I watched the next three episodes of the Amazon Prime series, Spider Noir. I loved the first three episodes of this pulpy-fun and we jump right back into the action.
When episode three left off, Silvermane was shooting someone, and it turned out to be just another guy with Winston.
We are introduced to another ex-army platoon guy, who turns out to be a low-level villain from Marvel Comics named Megawatt. The Spider fought him in public and does defeat him.
We are introduced to actress Amy Aquino’s character, Dr. Faber. She was the connection between the four villains, as she treated them all just before their powers manifested. She was a decent person who made some bad choices trying to save her son, who was another person in the experiment.
We get an origin of The Spider, and see how he is connected to Sandman, Tombstone, and Megawatt. It was one of the scarier moments of horror in the show as Ben got bit by a transformed man-spider.
The third episode, “Nightmare on a Gurney,” felt very much like a sci-fi, B-movie, crazy scientist noir. The show has been great, using all noir tropes in the different episodes.
An interesting point mentioned in that third episode included Faber’s son telling Ben Reilly that they were looking for the Spider, but he had changed his name, so they could not find him. Could Ben have been originally Peter Parker and changed his name to Ben Reilly. We know they could not use the name Peter Parker because of rights and technicalities, but this way covers the base.
Ben Reilly has been playing this character as anything but a hero. He is downright selfish, but it feels as if that came form Ruby’s death more than anything else.
Nic Cage is spectacular in his Cage-i-ness. Brendon Gleeson has been doing a great job bringing the sinister to Silvermane.
This has been great. I can’t wait to watch episodes 7 & 8.
Happy Memorial Day to everyone. Take the time to remember those who you have lost and those who have meant something to you.
There was a rush of great new #1 issues this week across all of the companies. They were all cool stories and original concepts.
Comic of the Week
Absolute Green Arrow #1
I admit that this may not have been my favorite new book of the week, but I do think taking into consideration that this is the hottest book out there right now should be part of the decision. And this is the hottest book out this week, by far.
Of course, it is also an excellent new addition to the Absolute line of books in DC Comics. The re-imagining of Green Arrow is creative and original, showing a great deal of imagination. This is currently a six issue mini series, but I could see it expanding, especially if it remains as successful as it has been.
Books this week:
Of The Earth #1. “Road/Kill” Written by Chris Condon & Andrew Ehrich with art and cover art by Charlie Adlard. Tabitha ‘Tabby’ Black returned to her quiet hometown of Solitude, Texas and the comfort of her gramma’s home. There is something going on with the oil fields, something horrifying. This was probably my personal favorite book for the week. It is another winner from Image Comics.
Zorro #1. “Dark Age Part One” Written by Howard Chaykin with art and cover art by Jorge Fornes. I also picked up the variant cover C by Juan Ferreyra. The legendary warrior Zorro returns to the action, taking on the forces of Napoleon. Published by Alien Books, the new Zorro book is off to a great start.
Seven Wives #1. Written by Zoe Tunnell with art by V Gagnon. Cover art was done by Mirka Andolfo. The new IDW Crime mini series arrived this week with a murder mystery of a cult leader, with his seven wives as the main suspects. This was a cool first issue and I am excited to see where it goes.
Odin #1. Written by Marguerite Bennett & James Tynion IV with art by Letizia Cadonici. Cover art was done by Alex Eckman-Lawn. Any time you see the name James Tynion IV attached to a project, the chances of it being awesome would be high. Odin certain falls into that category. It is a creepy horror story with some truly disturbing moments. This one looks great.
Babylon Cove #1. Written by Rafer Roberts and art and cover A art by Joe Eisma. Another horror based book, this time from Mad Cave. Heather has to return to her home town to attend the funeral of her father, but, as so many small towns are, this one is filled with shocks and supernatural problems.
Reborn Ultimate Impact #1. Written by Chris Condon with art by Stefano Caselli. Cover art was done by Ben Harvey. Miles Morales returned from the Ultimates universe with a bunch of “origin boxes.” These are boxes that can give someone super powers. Unfortunately, the Spot has other ideas for these boxes. The boxes are released and the superpowers find a series of new people.
Kill Switch #1. Written by Sophia Banks & Don Handfield with illustrations by Gabo Ibarra. Cover art was done by Erwin Arroza & Gabo Ibarra. It is Los Angeles 2067 and someone is jumping into the bodies of a series of individuals, finding code words, and then jumping out. The problem is the only way to jump out of the body is to do it at the moment of death. This is a great sci-fi start to an intriguing concept that I want to see play out. This is from Thunder Comics which is published by Amp.
Narco #3. Written by Doug Wagner and art by Daniel Hillyard. Cover art was done by Daniel Hillyard & Dave Stewart. I also picked up cover B by Daniel Hillyard & Dave Stewart (Gold Medalist). Marcus continues to be in trouble as he tries to figure out what happened to his girlfriend Jess. He decided to prove that he did not murder her, but things just do not want to go his way. This book has been one of my favorites of the month so far.
Amazing Spider-Man #29. Written by Joe Kelly with art by guest artist Pete Woods. Cover art was done by Mark Bagley & Marte Gracia. Peter is out on an apology tour, as well as trying to find the proof that he actually does have a mystery cousin. Meanwhile a new danger starts to spread across the city. This featured the birth of Spore.
Jessica Jones: Alias-Red Band #3. Written by Sam Humphries with art by Geraldo Borges. Cover art was done by David Mack. Jessica Jones and Typhoid Mary continue their on-again-off-again partnership, but you should probably wonder if teaming up with someone named Typhoid Mary is a wise choice. This was the weakest of this series so far, so I hope the rest picks it back up.
X-Men: United #3. “The Loneliest Ghost” Written by Eve L. Ewing with art by Tiago Palma. Cover art was done by Stefano Caselli & Federico Blee. The X-Men and Captain America are in search for Maurice Canfield, a previous super soldier test subject, but they found someone else instead.
Fantastic Four #11. “Future’s Foundation” Written by Ryan North with pencils by Pat Boutin. Cover art was done by Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado. Ben Grimm has been feeling dumb, especially in comparison to the others in the FF. Ben’s troubles leads to him coming up with the concept for the new Future Foundation. I enjoyed this Thing-centric issue as we get another side besides the “It’s Clobberin’ Time” side to Ben Grimm.
Nectar #3. Written by Jeremy Robinson with art by Annapaola Martello & Francesco Francini. Cover art was done by Chris Shehan. The plague continues to spread and Amos and Lillian are trying to prevent it from spreading off the island. Unfortunately, Pastor Grant has a more religious manner of looking at it… send the infected to God… with a shotgun to the head. Nectar picked up the pace even more this issue.
Nightwing #138. “The Forest” Written by Dan Watters with pencils by Denys Cowan. Cover art was done by Jorge Fornes. Nightwing is having a crisis of faith after the highway crash and the witch of Bludhaven escaped him. With Barbara Gordon in prison, he called Starfire for support.
Venom #238. Written by Al Ewing with art by Carlos Gomez. Cover art was done by Carlos Gomez & Frank Martin. Peter and Mary Jane start to clear the air after Paul’s funeral. It apparently is what MJ needed as she and the symbiote bonded in a new way. Now Venom has long red hair. I am not sure how I feel about this either. I was never a fan of Jackpot, but this is taking it another step. I probably am done picking up Venom, which I only started buying because of the Death Spiral storyline.
Rocketfellers #0. Written by Peter J. Tomasi with art and cover art by Francis Manapul. This #0 issue for Rocketfellers is part of the prelude for the crossover story “The Unbelievables” that is coming up from Ghost Machine. It will be including Halo and Hornsby as well as some new characters. This takes us back when the family first arrived in the past.
Imperial Guardians #3. Written by Dan Abnett with pencils by Marcelo Ferreira. Cover art was done by Sean Izaakse & Nolan Woodard. The Imperial Guardians are trying to “rescue” a scientist/inventor who came up with an algorithm that is in real demand. They have to face off with the Shi’ar for him. I have to say that I really have enjoyed this comic so far. Some of the characters have not been my favorites over the years, but they all seem to work well together.
Neighborhood Watch #2. Written by Sarah Gailey and illustrated and cover art by Haining. Is she Jill? Is she Cassie? Why is this woman living a dual life? This mystery continues to be fire as Bianca and Val try to deduce the reasoning behind their friend’s big lie… and who tried to kill her.
Absolute Flash #15. “…Of Things to Come” Written by Jeff Lemire with art and cover art by Nick Robles. Future Wally comes back in using the speed force (or something like it) to warn himself as a young hero that he must give up the search for his father… or a terrible future is bound to happen. Young Wally does not listen. The Absolute Flash has been a consistently good read, mainly because the writing from Jeff Lemire has been spot on.
Rafael Garcia: Henchman #3. Written by Peter Murrieta & D.E. Schrader with art by Ben Herrera. Cover art was done by Gustaffo Vargas. This has been a hoot of a series so far, and this issue included a centerfold of Rafael in speedos. Rafael’s crew had to run into the super heroes of the time, the Justice Battalion. Very funny.
Other Books this Week: Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon #4, Inglorious X-Force #5, American Caper #7 (Bronze Medalist), Sai Dimensional Rivals #5, Moonstar #3, Deadly Hands of K’un-Lun #4, and Escape from Skull Island #4.
Quick Hits: Everyone Loves a Jewel Thief #2 came out this week with a cover B that earned a silver medal. Rogue #5 came to an end, though I am not sure it was a satisfying ending for a series that I had been enjoying. Wanda, Wiccan and Somnus have to battle Nightmare inside Billy’s head in Sorcerer Supreme #6. How do they beat him? How about waking everybody up at once? Novel idea. I wonder if they are ever changing the name to Sorceress Supreme? The Punisher #4 is showing Frank Castle as a serious psycho in my opinion. He has very little empathy for anyone right now. Course, when going after Jigsaw, maybe empathy gets in the way. G.I. Joe #22 introduces a man named Crystal Ball, who has his own plans for Energon. Dead Teenagers #3 sees some more death and our crew hoping to avoid it this time. Murder Podcast #7 from Ignition Press keeps building the suspense for the finale next issue. Smile: For the Camera #3 was very solid this week as we focus in on these sad models and their horrible boss. Meanwhile, they keep dying from the smile curse. I am really rooting for Ivy. End of Life #4 from the Vertigo imprint has a hero that I think is anything but. Barbarians Behind Bars #4 sees our main barbarian finally able to communicate with his lawyer. And then, Racer X #7 sees Racer X win a race. I know, shocking right?
I think part of the fact that I have been having trouble getting this out on the weekend is that I have so many books each week. I remember the days when I only picked up Marvel Comics. Now, I get all kinds of companies across the comic landscape.
The huge variety is awesome, but does take some time to read. School has just a couple of weeks total before I am out on summer vacation, so the timing of the EYG Comic Cavalcade should switch up soon.
Comic of the Week
The Olympus Saga: Megalith #1
I had several potential choices this week for Comic of the Week, but I decided to go with this new Bad Idea book called The Olympus Saga: Megalith #1.
It was a cool idea. A giant megalith appeared in the middle of the city, causing destruction and danger and a group of first responders and military people try to figure out what is going on before everything is lost. I did not see the ending of this issue coming. I was thinking that this felt very cinematic, which was a way I used to describe Survive (a book last year that I loved). This is a great start and one of my favorite reads of the week.
Books this week:
Amazing Spider-Man/Venom- Death Spiral: Body Count #1. Written by Charles Soule with art by Kev Walker. Cover art was done by CAFU I(Silver Medalist). This is the wrap up of the Death Spiral storyline as we get the origin of Torment. We also get what seemed to be a brand new Torment… eventually, at least.
The Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day #1. “Key to the Kingdom” Written by Dan Slott with art by Marcus Tu. Marcos Martin & Muntsa Vicente did the Tell-Tale Pages art. Cover art was done by Phil Jimenez & Alex Sinclair. I also picked up the variable cover F by Patrick Gleason. We are back in the Brand New Day timeline for a new story with Spidey and Mister Negative.
Black Cat #10. “Big If True” Written by G. Willow WIlson with art by Gleb Melnikov. Cover art was done by Gleb Melnikov & Edgar Delgado. I also picked up the B cover by Peach Momoko (Gold Medalist). Black Cat and Jonah Jameson meet up in the Negative Zone. Yeah, that sounds weird, I know.
Showdown #1. “The Two Killers of Michael Sullivan.” Written by Dave Wielgosz and illustrated by Tadd Galusha. Cover art by Steve Lieber & Dillon Snook. Trish has returned to her hometown with a mission. She blamed Harvey for the death of her brother. So when she returned from college, she had planned on killing him. However, some things are in the way. This was an interesting new book by Ignition Press.
D’Orc #4. “Trust Your Gut” Written, drawn and cover art by Brett Bean. D’Orc continues to be a lot of fun every issue. In this one, we see D’Orc and his friends take on a three headed dog. I find this book to be extremely enjoyable and funny.
Wolverine #20. “The Savage Champions” Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by Martin Coccolo. Cover art was done by Dan Panosian. Wolverine wrapped up the Adamantine storyline with his massive battle with the creature. Wolverine still has not had his claws back yet on his one hand. I wonder if they are leading to this being his new status quo for the current Marvel Universe.
Something is Killing the Children #47. “All Her Monsters” Written by James Tynion IV and illustrated and cover art by Werther Dell’edera. We are back with Jessica and Cecilia Slaughter dealing with the after effects of the Valmont Mountain Lodge incident. It was nice to get this book back after a bit of a lay off.
Innards #1. “Chapter 1: As Below, So Within.” Written by Rob Guillory with art and cover art by Sam Lotfi. This new book by Ignition Press dealing with a future world, post-nuclear attack. They are looking to mine the only energy mineral remaining- Lucifium, and you can only reach it by teleportation. This was a fun new book. Ignition Press has been doing quality work lately too.
Barbara Gordon: Breakout #1. “What Am I Doing Here?” Written by Mariko Tamaki and art by Amancay Nahuelpan. Cover art was done by Karl Kerschl. I have been looking forward to this new book as Barbara Gordon is on her was to the Big House. This was a great first issue and I considered it as the Comic of the Week.
Geiger #23. Creators are Geoff Johns & Gary Frank. This was a heartbreaker of an issue as Geiger finds his family for just a few moments, only to get pulled away from them. It was so sad. It looks as if Geiger is finding himself in World War II with Junkyard Joe.
Conan & Dragonero #1. “The Shadow of the Dragon” Written by Stefano Vietti & Luca Enoch with art by Lorenzo Nuti. Cover art was done by Roberto De La Torre. This new series is fabulous. It looked like Conan is back to his time traveling ways. I really liked this book and seeing these two together.
Uncanny X-Men #28. “And It Shall Come to Pass.” Written by Gail Simone with art by Luciano Vecchio. Cover art was done by Luciano Vecchio & Edgar Delgado. The weird storyline continues with the fake New Mutants (?) and the reveal of the identity of Inmate X. I have loved Gail Simone’s run on this book and every month I look forward to it.
Captain America #11. “Doom’s Shadow” Part 6. Written by Chip Zdarsky with art by Valero Schiti. Cover art was done by Valerio Schiti & Romulo Fajardo Jr. I also picked up the Variant Cover C by Chip Zdarsky (Bronze Medalist). Red Hulk faces off with Cap on Latverian grounds and it sure does not seem to go well for Cap.
The Fury of Firestorm #2. “The Fury Part 2” Written by Jeff Lemire and art was done by Rafael De Latorre. Rafael De Latorre & Marcelo Maiolo did the cover art. I really enjoyed this issue too. The background story between Ronnie and Stein was welcomed and the mystery of what is happening with Firestorm is fascinating. This has been one of my favorite new DC books so far.
Hidden Springs #1. Written by Rob Williams and art and cover art by Nil Vendrell. A group of old people on a trip to the woods come across a crash from space… and a gigantic monster. This was a Monsterverse story crossed with LOST and the X-Files. I enjoyed this new Dark Horse book.
The Mortal Thor #10. “Come at the King” Written by Al Ewing with art by Pasqual Ferry. Cover art was done by Alex Ross. Sigurd Jarlson has had enough and he walked straight into the Roxxon building looking to put this to an end. He had to face the Grey Gargoyle… and took care of him. He walked right into the Minotaur. Great issue.
Transformers #32. Written by Robert Kirkman and art by Jason Howard. Cover art was done by David Nakayama. We go this issue back to Cybertron to watch the battle being led by our new Elita Prime. There are a bunch of new Decepticons involved in the war on Cybertron.
Absolute Batman #20. “The Straw Man” Written by Scott Snyder with art by Nick Dragotta. Cover art was done by Nick Dragotta and Frank Martin. I was able to pick up Variant Cover C by Fabrizio De Tommaso. We get the appearance by the Robins as they are preparing to take on Batman.
Department of Truth #37. Written by James Tynion IV with art by Ben Templesmith. Cover art was done by Martin Simmonds. Dinosaurs? True Believer Charity and her church believe that humans and dinosaurs existed at the same time, and they believe that dinosaurs may still exist. And look to Hunky to answer that question.
Iron Man #5. “Advanced Iron Man” Written by Joshua Williamson and art by Carmen Carnero with Jan Bazaldua. Cover art was done by Ryan Stegman & Frank Martin. Adam Ware killed the Fixer. Ware is with the AIM organization, right at the head.
Voyeur #5. Written by Leah Williams and illustrated by David Baldeón. Cover art was done by Victor Ibanez. Voyeur #5 was a lot of fun and a lot of nudity. I thought this was considerably better than it should have been. This was the final issue of this short series and I am sad to see it go. This issue also has one of the more fun covers of the week.
Bleeding Hearts #4. Written by Deniz Camp and art and cover art by Stipan Morian. Have you ever seen a zombie having a tea party? Not only at a tea party, but having a damn great time? It sure seems that Poke is struggling with his own mind and his own perspective on who or what he is. But hey, who wouldn’t love Rabbit? One of the more original zombie stories you are going to read.
Tyler Rake: An Extraction Story #2. Written by Ande Parks and illustrated by Ronan Cliquet. Cover art was done by Declan Shalvey. The second issue of this Tyler Rake series from Ignition Press is great. This has been a surprisingly solid book so far as we get some action from Tyler Rake.
Other Books This Week: The Thing on the Doorstep #4, Hello Darkness #21, Blood & Thunder #13, Absolute Martian Manhunter #11, Ghost Pepper #11, Archie’s Movie Mania #1, Arcadia #5, Malevolent #4, and Terrorbytes #6.
Quick Hits: Tigress Island #3 came out this week. Things are getting real serious for these girls. The relationship between Illyana and Colossus are on display through this new Magik and Colossus #4, the penultimate issue of this series. W0rldtr33 #20 continues to be one of the more in-depth stories dealing with technology you will find. Doctor Strange is able to return to earth from Asgard in Doctor Strange #6, but it is temporary. I love how Clea and Wanda, who are guest starring, do not remember Thor, but Stephen does since he was in Asgard at the time. Clea believes Stephen is lying about the “Norse myth” stuff. LOL. Space Ghost #11 is the penultimate issue of season two. Things have been tough for Space Ghost. War Wolf #5 sees Thomas Bruin in some real trouble, but, again, we are not sure what the truth about what happened actually was. Ultimate Endgame #4 saw the death of another of our favorites as Captain Britain chopped off the head of Captain America. Dead By Daylight #2 could use some more hillbilly. Archie x The Army of Darkness #4 sees Archie and Ash trying to stop the Deadites. Joe Palmer’s Destination Kill #1 was a new #1 from Oni Press. I was not a big fan of this issue. Finally, Just Brutal #3 sees a real tragic event at the end of the book. It took a turn and the book may have taken a different path.
SOLRAD: The Online Literary Magazine for Comics, edited by Daniel Elkin, http://www.solrad.co (Fieldmouse Press)
Best Comics-Related Book
Crumb: A Cartoonist’s Life, by Dan Nadel (Scribner)
Facing Feelings: Inside the World of Raina Telgemeier, by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic)
How Comics Are Made, by Glenn Fleishman (Andrews McMeel)
Making Nonfiction Comics: A Guide to Graphic Narrative, by Eleri Harris and Shay Mirk (Abrams ComicArts)
Only What’s Necessary: Charles M. Schultz and the Art of Peanuts, by Chip Kidd (Abrams ComicArts)
Ooops…I Just Catharted!: Fifty Years of Cathartic Comics, by Rupert Kinnard, edited by William O. Tyler (Stacked Deck Press)
Best Publication Design
The Art of Manga, designed by Tessa Lee (Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco/VIZ Media)
The Essential Peanuts, designed by Shawn Dahl with Chip Kidd (Abrams ComicArts)
Fruits Basket: The Complete Box Set (Collector’s Edition #13), designed by Wendy Chan (Yen Press)
Red Light Properties: Unfinished Business, designed by Dan Goldman (Kinjin Storylab)
The Marvel Art of Michael Allred Slipcase Edition, designed by Kurtis Findlay (Clover Press)
Weird Science Vol. 1 XXL, designed by Anna-Tina Kessler (TASCHEN)
Best Webcomic
The Accidental Undergrad by Christian Giroux (Fieldmouse Press)
Keeping Time by Kody Okamoto (keepingtimecomic.com)
The Legend of Parvaterra by Raúl Arnáiz (WEBTOON)
Sable: A Ghost Story, by Ethan M. Aldridge (sablecomic.com)
Superfish, by Peglo (WEBTOON)
Terran Omega: The Ghosts of War, by PJ Holden (pauljholden.com)
Tiger, Tiger by Petra Erika Nordlund (tigertigercomic.com)
Best Digital Comic
DeadAss, by hakei (VIZ Media)
In the Real Dark Night, by Jimmy Gownley (G-Ville Comics)
The Lycan, by Mike Carey, Thomas Jane, David James Kelly, and Diego Yapur (Comixology Originals)
Overwatch 2: Against the Tide, by Brandon Chen and Velinxi (Blizzard Entertainment)
Practical Defense Against Piracy, by Tony Cliff (delilahdirk.com)
The World of Lublu, by Charbak Dipta (The Charbax Store)
Best Writer
Deniz Camp, Absolute Martian Manhunter (DC); Assorted Crisis Events (Image); The Ultimates (Marvel)
Scott Snyder, Absolute Batman, Batman/Deadpool (DC); By a Thread: Book 2 (Comixology Originals), You Won’t Feel a Thing (DSTLRY)
Mariko Tamaki, This Place Kills Me (Abrams Fanfare)
Kelly Thompson, Absolute Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey (DC); Jeff the Land Shark (Marvel)
James Tynion IV, Something Is Killing the Children, Wynd: The Power of the Blood (BOOM! Studios); Let This One Be a Devil, Red Book (Dark Horse); The City Beneath Her Feet (DSTLRY); The Department of Truth, Exquisite Corpses, W0RLDTR33 (Image); Universal Monsters: The Invisible Man (Image Skybound)
Stephanie Williams, Street Sharks (IDW); Roots of Madness (Ignition Press); Temporal (Mad Cave)
Best Writer/Artist
Juni Ba, The Boy Wonder (DC); The Fable of Erkling Woods (Goats Flying Press); Monkey Meat Summer Batch (Image)
Jamal Campbell, Zatanna (DC)
Jesse Lonergan, Drome (23rd St. Books)
Chang Sheng, Yan, vols. 1–2 (Titan Manga)
Linnea Sterte, A Garden of Spheres (Peow2)
Kazumi Yamashita, Land, vol. 1 (Yen Press)
Best Penciller/Inker
Elsa Charetier, The City Beneath Her Feet (DSTLRY)
Sean Phillips, Giant Size Criminal #1, The Knives: A Criminal Book (Image)
Javier Rodriguez, Absolute Martian Manhunter (DC)
Chris Samnee, Batman and Robin: Year One (DC)
Hayden Sherman, Absolute Wonder Woman, Batman: Dark Patterns (DC)
Eric Zawadzki, Assorted Crisis Events (Image)
Best Painter/Multimedia Artist
Teddy Kristiansen, Black Hammer: Spiral City (Dark Horse)
Cathy Malkasian, Shadows of the Sea (Fantagraphics)
Qu, Slices of Life: A Comic Montage (Bulgilhan Press)
Martin Simmonds, The Department of Truth (Image)
Mika Song, Night Chef: An Epic Tale of Friendship with a Side of Deliciousness! (Random House Graphic)
Linnea Sterte, A Garden of Spheres (Peow)
Best Cover Artist
Juni Ba, The Boy Wonder (DC); The Fable of Erkling Woods (Goats Flying Press); TMNT Nightwatcher, TMNT Godzilla (IDW); Monkey Meat Summer Batch (Image)
Nick Dragotta, Absolute Batman, Absolute Batman 2025 Annual, Batman #1, Batman/Deadpool (DC)
Francesco Francavilla, Cyberpunk 2077, Star Wars: Tales from the Nightlands (Dark Horse); Absolute Batman, Absolute Martian Manhunter, Batman: Full Moon, Nightwing variants (DC); Green Hornet/Miss Fury (Dynamite); Star Trek: The Last Starship, Twilight Zone (IDW); Dick Tracy (Mad Cave)
Mateus Manhanini, Absolute Superman, Absolute Wonder Woman, Mr. Terrific: Year One variants (DC); Doctor Strange, Ironheart: Bad Chemistry, Miles Morales: Spider-Man, Phases of the Moon Knight, Star Wars: The High Republic, Storm, The Ultimates (Marvel)
Javier Rodriguez, Absolute Martian Manhunter, Batman & Robin: Year One #7, The New Gods #8 (DC)
Hayden Sherman, Absolute Wonder Woman, Batman: Dark Patterns #3-12 (DC)
Best Coloring
Jordie Bellaire, Absolute Wonder Woman, The Nice House by the Sea (DC); The Exorcism at 1600 Penn (IDW); Assorted Crisis Events, The Department of Truth, Exquisite Corpses, W0RLDTR33 (Image); GI Joe (Image/Skybound); EC Catacomb of Torment, EC Epitaphs from the Abyss (Oni Press)
Ninakupenda Gaillard, Chickenpox (Henry Holt Books for Young Readers)
Jesse Lonergan, Drome (23rd St. Books)
Matheus Lopes, Batman and Robin Year One (DC); The Seasons (Image)
Javier Rodriguez, Absolute Martian Manhunter (DC)
José Villarrubia, This Ink Runs Cold (Alan Spiegel Fine Arts); Ghostbox (Comixology Originals); Dracula Book 2: The Brides, The Witcher: The Bear and the Butterfly (Dark Horse); It Rhymes with Takei (Top Shelf)
Best Lettering
Janice Chiang, Acro and the Cat, All Upon a Time, Beyond the Aural Vault, Republica, Solarblader (Sandstorm); John Carpenter’s Blood of the Taken: Next of Kin, Pause, Tales of Science Fiction (Storm King)
Clayton Cowles, Absolute Batman, Batman, Batman & Robin: Year One, Birds of Prey, Black Canary: Best of the Best, Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman, (DC); Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell #1-3 (Marvel)
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, Ill Vacation, Stillman (Comixology Originals); Absolute Martian Manhunter, Challengers of the Unknown, DC K.O., The Flash, Green Arrow, Poison Ivy (DC); Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, Starship Godzilla, (IDW); Author Immortal (Image); Our-Soot-Stained Heart (Mad Cave)
Nate Piekos, American Caper #1, Archie Vs. Minor Threats, Black Hammer: Spiral City, The Brood, Minor Threats: The Last Devil Left Alive, Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons, The Umbrella Academy Plan B, Welcome to Twilight (Dark Horse); I Hate Fairyland (Image)
Ben Wickey, More Weight: A Salem Story (Top Shelf)
The Eisner Awards Hall of Fame judges have chosen 16 nominees from whom voters will select 4 to be inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer. These 4 will be joining the 19 individuals that the judges have already chosen for the Hall of Fame. The 16 nominees are Kate Carew, Colleen Doran, George Evans, Crockett Johnson, Peter Kuper, George McManus, Kevin Nowlan, Mimi Pond, Posy Simmonds, Jeff Smith, Paul Smith, Leonard Starr, Akira Toriyama, Mark Waid, Chris Ware, and S. Clay Wilson.
I always feel bad when the EYG Comic Cavalcade slides to Monday, but there were just too many books for me to get to on a packed full weekend. Even after spending time reading on Wednesday at Comic World, I could not find the time to get them all done until now. I even had to read some tonight before doing this write-up in order to get to this post.
While I was at Comic World, I was sitting reading at their table. By the end of the afternoon, I went to get up and my knee was terrible. I could barely walk, and I thought, am I so old that I can hurt myself… sitting?
Comic of the Week
If Destruction Be Our Lot #1
It came down to this book and Dog Tag #1 this week for Comic of the Week, but I wound up choosing the new Image Comic book, If Destruction Be Our Lot #1.
It is a great premise with the humans being gone and robots being the main characters. The Abraham Lincoln robot makes for an awesome protagonist and the idea that there are surviving humans somewhere works as a conflict. This has promise to be an exceptional series.
Plus, the C cover was the Bronze Medalist this week.
Books this week:
Dog Tag #1. Written by Mark Russell with pencils by PJ Holden. Cover art was done by PJ Holden & JP Jordan. The book that was neck and neck with If Destruction Be Our Lot #1 as Comic of the Week, Dog Tag #1 was an exceptional read. A World War II story about a journalist and his time during the war. Tom Fuller is the main protagonist and I was surprised how much I was engaged with him. This was a strong first issue and I am excited about where this goes from here. Another winner for Mad Cave.
Wade Wilson: Deadpool#2. “Bad Calls” Written by Benjamin Percy with art by Geoff Shaw. Cover art was done by Geoff Shaw & Alex Sinclair. Deadpool spends a bunch of this issue inside the trunk of Hammerhead’s car. He gets out to try and save Blind Al from Hammerhead. Oh, and, by the way, Blind Al is the one who was sending the mysterious future notes to Wade. This new Deadpool book has been cooking with a down and depressed Wade and a lot of mysteries.
She-Spawn #1. “American Dream.” Written by Gail Simone and art and cover art by Ig Guara. I picked this up only as a collector. I had zero interest in this book and it had a destiny for the number one box. Then I noticed that it was written by Gail Simone (GAIL!!!!) and I thought, okay, I should at least read it before I subject it to the number one box, but even with the wonderful Gail Simone at the helm, I was not going to like a Spawn book (yes, I know I like Sam and Twitch, but this is different). So I read it and…. I can’t believe it… I thought it was great. So great that I want to buy #2 when it comes out. AAAARARGGGGHHH! What were the odds? I don’t like Spawn. But I was thoroughly entertained with this book. Dang it.
Excommunicated: The Unholy Body Bag #I. Written by Jeremy Robinson and art by Tiago Palma. Cover art by Tyler Crook. This is very strange. I picked up this black bag because it looked cool and I found out that this was cover G. Then I learned that cover A is coming out next week. What? The variants come out the week before cover A? Does that happen… ever? I liked the book so I will probably grab cover A if available, but it was confusing for awhile.
Absolute Superman #19. “Red Steel in the House of Chaos.” Written by Jason Aaron with art by Rafa Sandoval. Cover art was done by Rafa Sandoval & Ulises Arreola. Superman faces off with Absolute Shazam (or is he absolute Black Adam… or some kind of amalgam of them?) and we meet absolute Steel. Has Absolute Superman met his match? Quick cameo of Absolute Batman too.
Royals #2. Written by Derek Kirk Kim with art and cover art by Jacob Perez. The trouble is brewing for Paul and Castor as their telepathic poker scam is coming out in the open and there is a player angry about being ripped off. I really liked the time we spent with the brothers, particularly Castor this issue. The character beats worked to provide us more details on the two brothers. I am enjoying this new book very much.
All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #20. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Paolo Villanelli. Cover art was done by David Marquez & Federico Blee. I have to say, I was, at first, unhappy with this issue. Gwen becoming a Green Goblin felt so already done that I was not pleased. Then, the story took a twist and won me back with one unexpected turn. I think this is the final issue for this book, which is unfortunate. I feel as if it was just starting to hit its stride.
Ben 10 #1. “Man of Action.” Written by Joe Casey with art by Robert Carey. Variant cover C art was done by Dustin Nguyen (Silver Medalist). Another book that I did not plan on reading or continuing to collect. Ben 10 was never my jam of a cartoon. But, as the collector, I wanted to grab a copy and I picked out a beautiful, simple cover by Dustin Nguyen for my collection. The cover was so nice that I decided to give it a chance. The fact that Dynamite has had some other characters that I never watched or didn’t care about (Captain Planet, Silverhawks, Darkwing Duck, Ursula, etc.) in series that I really enjoyed added to the curiosity with this book. Of course, I read it and I really liked it too. Come on Dynamite… you pick characters that I do not like, you are not then supposed to make a comic that I want to buy.
Marc Spector: Moon Knight #4. “Break and Enter” Part One. Written by Jed MacKay and art by Devmalya Pramanik. Cover art was done by Paulo Siqueira & Rachelle Rosenberg. Moon Knight’s crew at the Midnight Mission went in search of Marc, and wound up disappearing themselves. Marc is back and looking for his friends… inside a building covered by a blackness… that is spreading. What is this new, weird supernatural building and what has it done with Tigra, 8-Ball, Hunter’s Moon and the others.
X-Men #29. “Danger Room, Pt. 4“. Written by Jed MacKay with pencils by Netho Diaz. Cover art was done by Netho Diaz, Sean Parsons, & Fer Sifuentes-Sujo. While Quentin is out of control in search of whom shot Glob Herman, something bizarre is going on with the X-Men. Are they zombies? Cyclops has certainly looked better. Wild stuff in the world of the mutants.
Amazing Spider-Man #28. Written by Joe Kelly with guest pencilers Cory Smith with Francesco Manna. Cover art was done by Marcio Menyz & Erick Arciniega. This was a fun Spider-Man issue as Peter receives a major mission from Doctor Strange, but has to take care of a bunch of tangents on the way to the location. There are several fun cameos and moments for Peter in this issue. It may be a filler issue, but it is how a filler issue should be.
Daredevil #2. Written by Stephanie Phillips with art and cover art by Lee Garbett. Matt Murdock has all kinds of problems surrounding him. He has to take on the Owl to find out what is happening, and, even though he does not get much from him, it adds to his mind. Matt’s class of students gave him grief too as he is trying to be a professor. And HEY! it’s Spider-Man!
Fall of the House of Slaughter #1. Written by Tate Brombal and illustrated by Adriano Turtulici. The Dragon is dying. The other houses are preparing to nominate someone to take his place once he passes on. But who really wants the position? The Dragon has his own idea… Erica Slaughter. But… everyone believes that she is dead.
Cyclops #4. “Seeing Red” Part 4. Written by Alex Paknadel and art by Rogê Antonio. This Cyclops, blind and in the woods story has been fantastic so far. I have really enjoyed seeing Scott being challenged by losing his visor and glasses, and having to be chased by the Reavers. I am excited to see where this is going.
Muppets Noir #3. Written, Drawn & cover art by Roger Langridge. This has been a really fun Dynamite book. I do love the Muppets and seeing Kermit as a noir detective (and not a very good one) with Miss Piggy running around, making him look bad, is awesome. It looks like next issue is the final one for this series, but I want more Muppets! Let’s make it happen, Dynamite (or Disney… whoever!).
Fantastic Four #10. Written by Ryan North with pencils by Humberto Ramos. Cover art was done by Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado. The Invincible Woman has arrived in the 616-universe as the Fantastic Four and a bunch of their allies have to bring her down. Oh, and Sue has to save Galactus.
Captain Marvel: Dark Past #2. Written by Paul Jenkins and art and cover art by Lucas Werneck. I like this mystery involving Carol and her past memories. I think this is a great use of history, as Carol has to come to see Rogue about something she did not remember.
Batman #9. “Operation Peregrine.” Written by Matt Fraction and art by Ryan Sook. Cover art was done by Jorge Jimenez & Tomeu Morey. I also picked up the incentive variant cover by David Aja. The Gotham City Police have new orders. The orders are to bring down the Batman family. And in this issue, one of them does fall.
Astonishing Miles Morales: Spider-Man- The Art of Thwip #1. Written by Cody Ziglar and art by Alessandro Miracolo & Ig Guara. Cover art was done by Taurin Clarke. I have missed Miles’s book, but, to be truthful, I did not love this book. There was just too many other stories and characters than just Miles. I am sure it will get better as it moves along, but this was not the best return I hav eread.
Tales of the Green Lantern Corps: Guy Gardner #1. “Light Club.” Written by Gerry Duggan and art by Matteo Lolli, Laura Braga, and Vasco Georgiev. Cover art was done by Edwin Galmon. This was one I read tonight before starting the Comic Cavalcade, and I really liked this one. Guy Gardner is such a fun character and I enjoyed the pairing of Guy and John Stewart. I might even buy a buddy book with the two of them in it.
Other Books This Week: Godzilla #10, Sleepy Hollow: The Witches of the Western Woods #1, Red Sonja: She-Devil With a Sword #1, Star Wars: Rogue One-Cassian Andor #1, The Autumn Kingdom #4, Absolute Green lantern #14, Godzilla Infinity Roar #4, Jubilee: Deadly Reunion #1, Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant #4, and the Center Holds #3.
Quick Hits: The first quick hit this week is Speed Racer #8 from Mad Cave. This has been a consistently engaging book. I had no idea that Marvel was putting out a book called Civil War: Unmasked #1. I think they were trying to make Tony Stark’s out-of-character behavior during Civil War make more sense as he takes a trip to Bishop’s future. Not sure it worked like they wanted, but there was a foil cover that I picked up that was the Gold Medalist of the week. Comics! The Magazine #3 dropped this week with a cool interview with Kevin Eastman. Ghost Machine: The Official Guidebook #2 came out this week and it goes right up to the letter Z with Zigzag. It says that there will be a six-issue series, but where do they go after Z? The 20th Century Studios book Alien: King Killer #2 has been extremely interesting. I like them using the Xenomorphs in this way. Joe Benitez’s Lady Mechanika: The Mechanical Menagerie #1 came out this week too. It definitely is a sequel series that I might have to look for to understand what is going on here. A new story with Hank Howard from Bad Idea came out this week with Hank Howard Pizza Detective: A Slice of Life #1. Energon Universe 2026 Special #1 sets up the future of the Energon Universe, including the new series MASK. Then, finally, Estuary: A Ghost Story #2 was the last book I read tonight before this post.
Happy belated May Day and early May the Fourth Be With You. I am also a fan of Return of the Fifth coming this Tuesday.
This is a big weekend in the world of comic books as Saturday was the annual Free Comic Book Day! We of the comic book collecting world know that the first Saturday in May is Free Comic Book Day when companies send out previews and reprints to comic shops nationwide to try and bring more eyes on their product and more collectors into the hobby. There are reportedly some trademark challenges from Diamond (BOOOOOOOO… HISSSSSSSS!) and some of the free books started calling it “Comics Giveaway Day” which just doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. Still I was excited to participate once again.
I started my trek at In This Issue in Bettendorf, where I grabbed several of the free comic books available. From there, I drove to Dubuque to Comic World to continue the day’s activities. I know that “Free Comic Book Day” is not free for the comic shops as they have to pay a certain amount for the books that they order, so, because of that, I always want to buy some product at the shop as a thank you for hosting Free Comic Book Day. This year was no exception.
At In This Issue, I picked up several back issues of I Hate Fairyland, which I will be talking about later in the Cavalcade. I found several Amazing Spider-Man Volume 2 books that I was missing. My ASM Vol 2 collection is down to missing just a handful of books now. There was also a fun hologram cover of Marvel Two-In-One #1. Then, I picked up nearly the entire Marvel Team-Up Vol. 3 series.
At Comic World, I picked up a couple of Invincible Universe issues off the spinning rack that the store had on display as well as a couple of Fantastic Four back issues that I had been missing. Then, I grabbed a whole run of Jonah Hex books that were in the back issue section. I have always liked the character of Jonah Hex even if I had not bought anything of his prior to this.
Of course, I got several Free Comic Book Day books at both places. These include: Dungeon Crawler Carl #0, Fort Psycho/Mind MGMT, Conan: Tides of the Tyrant King, Locke & Key #1, DC/Sonic the Hedgehog #1, Nickelodeon: Avatar Legends, Energon Universe 2026 Special #1, Garfield, Minotaur: The Cold Open #0, Planet of the Apes/Alien/Predator #1, Keenspot Spotlight 2026, Avengers Armageddon #1, Something is Killing the Children: Road to Slaughter, Amazing Spider-Man #1, The Greatest American Hero #1, Masters of the Universe, The Future is *****, Megaman Showdown Special #1, Power Rangers #0, Aquamanatee #1, Next Level #1, Spidey and his Amazing Friends #1, Journey to the West, LEGO Batman #1, The Nice House on the Lake Book One, and Ultimate Oz Universe.
Comic Book of the Week
Free Comic Book Day: The Greatest American Hero #1
It is fun that this week’s Comic Book of the Week is one of the Free Comic Book Day books. The Amp book introduces us to a returning Ralph Hinkley as an older character, back to see his son. He still has the outfit and he is trying to convince his son that he is not a crazy man. I am very excited about the new series from Amp and I can’t wait until July for the new book to start.
Books this Week:
Planet She-Hulk #6. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art was done by Emilio Laiso & Aaron Kuder. Variant cover C was done by Marco Ferrari. This fun issue brings Jen back to earth and we learn what happened at the end of Sakaar. She-Hulk feels more like She-Hulk in this issue than she has in the entire series. She was breaking the fourth wall on the first page and I found the humor to be a welcomed change from the previous issues. It is sad that this is now ending.
I Hate Fairyland #50. Written by Skottie Young and drawn by Derek Laufman with Skottie Young. Variant cover C art is done by Skottie Young (Bronze medalist). I have never picked up an issue of this before, but Todd pointed it out on the stands to me and I picked it up. It was way more entertaining than I thought it would be. Skottie Young was in the book. It was funny. It made me want to go back and buy more of the books.
Uncanny X-Men #27. “Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed?” Written by Gail Simone and art by Luciano Vecchio. Cover art was done by Luciano Vecchio & Edgar Delgado. I also picked up variant cover D by Juan Ferreyra (Silver Medalist). Uncanny X-Men has become very strange. I am not quite sure what is going on with them, time wise. Is this an alternate future and why are the kids dressed as New Mutants? What is up with the New Mutants. This is bizarre, but still awesome fun.
Batman/Wonder Woman: Truth #1. Written by Jeph Loeb and art by Jim Cheung. Cover art was done by Jim Cheung and Jay David Ramos. This was a fun team-up one-shot book that put Batman and Wonder Woman together just after Batman broke up with Catwoman. I have not been a fan of when comics place a story in past continuity, but this one just worked really well because they kept it at a small story and dealt more with the character of Batman.
Feral #22. Written by Tony Fleecs and art by Trish Forstner & Tone Rodriguez. Tony Fleecs & Trish Forstner did both the A cover and the B (Weapons horror homage) cover (Gold Medalist). This is a flip book. If you read it one way, you get the story via the cats perspective and if you start from the back, you get the Stray Dogs’ perspective. It is a clever way to tell this story that is a crossover between Feral and Stray Dogs. Even the horror homage cover has one side with the cats and the other side with the dogs. So cool.
Wrestle Heist #5. Written, drawn and cover art by Kyle Starks. The pro wrestling heist book ends with this issue. Where it seemed that Buddy Hanson was five steps ahead of Sterling Steele and his crew, in truth, Steele was prepared for the rotund promoter. Wrestle Heist has a very satisfying conclusion which included a new World Champion! Fightsgiving is here and it has surprises for everyone!
Dust to Dust #8. Written by JG Jones & Phil Bram and art and cover art by JG Jones. I have enjoyed this series tremendously, but it has been delayed quite a while. I don’t know much about the delay, but it sounded like there was something health related involved in it. If that is the case, I hope everyone is fine and that they overcame whatever challenge it may have been. The series, which was originally scheduled as a 10-issue limited series, is now done at eight. It is a beautiful book with some fun action inside. I hope everyone is okay.
The Exorcism at Buckingham Palace #2. Written by Hannah Rose May with art and cover art by Kelsey Ramsay. Cover art was done by This is officially a continuation of the story about the Exorcism at 1600 Avenue from a few years ago as the president of the United States weighed in to the British about when their child was possessed. They said that what was happening to the Prince was similar to what they faced. It looks like we are getting a third issue exorcism once again. This has been a consistently engaging tale of the British Royal Family and their family curse.
The Punisher #3. “The Dead Place” Written by Benjamin Percy with art by Jose Luis Soares. Cover art was done by David Marquez & GURU-eFX. The Punisher is in some real trouble and that last panel of this book is shocking. I am not sure exactly what we saw, but if it was what it looked like, we have some challenging storytelling coming up.
Ripcord #3. Written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Aneke. Cover art was done by Jorge Fornes. Some brutal kills in the Outback of Australia as Dillion continues her search for her missing sister. There is a biker gang in pursuit of her and there are some kind of weird creatures that they discover underground that make you think of zombies.
White Sky #3. Written by William Harms with art and cover art by JP Mavinga. Violet is in search for her dad through a land with ghosts everywhere. Who could help Violet in her mission? How about a medium named Walter? Our pair is now together and they are following whatever they can to try and find Violet’s father.
Baby Garfield #2. “Baby Garfield’s First Monday” and “Baby Garfield’s First Lasagna.” First story written by Stephanie Cooke with art by Whitney Gardner, and second story written and drawn by Brittney Williams. Cover art was done by Agnes Garbowska with colors by Sil Brys. Why does Garfield hate Mondays, and what does it have to do with the arrival of Odie? How much does Garfield love lasagna? We get a chance to see in this issue of the fun Boom! Studios mini series.
Captain America #10. “Doom’s Shadow” Part 5. Written by Chip Zdarsky with art by Valerio Schiti. Cover art was done by Valerio Schiti and Romulo Fajardo Jr. The struggle for Latveria post Doom is hot as the sides all have their moments. Oh and it sure looks like the Red Hulk is on his way.
Red Roots #1. Written, art and cover art by Lorenzo De Felici. I’m not sure how I would react if I kept finding severed heads in my apartment. I mean… one is too many, right? But what happens when it is multiple severed heads? How would you react? What if there are no explanations for the heads being there? Would you be suspected? Oh, and what about a professional killer from a different world? All kinds of strange things going down in this extremely visual book.
Viking Moon #3. Written by Joe Pruett and art and cover art by Marcelo Frusin. The Vikings return to the shores in search of a place to call home and they have to take up arms against a pack of werewolves. The action in this issue was top notch and this was my favorite issue of this book so far. Admittedly, it has been awhile since I saw the last book, but I did enjoy this issue tremendously.
Doom 2099: Rage of Doom #1. Written by Frank Tieri and art by Von Randal. Cover art was done by Junggeun Yoon. I have not been a fan of 2099 books lately. However, this one shot about Doom was very engaging. It connected the story to the One World Under Doom storyline from the last year and it left the book in a huge cliffhanger.
Sam and Twitch Case Files #23. Written by Thomas Healy with additional script by Todd McFarlane with art by Von Randal. Cover art was done by Von Randal with Steve Canon. Sam and Twitch are trying to pursue the case that they have been working on only to find that they are being blocked at all sides by their captain, Captain Malloque. What about this case must stay hidden? Sam and Twitch are trying to figure it out.
Savage Tales #1. Four stories in this compilation by Dynamite including stories about Red Sonja, Vampirella, Allan Quatermain and Gulliver of Mars. I very much enjoyed the Allan Quatermain (although I am used to spelling it Quartermain) and the Gulliver story. I was not as fond of the Red Sonja and Vampirella story. I did like the look of this book as it felt more prestigious than other times these characters may have appeared.
Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon #3. Written by Chip Zdarsky and art by Luca Maresca. Cover art was done by Leinil Francis Yu & Romulo Fajardo Jr. Teri, the long time mutant hunter, who has been trying to do better recently, ends up dead this issue and Wolverine and Dave Colton, a one-time Captain America, have to face off with Nuke.
Wonder Man #2. “The Two” Written by Gerry Duggan and art by Stefano Raffaele. Flashback artists for the book were Mark Buckingham & Aurie Jimenez. Cover art was done by Philip Tan & Rain Beredo. Simon teams up with his West Coast Avenger teammate Killerwatt to do some taping for a role. Meanwhile, the Spot is causing all kinds of trouble.
A Quiet Place: Storm Warning #2. Written by Phil Hester and pencils by Ryan Kelly. Cover art was done by Ryan Kelly. The people of Pearl Island are in major trouble from the creatures. Of course, they may have as much trouble from each other as they have from the monsters.
From Parts Unknown #1. Written by Adriano Ariganello and art and cover art by Daniel Caval. More wrestling storytelling as we have two Luchador brothers, Bruno and Pietro, traveling the wrestling circuit trying to make a living. They come across a wrestler that they are supposed to put over in the next match, but it turned out that the wrestler is more than what he seemed. I liked this book quite a bit. I like how the wrestling world has been making its way into the comics more lately.
Final Boss: Masked Vigilante #1. Written by Tyler Kirkham with art by Leon Govender. Cover art by Tyler Kirkham. A spin off from the recent hit series, Final Boss, this featured the Masked Vigilante… a combination of Punisher and Black Noir on a motorcycle. Lots of blood and violence. Not much more than that. It was fun for what it was.
Other books this week: Exploit #2, 51 #2, Wiccan: Witches’ Road #5, Deadly Hands of K’un-Lun #3, Harley Quinn x Elvira #6, Rocketeer #1, Honor and Curse: Eternal #2, Zatanna #1, and Justice League: Intergalactic Special #1.
Quick Hits: We are still not so sure about poor Ted in Is Ted Ok? #3. Someone new showed up to cause more issues for Ted. Generation X-23 #3 has Wolverine and Gabby met their match with the X-Numbers? Michael Moorcock’s Elric is back in a new book from Titan, Elric: The Sleeping Sorceress #1. I have always been a fan of Elric the albino. Warbird #0 is the next book from Bad Idea and this is a small preview of the book coming out in a few months. Also from Bad Idea is a one shot called Tony Millionaire’s Oddball’s Odyssey #1. It has a quote from Elvis Costello on the cover, which is a weird thing. I did not know Elvis Costello was into comics. This is more like comic strips though and it compiles several strips of this monkey character. It is a bizarre book for sure. I’m glad Elvis liked it though. Swamp Thing #88 confused me. Apparently, this was a book that was never completed when the original run of Swamp Thing was canceled and this is the story that finally was told. It is all like it would have been in 1989, including advertisements. I’ve never been as into Swamp Thing as I have been with Man-Thing, which I know is probably a hot take. The Ultimates #23 was strange as well. It was told in a different manner than any books I have seen in a long time. I know I am always cheering on the creators who do something original, but this one was a big swing that I just did not get into. And Ursula #3 continues to be entertaining to my surprise. Dynamite does some really solid work with these Disney books.
It feels like we just started the EYG Comic Cavalcade a little bit ago, but we have reached the golden #200. I never thought about reaching this milestone when I switched it over from EYG Comic Catch-Up back in March 2023. It has been three + years with this column. It has changed a bit, but it has remained a consistent post every week, if not more.
I am planning on continuing the EYG Comic Cavalcade with #201 next week. There is no need to restart the numbering. I love the high number count on the Comic Cavalcade, which is the highest number we have at EYG.
One of the new additions to the EYG Comic Cavalcade column is the Comic of the Week. It was birthed out of the EYG Favorite Comic Cover of the Week and I have enjoyed picking a book each week and highlighting it. This week’s Comic of the Week is a big one…
Comic of the Week
Spider-Man/ Superman #1
The big book of the week was Marvel’s turn for the team-up between Spider-Man and Superman. There are multiple covers for this book, of course.
Most of the stories of this book were very meh. However, the first story, written by best selling author Brad Meltzer, was absolutely tremendous. I loved this first story with the interactions between Superman and Spider-Man. I feel as if Brad Meltzer had a fabulous grasp on the character of Peter Parker.
I loved the situation they put Peter and Clark in and the resolution of the story was such an excellent tale.
The foil variant was the Gold Medalist of the week too.
Books This Week:
Amazing Spider-Man #27. Written by Joe Kelly with pencils by Ed McGuinness & Carlos Gomez with Francesco Manna. Cover art was done by Ed McGuinness & Marte Gracia. The Death Spiral storyline ends with this issue, having Mary Jane/Venom come to a dramatic and fatal confrontation with Torment. Spider-Carnage did not last very long as Peter Parker kicked the symbiotes butt with his empathy and caring.
Infernal Hulk #6. “Siege.” Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson with art by Adam Gorham. Cover art was done by Nic Klein. Iron Man heads in to take on the Infernal Hulk and practically tear the literal planet apart. The brutality of the Hulk right now is off the chart and it is amazing to what extent Tony Stark will go to kill the Hulk.
Captain America #9. “Doom’s Shadow” Part 4. Written by Chip Zdarsky and art by Ton Lima. Cover art was done by Valerio Schiti & Romulo Fajardo Jr. Captain America and Alina Von Doom are trying to get everyone to work together to face off against Salvation.
The Sentry #2. Written by Paul Jenkins and art by Christian Rosado. Cover art was done by Alex Maleev. This was a tough issue for Bob, as he is struggling through the events of the issue. Bob is trying to make sure that the Void does not come out… unless he is already out. The final page of the issue was a little scary.
Rafael Garcia: Henchman #2. Written by Peter Murrieta & D.E. Schrader with art by Ben Herrera. Cover art was done by Flops. The second issue of the new Titan book is very entertaining. Rafe is now in charge of his group and things do not go as well as he hoped it would. I found this to be a funny book and an easy book to read.
Justice League Unlimited #18. “Aftermath: Part Two” Written Mark Waid with art by Clayton Henry. Cover art was done by Dan Mora. The Justice League has initiated its new Super-Villain Amnesty Pilot Program and Lex Luthor seems to be taking full advantage of it. Can he be trusted? Come on… we know that he has a plan besides being a new heroic JLU member.
The Flash #32. “The Speed was Power, and the Speed was Joy- Part II” Written by Ryan North and illustrated by Gavin Guidry. Cover art was done by Gavin Guidry & Giovanni Niro. The second issue of Ryan North’s new run on The Flash was awesome. Flash has been one of my favorite DC characters even though I was not buying his book. North brought me in and he immediately has me invested in the new storyline.
Rogue #4. Written by Erica Schultz and art by Jim Towe. Cover art was done by David Nakayama. Rogue has been having trouble with her powers and her memories. Some of those are coming back and it has to do with a time when she absorbed Sabretooth’s personality and she did some horrible things. This has been a really strong solo series for Rogue.
Cyclops #3. “Seeing Red” Part 3. Written by Alex Paknadel with art by Rogê Antonio. Cover art was done by Federico Vicentini & Marcio Menyz. Speaking of a really strong solo series, Cyclops has been sensational so far. The whole thing with his lack of ruby quartz glasses has been cool and it has brought some real drama in the storyline. This might be my favorite new X-Men solo books since the end of Age of Revelation.
Marc Spector: Moon Knight #3. “Agency” Part Three. Written by Jed MacKay with art by Devmalya Pramanik. Moon Knight vs. Bushman. Marc Spector goes through his own problems as the battle with Bushman rages on. Meanwhile, Zodiac is in the background egging Marc on in the battle.
Absolute Flash #14. “Mirror Master Part Two” Written by Jeff Lemire and art was done by Haining. Cover art was done by Nick Robles. Wally is trying to get back to his father, but he and Linda are trapped inside the mirrors. Mirror Master has a deal to make for Wally.
Wolverine #19. “Wisdom and War” Written by Saladin Ahmed with art by Martin Coccolo. Cover art was done by Dan Panosian. Logan and Hercules is brought out of their savage battle by Athena. She is looking to recruit Logan to battle the Adamantine. Then, Wolvie’s claws wound up being broken, which felt both amazing and something I have seen before. I am curious about what is going to happen next.
Spider-Versity #1. “Most School Spirit.” Written by Jordan Morris & Joe Kelly with art by Pere Perez. Norman Osborn has recruited a group of Spiders and is wanting to train them. Norman is not a known teacher and his method of training may not have been the way you should go about it. Miles, Spider-Woman, Spider-Girl, Spider-Boy, Ghost-Spider, Silk and Arana are the Spiders.
Detective Comics #1108. “Flight Part Two.” Written by Tom Taylor and art was done by Pete Woods & Bruno Ardias. Cover art was done by Mikel Janin. Batman, Black Canary and Green Arrow are out to try and move about Gotham City inside the Hatchbat. Yes, I said Hatchbat. Thanks Barbara!
Corpse Knight #1. Written by Michael Chavez and art by Matthew Roberts. Cover art was done by Matthew Roberts & Rico Renzi. I also picked up the die cut variant cover by Matthew Roberts (Silver Medalist). This was one of my favorite books of the week. It was probably the runner-up to Spider-Man/Superman #1. This was a kick ass book and I really enjoyed this story with the little girl whose father came back from the dead… kind of.
Exquisite Corpses #12. Written by James Tynion IV and art by Michael Walsh. Cover art was done by Michael Walsh. I picked up the D cover Anandre. It was the penultimate issue of this awesome series. And we have a winner… or do we? There is some last minute manipulation going on in the tournament and setting up the finale next issue. Exquisite Corpses has been a fabulous series.
Phantom of the Opera #3. Written by Tyler Boss and art and cover art by Martin Simmonds. The latest Universal Monsters book at Image has been quite solid so far. The Phantom makes his move for Christine while Raolo and the police are trying to catch him.
The Phantom vs. the Sky Band #1. Written by Ray Fawkes and art and cover art by Federico Sabbatini. The Phantom returned again with some brutal damage in the jungle. This one shot was a fun issue that looks like there will be some other Phantom one shots coming soon.
The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery #3. “Broken Glass & Spilled Beer.” Written by Chris Condon and art and cover by Jacob Phillips. The mystery of this noir Vertigo series continues to deepen as Ezra gets his butt kicked. This might have been my favorite issue of this series so far.
Strength and Ash #1. Written by Evan K. Pozios and pencils by Stefano Cardoselli. Cover art was done by Stefano Cardoselli & Francesca Perillo. This is a new Keenspot comic about a super hero who is killed and his child is perhaps a legacy. This was a different looking book that I really enjoyed. It was a number one that I just pulled off the stand. I found the Stefano Cardoselli art very unlike anything else on the market right now.
OtherBooks this week: American Caper #6, The Beauty #5, Spirit of the Shadows #4, Void Rivals #29, No Place #5, and Florida Hippopotamus Cocaine Massacre #3.
Quick Hits: Absolute Wonder Woman #19 came out this week with a new power for Diana, and it is not a good one. Hello Body Horror #1 is a one shot that had a black bag variant cover as well. Black bags are the new in thing, and I picked up one, giving me the C cover. The bronze medalist winner this week is a new book from Image called In Your Skin #1. There is a new Mad Cave sci-fi book called Planet Atmos: Exordium #1. It is an interesting new book. Mad Cave is always providing excellence, it seems. I was given a group of Superman books for Superman Day this past weekend. These include Supergirl: The World, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #1, Supergirl #1, Superman: Time and Time Again, Supergirl’s Zoo-Per Heroes and Superman #1. I grabbed a big book called Head Lopper #1, but I did not get into that very much. Wanda is taking on Dormammu in the Sorcerer Supreme #5. The second issue of The Other/Half #2 from Ignition Press came out this week too and it was a lot of fun. Barbarian Behind Bars #3 saw some more behind bars action as our barbarian loses his special jewel.
It is Wrestlemania Sunday, but I am going to try to squeeze out the 199th episode of EYG Comic Cavalcade. I am excited to celebrate the big 200th post next week.
This week, we had a bunch of solid comics. Some fun new books. The continuation of storylines such as Death Spiral. Boobies! And an unexpected comic book of the week.
Comic of the Week
Nightwing #137
While Nightwing is a consistently solid book, the Comic of the Week has been those new, hot books. However, this week, the Comic of the Week was picked because of the story. This whole story going into the history of Bludhaven, plays right into the doubts and concerns of Dick Grayson and the relationship between Nightwing and Batman. Oh, yeah, Batman is here too.
One of the best Nightwing books since Tom Taylor departed.
Books this Week:
The Hab #1. Written by Joshua Dysart with art by David Lapham, Jacob Phillips & Bill Sienkiewicz. Cover art was done by Charlie Adlard (Gold Medalist). The newest Bad Idea book is one of the hottest books of the week. This idea definitely feels like an awesome amalgam of Hulu TV’s show Paradise or Apple TV’s sci-fi show, Silo. Bad Idea has been very strong over the last year and this one seems to be every bit as exciting.
Mad Magazine #49. Mad Magazine came out this week, one issue away from 50. This issue featured Mad’s typical comedic bits surrounding and involving Late Night TV shows. They did satire about the Late Show, The Daily Show, The Tonight Show, Letterman, as well as some classic older late night programs. There is also a wonderfully funny and poignant letter to Stephen Colbert for his final episode of The late Show with Stephen Colbert, which will be ending in May.
The Monster and the Wolf #3. “Chapter 3: Silence” Written, drawn, and cover art (Cover A: Silver Medalist). I picked up all four main covers of this issue. And this issue was completely done in visual storytelling No words. The fight between Wolfman and Frankenstein’s Monster is done beautifully by Mark Spears.
Jessica Jones: Alias-Red Band #2. Written by Sam Humphries with art done by Geraldo Borges. The cover art was done by David Mack. Who knew that the team-up between Jessica Jones and Typhoid Mary would make the most engaging pair in comics. Admittedly it did not look like the partnership was going to last into the third issue. I love Jessica Jones and it seems like I love books lead by this character.
Venom #257. Written by Charles Soule and art by Javier Pina. Cover art was done by Giuseppe Camuncoli & Frank Martin. The whole Torment and Carnage team-up only lasted an issue. Now, the Carnage symbiote has found a new host… Peter Parker? Are you kidding me? Talk about the Odd Couple. The penultimate issue of the Death Spiral story is another banger.
X-Men United #2. “Open Wounds” Written by Eve L. Ewing and art was done by Tiago Palma. Cover art was done by Stefano Caselli & Federico Blee. The new combination of the X-Men teams at a new Graymatter Lane school. Cyclops is not a fan of the idea. And this issue sees Captain America checking things out too.
Ice Cream Man #45. “The Window in the Back of the Apartment” Written by W. Maxwell Prince with art by Martin Morazzo. Cover art was done by Martin Morazzo & Chris O’Halloran. One of my favorite books of the week. It has been awhile since we had an Ice Cream Man issue and this one is a homage to Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window. However, it is anything but a copy. There are surprises in this story that I did not expect,and that is awesome.
Nectar #2. Written by Jeremy Robinson with art by Annapaola Martello. Cover art was done by Chris Shehan. The dangerous butterflies return to continue to spread whatever virus that is across Misery Island. And what does the dancing mean? This story has been awesome so far from Vault Comics.
Redcoat #17. Written by Geoff Johns and art by Bryan Hitch. Cover art was done by Bryan Hitch and Brad Anderson. Simon Pure and Albert Einstein are unsure about how much they can trust Benedict Arnold. Benedict sounds like a changed man, but can they really believe him? Redcoat continues to be one of the best Ghost Machine books every month.
Ordained: The Machine #0. Written by Robert Venditti and art by Trevor Hairsine. Cover art by Jorge Fornes. The Machine is here. We get some background on the big character from The Ordained book. This #0 has been pushed back and it was one of those kind of books that you wondered if they’d ever be released. It has been and it is a great addition to the Ordained story.
Narco #2. Written by Doug Wagner and art by Daniel Hillyard. Cover art was done by Daniel Hillyard & Dave Stewart (Bronze Medalist). Marcus wakes up from one of his attacks with the girl he had feeling for, laying dead beside him. Narco has been one of the best new books from Image and the story is progressing nicely.
Dead Teenagers #2. Written by Jude Ellison S. Doyle and art done by Caitlin Yarsky. Cover art was done by Naomi Franq. The new Oni Press series has been a fascinating story so far. I have to honest that I am not sure what is actually happening in this series. These characters seem to die and then resurrect. I am curious where it is taking us. I will be there with it.
Planet of the Apes Versus Fantastic Four #3. Written by Josh Trujillo and art by Andrea Di Vito. Cover art was done by Greg Land & Rachelle Rosenberg. Who knew that a combination of the Planet of the Apes and the Fantastic Four would work this well? The Red Ghost and Doctor Doom join in with the troubles.
G.I. Joe #21. Written by Joshua Williamson with art and cover art by Tom Reilly. We get the debut of one of the most iconic G.I. Joe characters of all time. Joining in with Scarlett making her return, we get Storm Shadow. This is also a nearly zero word issue as the imagery of the story takes its place.
Imperial Guardians #2. Written by Dan Abnett with pencils by Marcelo Ferreira. Cover art was done by Sean Izaakse & Nolan Woodard. I have been surprised how much I enjoy this new book. I am not a fan of the Cosmic Ghost Rider, but this is a character that I have been enjoying. I also love the way we have been seeing Darkhawk and Captain Marvel.
Absolute Batman #19. “The Straw Man” Written by Scott Snyder with art by Nick Dragotta. Cover art was done by Nick Dragotta and Frank Martin. A shocking issue of Absolute Batman with the arrival of the Robins and the death of James Gordon.
Fireborn #1. Written by Curt Pires and art and cover art by Patrick Mulholland. One of the surprise books of the week. I did not think that I was going to be into the Fireborn series, and yet I thought it was pretty good. A combo of fantasy and superheroes, Fireborn has given us a big start.
Other Books this week: Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant #3, Magik & Colossus #3, Inglorious X-Force #4, Ghost Pepper #10, Lost Fantasy #9, Mumm-Ra: The Ever-Living #1, End of Life #3, Where Does the Rainbow End?#4, Malevolent #3, and The Thing on the Doorstep #3.
Quick Hits: This week there was a showdown between the Titans and the New Titans in New Titans #34. I picked up a black bag NSFW, 2nd printing Suspiria Vilchez polybag variant. It has boobies on the cover. *SMILE*. Speaking of smile, Smile: For the Camera #2 came out this week too. It has done a nice job of catching the creepiness factor of the movie. More vampires showing up in Bloodland #3. I think I enjoyed Tigris Island #2 more than I did the first issue. Racer X #6 had some dark times inside. The final issue of Ultimate Wolverine #16 saw Logan get his revenge on Illyana. The Netflix animated series around Kong continues with Escape from Skull Island #3. Speaking of Skull Island, Godzilla is still running around the Marvel Universe in Godzilla Infinity Roar #3. I saw Snow Monkey #3 on the stands, and I had missed #2. So I went to the back issues at In This Issue and I found Snow Monkey #2.
It is EYG Comic Cavalcade time. It was another fun week. I got some deliveries from Midtown Comics this week too, including some Daredevil #1 blind bags and some variants.
Comic of the Week
The Fury of Firestorm #1
Firestorm has always been one of my favorite DC characters. I enjoyed the original appearances of Robbie Raymond and Martin Stein, combined into one being with amazing nuclear powers. It was exciting to hear that Firestorm would be back in his own limited series. Then, the first issue was excellent with a mystery behind what is going on. Good stuff.
Books this week:
Amazing Spider-Man #26. Written by Joe Kelly with pencils by Francesco Manna & Ed McGuinness. Cover art was done by Ryan Stegman & Marte Gracia. I also picked up the Spider-Gwen variant cover by David Nakayama. Death Spiral Part 7 is picking up the pace as the Carnage/Torment team-up gets even more dangerous as they are looking for a spiral for Spider-Man.
Neighborhood Watch #1. Written by Sarah Gailey and illustrated and cover art by Haining (Silver Medalist). The new book from Boom! Studios deals with a couple of neighboring towns: Willow Haven and Open Arms, and its neighborhood watch program. There is a murder that happens too.
Uncanny X-Men #26. “Careful What You Wish For” Written by Gail Simone and art by Luciano Vecchio. Cover art was done by David Marquez and Matthew Wilson. The kids of the Haven House are being grabbed and their histories are suddenly strange. And … the New Mutants? What is going on here?
Uncanny X-Men Annual #1. “The Rise of the Regulators” Written by Gail Simone & Mikki Kendall with art by Francesco Mortarino with Elisabetta D’Amico. Cover art was done by David Marquez & Matthew Wilson. This story was a great bit with the history of Haven House. That history is known as the Regulators and they have a tie to pre-adamantium Wolverine. I love when the history of the area folds in with the mutants.
D’Orc #3. “A Bit Light-Headed” Written, drawn and cover art by Brett Bean. D’Orc faced off with a powerful dwarf with a big hammer. I have truly been enjoying D’Orc. The humor of the book has been great and D’Orc and his crew are deep in action too. Solid book.
The Muppets Noir #2. Written, drawn and cover art by Roger Langridge. Kermit is still unconscious and the rest of the Muppets were trying to decide what to do about the show. Meanwhile, the detective Flip Minnow continued to try and solve the case and find Meringue Crustworth. The noir world introduced us to Staler & Waldorf, the Swedish Chef and Sweetums. Lots of Muppet fun.
Mad About DC #1. Cover art was done by Dan Panosian. Guest editor (for some reason) was Chip Zdarsky. I also picked up the foil issue of the same cover by Dan Panosian. This was one of the books I got from Midtown this week. It was a fun version of Mad Magazine focusing on the characters of DC. Tons of satire and humor.
Baby Garfield #1. “Baby Garfield’s First Word” and “Baby Garfield’s First Hairball” Written by Grace Ellis (1st) and Michael Northrop (2nd). Art for the two stories was done by Asia Simone and Rob Justus respectfully. This was another book I got from Midtown Comics. I was not the biggest fan of Garfield, but I considered picking this up on the shelf. When I did not get it, I got it and I liked it. I was surprised how much I actually enjoyed this book.
Everyone Loves a Jewel Thief #1. Written by Aaron Campbell & Tim Seeley with art and cover art by Aaron Campbell. Ignition Press has been huge lately and has been very successful. We have yet another new book, this one compiling a team of jewel thieves.
Dead by Deadlight #1. Written by Derek Fridolfs with art by Dean Kotz. Cover art was done by Alex Horley. This is a survival online game adapted into the comic form by Titan Comics. There are some horrific imagery in this book and it is a compelling start. The killer is definitely scary and I am curious to see how this book progresses.
Cosplayer Versus Shark #1. “Part One: Up from the Depths” and “Part Two: It’s Always Shark Week!” Written by Pat Jankiewicz and art by Shaun “Spanky” Piela. This was a wild and weird one shot that reminded me of a Carl Hiaasen novel, specifically Chomp. This is a lot of fun.
Pretty Hate Machine #1. Written by Ryan O’Han & Tim Seeley with art by Paolo Armitano. Cover art was done by Todor Hristov. Another new horror series, this one based upon the album from Nine Inch Nails. The new Mad Cave book was very entertaining and the imagery was scary.
Something is Killing the Children #46. “All Her Monsters” Part Six. Written by James Tynion IV and illustrated and cover art by Werther Dell’Edera. It has been quite a few months since we have seen Erica Slaughter. It was great having Something is Killing the Children back on the reading list. It is consistently one of the best books available when it is out.
Estuary: A Ghost Story #1. Written by David “DB” Andy & Tim Daniel and illustrated and cover art by Maan House. What is better than combining nun horror with aquatic horror… plus a ghost story of a shipwrecked Spanish vessel. Another new series from Oni Press.
Iron Man #4. “No Escape” Written by Joshua Williamson and art by Carmen Carnero with Jan Bazaldua. Cover art was done by Ryan Stegman & Frank Martin. Tony Stark is trying to find the winner of the Tony Stark Award, who has been grabbed by AIM. However, he comes across a different type of AIM… Advanced Iron Man.
Wolverine #18. “Clash of the Champions” Written by Saladin Ahmed with art by Martin Coccolo. Cover art was done by Dan Panosian (Bronze Medalist) . Wolverine faces off against Hercules, controlled by The Adamantine. It is a bloody and brutal war between Logan and Herc. And this will bring Athena to the fray.
Black Cat #9. “String Theory” Written by G. Willow Wilson with art by Gleb Melnikov and Andres Genolet. Cover art was done by Adam Hughes. MJ and Black Cat find themselves in alternate universe, living all new lives. Are their new lives what they really want?
Mortal Thor #9. “Inevitable” Written by Al Ewing with art by Pasqual Ferry. Cover art was done by Alex Ross (Gold Medalist). Sigurd has to deal with a threat from the Radioactive Man. Sigurd is preparing to launch an assault on Roxxon.
Space Ghost #10. Written by David Pepose and art by Jonathan Lau. Cover art was done by Francesco Mattina. Space Ghost faced off with something than no one can defeat…time. Specifically, Tempus the Time-Master.
Web of Venom #1. Written by Jordan Morris and art by Luke Ross & Ramon Rosanas. Cover art was done by Stefano Casselli & Federico Blee. We got another book featuring a symbiote and a new Venom form. This time is is Boomerang, aka Fred Meyers. I’m not sure why we need to have yet another symbiote anti-hero running around. The story was fine, but I am not sure why it is needed.
Twilight Zone #6. “Growth” Written, art and cover art by Nicole Goux. A sad story about a girl with a plant that was alive… an actual baby.. and the hatred that people who are different face. This one turns out tragic, much like many of the Twilight Zone episodes.
Bleeding Hearts #3. Written by Deniz Camp and art and cover art by Stipan Morian. The Vertigo zombie book is back this week and the Zombie boy is showing signs of being more than just another in the hungry horde. What does that mean? Bleeding heart continues to be one of the more intriguing Vertigo books.
Other books this week: Murder Podcast #6, Defenders of the Earth: Dark Destiny #4, Blood & Thunder #12, Absolute Green Lantern #13, The Nice House by the Sea #9, and Alice: Forever After #3.
Quick Hits: Moonstar #2 was released this week as Danielle Moonstar is on the mission. I picked up two covers from Midtown Comics this past week. Both with the guest appearance of EYG Hall of Famer “Weird Al” Yankovic. The first one was World’s Finest #50 with Al and his accordion hanging out with Batman and Superman. The other was Bizarro: Year None #1 where Al is portrayed as the “Normal Al” Yankovic, with a briefcase. I love Weird Al so I knew I wanted to find these two covers for my collection. Hello Darkness #20 had a collection of fun horror short stories. My favorite of the stories was “The Thread” which was pretty gross in the end. Transformers #31 focused on Megatron taking the next step in his status, in a manner I would not have expected. One of my favorite books this week is one of the oddest team-ups I have ever seen. It is Godzilla’s Monsterpiece Theater Presents Romeo & Juliet and Godzilla #1. It is as wild as it sounds. Speaking of wild, the team up between Ash and Archie continues in Archie x The Army of Darkness #3 from Dynamite Comics. This one had a cool cover that nearly made the medal round. Sai: Dimensional Rivals #4 kept going into multiple worlds in search of the seventh stone. The idea of the different art in the different universes makes this book original. And finally, Speed Racer: Tales from the Road #1 which featured the winners of the Mad Cave Studios talent search.
It is Monday and I am behind on the Comic Cavalcade. The reason was I spent yesterday binging a bunch of movies on streaming which left no time for the Comic Cavalcade. I was able to finish reading the books last night and early this morning and since I am still on spring break, today will be a good day to do this one.
Comic of the Week
Daredevil #1
The new Daredevil not only received the Bronze Medal in the Favorite Comic Cover of the Week, btu also the new Comic of the Week. The new start for Matt Murdock as a law professor at ESU was an awesome idea and I really enjoyed how Stephanie Phillips wrote this script. I picked up three of the variant covers too. I should have four more bags on the way from Midtown Comics.
Books this week:
Venom #256. Written by Al Ewing and art by Carlos Gomez. Variant cover B by David Nakayama. The Death Spiral continued with the Venom book. Torment attacked Dylan, but he is able to escape. However, everyone did not get out of the situation unscathed. One of the most hated characters in Marvel, Paul, who got between Peter and MJ came to his end as Torment killed him. A roar of happiness crossed over the entire Marvel Universe audience.
Deluge #5. Written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Marika Cresta. Cover art was done by Riley Rossmo. The cool Ignition Press comic Deluge ended with this issue. The creatures that have been coming after the prisoners have some troubles. I enjoyed this book so much because of the simplicity of the story. They do not go out of their way to explain what was going on and the very end of the book was great. Ignition Press has been quality over the last six months or so.
Groo: The Prophecy #1. Written by Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier with art and cover art by Sergio Aragones. Groo makes his return to Dark Horse with the new mini-series. It is a little different than previous Groo series as it started out with Groo, accidentally so, became a hero for a town that did not recognize him at first. Groo has been a favorite of mine since way back when he was in Marvel/Epic comics in the 1980s.
Tyler Rake: An Extraction Story #1. Written by Ande Parks and illustrated by Ronan Cliquet. Cover art was done by Declan Shalvey. This was an excellent new book with the character from the Netflix movie franchise Extraction (played by Chris Hemsworth). An action comic with this break out character. This was a really good book.
Royals #1. Written by Derek Kirk Kim with art and cover art by Jacob Perez. This was an interesting new series around a new pair of brothers who have a telepathy connection, making them very effective as a team in the world of poker. The story really started off strong as Castor and Paul showed off their con of their poker, even in the face of the criminals involved.
Wonder Man #1. “The One” Written by Gerry Duggan and penciled by Mark Buckingham. Cover art was done by Paulo Siqueira & Rachelle Rosenberg. A new series coming after the hugely successful and beloved Marvel Studios Television show Wonder Man. The comic had some special use of film in the art. It is great to see Hellcat making an appearance once again.
Kilroy is Here #1. Written by Joe Pruett and art and cover A art by Dalibor Talajic. I also picked up the B cover by Brian Bolland (Silver Medalist). This one-shot was the return of the character of Kilroy, who apparently had been in his only series years ago. I enjoyed how Kilroy was used in this book and the use of how Kilroy is perceived by the world around him.
X-Men #28. “Danger Room PT. 3” Written by Jed MacKay and penciled by Netho Diaz. Cover art was done by Netho Diaz, Sean Parsons & Fer Sifuentes-Sujo. The team known as Danger Room is taking it to the X-Men, or at least it appeared that way. How many of the X-Men are now dead? I don’t know, but Quentin Quire and Temper are not too happy and are out for revenge from the shooting of Glob.
Bizarro: Year None #1. “Chapter One: The Planet” Written by Eric Carrasco & Kevin Smith with art by Nick Pitarra. Cover art was done by Nick Pitarra & Michael Garland. So this story takes place in an early continuity, covering the origin of Bizarro, or at least a version of it. Bizarro takes Jimmy Olson and Perry White to his own world to be a part of the Daily Planet… and he made Jimmy the Editor in Chief.
All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #9. Written by Stephanie Phillips with art by Paolo Villanelli. Cover art was done by David Marquez & Federico Blee. Gwen has been dealing with a bunch of troubles and her friends and family are getting concerned. They should be concerned as Gwen is turning into a new Green Goblin.
Lion King #3. Written by Edwin Galmon with art by Edwin Galmon & Carlo Lauro. Cover art was done by Edwin Galmon. I have been enjoying this Lion King series. My personal favorite part of the book has been Simba and Nala who are in search of a missing baby elephant. The showdown between Mufasa and the leopards is tense, but not my favorite part of the story, though it is solid.
Captain Marvel: Dark Past #1. Written by Paul Jenkins with art and cover art by Lucas Werneck. It is good to see Carol back in her own book, dealing with a mystery from her past with memories that she had not recovered from Rogue. It is always fun to see Carol interacting with Tony Stark and Jessica Drew. The supporting characters were always one of my favorite parts of Captain Marvel’s previous series.
Batman #8. “Three Old Men, One Night in Gotham” Written by Matt Fraction with art by Ryan Sook. Cover art was done by Jorge Jimenez & Tomeu Morey. Batman called on Alan Scott to visit him in Gotham for a cup of coffee. Batman is picking the brain of Scott, the original Green Lantern, for any ideas to deal with his Vandal Savage problem. I enjoyed the interaction between Alan Scott and Batman, especially in the coffee shop.
Absolute Superman #18. “King of the Black Land” Written by Jason Aaron with art by Rafa Sandoval. Cover art was done by Rafa Sandoval & Ulises Arreola. A new story kicks off in this issue, featuring the debut of the Absolute Shazam. He was called King Shazam on the final page of the issue and he looked really cool. Shazam had a look much like Shazam combined with Black Adam.
Deadpool: April Pool’s Day #1. Written by Gail Simone and art by C.F. Villa, Robert Gill, & IG Guara. Cover art was done by David Baldeón & Rachelle Rosenberg. It is April 1st, Deadpool’s favorite holiday, and he is out trying to deal with a bunch of genre hopping. Several Marvel guest stars appear at the end as Deus Ex Machinas. I am a fan of Gail Simone and she does a great job on this Deadpool special.
Alien: King Killer #1. Written by Saladin Ahmed with art by Carlos Nieto. Cover art was done by David Yardin & Marco Menyz. The Marvel Alien series have been up and down for me. Some I have enjoyed and some have droned on. After the first issue of this one, I am intrigued and I am looking forward to seeing if this one can carry the mantel of the Alien franchise again.
Other books this week: Arcadia #4, Godzilla #9, The Autumn Kingdom #3, Marvel Rivals: Duel of Kings #1, and The Eternals: 50th Anniversary Special #1.
Quick Hits: It looked as if Nova: Centurion #6 is the final issue of this book starring Rich Rider. I was liking this take on the character so I am sad that it is going away, much like Planet She-Hulk is ending. A book that I never would have guessed that I would be collecting is Ursula #2, and yet here it is. I do like the way this story is unfolding and I think Dynamite Comics has done it again, giving me a book that I never would have bought. The comic magazine known as Comics! The Magazine #2 is out this week with an interview with Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley from the Invincible Universe. Image dropped Ghost Machine: The Official Guidebook #1 this week, which had character info from the Ghost Machine universe of books from letters A-H. I picked up two of these, the A cover and the cover that is an homage to the Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe. I love that Ghost Machine has become big enough to warrant a guidebook like this. The Gold Medalist in the Favorite Comic Cover of the Week this week went to a second printing of Narco #1. This cover, done by Daniel Hillyard is actually way better than the first print in cover work. Megalith #0 came out from Bad Idea, but it was actually nothing more than a preview for several upcoming Bad idea books. The Megalith preview only was about four pages or so. It looks great, but I am not sure this was worth the time. The final issue of another Dynamite book came out this week as the team up concluded with Gargoyles/Darkwing Duck #4. This was another Dynamite book that I had no intention of buying, but one that I found interesting to pick up. Doctor Strange #5 continued with the troubles in Asgard, though it looks like Stephen may be connecting back to Midgard and Clea next issue. Speed Racer #7 has more racing action. Finally, yet another Dynamite book, The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Shiver of Christmas Town #4, ends with this one.
What a massive week. I got so many books this week. Then, there were multiple issues of Superman/Spider-Man books that I got, plus five of the new Mark Spears book. Maybe it wasn’t as big of a week if there weren’t as many variants this week.
Comic of the Week
Feral #22
Feral is one of the most consistently entertaining comic books every month. Tony Fleecs, Trish Forstner & Tone Rodriguez have brought us one of the best horror series on the market and a thoroughly engaging and thrilling. And who would have guessed that? This issue is also huge as it ends with the shocking reveal of the upcoming crossover between Feral and Stray Dogs.
They continue to have the best horror movie themed variant covers too.
Books this week:
Superman/Spider-Man #1. “Truth, Justice and Great Responsibility” Written by Mark Waid and art by Jorge Jimenez. The big crossover between the two most iconic characters of their company is pretty cool. This first one is from DC Comics. There are a bunch of stories in the book that are all fun too. There are many covers to the book, of which I picked up seven of them.
MidKnight Man #1. Written, drawn and cover art by Mark Spears. The new comic from Mark Spears is all about a superhero who dubs himself the MidKnight Man. Again, I picked up five covers of this because I do love Mark Spears’s cover art. The book itself was okay. I was not as into it as I usually am for the Mark Spears Monsters books. There were several funny meta jokes in the book too, which I am always down for. The book says that #2 will be coming out later this year, which is funny too. When? Who knows?
White Sky #2. Written by William Harms and art and cover art by JP Mavinga. I also grabbed the Invincible special variant cover for this book, also done by JP Mavinga. Violet is removed from her father and she has to face the brutality and horrors of the world on her own. What is out there that she will run into? White Sky continued its compelling storytelling from issue one. There is a lot of visual storytelling in this book, which I enjoy tremendously.
Phantom of the Opera#2. Written by Tyler Boss and art and cover art by Martin Simmonds. The latest Universal Monsters book from Image has some absolutely tense moments in it. I have to say, the artwork of Martin Simmonds, which is definitely unlike most artists, really works well for this series. It provides that sinister tone to it and you are never quite at ease.
Ripcord #2. Written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Aneke. Cover art was done by Jorge Fornes (Bronze medalist). Dillion is in search of her sister, and she is not going to let any Australian rednecks get in her way. She shows the kind of bad ass that she is in this issue with some seriously graphic moments, specifically with a rail gun. Move over Arnold, Dillion is here now!
Amazing Spider-Man #25. Written by Joe Kelly with art by Ed McGuinness. Cover art was done by Ed McGuinness & Marte Gracia. While Spidey, Venom (Mary Jane) and Carnage (Eddie Brock) are trying to stop Torment, they are afraid that Torment is after their family members. They race to get to Aunt May and Aunt Anna in time… when they realize that it is not Peter and MJ’s family that they needed to worry about. Hey there, Dylan Brock.
The Punisher #2. Written by Benjamin Percy with art by Jose Luis Soares. Cover art was done by David Marquez & Guru-eFX. Microchip and Frank are looking for a doctor to help figure out what is wrong with Frank. Hint… most everything. Jigsaw is making a move too.
Fantastic Four #9. Written by Ryan North with pencils by Humberto Ramos. Cover art was done by Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado. The Fantastic Four is facing off with another dimensional Sue Storm and she is hugely kick-ass. There are a couple of scenes with our Sue having her head turn invisible by Invincible Woman and it is disturbing as can be. No thank you, please.
Uncanny X-Men #25. “Where Monsters Dwell” Finale. Written by Gail Simone and art by David Marquez & Luciano Vecchio. Cover art was done by David Marquez & Matthew Wilson. The X-Men wrap up their fight with the monsters as Rogue stepped up big time as leader of this group. I loved the appearance of these monster characters that we do not get as much as we could.
Rafael Garcia: Henchman #1. Written by Peter Murrieta & D.E. Schrader with art by Ben Herrera. Cover art by Kit Wallis. This new series from Titan Comics features as character who is a member of a criminal organization as a henchman and he is looking to advance to an open position, more of a leadership role. This is the first ever henchman interview in comics. A fun first issue.
Is Ted Ok? #2. Clearly the answer is no. Written, drawn and cover art by Dave Chisholm. Ted is finding unexpected things at his work and they are playing on his psyche. Not 100% sure what is real and what might just be inside Ted’s head. And I like it that way. So far, this has been an entertaining read and I am curious to find out what is going on around Ted’s workplace. Why does he need to be watched? Questions abound.
Hyde Street #11. Written by Geoff Johns and art by Ivan Reis. Cover art was done by Ivan Reis & Danny Miki with Brad Anderson. We dive into the past of Pranky and we see how the Butcher of Hyde Street is freed from his prison. Things do not look like they are going to turn out well for the residents of Hyde Street. I loved cover A on this book and it nearly found its way into the medals this week. It just came up short.
The Flash #31. “The Speed was Power, and the Speed was Joy” Written by Ryan North and illustrated by Gavin Guidry. Cover ary was done by Gavin Guidry and Giovanna Niro. I wanted to give Flash a try this week. I have always liked the character and with Ryan North taking over the writing duties on the book, I thought I would give it a try. The book featured Wally West and it was really pretty cool, including a wild online campaign to cause trouble for the Flash. I love Ryan North’s work on the Fantastic Four, so I hope it is as excellent for the Flash.
Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon #2. Written by Chip Zdarsky and art by Luca Maresca. Cover art was done by Leinil Francis Yu & Romulo Fajardo Jr. Wolverine, who is in search of a group of missing mutants, comes across David Colton, the unknown Captain America (which Zdarsky wrote about in the new Captain America series) and they have to face off with Nuke. Zdarsky has some excellent ideas about these characters and I think this is the most compelling that Nuke has been in ages.
Iron Man #3. “Forged in Fire” Written by Joshua Williamson with art by Carmen Carnero. Cover art was done by Ryan Stegman & Frank Martin. Iron Man is trying to get MODOK to lead him to Madame Masque, while trying to keep the giant head alive from AIM. Not sure Tony really wants to find her.
Detective Comics #1107. “Flight Part One” Written by Tom Taylor and art by Pete Woods. Cover art was done by Mikel Janin. Green Arrow and Black Canary move into Gotham City and immediately cause problems for Batman, messing up one of his undercover operations. Tom Taylor is another of the great writers that I feel can do no wrong and this is a great example of his solid work.
The New Avengers #10. Written by Sam Humphries and art by Ton Lima. Cover art was done by Stephen Segovia & Rain Beredo. The Killuminati storyline comes to a close, as does this version of the Avengers. It was fun at the end to see Captain Marvel and Iron Man chastising Bucky for putting together this team and not letting them in on the clones running around. Oh, and we almost got Baron Zemo back. Sorry Zemo. No go.
Rogue #3. Written by Erica Schultz and art by Luigi Zagaria. Cover art was done by David Nakayama. Rogue, whose powers are going bad, is in search of answers from her past. Those answers have led her to find Constrictor.
Final Boss #5. “Stage 5: Red Sands” Written by Tyler Kirkham and art by Tyler Kirkman with David Miller. Cover G art was done by Tyler Kirkman (Gold medalist). The first arc of this book ended with issue five. Tommy is in full battel mode where as he even discovers a fire wings power. I was given the G cover in my pull box for this series, which is a cool and very bloody cover with Tommy fighting Invincible.
Minor Arcana #15. “The Ballad of Budd St. Pierre: 1981-1983” Written, illustrated and cover art by Jeff Lemire. We get a back story for the character of Budd St. Pierre, told fully in a flashback to the early 1980s. It was a very difficult story with some tragedy in the tale. I like this type of issue as it helps flesh out some of the important supporting characters.
Justice League Unlimited #17. “Aftermath: Part One” Written by Mark Waid and art by Clayton Henry. Cover art was done by Dan Mora. The tournament participants return to the Watchtower, except Superman. Wonder Woman comes up with an idea… put some villains on a Justice League team. Batman ain’t too happy (course when is he…).
The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery #2.Written by Chris Condon with art and cover art by Jacob Phillips. I also picked up the C Cover variant by Leandro Fernandez (Silver Medalist). Ezra Cain is investigating a couple of cases, one dealing with the missing husband of Mrs. Meyer and the missing artifact the Anvil of Hephaestus. This new Vertigo book is one of the best. Awesome noir style cover too.
Ultimate Endgame #3. Written by Deniz Camp and art by Terry & Rachel Dodson and Jonas Scharf. Cover art was done by Mark Brooks. Ultimate Carnage showed up and actually killed Peter Parker. I was shocked that they did this, complete with scenes by Mary Jane, but this certainly signals that the Ultimate universe is truly coming to an end.
Department of Truth #36. “Deviation 9: Beauty and the Beast.” Written by James Tynion IV and art by Ben Templesmith. Cover art was done by Martin Simmonds. We are in the early 1990s and the focus of the new arc of The Department of truth is cable TV and the media. There are some wild images through this book as we meet a character watching TV all day.
Wiccan: Witches’ Road #4. Written by Wyatt Kennedy with art by Andy Pereira. Cover art was done by Lucas Werneck. Wiccan has lost the power of the Demiurge, but he has found himself a reunion with his mother Wanda, his brother Tommy and Storm (for some reason). Then, it looks like Kate Bishop may be on her way too for next issue. A Young Avengers reunion!
Absolute Wonder Woman #18. “Season of the Witch Part 3” Written by Kelly Thompson and art by Hayden Sherman. Cover art was done by Hayden Sherman & Jordie Bellaire. Diana loses an arm again! And Zatanna comes to help her… leading to another conflict.
Other books this week: Dungeons of Doom #3, Inglorious X-Force #3, Marvel Knights: The Punisher #4, Fantastic Four: First Foes #1, Return to Sleepy Hollow #5, Deadly Hands of K’un-Lun #2, Generation X-23 #2, Absolute Martian Manhunter #10, and The Center Holds #2.
Quick Hits: I picked up Sherlock Holmes The Dark Detective Special: Doctor Nikola and the Soldier Legacy #1, from IPI Comics. It is always a challenge because it seems as if IPI Comics never puts a price on the cover and the shop won’t accept the fact that it means it is free. Their web site did not have a listed price either. I finally found proof of cost on the In This Issue Comics website. By the way, there is no Sherlock Holmes in this book either. Just Brutal #2 came out this week and I had pulled both the A and B covers for some reason. I must have messed up while putting it on my list, because there does not seem to be any reason why I wanted the variant cover for this. Liquidator #5 from Mad Cave ended with this issue. I had lost interest in the book a few issues ago. I read through Conan the Barbarian #30 this week. I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It showed Conan’s strategy as well. Spirit of the Shadows #3 from Oni Press is such a weird book. Its art is very reminiscent of Steve Ditko to me. W0rldtr33 #19 resumed this week. It has a disturbing, yet beautiful cover that was another one that I heavily considered for the Favorite Comic Covers of the Week. I watched the first three episodes of Invincible on Amazon Prime this weekend, and it feels like it is reaching the part of the story taking place in the facsimile of Invincible Returns #1, that I picked up this week. Void Rivals #28 sees part 4 of 6 in the Quintesson War story arc. Honor and Curse: Eternal #1 is new from Mad Cave. I have seen this cover several times and I was hoping it would still be on the stands. It was, and it was an interesting read. Godzilla Infinity Roar #2 sees Galactus eat Godzilla, but big purple does not have it go well. Get Galactus some Alka-Seltzer. Sai Dimensional Rivals #3 saw Sai continue to search for the Seventh Stone across the dimensions. And then, finally, it was Florida Hippopotamus Cocaine Massacre #2 which is a hugely satirical comic with lots to say about our political world these days, tucked away in this comic book.
What a haul of comic books this week. I got over 50 books this week, though there are several variant covers involved. Last week, there were no variant covers int he medal winners, but this week there are two of the three.
It is also surprising because officially, I picked up like seven Superman/Spider-Man #1s, and five MidKnight Man #1s with Mark Spears, and none of them made the medal platform this week. Amazing.
A bunch of the also-rans, including one that I really wanted to give a medal to, but just came up short.
Also-Rans: Hyde Street #11 (this is the one that really came close), Superman/Spider-Man #1 (multiple covers), MidKnight Man #1 (Cover A was my favorite of these), W0rldtr33 #19, Feral #21 (cover A), Feral (Cover B), White Sky #2, Return to Sleepy Hallow #5, and Universal Monsters: Phantom of the Opera #2
Bronze Medalist
Ripcord #2
Cover art by Jorge Fornes
What a beautiful cover with the wolf dominating the pink sky, blood dripping from its fangs. The shadowy figure standing in silhouette of the sun. All of this is just great. Jorge Fornes has been carving out a good year for himself.
Silver Medalist
The Peril of the Brutal Dark #2
Variant cover C
Cover art by Leandro Fernandez
Any time I spot a variant cover on the stands that just grabs my attention, it has a good chance of ending up on this list. I love the black and white cover that really gave me a noir vibe.
Gold Medalist
Final Boss #5
Variant cover G
Cover art by Tyler Kirkham
This book was in my box at In This Issue. I did not order the variant cover. I usually have the cover A pulled for me. I don’t know why this was in my box, but I am not complaining about it. What a bloody, brutal and awesome cover featuring Invincible.
It is the EYG Comic Cavalcade. It has been a busy weekend once again. I generally like to have this done before Sunday evening, but time got away from me.
Plus, it is taking a little longer because I am being distracted by season four of Agents of Shield, with the Ghost Rider appearing.
Comic of the Week
Dead Teenagers #1
Written by Jude Ellison S. Doyle, Dead Teenagers follows a group of friends stuck in a time loop, reliving their high school prom night and dying repeatedly until something in 2026 might cause the loop to be broken. This was a great new horror comic and a fun read.
Silver Medalist
Books this week:
Amazing Spider-Man #24. Written by Charles Soule with Joe Kelly and guest artist Jesus Saiz. Cover art was done by Giuseppe Camuncoli, Lorenzo Ruggiero & Dean White. Death Spiral continues with this issue of Amazing Spider-Man that includes Spidey, Venom and Carnage wind up facing off with Torment. The dialogue between Spidey and Venom/MJ is some of the best of the book.
Exquisite Corpses #11. Written by Che Grayson with James Tynion IV with art by Gavin Fullerton with Michael Walsh. Cover art was done by Michael Walsh. We are down to Pretty Boy and Fox Mask Killer in the big tournament. Exquisite Corpses has been one of the best comics over the last year and it is building to its last couple of issues.
Wrestle Heist #4. Written, Drawn and cover art by Kyle Starks. The big pay per view event, Fightsgiving XIV is here and Sterling Steele and his crew are preparing to pull off their planned heist. However, there is a problem. Hanson knows the heist is coming because of the traitor in Steele’s team. Great kayfabe action.
The Sentry #1. Written by Paul Jenkins with art by Christian Rosado. Cover art was done by Alex Maleev (Bronze Medalist). Bob is back, struggling to keep balance with his other side…the Void. After Sentry’s appearance in Thunderbolts MCU movie, the return to the comics was inevitable.
Wade Wilson: Deadpool #2. “Bad Omens” Written by Benjamin Percy with art by Geoff Shaw. Cover art was done by Geoff Shaw & Alex Sinclair. Deadpool has suddenly someone providing him with info on future events.. and he has found a way to make money saving them. While it is still snarky Deadpool, the mystery of what happened to his daughter is creating a new emotional Wade.
Infernal Hulk #5. “All His Servants” Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson with penciled by Kev Walker. Cover art was done by Nic Klein (Gold Medalist). Bruce Banner has to come back. He tried to stay out of it, but he realized that he was not able to stay away. The Infernal Hulk is making thing tough.
Captain America #8. “Doom’s Shadow Part 3” Written by Chip Zdarsky with artist by Jan Bazaldua. Cover art was done by Valerio Schiti & Frank Martin. Cap inside Latveria continues as he and Alina Von Doom are trying to find the weapons of Doom before anyone else does… including Thunderbolt Ross.
Nightwing #136. “The Crossroads” Written by Dan Watters and pencils by Denys Cowen. Cover art was done by Jorge Fornes. A new story arc kicks off in Nightwing entitled “Bludhaven Lore.” Nightwing picks up a woman on the freeway. That sounded much less dangerous than it turned out to be.
Geiger #22. Written by Geoff Johns and art by Gary Frank. Cover art was done by Gary Frank & Brad Anderson. Geiger and the Northerner are on their way to Detroit to try and find answers about the Unknown War.
Marc Spector: Moon Knight #2. “Agency” Part Two. Written by Jed MacKay and art by Devmalya Pramanik. Cover art was done by Paulo Siqueira & Rachelle Rosenberg. While Marc Spector and Zodiac are “teaming up,” Bushman is making his return, preparing to murder Marc Spector.
Cyclops #2. “Seeing Red Part 2” Written by Alex Paknadel with art by Rogê Antonio. Cover art was done by Federico Vicentini & Marcio Menyz. Cyclops is in the woods, being chased by the Reavers, and he has lost his visor. I have enjoyed the first couple of issues with Cyke.
X-Men #27. “Danger Room, Pt. 2” Written by Jed MacKay and penciled by Netho Diaz. Cover art was done by Netho Diaz, Sean Parsons, and Fer Sifuentes-Sujo. The new group Danger Room is featured through this issue.
Ultimates #22. Written by Deniz Camp with art by Juan Frigeri. Cover art was done by Dike Ruan & Neeraj Menon. Ultimate Captain America and Ultimate Bucky and their story. This has a terribly tragic ending that was extremely surprising.
Mortal Thor #8. “A Tragic Tale of Asgard.” Written by Al Ewing with art by Juann Cabal. Cover art was done by Alex Ross. No Mortal Thor in this issue as we spent the time in Asgard with Magni and a strange rabbit.
Absolute Flash #13. “Mirror Master Part One” Written by Jeff Lemire with art by Haining. Cover art was done by Nick Robles. Wally and Linda spend some time together… until they get pulled into a mirror. If you know Flash, you know what this is leading to.
Sam and Twitch Case Files #22. Written by Thomas Healy with Todd McFarlane and art by Von Randal. Cover art was done by Raymond Gay with Steve Canon. A guy from a former case texted Sam and Twitch to come see him, only to be found by the pair, dead. Appearing to be a suicide, something did not fit together and Sam is in a dangerous place.
GI Joe #20. Written by Joshua Williamson and art by Andrea Milana. Cover art was done by Tom Reilly. Duke meets Optimus (no longer Prime). A truce between the two was a fascinating result between GI Joe and the Transformers.
Barbarian Behind Bars #2. Written by Elliott Kalan and art by Andrea Mutti. Cover art was done by Francesco Tomaselli. Darcor continued to be held in prison and the process moves along. The Mad Cave series is one of the strangest and most original on the market.
Planet She-Hulk #5. Written by Stephanie Phillips with art by Aaron Kuder. Cover art was done by Aaron Kuder & Sonia Oback. She-Hulk is fighting across Sakaar and it seems like she has taken a specific position… Queen?
Devil on my Shoulder #4. Written by Kyle Starks with art by Piotr Kowalski. Cover art was done by Piotr Kowalski with Brad Johnson. The final issue of the series finds our heroine finish her path of vengeance against the men who had assaulted her years ago.
Other Books this Week: Kill All Immortals II #3, Super Creepshow #1, Leprechaun Horror Comics #1, Ghost Pepper #9, Mary Sue #5, Ultimate Wolverine #15, Deathstroke the Terminator #1, and American Caper #5.
Quick Hits: Wanda vs. Agatha highlighted the story in Sorcerer Supreme#4. DC had a couple of new number one issues this week, Lobo #1 and Batwoman #1. Neither one was interesting enough for me to continue. Batwoman was the most intriguing one between the two, which was not what I was expecting. D’Orc #1 had a third printing this week. Another new cover by Brett Bean. Racer X #5 is back within the world of Speed Racer. X-Men of Apocalypse #3 is still in the Savage Land as Gambit and Rogue matchup again. The horror book The Thing on the Doorstep#2 is one of the books that I did not get to read yet. That also goes for End of Life #2, the Vertigo book. The Lucky Devils #7 is still one of the best and most beautifully drawn books on the market. New Titans #33 show the new team roster. The Last Day of Lovecraft #5 sees this series end. Finally, the one shot book from AWA Pick Up #1 has not yet found its way on to my CLZ app. Not sure what is taking so long for it to be on it.
I went to the bi-yearly sale at In This Issue Comics this weekend and stuffed three bags full of a bunch of comics. It was such fun going through the boxes, looking for those gems of back issues. I got a bunch of Thor books, Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 1s, a run of Incredible Hulk with amazing covers that I had never seen before as well as a bunch of independent books. I wound up with over 250 books in those three bags. Great deal!
Comic of the Week
Alias: Red Band #1
This week’s Comic of the Week reminded me how much I enjoyed Jessica Jones as a character. The hard-drinking, rough housing, foul-mouthed character was having a difficult time fitting in as the First Lady of New York and the stress is causing some tension with her husband, Mayor Luke Cage. Not only that, but the murder in her old building that she has been forbidden to investigate is building that tension as well. I do love this noir style as Jessica Jones narrates the comic, giving you insights into her character.
Excited to continue this series moving forward.
Books this week:
The Exorcism at Buckingham Palace #1. Written by Hannah Rose May and art by Kelsey Ramsay. Cover art was done by Kelsey Ramsay & Heather Breckel. It was not that long ago when we had an exorcism story set in the White House. Now we take the idea across the pond to Britain and Buckingham Palace as the soon-to-be King of England has his own demons to deal with. But are they just found in a bottle or is there more to this story. Great first issue and I am excited this concept is back.
Ordained #2. Written by Robert Venditti with art by Trevor Hairsine. Cover art was done by Jorge Fornes (Silver Medalist). It has been several months since Ordained #1 came out and was one of the hottest books at the time. This issue picked up right away from the long break back into the action and it is clear that Father Roy is not one to mess with.
Mark Spears Monster #9. “The Tell-Tale Heart… but why will you say that I am mad?” Written by Mark Spears and Lucas Spears with art and cover art by Mark Spears. Cover C (Bronze Medalist), Cover D (Gold Medalist). The Mad Hatter is being interrogated at the police station and that sounds like it is not going to go smoothly.
Crownsville #5. Writtenby Rodney Barnes and illustrated by Elia Bonetti. Cover art was done by Jason Shawn Alexander. The mini-series closes with a cool wrap up. The killer kids are unstoppable, but, apparently not. I enjoyed how Crownsville finished up and left it open for a potential future.
X-Men United #1. “Welcome to Graymatter Lane” Written by Eve L. Ewing and art by Tiago Palma. Cover art was done by Stefano Caselli & Federico Blee. The White Queen is trying to reunite the X-Men. Cyclops ain’t happy about it. I’m not sure how this series affects Uncanny X-Men and X-Men, but it is intriguing to see these characters back together again. Even whiny Cyclops.
D’Orc #2. “Time to Die!” Written, art and cover art by Brett Bean. I was excited to see if D’Orc #2 would be able to maintain the huge momentum that the first issue. I am pleased to say that it absolutely continued its strength and thoroughly entertaining storytelling. This still reminds me of a combination of Eight Billion Genies and Groo.
Magik & Colossus #2. “Sisyphean” Written by Ashley Allen and art by German Peralta. Cover art was done by David Nakayama. It has been too long since we had interactions between Illyana and Piotr Rasputin. The brother-sister vibe of this book makes it intriguing.
Tigress Island #1. Written Patrick Kindlon and art and cover art by Ephk. This was an intriguing new book. I am not sure what is going on with this book. It was not anywhere what I expected to be. I will be continuing to look at it, but I am not sure what this is about.
Comic: The Magazine #1. The next attempt and putting out a comic magazine came out this weekend. After the Zdarsky newsletter went away, this stepped up and I liked the first issue. I think there are a lot of different ideas that could wind up in this magazine.
Black Cat #8. “Fortress of Magnitude” Written by G. Willow Wilson with art by Gleb Melnikov. Adam Hughes did the cover art. Felicia and Mary Jane are inside the Negative Zone in search of a video tape. The pairing of MJ and Black Cat has always been fun, and with MJ now as Venom, it makes things all the more weird.
A Quiet Place: Storm Warnings #1. Written by Phil Hester with pencils and cover art by Ryan Kelly. This is a new story with the creatures from A Quiet Place and this is an interesting story. I liked the time they spent this issue building our human characters because they are a vital part of the tale.
The Other/Half #1. “Dinner and a Diamond.” Written by Jim McCann and art by Joe Eisma. Cover art was done by Joe Eisma. Henry is a private investigator and Ethan is a socialite and they are married. However, there is a mystery that is going to require them to get into roles that they are not used to. Interesting new book from Ignition Press. The key is the relationship between Henry and Ethan.
Venom #255. Written by Al Ewing with art by Carlos Gomez. Cover art was done by Carlos Gomez & Frank Martin. I usually do not buy the Venom series (which is up to #255…wow, I did not think Marvel let books get that high any more). However, this is part three of the Death Spiral story where Venom and Spider-Man team up so I had to pick it up.
51 #1. Written by Curt Pires with art and cover art by Jok. Another book that was hot this weekend was 51 from Mad Cave. I like this one more than the Tigress Island book. This sends a group of individuals into Area 51 to try and maintain the secrets and clean up after they lose those secrets into the world. And what if it was the president’s son? This was fun.
Bleeding Hearts #2. Written by Deniz Camp with art and cover art by Stipan Morian. The first issue of this new Vertigo book did not win me over. It was fine, but I did not think it was great. However, you can throw that all out the window because I thought issue two of this series was fantastic. It was a real turn around for me and that made me very happy.
Absolute Batman #18. “The Seventh Kingdom-Part 2” Written by Scott Snyder with art by guest artist Eric Canete. Cover art was done by Nick Dragotta & Frank Martin. Batman’s conflict with Poison Ivy comes to a dramatic close and Batman does something that no one expects. It is taking this Absolute Batman on a distinctly different path. I am not sure how to feel about it, but it absolutely is a shocking step.
Transformers #30. Written by Robert Kirkman and art by Dan Mora. Cover art was done by David Nakayama. Speaking of shocking moments, there is one in the Transformers book too. The Transformers get themselves a brand new Prime! It is not Optimus any more.
Planet of the Apes Versus Fantastic Four #2. Written by Josh Trujillo with art by Andrea Di Vito. Cover art was done by Greg Land & Rachelle Rosenberg. I am surprised how well the Apes from Planet of the Apes and the FF mix together. This has been very entertaining so far in the first two issues.
Imperial Guardians #1. Written by Dan Abnett with pencils by Marcelo Ferreira. Cover art is done by Sean Izaakse & Nolan Woodard. A group of space heroes reform the Guardians, through the Imperial banner with Marvel. We get Gamora, Captain Marvel, Darkhawk, Cosmic Ghost Rider and Brawn.
Other books this week: Godzilla vs. Portland #1, Harley Quinn X Elvira #5, Masterminds #4, Sonja Reborn #6, The Seasons #9, Spider-Man: Meals to Astonish #1, Marian Heretic #5, Absolute Green Lantern #12, and Blood & Thunder #12.
Quick Hits: Space Ghost #9 is the first book this week in Quick Hits. This is a consistently good series from Dynamite. Another Dynamite book this week is Archie X The Army of Darkness #2. The book is able to get Archie and his friends into a cabin in the woods. The final issue of High Strangeness #5 is full of weirdness. No Place #4 continues its Oz based story. Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant #2 has been a bit over my head so far. I love Storm so I will be sticking to it moving ahead, but it is not the most interesting storyline so far. Another series that has come to an end as 1776 #5 is finished. It was a strange book with the Revolutionary War, but I like big swings. Escape from Skull Island #2 keeps the Kong action going. Doctor Strange #4 keeps up with the Asgard storyline. It is another one that I have not loved, but I think it is okay. I missed Where Does the Rainbow End? #2 when it came out so I picked it up this week with Where Does the Rainbow End ?#3 was released.
It is time for the EYG Comic Cavalcade once again. Each week I get a bunch of books from my two comic shops and it always takes some time to finish reading them. With the movies and TV shows I have to watch (oh, and work at school), I am happy when I get the chance to finish this up.
I am continuing the Daily Read with the Vertigo series Clean Room. I read issue #15 today, giving me just three more to read.
Comic of the Week
Narco #1
This week’s Comic of the Week is a book from Image. There were a couple of books that were in competition but this one is the one I liked reading the most. It was written by Doug Wagner and art by Daniel Hillyard. Marcus is our main character and he has a certain trouble…narcolepsy when he gets too excited. This was a really fun introduction to this character and I am in on what is happening.
Narco #1 is one of those hot chased after books and I do think it is worthy to be chased.
Books this week:
Sleep #8. Written, illustrated and cover art by Zander Cannon (Silver Medalist). Sleep has been one of the most entertaining series of the last year. This is the finale of the series and I have to say, I did not love the final issue. I was a little unsure about the ending of the story. I didn’t hate the end, but it was just not as strong as I had expected.
Nectar #1. Written by Jeremy Robinson and art was done by Francesco Francini and Annapaola Martello. Cover art was done by Chris Shehan (Gold Medalist). This was one of the books that was in competition with Narco #1 for the Comic of the Week. I really loved this book and I was fully engaged with the mystery going on in this book.
Amazing Spider-Man #23. Written by Joe Kelly and penciled Ed McGuinness. Cover art was done by Ed McGuinness & Marcio Menyz. The second part of the Death Spiral story continued with Peter finally learning that Mary Jane was the new host of Venom. MJ then finds out that it was not Peter who blew her off before. Will Marvel ever let Peter and Mary Jane get back together?
DC KO #5. “The King Omega” Written by Scott Snyder and Joshua Williamson and art by Javi Fernandez. Cover art was done by Javi Fernandez & Alejandro Sanchez. Well, I thought Lex Luthor had won the tournament, but it sure feels as if Superman has taken the position. I guess that this is the way they are going to send Superman away for a time.
X-Men #26. “Danger Room, Pt. 1” written by Jed MacKay with pencils by Netho Diaz. Cover art was done by Netho Diaz, Sean Parsons & Fer Sifuentes-Sujo. The X-Men are out on a mission from the town, but Glob Herman was left behind, working in his garden. Things did not look good for Glob. I sure hope that he was able to avoid what it appeared to have happened.
All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #8. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Paolo Villanelli. Cover art was done by David Marquez & Federico Blee. Mysterio is back and causing all sorts of trouble. The underworld of the Marvel Universe in New York is all over this book too with Hammerhead leading the way.
Avengers #36. “Assemble” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Farid Karami. Cover art was done by Russell Dauterman & Rachelle Rosenberg. The final issue of this run of Avengers as Captain Marvel goes around to all the team members that she had recruited and revealed that she was stepping down as team leader. They also had a big goodbye to Camelot. Not sure where the Avengers goes from here, but this is the final issue of Jed MacKay’s run and this super powered version of the team.
Wolverine #17. “Cold and Alone” Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by Martin Coccolo. Cover art was done by Dan Panosian. Wolverine and Silver Sable are out int he Canadian wilderness trying to help the group that has been dubbed the New Morlocks. Meanwhile, Logan and Sable are getting busy.
Exploit #1. Written by Tim Leong & Laura Hudson with art by Emiliana Pinna. A piece of satire directed at the tech oligarchy with journalist Kirby Kuo, who uncovered a secret about tech billionaire Cole Saxon and promptly published it. This leads to all kinds of trouble for her. A new Mad Cave book filled with fun.
The Twilight Zone #5. “Silent Warning” Written by L. Marlow Francavilla & Francesco Francavilla with art by Francesco Francavilla. Cover art was done by Robert Hack. We are back under the sea with weird creatures and dangers galore in the latest Twilight Zone installment.
Batman #7. “Kill Switch” Written by Matt Fraction with art and cover art by Jorge Jimenez. A captured and hooked up Joker calls for Batman, to give him a warning of something to come… and to drop a surprise bomb at the end… Joker called him “Bruce.” There is a cool foldout section at the center of this book too that was awesome.
Hello Darkness #19. Another month of a variety of horror stories and a potpourri of creative folks. Cover art was done by Rebeca Puebla and cover B was done by Jenny Frison (Bronze Medalist). My favorite of the stories was “Imposter Syndrome” written by Tate Brombal.
Whatever Happened to the Crimson Justice #5. Written by Frank Tieri and art by Inaki Miranda. Cover art was done by Dan Panosian. This is the book to complain about this week. This was a five issue series, making this the finale. However, issue #4 came out September 17, 2025. The final issue was good, but how am I supposed to care that much when it has been nearly six months between issues.
X-Men Annual #1. “The Creationist” Written by Ryan Stegman with art by Steve Skroce, Sanford Greene and Ryan Stegman. Cover art was done by Ryan Stegman & Arthur Hesli. Jean Grey aka Phoenix comes back from the cosmos to see the X-Men in Louisiana because there is a mutant using his powers to create monsters.
Daredevil & Punisher #4. “Slaughter in Sutton’s Place” Written by Jimmy Palmiotti and art by Tommaso Bianchi & Mario Santoro. Frank Castle and Daredevil end their latest team up bringing down the villains they were aiming for, in their differing styles. DD & Punisher work together in a book like this because they are so polar opposite and yet only a step or two away from each other.
Moonstar #1. “A Path Unknown” Written by Ashley Allen and art by Edoardo Audino. German Peralta did the cover art. Following up on her guest appearance in the previous Magik series, Danielle Moonstar leads this new book trying to find her proper path.
Nova Centurion #5. “Grand theft Starship Part 2” Written by Jed MacKay with art by Alvaro Lopez. Cover art was done by Alessandro Cappuccio & Rachelle Rosenberg. Richard Rider meets back up with Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord once again and the pair bring all kinds of trouble.
Absolute Superman #17. “All Together Now” Written by Jason Aaron with art by Juan Ferreyra. Cover art was done by Rafa Sandoval & Ulises Arreola. Superman steps up against a parasite that is using the people of Metropolis as a power source and Superman shows how inspiring he could be. Oh, and Hawkman may not be the great hero that we thought as he contacted Talia at the end of the issue.
Absolute Flash #12. “The War of the Flashes Part 2” Written by Jeff Lemire with art by Nick Robles and Al Kaplan. Cover art was done by Nick Robles. The first year of this series comes to an end with Wally’s father sacrificing himself to save Wally’s life. Wally dedicated himself to finding his dad and saving him. And Grodd finds someone else like him… but without the positive attitude.
Other books this week: The Nice House By the Sea #8, Tales of the Shadowman #6, Lost Fantasy #8, Lands Unknown: The Skinless man #1, The Beauty #4, Bloodland #2, and The Autumn Kingdom #2.
Quick Hits: I grabbed another one of those hit Mad Cave series off eBay. I must have missed it when it was out in comic shops. It is called The Florida Hippopotamus Cocaine Massacre #1 and it is wild and weird and lots of fun. One shot Iceman: Omega #1 was not as much fun as I did not find myself interested in the book. I have always liked Iceman so maybe it was just the issue’s approach. I grabbed a copy of D’Orc #1 second printing. I loved D’Orc and it was a huge hit so the new cover by Brett Bean and Frank Williams was cool. After enjoying the Ursula book last week, I grabbed a copy of Gaston #1 (Bronze Medalist). I like Gaston the character way more than Ursula, but I did not like this book at all. That was strange. There is a reprint of Marvel Team Up #14 where Spidey meets Invincible. The book was fun and it is nice to get a copy of a book that I am sure is sky high in original price. Speed Racer #6 is back with more dangerous racing action. Gargoyles/Darkwing Duck #3 came out this week and the two sides to the cartoon world do work well together. Defenders of the Earth: Dark Destiny #3 sees the return of Ming the Merciless. The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Shiver of Christmas Town #3 also arrived this week with some solid action and humor. Batman/Green Arrow/Question: Arcadia #3 is one of those books where I am not sure where it falls in continuity. The interactions between Batman and Green Arrow were tense. Finally Godzilla Kai Sei Era #8 brought us some big titan battle.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 