November 9, 2024

Happy weekend all. It is time once again for the EYG Comic Cavalcade #123. I got a bunch of books this week, both at Comic World and off eBay.

Just today, the five issue limited series Spaceknights from Marvel was delivered. This was the series following Rom, Spaceknight when Marvel lost the Rom copyright. I could have swore that I had this series, but when I finished my inventory last summer, I had only issue #4 in CLZ. I still feel as if I had them, but I do not know where they may have gone. Either way, I have the whole series now.

I have also picked up some added Amazing Spider-Man issues from vol. 2 including #5, 30 and 48. I am working on completing that vol 2 run of ASM, whether it be on eBay or from Todd.

Other books this week:

Mark Spears: Monsters #1. “The Return” Written and drawn by Mark Spears. Spears also did this variant cover B that I have. This is a hot new horror book that I picked up off eBay also this week. I love the realistic art mixed with the horror genre. Really solid work here, plus, I swear, the last scene was an homage directly out of Monster Squad.

Trick or Read 2024. Included Fantastic Four #1, Venom: Bedlam #1, Spider-Boy: The Webless Wonder #1, Kylo Ren #1, and Spidey and his Amazing Friends #1. Fun, free comics for that Halloween time of the year. Some were direct reprints and others have some original content.

One for Sorrow #1. Story, art, cover by Jamie McKelvie. A new series from DSTLRY and these seem to always be awesome. This has a very Thunderbolts!-esce twist at the end that really put a spin on everything that we had read before. I am intrigued to see how this will play out as the series moves forward.

X-Force #5. “One Second Later” Written by Geoffrey Thorne and art by Marcus To. Stephen Segovia & Rain Beredo did the cover art. The cover is fairly misleading as it stated that X-Force dies. Perhaps one did. But the team fights and eventually teams up with an Avengers crew from a different world. X-Force has been okay, but it could be needing to pick up the story if it wants me to keep buying it.

Public Domain #10. “Tijuana” Written, drawn and cover by Chip Zdarsky, with additional art by Rachael Scott. This issue focuses on Syd and Candy’s marriage and what happened back in the 1980s. Secrets come out.

Absolute Superman #1. “Down in the Dirt” Written by Jason Aaron and art by Rafa Sandoval. Rafa Sandoval & Ulises Arreola did the cover art (Bronze Medalist). The third of the new Absolute comics from DC featuring Krypton’s favorite son was really pretty good. I liked the way that Superman appeared in the book for the first time and I did not mind the young boy on Krypton instead of the baby. However, I have to say that I am a little iffy about the new version of Lois Lane. We’ll see where it goes. Oh, and Jason Aaron is just really busy!

Saga #70. Written by Brian K. Vaughn and art and cover art by Fiona Staples. Squire is off on his own for some training and it is turning the family upside down. Saga has been just consistently so good over the run that I look forward to it every month. Glad it is back on a regular release schedule.

Venom War: Spider-Man #4. Written by Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing with pencils by Greg Land. Cover art was by Greg Land & Frank D’Armata. The final issue of this crossover series sees Spidey and Jackpot fighting together again, making me really wish Peter and MJ would just get back together like they should be. It would even make me okay with MJ having super powers.

Plastic Man No More #3. Written by Christopher Cantwell and art by Alex Lins. Alex Lins & Marcelo Maiolo did the cover art (Silver Medalist). Boy, Plastic Man is really taking some steps that have to be considered “bad choices.” Even with his desire to save his son from sharing the same fate that Plastic Man is suffering from, some of what he does feels to be inappropriate. Can’t wait to see where this goes.

Avengers #20. “Panther Gang” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Farid Karami. Valerio Schiti and Federico Blee did the art for the cover. A Black panther centric issue as he goes into an alternate dimension to try and free a group of prisoners inside the Meridian Diadem. Not my favorite Avengers book recently.

The Human Fly #1. Written by Christopher Sequeira and art and cover art by Jan Scherpenhuizen assisted by Peter Lawson. The former stunt man based on a toy back in the 1980s (comic then done by Marvel) is now back in a company called IPI Comics. Human Fly was always a guilty pleasure of mine so I was excited about this new mini series.

X-Men #7. “The Iron Night” Written by Jed MacKay and penciled by Netho Diaz. Cover art by Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, & Marte Gracia. A flashback issue with several scenes showing us how Cyclops and Magneto found themselves in the situation that they are currently in. The main X-books continue to be excellent since the end of the Kraokan storyline.

Kahhori: Reshaper of Worlds #1. Three sections of the story, with three separate writers and artists. Cover art was by Afua Richardson (Gold Medalist). This is a Marvel Voices imprint as we are introduced for the first time to Kahhori, the Native American character that appeared in season two of the animated TV show, What If…?

Spider-Man: Black Suit & Blood #4. Another anthology issue featuring several shorts. Cover art was by Mahmud Asrar & Romulo Fajardo. This is the final issue of this anthology series. I have enjoyed most of these shorts even though I prefer a full story in an issue.

Knights vs. Samurai #1-2. Story by David Dastmalchian and art by Fede Mele. Cover art for issue #1: Raymond Gay & Todd McFarlane. Cover art for issue #2: Gianenrico Bonacorsi and Fede Mele. How can you go wrong with Knights and Samurais? You can’t and this series is full of action and some awesome energy.

X-Factor #4. “The Nematode“. Written by Mark Russell and art by Bob Quinn. Greg Land, Jay Leister and Frank D’Armata did the cover art. X-Factor goes on a rescue mission into the center of the earth after a couple of scientists. They find some surprising creatures. The biggest problem… they left Granny Smite behind. NOOOOOOO!!!!

Spider-Society #4. Written by Alex Segura and art by Scott Godlewski. Cover art by Pete Woods. This mini series comes to a close with the heroic spider-people from around the Web putting a stop to evil Aunt May and her forces.

The Ultimates #6. Written by Deniz Camp and art by Juan Frigeri. Dike Ruan & Neeraj Menon did the cover art. The Hulk is here and he is fighting the Ultimates. The end of the book seems to indicate that the Ultimates have paid a huge price (but I’ll believe it when I see it).

Blood Hunters #4. Written by Erica Schultz and penciled by Robert Gill and Chris Campana. Ema Lupacchino & GURU-eFX did the cover art. The Bloodcoven continue their attack on the Blood Hunters as Miles takes off to prevent his own bloodlust from causing a problem. However, things are looking bad for Dagger.

Aliens vs. Avengers #2. Written by Jonathan Hickman and art and cover art by Esad Ribić. The Avengers are in some real trouble and an elder Tony Stark is faced with a decision that could change the tide of the battle… while deserting some friends.

Something is Killing the Children #0. “Before Archer’s Peak.” Written by James Tynion IV and art by Werther Dell’Edera. Cover art by Jenny Frison. The prelude to the entire series shows us what Erica Slaughter was doing just before heading into Archer’s Peak. Erica Slaughter is a fantastic character and can really carry any story on her own.

Other books this week: Negasonic Teenage Warhead #1, Gilt Frame #3, Skin Police #2, Self Help #5, Headless Horseman 2024#1, Anansi Boys #5, and Creature Commandos #2.

November 2, 2024

Yesterday was my 44th year anniversary in collecting comics. I remember clearly the decision I made. I was at a staying over at a friend’s house for Halloween and we spent the night after trick or treating reading comics that he collected. He introduced me to Comic World in Dubuque and that following day I declared that I was going to start collecting comics too. I have been a collector since, though there were some down years around college years when I just did not have any money. I picked up certain books on and off, but not anywhere near where I am now.

I celebrated my anniversary buying some books on eBay.

I need to congratulate the newest inductees into the EYG Hall of Fame: Hero Games NGD Comic Creators Award wing. I take nominations and votes over at Hero Games Forum every year this time looking for the top three vote getters. This year our new HoF inductees are Gerry Conway, Jim Lee, and Marc Silvestri. Congratulations to the new HoF members.

I did not get as many books this week as I normally do. I don’t know if it was the fifth week of a month but there was just not very many issues released. That was okay as it was a very busy week in real life.

Books this week:

Captain America #14. “To Be or Not To Be, Broxton” Written by J. Michael Straczynski and drawn by Carlos Magno. Cover art was done by Taurin Clarke. I liked this new direction for Cap after that last arc with the demons. This is a story of friendship as well as one of adventure as Cap, Spider-Man and Thor get involved together.

Namor #4. “The Feeding of the Beast” Written by Jason Aaron and art by Paul Davidson & Alex Lims. Alessandro Cappuccio did the variant cover B art (Gold Medalist). This continues to be a very fascinating story that splits time between the current world and flashing back to a young, pre-king Namor. I do enjoy the flashback parts of the story, seeing how Namor was then compared to how he is now. Jason Aaron always seems to bring the goods to these books.

Amazing Spider-Man #60. This is an oversized issue featuring the final writing of Zeb Wells on ASM. There are several back up stories as well. The cover I have is a variant cover B featuring Black Cast and Jackpot which was drawn by Adam Hughes. This issue had an interesting interaction between Peter and May, as May seems to finally accept why Peter is the way he is.

Venom War: Spider-Man #3. Written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing with pencils by Greg Land. Cover art was done by Greg Land and Frank D’Armata. I picked this off the stand this week. I had picked up the first two issues and I did not pick up #3 when it was released recently. However, the completionist in me felt the need to keep on getting this crossover series. I am not buying the Venom War so I was a bit confused, but I do love me some Spider-Man.

Uncanny Valley #6. Written by Tony Fleecs and art by Dave Wachter. Cover art was done by Dave Wachter. This remains one of the most bizarrely creative books on the market. The cross between real world and cartoon world is impressive and this issue uses that public domain use of Steamboat Willie very well. More background on where our hero came from and the end is just mind blowing.

Deadpool Team-Up #3. Written and drawn by Rob Liefeld. Cover art was done by Rob Liefeld & Juan Manuel Rodriguez. Wait… did the Hulk just kill Crystar? That would not make me happy as Crystar was one of the selling points of this issue for me so far.

Chasm: Curse of Kaine #3. Written by Steve Foxe and art by Andrea Broccardo. Mark Bagley & Dean White did the cover art. Chasm is being manipulated by Eternal Druig and he takes on his “brother” Kaine.

Devour #1. Creators are Maytal Zchut & Leila Leiz. Cover art is a variant cover B by Leila Leiz. This was a story that happened on Hyde Street, but I did not think that I was going to enjoy this one. Just looking at the cover made me not anxious to read it. It was the last book I read this week, and it was way better than I thought it was going to be. A horror issue dealing with weight loss. Didn’t think this would be good, but it was very good.

The Nice House by the Sea #4. Written by James Tynion IV and art and cover art by Alvaro Martinez Bueno. While I have not been as into this series as I was in the first one, this continues to be interesting. This issue had a lot of discussion among the characters, feeling as if it was setting up what is next for the series.

Predator Versus Black Panther #3. Written by Benjamin Percy and penciled by Chris Allen & Sean Damien Hill. Cover art was done by Ken Lashley & Juan Fernandez. This crossover series has been okay, but I definitely enjoyed the Wolverine vs. Predator more than this one. This could be considered a Wakanda vs. Predator instead.

Redcoat #7. Creators are Geoff Johns & Bryan Hitch. Cover art was by German Peralta (Bronze Medalist). We get a time shift from last issue and we get to see Simon Pure go talk to Albert Einstein. Except now, Einstein is old and on his deathbed. This is a tremendous character story featuring these two who had worked together when Albert was young. Really great.

NYX #4. Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly and art by Enid Balan. Sara Pichelli & Federico Blee did the cover art. Ms. Marvel is in trouble, with the traitorous Sophie and Prodigy steps up, despite not really wanting to, to help out. NYX has given me more story with Ms. Marvel and that will always be appreciated.

Feral #7. “Chapter 7: Sheltered Cats” Written by Tony Fleecs and art by Trish Forstner. Cover variant B art was done by Trish Forstner & Tony Fleecs (Silver Medalist). We get a group of kittens living in a barn trying to avoid the Bad Kind. Feral remains to be anxious and nerve-wracking.

Other books this week: Ultimate X-Men #8, Phases of the Moon Knight #3, and Blood Squad Seven: Strikefile #1.

October 24, 2024

I had a sick day from school today which gave me the opportunity to get my books from NEW COMIC BOOK DAY yesterday, read. It was great just resting and reading during the day. I feel better right now, so I want to get the EYG Comic Cavalcade out.

I have gotten a bunch of back issues this week, specifically some early Amazing Spider-Mans. The earliest was Amazing Spider-Man #47 with Kraven the Hunter. I also picked up Daredevil #52 and Avengers #19. Neither are in fabulous shape, but they are both decent enough considering they are both 1960s books.

Other New Books:

Universal Monsters: Frankenstein #3. “The Heart of a Lover.” Written, drawn and cover art by Michael Walsh. This issue’s focus was around Elizabeth, who was the fiancé of Henry Frankenstein. The Monster was going to be destroyed, but got free and continued his rampage. This has been another top comic from the the Universal Monsters run.

The Tin Can Society #2. Written by Peter Warren and Francesco Mobili. The cover art was done by Francesco Mobili & Chris Chuckry. I really like this series and I have been impressed how well the writers have introduced the characters within. Many comics struggle to introduce a large cast of all new characters, but this book has been great at it so far.

The Masked Macher #2. Written by David A. Goodman and art by Alex Andres. He is the Masked Macher (which means ‘Big Shot’) and he is wrestling a bear. Oh, by the way… that bear can talk. Didn’t see that coming.

Werewolf By Night: Red Band #3. Written by Jason Loo and penciled by Sergio Davila. E.M. Gist did the cover art. Jack Russell has been losing control of his wolf form more recently, leading to a deadly problem for the people in his vicinity. He came up with a great idea… he would go to the Savage Land! Elsa Bloodstone went with him to help him. Of course, Ka-Zar was not as big of a fan of this idea. This has been my favorite issue of this series so far ( I do like me some Ka-Zar), but it continues to not feel as if it were much of a red band.

Zatanna: Bring Down the House #5. Written by Mariko Tamaki and drawn and cover art by Javier Rodriguez. This mini series drew to a close and I finally figured out a time frame for it. From the last page. I enjoyed the Zatanna series, but I was never sure where this was supposed to fall in continuity (if it were at all). It’s my own fault since I am not as familiar with the DC books as I am with Marvel.

Incredible Hulk #18. “City of Idols” Part Two. Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and art by Nic Klein & Danny Earles. Variant cover B by Ryan Brown. The current run of the Incredible Hulk has been fine. This book is the same way. This is way better than when he was a spaceship, but it pales in comparison to the Immortal Hulk, which this feels as if they want to use that as a homage for this run. This is okay. Big issue #800 next month, if I am correct.

X-Factor #3. “Project Paperclip.” Written by Mark Russell and art by Bob Quinn. Greg Land, Jay Leister & Frank D’Armata did the cover art. Standout character in this issue… no doubt is Granny Smite. The immortal granny with a death wish. I loved her.

Scarlet Witch #5. Written by Steve Orlando and art by Lorenzo Tammetta. Russell Dauterman did the cover art. A fun single issue story featuring Wanda teaming up with Daredevil. It is a team-up that we have never seen before. Final page: Agatha!

The Exorcism at 1600 Penn #1. Written by Hannah Rose May and art by Vanesa Del Ray. Variant cover B art done by Jock (Gold Medalist). This is clearly a series that I was drawn to because of the great covers. I love the Jock cover, but the others were very attractive as well and so I picked this up because of them. The story was very fascinating too, although the actual exorcism part feels like a slow burn. I found the presidential stuff and the way that the president’s kids were affected to be very interesting. There is definitely something more coming with it too.

Standstill #3. Written by Lee Loughridge and art and cover art by Andrew Robinson. I am going to say, once again this week, that the layout of the panels in this comic makes this feel different than all the other books out there. There are some fun spy action in the book too, but it looks so original that it makes it a treat to read.

Void Rivals #13. Written by Robert Kirkman and art and cover art by Lorenzo De Felici. Darak goes face to face with his father and things do not go very well. And we get more from Pythona, who has some strange tie to Cobra-La.

X-Men #6. “Bark.” Written by Jed MacKay and penciled by Netho Diaz. Variant cover C art by Derrick Chew. Temper and Magik go to see a young girl whose mother was involved in a protest against the mutants… a young girl who may be a mutant herself.

Avengers #19. “A Desert, and a Temptation.” Written by Jed MacKay and art from Farid Karami. Valerio Schiti & Federico Blee were the cover artists. New Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, Doctor Doom, summons the Avengers for a chat and he asks them… why they are such wussies. Well, that may have been paraphrasing, but it is the gist.

Duck and Cover #2. Written by Scott Snyder and art and cover art by Rafael Albuquerque. This book is wild. It takes place squarely in the Cold War between the US and USSR, but what seems to have happened is just the beginning. This book has a B-movie/sci-fi feel to it, like it is a sci-fi film right out of the 1950. And it is a lot of fun so far.

Spirits of Vengeance #2. Written by Sabir Pirzada and penciled by Chris Campana. Josemaria Casanovas did the cover art. Johnny Blaze is struggling with his Ghost Rider persona, and a trip to Atlantis was never going to help him out.

Skin Police #1. Written by Jordan Thomas and art by Daniel Gete. Gete & Jason Wordie did the cover art. Picked this up because of a recommendation on Comics Heating Up, but it was really cold for me. I did not enjoy this issue much at all as it struggle to keep my attention. Not a huge fan of futuristic sci-fi stories in comic books.

The Bunnyman: Furry Nightmare #1. Written by Nick Bermel & Joe Brusha with art by Unai De Zarate. I do love Floyd, but I am not sure why they decided to leave Man Goat out of this book and replace him with the sidekick, Jack the Jackalope. Still, always fun with Bunnyman!

Spider-Boy #12. “The Devils’ Due” Written by Dan Slott and art by Paco Medina. Cover art was by Paco Medina & Rachelle Rosenberg. The second guest appearance of the week for Daredevil as he comes across Spider-Boy, who apparently he had trained at one point. We also get Bullseye and his own sidekick, Spider-Girl!

Hello Darkness #4. Once again, this is an anthology series with several horror shorts in it. There is a preview of the upcoming series, In Bloom in here. Variant cover art B was by Jenny Frison (Gold Medalist).

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3. “The Way of the Ganges Mud Turtles.” Written by Jason Aaron and art by Cliff Chiang. Cover art by Rafael Albuquerque (Bronze Medalist). We meet up with Leonardo as he is on the Ganges River trying to sync up with the Ganges turtles. Meanwhile, the ninjas are after him. These Jason Aaron TMNT books have been top quality so far and we have three of the solo turtles down with only Donatello to go.

DC Horror Presents #1. Two stories featuring the Deadly Dollhouse and Wonder Woman done by a series of creators including David Dastmalchian, Leah Kilpatrick, The Boulet Brothers, Cat Stagss, Butch Mapa, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Kristian Rossi.

Rook Exodus #6. Created by Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok. The final issue of the first arc of the Rook Exodus storyline comes to a close with issue six. Rook is able to finally master his control over the birds, even without the helmet by understanding what he needed to know. We meet the bird named Poe here too.

Spider-Society #3. Written by Alex Segura and art by Ruairi Coleman. Pete Woods did the cover art. Things continue to look bad for the Spider-Society as they a getting crushed by the Sinister Squadron. However, Madama Web aka May Parker, and Green Goblin, aka Gwen Stacy, have a disagreement over power which may give our spider-heroes a sliver of a chance.

Iron Man #1. “Capital Strike.” Written by Spencer Ackerman and art by Julius Ohta. Cover art by Yasmine Putri. The new Iron Man series kicks off as Tony discovered that Roxxon Oil was in a hostile takeover of Stark Industries. Poor Tony, just got his company back only to lose it again, perhaps. Melinda May appears in this issue.

Dazzler #2. “Live in Studio”. Written b Jason Loo and art by Rafael Loureiro. Terry & Rachel Dotson did the cover art. Dazzler, hot off her controversial concert which included a fight with a super villain, goes to London to appear on a TV talk show that was absolutely NOT Graham Norton. More trouble for Ms. Blaire.

Absolute Wonder Woman #1. “The Last Amazon.” Written by Kelly Thompson and art by Hayden Sherman. Variant cover C art was by Wes Craig. The second of the new DC Absolute books with a very intriguing new back story for Diana. It seemed as if they took some of Diana’s new origins from the classic tales of Hercules, but who’s complaining. Decent book.

Other books this week: Animal Pound: Pen & Ink #1, Alien Romulus #1, AEW Origins (freebee) #1, The Power Fantasy #3, Moon Man #5, and The Moon is Following Us #2.

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.

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.