilight Man. Story and art by Koren Shadmi. To be fair, I am only about halfway through this graphic novel that tells the life story of Rod Serling and the birth of television, but I am enjoying it so far. It is a well constructed tale with Rod talking with a woman on an airplane, narrating his own story. I was never a huge fan of the Twilight Zone, but this caught my attention in a Previews so I thought I would give it a try and it has been great so far. I hope to finish it some time this weekend.

May 21, 2023

New banner! I really loved the last one, but it felt like it was time. And I am happy with how it turned out, especially the Man-Goat and Bunnyman pics.

Finishing up this week’s new comics and another series that I have been reading along the way.

The Silver Coin #11-15. I finished up this series with the final five issues. The writers were all different but Michael Walsh provided the art in all of the books. My personal favorite of these five was the one done by James Tynion IV, which was issue #11. The Silver Coin has been up and down during my readings. Some issues were really compelling and others were okay at best. It turned out to be a pretty solid anthology series.

Guardians of the Galaxy #2. “A Fistful of Mysterium.” Written by Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing with art by Kev Walker. Marco Checchetto did the cover art featuring a kick ass pose by Gamora. This series definitely seems to be trying to move the Guardians team closer to the MCU versions. You can see differences in Nebula and Mantis. Still with that new Western feel to it as well.

The Vigil #1. “Jig in a Storm.” Written by Ram V and art by Lalit Kumar Sharma. Sumit Kumar did the cover art. I grabbed the DC comic off the stands last week because it was a number one and that the cover was intriguing. I had no idea what this book was going to be about, but it is in the Dawn of DC event. These new characters are interesting with some new and creative abilities. Am I going to continue with it? Not sure yet. I may have to pick up #2 to see.

X-Men #22. “Bring on the Bad Guys.” Written by Gerry Duggan and featuring art by Joshua Cassara. The villains have found themselves some old Wolverine skeletons that they have fused together with their Sentinels. Fairly bad ass for sure, but this was a big issue for Spidey’s Amazing Friend, Firestar. M.O.D.O.K is here too. Didn’t expect that.

House of Slaughter #15. “The Butcher’s Return Part Five.” Written by Tate Brombal with art by Antonio Fuso. Cover art provided by Mateus Manhanini and Werther Dell’edera. Jacey faces off in an attempt to get Sunny back. Unfortunately, things do not go how he wanted them to go. Very brutal issue of House of Slaughter. I have not been a huge fan of this storyline so far. It has been putting Jacey through the wringer though.

The Seasons Have Teeth #2. “Summer.” Written by Dan Watters and illustrated by Sebastian Cabrol. Cover art from Qistina Khalidah. Second issue of Boom! Studio’s new book, The Seasons Have Teeth is a good read. Andrew is on the trail of the next photograph of the next season, after having accomplished a pic of Spring. This issue picked things up in my eyes, improving upon the first issue.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #6. “Carnage Reigns.” Written by Cody Ziglar and featuring art from Federico Vicentini. Dike Ruan & Alejandro Sanchez did the cover. Miles and Scorpion are in the wreckage of a building, trying to get their way out. Miles wants to keep saving people while Scorpion is worried that some of them would be Cassidy clones. This is a crossover with some books I do not read.

Danny Ketch: Ghost Rider #1. “Blood and Vengeance .” Written by Howard Mackie and art by Daniel Picciotto. Ben Harvey did the cover art. This was another Marvel story that takes place in the past. This being sometime during the young time of his Ghost Rider time. Not sure I was that into this book.

Bloodline: Daughter of Blade #4. Written by Danny Lore and drawn by Karen S. Darboe. Brielle’s story kept rolling here and we get more with Blade. They look for Brielle’s mother and a clone of Deacon Frost is ready to cause more trouble.

Indigo Children #2. “Chapter Two: The Architecture of Reality.” We meet Fred, another of the mysterious Indigo Children with his powers to construct physical barriers or blocks. This has been great so far and is starting to build some really tense storylines.

May 19, 2023

There was quite a big week in new comics this week. Some big name books made their debut and I was able to find a couple of gems as well.the

I did purchase a Superman series that my friend Todd is going to get signed by Dan Jurgens, the writer of the series. That series will be down the line a bit.

However, there are some other great books.

Groo vs. Conan #1-4. Story by Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier and art by Sergio Aragonés and Thomas Yeats. Another Dark Horse mini series starring Groo the Barbarian, but this time he squares off against the Cimmerian himself, Conan. This was very much similar to the Groo/Tarzan series (which actually came out after this one, but I had bought that one first). There was a storyline involving Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier themselves that were a shadow of the Groo/Conan story. This was fun and a quick series to read.

Man-Goat & the Bunnyman 2023 Spring Special #1. A 48-page one-shot special featuring the awesome pair of Man-Goat & Bunnyman. Written by Joe Brusha and art by Guillermo Fajardo. I have the Cover E issue with the variant cover by Derlis Santacruz and Sanju Nivangune. This is one of the most unlikely books that I buy but I really do love Man-Goat & Bunnyman. Floyd is on a mission to find his father and that brings he and Phil into some violent confrontations.

Avengers #1. Written by Jed MacKay and featuring art by C.F. Villa. The cover art was by Stuart Immonen. New creative team. New Avengers lineup. Captain Marvel is the new chairperson of the Avengers and the new team included Sam Wilson, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Thor, Iron man and Black Panther. The issue interspersed the recruitment of the new roster with the giant battle with Terminus.

Fantastic Four #7 (Legacy #700). “The Enemy of the Good.” Written by Ryan North with art by Iban Coello. Alex Ross did the cover art. For the 700th issue of Fantastic Four, this story felt very grounded. Even with Dr. Doom messing with time in an attempt to save Valeria from the year long Baxter Building relocation. I really liked how small this massive story felt. And it wouldn’t be a huge celebration without Dr. Doom. Still, Johnny’s ‘stache has to go.

Red Goblin #4. Written by Alex Paknadel and penciled by Jan Bazaldua. Inhyuk Lee is the cover artist. Norman Osborn confronts Little Normie over Rascal and tries to separate the symbiote from this grandson. Red Goblin has been a decent book so far and I do like Normie.

Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #12. “Cold War Part 3“. Steve and Sam are on their way to Dimension Z where White Wolf is waiting and where Bucky Barnes is being confronted by Black Widow. There are some beautiful pages in this issue, especially the flashbacks to Steve and Ian in Dimension Z. This story is building up to what I think may be some emotional moments.

Indigo Children #1. “Chapter One” Other Worlds” Story by Curt Pires & Rockwell White, script by Curt Pires and are by Alex Diotto. This new book from Image Comics is one of the more intriguing new books out there. I was engaged by the central mystery of what was happening in this book with the mysterious Alexei.

She-Hulk #13. Written by Rainbow Rowell and featuring art by Andres Genolet & Joe Quinones. Jen Bartel did this issue’s cover art. There seems to be a new relationship in the future for the She-Hulk, and he is a thief that she is fighting. Meanwhile, Jack of Hearts is here and in a relationship too. Looks like we have the start of a super hero triangle.

Dark Ride #6. Written by Joshua Williamson and drawn by Andrei Bressan. Samhain is being chased through Devil Land by the trash director Alister, who seems to be wanting to kill him. Dark Ride spent some time back in flashback mode with Sam and his sister, seeing a time with their mother. It did not seem to end up well. Dark ride has been a good time so far and I am anxious to see where it heads.

Hulk Annual #1. “The Viridian Project” Written by David Pepose and drawn by Caip Majado. Cover art is by Gary Frank & Brad Anderson. This is written in the form of a found footage documentary and I enjoyed that format. It was unlike other books. It gives the flavor of horror, which the new Hulk book is going to be moving into.

May 15, 2023

What’s up, you mendicants?

Has anyone seen any cheese dip?

What’s better than eating? Could it be a fray? Where did I put my sword?

Yes, this is all just a way of saying that this special edition of EYG Comic Cavalcade will be focused around everybody’s favorite wandering barbarian, Groo!

I was introduced to Groo back when I was a young kid when Groo got his own Marvel comic book series (under the Marvel-Epic line). I know Groo debuted in the pages of Mad Magazine, but I did not read Mad regularly. I happened to get the first issue of Groo and just loved it. I have been a fan of Groo ever since.

Groo has recently been in a mini series with Tarzan. That was fun. I have seen an upcoming new series from Dark Horse too. It was called Groo in the Wild and I added that to my pull list.

But I found out that there were some other Groo books from Dark Horse and I went to eBay and found the series Groo: Friends and Foes.

EYG Hall of Famer Sergio Aragonés created Groo and does the art while Mark Evanier is listed as Wordsmith.

Groo: Friends and Foes #1-12.

This series has a bunch of fraying, eating, boats sinking, towns burning and unlimited innocent bystanders being doomed.

Each issue featured the return of one (or more) character(s) from Groo’s universe. This included the Minstrel, Grooella, Taranto, Pal ‘n Drumm, Weaver & Scribe, Chakaal, The Sage, Arcadia the hero, Arba & Dakarba, Captain Ahax, and Granny Groo.

There was also an ongoing storyline throughout the 12-issues that featured a little girl named Kayli (who Groo constantly called a little boy) who was looking for her long long father, who had been taken away to war. It wasn’t the greatest secret of what character would turn out to be Kayli’s father. Still, it was a fun running gag.

And running gags are what Groo is made of. Everything from people seeing Groo arrive and knew that they were doomed to running away from him to even going as far as to do terrible things to themselves because it would clearly be better if they do it to themselves instead of having it happen by Groo.

Groo continues to be a ton of fun and filled with humor. I would love to see an animated film with the character of Groo in the lead, but, until that happens, I’ll keep enjoying these Dark Horse books.

May 14, 2023

Happy Mother’s Day!

I am very much of a Momma’s Boy so I want to make sure to wish all mothers out there a great day. You deserve it.

My own mom was never fully down with my comic collecting, but she never tried to talk me out of it either and she always supported me in doing what I wanted to do.

She knew that comic books were part of who I was. Who I am.

So everyone have an epic and awesome day with your family and give your mom a kiss and a hug from EYG.

Comics today…

Middlewest #16-18. Written by Skottie Young and drawn by Jorge Corona. I wrapped up the Middlewest series this morning. As I mentioned before, Abel came face to face with his dad, which is what the series had been building toward since the moment Abel ran off. As all the elements came together, the conclusion was very satisfying for the readers seeing Abel with so much confidence and his father in such a new and vulnerable situation. I had a feeling this book would wind up with a confrontation that was more emotional than physical, although there were some beautifully illustrated moments in the final issue. This ended in a very positive manner and I am pleased to have read it.

Black Cloak #5. Written by Kelly Thompson and featuring art by Meredith McClaren. At this point, Black Cloak is, at best, an okay book. I have to say that I am just now reading it as a completionist and curious to see how it wraps up. It did have a cool sneak peak of a book called The Cull, which is listed as coming out in August that I may give a shot. Otherwise, Black Cloak is just an average tale for me.

The Ambassadors #4. Written by Mark Millar and drawn by Olivier Coipel. We get yet another character introduction, Codename: Brazil, and I did like the story behind this character and the switch up they pulled off to make this a little different than the previous issues. I have liked this story so far, but I do hope a larger story kicks off soon.

Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones #3. Written by Emily Kim and drawn by Kei Zama. Gwen has to face off against some of her more evil clones who have snatched young Reed Richards. We also get the answer to whom has been behind the arrival of the clones too with the final page showing us Dr. Lyla Bennett.

Invincible Iron Man #6. “A Blast From The Past” Written by Gerry Duggan and drawn by guest artist Andrea Di Vito. Kael Ngu was the cover artist. In this issue, we get present day Tony Stark narrating a flashback issue that takes place during the time when Tony was in the Silver Centurion armor in the West Coast Avengers. The White Queen makes an appearance as well. The cover featured a throwback to the covers from the time period as many of these type of books have been doing.

Superman: Lost #3. “The Tide” Written by Priest and featuring art by Carlo Pagulayan. Carlo Pagulayan & Jason Paz, with Elmer Santos did the cover. This is another bigtime winning cover for this series so far. I enjoyed this book too, with Superman meeting up with some space dolphins. This Superman in space saga feels similar to the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow series, which was up and down for me. So far this has been pretty solid, but they have the same yellow sun missing beat that was in Supergirl.

I Am Iron Man #3. “Chapter Three: Best Friend.” Written by Murewa Ayodele and including art from Dotun Akande. Iron Shogun is here in a special Mother’s Day issue. I really like the design of the Iron Shogun armor and I thought this issue’s story flew by. Nice to see War machine again.

Captain Marvel #49. “Revenge of the Brood: Conclusion.” Written by Kelly Thompson and art by Sergio Davila. The cover was done by Juan Frigeri & David Curiel. Carol is angry over the death of Binary and she has plans to wipe out the Brood once and for all. Unfortunately, her plan could result in a dangerous situation for everyone. There was a great scene between Carol and Rogue, whose connection goes back a long time (Avengers Annual #10, in fact). One more issue with Kelly Thompson writing this book.

Ghost Rider #14. “Sibling Rivalry” Written by Benjamin Pearcy and pencils by Cory Smith w/ Brent Peeples. Bjorn Barends did the cover art. We are building toward the Johnny Blaze vs. Danny Ketch confrontation as we continue to see things that Danny has done under the influence of Infernal Labs.

Rogue & Gambit #3. “Broken Promises and Broken Bones.” Written by Stephanie Phillips and drawn by Carlos Gomez. The search for Manifold continued as Rogue winds up face to face with a group of controlled villains that will be a battle for life and death. The relationship between Gambit and Rogue continues to be the standout section of this book. There is a beautiful cover on this issue by Steve Morris.

All Eight Eyes #1. Written by Steve Foxe and including art by Piotr Kowalski. A new book from Dark Horse that is set in Alphabet City in 2003. A drifter named Reynolds is out trying to save the city from giant spiders. He teamed up with Vin, who had just been kicked out of his apartment for not paying rent, to try and prevent the spread of these monsters.

Phantom Road #3. Written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Gabriel H. Walta. Special Agent Weaver from the FBI arrived on scene and dives head first into the investigation of what weird things are going down in this town. Lemire does an excellent job of setting up a sense of tension while building these new characters. This is another winner from Lemire.

Nocterra #14. Written by Scott Snyder and including art by Tony S. Daniel. This issue features a blending of two parts of the story. One, we see Emory reunited with his mother prior to the darkness falling across the planet. This story turns out fairly sadly. Two, the crew arrive in Eos in an attempt to put Augustus’s formula into effect and save the world from the darkness. The next issue looks to be setting up a major confrontation in Eos. Nocterra has been consistently great every issue.

May 11, 2023

Yesterday was NEW COMIC BOOK DAY at the local comic shop so I was excited. There was a bunch of great new books that I have only slightly made through so far. However, there was something that I had not expected in that pile of new books.

There was one of the best new comics I have read in a long time.

Something Epic #1 came out from Image Comics, written and illustrated by Szymon Kudranski. I had seen it advertised in Previews a while ago and I added it to the pull list.

What an awesome choice.

I was completely in awe. I loved this so much. I have not felt like this after reading a book in a long time. This book felt like a combination of Spielberg and a classic Oscar-bait film.

The art was truly stunning. It felt as if it were a photograph at times. I was amazed at the beauty of every page. It had a remarkably original style and lay-out. Some pages were full page shots with a ton of monologue while others had no words at all and had multiple small panels that told the visual story. Not only that, but the story continued right up to the back cover. I had never seen that before.

There was also a bunch of different styles of art within, especially from the different creatures that we see throughout the book.

Young 14-year old boy Danny Dillon, who can see Epics all around. Creative thought takes physical form and the Epics are the only ones who can see it. Danny is one of these, however, there is more to this boy’s life besides this as there is something happening with his mother.

A book that celebrates imagination and creativity, Something Epic truly made me excited to be reading comics. It is a gorgeous comic. I got Cover B out of multiple variant covers which was drawn by Tony Daniel and Szymon Kudranski.

I loved this. Can’t wait until #2.

Meanwhile, there were other good books out this week…

Amazing Spider-Man #25. Written by Zeb Wells and drawn by Kaare Andrews & John Romita Jr. There is an awesome cover on this issue by John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz. We get some answers about what happened to Mary Jane and how she became a mother. I thought this was pretty decent but I am still not sure if this is how Peter would have reacted to the FF or Cap. Particularly the FF who was always like a family to Peter. Still, apparently #26 is the big one. I’ll be anxious to see where this leads. By the way, there was a fun little backup story with Peter and Black Cat at a wedding called “Welcome to Omaha, Spider-Man.” Written by Rainbow Rowell and drawn by Alvaro Lopez.

Free Comic Book Day: Fishflies #1. Written and drawn by Jeff Lemire. This FCBD book was another really cool and lovely horror comic. It was very mysterious and how the fishflies play into the story. This was a great read and does help make me anticipate this new Lemire book more. I have loved most of Jeff Lemire’s work and this seems to be another winner.

Ghostlore #1. Written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Leomacs. This was another awesome new horror book where a family of four winds up in a car wreck and the young girl, Harmony and her reverend father, survived while her mother and brother did not. However, they could still talk to them. The boy, who had not done much speaking, had something to confess and needed them to listen to him. And the boy was not the only one. Very intriguing book.

Daredevil #11. “The Red Fist Saga Part 11.” Written by Chip Zdarsky and featuring art by Rafael De Latorre. Matt Murdock is back to New York and JEEZ does he take an unbeleivable step to try and get the upper hand with the Stromwyns. This was truly a HOLY SH*T moment in a book that has been filled with them over the years.

The Great British Bump-Off #2. “Death by Chocolate Cake.” Script by John Allison and art from Max Sarin. Confusion and misunderstanding abound as the contestants, especially Shauna, try to make a chocolate cake. Shauna has lost her notes on the murder, making her fellow contestants very uncertain about her. This continues to be a fun read.

May 9, 2023

I am having a good time finding these independent comics to read that are currently being released. I am waiting for Indigo Children #1 to arrive from eBay, which I ordered after picking up Indigo Children #2 at Comic World during Free Comic Book Day. I’m waiting for Where Monsters Lie #3, but I have #4. I should get back to the Image 30th Anniversary Anthology series. I need to wrap up The Silver Coin. Just a bunch of books to read.

I did get some reading done tonight though, knowing that tomorrow is NEW COMIC BOOK DAY. I do hope that the Great British Bump Off shows up in my box tomorrow.

Here was tonight’s books.

Dark Ride #1-5. Written by Joshua Williamson and illustrated by Andrei Bressan. This is the latest Image Comics book that I picked up to try out, and I really liked it. This started off with a great hook, in black and white, of a man killing and burying his wife. That same man then starts an amusement park centered around horror. What a fun concept and then the book introduces us to a character and kind of hints at him being one of the main characters only to horribly kill him off at the end of issue #1. Loved it. This was just a lot of fun and I am excited to keep reading the series. Have a very creepy Five Nights at Freddy’s vibe.

Middlewest #15-16. Written by Skottie Young and drawn by Jorge Corona. Abel is becoming more confident and starting to organize his friends to set up a plan to escape the slave work that he was trapped in. Not too many more issues of this book and it is clearly working toward a major confrontation with Abel and his father.

The Riddler: Year One #4. Written by Paul Dano and drawn by Steven Subic. The darkness that surrounded the young life of Edward takes an even darker turn in this issue. We see how little Edward could have been saved by Thomas Wayne, but the fates were just against him. I liked this issue more than some of the others. It is really dark.

X-Treme X-Men #4. “Search and Destroy.” Written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Salvador Larroca. The de-powered mutants struggle to keep alive against Ogun. Watching Storm, Rogue, Logan, Gambit battling this deadly assassin Ogun without their powers is impressive. Storm is angered over the (perceived) death of Kitty Pryde and is out for vengeance.

Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #3. “The Captain We Deserve.” Betsy continues to try and find and stop Morgan Le Fey and to keep her brother alive while doing it. The book has been okay so far, but with Betsy go to see Tony Stark and Morgan sitting upon Dr. Doom’s lap, this look to be picking up soon.

Peacemaker Tries Hard #1. Written by Kyle Starks and drawn by Steve Pugh. I loved the Peacemaker HBO Max series and this comic is clearly trying to cash in on the success of that James Gunn-directed series. This comic has its moments, but a lot of what they do just feels kind of crude. Probably because they do not have the charisma of John Cena on the pages like they do on the screen. Cena gets away with stuff like this because he is so likable. Overall, this issue was decent enough to where I may look for a second issue, but I’m not sure if this is a long term read for me.

Avengers: War Across Time #4-5. Written by Paul Levitz and art by Alan Davis. This five issue series came to a close here as a displaced group of Avengers are traveling time to try and prevent Kang’s latest plan. This is another example of Marvel going back into its past to do a new, original story inside continuity. Honestly, this left me feeling somewhat empty. It was okay, but I think I expect more out of an Avengers book than this.

May 6, 2023

Free Comic Book Day!

Yes, it was this time of the year when the comic companies put out several collectibles that serve as a way to promote their upcoming books or their characters. It has turned into a celebration of the comic book shop and the hobby.

I have not been able to attend a Free Comic Book Day at my comic shop, Comic World in Dubuque because I am usually spending the weekend at the movie theater. However, with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 being the main film out this weekend, and since I had already seen it on the XD screen at Cinemark on Thursday, I was able to rearrange things so I could go to Free Comic Book Day.

I did start the morning at Phoenix Theaters to watch GotG Vol. 3, but after that, I went to spend some time at Comic World. I knew I had several of the free comics pulled in my box by Todd and so I was excited to see what else I could find.

I hope that all of you out there that went to Free Comic Book Day at your favorite local comic book shop were not just cheap losers who went and picked up the free books and left. This opportunity to help support these shops by picking up some back issues or some supplies is too good to pass. Comic World was even giving discounts on certain things.

I wanted to pick up some kind of complete set, a short series, but there were not very many choices. I did wind up picking on up, but it was one that I never would have thought I would buy. I got some comic bags and boards and a Brzrkr comic box. I appreciate Comic World and I happily will give them my money.

Plus, I was finally able to get a certain ‘white whale’ book that I have been trying to get for the last month or so.

It was a great Free Comic Book Day.

Free Comic Book Day: Spider-Man/Venom #1. This gave us some hints at future Spider-Man stories (including Kraven), a bizarre creature Called Flexo in Venom and a hint at Jonathan Hickman’s upcoming Ultimate Invasion.

Free Comic Book Day: I Am Stan #1. The comic was released by a company called Ten Speed Press and featured the work of Stan Lee and his time at Marvel. There was a lot of dialogue in this book, and it was an intriguing look at Stan and how the Marvel method changed comics. This saga continues in September and I think I may be picking it up. FCBD promotion worked for this one.

Free Comic Book Day: Uncanny Avengers #1. This one was quite compelling. Who is Captain Krakoa? How about those giant Iron Man Sentinels? And another Jonathan Hickman tease for a book called GODS. I am looking forward to both of these and I have not been excited for an X-Men related book much recently.

Free Comic Book Day: Dawn of DC- Knight Terrors Special Edition #1. So there is a giant company wide event in DC during July and August that takes the DC line into a horror themed storyline. I do not buy very many DC Comics, but I have to say that this promo is tempting. There was a massive list of comics over those two months, a bunch of two issue mini series. Hm. Do I dare?

Free Comic Book Day: Archie Horror Presents The Cursed Library #0. Grabbed this one off the table. It had not been pulled for me, but I do like the horror comic books. But this was Archie Comics (I’ll come back to that later). This was weird, but okay.

Free Comic Book Day: Spidey and his Amazing Friends#1. This would be a fun book for a young reader, who loved the characters from the Disney Junior TV show. I found this something that I was not interested in, even as a huge Spider-Man fan.

Free Comic Book Day: Marvel Voices #1. The Voices anthology books are fine. I have never been too engaged with these anthologies. This book had some good parts. The Ironheart part was decent and it was great to see Ms. Marvel again.

Marvel Spider-Man 2 #1. Not exactly a “Free Comic Book Day” comic, but it was also a promotional book. I was also not a fan of this book even though I love Spider-Man. It did not feel like the character of Spider-Man felt like Spider-Man. It is hard to explain, but it felt very flat. I will not be reading this Gameverse book moving forward.

Local Man #3. Written by and with art by Tony Fleecs and Tim Seeley. One of the recent books that was in my box today. I have enjoyed the first couple of issues of Local Man. This book has been setting a great new world and we continue with the life of Jack, our one time disgraced super hero Crossjack.

And then there was the comic set that I bought today…

Archie vs. Predator #1-4 (no, I’m not kidding). Written by Alex de Campi and pencils by Fernando Ruiz. This was so dumb… and, for some reason, I loved it. It was brutal. All of these Archie characters were having their heads decapitated with their spines pulled out and I was here for it. This was complete camp and total silliness in the very best way. I did not expect this and I was pleased at the results.

White Savior #1-4. FINALLY!!! Written by Eric Nguyen and Scott Burman. Art was provided by Eric Nguyen. As I talked about last Comic Cavalcade, I had been going through a lot of problems trying to get White Savior #4 and I was waiting to read all four issues together. Boy, was the wait worth it! This was fantastic! I loved this book. It was irreverent, funny, shockingly unpredictable. It broke the fourth wall throughout. I was totally captivated by this series and I am so pleased that I finally finished it.

May 5, 2023

I have been reading more independent comics right now than I ever have before. Some my friend Todd from Comic World call weird. One of these is White Savior, although to say that I am reading this would be inaccurate.

I purchased White Savior #1-3 on Ebay, but I decided to wait on reading the first three issues until I could get my hands on #4, which would complete the series. So I contacted Todd and asked him to order #4 for me, to which he did.

That was at the beginning of April.

I never gave it another thought until I happened to look at the ‘to read’ pile and found White Savior #1-3 and I thought, ‘hey, what happened to #4?’ I investigated and it was released the week before. I inquired again and a second order was placed.

Guess what happened this time.

I asked again, this time in person, and the book had arrived, but still did not find its way into my box. Drew, who had seen it on my list, had his copy… yet mine was nowhere to be seen. I believe that it might just be in my box right now (I’ve seen a photo, but I’ll believe it when I am holding it in may hands).

Perhaps it is finally going to be time to read.

Meanwhile, here are some of the other weird books I have read…

The Great British Bump Off #1. Written by John Allison and drawn by Max Sarin. Who among the new bakers poisoned the unlikable Neal? Shauna believes that she will be able to solve this mystery before anything worse happens. This was funny and I am interested in seeing where their weird Dark Horse comic goes.

Star Signs #1. Written by Saladin Ahmed with art by Megan Levens. The stars of the Zodiac were destroyed. And strangely enough, Rana Fawaaz has gained a power to freeze time. How does that all relate? Who knows. This was an interesting start and I did like the art (although some of the character’s heads seemed too large).

Scarlet Witch #5. Written by Steve Orlando and with art by Russell Dauterman. Wanda and Scythia battle over Darcy Lewis. And Wanda gets to show off just how powerful she can be. And that last page…whoa!

Moon Knight #23. “Panic Room.” Written by Jed MacKay and drawn by Alessandro Cappuccio. The cover art is from Stephen Segovia & Rachelle Rosenberg. The new Venom, Dylan Brock, comes to the Midnight Mission looking for help from Moon Knight. I love this Moon Knight series and I did enjoy the inclusion of Dylan Brock, even though I do not read the Venom books.

Spider-Man #8. “Maxed Out: Part One-Clear and Present Danger.” Spidey is frustrated by an inability to save everyone in a fire and it it weighing heavily on his mind. So he approached Norman Osborn to help him adjust his Spider-Sense so it did not just reveal danger that he is in, but also danger to everyone around him. And Electro was here too.

Love Everlasting #7. “Too Hip for Love.” Written by Tom King and illustrated by Elsa Charretier. Joan Peterson is married, a mother and she is losing her grip. She doesn’t understand why things are happening the way they are and she winds up in a hospital.

Groot #1. Written by Dan Abnett and drawn by Damian Couceiro. Lee Garbett was the cover artist. I have always liked Groot, but this book just did not do anything for me. It included a story with Mar-vell and I was not invested in it at all. It was also one of the books set at a different time in the past. I won’t be picking the rest of this up.

Hairball #2. Written by Matt Kindi and drawn by Tyler Jenkins. Matt Kindi also did the cover art. Things are getting worse for everyone. The black cat, Bestie, is finally appearing to Anna to be a danger. Anna talking to her therapist about this cat and how she actually tried to drown the cat, only to see it come back to life. This is an easy read and full of weirdness.

Carnage Reigns Alpha #1. Written by Alex Paknadel and Cody Ziglar featuring art by Julius Ohta. Carnage battling against Miles Morales for one of the first times. Scorpion was here too as the young Spider-Man was taking quite the beating.