April 11, 2023

New banner!

I do enjoy making these banners for the site. I had just done the blue one when I switched from Comic Catch-Up to the EYG Comic Cavalcade, but it felt like it was time for a change. So I did the new white and red version you see here now.

I am very happy with the way the new one turned out. I do plan on making new ones as the time moves on. I could also see myself doing special ones when the whole issue is a theme like I did for the Comic Catch-Up when I had the special editions featuring Something is Killing the Children, Gideon Falls or Ant Man.

With the new banner, I took pics from recent comics that I am enjoying (such as Strange Academy: Finals, Local Man), books I just discovered (Man-Eaters) or ones that I will read soon (Swamp Thing, White Savior). Spider-Boy made it on the banner too as a hot new character.

We’ll see how long this one lasts. I really do love the new banner.

Let’s get started…

Nocterra #1. Written by Scott Snyder and with art by Tony S. Daniel. I have been waiting to start into Nocterra. I had all of the issues ready to go, but truly I just was not that into starting it. I have no idea where or why I started buying this one, but I had never read any of them leading into this. However, I absolutely loved this first issue. I loved the character. I loved how they set it up. I loved the world building. The art is beautiful. The villain at the end was awesome. I found this story completely compelling and thrilling. I can’t wait to dive back into the next issues of this series.

Sleeping Beauties #3. Adapted by Rio Youers and drawn by Alison Sampson. Based on a Stephen King book, Sleeping Beauties started to pick up with this issue. I’m not sure what is going on with the animals that showed up this issue, but I am here for it. Only two more issues to go for this book.

Image! 30th Anniversary Anthology #2. Another anthology book with a bunch of short stories featuring some of the greats from Image. For the second issue in a row, my favorite of the stories was The Blizzard Part Two, by Geoff Johns. We get a bit of a monster in the story, which deals with transferring Michael to prison after he killed his son’s murderer. Some of the stories are not as compelling, but I have enjoyed much of the book.

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #5. “Chapter Five: The Lake, the Trees, and the Monsters.” Written by Tom King and drawn by Bilquis Evely. I liked this issue more than I did last issue. However, it does fall into a problem I have for this character and her famous cousin. In order to create any stakes or tension, the writers have to remove (or limit or downgrade) Kara’s powers. It just feels like it is lazy writing. How many universes out there have a non-yellow sun? Why does she have to find every one?

Silver Coin #8. “Rising & Falling in America” Written by Matthew Rosenberg and drawn by Michael Walsh. I found this Silver Coin issue to be very shocking and I liked what I saw. It continued its trend of tragic circumstances falling those in possession of the cursed coin. The final few pages of this issue was just one shock after another.

Newburn #4. “Chapter Four: Bring Some Heat.” Written by Chip Zdarsky and with art by Jacob Phillips. Newburn has a new problem. The cops want to hire him to sole a murder of a cop by one of the families. This placed Newburn in a difficult position forcing him to use all of his guile to wiggle his way out.

Middlewest #6-8. Written by Skottie Young and illustrated by Jorge Corona. Abel is still in trouble. His father is in pursuit of his runaway son and Abel’s own power is out of control. This led to him being sent out of the Fair and off on his own. Well, his trusty friend fox is there too. Middlewest still has that fairy tale feel to it and I am interested in the eventual confrontation between Abel and his father because it may not be as cut and dry as it seems.

April 9, 2023

I was looking over my graphic novels this morning, I spotted one that I had not read. It was Man-Eaters, the first volume which reprinted the series issues #1-4. Then I saw the writer on the spine. It was Chelsea Cain.

I loved Chelsea Cain. There have been two major feeling of betrayal I have felt from Marvel Comics over the years I have bought comics from them. The first was when it was revealed that Ben Reilly was actually not a clone of Peter Parker, but he was the actual Peter Parker. The Peter Parker that I had ALWAYS watched since I was reading Spider-Man comics, my absolutely favorite super hero, was the real clone. A fake. That is, to this day, the worst moment I have ever had while reading comics.

The other moment of betrayal was when I found out that Mockingbird, which included issues 1-8, was being canceled. Mockingbird is one of my favorite series of all-time and I felt crushed when Mockingbird was gone. And then to hear a lot of the negative aspect behind the end of the series was very disappointing.

Chelsea Cain had become one of my favorite writers. Then she did a mini-series called Spy Island that I picked up simply because she was the writer. She had elevated things for me where I will purchase a book solely because her name is on it. I know there are people who do not like her work because she is such a strong voice for feminism, but I find her funny, extremely creative and willing to take the comic genre in different ways.

Back to this morning. So I took the graphic novel Man-Eaters Vol. 1 and read it through. It was wild story of teen girls changing into killer cats because of a virus that almost everyone on earth had contracted. It was so awesome with a ton of metaphors and the format including amazing advertisements for the different products that kept the transformations at bay. They even had a long section (probably issue #4) that gave us background info and reports and medical details. It was more of an informational pamphlet than a comic book. It was glorious.

I am excited to see the rest of the series that I went to eBay to find immediately. I have stated that independent comics are more about the story/writer than the characters. This is a perfect example. If I see Chelsea Cain’s name on a comic, I am buying it.

The rest of this issue’s books:

Dead Day #1-5. Written by Ryan Parrott and art by Evgeniy Bornyakov. There comes a day when the dead rise from their graves and head out to try and go back to spend time with their loved ones. When Brandon meets a beautiful teen girl who was a member of the Revivalists, he and his friend Zack sneak out to meet up with her on Dead Day. I liked this self-contained story about Dead Day and how it affected Brandon’s family. At the core of this book is the family aspect and that was why it worked.

Middlewest #5. Written by Skottie Young and drawn by Jorge Corona. Mike Huddleston did the cover. Abel keeps trying to find someone at the carnival that would help him become normal again. Meanwhile, his father, who we keep seeing how abusive he could be, is searching for Abel. Middlewest continues to be a beautiful book to look at.

Planet Hulk: Worldbreaker #5. Written by Greg Pak and drawn by Manuel Garcia. The cover art was done by Carlo Pagulayan, Jason Paz & Chris Sotomayor. I am so grateful that this one is done. Did not enjoy the finale of the series that I did not like. Just another throwaway alt-future tale.

Silver Coin #7. “Tzompanco” Written by Ram V. and drawn by Michael Walsh. This issue of the anthology horror series that follows a mysterious silver coin found its way back to Vegas and into the hands of a gambler who did not have a lot of success, until now. This was another interesting story in this series, but not one that I will remember a month from now.

X-Men: Unforgiven #1. “Cure for Pain.” Written by Tom Seeley and drawn by Sid Kotian. Kyle Holz & Dan Brown did the cover art. The team called the Forgiven, a group of vampires, team up with the X-Men to take on a vampire by the name of the Curator. This Unforgiven series of books (previously with Spider-Man) are okay, but I have not been able to really get invested in the characters of the Forgiven yet. Next issue is Captain America so we’ll see how that goes.

Newburn #3. “Chapter Three: We’ve All Lost Men” Newburn is on the case of an apparent serial killer that is targeting men from the different crime families. This was probably my favorite issue of Newburn as of yet. I really enjoyed this self-contained story that was wrapped up within the issue.

Year Zero #1-4. Written by Benjamin Percy and drawn by Ramon Rosanas. I have been meaning to read this limited series for awhile now (and then I realized that I am missing the final issue #5). I hope it is somewhere in the piles, because I thought this was great. I especially enjoyed how the story bounced around the planet as the zombie apocalypse was breaking out. We spent time with a long list of different characters and saw how they reacted to what was happening. Got to find number five.

Image! 30th Anniversary Anthology #1. Cover design by Michael Busuttil. I had bought issue #8 of this series recently to see a short story featuring World Tr33, a short intro to the upcoming James Tynion IV book. There were a bunch of shorts in that book that were like part 8 and such. SO I went after the earlier of this anthology series. Issue one had several fun shorts in it, my favorite probably being Geoff John’s The Blizzard.

Ghost Rider #13. “My Brother’s Keeper” Written by Benjamin Percy and drawn by Cory Smith. Björn Barends did the cover art. We get some info on what is going on with Danny Ketch. Johnny Blaze and Talia is on his trail to try and understand why Danny is doing the horrendous things that he is doing.

Rogue & Gambit #2. “Throw it Girl.” Written by Stephanie Phillips and drawn by Carlos Gomez. Steve Morris did the art on the cover. Rogue and Gambit are in search of the missing teleporter Manifold while Black Panther is trying to bring in Gambit and Rogue to question them about the same thing. Plus, the mutants’ powers are going all wonky. So far, this has been an entertaining couple of issues. I have always liked the pairing of Gambit and Rogue so this worked well for me.

Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones #2. Written by Emily Kim and drawn by Kei Zama. Cover art was by David Nakayama. Spider-Gwen and Gwen Ock battle SandGwen in an attempt to get the whole clone thing under control. I am having terrible flashbacks back to the Clone Saga. I’m not sure why all Spider-titles need their own clone, but Gwen is an enjoyable character and she had some nice interaction with Gwen Ock. The Ghost-Spider outfit is just one of the best costumes designs in comics.

April 5, 2023

Spring break has sprung. Yes, it is just a couple of days around a weekend, but it is that time of year where any break from school is welcomed.

Of course, yesterday was NEW COMIC BOOK DAY at Comic World and I picked up a cavalcade of comics to read. Most of them were pretty decent and continues my enjoyment of the medium. A couple of series came to a close and there were a few new issues.

One in particular.. Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

I also learned how to determine if it is the cover A, cover B, cover C and so on with variant covers. I feel like a super spy with this knowledge.

I am Iron Man #2. “Chapter Two: The Man with the Bleeding Heart.” This may have been my favorite book of the week (top couple for sure). This Iron Man book saw Tony searching the ocean’s bottom for a radioactive asteroid with the help of a giant, mutated, mind-reading sardine. Yes, I said that right. It sounded silly, but I’ll be danged if it wasn’t a awesome read. Congrats to Murewa Ayodele, who wrote this story that was so compelling with a giant fish and the art by Dotun Akande worked beautifully.

Love Everlasting #6. Written by Tom King and drawn by Elsa Charretier. Joan Peterson has gotten so used to the routine that when something different happens, she is not sure what to do. This issue features the actual marriage of Joan to a guy whom she clearly finds ‘meh.’ Yet, the killer cowboy does not shoot her this time. What is going on?

Stillwater #18. Written by Chip Zdarsky and drawn by Ramon K. Perez. “Chapter Eighteen” brings us the finale of the Stillwater series as the conflict within Stillwater and the neighboring Coldwater comes to a head. I loved the ending of this series with the last few panels really putting a surprise exclamation point on the book. Chip Zdarsky maintains his place near the top of my favorite writers list.

Code Name Ric Flair: Magic Eight Ball #1. Written by James Haick III with art by Rafael Loueiro. Ruben Cubiles did the cover art. In this book, ‘The Nature Boy’ Ric Flair, one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, is revealed to have had some special surgery after his infamous plane crash (which was real) and he became a special secret agent. This was pretty weird, with what seemed like a lot of stroking of Flair’s ego, but I had a lot of fun with it. My knowledge of wrestling and of Flair himself made it more enjoyable as I picked up on some of the jokes and traits that they were bringing into the story.

Amazing Spider-Man #23. Written by Zeb Wells and art by John Romita Jr. Peter finds himself back home, desperate to try and find his way back to MJ. Unfortunately, the FF and Captain America have some questions they want answered. Peter did not have the time. This is the continuation of the story about what Peter did that caused such a rift in his life and his relationships. I am still in on what is going down even if it is making me anxious.

The Approach #5. Written by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley while the art of the book was done by Jesus Hervás and Lea Caballero. This is the second series coming to an end this week with this cool Boom! Studios book wrapping up with a huge blast. Now, there are several things that were not covered or dealt with in the series and I wonder if there will be more coming from The Approach eventually. It certainly left off on a cliffhanger.

Scarlet Witch #4. Written by Steve Orlando and drawn by Sara Pichelli. Russell Dauterman did the cover art. We get a back story on Darcy Lewis, who debuted as a character in the MCU Thor movies and met up with Wanda originally during WandaVision. Here, Darcy is being pursued by Hippolyta, who became the powerhouse Scythia. A powerful pair of females battling over Darcy’s life.

Joe Fixit #4. Written by Peter David and drawn by Yildiray Çınar. I finally determined that this book was taking place during the time frame when Bruce Banner was showing the Joe Fixit personality. Perhaps it should have been obvious to me, but I had not read Hulk books during the original Joe Fixit arc. I do love this series, especially since there is such a presence of Spider-Man in the book.

Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #11. Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly with the art by Carmen Carnero. Cap and the returning Invaders fought against MODOC while struggling to try to stop the Outer Circle, including Bucky Barnes. The death of the Destroyer last issue set up some major implications here. Then, at the end, Ian is reunited with his ‘father.’

Hairball #1. Script by Matt Kindt with art by Tyler Jenkins. The new Dark Horse comic that immediately gave me Stray Dogs vibes, even though it sure appeared that the black cat, called Bestie, in this series is anything but our hero. In fact, who could have guessed that the cat hairball that as coughed up would be such a powerfully gross weapon? This was a cool start to a new horror series and I am here for it.

Planet of the Apes #1. Written by David F. Walker and drawn by Dave Wachter. Cover art was by Joshua Cassara & Dean White. The first ‘official’ book under the 20th Century Studios Marvel brand, we get a book that is set after the events of the film Rise of the Planet of the Apes. When I started reading the Alien books (which will now fall under the 20th Century Studios banner as well), I really enjoyed number one, but slipped off my interest quickly. Here, even though I do like these movies, I found this comic to be…fine. Nothing that blew me away, but I was not actively hating it either. I kind of expect this will be another book that I just am not that into if I were to continue to buy it. Still, it was okay.

Spider-Man #7. “Part Seven: Spider-Genesis” Written by Dan Slott and drawn by Mark Bagley. This classic creative team has been bringing the End of the Spider-Verse saga and, to be honest, I was not overly interested. This issue debuts a mysterious new Spider character in the 616 universe, specifically one called Spider-Boy. I do find the initial design of Spider-Boy to be cool and I would like to know more about him. With Peter Parker back as the Amazing Spider-Man, I hope this one picks up.

Order & Outrage #1. Written by Jim Starlin and drawn by Rags Morales. My cover art (which was the B cover, which I now know thanks to my unofficial lesson by my friend Todd), was done by Jim Starlin. This was a book that ended up in my pull list because someone (ahem, Todd) thought I’d like it. He usually does a decent job of picking out books that I should give a go, but I just never got into this book. I like Jim Starlin but Order & Outrage just never piqued my interest. It was a beautifully illustrated book (although there may have been too many shots of a penis, just saying).

March 4, 2023

The last few days, I have been getting a few comics read here and there. As I mentioned last time, this weekend was Wrestlemania weekend so I was quite busy watching wrestling. There was some time to fill however.

Specifically, I had an oil change scheduled for Saturday morning down at Brad Deery’s Motors. I used that time to read two graphic novels that I had recently gotten on eBay. They were a couple of books that I heard discussed on the Fatman Beyond podcast with the writer Jim Krueger. There are The High Cost of Happily Ever After and The Runner.

I found The Runner as the better between the two. The Runner was a story about a man named Daniel who looked in the face of death and survived, only to have death chase after him forever. And he had to run from them.

Meanwhile, The High Cost of Happily Ever After is about a princess whose recently married husband went off to war. She is captured and tortured mentally in a chance to break her.

Both were enjoyable and I have grown to enjoy Jim Krueger’s work. Zach Brunner was the artist on both of the two graphic novels. I thought the art worked very well with each book and it created a excellent tone. There are plenty of wonderfully beautiful images in his work.

The other books I have read…

Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #2. “Two Captains, One Country” Written by Tini

Howard and drawn by Vasco Georgiev. Erica D’Urso & Matthew Wilson did the cover art. The Captain Britain Corp arrive on the world of Captain Carter looking for that world’s Betsy Braddock. Morgan Le Fey continues to plan to try and destroy the Captain Britain Corp.

Frankenstein New World #1-4. Written by Mike Magnola, Christopher Golden and Thomas Sniegoski with art by Peter Bergting. This Dark Horse limited series featured the Frankenstein character that was from the world of Hellboy. This was a neat little series with Frankenstein and a little girl named Lilja. There was a weird end to the series, but I liked it quite a bit.

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #4. “Chapter Four: Restraint, Endurance, and Passion.” And then there was Supergirl. I had liked the first three issues of this series. I know that this limited series is going to be the basis for the upcoming Supergirl movie in the James Gunn run DC Studios. Unfortunately, issue four really came off the rails for me. I was bored throughout it. I had no connection or care about anything that was happening. I was truly disappointed in this issue. I certainly hope the remainder of the issues 5-8 turn out more interesting that this one did. I believe in Tom King so I will hold hope.

Where Monsters Lie #2. Script by Kyle Starks and art by Piotr Kowalski. We return to the place where a group of serial killers have been living and the police, on a tip from a young boy who had seen some of the killers and had managed to escape, come to find them. This all just led to a massive slaughter. We are introduced to a federal agent named Connor Hayes, getting a bunch of backstory on him. I have to say that I do not trust this guy. Maybe I am reading too much into it, but there is just something about him that makes me wonder. This limited series has been fun so far.

Sabretooth & the Exiles #5. “Station Five.” Written by Victor LaValle and drawn by Leonard Kirk. Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer and Frank Martin were the artists on the cover. This limited series came to an end as Sabretooth winds up battling and joining a group of multiversal variants of himself. This one did not wrap up quite like I wanted. It turned the series into an okay one, where it could have been very solid.

Thor #32. “Blood of the Fathers Part Two” Written by Torunn Grønbekk and drawn by Juan Gedeon. Nic Klein was the artist on the cover. Another Thor story that is involved in different time lines, making it difficult to follow. It was also a book that has a cover that really kind of misleads what is going on inside. Despite a cover where we see Thor and Dr. Doom fighting, that does not happen this issue. It does seem as if it will happen next issue though so perhaps it is a bit of a set up. Still, much of this recent arc of Thor has left something to be desired.

March 31, 2023

Tonight starts the big Wrestlemania weekend, which is one of my favorite times of the year. There is going to be a bunch of wrestling this weekend so I wanted to get some of these new comics read.

I could not get the books on Wednesday this week because I had the make-up parent/teacher conferences scheduled for that day which meant I could not get them until Thursday.

There were some terrible storms in the area with tornados and heavy rain that are just coming to an end so I waited to get on the computer. Here are the books from this week that I have read.

Strange Academy: Finals #5. Written by Skottie Young and drawn by Humberto Ramos. I have really loved this series so far. The big showdown with the Strange Academy characters and Emily with Dormammu went into full throttle and there was a huge surprise at the end. The ultimate deus ex machina showed up to confront Emily. And they used her middle name too. It was Emily’s parents! I have to say I laughed heartily at that. I did not expect that twist coming.

It’s Jeff #1. Creative team: Kelly Thompson and Gurihiru. Um… what was this? This was a weird book with a bunch of shorts that involved a land shark named Jeff. There was nearly no dialogue and almost no words. Some of these shorts were funny and some were cute. That was about all I could say about Jeff.

Avengers Beyond #1. Written by Derek Landry and penciled by Greg Land. This basically is the continuation of the All-Out Avengers series from earlier this year (or late last year) when the Avengers realized someone had been messing with their heads and keeping them confused over situations. Apparently, it was the Beyonder. And he is the omen for something even worse. This was a lot of fun.

Image Anthology #8. This was recommended to me by Todd because there was a short, introduction to an upcoming book by James Tynion IV called WorldTr33. The short story was interesting, but Tynion has my trust. Since most of the rest of these stories in this anthology were in part 8s, I did not read them. Maybe I want to look for the other books here.

Local Man #2. The creative team on this series is Tony Fleecs and Tim Seeley. This book has caught my attention quickly. I have really enjoyed this so far. I love the idea of the fallen superhero trying to just get his life on track, but having to deal with a negative image.

Daredevil #9. “The Red Fist Saga Part 9” Written by Chip Zdarsky and drawn by Manuel Garcia. Zdarsky’s Daredevil run is coming to its end soon, and this was amazing again. Zdarsky has been so consistently sensational in the Daredevil series for the last few years that I can not imaging what the book will be when his run comes to an end. I would venture to say this run by Zdarsky rivals, if not exceeds, the run of Al Ewing on The Immortal Hulk.

Something is Killing the Children #30. “The Girl and the Hurricane Part Five.” Written by James Tynion IV and illustrated by Werther Dell’edera. Things are ratcheting up again as Erica tries to plan to save Gabi and Riqui from Cutter. Tis series has a great way to make even the transition or filler issues seem just awesome.

Deadpool #5. “Render Reveal Party” The Carnage symbiote exploded out of Deadpool’s guts, bringing Cletus back to the book. However, that was a short return as another horror arrived. There are plenty of moving pieces here, but I have liked this Deadpool series more than some of the other variations over the years. The character Valentine is fascinating and might wreck Deadpool.

Invincible Iron Man #4. “The Autobiography of Tony Stark Chapter Four” Feilong has taken over Stark Industries and Tony Stark is not happy. Iron Man dominated this issue’s confrontation with the new CEO but there are some things that straight physical power can fix. This series has really started to work over Tony Stark even more. and I am here for it.

The Neighbors #1. Written by Jude Ellison S. Doyle and art by Letizia Cadonici. An unlikely family move to a new home with some, let’s say, bizarre neighbors. This new horror series from Boom! Studios had an intriguing first issue. I am curious to see where this comic heads.

Clobberin’ Time #1. Story and art by Steve Skroce. This was a team-up between The Thing and the Hulk. And I have to say, I did not like this one much at all. It looks like this series will be Thing teaming up with other heroes because next issue looks to include Wolverine. I’m just not sure that I’ll be buying that issue.

The Ambassadors #1. Written by Mark Millar and drawn by Frank Quitely. This is a cool concept, where someone is deciding which six people will receive super powers. Only six people. This is off to a good start. I enjoyed Millar’s book, King of Spies, and I think this could be a great book.

Wasp #3. Written by Al Ewing and with art by Kasia Nie. Janet Van Dyne and Nadia Trovaya wind up in worlds where they never have connections to Pym. Watching these characters who we know become different people, but still the same, is great. Al Ewing is one of my favorite writers working today.

March 26, 2023

Welcome to the one and only ‘Comic Cavalcade’ in the 21st century!

Today, I’m going to look at a specific title that came out in 2019 called The No. Ones. It was a six-issue series from Cave Pictures Publishing, which is a comic company that I had never heard of before.

I was introduced to this series during the pandemic as I was watching the YouTube show Fatman Beyond with hosts Kevin Smith and Marc Bernardin. They were doing their show live, but on Zoom, as many YouTube shows were forced to do at the time. One of the features of the Zoom was they were able to get guests easily.

Kevin and Marc, both of whom were comic fans and comic creators at one time or another, had invited writer Jim Krueger on their show. Kevin and Marc interviewed (The interview begins around the 45 min mark) Krueger about his background, how he got into comics, and his work on Marvel’s Earth X.

During the interview, Kevin asked Krueger about a book he had created called The No. Ones. I was intrigued when I was watching the interview and I went over to Amazon and found the series. I ordered it and it arrived, but I never really read it. When I came across it in the piles, it went on the list to read. Today, I finally got to it, and I enjoyed it.

The No. Ones was a series about this super hero team that was celebrities and world renowned when something happened and they wind up being forgotten by the world at large. Literally one day later.

This was a difficult job in my opinion because it is a challenge to introduce an entirely new group of superheroes with powers and personalities and to get them connected to the audience in a short series, but Krueger does a very solid job of bringing the characters to the forefront. The book is truly a character piece and you find these characters very relatable. There are some great ideas in this series and it worked quite well.

The rest of the books involved in EYG Comic Cavalcade #3 are…

Sleeping Beauties #2. Based on the novel by Stephen King and Owen King. Adapted by Rio Youers and art by Alison Sampson. The sleep sickness continues to strike females and a few people discover the tragic results of what happens when they remove the cocoon-like coating from the women.

The Silver Coin #6. “High Score” Written by Joshua Williamson with art by Michael Walsh. What happens when the mysterious cursed silver coin winds up being used in a video game? Major fatalities! I liked this issue quite a bit, though it came up short and they had a backup story that was not quite up to par as the first one.

Black Panther 13-15. Written by John Ridley with art by German Peralta. Cover art on all three by Alex Ross. I am now caught up with Black Panther only to discover that issue 15 was the final issue of the series. Ha. There looks to be another Black Panther #1 coming out soon (of course). This arc continued the T’Challa downgrade as he is exiled from Wakanda, thanks to Namor and the Atlanteans who made a deal with Wakanda to aid in the war against Jhai. Not going to lie, the ending felt a little anti-climatic and I am still not a fan of the way Steve Rogers was written in the book. Still, there are some intriguing ideas here and I like how they filled out the supporting cast and other characters (such as Buffalo Solder, whom I love).

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #3. “Chapter Three: Modest, Calm and Quiet.” Written by Tom King and drawn by Bilquis Evely. I have to say, this was a weird issue, with Supergirl and her alien compadre Ruthye. They are on a planet with aliens called Purples and blues and it deals with a lot of class levels. They are continuing to unsuccessfully look for Krem.

I Walk With Monsters #4-6. Written by Paul Cornell with art by Sally Cantirino. Wrapped up this series, but I was not too fond of this conclusion either. Some of the areas that the early part of the book seemingly focused on were not what was wrapped up. They did go into more specifics about Jacey and David’s relationship and his power to be a weird dog like monster (among other things). I was into the first issue, but this one did not finish off strong for me.

Middlewest #4. Written by Skottie Young and drawn by Jorge Corona. Abel and his friend the fox arrive at the carnival in search of the ‘mystical Magdalena’ only to get into trouble with the carnies and the little girl in charge when he was pickpocketing people for money to buy a funnel cake. Hey, you need a funnel cake. That just goes without saying. This continues to be fun and beautiful to read.

March 25, 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

March 22, 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

March 21, 2023

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

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

Here is a screen shot from Facebook…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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