EYG Comic Cavalcade #116

September 21

Another big week of books. Of course, it has become a regular occurrence for me to have this amount of books as my collecting has expanded over the years. Lots of new independent books this week.

I enjoyed the two new comic based TV shows, Agatha All Along on Disney + and The Penguin on HBO Max. This will make the middle of the week all the more enjoyable moving through the spooky season.

I have received two of the final three issues of Ice Cream Man that I was missing from eBay this week, and the final issue that I need will be arriving some time soon. I have been trying to fill out the Ice Cream Man series, which I have really enjoy. Todd told me that the issues have been elevating in price recently because a potential TV show based on the IP. I did drop some $ on these final three issues that I was missing, but I am happy to have the series filled out.

Books this week:

The Tin Can Society #1. Story by Peter Warren & Rick Remender. Written by Peter Warren and art by Francesco Mobili. Cover art by Francesco Mobili and Chris Chuckry. My favorite new book of the week. This is a murder mystery among a group of old friends…the victim which was a handicapped man with a power armor that was missing. I was hooked immediately.

X-Men #4. “Upstarts” Written by Jed MacKay and penciled by Netho Diaz. Variant cover art by J. Scott Campbell & Tanya Lehoux. The X-Men face off with Trevor Fitzroy and the Upstarts. The issue ends with the reappearance of an old Age of Apocalypse villain that I used to have an awesome action figure of… Sugar Man!

The Moon is Following Me #1. Written by and drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson. Cover art is done by Mike Spicer. This new Image book is interesting. It has a strange. kind of fantasy-like setting, but there is something at the end that throws everything that happened in the story into a different thought.

Dazzler #1. “Out and Proud” Written by Jason Loo and art by Rafael Loureiro. Cover art by Terry & Rachel Dodson. Dazzler is back from the dead and back on the stage and an attack by Scorpia gets worked into the show. This is a nice return to the world of mutants for Alison.

The Masked Macher #1. Written by David A. Goodman and art by Alex Andres. An actor on his way to an audition winds up in the wrestling ring as the Masked Macher, a hooded wrestler who had just died. His wife needed someone to step through the ropes… and here we are.

Deadpool #6. Written by Cody Ziglar and art by Rogê Antonio. Taurin Clarke did the cover art. As Wade is slow to heal, Taskmaster takes Deadpool’s daughter Ellie and Princess on a mission. Then bad things are happening to Deadpool.

X-Factor #2. “We Could Be Heroes” Written by Mark Russell and art by Bob Quinn. Greg Land, Jay Leisten & Frank D’Armata do the cover art. Havok and Polaris had issues between the Mutant Underground. Is Polaris a spy? Which direction will Havok go? This new series is focused on this couple’s story through the first couple of issues.

Spider-Society #2. Written by Alec Segura and art by Scott Godlewski & Andres Genolet. Pete Woods did the cover art (Silver Medalist). The Sinister Squadron is up to take on the Spider-Society and we see an evil version of Madame Web leading them. And it was a familiar face beneath that Madame Webb mask… it was who everyone thought of when we first met Madame Web way back when.

Avengers #18. “Impact” Part Two. Written by Jed MacKay and art by Valerio Schiti. Joshua Cassara & GURU-eFX did the cover art. Hyperion is on a literal crash course with earth and the Avengers look to try and stop him in any way they can. Thor resigns from the Avengers this issue too.

Spider-Boy Annual #1. Written by Steve Foxe and art by Carlos Nieto. The individual Infinity stone holders are coming together as the arch across the various annuals are to its penultimate annual. And how cruel to take poor Coulson’s burger.

Ice Cream Man #41. “Spy Story (Or My Best Graham Greene Impression).” Written by W. Maxwell Prince and art by Martin Morazzo. Cover art is done by Morazzo & Chris O’Halloran (Gold Medalist). A secret agent story with some weird monstrous creature involved. Ice Cream Man is some of the most creative comic horror stories around.

The Graveyard Club #1. Written by R.L. Stein and illustrated by Carola Borelli. Cover art was done by Miguel Mercado. This is a big first issue of this Boom! comic. A group of outcasts are involved in a ton of strangeness centered around the graveyard. Some of these characters are not very likable.

Spider-Man: Black Suit & Blood #2. There are three shorter stories in this issue centered around the time when Peter wore the symbiote. Daredevil guest starred in one of the stories as they take on Bullseye in a snow storm. This cover art is done by Giuseppe Camuncoli & Edgar Delgado.

Incredible Hulk #17. “City of Idols” Part One. Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and art and cover art by Nic Klein. The Hulk is on his way to try and save Charlie, but he did not know that approaching the Eldest mean that Hulk could not save Charlie without sacrificing himself. This was a much better issue of the Hulk than the last few have been.

Ultimate X-Men #7. Written, drawn and cover art by Peach Momoko. This is a very different book than anything else in the Ultimate Universe and I really like that. Peach Momoko is quite a talent with the cover art, but I do enjoy her work on this series too.

Dark Knight of Steel: Allwinter #3. “Bat Country.” Written by Jay Kristoff and art and cover by Tirso (Bronze Medalist). This Elseworlds series continues along with Slade taking the kid to the city and running into a Batman-Superman type of amalgam. I’m not sure why Bruce seems to have Superman powers. I wonder if this is a return to this setting from another series where some of these things have been introduced prior. I have been liking this a lot though.

Sam and Twitch Case Files #6. Script/plot by Todd McFarlane and Jon Goff was the co-plotter. Art was done by Szymon Kudranski. Cover art was by Mark Spears & Thomas Nachlik. Twitch is in deep trouble as there are dead bodies everywhere. I do like this down to earth take on a detective series in the Spawn universe.

Spirits of Vengeance #1. Written by Sabir Pirzada and art by Sean Damien Hill. Kendrick “Kunkka” Lim does the cover art. Ghost Rider returns as does Vengeance. Vengeance was hanging in a corm field as a scarecrow? That has to be the scariest scarecrow of all time.

Other books this week: Wolverine: Deep Cut #3, Deathlok #50, Gilt Frame #2, Lawful #4, and Huge Detective #2.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #115

September 14, 2024

Not much to say this week. Jumping right in to the books I picked up.

Duck and Cover #1. Written by Scott Snyder and art and cover art by Rafael Albuquerque. An interesting new book from Dark Horse. This gives us an alternate reality of 1955 and the story of a group of teenagers, that have been instructed to “duck and cover” as a way to protect themselves from a nuclear bomb. When the bomb goes off and the teens come out from beneath those life-saving desks, they find a post-apocalyptic world that they need to survive. Pretty good start to this new series. Hope you’re happy, Todd.

Groo: Minstrel Melodies #1. Written by Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier and illustrated and cover art by Sergio Aragones (Bronze Medalist). The Minstrel and his daughter Kayli are traveling the land, singing about the misadventures of Groo. I love the Wanderer.

Amazing Spider-Man #57. Written by Zeb Wells and penciled by John Romita Jr. Cover art was done by Romita Jr., Scott Hanna and Morry Hollowell. Tombstone is in jail. He does not stay there long. He is out trying for revenge on the person who put him there… his daughter Janice.

Time Waits #1. Written by Chip Zdarsky and David Brothers and illustrated by Marcus To & Marvin Sianipar. Marcus To was the cover artist. I have been enjoying the books coming out of DSTLRY, and the new Time Waits is another excellent start. This is told in a fascinating manner, with flashbacks that just appear in the narrative and kind of do not make sense. I am looking forward to the next issue.

Geiger #6. Creators Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. Cover art by Gary Frank & Brad Anderson (Gold Medalist). A story focusing on Barney, the two headed dog that has been an important piece over the last couple of issues. Barney and a bunch of the other animals involved in this issue. Good stuff.

Transformers #12. Written by Daniel Warren Johnson and art by Jorge Corona. Cover art by Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer. Optimus Prime makes a major decision. Cybertron or Earth? There are some major issues among the Autobots here too.

Spider-Man: Reign 2 #3. Written, drawn and cover art by Kaare Andrews. MJ has the Venom symbiote. Miles and Peter face off. I have to say that Peter’s gigantic white beard is somewhat distracting, but the discovery of what happened was powerful. This has been a good series, even though I am not a huge fan of these alternate stories.

Captain America #13. “The Last Stand of the Front Door, Part 2” Written by J. Michael Straczynski and art by Carlos Magno. Taurin Clarke did the cover art. I have not been a fan of this arc of Captain America, but this finale of that arc was okay. Cap was definitely kick ass here, but I am glad the comic moves on to another storyline next issue (which looks like it will co-star Thor and Spidey).

Vengeance of the Moon Knight #9. “The Killing of Moon Knight” Written by Jed MacKay and drawn by Devmalya Pramanik. Davide Paratore did the cover art. This issue brings to a close the “new” Moon Knight, aka Shroud. Khonshu wants Shroud dead and he ordered Marc Spector to do it. This is the final issue of this series as we get a new Moon Knight title coming soon.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2. “Super Mutant Turtle Power Go!” Script by Jason Aaron and art and cover art by Rafael Albuquerque. I really loved the first issue of Jason Aaron’s TMNT book, but issue two is not as amazing. It is still good as we focus on Michelangelo and his new career as an action actor.

Red Before Black #2. Written by Stephanie Phillips and illustrated by Goran Sudžuka. Val and Leo have a throwdown in a cafe over breakfast. Yet they end up somewhere completely different. This new book has some cool moments and some originality.

Uncanny X-Men #2. “Red Wave” Part Two. Written by Gail Simone and art by David Marquez. Marquez & Matthew Wilson did the cover art. We get introduced to the Outliers, a new group of mutants that Rogue, Gambit, Wolverine, Jubilee and Nightcrawler have to deal with. We also have a new character named Sarah that is somehow tied to an early Charles Xavier. Gail Simone is an outstanding writer and she has a cool concept working with this version of the X-Men.

Ain’t No Grave #5. Written by Skottie Young and art by Jorge Corona. Ryder challenges death in this series finale issue. It is a real jaw-dropper of an issue. I did not expect the conclusion of this story to happen the way that it did. I was very impressed with the way this mini-series concluded.

Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider #5. “Haunted” Part 5. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Paolo Villanelli. Mark Brooks did the cover art. Gwen is out to try an help Chameleon, whose powers have gone haywire. Plus, they were being pursued by forces, as well as having to battle Vermin.

Blood Hunters #2. Written by Erica Schultz and art by Robert Gill. Ema Lupacchino and GURU-eFX did the cover art. Elsa Bloodstone seems to be fairly unhinged and she is anything but happy about vampire Miles Morales. However, she is forced to work with him against the Bloodcoven.

Jonny Quest #2. Written by Joe Casey and art by Sebastian Piriz. Chad Hardin did the cover art. The new Dynamite comic of Jonny Quest is once again a great book, as we get past Jonny and the future Jonny try and find a way to get the Quest family back where they came from. This has been a solid start to this series so far.

Space Ghost #5. Written by David Pepose and art by Jonathan Lau. Francesco Mattina did the cover art. Another Dynamite book that has been awesome. Space Ghost is desperate as he tries to save Jan and Jace from the clutches of Zorak. Then, Jace drops a bomb at the end of the issue.

Avengers Assemble #1. Written by Steve Orlando and penciled by Cory Smith. Cover art by Leinil Francis Yu & Romulo Fajardo Jr. The new Avengers Emergency Response Squad starts to assemble under the leadership of Captain America. It is nice to see Jarvis once again and it is fun to see the plethora of the heroes arriving, answering the call of the Avengers. There is also a battle with Sin.

Fantastic Four #25. “Star-Crossed” Written by Ryan North and drawn by Carlos Gomez. Joshua Cassara & Dean White did the cover art. Okay, this is a love story. And a weird one with Johnny Storm falling in love with an alien. And Star-crossed is a good example of the story here.

The Department of Truth #25. Written by James Tynion IV and drawn and cover art by Martin Simmonds. There are actually a series of other artists who worked on this issue, which details more about the life and ties of Lee Harvey Oswald and may even insinuate that the assassination of JFK was done by the fictional woman. The Department of Truth is always full of wild ideas in storytelling.

Wolverine #1. “In the Bones” Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by Martin Coccolo (Silver Medalist). Logan is running with a pack of wolves. The whole X-Men thing was weighing on Logan and Nightcrawler came to try and get him back. Cyber is there hunting Logan too.

Other books this week: The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos #12, Profane #4, Wonderland: Return to Madness #3, Domain #3, and Ultimate Black Panther #8.

EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week

Week of September 9

Three winning comic covers, three separate comic book companies. Nicely spread out this week. There is one variant cover and two number ones. One artist who is already in the EYG Hall of Fame, and in fact was in an early class (Class of 2012).

It is September 11th today and it is a good day for reflection.

Bronze Medalist

Groo: Minstrel Melodies #1

Cover art by Sergio Aragones

This is the EYG Hall of Famer. Sergio Aragones has been treating us with Groo books for years and Groo is one of my favorite characters and this cover really captures the humor of the character.

Silver Medalist

Wolverine #1

Cover art by Martin Coccolo & Bryan Valenza

A new Wolverine book featuring some great variants, but I think the cover A is right there with the best of them. This gives us an amazing view of Wolverine the character atop of these skeletons. I also love the snowy trees in the background.

Gold Medalist

Geiger #6

Variant Cover B

Cover art by Francis Manapul

A glowing man and his two-headed dog. What more could you want. I love the shades of green across this variant cover as Geiger seems to be relaxing with a book. Beautiful art.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #109

August 1, 2024

We have another week of new comic releases, along with some back issues to look at here at EYG Comic Cavalcade. The Blood Hunt is coming to a close so there will be fewer vampires running around the Marvel Universe. This series was decent for a summer saga, but the major step with Dr. Doom really sets the world of Marvel in some challenging situations. I guess Doom is messing with the MCU now too, with the face of Robert Downey Jr.

I just received my copies of two books that I had supported via a Kickstarter campaign last year. As i was messing around at Kickstarter, I came across a project that I had funded last year, but had never actually done the final approval. I clicked on it, and everything went through. So today, I received the reward in the mail. It was issue 1 and 2 of Painkiller Jane: Beautiful Killers, signed by Jimmy Palmiotti. It was a cool surprise after such a long time.

I picked up a bunch of Eisner nominated graphic novels this week too. I actually had an order of four from Amazon that had not been delivered. On Saturday, after several late days and Prime indicating that the order may be lost, I re-ordered the books. Of course, then Monday, the missing package showed up. I was able to cancel the re-order before it was shipped so I did not have to deal with sending anything back. The standout book I go here was called A Guest in the House by E.M. Carroll. There was also a multiple time Eisner winner, Roaming by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki.

Just a couple of week before I have to go back to school. We’ll see how that affects the time available for the Comic Cavalcade.

Books this week:

Saga #67. Written by Brian K. Vaughn and art by Fiona Staples. After a long break, Saga is back once again! It has not seemed as long for me as I just recently discovered the book and just got #66 recently so it felt as if it was not as long of a break. It is great to get back into this world with these characters that have been so awesome over the last sixty-six issues. I hope this can maintain its release schedule so I have Saga to look forward to every month for the extended future.

Amazing Spider-Man #54. Written by Zeb Wells and drawn by Ed McGuinness. McGuinness, Mark Farmer and Marcio Mentz did the cover art. The final showdown between Norman Osborn and Peter Parker takes place as the evil Goblin sins bounced back and forth between them. Zeb Wells has one more story arc to go before ending his run with ASM so we’ll see where that takes us.

Ms. Marvel Annual #1. Written by Iman Vellani & Sabir Pirzada with art by Giada Belviso. Salvador Larroca & Guru-eFX did the cover art. The Infinity Watch story continued in this issue with Ms. Marvel coming across the possessor of the Soul Gem, Multitude, a young robot. There is also the next part of the Death Stone Saga, by Derek Landy & Sara Pichelli. I have liked this mini-saga at the end of these annuals. We’ll see where it takes us next.

Immortal Thor #13.The Vengeance of the Gods“. Written by Al Ewing and drawn by Jan Bazaldua. Alex Ross did the cover art (silver medalist). Thor meets up with Hercules and the pair go searching for the Goddess of Night, Nyx. I have to say though, I saw Hercules ask Thor if he knew about Nyx, and I thought, jokingly, that that was the new X-book with Ms. Marvel. Ha ha. I loved the interaction between The King of Asgard and the Prince of Power.

Blood Hunt #5. Written by Jed MacKay and illustrated by Pepe Larraz. Cover art was by Larraz & Marte Gracia. The big crossover comes to a close as the heroes are able to break through the darkness to bring forth the light… well, did I say the heroes? Maybe not all of them were heroes… and I am not referring to Dracula. We get a new Sorcerer Supreme here… and he is Dr. Doom. Bad things ahead in the Marvel Universe.

X-Force #1. “Where Monsters Dwell.” Written by Geoffrey Thorne and art by Marcus To. Stephen Segovia and Bryan Valenza did the cover art. A new X-Force is back, with Forge pulling together several other team members whose only caveat to joining was “No Deadpool!” Well, there was “some” Deadpool.

Fantastic Four #22.Safe Once More” Written by Ryan North and art by Ivan Fiorelli. Cover art was by Alex Ross. I have been a big fan of Ryan North’s work on FF and this is one more banger. Especially the scenes with Reed and Alicia in New York, struggling to save as many people from the vampires as they could. I had never seen Reed stretched so much that he was tearing. Ugh. Alicia stood out in this issue with her ability to keep Reed focused on what they needed to do. This was one of the better Blood Hunt crossover issues of the run.

Ultimate Spider-Man #7. Written by Jonathan Hickman and art by Marco Checchetto. Checchetto & Matthew Wilson was the cover artist. Look at who is here. It is Otto Octavius. He is working with Osborn to discover the limits of their Stark suits. This all leads to the appearance of Iron Man at the end.

What If…? Donald Duck Became Wolverine#1. “Old Duck Donald.” Written by Luca Barbieri and art by Giada Perissinotto. Variant cover art was done by Peach Momoko (Gold Medalist). Yes, Donald Duck is Wolverine. Mickey Mouse is Hawkeye. Goofy is Grey Hulk. Pluto is Colossus. There is a bunch of What If fun with Disney and Marvel’s big mash-up.

Drawing Blood #4. Script by David Avallone and artwork by Ben Bishop. Kevin Eastman did the cover art. With trouble circling, Books has a place where everything is at an even higher elevation… a comic convention! With the SDCC just finishing the timing of this issue was spot on, and I found this perhaps the best, most interesting issue of Drawing Blood so far.

Black Widow: Venomous #1. Written by Erica Schultz and art by Luciano Vecchio. Leirix did the cover art. This issue dives deep into the partnership between Natasha and her new Symbiote. Natasha decided that her symbiote required the training that she went through in the Red Room in order for their pairing to work out. She asked for some help from her friends. I do think there are too many symbiotes running around the Marvel Universe, but this one with Black Widow has some possibility.

Sam and Twitch Case Files #5. Script by Todd McFarlane (co-plotted with Jon Goff) and art by Szymon Kudranski. Mirko Colak and Javi Fernandez did the cover art. The case that Twitch has been working on took a nasty twist, and Twitch is going to find himself in some serious trouble. I was shocked by the way this turned in the issue. I had to go back and read through it again to make sure what I thought happened actually happened. This has been a really solid Spawn universe series with no sign of Spawn. I love that.

Spider-Man: Shadow of the Green Goblin #4. Written by J.M. DeMatteis and art by Michael Sta. Maria. Cover art was done by Paulo Siqueira & Rachelle Rosenberg (Bronze medalist). This flashback series ended with Spidey facing down the Proto-Goblin and Gwen Stacy’s mother’s death.

The Department of Truth #24. Written by James Tynion IV and art and cover art by Martin Simmonds. The lead up to the Kennedy assassination continues as we see how things started to pull Lee into the world of the Department. This is a very tight story that requires every bit of attention and it is so worth it. I love that the Department of Truth is back on the comic stands after a long hiatus.

X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse #4. Written by Steve Foxe and penciled by Netho Diaz. Dotun Akande did the cover art. Winner, winner, chicken dinner! My prediction last time came true this time as Doug becomes the heir apparent to Apocalypse with a brand new name… Revelation. I like the redesign of the character and I am excited to see where Doug Ramsey takes us from here.

Ghostlore #12. Written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Leomacs. Cover art by Reiko Murakami & Leomacs. This series wraps up with a dramatic final battle between the preacher and his daughter Harmony and Shane. It has a very powerful ending to this story.

Other books this week: Captain Marvel #10, Midnight Sons: Blood Hunt #3, Judgment Day #3 (even though I still swear Judgment Day #1 does not exist), The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos #11, Grimm #19, Nights #9, and House of Slaughter #25.

EYG Upcoming Comics Preview Issue 2

July 31, 2024

It was Previews day at Comic World today so I am back with some of the upcoming books that spoke to me. As a trendsetter, I want to be able to share with you some of the books I found as I scoured the pages of Previews. There was a series of books that felt Halloween specific.

I did not include any Marvel books last issue so I wanted to make sure I made up for that this time. One of my personal favorite X-Men character is getting her own series. Storm #1 features Ororo Munroe in her major new role as an Avenger. I love Storm and it makes me happy to see her in her own ongoing series.

An Image Comic series debuts with Hyde Street #1. Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis are the creative team behind this new title from the Ghost Machine imprint. Labeled as character-centered-horror, Hyde Street sounds like a street that you could find yourself on from any city or town. I do like a good horror comic and I am intrigued by what this book will be.

Dynamite has not been a company that I have purchased many books, but Space Ghost may be changing that idea as we get a new book based on the movie The Terminator. Declan Shalvey is the writer of The Terminator #1 and Luke Sparrow is doing the art. The iconic character could have a lot of great fun with this idea.

There is a one-shot from Zenescope Entertainment that I was so excited for. It was a one-shot featuring the Bunnyman, from Man Goat and the Bunnyman, one of my favorite duos. This book is titled The Bunnyman’s Furry Nightmare, and you can give me as much Bunnyman as possible!

There is another one-shot advertised in this Previews that was really interesting for me. Archie Comics released a book written by Cullen Bunn called The Nine Lives of Salem. Salem is a familiar for a family of witches. Books featuring cats and other animals are fairly hot right now and this looks to be a great.

Dark Horse has several interesting books this issue. There is a futuristic book called FML that i am not sure I am going to buy. It is one of those apocalyptic tales that I am not a huge fan of typically. I have considered looking at #1 of this issue to see what I thin of it. But the other ones available are Living Hell #1, the story of a demon named Jerome Jameel who escaped Hell and began a new life with his daughter (A family tale of Hell? I’m in) and You Never Heard of Me #1, showing a character with the power to touch someone and see the best and worst moment of that person’s life.

DSTLRY is a company to keep an eye on because there are some really great books coming out from them (although I do believe that they may be struggling with releasing things on time). This Previews had two books from DSTLRY that stood out: Come and Find Me: An Autumnal Offering #1, a one-shot horror anthology for Halloween, and Through Red Windows #1, from creators Ram and Joelle Jones.

When I first went through the Previews, I did not think that there was much new worth mentioning, but as I was writing down the lists, I realized that there were many more than I thought, as there were some on my list that I did not write about here. The fact that I want to let you know what books you should keep an eye out for. The one-shots seemed to be a plenty here.

Eisner Winners SDCC 2024

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)

EYG Comic Cavalcade #108

July 25, 2024

This day is officially here! I have my tickets and I am just counting the hours until Deadpool & Wolverine, the latest MCU film with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. I have been dying to see this movie since the minute Hugh Jackman walked behind Ryan Reynolds in the promo. The review (non-spoiler) will be up on EYG later tonight.

This was another massive week of books, mainly because the group of books that I had missed from previous weeks. They all seemed to be here this week… except for Judgment Day #1. I’m still not sure it exists. I have #2 and #3 comes out next week (supposedly), but that #1 is just the white whale.

Some cool books this week:

Hello Darkness #1. Hello Darkness is a new anthology horror book by some of the greatest writers of the current comic world, and this is awesome. Some were better than others, but it was a surprise when there was a short story (which will be continued) by James Tynion IV about Erica Slaughter coming into a bar. I was surprised to see it in the book. Paolo Rivera did the cover art on this book.

Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #3. Written by Joe Kelly and art by Adam Kubert. Cover art was done by Kubert & Frank Martin. The short series concluded with this issue. Deadpool takes the idea of regeneration to a whole new level as blood from Deadpool that had gotten inside Wolverine and then grew out of Logan’s back. I’m not kidding.

Man Goat & the Bunnyman: Beware the Pigman #1. Written by Joe Brusha and artwork by Jordi Perez. Cover art was by Guillermo Fajardo. They’re back!!!! I was really excited about this when I saw the new issue listed in Previews. I don’t know what it is about Man Goat and Bunnyman that gets to me, but it really is so much fun and filled with humor. I mean… Batsquatch? Love them.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1. “Inmate” Written by Jason Aaron and art by Joelle Jones. Cover art was by Eric Talbot (Bronze Medalist). I saw this book on the shelf. Todd had made a reference to it and I was curious with the restart of this book, especially with Jason Aaron as the writer. So I picked it up just to see and I found myself loving it. I actually think this was my favorite story of the week. Focused in on the life of Raphael stuck in prison. I really loved this book and I am looking forward to seeing what Jason Aaron has in store for the next issue.

NYX #1. Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly and drawn by Francesco Mortarino. Cover art was by Sara Pichelli & Federico Blee. I love Ms. Marvel and I am excited to see her involved in this new X-book with some very intriguing characters. Laura Kinney as Wolverine showed up with a less than friendly encounter with Kamala. The first issue began setting things up for the future and i liked the way it went.

Profane #2. Written by Peter Milligan and illustrated by Raul Fernandez. The cover art was done by Javier Rodriguez. This noir-style book is fantastic as a fictional character comes into the world of non-fiction to try and solve the murder of the fictional character’s creator. It is a exceptional premise and the noir style really works well for it.

Blow Away #4. Written by Zac Thompson and illustrated by Nicola Izzo. Cover art was by Annie Wu. Things are picking up big time in this book as Brynne survived her own fall off Asgard and is recovered by the person she believed was the hunter/killer she recorded. This is the penultimate issue of this series and it sets up the finale well.

The Nice House by the Sea #1. Written by James Tynion IV and doing the art and the cover art was Alvaro Martinez Bueno (Silver medalist). This was another book that I saw on the shelf at Comic World and did not think much about at first. I loved the Nice House on the Lake by Tynion IV, but I thought this might actually be a reprint of that. When I realized that it was a sequel, I grabbed it and read it through. I loved this book and I have to say that James Tynion IV is right near the top of my current list of favorite writers. I am excited about seeing the rest of this Black Label DC book.

Moon Man #3. Script by Scott Mescudi & Kyle Higgins and art and cover art was by Marco Locati. This was another book that was missed a few weeks ago and now I have. I was not sure about this book at start, mainly because of Kid Cudi, honestly, but it has been a good read so far and I am enjoying the development of the characters around Moon Man and how things are going.

Vengeance of the Moon Knight #7. “Incarnate”. Written by Jed MacKay and art by Alessandro Cappuccio. David Paratore did the cover art. We get to see the resurrection of Marc Specter here and his reuniting with Tigra. That was all well done, even if the death of Moon Knight only lasted a few months.

Feral #5. “Chapter Five: Fall” Written by Tony Fleecs and art by Trish Forstner. Variant cover art by Forstner and Fleecs (Gold Medalist). This first story arc of Feral ended with this issue in a dramatic and very tragic end. Fleecs and Forstner were able to build a connection to a group of cats as they are facing off with rabid animals and humans out of wipe out all those infected. The book will continue in a few months and I will be here for it.

Rook Exodus #4. Created by Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok. Jason Fabok and Brad Anderson did the cover art. The battle with Ursaw is underway and things are looking bleak for Rook and his allies. Rook is able to save Pumba in one of the best moments of the issue. However, Rook sure looks like he should have learned how to fly…

Flash Gordon #1. Written by Jeremy Adams and art by Will Conrad. Cover art by Will Conrad & Lee Loughridge. This was another book I just picked up off the shelf. I had the Free Comic Book Day issue of this, and I was curious. I have to say that, while this was okay, I do not think that I was interested in it enough to read it every month. Fans of Flash Gordon may like this.

Wolverine: Blood Hunt #4. Written by Tom Waltz and art by Juan Jose Ryp. Cover art was by Guru-eFX. The Wolverine/vampire saga wraps up with the finale against Maverick.

Void Rivals #11. Written by Robert Kirkman and art by Lorenzo De Felici. Mateo Cremona & Mike Spicer did the cover art. Void Rivals has started to become a little repetitive at this point. I would like to see this move along as it feels as the last few issues have been the same thing basically.

Captain America #11. “Trying to Come Home“. Written by J. Michael Straczynski and art by Jesus Saiz. Taurin Clarke did the cover art. Cap is dealing with Gods and Death. They return to the idea of flashbacks into Steve Rogers’ past.

Strange Academy: Blood Hunt #3. Written by Daniel Jose Older and art by Luigi Zagaria & Eric Gapstur. Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado did the cover art. I love the characters of the Strange Academy and seeing them stuck inside this vampire story works really well for them. I would love to see more Strange Academy in the future.

Version 1.0.0

Something is Killing the Children #39. “Road Stories Part Four“. Written by James Tynion IV and illustrated and cover art by Werther Dell’edera. This was a great issue of Something is Killing the Children. Erica Slaughter goes to therapy. I loved this issue with the one-on-one between Erica and this therapist. It really gave us a wonderful look at this character even though there was something going on besides just Erica needing therapy. Excellent issue.

Uncanny Valley #4. Written by Tony Fleecs and art and cover art by Dave Wachter. This has been a fun series so far. We get a backstory of Oliver’s mother and how she became pregnant and how she is the daughter of her animated father. One thing that was left out though was who Oliver’s father may be. Tony Fleecs has been very creative with some of the more original ideas in comics today.

No/One #10. Written by Kyle Wiggins & Brian Buccellato and art and cover art by Geraldo Borges. I have loved this series and I have been looking forward to this finale for awhile and to be honest, I found it a little underwhelming. The mystery of who is No/One is revealed…sort of… the issue implied heavily that the person revealed as No/One was not actually No/One and that was slightly disappointing.

Dracula: Blood Hunt #3. Written by Danny Lore and art by Vincenzo Carratù. Cover art was by Rod Reis. Another issue that I had missed before, I liked the use of Dracula in this Blood Hunt saga. It is also cool to see Blade’s daughter, Bloodline, in the front of the battle considering how important a character Blade is in this story. I can see the end of the road for Blood Hunt coming quickly.

Universal Monsters: Creature from the Black Lagoon #4. Written by Dan Watters & Ram V and art by Matthew Roberts. Roberts & Dave Stewart did the cover art. I found this four-issue series engaging and exciting. The art is beautiful and the story was easy to follow. This was the first of the covers that did not receive a medal.

Local Man #12. Written by Tony Fleecs and Tim Seeley. Fleecs and Seeley share sections of the art as well. Big confrontations in this issue as Jack, Inga and Sheriff Bucholz get into their own issues. Local Man was Eisner nominated for Best New Series, so congrats and good luck.

Zatanna: Bring Down the House #2. Written by Mariko Tamaki and drawn and cover art by Javier Rodriguez. Once again, this is a very interesting take on the character of Zatanna. It seems as if Zatanna is in denial about her ability to do magic. I am not sure where in context this series is set, but I am enjoying it so far.

Something Epic #12. Written and illustrated by Szymon Kudranski. This has been an excellent arc for this series as Noa faces off with Set and Sirus in her apartment to the unhappiness of her downstairs neighbors. Honestly, there is a big reveal at the end of the book, but I am not sure exactly whom that is intended to be. It was quite dramatic though.

Self Help #1 and #2. Written by Owen King & Jesse Kellerman with art by Marianna Ignazzi. Jerry Hauser is a down on his luck driver, but he finds himself in a plot to impersonate self-help guru Darren Hart. This new Image series has had some ups and downs early, but I am curious to see where it goes.

X-Men #1. “Fire-Baptized Special” Written by Jed MacKay and illustrated by Ryan Stegman. I have the virgin variant cover by John Tyler Christopher featuring Magik. I have been waiting for this issue for awhile as it was not sent to Comic World properly. This is a great X-Men team featuring Cyclops, Beast, Juggernaut, Magneto as well as several others. The X-Men set in Alaska sounds fun too. Because of the lateness of this issue, I also ordered the Peach Momoko cover off eBay.

Other books this week: The Six Fingers #5, Ultimate Black Panther #6, The Addiction #1, Project: Cryptid #11, Minor Threats #4, Blood Squad Seven #3, and Monsters are My Business #4.

EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week

Week of July 22

This week was a giant week of books, so there are a lot of choices for the best cover this week. Once again, there are two variant covers in the final three. One of which Todd selected for me and one that I beat him to.

Bronze Medalist

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1

40th Anniversary Variant

Cover art by Eric Talbot

The brand new TMNT book was one that I picked off the stand and I had a choice of three different covers. This was labeled as the 40th Anniversary Variant with Raphael inside a red spotlight. This cover is so bad ass and it went very well with this excellent story.

Silver Medalist

The Nice House By the Sea #1

Cover art by Nick Robles and Hayden Sherman

Another book that I pulled off the stand. This book from DC’s Black Label is a sequel to another Tynion book called The Nice House on the Lake and the cover with the burning building in the background with this person in front with a skull creates a powerfully tense tone for this book.

Gold Medalist

Feral #5

Variant cover

Cover art by Trish Forstner & Tony Fleecs

This is the variant Todd chose for me and it is exceptional. The way the cover makes these animals look so… feral… with the freaky shadows that make it look like a forest is beautiful. The bright sun in the background is a great contrast.

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)

EYG Comic Cavalcade #107

July 18, 2024

The summer is flying along. I have just about a month to go before I return to school for the next group of kids and I can no longer spend NEW COMIC BOOK DAY at Comic World sitting at the back table and reading my new books. I do love being able to spend the afternoon with the cool people at Comic World and getting time to read the new books out. I will miss it when I am back at school.

Until then, though, welcome to EYG Comic Cavalcade #107. Every year, I look at the list of Eisner nominated graphic novels and I purchase several of them to see what they were like. Most of them are books that I do not see during the year, but I look forward to reading after. I have several ordered via Prime Day on Amazon and I expect them to arrive any day. One of the nominated graphic novels was called Parasocial by Alex de Campi and Erica Henderson. It was a really powerful read and I would recommend it to anyone.

New books this week:

The Change. Script by Whoopi Goldberg and Jaime Paglia with art by Sunkanmi Akinboye. Khary Randolph did the cover art. I saw this graphic novel promoted on The View by Whoopi Goldberg and I was curious. It is about a woman going through menopause who developed super powers. It may not necessarily be a story that I could relate to, but it was an interesting read. It was definitely left on a cliffhanger so we’ll see if it ever continues.

Napalm Lullaby #5. Written by Rick Remender and art and cover art by Bengal. This was the first time this series hooked me more than just a bit. This spent a good deal of the issue diving into the background of what was going on in this world with Sarah and Sam’s mother and her plans moving forward. It has always looked great.

Namor #1. “Prince of the Blood” Written by Jason Aaron and art by Paul Davidson and Alex Lins. Variant cover art by Alex Maleev (Gold Medalist). I have always enjoyed the character of Namor and this series starts off very strong. We see where Namor is currently at, seemingly depressed and having given up, but we also flashback to a young, arrogant teen Namor. I think this book has a ton of potential and Jason Aaron is always a solid storyteller.

Incredible Hulk #14. “The Hulkscape.” Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson with art and cover art by Nic Klein. The horror elements of the Hulk seem to be back with a vengeance as Bruce Banner tries to navigate the Hulkscape, trying to convince the Hulk to help him save Charlie. The Hulk appears to have some deep seeded trauma involving Banner.

Invincible Iron Man #20. “End of the Line“. Written by Gerry Duggan and art by Andrea Di Vito. Cover art was done by Kael Ngu (Silver Medalist). This issue wraps up the marriage of Tony Stark and Emma Frost, with neither of them seemingly thrilled by putting it to bed. Emma also gave Tony a check for…. a lot of money, seeding his return to a company and … maybe the West Coast Avengers? This might be the end of this series. Not sure on that. It is definitely the end of the creative team. I have really been pleased with where this book has gone lately so I am looking forward to the next chapter of Tony Stark’s life.

Immortal Thor Annual #1. “The Idiot Abroad” Written by Al Ewing and art by David Baldeón. Variant cover art by the iconic Walter Simonson (& Laura Martin) [Bronze Medalist]. The Infinity Watch storyline continues throughout the series of annuals, with Powerstone (both the character and the actual infinity stone) making an arrival. Powerstone dealt with the Champion of the Universe inside, and then changed his name again… to Apex. The Death Stone Saga is here too from creative team of Derek Landy & Sara Pichelli.

Elric the Necromancer #1. Adapted by Julien Blondel & Jean-Luc Cano. Story and dialogue by Julien Blondel. The art and cover art was by Valentin Secher. Michel Moorcock’s iconic albino and his sword that thirsts for souls finds himself in this new mini-series from Titan Comics and it looks epic. I remember Elric from an early Marvel Graphic Novel and I have loved the character since.

Laura Kinney: The Wolverine- Blood Hunt #1. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Robert Gill. Bjorn Barends did the art for the cover. Another of the one-shot issues during the Blood Hunt, Laura is in battle with the vampires to save Gabby. What happens when vampires get ahold of mutant blood? Bad news for sure.

Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys #1. Story and words by Neil Gaiman. Script by Marc Bernardin. Shawn Martinbrough did the art. Cover art was by David Mack. I know there is a controversy with Neil Gaiman right now, but I have always tried to separate a person’s work from who they are. I do hope that Gaiman turns out to not be a worthless loser, because this first issue was extremely compelling and set up a real intriguing arc.

What If…? Aliens #5. Written by Leon Reiser and art by Guiu Vilanova. Phil Noto did the cover art. The finale of the mini-series focusing on Paul Reiser’s character Carter Burke comes to a close here with a solid finale and plenty of aliens running around the base. I would love to see other What Ifs of the properties Marvel owns like this one. What If for Planet of the Apes or Predator or Star Wars… those would all be really cool and would help continue the concept of What If. I do miss the Watcher though…

Fishflies #7. Written, drawn and art for the cover by Jeff Lemire. This story comes to an end as Jeff Lemire brings the story full circle. Fishflies has been another exceptional story from Jeff Lemire, who is one of my favorite writers in comics today.

Scarlet Witch #2. Written by Steve Orlando and drawn by Jacopo Camagni. Russell Dauterman did the cover art. Wanda is dead. Pietro and Darcy are trying to save the town from the Griever. And Wanda is seeing what her future holds. If she returns, will she and Pietro lead to the destruction of all?

Redcoat #4. Creators are Geoff Johns and Bryan Hitch. Gary Frank and Brian Anderson did the variant cover art. We get a glimpse into the past of Einstein as well as get introduced to our main, big bad of the series, The Grand Architect, who is revealed to be a very much living George Washington. Between here and the Killadelphia series, those Founding Fathers are pretty rotten.

Daredevil: Woman Without Fear #1. Written by Erica Schultz and art by Michael Dowling. Cover art was done by Mahmud Asrar & Matthew Wilson. Elektra is back on the streets of Hell’s Kitchen and is facing off with Crossbones. We also get a guest appearance from the new Punisher.

Plastic: Death & Dolls #2. Written by Doug Wagner and art and cover art by Daniel Hillyard. We get a little background on Edwyn’s past with dolls and removing their heads. This, of course, leads to his present day decapitations. I would think that keeping these heads in his refrigerator may not be the best choice.

Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu #0. “Khonshu: Strikefile” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Alessandro Cappuccio. E.M. Gist did the cover art. Moon Knight is alive again. This issue zero is to go over all of the details of the series: characters, location, villains that will be focused on in the upcoming new Moon Knight book.

Phoenix #1. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Alessandro Miracolo. Yasmine Putri did the cover art. Jean Grey is in space, using the Phoenix Force to do good for once. This was a really good start to this series. I especially liked the mental scenes between Jean and Scott, showing that even the distance of space could not come between them.

Spider-Woman #9. “The Price of Liberty“. Written by Steve Foxe and art by Ig Guara. Leinil Francis Yu & Rachelle Rosenberg did the cover art. The new super team The Assembly is not as they look. Liberty from the group was ‘awakened’ by the scream of Angar and she and Jessica Drew head into the holding facility to try and get Angar free. Bad things happen.

Spectacular Spider-Men #5. “Contingencies” Written by Greg Weisman and penciled by Humberto Ramos. Miles and Peter slug it out, thinking that the other one is a robot. They are inside the new combination world designed by Arcade and Mentallo, while Hammerhead watches on.

Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt #3. Written by Justina Ireland and penciled by Marcelo Ferreira. Cover art was done by Marcelo Ferreira, Roberto Poggi & Rachelle Rosenberg. I loved this last issue here as Morbius designed a cure for the vampires that had been turned by Beyond Corp and Spidey helped save them. That is what Spider-Man would be doing… using science to help save people… not just killing vampires that had been changed against their wills.

Other books this week: Man’s Best #5, Ultimate X-Men #5, The Mammoth #2, Blood Hunters #4, and Lawful #2.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #106

July 11, 2024

Welcome to EYG Comic Cavalcade, issue 106.

I would like to welcome anyone reading this column from the Comic World newsletter. I approached the owner of Comic World, Ben, on the Fourth of July and asked him about including this column as well as a couple others that I do, in his weekly newsletter. It needed some more comic references as it had a lot of game parts (it is Comic World and Games) and Ben thought it was a great idea. We started last week, but I had already written those columns so I was not able to welcome anyone new.

With the Comic Cavalcade, I include books that I have purchased recently. It is not necessarily a review per se. It is more about my own thoughts about the books. It is not only books released this week, although it may be that as well.

The look at eBay this week. I picked up some Groo the Wanderer books from his Marvel/Epic run. I loved Groo and I am working on getting that series filled out. It is not easy to find Groo, but eBay has been a great use.

There was another story at eBay. I was looking at finding a copy of Amazing Spider-Man #207 and I was looking through the different possibilities. Most had a range of $8-$20 for the book, before shipping & handling. However, I came across someone who had posted the book and had listed the price as $299.00. HUH? I could not believe it. Did someone actually expect anyone to pay that much for the book? I thought about making a “Best offer” of like $15 dollars to see what the response would be.

Books this week:

Amazing Spider-Man #53. Written by Zeb Wells and art by Todd Nauck & Ed McGuinness. McGuinness & Marcio Menyz did the cover art. The Spider-Man/Green Goblin showdown continues in this book and Osborn’s sins are anxious to get back to Peter Parker. I am not sure how this is going to wrap up, but I am excited to see. Plus, Ms. Marvel using Doc Ock’s arms? Yes, please.

Avengers #16. “Blood Hunt Finale“. Written by Jed MacKay and art by C.F. Villa. Josua Cassara & Guru-eFX did the cover art. This brings Cap and his Avengers crew that he recruited story to a close as Cap vs. Baron Blood ends. I really enjoyed the chemistry with this team, in particular, Quicksilver and his snarkiness. It was cool too to see Hazmat back involved with the Avengers. I loved the reference to Avengers Academy, which I loved as a series back when.

Spider-Boy #9. “The Lost Boy” Written by Dan Slott and art by Nathan Stockman & Paco Medina. Cover art was by Paco Medina & Edgar Delgado. Spider-Boy is involved in a new story, featuring the Spiderverse. With Bailey lost in the Great Web of Life and Destiny, I feel as if we are getting an answer as to why Bailey was forgotten by the entire world.

Ice Cream Man #40. “Decompression in a Wreck [Part Two]” Written by W. Maxwell Prince and art by Martin Morazzo. Morazzo & Chris O’Halloran did the cover art. I did not expect last issue’s story of a car crash to be expanded into a second part, but this book made it so. I’m not sure many books would be able to make this work in one issue, let alone two, but Ice Cream Man did it. Very impressive work.

Union Jack the Ripper #3. “Hunger” Written by Cavan Scott and penciled by Kev Walker. Cover art by Rod Reis. Violent vampire action from Union Jack. These three issues have bene fun as we get a look at a character that we do not get to see very often. This is a decent Blood Hunt crossover series that gives us an idea of what is happening in another corner of the Marvel Universe.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #22. Written by Cody Ziglar and art by Brent Peeples & Daniel Picciotto. I have a variant cover by Ron Lim & Israel Silva showing Deadpool shooting Miles Morales with little suction cups. It is the Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Variant cover. My biggest question I had when I started this issue was… why does Miles’ mask get torn every issue? How many masks must Miles actually have at home? I swear every time I see Miles, he is having his masked shredded. Was this time so they could show Miles’ fangs? I don’t know, but I like Miles and Bloodline together.

X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse #3. Written by Steve Foxe and penciled by Netho Diaz. Dotin Akande did the cover art. I think last issue I commented on the deaths that was happening in this series. Here, of course, we find out that none of those characters actually died. That did feel as if it undercut the story that was being told. Still, I do like the use of Angel here as well as some of the others involved. My guess is that Doug Ramsey will wind up the winner here. He seems the least likely.

The Incredible Hulk: Blood Hunt #1. Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and art by Danny Earles. Nic Klein did the cover art. Bruce Banner arrives in an apparent Western ghost town that was spooky, but not what it seemed. The Hulk vs. scary underground vampires? That sounds like fun.

Transformers #10. Written by Daniel Warren Johnson and art by Jorge Corona. Johnson & Spicer did the cover art. The Image Transformers continues to be an excellent read. We get some action with Beachcomber and a truly shocking moment with the Decepticons and a whale. This has been the best Transformers we have gotten since the 1908s cartoon.

Geiger #4. Created by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. Gary Frank & Brad Anderson did the cover art for this Ghost Machine title. Barney, Geiger’s dog, has been taken and he is going all John Wick on everything in his way. We also get a strong help from Nate for once.

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1. Written by Derek Landy and penciled by Ron Lim. Cover art was done by Salvador Larroca & Edgar Delgado. The Infinity Watch storyline continued in this annual as Overtime, the bearer of the time stone, meets up with Spider-Man in a very Groundhog Day-type story. The back up story with Coulson’s return from the dead with the Death stone is great too in the few pages it gets.

Daredevil #11. “Introductory Rites Part Eleven.” Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by Aaron Kuder. The cover, which had a huge closeup on Bullseye’s face, was by John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna and Richard Isanove. Elektra rescued Matt from his beating at the hands of the possessed Kingpin, and they prepare to face off with Wilson Fisk once again. Daredevil is one of the most consistently good comics from Marvel no matter who is writing it. Saladin Ahmed has taken the reigns of the book from Chip Zdarsky without missing a beat.

X-Men: Psylocke-Blood Hunt #1. Written by Steve Foxe and featuring art by Lynne Yoshii. Stephen Segovia & Alex Guimaraes did the art for the cover. This was one of my favorite of the Blood Hunt one shots so far as I enjoyed the action of the book while getting to know more about this Psylocke as a character. I do not know much about Kwannon as Psylocke but this issue would make me want to learn more.

Get Fury #3. Written by Garth Ennis and penciled by Jacen Burrows. Dave Johnson did the cover art (Silver Medalist). I am very glad that I decided to give this series another look after my first read of issue one did not hook my attention. After re-reading issue one, I was in on the story and this issue continues to showcase both Frank Castle and Nick Fury. Intriguing set up and I enjoy the use of the narration as a framing device.

Domain #1. Written by Chip Zdarsky and art by Rachel Scott. This is an original idea. This gives us the comic that is being created for Zdarsky’s Public Domain book, which returned for the next arc recently. Wildly, this gives us the comic story of the Domain, now a woman. I am curious to see where this goes from here, but Zdarsky is one of my most trusted writers around.

Kid Venom #1. Written and drawn by Taigami. Cover art by Taigami and Richard Isanove (Bronze Medalist). Very manga like, Kid Venom was not a book that caught my interest. I liked the look of everything, but I just did not find myself engaged with the story or the character. The last Kid Venom book was intriguing enough for me to give this a look, but I do not think it is something that I am going to keep buying after this week.

Giant Size Silver Surfer #1.Hierarchy of Power” Written by Mat Groom and art by Tommaso Bianchi. Bryan Hitch & Alex Sinclair did the cover art. This featured Silver Surfer vs. Terrax where we see that the Silver Surfer is more than just a powerhouse. However, the cover is what bothered me. It made ask the question… does the Silver Surfer have toes? It sure looks like it on the cover and that made me question if he has just had bare feet this whole time. This cover needed Rob Liefeld to draw it (if you know, you know).

Ain’t No Grave #3. Written by Skottie Young and drawn and cover art by Jorge Corona. This comic feels about as much of a Skottie Young comic book as you will ever get. It reminds me very much of Middlewest in ways that is unexpected. Centered around a card game, this gives us some extremely dramatic moments for Ryder.

Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance #5. “Chain Gang”. Written by Benjamin Percy and art by Danny Kim. Juan Ferreyra did the cover art. This is setting up a big finale next issue as Johnny Blaze and Zeb are finding their way to the new Ghost Rider, The Hood. Chicago has already seen better days.

Crocodile Black #3. Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and illustrated by Som. Cover art is by Andrea Sorrentino and Dave Stewart. The variant virgin cover art is by Gabriel Hardman (Gold Medal). This is a complex book that is dealing with mental illness, PTSD, and the rejection of family members in a dramatic and violent manner. Crocodile Black is an amazing story that gets better each issue.

Kill All Immortals #1. Script by Zack Kalan and art from Fico Ossio. Oliver Barrett did the cover art. This new Dark Horse book introduces us to the family named Asvald whom seem to have a special power and an understanding among them. This new series kicks off with a very fascinating and unexpected first issue.

Doctor Strange #17. Written by Jed MacKay and art by Pasqual Ferry. Alex Ross did the cover art. Bats, Doctor Strange’s loyal ghost dog, proves himself to be a good boy as he helps Mordo save Doctor Strange from his vampire curse.

The Ultimates #2. Written by Deniz Camp and art by Juan Frigeri. Cover art is by Dike Ruan & Neeraj Menon. The villainous Midas takes on Cap and Iron Lad while wearing Iron Lad’s father’s original armor. Mind games galore as this fight takes place inside the White House. The Ultimates have been interesting so far, and the arrival of America may make things every more interesting.

Other books this week: Wonderland: Return to Madness #1, Werewolf By Night: Blood Hunt #1, Blood Hunters #3, Black Panther: Blood Hunt #3, Life of Wolverine, and Wolverine: Blood Hunt #3.

EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week

Week of July 8

Welcome back to EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week. I want to welcome anyone reading from the Comic World Newsletter. I offered my columns from EYG to Ben, the owner of Comic World to help get some more info into the newsletter about comics. We started last week with the newsletter and we will continue for the foreseeable future.

For anyone who has never seen this column before, I pick my favorite covers of any comic that I purchase this week. I do not include back issues, but if I picked up a late book, it would be eligible. I give out medals for Gold, Silver and Bronze places. It is completely my opinion.

So the favorite covers of the week.

Bronze Medalist

Kid Venom #1

Cover Art by Taigami &Richard Isanove

I don’t know much about this book as I have not read it yet, but the cover is extremely intriguing with the sider in the middle, Kid Venom’s creepy face and the imagery in the web behind him. It is a very busy, but fascinating cover.

Silver Medalist

Get Fury #3

Cover art by Dave Johnson

The image of Castle broken up with several pics from the book is a really cool way to show what is happening int he book. Add to the overall aesthetic the white behind Castle and the red title, well this is a lovely title for a brutal book.

Gold Medalist

Crocodile Black #3

Virgin Variant Cover

Cover Art by Gabriel Hardman

I typically am not a huge fan of the virgin variant covers, but there is no denying that this is a beautiful piece of art, with the focus on these crocodile boots, reflecting in the pool of water. The black and white coloring makes it all the more appealing.

EYG Upcoming Comics Preview Issue One

July 2024

Welcome to Embrace Your Geekness. I post a couple of different articles that deal with comics on my website site weekly, the Favorite Comic Covers of the Week and the EYG Comic Cavalcade, and I thought it was time to expand just a bit.

I have always joked about the fact that I am a trend-setter because of some of the weird books that I get. Ironically, there was once a time when I only bought Marvel comics nearly exclusively. I remember when that changed. I was heading to Comic World one night on NEW COMIC BOOK DAY after school and the owner, Ben, told me that I had to read this comic. He told me it was a horror comic and that it was awesome. He told me I did not have to buy it, but just to sit down and read it. I did.

That book was Something is Killing the Children #1 by James Tynion IV and it revolutionized my comic buying choices. I began to start looking at the independent market for books that might intrigue me as a comic reader. Instead of just focusing on characters that I love, I wanted to see stories that could engage me.

When I was a little kid, what interested me most of all was the artists in each book. I remember loving John Byrne and following him around to the different books he would draw. Now, as an adult, I am much more interested in the writer of the stories. I am more likely to give a book written by James Tynion IV, Jeff Lemire or Chip Zdarsky a chance than any current artist.

Anyway, I was looking through the Previews catalog yesterday and I got an idea for a new post for EYG. I want to pick out a few of the new books from the Preview catalog that I am intrigued by and highlight them here. Perhaps I can find a “Something is Killing the Children” for someone else like Ben did for me.

I plan on doing this column every month when the Previews catalog comes out. I will give a short summary and my own thoughts. I am not going to pick anything that I do not plan on purchasing myself just because someone else may believe it will be ‘hot.’ And there will always be a standing recommendation for “Man-Goat & Bunnyman.” Just sayin’.

Ironically, the first book I want to mention is Something is Killing the Children #0, which is the cover story of Previews. This is apparently the untold story that led to Erica Slaughter to the classic “Archer’s Peak Saga.” Written by James Tynion IV and drawn by Werther Dell’Edera, this goes right along with the current run of Something is Killing the Children which has been telling untold stories from Erica’s past. I hope this gives us more specifics and details than a typic “0” comic would. Either way, this is a must have for all Something-fans. It is from Boom! Studios.

Another big thing I found in the Previews was the next comic written by Jeff Lemire. I mentioned him as a writer that I will give a chance to because of how much I have loved his past work which included Fishflies, Phantom Road, Gideon Falls, Sweet Tooth, Essex County and the Bone Orchard Mythos. The new book is entitled Minor Arcana and it says that it features Theresa, a daughter of a small-town ‘psychic’ fraud. Theresa returned home to take care of her mother who is ill only to find that the town may need more help than she expected. This is a book that I am looking forward to because of Jeff Lemire. It is also from Boom! Studios.

Those two were two of the major ones highlighted in Previews. I have a couple more that are not standouts, but that made me curious about. The first of these is entitled The Tin Can Society from Image Comics. Written by Peter Warren and art from Francesco Mobili and Chris Chuckry, The Tin Can Society tells the story of Johnny Moore, a tech mogul who had a disability. However, Johnny is also a vigilante inside a metal suit. Johnny is found murdered and his suit missing, which leads to his childhood friends come together to try to solve the mystery. I do love murder mysteries and, if done well, this could be a great medium for it to excel. Peter Warren is a screenwriter of a film called Kill Me so I am curious to see what he had to bring to this format.

Another Image book that I am looking at is The Moon is Following Us. This is one of those that I might not have given a chance to except that it is being written by Daniel Warren Johnson who is currently doing tremendous work on The Transformers at Image. This is a story about Sam and Duncan and their six-year old daughter Penny. Penny was taken by an evil force called the Cascade and her parents need to enlist the aid of magic creatures to try and save her. Magic books are hit and miss a lot of times for me, but Daniel Warren Johnson has earned the chance to purchase this book.

And then there is a book from the small company Afterlight Comics called Silence. This is clearly a book that I would never have seen without Previews and my mindset that there are great stories besides just Marvel. This is a three-part story described as psychological horror, which is some of my favorite horror stories. It is about a comic book artist named Stanley Kane who has cardiac arrest in a taxi. When he awakens at the hospital, his agent has arranged some R&R in a small town in Michigan named Silence. There appears to be more in Silence than expected. I love these type of small town stories. I loved the TV shows Twin Peaks and Eerie, Indiana as well as the comic series Displaced, Gideon Falls or Stillwater. This sounds as if it may fall into that category.

These are a few of the books featured in Previews this month that make me intrigued. I will return with this column in August for the next round of new books. Until then, read on.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #105

July 4, 2024

Happy Fourth of July to everyone out there. I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday celebrating the freedoms we have in this wonderful country.

Yesterday was NEW COMIC BOOK DAY and I rarely have read them all to have a Comic Cavalcade on Thursday, but this week was different. Of course, I spent time yesterday at Comic World reading the books that were pulled for me, but there was another reason. Comic World had a problem with the order, which led to a bunch of Marvel books not being delivered this week. I wound up with like eight missing Marvel titles which meant that it was going to be easier to get through what I had and complete the Comic Cavalcade sooner. It also means that next week or the week after is going to have a load of books.

The rush of books from eBay continued this week as I got several Spectacular Spider-Man issues from the early run of the series (back when it was Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man). There were also a group of Tick comics from the original New England Comics that I got including #3. I only have a few more from that first run of Tick to get for my collection to be complete. Next week I may get the Man-Eating Cow series delievered.

Books I got this week:

Tomb of Dracula #14. Not a new book this week. It was a book that I had put in my box last week because it was a decent deal and I was buying back issues. I have slowly been working on Tomb of Dracula, as it has always been a favorite of mine. I enjoy Dracula as a Marvel character and this was in hi sprime.It was written by Marv Wolfman and had art by Gene Colon.

Spider-Man Reign 2 #1. Written and art by Kaare Andrews with the variant cover art by Leinil Francis Nu (Gold Medalist). This sequel series takes a look at an older Spider-Man and his battle with a new version of Kingpin. I did not read the Spider-Man Reign original series so this is all new for me. I have historically not been a fan of the possible future type stories, but this feels more like an Elseworld-type book. It is off to a good start so I will be curious to see where it goes from here.

Feral #3. I already own Feral #3, but I got a good deal on this variant, which had the pen-and-ink version of the cover. It is a lovely looking cover for a series that has been top notch from issue one. I spoke with several others at Comic World yesterday and when this came up, it seemed to have overall raves.

Space Ghost #3. Written by David Pepose and art by Jonathan Lau. Francesco Mattina did the cover art. This is another book that has had universal praise from the people I have spoken to. Bringing Space Ghost to the present and updating him seems to have been hugely successful for Dynamite. This issue features the villain The Widow who is trying her best to manipulate the kids.

Public Domain #6. “Character Notes” Written, drawn and cover art by Chip Zdarsky (Silver Medalist). I was shocked when I saw this comic’s return announced in Previews a few months ago. The five issues of the first run were great but I never expected to see it again. However, here it is, the return of the creators of the super hero Domain. It feels very meta as several of the complaints from fans over “wokeness” are addressed here. Chip Zdarsky is one of the best writers working in comics today.

The Boy Wonder #3. Written, drawn and cover art by Juni Ba (Bronze Medalist). The first, oversized issue of this series was really great. I have lost all interest in the book at this point. It is a five-issue series so there are only two more issues to get, which I will as a completionist, but I am not interested in it any longer.

The Last Mermaid #5. Story, art and cover by Derek Kirk Kim. This continues to be a great series told mainly through its beautiful art and the images that it has. The epic battle with the mermaid and the mutants make this really a standout looking issue.

Bear Pirate Viking Queen #3. “Queen” Written by Sean Lewis and art and cover art by Jonathan Marks Barravecchia. This three issue series comes to a close with this issue. The bear is back and is involved in a very spiritual conclusion. This is a beautifully designed book with some art that made me feel like it was painting. I love these big swings in a comic book medium.

Wolverine: Deep Cut #1. Written by Chris Claremont and art by Edgar Salazar. Phillip Tan & Sebastian Cheng was the cover artists. Another trip back into the history of Wolverine as we feature a deadly struggle between Logan and Sabretooth. You would not have seen something this bloody back in the 1980s for sure.

The Writer #1. Written and created by Josh Gad and the Berkowitz Bros. The art was by Ariel Olivetti and the cover art was by Jeremy Hahn. I was looking forward to this book, but I just did not find it interesting for me. It had a lot of Jewish iconography which I struggled to follow and I just did not enjoy. I am disappointed that I did not like this more.

Local Man #11. Written by Tony Fleecs and Tim Seely. Art was done by Tony Fleecs. The cover art was done by Tim Seely, Tony Fleecs, Tom Raney & Brian Reber. Jack Xaver aka Local Man is on the trail of a case that included one of the most unexpected cameos of all time…. former Vice President Dan Quayle. Dan Quayle???

Deadpool #4. Written by Cody Ziglar and penciled by Rogê Antonio & Eric Gapstur. Taurin Clarke did the cover art. Something major is happening in this book. It looks as if Deadpool has had his healing factor removed. It looks like it could be curtains for the Merc with a Mouth.

Annihilation 2099 #1. This included two stories, both written by Steve Orlando. Story one, “The Last Nova” is drawn by Ibraim Roberson and the second one, “Dracula Risen” was drawn by Dale Eaglesham. Nick Bradshaw & Rachelle Rosenberg did the cover art. Even though I have always liked Nova and Dracula, this book was just not for me. I had a very difficult time getting into it and neither story grabbed my attention. It being 2099 may have affected my opinions on these characters.

Sam and Twitch Case Files #4. Co-plot by Todd McFarlane & Jon Goff. The art was done by Szymon Kudranski. Don Aguillo & Mirko Colak did the art for the cover. The case that Max is working on is quickly escalating and Sam is trying to get in contact with his partner to apologize (or something along those lines). This neo-noir book is excellent every week. My favorite part is that it takes place in the Spawn world with no sign of Spawn at all.

EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week

July 3, 2024

It is another week, and it is time for the Favorite Comic Covers of the Week. Now, there were several Marvel books that were not delivered to Comic World, so the choices this week are fewer. But I was able to pick out three winners.

Bronze Medalist

The Boy Wonder #3

Cover art by Juni Ba

I have been somewhat disappointed by this series so far, but I really liked this cover. In fact, #2 was in consideration for a medal too. This one with the red cover and the cool design of the characters truly stand out.

Silver Medalist

Public Domain #6

Cover art by Chip Zdarsky

The return of Chip Zdarsky’s Public Domain after a long interval is very welcome, and I did not know that Chip Zdarsky, who is one of my favorite writers working, could create a cover this cool.

Gold Medalist

Spider-Man Reign 2 #1

Variant cover C

Cover art by Leinil Francis Yu

What a compelling cover. And I like his hair much better than I did in the book itself. Older Spider-Man pulling his mask off looks cool.