November 28, 2024
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all get as much turkey as you possibly can and spend the day with the people who you care about.
Because of Thanksgiving break, I was able to head up to Comic World yesterday and spend part of the afternoon there. That meant I was able to get a head start on the reading of the books. Thankfully, it was not a massive 40+ book week as it was last week. I was then able to finish the rest of them last night which meant we get a holiday version of the Comic Cavalcade.
I did a new banner for the next stretch of issues. The special one for #125 was cool, but I did this one right after that.
This week’s books:
The Big Burn #2. Written by Joe Henderson and art and cover art by Lee Garbett. I think this might be my current favorite of the DSTLRY books. They come out so inconsistently that it feels as if they are forgotten. Not this one. The idea of pulling off a heist to try and get your soul back after selling it to Satan is such an original idea and I love the characters involved. This is truly a great books so far.
The Missionary #1. Written by Ryan Stegman and art by Jason Howard. Cover B art by Ryan Stegman. Another very strange story with another trip into Hell. I wonder if that is a general theme for DSTLRY moving forward. This was interesting and I look forward to seeing where it goes.
The Rocketfellers#1. Story and words by Peter J. Tomasi and story and art by Francis Manapul. Cover B art by Ivan Reis. A new book from the Ghost Machine imprint at Image, The Rocketfellers was a intriguing time travel type story with a family. There is a huge loss in the very beginning of the book that sets the stakes early. The Ghost Machine books have all been exceptional so far and I think this one could be in the same category.
West Coast Avengers #1. Written by Gerry Duggan and art by Danny Kim. Cover art was done by Ben Harvey (Bronze Medalist). I also picked up the variant issue (featuring Blue Bolt) with cover art by Todd Nauck. I was always a fan of the West Coast Avengers and so I was intrigued by the return of the title, especially with Ultron a member of the team. I’m not sure how that is going to turn out considering the end of the book. The last couple of pages gave me that Thunderbolts #1 vibe.
Universal Monsters: Frankenstein #4. “The Eyes of a Monster“. Written, art and cover art by Michael Walsh (Silver Medalist). This is the final issue of this adaptation of Frankenstein. It was a very emotional end for the Monster and the story as a whole. This continued the path of these excellent Universal Monsters books from Image. Sounds as if the next book will be the Mummy.
Amazing Spider-Man #62. “Out of Space.” Written by Joe Kelly and penciled by Ed McGuinness. McGuiness & Marcio Menyz did the cover art. Spidey is being trained by astral plane Doctor Strange in magic to help him in his role as the earth’s new champion against the eight Scions of Cyttorak. Spidey recruited the Black Cat to do give some help, but she and Strange can only do so much.
Incredible Hulk #19. “City of Idols” Part Three. Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and art by Nic Klein & Danny Earles. Cover art was by Nic Klein. This is listed as Legacy number 800 for the Hulk. I am curious what exactly they added in that Legacy number to get to it. Did they count the Hulk issues that were the She-Hulk? How about the Totally Awesome Hulk with Amadeus Cho? Anyway, there is also a group of backup stories including one with She-Hulk and one with Red Hulk.
Hyde Street #2. Creators were Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis. Ivan Reis did the cover art too (Gold Medalist). Pip “Pranky” Peabody is the focus behind this issue, which has some disturbing moments in it. There is also a lot of fire. This Hyde Street series has been excellent so far, yet another example of the great work under Ghost Machine imprint.
Uncanny X-Men #6. “The Change in Ourselves.” Written by Gail Simone and art by Javier Garrón. David Marquez & Matthew Wilson were the cover artists. The new kids being taken care of by Rogue and the others have to deal with the new arrival, Becca Simon-Pinette and her issues. Oh, and Nightcrawler gets grabbed. Simone has been exceptional in this new X-series so far and I enjoy reading each of them.
Justice League Unlimited #1. Written by Mark Waid and art and cover art by Dan Mora. I have to say that this concept of the JL Unlimited was interesting to me after I read last week’s Question: All Along the Watchtower #1. It is based clearly on the Justice League animated series where they did the same idea. I am seemingly buying a few more DC books than I have before and this one definitely pushes the right buttons. It is fun not knowing whom may show up in the book.
Black Canary: Best of the Best #1. “Round One.” Written by Tom King and art and cover art by Ryan Sook. Speaking of buying more DC books, I like the idea of these lesser characters getting their own limited run. I am enjoying Plastic Man right now, Zatanna was a lot of fun and Black Canary feels like the next best example. Plus, Tom King is the writer and he has done some of my all-time favorite stories (particularly Vision). The whole Black Canary vs. Lady Shiva inside the squared circle is a cool idea.
Iron Man #2. “Move Fast and Break Things.” Written by Spencer Ackerman and art by Julius Ohta. Cover art was done by Yasmine Putri. Tony Stark is in trouble with his company once again as he is desperately trying to prevent a hostile takeover by AIM and ROXXON. Tony does not have access to his array of armor either, having to settle for a pieced together set.
Spider-Boy #13. “Late Entry” Written by Dan Slott and art by Paco Medina. Cover art was done by Paco Medina & Edgar Delgado. Spider-Boy and Daredevil are on the road trying to catch up with Bullseye and Spider Girl. Who would guess that they would wind up in a special tournament… in Madripoor?
Bad Dreams in the Night. Written and art by Adam Ellis. This was a graphic novel that came out last week, but I just had too many books to pick it up then. I had Todd put it in my box and bought it this week. It is a series of short horror stories by Adam Ellis and they are tremendous. I loved this graphic novel as each of the stories had its own flair to it. It was a variety of tones and stories, and it had some distinctly creepy scenes. After each story, he had a little explanation of where the story came from and some of these were personal. I enjoyed this graphic novel very much.
Absolute Wonder Woman #2. “The Last Amazon Part 2.” Written by Kelly Thompson and art by Hayden Sherman. Cover B variant art was done by Joelle Jones. The absolute DC books continue with Diana meeting up with Steve Trevor and ending up facing off with a giant monster. This was a good book and I am pleased so far with the Absolute DC books.
Dead Eyes: The Empty Frames #2-3. Written by Gerry Duggan and art by John McCrea. Got caught up with this new Dead Eyes series. I do love this character, who does not feel like a traditional hero in any way. In fact, I would go on the record saying that Dead Eyes is anything but. This is very interesting as Dead Eyes returns to mess up his own life.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4. “Grit & a Stick.” Written by Jason Aaron and art by Chris Burnham. Cover art by Rafael Albuquerque. Jason Aaron’s run on TMNT has been sensational. This issue, featuring Donatello, is close to the excellence of issue #1. Donatello goes through a bunch of trauma here and it sure seems as he may be losing his own grip on reality. He was speaking to a regular rat as if it were Splinter. These TMNT books from Aaron have been so good.
The Tin Can Society #3. Written by Peter Warren and art by Francesco Mobili. Mobili and Chris Chuckry did the art on the cover. This has been one of my favorite independent books since it was released. The investigation into Johnny’s death continues as we get some important info in a flashback.
Mystique #2. “Brotherhood.” Written, drawn and cover art by Declan Shalvey. Mystique is out after Avalanche, her former Brotherhood of Evil Mutants partner. Meanwhile, we have a group of SHIELD agents, even two Nick Furys, running around in pursuit of her as well. There are a lot of things going on in this series and it is a fast read.
Dazzler #3. “Tokyo Escape.” Written by Jason Loo and art by Rafael Loureiro. Terry & Rachel Dotson did the cover art. After her last fiasco at her concert, Dazzler’s tour is in trouble. However, Lila Cheney and Dazzler head off for some fun in Tokyo to try and lighten the mood. That does not go well.
Feral #8. “The Cat House.” Written by Tony Fleecs and art by Trish Forstner & Tone Rodriguez. Cover art was by Trish Forstner and Tony Fleecs. Things turn real creepy as Elsie, Gigi and the kittens find Lord, but they are not pleased with the location. “The lady keeps us”… it is literally the crazy cat lady… what a creepy issue this was. Loved it.
Other books this week: Void Rivals #14, Batman-Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns #1, Spirits of Vengeance, The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos #13, and Ultimate Black Panther #10.