Daily Countdown: TV Shows #29

#29

Batman

POW! BOOM! ZOK!

In 1966, ABC broadcast a TV show starring the Caped Crusaders from DC Comics. Batman and Robin made their return to the public eye with this action/comedy series.

Batman was played by Adam West and Robin was played by Burt Ward, and they were the way that the Dynamic Duo was seen until the Batman ’89 movie where they gave batman an update.

The show was one of the earliest show I can remember being obsessed with. Each episode was similar as Batman and Robin would face a villain from Batman’s extensive rogue’s gallery and get captured at the end of the episode and placed in some kind of dasterdly death trap. The next episode would resolve that trap and would wrap up the villain. The villains became iconic too as we got the Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, Riddler, King Tut, Mad Hatter, among others.

When I was young, I always bugged my mom to make me a mask like Robin. I was a Robin fan as a youth. Looking back, whenever they had the big fights, Robin would have to fight the big bad villain and Batman would punch out the hoodlums. I was always surrpised how underappreciated Robin felt.

I was, of course, watching reruns of the show. I would always look forward to Batgirl episodes starring Yvonne Craig, who was added as a character in the third and final season.

My friends and I would use the term “Batman Leap” which was when one of us would make an illogical leap to answer a question or solve a problem… something that made no sense, much like Batman and Robin would do on the series. Glu Glutton’s Glue Factory being a prime example.

The campy nature of the show appealed to many, but typecast the actors involved for decades.

Either way, I loved the 1906s Batman series, and it belongs on this list.

So… what’s next on the list? We’ll find out… Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel!

EYG Comic Cavalcade #171

September 23

Wow I am late this week. There is a compelling reason, though. I went to South Dakota this weekend to attend the SiouxperCon with my friend Todd. I left on Friday, stopped off in Fort Dodge for the night, and went on to Sioux Falls Saturday morning. We spent the weekend with such comic luminaries as Gail Simone, Phil Hester, Keith Champagne, and Zander Cannon, to name a few.

Of course, I did not have much time for reading over the weekend, and I had a whole bunch of comics from the convention too. It threw off my schedule over many things with TV show watching and movies. I finally caught up to last week’s pull lists so I could write the EYG Comic Cavalcade. That is with NEW COMIC BOOK DAY being tomorrow.

The goal is to get some of the con books read and do a special edition of the EYG Comic Cavalcade. I am not sure when that is going to happen, but I hope to accomplish it.

Books this week:

Deadpool/Batman #1. The new, big crossover event with Marvel and DC started this week with Marvel’s version of the team-up between Batman and Deadpool. Yes, it was a lot of fun. As were several of the other shorter team ups in the book, including Captain America and Wonder Woman, Green Arrow and Daredevil, Krypto and Jeff the Shark, and Logan turning into Logo. There were a bunch of covers for this crossover and I picked up three of them.

No Man’s Land #1. Written, drawn and cover art by Symon Kudranski (Gold Medalist). My favorite book of the week, No Man’s Land takes us back to the year after the Cuban Missile Crisis and investigates a murder on the frozen bridge-the Ice Curtain- that happens at times between Alaska and the Soviet Union. Poor FBI agent Collins just wanted to retire. I expect some Cold War spy thriller goodness in this new series.

Uncanny X-Men #21. “Of Mice and Mutants” Written by Gail Simone and art by Luciano Vecchio. Cover art was done by David Marquez & Matthew Wilson. One of the people we met at SiouxperCon was Gail Simone and I really love what she has done with the Uncanny X-Men book. I don’t know if she is writing the upcoming Age of Revelations series this book becomes, but I sure hope that this is not her last hurrah on this book.

Fantastic Four #3. Written by Ryan North and penciled by Humberto Ramos. Cover art was done by Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado. I also picked up the wrap around MCU cover done by Wesley Burt. The Fantastic Four continues their struggle against Emperor Doom.

Orla #2. Written by John Lees and art by Sally Cantirino. Cover art was done by Sally Cantirino and Dearbhla Kelly. Orla is on another date, but this time she is hitting it off with the guy. She liked him so much, she did not want to eat him! Will he survive? Who knows!

Exquisite Corpses #5. Written by Jordie Bellaire with James Tynion IV and art by Claire Roe with Michael Walsh. Cover art was done by Michael Walsh. I also picked up the stealth variant cover with cover art by Sebastian Fiumara (Silver Medalist). The body count continues to rise as the competition gets wild.

Incredible Hulk #29. “The Requiem Plain” Part Two. Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and art by Adam Gorham. Nic Klein did the cover art. The Hulk takes on the Eldest in a brutal and violent issue. It is only going to get worse.

Justice League Red #2. Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by Clayton Henry. Cover art was done by Clayton Henry and Marcelo Maiolo. Cyborg joins the fun and he is not happy with the manipulation (if not our right lies) of Red Tornado. I have found this book intriguing and I want to know what is behind Red Tornado’ current behavior.

This Ends Tonight #3. Story by Gerry Duggan, Kelvin Mao, and Robert Windom with art by Jae Lee. This was the final issue of this three issue series and I have to say I felt disappointed at the conclusion. It was clearly not designed to be concluded here as it left off on a gigantic cliffhanger. It is a fun series, but I did not enjoy the finale.

They Choose Violence #4. Written by Sheldon Allen and illustrated by Mauricio Campetella. Cover art was done by Rahzzah (Bronze Medalist). Big background issue with big origins abounding everywhere. There is a creative stretch where it is more of a script than a comic. And it was original.

Slasher’s Apprentice #5. Written by Justin Richards and art and cover art by Val Halvorson. The serial killer story comes to a shocking conclusion as this book ends. I think it was a little obvious what was going to happen, but it did turn out enjoyable.

G.I. Joe #11. Written by Joshua Williamson and art by Andrea Milana. Cover art is done by Tom Reilly. Baroness and Cover Girl’s story comes to a conclusion with a great ending with Baroness showing her loyalty to the Joes.

Amazing Spider-Man #12. Written by Joe Kelly and penciled by Ed McGuinness. Cover art was done by Ed McGuinness and Marte Gracia. All of the other Spiders came after Norman Osborn Spider-Man and kick his butt. Norman facing off with Gwen Stacy (aka Spider-Gwen) is an iconic moment.

Absolute Flash #7. “The Trials of the Flash” Part 3. Written by Jeff Lemire and art by Travis Moore. Cover art by Nick Robles. Absolute Flash fight a hurricane. Well, sort of. And then, he joined the Rogues. I enjoyed this month’s Absolute Flash.

Runaways #4. “Think of the Children” Part Four. Written by Rainbow Rowell and art by Elena Casagrande, Lee Ferguson, and Roberta Ingranata. Stephanie Hans did the cover art. It turned out that Nico does have her magic power, but only when she is holding hands with Gert. I do enjoy the Runaways and their drama.

Nightwing #130. “What I Was Afraid Of.” Written by Dan Watters and art and cover art by Dexter Soy. Dick has to deal with the Nightwing Prime as the Justice League approached Nightwing with this problem. I do love how much respect Superman shows Nightwing. There can’t be more difference in their power set, but he talks to Dick with the total respect.

The New Avengers #4. Written by Sam Humphries and art by Tiago Palma. Cover art was done by Stephen Segovia & Rain Beredo. The Sub-Mariner clone of the Killumnati faces off with the New Avengers. Oh and Clea is just back after she left last issue.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #38. “Thick as Thieves” Part Two. Written by Cody Ziglar and art by Luigi Zagaria. Federico Vicentini & Neeraj Menon did the cover art. Miles and Black Cat team up to face off with the new villains, Inari and White Cat, but things wind up in a surprising way.

Bat-Man: Second Knight #1. Book One. Written by Dan Jurgens and art and cover art by Mike Perkins. Pre-World War II Batman? The black label book is an awesome story and places Batman in a new light. This one was a lot of fun.

Marvel Zombies: Red Band #1. Written by Ethan S. Parker and Griffin Sheridan with art by Jan Bazaldua. Cover art was done by Greg Land & Rachelle Rosenberg. The return of the zombies correspond with the debut of Marvel Zombies tomorrow. This focuses on the Fantastic Four zombies.

Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton #4. “Spring.” Written by Ryan North and art by Mike Norton. Cover art was done by Jae Lee & June Chung. Krypto meets a friend… another dog…. who was just not going to make it. Even the narrator hinted that this would be a sad issue. We also get to see Krypto’s super powers arrive.

Other books this week: New Gods #10, The Seasons #8, Star Wars: Boba Fett-Black, White & Red #1, Deadpool/Wolverine #9, Dark Honor #5, The Expanse: A Little Death #1, Ultimate Black Panther #20, Magik #10, and Ghost Pepper #3.

Quick Hits: There were several issues of books this week ended this week. Buried Long, Long Ago #5 is one of those. This was a solid horror comic. Blink and You’ll Miss It#2 was a little confusing. I have to refocus on this book. The Ultimates #16 has some intriguing storytelling with a character that I am not sure who it was. Good as Dead #1 arrived at Image Comics this week and it was a different read. I did enjoy the return of Crimson Justice in Whatever happened to the Crimson Justice #4. There are some dangers in the Marvel Universe in Predator Kills the Marvel Universe #2. More movie characters appear in Star Wars #5. I do love Luke and Han together. Captain Planet #5 brings the Planeteers back together after some conflict and Captain Planet will face off with Captain Pollution. Phoenix#15 comes to an end (temporarily???) as Jean Grey faces off with the powers of the universe. I picked up a beautiful cover for Absolute Batman #12 by Stevan Subic and this cover glows in the dark. Finally Godzilla Escapes the Dead Zone #2 actually does not have Godzilla in any way except a few pics.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #169

September 7

It’s Sunday night and I am finally getting to the EYG Comic Cavalcade. One of the big reasons was I went to Hamilton on Saturday at Cinemark. It was a three hour chunk of time, which took a lot of reading time away. It was worth it though as Hamilton was awesome. I have seen it before on Disney + but I found it was very emotional. I found myself tearing up in the first several songs, and i was not sure why. Then Sunday so far has been catching up on other shows that I needed to see.

I have now made my way to the comics.

Big Week for both Batman and Spider-Man.

Books this week:

Batman #1. Written by Matt Fraction and art and cover art by Jorge Jimenez. There were a ton of foil covers available, as well as special ones inside the Blind as a Bat Bag, which I had one. In fact, inside the blind bag was a medal winner this week done by Julian Totino Tedesco (Silver Medalist). That foil cover also has an error on the back cover, spelling ISSUE with two I’s. Matt Fraction’s Batman issue was fabulous and fully engaging and I am excited to read this book with Fraction leading the way.

Amazing Spider-Man #11. “Broken Mirror” and “Broken Man“. Both of the stories were written by Joe Kelly and story one was penciled by John Romita Jr. while story two had art by Pepe Larraz. The cover art was done by Pepe Larraz & Marte Gracia. Along with that, I picked up a variant cover with art by Lee Bermejo (Gold Medalist). Things are setting up with the Spider-story as we find out why there are two Spideys on earth and exactly where the real Peter Parker is. This is the Legacy number 975.

Everything Dead & Dying #1. Written by Tate Brombal and artwork and cover art by Jacob Phillips. A new zombie story told in one of the more original ways. This was an excellent issue that takes something that has been done to death (pardon the pun) and found a new way to present it. There are some disturbing imagery in the book, which is beautifully presented. It is another big new independent book from Image.

Uncanny X-Men #20.Battle in Buenos Aires.” Written by Gail Simone and art by Luciano Vecchio. Cover art was done by David Marquez and Matthew Wilson. Logan and Ransom head off to aid Ransom’s half brother and they wind up in lots of trouble. Who would have guessed?

Avengers #30. “Into the Rupture.” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Fred Karami. Cover art was done by CAFU. The Avengers recruit the X-Men for help in protecting earth as the Avengers head out into the cosmos after the missing moment. They come across Marvel Zombies.

Cheetah & Cheshire Rob the Justice League #2. “Jackpot” Written by Greg Rucka and art by Nikola Scott. Scott G. Kwok did the cover art. Cheetah and Cheshire are in the market for team members to help them break into the Watchtower. Who might be crazy enough to take them up on that offer?

Doctor Strange #450. A special issue featuring several stories of Doctor Strange written by some of the best writers in comics including J. Michael Straczynski, Roger Stern, Christian Ward, Derek Landry and Ashley Allen. Cover art was done by Leinil Francis Yu & Romulo Fajardo Jr. This will lead into a new Dr. Strange series due soon.

All-New Venom#10. Written by Al Ewing and art by Carlos Gomez. Adam Kubert & Laura Martin did the cover art. Mary Jane has some deep discussions with the Venom symbiote as she is reevaluating her life and her choices. Long ago scars are examined.

Closer #1. Written by Kieron Gillen and art by Steve Lieber. Cover art was done by Steve Lieber & Tamra Bonvillain. This is a one shot issue that I enjoyed tremendously. It was about a woman who is snatched because it seemed as if she was causing birds to appear. It was a cool little story that was nice to read without any other major events.

Ghostbusters: Dead man’s Chest #4. Written by David M. Booher and art was done by Aviv Or. Cover art was done by Ethan M. Aldridge. The story with the new crew of Ghostbusters come to a close a few weeks away from Talk Like a Pirate Day. This should have been released on Sept. 17 in line with the holiday! Arrrrrr.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #11. “The Verdict is In.” Written by Jason Aaron with art by Juan Ferreyra. Cover art was done by Jorge Fornes (Bronze Medalist). District Attorney Hale thoughts things were going his way in the trial of the TMNT. Then everything came off the rails.

Star Wars: Han Solo- Hunt for the Falcon #1. Written by Rodney Barnes and art by Ramon Rosanas. Cover art was done by Ramon Rosanas and GURU-eFX. Han Solo is one of my favorite characters in Star Wars and seeing him in an adventure in space searching for his old bucket of nuts, The Millennium Falcon is right up my alley.

Tin Can Society #8. Written by Peter Warren and art by Francesco Mobili. Cover art was by Francesco Mobili & Chris Chuckry. This is an awesome issue where our heroes spend the entire book trying to get to the water’s surface after their sub sank. It was tremendously stressful with a limited amount of words. Beautifully illustrated issue with a bunch of underwater imagery.

Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong 2 #4. Written by Brian Buccellato and art by Christian Duce. Christian Duce and Luis Guerrero did the cover art. Godzilla vs. Superman rematch and Supes is, once again, in some trouble. However, maybe the Man of Steel and the King of Monsters have other troubles they will need to face.

White House Robot Romance #1. Written by Chip Zdarsky and illustrated and cover art by Rachael Stott. I thought this new DSTLRY book was a one-shot, but it has another issue (knowing DSTLRY, I’ll get it some time in 2026). This is a lot of fun with these service robots who are here to protect the president of the US end up falling in love. How does that fit with their programming? Chip Zdarsky is great as always.

Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu #12. “The Haunting of the Wrecker” Part One. Written by Jed MacKay and art by Domenico Carbone. Cover art was done by Davide Paratore. The Wrecker comes to see Moon Knight at the Midnight Mission to ask for help with… ghosts? I like this start of a new arc for Moon Knight that features Scarlet Scarab.

Wolverine #13. “Godfather for a Day.” Written by Saladin Ahmed and art and cover art by Martin Coccolo. Logan gets a call from Donna Angelica Andiamo, a mob leader in Chicago that Logan owes a favor. This led to a fun issue of Wolverine that helped bring things down after the mental manipulation of Mastermind. This was a nice little issue between Mastermind and the upcoming Age of Revelation.

Other books this week: Resurrection Man: Quantum Karma #6, It’s Jeff & Other Marvel Tails #1, Tramps of the Apocalypse #3, Ancestral Recall #2, Charlemagne Tha God Presents ILLuminati #3, FML #6, Silverhawks #7, and Look Into My Eyes #2.

Quick Hits: Sam and Twitch case Files #17 finally bring Sam and Twitch back together, which was a welcome few scenes. Laura Kinney Wolverine #10 is the final issue before the Age of Revelation and Laura Kinney becomes known as Sabretooth. More Stra Trek crew members die in Star Trek: Red Shirts #2 from IDW. Telling a story of the historically doomed is a neat idea. TexArcanum #2 keeps up with the Western meets supernatural flair. After the success of X-Men’97, we get Spider-Man ’94 #1 continuing the story from the animated series that ended in 1994 with a huge cliffhanger. Another new Superman book called Adventures of Superman: Book of El #1 was dropped this week. I am not sure where it is supposed to fit in continuity, if it even is. The War #2 came out this week with only one cool cover unlike issue one which had a bunch that I had to buy. Dynamite released Captain Planet and the Planeteers #4 this week. Rocketfellers #8 continues to tell the future story that is actually the Rocketfellers past. Time travel makes my head hurt. Magik #9 keeps on marching along. I assume it has maybe one more issue to go before Age of Revelation. Absolute Superman #11 has some frightening images of Brainiac while the other Absolute title this week, Absolute Green Lantern #6, was not as entertaining. Ultimate X-Men #19 feels as if it is coming to an end soon. Maybe I am mistaken about that but the Peach Momoko book had the feel of a conclusion coming. I do not understand where the Imperial War saga going on falls in continuity. Is it going on now or is it a possible future tale? Imperial War: Exiles #1 makes me feel as if it is in time with the X-Men books as Xavier and Illyana are here. That annoys me. Sisterhood #3 continued its sorority story. I got the penultimate issue of Don’t Run With Scissors #3 which has been a bloody good time. Phantom Road #15 is the last issue of this series until 2026. Great. As if it isn’t difficult enough to follow, now I have to wait several months for the next issue.

EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week

August 14

Oh, it’s late, but this was a busy day. I saw three movies this afternoon, Nobody 2, Sketch and RiffTrax Live: Time Cop at Cinemark. Before that, I went to In This Issue for the Thursday books and spent several hours in the lobby of Cinemark reading those.

I then had to drive home and write the two movie reviews before I got around to the covers. However, it is still Thursday night (for about another hour) so I have time to keep this on Thursdays.

Two variants in the top three this week.

Also-Rans: Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #1, Bug Wars #6, Past Time #5, Slasher’s Apprentice #4, and Eddie Brock: Carnage #7.

Bronze Medalist

Space Ghost #1

Variant cover E

Cover art by Alex Ross

Last year’s champion comes out swinging with a great new cover for Space Ghost. I have to say there were about three or four others that almost took this one away from the medal round, but I just liked this image of Space Ghost too much.

Silver Medalist

X-Men #20

Cover art by Ryan Stegman & Marte Gracia

I live the storytelling of this cover, with Cyclops in a jail cell along with Lundqvist. The little bit of blood trickling from Scott’s nose makes you wonder what is going on and this stands out as we try and figure out how this cover came to be. Scott drooping across the bars of the cell give some more hints of the great issue.

Gold Medalist

Batman: Dark Patterns #9

Variant Cover B

Cover art by Ashley Wood

This variant cover of Batman: Dark Patterns just jumped off the shelf for me today. It is such a beautiful piece of art that gives a real insight to the story that the book tells. The brownish/tan cover implies age and it is stunning.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #161

July 11

Happy Friday to everyone. We had some big time storms last night. So much that my house had some leakage and water came in the basement. It nearly got to some of the short boxes of comics, but thankfully, I saw it in time to prevent anything more than a short box with a little damp bottom. I was able to switch the books to another that I had free and then I had to move all the boxes off the carpet to higher ground. Not an easy task and I am still not sure what will happen with them now. It could have been way worse than what happened though.

I went to Superman, the new James Gunn movie that kicked off the DCU at Warner Brothers. It was a tremendous film. It was a lot of fun with a version of Superman that we have not seen in awhile.

Books this week:

Superman Treasury 2025: Hero for All #1. Written by Dan Jurgens and art by Bruno Redondo. Scott Koblish did the variant cover C art. In honor of the new film, Superman gets his own Treasury Edition comic original story with a large scale invasion of the earth. After Superman is sidetracked and held captive, the heroes of earth struggle to defend the planet. I enjoyed this book quite a bit, even though it is difficult to find a bag and a board to fit it. Go see Superman in theaters when you have a chance.

Detective Comics #1098, 1097, 1096, 1094, 1090. Tom Taylor has drawn me into Detective Comics after reading the Nightwing books he wrote. Taylor is one of my top five writers currently writing and this is a great couple of issues with Harvey Bullock and Penguin having to work with Batman. The three earlier books were from the stories that were reprinted last week in the soft cover book I picked up. Tom Taylor is the man.

Wild Animals #1. Written by Ed Brisson and art and cover art by Andy Kuhn (Silver Medalist). This was my absolutely favorite book of the week. The new comic from Mad Cave, who have been doing such great work this last year or so, is just emotional, powerful and I could relate fully with the character. This is a personal tale of retribution and revenge and it goes in ways that I did not expect. Loved this book.

Archie Meets Jay and Silent Bob #1. Written by Kevin Smith and art by Fernando Ruiz. I picked up A & B cover and both had art done by Fernando Ruiz & Rosario “Tito” Pena. Archie Andrews gets a job at the Quick Stop and meets the cast of Clerks after Dante died (in Clerks 3). Archie then meets up with Jay and Silent Bob, the local drug dealers. Archie gets tickets for them all to go see Josie and the Pussycats. The book has that adult feel of a Kevin Smith movie as well as the silly fun of Archie. Weird and wild crossover event.

Planet Death #1. Written by Derek Kolstad and Robert Venditti with art by Tomas Giorello. Cover art by Tomas Giorello and Sunny Gho. Planet Death #0 was out in May as a preview of this new book from Bad Idea. This is full of action and excitement for a first issue.

Fantastic Four #1. “The Uncommon Era.” Written by Ryan North and art by Humberto Ramos. Mahmud Asrar did the gold foil variant. The Fantastic Four is trying to take advantage of the upcoming MCU film in a couple of weeks by restarting FF with a new number one. It is a fascinating story of time. How many families decide ahead of time what to do if they are lost in time? The FF does. I have become quite a fan of Ryan North over the last couple of years too.

Red Hulk #6. “Traitor” Written by Benjamin Pearcy and art by Geoff Shaw. Variant cover B (Retro Vision) art was done by Michael Allred and Laura Allred. I enjoyed this book, but as I was reading it, I thought to myself, why am I this confused. I thought Red Hulk was in Latveria. I after I finished reading, I checked CLZ and I was missing issue #5. I knew it felt confusing.

The UnChosen #1. Written, Art and cover art by David Marquez. This new Image book is like a fantasy adventure meets anime. There was a lot going on here and I will say that I did not love it. I do think it is interesting enough to give it another issue or so, but I expected to be grabbed more by this first issue than I was.

Ultimate Spider-Man: Incursion #2. Written by Deniz Camp & Cody Ziglar with art by Jonas Scharf. Sara Pichelli & Tamra Bonvillain did the cover art. Miles has arrived in the Ultimate universe and has teamed up with the Ultimates. They head to Wakanda in an attempt to find Miles’s baby sister who has also crossed over from 616. Cool final page of the book for sure.

Return to Skull Island #1. Written by Simon Furman and art by Christopher Jones. Cover art was done by Inityuk Lee. This apparently continues on from an animated series of the same title, btu I had never seen it before. I grabbed it because of Kong’s presence and a cool looking cover. I enjoyed the sotry quite a bit too and I did not find myself confused or lost because I had not seen the animated show.

Magik #7. “Beneath the Veil” Written by Ashley Allen and art by German Peralta. Pablo Villalobos did the cover art. Illyana is attempting to save Cal, who has been taken over by Liminal. Dani took them back to the Society of Eternal Dawn, which does not go as smoothly as it could have. Magik is not sure if there are any of them she could trust.

Doctor Strange of Asgard #5. Written by Derek Landy with art by Carlos Magno. Geoff Shaw & Espen Grundetjern did the cover art. Stephen Strange has gone to Asgard to claim the mantel of Sorcerer Supreme of that dimension. He has faced several issues, including a murder mystery. He made it.

Laura Kinney: Wolverine #8. “Honor Bound.” Written by Erica Schultz and art by Giada Belviso. Elena Casagrande and Edgar Delgado did the cover art. Haymaker returned and Laura helped him to search for a young missing mutant.

Uncanny X-Men #17. “Murder Me, Mutina.” Written by Gail Simone and art by Luciano Vecchio. David Marquez & Matthew Wilson did the cover art (Gold Medalist). There is a new mutant in the spotlight. Her name is Mutina and she stars in the blockbuster movie, Murder Me Mutina. The X-Men are not pleased with the way the mutant community is being portrayed and they go to see Mutina. Fireworks come after that. This would have been my favorite book this week without Wild Animals #1. I love the concept of a big screen summer blockbuster being at the center of this story. Gail Simone has been excellent with this X-Men run. She was great at the beginning and I think she is only getting better.

Uncanny Valley #10. Written by Tony Fleecs and art and cover art by Dave Wachter. This fun comic that sees the combination of human story with cartoons comes to a close with this issue as Oliver takes his destiny and faces off with the First. Uncanny Valley has been creative and consistently entertaining. I like the originality of this series.

Trinity, Daughter of Wonder Woman #2. “A Corgi in the Family” Written by Tom King and art and cover art by Belen Ortega. I also picked up a variant cover B that is an homage to the “Death in the Family” iconic cover. This variant cover was done by Ben Oliver. In her pursuit of the missing Corgis, Trinity winds up with Jason Todd. They were really cute together as it was funny seeing them sitting uncomfortably on a couch. Trinity also wondered what would happen if she let it slip that Jason Todd was going to be killed.

Godzilla: Here There Be Aliens #2. Written by Frank Tieri and art by Angel Hernandez. Cover art was done by Fero Pe. This issue had alien creatures, a giant robot named Jet Jaguar, and Mechagodzilla. It just was missing Godzilla. This book is fun and sets up a future battle well.

Marvel Swimsuit Special: Friends, Foes & Rivals #1. Written by Tim Seeley & Tony Fleecs with art by Nick Bradshaw. Adam Hughes did the cover art. This is not just like the old days with the Marvel Swimsuit Specials. This told a story as well. Roxxon is using AI to show the superheroes off in their scanties, so the heroes decided to do their own instead. Silly book, but a lot of fun.

Batman: Dark Patterns #8. “Pareidolia Part 2” Written by Dan Watters and art and cover art by Hayden Sherman. This Dark Patterns book has been consistently engrossing so far and this new arch gives us something I am not sure I have seen before among Batman. Nice work showing us stories from Batman’s past.

Other books this week: Superior Avengers #4, The Power Fantasy #10, It’s Jeff: Infinity Paws #1, The Slasher’s Apprentice #3, Predator: Black, White & Blood #1, The Toxic Avenger #1, Transformers #22, and Life #5.

Quick Hits: Another book released this week to try and take advantage of the upcoming film is Fantastic Four: First Steps #1, which is the title of the film. This is a prequel and it was written in an interesting manner. I am really excited for the film. I picked up the Galactus popcorn bucket at Cinemark this week. It’s gorgeous. Absolute Superman #9 continues to be good. Again, Superman is in theater right now. The book from AWA that had a misprint and led to a recalling, They Choose Violence #1 came out with its corrected copy this week. Miles Morales: Spider-Man #35 (Bronze Medalist) continued their God War arc and I am not really liking it much. Cool cover though. FML #5 is back after several months. It is strange too because this cover, which is listed as cover A is not on my CLZ app. There is a different cover listed on CLZ as cover A. I did not understand why, but I did mark the cover A on the app as the one I have. The James Tynion IV short with Erica Slaughter wrapped up in Hello Darkness #12. That was my favorite in the anthology this month. Buried Long, Long Ago #3 kind of lost me last month, but this issue pulled me back in. Solid work on this one. Conan the Barbarian #22 from Titan Comics really does give me an old time Marvel feel. Todd made me buy Master of Kung Fu #60 this week as a back issue this week. I have always liked Shang Chi. Finally, Blood Type #2 is really a compelling vampire story. We get a lot of those right now, but this book with the main character Ada is different than we usually see.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #136

January 25

It is time for the EYG Comic Cavalcade once again.

This week I did something that I rarely do. I picked up a 3rd printing of a book. I prefer the first printing and have been known to skip it if it is not 1st prints. However, Mark Spears Monsters #1 third printing had an all-new cover by Mark Spears and I loved it. It earned a bronze medal in this week’s Favorite Comic Covers of the Week and Spears continues to be absolutely fire.

Books this week:

Superman Annual #11. “For the Man Who Has Everything“. Written by Alan Moore and art and cover art by Dave Gibbons. I was talked into buying this by Todd. He talked about the story, how it had been adapted into one of the animated shows. He guaranteed that I would love it, and…. it was fine. Two things really stood out to me. This was a different Batman. He called Jason Todd “chum.” That was like an Adam West Batman line. Then, Robin saved them all, and nobody thanked him. Good thing Jason was there.

Doctor Doom & Rocket Raccoon #1. Written by J. Michael Straczynski and art by Will Robson. Cover art was done by Gary Frank & Alex Sinclair. Doctor Doom needs some specific help. And who does he call? Of course, he calls Rocket Raccoon. This was a fun issue, but some of the Dr. Doom lines felt strange, kind of out of character. It was not disqualifying for me, but it felt odd.

Amazing Spider-Man #66. “No More.” Written by Justina Ireland and art by Andrea Broccardo. Mark Bagley & Richard Isanove did the cover art. Peter is is a serious funk. The whole 8 Deaths of Spider-Man has seemingly broken him. I’m not convinced that he would be acting this way, but I do like how Cyra was so confused by his behavior. The whole kissing Black Cat was strange too.

Black Canary: Best of the Best #3. “Round Three.” Written by Tom King and art by Ryan Sook. Cover art was done by Ryan Sook. I have really enjoyed this series so far. Batman makes a guest appearance as does Ted Grant. Black Canary and Lady Shiva kicking the crap out of each other. I love this series. Tom King has done it again.

G.I. Joe #3. Written by Joshua Williamson and art and cover art by Tom Reilly. There are some trouble inside the Joes and physicality breaks out. Meanwhile, Clutch is inside Cobra, trying to stay hidden and get a message to the Joes. Will Cobra Commander find him? The new G.I. Joe has been solid so far.

Fantastic Four #28. “Die By the Sword.” Written by Ryan North and penciled by Steven Cummings. Cover art was done by Joshua Cassara & Dean White. Reed and Sue try to find a way through the magical dome over Latveria and they approach Dane Whitman, the Black Knight for aid and suggestions. Things don’t go the way they want. I have loved Ryan North’s run on FF, and I am excited that he gets to write the upcoming One World Under Doom event series.

Uncanny X-Men #9. “Off the Leash.” Written by Gail Simone and art by Andrei Bressan. Cover art was done by David Marquez & Matthew Wilson. I did not like the end of this one. I was shocked at the final page image with the brutal Wolfpack, a group of dog-like sentinels. I definitely hope something happens to save the character that look pretty dead at the end.

TVA #2. Written by Katharyn Blair and art by Pere Perez. Cover art was done by Pere Perez and GURU-eFX. We have Sylvie. We have Daimon Hellstrom. Such a fun group of characters, including our favorite ones from the Loki Disney + series. However, I am worried about Mobius. He ended the book looking pretty bad, in a pool of blood. I do not want him to be dead.

Ultimate Spider-Man #13. Written by Jonathan Hickman and art by Marco Checchetto. Cover art was done by Marco Checchetto and Matthew Wilson. Peter and Harry are in a lot of trouble as they are in the Ultimate Universe’s Savage Land as Kraven prepared to hunt them. I hope we get a Ultimate Ka-Zar. Meanwhile, Richard is trying to take his missing father’s place with the help of the AI that had replaced Peter.

Time Waits #3. Written by Chip Zdarsky and David Brothers and art by Marcus To and Marvin Sianipar. Marcus To did the cover art. Robert is back in his time and is on trial for his life. Wyatt is out for his own revenge. Robert is actually just looking to get back to his love. Zdarsky has been excellent over the years, and I do enjoy this one. I have had a little more challenge to follow these characters, but it is entertaining for sure.

X-Men: Xavier’s Secret #1. Two stories in this one shot, first one featuring Cyclops and Jean the night before she headed off to outer space as Phoenix. The second one dealing with Charles and his machinations.

W0rldtr33 #12. Written by James Tynion IV and art by Fernando Blanco. This series returned from its break. This was just like I remembered it. Confusing but completely engaging. This was involving Sammi and a flashback (?) to 1999. I love the layout of the book panels. It is original and creative.

Drawing Blood #7. Written by David Avallone and penciled by Ben Bishop. Cover art was by Kevin Eastman. Another book that was back after several months off, Bookman goes home to Maine and does not find himself welcome. We get a glance at the back story of our favorite fictional comic book writer.

Doll Parts: A Lovesick Tale #2. Written, illustrated and cover art by Luana Vecchio. A second issue that i think I liked even more than issue one, which I liked a lot. Maddie finds herself in a bunch of bad situations, with boys at school and a weirdo from the gore forum she had been posting on. There are some real tense moments here and you are never sure what might happen. This has been a great story so far.

Blade Red Band #4. Written by Bryan Hill and art by Federica Mancin & C.F. Villa. Blade and Elena have some bloody fights, chopping several vampires to pieces. This may be one of the few “Red band” books that really earned that title. Blade is still in pursuit of Pontious.

Justice League Unlimited #3. Written by Mark Waid and art and cover art by Dan Mora. Plastic Man is here. I am not sure where the Plastic man recent series falls in continuity, if at all, but Plastic Man is recovering his powers here. And what happened to Swamp Thing??? This new Justice League book has been solid so far and I do like how there are a bunch of characters to use instead of just Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.

Hyde Street #3. Featuring storytellers Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis. Cover art was done by Ivan Reis & Danny Miki with Brad Anderson. Merry Christmas on Hyde Street. Pranky and Mister X-Ray are after Santa Claus. Yup, that is right. And then we get an appearance by the Matinee Monster. The level of horror weirdness in this series has been sensational so far. It reminds me of the best of Ice Cream Man.

Mystique #4. “Covers” Written, art and cover art by Declan Shalvey (Gold Medalist). Mystique is in search of Destiny. But she is doing it with a much more powerful ability. The ability to mimic the powers of the person in which she is shape shifting into. Angel? Juggernaut? Others? What about Nick Fury? This has been a showcase for Raven so far.

Phoenix #7. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Marco Renna. Yasmine Putri did the cover art. Phoenix takes on Thanos, who has the special artifact called the Wizard’s Eye, giving Thanos even more power. Can Phoenix stop him? Guest starring Nova, Rocket Raccoon, Captain Marvel and Sif.

The Tin Can Society #5. “Just Kids” Written by Peter Warren and art by Francesco Mobili. Cover art was by Francesco Mobili and Chris Chuckry (Silver Medalist). Our group of friends, investigating the death of their friend. They launched an assault on who they thought it was. This woman had a suit, but she was not inside it. The final page was a shocking reveal. I have enjoyed this book every issue. I wish I knew the characters better, but it has been a ride the whole time.

Metamorpho #2. “The Woman from Yesterday!” Written by Al Ewing and art by Steve Lieber. Cover art by Steve Lieber and Lee Loughridge. The relationship between Rex mason, Metamorpho and Sapphire Stagg hit a snag in this issue with some cool elemental action. I still enjoy the throwback feel this book has adopted.

What If Galactus Transformed Rogue #1. Written by Ann Nocenti and art by Stephen Byrne. Ron Lim and Israel Silva did the cover art. The next of the series of What If…? involving Galactus having to choose a different Marvel hero to be his herald. This was is okay, but the gimmick may be starting to show some ware. Watcher was back this issue though and he is always welcome.

Space Ghost #9. Written by David Pepose and art by Jonathan Lau. Bjorn Barends did the cover variant C art. Space Ghost is in a battle with the supervillain Metallus and so much is in jeopardy. Space Ghost has been such a surprisingly good series from Dynamite.

Iron Man #4. “Hellman Circle” Written by Spencer Ackerman and art by Javier Pina. Cover art was done by Yasmine Putri. It also said that the Scarlet Witch spread was done by Rod Reis. Iron Man, Ironheart and Melinda May team up to raid a Stark factory. And they come across yet another Stark Sentinel.

Other books this week: The Terminator #4, Kill All Immortals #7, Life #4, Absolute Wonder Woman #4, Scarlet Witch #8, Void Rivals #16, Lawful #7, and House of Slaughter #29.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #134

January 12

Welcome back to the EYG Comic Cavalcade! It was a big week this week especially with the back issues.

Last week I had purchased the first five issue trade paperback of Sex Criminals and I really enjoyed the book so I went to eBay to search up for the series and I found the whole series, #1-30 and #69, available. I will say that when they came in that big box, I was not prepared for the covers that were on these books. I was needing a fan to cool off. The quality of this book was high and that should not be a surprise considering it was done by Matt Fraction & Chip Zdarsky. I have not yet read all the books, but I am looking forward to it.

Another reason I got a nice influx of books this week was because Comic World added four $1 boxes of books and I could not avoid the sale. I picked up a bunch of Ed Brubaker Captain Americas, most of vol. 2 of Challengers of the Unknown, some issues from Neil Gaiman’s 1602, as well as an Avengers Annual from 1999.

Back to eBay, after this week, I am down to just five remaining Groo the Wanderer books from Marvel/Epic that I am missing. The late issues of that book are difficult to find because they were low printed at the time.

Other books this week:

Amazing Spider-Man #65. “Signifying Nothing.” Written by Joe Kelly and art by Cafu. Mark Bagley & Richard Isanove did the cover art. The 8 Deaths of Spider-Man continues with Spidey taking on the challenge of Callix & Cyra, the twins. Phil Coulson makes a guest appearance, which is not the best of things considering he is now the Infinity Stone Death Stone guardian.

Uncanny X-Men #8. “Finale.” Written by Gail Simone and art by Javier Garrón. Cover art was by David Marquez & Matthew Wilson. The crossover with X-Men finishes up in this issue as the two X-teams face off again over what they should do with Xavier. The issue continued to tease Inmate X, who is apparently not Xavier as I thought.

New Champions #1. Written by Steve Foxe and art by Ivan Fiorelli with Ig Guara. Cover art was done by Gleb Melnikov & Edgar Delgado. A new group of young heroes form under the name New Champions and they kick off their first issue. Some of these characters were from the recent Spider Woman run and they are an intriguing group. I do enjoy young heroes and I liked previous versions of Champions so I hope this will be a fun book.

All-New Venom #2. Written by Al Ewing and art by Carlos Gomez. Adam Kubert & Laura Martin did the cover art. The mystery of the identity of the all-new Venom deepens this issue as they seemingly eliminated Luke Cage as a possibility. I am not clear on how they did it, but Dylan Brock stated it at the end of the issue, so I guess that is meant to be the case. Luke Cage was one of my favorites to make the new Venom, but now I am not sure. I can’t see Robbie or Madame Masque being the new Venom, but Rick Jones feels too obvious. I am curious where this is headed.

Return of the Living Dead #1. Written by S.A. Check and James Kuhoric and art by Andrea Arcari. Cover art by Mark Spears (Gold Medalist). When a toxic gas is accidently released at Peddler’s Point, the reaction of nearby people seem a touch ghoulish. How do you survive a new outbreak of zombies out for brains? The new book from American Mythology Productions is hot, big reason is because of the Mark Spears cover.

Marley’s Ghost Graphic Novel. Based on the story A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, this graphic novel came about after nine pages of an adaptation done by legendary Harvey Kurtzman was found. The adaptation was expanded upon by Josh O’Neill and Shannon Wheeler with illustrations by Gideon Kendall. It is a beautiful and faithful adaptation of Dickens’ classic from Ablaze.

Transformers #16. Written by Daniel Warren Johnson and art by Jorge Corona. Cover art was by Daniel Warren Johnson & Mike Spicer. The Autobots and Decepticons fight on both on earth and on Cybertron, but just wait… he’s coming! It is just a matter of time before the big man himself, Megatron, finds his way back.

Sentinels #4. “We Assembled Him in the Kitchen.” Written by Alex Paknadel and art by Justin Mason. Justin Mason & Federico Blee did the cover art. This story centered around the character of Justin Seyfert, a young boy who was able to control a Sentinel. This character was around back in the days of the Avengers Academy and I always liked him. His death in Avengers Arena saddened me and this fate made it all the worse.

The Blood Brothers Mother #3. Written by Brian Azzarello and art and cover art by Eduardo Risso. It has been awhile since the second issue of this DSTLRY series came out. In fact, looking at CLZ, issue two was released in the first week of September. I love these DSTLRY books but the time between release really make it difficult to keep the story in my head. This Western tale was enjoyable, but a closer release schedule would help me considerably.

Wolverine #5. “The Call of the Adamantine” Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by Martin Coccolo. Martin Coccolo and Bryan Valenza did the cover art. This new story involving Wolverine and other characters with adamantium in them is off to a very interesting start. I am also happy that our new Wendigo, aka Leonard, is still very much involved. I love the new Wendigo so here is to more with him.

Blood Hunters #5. Written by Erica Schultz and penciled by Chris Campana & Robert Gill. The team up to rescue Dagger came to an end this issue with the Blood Hunters heading in their own ways. It was nice to see Cloak make his triumphant return to the side of Dagger in this issue. I have been a fan of Cloak & Dagger since their debut way back in the pages of Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man.

Absolute Batman #4. “The 200″ Part Four. Written by Scott Snyder with art by Gabriel Hernandez Walta. Cover art was by Nick Dragotta & Frank Martin. We get some flashbacks to a young Bruce Wayne as he was starting to become whom he is. This Batman has been very fascinating as he is different yet similar to the Batman we know.

Namor #6. “The Wyrd of the Waves” Written by Jason Aaron and art by Paul Davidson & Alex Lins. Cover art was by Alexander Lozano. Namor battles himself, literally, as he continues to move toward reclaiming the throne of Atlantis. Meanwhile, the kings of the sea are all preparing for all out war.

What If Galactus Transformed Gambit #1. Written by Josh Trujillo and art by Manuel Garcia. Ron Lim & Israel Silva did the cover art. This was a much better issue of “What If Galactus Transformed…” than last issue was. This one felt like a complete story as the last one did not. Even better yet… this issue marked an appearance by Uatu the Watcher! He has been sorely missing from these special What If books and I was ecstatic that he was included here. Uatu should be in every What If book, period.

What If Mickey and Friends Became the Fantastic Four #1. “The Fantastic Four vs. Mole Pete.” Written by Riccardo Secchi (plot by Steve Behling) and art by Lorenzo Pastovicchio. Cover D variant art was done by Skottie Young. For example, the Watcher is not in this What If book, but why couldn’t he be here? I would love it if the Watcher was here and maybe even played by a Disney character.

Geiger #10. Written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Gary Frank. Cover art was done by Gary Frank (Silver Medalist). Mister Geiger is in bad shape and he is losing control of his powers. Is he a danger to everyone? Can Junkyard Joe help Geiger at all? Crossovers are happening in the Ghost Machine imprint.

NYX #7. Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly with art by Enid Balan. Cover art was done by Sara Pichelli & Federico Blee. Synch vs. Prodigy… but not to the death as the cover seems to indicate. There is also problems forming for Ms. Marvel as some of the other mutants around are getting after her for keeping a secret identity. Is this leading to Kamala Khan revealing her true self soon? Feels like that.

Daredevil: Unleash Hell: Red Band #1. Written by Erica Schultz and art by Valentina Pinti and Jose Luis. Elektra battles to protect Hell’s Kitchen while Muse is finding a way of getting his spirit out of Hell and possess another disgruntled artist. With Muse scheduled to be one of the main villains in the MCU upcoming series Daredevil: Born Again, it was time to bring him back in the Marvel Comics Universe.

The Lucky Devils #1. “First Circle: Limbo.” Written by Charles Soule and art and cover by Ryan Browne. It is a new, fun series from the creative team that brought us Eight Billion Genies. The Lucky Devils has the same flair, the same feel to it as that series. The Little Devils themselves are a very cool character design and I am excited to see where this story goes. It should be wild.

Green Hornet/Miss Fury #1. Written by Alex Segura & Henry Barajas and art by Federico Sorressa. Cover art by Francesco Francavilla. Dynamite Comics has been on a huge roll lately with their adaptations of older, classic characters and this time they are taking the Green Hornet and Miss Fury, teaming them up in their own book. I loved the noir feel of this book and the way they brought these characters into the present day of comic book presentation. Another big win for Dynamite.

Parliament of Rooks #2. “Summer” Written by Abigail Jill Harding with Richard Starkings and art and cover art by Abigail Jill Harding (Bronze Medalist). The love story hiding in a horror story finds its footing as this book moves on. The town is getting more and more scared over the monster they believe is loose but Princess Seraphina and Darius are still meeting in secrecy. This is dark and beautiful, another solid book from Ablaze comics.

Ultimate Black Panther #12. Written by Bryan Hill and art by Stefano Caselli. Stefano Caselli & David Curiel did the cover art. It is the face off between Black Panther and Moon Knight of the ultimate universe, but will T’Challa lose himself in this final showdown? Not if some guests at the end of the book have anything to say about it.

Batman: Dark Patterns #2. “We are the Wounded.” Written by Dan Watters and art and cover art by Hayden Sherman. Batman is investigating the Wound Man, and the twist of this issue is quite well done. This feels like an older version of Batman and I really have enjoyed the book so far.

Other Books this Week: Magik #1, Napalm Lullaby #8, Where Monsters Lie: Cull-De-Sac #2, and Moon Man #6.

EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week

Week of December 2

Well, this was an easy week to pick the medal winners.

See, I got to Comic World today and a huge section of the shipment was missing. Everything from Diamond was not delivered. Okay, apparently, there was an attempt at a delivery with a holiday driver that turned out very badly.

Making a long story short, I only wound up with four books this week. Two weeks ago I had over 40. If the Marvel, Image, Boom etc. don’t come til next week, I dread the pile for next week.

Until then, we have two DC books and one from IPI Comics as the medalists this week.

Bronze Medalist

Sherlock Holmes: The Dark Detective #2

Cover art by Dave Elsey

This is a really creepy cover with Sherlock looking out a dark window. He sure seems to be a dark detective.

Silver Medalist

Two-Face #1

Cover art by Baldemar Rivas

I picked this one up off the rack because I did not have very many books this week. This is a cool cover with the focus on the coin being flipped. Again, I love the white background with the red of his face and title.

Gold Medalist

Absolute Superman #2

Cover art by Rafa Sandoval & Ulises Arreola

The cool new Absolute Superman looks great and the Peacemakers all around him make a great counter. The cover creates a great bit of what is going to happen. Looks excellent.

Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Three

Next up is Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Three, the third in a series of animated movies from DC focusing on the iconic comic mini series. The previous two films leading up to this were weak. I do believe the finale is a little better, but it does not reach anywhere the levels of the previous DC films.

It was kind of fun watching the wave of Anti-Monitors killing all of the animated TV show earths.

It was also great to hear Kevin Conroy-Mark Hamill once again together. This was the final voice performance of Kevin Conroy, prior to his death. Conroy is the iconic Batman voice of a generation.

The story is paced poorly, and it does not feel the sense of grandness that it should. Part of that is probably the previous installments in this trilogy, but this final one is not a huge step up either.

The animation here is fine and the voice cast is vast and full of solid work.

Here’s hoping the next DC animated films are back to the storytelling of the past.

2.6 stars

The Penguin S1 E4, E5

Spoilers

“Cent’anni”

“Homecoming”

Episode four was my favorite episode of the series so far. We saw the backstory of Sofia, how she was taken to Arkham and the horrors that were unleashed on her there.

Legit, some of the scene at Arkham were horrendous… electric shock treatments… to someone who was innocent of the charge of being “The Hangman.” Sent there by her very own father’s manipulations. Her whole family, except her brother, turned on her, keeping her in the asylum for ten years.

It really made Sofia relatable… someone the audience could root for… before she went totally crazy. Sofia gassed her entire family (except the one little girl). She tortured Johnny Viti. When he swore to help her, she brought him to a meeting and promptly shot him in the head when he tried to disagree with her.

Sofia then told the members of the meeting that she was setting up a new family. That the Falcone family was dead and that she was taking the name Gigante. She found Salvatore Maroni, who escaped from prison after one of Oz’s men tried to assassinate him. She formed an alliance with him with the intention of killing Oz and running the new family in the right way.

Cristin Milioti is absolutely brilliant. She had so many scenes that illuminated the power of her performance as she was developing into a massive villain right before our eyes… and one that we were cheering for.

Victor was assigned to protect Oz’s mother Francis. Oz was worried because he was not having quite the successes that he was hoping for, and he sent Victor to protect his mother. Deirdre O’Connell is great in this episode as Penguin’s mother. She has some great scenes with Victor and a tour de force scene with Oz later in the episode. The performance of a woman slowly succumbing to dementia is truly powerful and sad at the same time.

The Penguin’s disposal of Nadia and her son in a blaze of flame was shocking and showed how horrible Oz was too. He may be the protagonist, but he is not a hero.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #120

October 18, 2024

It is time again for the EYG Comic Cavalcade. A little early this week since I had today off from work since we had to have parent teacher conferences the last two days. Today was a comp day. I left school last night at 8 PM feeling really brain dead. I enjoyed reading through these books today.

Absolute Batman #1. “The 200.” Written by Scott Snyder and art by Nick Oragotta. Cover art was done by Oragotta & Martin. The new Batman story in the DC’s Absolute books is an interesting read. I did enjoy the new take on Batman, but especially Alfred. I am giving these new Absolute books a chance to see if they will hook my interest. I found this to be a good book, and I may want to give it a few more issues.

Mystique #1.Intelligence.” Written, drawn and cover art by Declan Shalvey. Mystique is involved in a mission involving Maverick. A lot of action and shape shifting. Nick Fury Jr. appeared in the book too, and there was a shocking end to this book. Something that I did not see coming.

Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu #1. “New Moon.” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Alessandro Cappuccio. Cover art was done by Davide Paratore. Mister Knight and Achilles Fairchild face off in a tense war of words over a new drug being sold by the latter. The new Moon Knight series kicked off with a reintroduction of Mr. Knight and the Midnight Mission.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #25. “Birds of a Feather, Part Three.” Written by Cody Ziglar and art by Federico Vicentini. Vicentini & Neeraj Menon did the cover art. Black Panther comes to give some help to try and help Miles with his vampire tendencies. New suit, by the way.

Avengers Assemble #2. Written by Steve Orlando and penciled by Scot Eaton. Leinil Francis Yu & Romulo Fajardo Jr were the cover artists. Cap, Hawkeye, Herc and Night Thrasher went to a small town being beseeched by ghost apes. The story brings the Red Ghost into the mix.

Uncanny X-Men #4. “The Eye of a Hurricane.” Written by Gail Simone and art by David Marquez. Marquez & Matthew Wilson did the art for the cover. This has been a really great new X-Men book so far. Rogue goes to rescue Logan, and stays behind to do battle with Sarah, the frightening creature that has a background with Charles Xavier.

Ultimate Spider-Man #10. Written by Jonathan Hickman and art by David Messina. Marco Checchetto & Matthew Wilson did the cover art. Ben and Jonah are investigating a story that brings them into conflict with Harry Osborn. Who is behind Kingpin?

Big Guns Stupid Rednecks #1. Written by Austin Allen Hamblin and illustrated by Mariana Meira. Cover art was done by Kurt Belcher. From Band of Bards, this is a strange new series that followed retired detective Clint search for his white trash brother. It made me think of Mojo some, and it was a very bizarre issue.

Spectacular Spider-Men #8. “Triage” Written by Greg Weisman and art by Emilio Laiso & Andres Genolet. Cover art was done by Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado. After the trauma inside the Arcadium, the people who had been taken joined together for some group therapy. That included Peter Parker and Miles Morales.

Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #4. “Descending” Written by Jay Kristoff and art by Tirso. The second story is written by Tom Taylor and art by Riccardo Federici. Cover art was also by Tirso. Rose caught up with Slade and bad things happen.

House of Slaughter #26. “Azure: Part One” Written by Sam Johns and illustrated by Letizia Cadonici. Cover art was by Jorge Fornes and Werther Dell’Edera. New story arc in this series. Honestly, this has never been my favorite of these series. I much prefer the Someone is Killing the Children series. Still, there are some interesting things going down.

Blood Hunters #3. Written by Erica Schultz and art by Robert Gill. Ema Lupacchino & GURU-eFX did the cover art. The Blood Hunters are in some real danger as a bunch of vampires are swarming them. Dagger is in bad shape. Miles is trying to contain his vampire side.

The Department of Truth #26. “Deviation Seven: Fictional Women.” Written by James Tynion IV and art by Alison Sampson. Cover art by Martin Simmonds (Silver Medalist). The book takes yet another turn… this time to Marilyn Monroe. Is she real? Or is she like bigfoot? Only in this book.

Spider-Man: Reign 2 #4. Written, drawn and cover art by Kaare Andrews. Peter finally gets rid of the big white beard! YES!!! However, things are not going great for him otherwise. He has discovered that he is not able to save Mary Jane and he is preparing to head back to his own time because his presence can jeopardize the reality. I believe there is one more issue in this mini series.

Profane #5. Written by Peter Milligan and illustrated by Raul Fernandez. Cover art by Javier Rodriguez. This series comes to a close with the mystery of the murder of Spud Coltrane solved and Profane returned to the land of fiction. This was a fun series with an intriguing hook.

Wolverine #2. “Blood and Debt.” Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by Martin Coccolo. Martin Coccolo and Bryan Valenza did the cover art. This issue of Wolverine gives us a bit of a twist on the character of Wendigo, which is one of my favorite characters as is. I really liked how they used Wendigo here.

Daredevil: Woman Without Fear #4. Written by Erica Schultz and art by Michael Dowling & Ivan Fiorelli. David Yardin & Romulo Fajardo Jr. are the cover artists. This mini series ended with Elektra and the new Punisher teaming up after fighting each other.

The Creeping Below #1. Written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated and cover art by Vanesa Del Ray. I am not sure what this is, to be honest. I might have to give this one another read because I am just not sure what is happening.

Where Monsters Lie: Cull-De-Sac #1. Written by Kyle Starks and art by Piotr Kowalski. Piotr Kowalski with Vladimir Popov did the cover art. This new series is a follow up to the Dark Horse book from a few years ago involving a group of serial killers and monsters living together in a neighborhood. They’re in a cull-de-sac now with the former agent from the last series.

Grim #20. “Strangelove.” Written by Stephanie Phillips and illustrated by Flaviano. Cover art by Flaviano (Bronze Medalist). Lots of weirdness going on as we see Death and his relationship with Jess’s mother. Lots of soap opera-like drama in the hell dimension.

You Won’t Feel a Thing Ashcan. The DSTLRY upcoming series released an ashcan, which, funnily, is a smaller, undersized book, unlike the oversized normal issues from DSTLRY. There is also part of the new series from James Tynion IV, The Cit Beneath Her Feet, in this ashcan.

Local Man #25. Story and art by Tim Seeley & Tony Fleecs. Hold on a sec… #25??? Um… what happened to issues #14-24? This is the final issue of the series (for now?) and there is a time jump in the story, but why change it to issue #25? I don’t know, but I always did enjoy the series so it will be missed.

The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos: Halloween Special #1. Cover art by David Talaski (Gold Medalist). Several short stories featuring the main characters of the regular series. There was some fun stuff in here with creators including Tate Brombal, James Tynion IV, Soo Lee, Morgan Beem, Isaac Goodhart, and Fernando Blanco.

Other books this week: Sam and Twitch Case Files #7, Domain #4, Crypt of Shadows #1, Black Cloak #9, Anansi Boys #3-4, and The Mammoth #4.

The Penguin S1 E3

Spoilers

“Bliss”

I have been behind on The Penguin’s latest episode because of the Dodgers-Padres series, which has been must see for me. Sunday night’s next episode of The Penguin will also have to be viewed at a different time because the Dodgers start the NLCS vs. the Mets.

It is nice to have HBO Max so that I can catch up on The Penguin whenever my schedule allows it. Because this is an excellent series.

This episode gave us more details and background with Victor as he questioned whether or not he should be sticking with Oz. “Bliss” does a great job with relationships, specifically with Oz-Victor, Victor and his father, and Oz-Sofia. All the while, Oz and Sofia are showing off the new designer drug they are ready to be pushing- Bliss. Apparently, Sofia Falcone let us know that this is a drug that they had used at Arkham, which makes me wonder if that is tied to one of the known Batman baddies from there.

Again, this does not feel like a comic book movie. This is a crime story featuring a character that is known to comic fans as one of Batman’s rogue gallery. As I say every week, the performance of Colin Farrell as Oz is breath-taking. It goes far beyond just the physical transformation he undergoes. His pain from Victor’s desire to depart wounded Oz to the core. Farrell played that out brilliantly.

Victor’s choice at the end leaves little to no wiggle room (no pun intended). It is sad for the young kid.

The Penguin is excellent and we will see where this goes next.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #117

September 28

New banner! Always enjoy making a new one of these.

Last weekend was Batman Day and there were some cool free comics given out. I picked them up which included Joker: The World #1, Batman: The Long Halloween Special Edition #1, Batman: Wayne Family Adventures #1 as free books. I also picked up the book Batman/Elmer Fudd Special Noir Edition #1 too. These were cool, even though I am not the biggest Batman fan.

I also got the variant cover of Spider-Man: Black Suit & Blood #2 with art by Mitsuhiro Arita, which wound up as the Gold Medalist this week.

Here are the new books this week:

The Blood Brothers Mother #2. Written by Brian Azzarello and art and cover art by Eduardo Risso. It has been awhile since number one of this series so I was pleased when this new issue came out. This Western series continues to be a lot of fun and beautifully drawn. I have been enjoying several of the DSTLRY books.

Universal Monsters: Frankenstein #2. Written by, drawn by and cover art by Michael Walsh. The story of Frankenstein’s Monster continues with new pieces of story mixed with the classic original story. These Universal Monster comics at Image have been exceptional and this one is right in line with this.

Saga #69. Written by Brian K. Vaughn and drawn by and cover art by Fiona Staples. The Saga kept going on with the continual story of The Will and Gwendolyn and their personal loss of their daughter and the pair dragging each other down. There is a surprise cameo within as well that shocked me. This is just always really epic every issue.

Zatanna: Bring Down the House #4. Written by Mariko Tamaki and drawn and cover art by Javier Rodriguez. John Constantine is here and trying to bring Zatanna back to the world. This series continues to be weird and wild and Zatanna seems as if she may be ready to step back to the forefront of the DC Universe.

Avengers Annual #1. Written by Derek Landry and art by Salvador Larroca. Larroca and GURU-eFX did the cover art. Thanos is here in an attempt to reclaim the infinity stones from the current Stone Bearers have different plans. The Avengers (or at least Captain Marvel and Thor) try to keep Thanos from grabbing them all from the Infinity Watch. The storyline from all of these other annuals wraps up here as Coulson and the death stone meets up with the rest of the Infinity Watch.

NYX #3. Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly with art by Francesco Mortarino. Sara Pichelli & Federico Blee did the cover art. The mutant Anole makes his way back to where he began… with the Morlocks. Meanwhile, there seems to be a traitor inside the team with Ms. Marvel and Wolverine.

Feral #6. “Patchwork” Written by Tony Fleecs with art by Trish Forstner and Tone Rodriguez. Cover art was by Trish Forstner and Tony Fleecs. Feral is back after an hiatus and we see more of the spread of the rabies among some of the characters that we have come to know over the first five issues. This is a surprising emotional tale of a group of cats and other animals and the danger that they are in.

Amazing Spider-Man #58. Written by Zeb Wells and penciled by John Romita Jr. Cover art was by John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna and Morry Hollowell. Spider-Man and Tombstone begin what is to be advertised as one of the most violent fights in Marvel Comics. Spidey is trying to stop Tombstone from killing his own daughter for turning him in. It does kick off with some blood and more brutality than you would expect in ASM. This is the penultimate issue of Zeb Wells ASM run.

Sherlock Holmes: The Dark Detective #1. “Claws of the Chimera”. Created by Christopher Sequeira. Phillip Cornell, Dave Elsey, and Jan Scherpenhuizen. Cover art by Dave Elsey (Bronze Medalist). I saw this on the Midtown website and I was disappointed because I missed it in Previews. So I was really excited when I saw one copy of this at Comic World. I am a fan of Sherlock Holmes and was happy to be able to pick it up.

Chasm: Curse of Kaine #2. Written by Steve Foxe with art by Andrea Broccardo. Cover art was done by Leinil Francis Yu & Dean White. Druig is here, controlling the Mole Man, as Chasm and Hallows’ Eve try and get him loose, while Kaine continues to search for his ‘brother.’ This is an interesting series with several Spider-Man adjacent characters.

Uncanny X-Men #3. “The Inside Man” Written by Gail Simone and art by David Marquez. The four young mutants that arrived recently start their training, trying to retrieve a belt, held by Nightcrawler. Things do not go as expected.

Daredevil: Woman Without Fear #3. Written by Erica Schultz and art by Michael Dowling & Ivan Fiorelli. David Yardin & Alex Sinclair did the cover art. Silvermane and Nefaria face off with Elektra and end up sending her to attack the new Punisher.

Werewolf By Night: Red Band #2. Written by Jason Loo and penciled by Sergio Davila. Elsa Bloodstone is wanting to help Jack Russell discover why he may have started his brutal killings. Elsa went to the Midnight Mission to seek help from Moon Knight, or at least look for info from Khonshu. I really do not think this comic needs a “Red Band” label, nor the bag it comes in to prevent people from looking inside. Some heads cut off, but nothing too out of bounds.

Drawing Blood #6. “The Cat’s Meow.” Script by David Avallone and pencils by Ben Bishop. Kevin Eastman did the cover art. “Books” in Hollywood with all kinds of shenanigans going down.

Deadpool Team-Up #2. Written and penciled by Rob Liefeld. Most of this issue featured the hero vs. hero battle between Deadpool and Wolverine facing off against Crystar in Weirdworld. Crystar showed himself off as a bad ass in this battle. Then, at the end of the issue, with the three heroes together finally, a dragon requires the arrival of the Hulk!

Man Goat & the Bunnyman: Beware the Pigman #3. Written by Joe Brusha and artwork by Taylor Esposito. Cover art by Mike Krome & Ivan Nunes. Phil and Floyd wrapped up their battle with Baphomet as their latest mini series comes to an end. However, there was a clear cliffhanger at the end indicating that there will be more Man Goat & Bunnyman in the future (YAY!).

Ultimate Spider-Man #9. Written by Jonathan Hickman and art by Marco Checchetto. Checchetto & Matthew Wilson did the cover art. Peter wants to change costumes so there is no question about Tony Stark being able to trace him. Otto Octavius, who worked for the Osborns, tries to give Peter a version of the Iron Spider outfit. Peter wants something less. Ultimate Spider-Man has been the most consistently good Ultimate books so far.

Hello Darkness #3. Once again, this is a horror anthology with a variety of stories by a group of writers and artist. Erica Slaughter returned this issue with a James Tynion IV penned continuation of the story. Cover art was by Paolo Rivera (Silver Medalist).

Phoenix #3. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Alessandro Miracolo. Cover art was by Yasmine Putri. Jean Grey and Corsair takes on the Black Order over a group of exiled Asgardians who had attempted to overthrow Odin. I have enjoyed this cosmic Phoenix stories that we have gotten so far in this new series. I like Jean as Phoenix and not being seen as the villain.

Namor #3. “And God Moved Upon the Face of the Waters.” Written by Jason Aaron and art by Paul Davidson & Alex Lins. Alexander Lozano did the cover art. More flashbacks to the past life of Namor as we see him very brutal as the avenging warrior of Atlantis. I am finding this series to be very well done. Jason Aaron has done some wonderful writing in this series.

Standstill #2. Written by Lee Loughridge and art and cover art by Andrew Robinson. This is such a cool comic. Spy action but what I really love about the book is the size of the panels in the book. These panels are extra large and it really makes the story jump off the page more than a typical comic.

X-Force #3. “The Walking Man” Written by Geoffrey Thorne and art by Marcus To. Stephen Segovia & Rain Beredo did the cover art. X-Force vs. Nuklo. Nuklo is a giant and he was truly difficult to battle.

Dead Eyes: The Empty Frames #1. Written by Gerry Dugan with art and cover art by John McCrea. I really enjoyed this issue. It was an unsuspecting protagonist that the story seemed to imply had been around awhile. It made me think that there was another series featuring this Dead Eyes. I went to eBay and, sure enough, there was a 2019 series from Gerry Duggan. I promptly ordered it. I liked this one a lot.

Plastic: Death & Dolls #4. Story by Doug Wagner and art and cover art by Daniel Hillyard. We learn more about the dark and bloody backstory of Edwyn. There is a truly disturbing scene with his mother. I can certainly see why he cuts off heads and put them in plastic bags. This has been a really wild book.

Other books this week: Phases of the Moon Knight #2, Predator vs. Black Panther #2, Black Cloak #8, Moon Man #4, Kill All Immortals #3, Nights #11, and Self Help #4.

Batman: Caped Crusader S1 E1

Spoilers

“In Treacherous Waters”

A brand new Batman animated series dropped its ten episode season one on Amazon Prime today, and I was able to watch episode one, “In Treacherous Waters,” to kick off the new show.

This first episode, which featured the new Penguin, a female named Oswalda Cobblepot, gender-switched for the animated program. She is voiced by Minnie Driver.

The new series definitely has the same flavor of the original Batman: The Animated Series, one of the greatest cartoons of all-time. Bruce Timm is back with an involvement in this new series, so that tone similarity makes sense.

Hamish Linklater is the voice of Batman/Bruce Wayne and the style of the voice is clearly in honor of the late great, EYG Hall of Famer, Kevin Conroy. Diedrich Bader, who has done a ton of voice over acting, is Harvey Dent, Eric Morgan Stuart is Commissioner Gordon, Krystal Joy Brown is Barbara Gordon, and Jason Watkins was Alfred Pennyworth. There are several other voices to come in the remainder of the episodes.

The style on this series again reflects the original series and looks really cool. However, the story itself was, at best, okay. I did like the first episode, but that is all I have seen so far and I would say that the level of animated TV shows from this past year (X-Men ’97, What If…? etc.) rates much higher than this so far. Of course, I have only seen one episode so far and I will definitely be checking out the remaining 9 episodes of this first season as soon as I can.

Of course, the gender-swapped Penguin will probably be an issue for some, but that does not bother me in the slightest. Minnie Driver is a talented actor and works well for the character. I am sure there will be voices out there who are angry at this change who will scream to the heavens about the impropriety of making Oswald Cobblepot a female. I am sorry for your pain.

2024 Eisner Awards- at SDCC

Here are the nominations for this year’s Eisner Awards. The Eisner Awards are presented at San Diego Comic Con on Friday, July 26.

BEST SHORT STORY

“Friendship Is Forever,” by Sam Maggs and Keisha Okafor, in My Little Pony 40th Celebration (IDW)

“The Kelpie,” by Becky Cloonan, in Four Gathered on Christmas Eve (Dark Horse)

“The Lady of the Lake,” by Joe S. Farrar and Guilherme Grandizolli, in BUMP: A Horror Anthology #3 (BUMP)

“Talking to a Hill,” by Larry Hancock and Michael Cherkas, in Comics for Ukraine (Zoop)

“World’s Finest, Part 1,” by Tom King and Belen Ortega, in Wonder Woman #3 (DC)


BEST SINGLE ISSUE/ONE-SHOT

Horologist, by Jared Lee and Cross (Grim Film)

Nightwing #105, by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo (DC)

Star Trek: Day of Blood—Shax’s Best Day, by Ryan North and Derek Charm (IDW)

Superman 2023 Annual, by Joshua Williamson and others (DC)

Sweet Paprika: Black, White, & Pink, by Mirka Andolfo and others (Image)


BEST CONTINUING SERIES

Birds of Prey, by Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Basto Romero (DC)

Nightwing, by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo (DC Comics)

Shazam! by Mark Waid and Dan Mora (DC)

Transformers, by Daniel Warren Johnson (Image Skybound)

Wonder Woman, by Tom King and Daniel Sampere (DC)


BEST LIMITED SERIES

The Cull, by Kelly Thompson and Mattia De Iulis (Image)

Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons, by Frank Tieri and Inaki Miranda (IDW)

Kill Your Darlings, by Ethan S. Parker, Griffin Sheridan, and Robert Quinn (Image)

PeePee PooPoo, by Caroline Cash (Silver Sprocket)

Superman: Lost, by Christopher Priest and Carlo Pagulayan (DC)


BEST NEW SERIES

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, by Patrick Horvath (IDW)

Black Cloak, by Kelly Thompson and Meredith McClaren (Image)

Local Man, by Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs (Image)

Phantom Road, by Jeff Lemire and Gabriel Hernández Walta (Image)

Somna: A Bedtime Story, by Becky Cloonan and Tula Lotay (DSTLRY)


BEST PUBLICATION FOR EARLY READERS

Bigfoot and Nessie: The Art of Getting Noticed, by Chelsea M. Campbell and Laura Knetzger (Penguin Workshop/Penguin Random House)

Burt the Beetle Lives Here! by Ashley Spires (Kids Can Press)

Go-Go Guys, by Rowboat Watkins (Chronicle Books)

The Light Inside, by Dan Misdea (Penguin Workshop/Penguin Random House)

Milk and Mocha: Our Little Happiness, by Melani Sie (Andrews McMeel)

Tacos Today: El Toro & Friends, by Raúl the Third (HarperCollins/Versify)


BEST PUBLICATION FOR KIDS

Buzzing, by Samuel Sattin and Rye Hickman (Little, Brown Ink)

Mabuhay!, by Zachary Sterling (Scholastic Graphix)

Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir, by Pedro Martín (Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Young Readers)

Missing You, by Phellip Willian and Melissa Garabeli. translation by Fabio Ramos (Oni Press)

Saving Sunshine, by Saadia Faruqi and Shazleen Khan (First Second/Macmillan)


BEST PUBLICATION FOR TEENS

Blackward, by Lawrence Lindell (Drawn & Quarterly)

Danger and Other Unknown Risks, by Ryan North and Erica Henderson (Penguin Workshop/Penguin Random House)

Frontera, by Julio Anta and Jacoby Salcedo (HarperAlley)

Lights, by Brenna Thummler (Oni Press)

Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story, by Sarah Myer (First Second/Macmillan)

My Girlfriend’s Child, vol. 1, by Mamoru Aoi, translation by Hana Allen (Seven Seas)


BEST HUMOR PUBLICATION

How to Love: A Guide to Feelings & Relationships for Everyone, by Alex Norris (Candlewick/Walker Books)

I Was a Teenage Michael Jackson Impersonator, and Other Musical Meanderings, by Keith Knight (Keith Knight Press)

It’s Jeff: The Jeff-Verse #1, by Kelly Thompson and Gurihiru (Marvel)

Macanudo: Optimism Is for the Brave, by Liniers (Fantagraphics)

The Yakuza’s Bias, by Teki Yatsuda. translation by Max Greenway (Kodansha)


BEST ANTHOLOGY

Comics for Ukraine, edited by Scott Dunbier (Zoop)

Deep Cuts, by Kyle Higgins, Joe Clark, Danilo Beyruth, and others (Image)

The Devil’s Cut, edited by Will Dennis (DSTLRY)

Marvel Age #1000, edited by Tom Brevoort (Marvel)

The Out Side: Trans & Nonbinary Comics, edited by The Kao, Min Christensen, and David Daneman (Andrews McMeel)

Swan Songs by W. Maxwell Prince and others (Image)


BEST REALITY-BASED WORK

Are You Willing to Die for the Cause? by Chris Oliveros (Drawn & Quarterly)

Last on His Feet: Jack Johnson and the Battle of the Century, by Adrian Matejka and Youssef Daoudi (Liveright)

Messenger: The Legend of Muhammad Ali, by Marc Bernardin and Ron Salas (First Second/Macmillan)

Thing: Inside the Struggle for Animal Personhood, by Samuel Machado and Cynthia Sousa Machado with Steven M. Wise (Island Press)

Three Rocks: The Story of Ernie Bushmiller: The Man Who Created Nancy, by Bill Griffith (Abrams ComicArts)


BEST GRAPHIC MEMOIR

Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam, by Thien Pham (First Second/Macmillan)

A First Time for Everything, by Dan Santat (First Second/Macmillan)

In Limbo, by Deb JJ Lee (First Second/Macmillan)

Memento Mori, by Tiitu Takalo, translation by Maria Schroderus (Oni Press)

Sunshine: How One Camp Taught Me About Life, Death, and Hope, by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Scholastic Graphix)

The Talk, by Darrin Bell (Henry Holt)


BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM—NEW

Ashes, by Álvaro Ortiz, translation by Eva Ibarzabal (Top Shelf/IDW)

Eden II, by K. Wroten (Fantagraphics)

A Guest in the House, by Emily Carroll (First Second/Macmillan)

Parasocial, by Alex De Campi and Erica Henderson (Image)

Roaming, by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki (Drawn & Quarterly)


BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM—REPRINT

Doctor Strange: Fall Sunrise Treasury Edition, by Tradd Moore (Marvel)

The Good Asian, by Pornsak Pichetshote and Alexandre Tefenkgi (Image)

Hip Hop Family Tree: The Omnibus, by Ed Piskor (Fantagraphics)

Orange Complete Series Box Set, by Ichigo Takano, translation by Amber Tamosaitis (Seven Seas)

Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons, by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Phil Jimenez, Gene Ha, and Nicola Scott (DC)


BEST ADAPTATION FROM ANOTHER MEDIUM

Bea Wolf, adapted by Zach Weinersmith and Boulet (First Second/Macmillan)

#DRCL midnight children, vol. 1, based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, by Shin’ichi Sakamoto, translation by Caleb Cook (VIZ Media)

H.P. Lovecraft’s The Shadow over Innsmouth, adapted by Gou Tanabe, translation by Zack Davisson (Dark Horse Manga)

The Monkey KingThe Complete Odyssey, adapted by Chaiko, translation by Dan Christensen (Magnetic)

Watership Down, by Richard Adams, adapted by James Sturm and Joe Sutphin (Ten Speed Graphic)


BEST U.S. EDITION OF INTERNATIONAL MATERIAL

Ashes, by Álvaro Ortiz, translation by Eva Ibarzabal (Top Shelf/IDW)

Blacksad, Vol 7: They All Fall Down, Part 2, by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido, translation by Diana Schutz and Brandon Kander (Europe Comics)

A Boy Named Rose, by Gaëlle Geniller, translation by Fabrice Sapolsky (Fairsquare Comics)

The Great Beyond, by Léa Murawiec, translation by Aleshia Jensen (Drawn & Quarterly)

Shubeik Lubeik, by Deena Mohamed (Pantheon Books/Penguin Random House)

Spa, by Erik Svetoft, translation by Melissa Bowers (Fantagraphics)


BEST U.S. EDITION OF INTERNATIONAL MATERIAL—ASIA

#DRCL midnight children, vol. 1, based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, by Shin’ichi Sakamoto, translation by Caleb Cook (VIZ Media)

Goodbye, Eri, by Tatsuki Fujimoto, translation by Amanda Haley (VIZ Media)

The Horizon, vol. 1, by JH, translation by ULTRAMEDIA Co. Ltd. (Yen/Ize Press)

My Picture Diary, by Fujiwara Maki, translation by Ryan Holmberg (Drawn & Quarterly)

River’s Edge, by Kyoko Okazaki, translation by Alexa Frank (Kodansha)

The Summer Hikaru Died, vol. 1, by Mokumokuren, translation by Ajani Oloye (Yen Press)


BEST ARCHIVAL COLLECTION/PROJECT—STRIPS

Dauntless Dames: High-Heeled Heroes of the Comic Strips, edited by Peter Maresca and Trina Robbins (Sunday Press/Fantagraphics)

David Wright’s Carol Day: Lance Hallam, edited by Roger Clark, Chris Killackey, and Guy Mills (Slingsby Bros, Ink!)

Popeye Sundays Vol 3: The Sea Hag and Alice the Goon, by E.C. Segar, edited by Conrad Groth and Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)

Walt Disney’s Silly Symphonies 1932-1935: Starring Bucky Bug and Donald Duck and Walt Disney’s Silly Symphonies 1935-1939: Starring Donald Duck and Big Bad Wolf, edited by David Gerstein (Fantagraphics)

Where I’m Coming From, by Barbara Brandon-Croft, edited by Peggy Burns and Tracy Hurren (Drawn & Quarterly)


BEST ARCHIVAL COLLECTION/PROJECT—COMIC BOOKS

Adventures Into Terror: The Atlas Comics Library, vol. 1, edited by Michael J. Vassallo (Fantagraphics)

All-Negro Comics 75th Anniversary Edition, edited by Chris Robinson (Very GOOD Books)

The Ballad of Halo Jones Full Colour Omnibus, by Alan Moore and Ian Gibson, edited by Olivia Hicks (2000AD/Rebellion)

The John Severin Westerns Featuring American Eagle, edited by Michael Dean (Fantagraphics)

Michael Golden’s Marvel Stories Artist’s Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)


BEST WRITER

Stephen Graham Jones, Earthdivers (IDW)

Mariko Tamaki, Roaming (Drawn & Quarterly)

Tom Taylor, Nightwing, Titans (DC)

Kelly Thompson, Birds of Prey, Harley Quinn, Black White and Redder (DC); Black Cloak, The Cull (Image); It’s Jeff, Captain Marvel (Marvel)

Mark Waid, Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, Shazam!, World’s Finest: Teen Titans (DC)

G. Willow Wilson, Poison Ivy (DC); Hunger and the Dusk (IDW)


BEST WRITER/ARTIST

Emily Carroll, A Guest in the House (First Second/Macmillan)

Bill Griffith, Three Rocks (Abrams ComicArts)

Daniel Warren Johnson, Transformers (Image Skybound)

Mokumokuren, The Summer Hikaru Died, vol. 1 (Yen Press)

Zoe Thorogood, Hack/Slash: Back To School (Image)

Tillie Walden, Clementine Book Two (Image Skybound)


BEST PENCILLER/INKER OR PENCILLER/INKER TEAM

Jason Shawn Alexander, Detective Comics (DC); Killadelphia, with Germán Erramouspe (Image)

Tula Lotay, Barnstormers: A Ballad of Love and Murder (Comixology Originals/Best Jackett)

Inaki Miranda, Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons (IDW)

Dan Mora, Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, Shazam! (DC)

Chris Samnee, Fire Power (Image Skybound)

Jillian Tamaki, Roaming (Drawn & Quarterly)


BEST PAINTER/MULTIMEDIA ARTIST (INTERIOR ART)

Jason Shawn Alexander, Blacula: Return of the King (Zombie Love Studios)

Chaiko, The Monkey King (Magnetic)

Juanjo Guarnido, Blacksad, Vol 7: They All Fall Down, Part 2 (Europe Comics)

Liam Sharp, Nocterra: Nemesis Special (Best Jackett); Starhenge: The Dragon and the Boar (Image)

Martin Simmonds, Universal Monsters: Dracula (Image Skybound)

Sana Takeda, The Night Eaters: Her Little Reapers (Abrams ComicArts); Monstress (Image)


BEST COVER ARTIST

Jen Bartel, DC Pride 2023, Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville #1 (DC); Captain Marvel: Dark Tempest #1, Demon Wars: Scarlet Sin #1, Scarlet Witch #9, Sensational She-Hulk (Marvel)

Evan Cagle, Detective Comics (DC)

Jenny Frison, Alice Never After #1, BRZRKR: Fallen Empire #1, and other alternate covers (BOOM! Studios); Knight Terrors: Harley Quinn #1–2, Poison Ivy #8, #12 (DC)

E. M. Gist, Expanse Dragon Tooth #1, Something Is Killing the Children #28 & #34, Wild’s End, vol 2 #4 and other alternate covers (BOOM! Studios); Amazing Spider-Man #23, Doctor Aphra #36, Moon Knight #3, Nightcrawlers #1, Wolverine #38 (Marvel)

Peach Momoko, Demon Wars: Scarlet Sin, various alternate covers (Marvel)

Dan Mora, Coda #3, Damn Them All #4, MMPR 30th Anniversary Special #1, Rare Flavours #3 and other alternate covers (BOOM! Studios); Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, Outsiders #1, Poison Ivy #9, Shazam!, Titans #1 (DC)


BEST COLORING

Jordie Bellaire, Batman, Birds of Prey (DC); Dark Spaces: Hollywood Special (IDW)

Matt Hollingsworth, Captain America, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, Punisher (Marvel)

Lee Loughridge, Red Zone (AWA); Edgeworld, Grammaton Punch, Nostalgia (Comixology Originals); The Devil’s Cut, Gone, Somna (DSTLRY)Star Trek (IDW); Killadelphia (Image); Hunt. Kill. Repeat. (Mad Cave)

Dave McCaig, The Sacrificers (Image), The Walking Dead Deluxe (Image Skybound)

Dean White, Conan the Barbarian (Titan Comics)


BEST LETTERING

Emily Carroll, A Guest in the House (First Second/Macmillan)

Benoit Dahan and Lauren Bowes, Inside the Mind of Sherlock Holmes (Titan Comics)

Bill Griffith, Three Rocks (Abrams ComicArts)

Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, The Unlikely Story of Felix and Macabber, The Witcher: Wild Animals, and others (Dark Horse); Batman: City of Madness, The Flash, Poison Ivy, and others (DC); Black Cat Social Club (Humanoids); Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees (IDW); The Cull, What’s the Furthest Place from Here? (Image); and others

Richard Starkings, Barnstormers: A Ballad of Love and Murder, Canary (Comixology Originals/Best Jackett); Parliament of Rooks (Comixology); Astro City, Battle Chasers (Image); Conan the Barbarian (Titan Comics)

Rus Wooton, Monstress, The Sacrificers (Image); Fire Power, Kroma, Transformers, The Walking Dead Deluxe, Universal Monsters: Dracula, Void Rivals (Image Skybound); Hunt. Kill. Repeat.A Legacy of Violence, Nature’s Labyrinth (Mad Cave)


BEST COMICS-RELATED PERIODICAL/JOURNALISM

The Comics Journal #309; edited by Gary Groth, Kristy Valenti, and Austin English (Fantagraphics)

“The Indirect Market,” by Brandon Schatz and Danica LeBlanc, comicsbeat.com

Rob Salkowitz, for Forbes, ICv2.com, Publishers Weekly

SKTCHD, by David Harper, http://www.sktchd.com

SOLRAD: The Online Literary Magazine for Comics, http://www.solrad.co (Fieldmouse Press)


BEST COMICS-RELATED BOOK

Bryan Talbot: Father of the British Graphic Novel, by J. D. Harlock and Bryan Talbot (Brainstorm Studios)

Confabulation: An Anecdotal Autobiography, by Dave Gibbons (Dark Horse)

Flamed Out: The Underground Adventures and Comix Genius of Willy Murphy, by Nicki Michaels, Ted Richards, and Mark Burstein (Fantagraphics)

I Am the Law: How Judge Dredd Predicted Our Future, by Michael Molcher (Rebellion)

The Pacific Comics Companion, by Stephan Friedt and Jon B. Cooke (TwoMorrows)

Thalamus: The Art of Dave McKean (Dark Horse)


BEST ACADEMIC/SCHOLARLY WORK

Asian Political Cartoons, by John A. Lent (University Press of Mississippi)

The Claremont Run: Subverting Gender in the X- Men, by J. Andrew Deman (University of Texas Press)

Desegregating Comics: Debating Blackness in the Golden Age of American Comics, edited by Qiana Whitted (Rutgers University Press)

If Shehrazad Drew: Critical Writings on Arab Comics, by George Khoury-Jad (Sawaf Center for Arab Comics Studies and American University of Beirut Press)

In Visible Archives: Queer and Feminist Visual Culture in the 1980s, by Margaret Galvan (University of Minnesota Press)

Super Bodies: Comic Book Illustration, Artistic Styles, and Narrative Impact, by Jeffrey A. Brown (University of Texas Press)


BEST PUBLICATION DESIGN

Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein boxed set, designed by Mike Kennedy (Magnetic)

Gratuitous Ninja, by Ronald Wimberly, designed by Chloe Scheffe (Beehive Books)

Inside the Mind of Sherlock Holmes, designed by Benoit Dahan andDonna Askem (Titan Comics) 

Iron Maiden: Piece of Mind, designed by Josh Bernstein and Rob Schwager (Z2)

Toilet-bound Hanako-kun First Stall Box Set, designed by Wendy Chan (Yen Press)


BEST WEBCOMIC 

Asturias: The Origin of a Flag, by Javi de Castro, https://www.javidecastro.com/asturias-the-origin-of-a-flag

Daughter of a Thousand Faces, by Vel (Velinxi), https://tapas.io/series/daughter-of-a-thousand-faces/info (Tapas)

Lore Olympus, by Rachel Smythe, https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/lore-olympus/s3-episode-226/viewer?title_no=1320&episode_no=231 (WEBTOON)

Matchmaker, vol. 6, by Cam Marshall at https://matchmakercomic.com/. (Silver Sprocket)

3rd Voice, by Evan Dahm, https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/3rd-voice/list?title_no=828919 (WEBTOON)

Unfamiliar, by Haley Newsome: https://tapas.io/series/unfamiliar/info (Tapas)


BEST DIGITAL COMIC

Blacksad, Vol 7: They All Fall Down, Part 2. by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido, translation by Diana Schutz and Brandon Kander (Europe Comics)

Friday, by Ed Brubaker and Marcos Martin, vols. 7–8 (Panel Syndicate)

Parliament of Rooks, by Abigail Jill Harding (Comixology Originals)

Practical Defense Against Piracy, by Tony Cliff (delilahdirk.com)

A Witch’s Guide to Burning, by Aminder Dhaliwal (Instagram.com/aminder_d)