Tag Archives: dc-comics

EYG Comic Cavalcade #129

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December 14, 2024

Comics were delayed again this week. I did not expect them to be in on Friday so I had decided that I would go to Kraven the Hunter at a 4:20 PM show. Todd gave me a call as I was on the way to the movie with the news that the books had arrived Friday after all. I couldn’t turn around and head to Dubuque as I was on the way to the Quad Cities.

However, Saturday was going to bring us some icy weather and I was not sure when I could get to the shop. I made a decision. After I would get done with Kraven, I would leave Cinemark and drive to Comic World to get the comics that night. I left the theater at about 6:47 PM and wound up at Comic World before 8 PM. I made good time, with only a minimal amount of speeding.

As I said, there was ice coming today and I had nowhere I planned to go in the morning and I was able to sit down and read the comics. It was a nice morning and I made it through the week’s books.

Here are this week’s books:

Grommets #3-6. I picked up these books from eBay and I have really enjoyed the series. It took a darker turn as our young skateboarding heroes wound up at a party that got out of control. The series has taken time to dive into these kids feeling and desires and I have found it to be very compelling so far. There is only one more issue to go and I am excited to finish this series off.

Space Ghost #8. Written by David Pepose and art by Jonathan Lau. Cover B art was by Jae Lee & June Chung. General Metallus is here, with his Thanos-like plans bringing a terrible memory back to Space Ghost. Sadly, Space Ghost got his butt handed to him.

Storm #3. “Impending Doom” Written by Murewa Ayodele and art by Lucas Werneck. Cover art was by Mateus Manhanini. Storm is dying, but Doctor Voodoo helps her with some magic. But magic has a cost and she cannot use her powers for seven days. So she decides to sleep with Wolverine. Um… oh, yeah, and Dr. Doom comes calling.

Dazzler #4. “Homecoming” Written by Jason Loo and art by Rafael Loureiro. Cover art was by Terry and Rachel Dodson. Dazzler’s world tour is coming to an end with a concert in New York City! We discover the person behind the sabotage of her shows before and guest stars NYX help her wrap thing up. This is the final issue of this Dazzler series which was fun, if lgithweight.

Batman: Dark Patterns #1. “We are the Wounded Part One.” Written by Dan Watters and art and cover art by Hayden Sherman. A new Batman series which tells a story from a past time in the Caped Crusader’s life. Alfred is still there and James Gordon was only a Lieutenant. It included a weird and wild villain that I had never seen before involved in some kind of serial killing. I am worried that I have been picking up more DC books than I have before. I already get a ton of comics a month. However, this issue was solid.

The Terminator #3. “Apocalypse Then: Part Two.” Written by Declan Shalvey and art by David O’Sullivan. Cover C art by Cat Staggs (Bronze Medalist). The story from Vietnam concludes as the Terminator chased Duggan across the land and even into a helicopter.

Ultimate Universe: One Year In #1. Written by Deniz Camp and art by Jonas Scharf. Cover art was done by Rafael Albuquerque. We follow Nick Fury and we meet the members of the Council. They all do not seem to have the best of intentions. There is a couple pages at the end of the book featuring a prologue of Ultimate Wolverine.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1. Written by Christos Gage and art by Eric Gapstur. Leonardo Romero did the cover art. This is the prequel series for the upcoming Disney + animated series of the web head. This is meant to be a very young, just gaining his powers Peter Parker. There were some differences to the origin, laid out here, that may alter the character.

Incredible Hulk#20. “Wolves of the Old World” Part One. Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and art by Danny Earles. Cover art was done by Nic Klein. Werewolves are everywhere and Hulk and Charlie are having to deal with them. Jack Russell is here too.

The Infinity Watch #1. Written by Derek Landy and penciled by Ruairi Coleman. Cover art was by Salvador Larroca and GURU-eFX. The Infinity Stone Bearers come together to form their own team, but things do not go well immediately. I wonder if the shocking final page sets us up for what this series has up its sleeve. Love having Coulson in the book though.

Uncanny X-Men #7. “No Walls Can Hold Us” Written by Gail Simone and penciled by David Marquez & Edgar Salazar. Cover art by David Marquez & Matthew Wilson (Gold Medalist). Rogue’s team of X-Men are heading into Graymalkin after their two team members but Cyclops really wants them to hold off. What this lead to? That’s right… big mutant fight!

Laura Kinney: Wolverine #1. “All the Places You Will Go.” Written by Erica Schultz and art by Giada Belviso. Cover is the Variant Cover Logo issue. New series featuring Laura Kinney was a great start. I enjoyed this first issue with Laura. The issue does a fantastic job of giving us insight into the character of Laura and what drives her. This was a great start.

Amazing Spider-Man #63. “Tick Tick Tick.” Written by Justina Ireland and art by Gleb Melnikov. Cover art was by Ed McGuinness & Marcio Menyz. The 8 Deaths of Spider-Man rolls on as the constant fight as the Champion is getting to Peter Parker. He actually yelled at Aunt May. The Scions of Cyttorak have been watching him, trying to figure out what makes him tick.

The City Beneath Her Feet #1. Written by James Tynion IV and art and cover art by Elsa Charretier. This is a love story… as we are told at the very beginning in a fourth wall break… but not that kind of love story. This was a bizarre story that was quiet entertaining and unexpected. I am a big fan of James Tynion IV and the writing of this was great. Elsa Charretier’s work is very much similar to her work on Love Everlasting.

Scarlet Witch #7. Written by Steve Orlando and art by Lorenzo Tammetta. Cover art was done by Russell Dauterman (Silver Medalist). Wanda, Amaranth, Tommy and Billy go to New Salem to try and save the town from a curse. Turns out that there is a tie to Agatha Harkness in the town.

Minor Arcana #4. Written, illustrated and cover art by Jeff Lemire. Theresa takes her mom for her cancer appointment, and sparks fly. She then winds up back in the magical realm after doing another tarot card reading. She realizes that it is tied to her deceased grandpa. Mainor Arcana is a fascinating book and Jeff Lemire is always great in his creativity.

X-Factor #5. “Prisoners of the Fun Room” Written by Mark Russell and art by Bob Quinn. Cover art was by Greg land & Frank D’Armata. X-Factor has to fight off the terrorists led by Darkstar known as X-Term. This series has shown to be a very deadly one as another of the team winds up dead in this issue.

Phoenix #6. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Marco Renna. Yasmine Putri did the cover art. Phoenix teams up with Nova, but she is having a crisis of faith, doubting that her arrival in space was the right move to make. Oh, and Thanos.

Other books this week: Skin Police #3, Petpool Pool Party#1, Spirits of Vengeance #4, Ultimate X-Men #10, Deadpool Team-Up #4, Alien: Paradiso #1, and Transformers #15.

EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week

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Week of 12/9

It is Friday night and my usual Wednesday night post of the comic cover of the week is finally out. Yes, there was more difficulties with the shipment from Comic World, as well as several other shops in the area. The shipment did not arrive until today so I was able to get the books tonight (except for the DC books, which were on time…Transformers too oddly).

With the holidays, I am sure that is a big part of the issue with the delivery, so I would not be surprised to see this happen a few more times in December.

However, be on the lookout for the special Year in Review Favorite Comic Cover of the Year, which is coming soon. We will present Gold, Silver and Bronze medals for both the best regular covers and the best variant covers. Then, we will name the best cover of the year. That is coming soon.

Here are this week’s medalist…

Bronze Medalist

The Terminator #3

Variant cover C

Cover art by Cat Staggs

Quick glance made me think this was Dr. Doom. I can see now that the Terminator is in some leaves. So maybe Predator? I like the green surrounding.

Silver Medalist

Scarlet Witch #7

Cover art by Russell Dauterman

Oooh, spooky looking Wanda image on the cover. I love the colors across this cover. The colors really make this cover pop.

Gold Medalist

Uncanny X-Men #7

Cover art by David Marquez & Matthew Wilson

You can never go wrong with two teams of X-Men facing off with each other. Love how this looks.

Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Three

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

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

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

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

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

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

2.6 stars

EYG Favorite Comic Cover of the Week

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Week of October 28

Busy, busy night. World Series. Finale of Agatha All Along. And, of course, the Favorite covers of theweek.

This week, we have three variant covers winning the medals. Todd did a great job picking out the covers for my box this week (but don’t tell him!)

Bronze Medalist

Redcoat #7

Variant Cover B

Cover art by German Peralta

Such a fun cover with Simon Pure laying upon a pile of bones and skeletons. It is a good character cover as we see Simon, who is as old as these skeletons, just kicking back and relaxing.

Silver Medalist

Feral #7

Variant Cover B

Cover art by Trish Forstner & Tony Fleece

What an attractive and fascinating cover. The bright light behind the cat head is excellent with the black color in the back of the cover.

Gold Medalist

Namor #4

Variant Cover B

Cover art by Alessandro Cappuccio

What a beautiful and regal image of Namor beneath the water, the light shining from above. Sharks swimming around the top of the page. Love the contradiction of the light at the top and the darkness at the cover’s bottom.

Three variant covers that show the quality of artists out there right now.

Grotesquerie S1 E7

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Spoilers

“Unplugged”

WTF?

I mean… WTF?

This episode started off with Lois being just a totally vicious bitch toward her daughter and her new fiancé, Travis Kelce. She was so cruel that I found myself hating her so much. Then she pulled the plug on Marshall. Then we found out that Father Charlie was Grotesquerie and that Sister Megan was his accomplice. Megan got into a massive fight with Lois, where she stabbed her multiple times.

Then things changed.

Lois is in the coma. Marshall is alive and in the Lois role from the beginning. Lois had been the one having the affair. Sister Megan was the police chief. Marshall decided to pull the plug on Lois. Travis Kelce wanted to say goodbye, but Marshall wanted no part of that, keeping him from the room. When they pulled the plug, Lois floated up and seemed to get her heartbeat back.

What the hell is going on?

Is this show implying that Lois has been in the coma the whole time and the first six episodes were all in her head? I think that is what is going on here.

Does that mean that everything prior to Lois waking up from her coma in this episode means nothing?

That is a massive sized twist if that is the case. It is also extremely confusing in this episode. Where does this story go from here? Is this a totally different story than the one we have been watching?

Only one episode released this week, but it was nearly an hour long, and it was totally insane. I am not sure what happened or where it goes from here. There are three more episodes remaining.

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

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EYG Hall of Famer Christopher Reeve, who sprang to fame playing Superman in several movies int he late 70s and early 80s, gets the biographical documentary treatment going into depth about his life, his family and the horrific tragedy that changed his perspective for the remainder of his life.

The doc interviews Reeve’s children and his ex-wife, revealing the deep relationship that Reeve had and how his time as Superman affected his career and how people’s POV changed him.

There are some amazingly personal scenes and imagery of Christopher Reeve struggling post-accident that was difficult to watch at times. The emotions were in full example and heartstrings were pulled as the story moved from pre-accident to post-accident. There were plenty of times that I teared up watching the powerfully poignant moments.

Some of the toughest scenes for me was the parts including Robin Williams. Williams and Reeve were roommates during their time at Julliard, forming a lifetime friendship. The relationship had several vital moments and it nearly broke me when it was said that had Christopher hadn’t died, Robin would be alive today. Heart-breaking.

Directors Peter Ettedgui and Ian Bonhôte painted a moving portrait of the actor and how he was able to overcome his adversity to help many individuals with their own handicaps.

4.6 stars

Batman: Caped Crusader S1 E1

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Spoilers

“In Treacherous Waters”

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

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

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

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

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

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

EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week

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Week of July 22

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

Bronze Medalist

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1

40th Anniversary Variant

Cover art by Eric Talbot

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

Silver Medalist

The Nice House By the Sea #1

Cover art by Nick Robles and Hayden Sherman

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

Gold Medalist

Feral #5

Variant cover

Cover art by Trish Forstner & Tony Fleecs

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

2024 Eisner Awards- at SDCC

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

BEST SHORT STORY

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

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

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

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

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

BEST SINGLE ISSUE/ONE-SHOT

Horologist, by Jared Lee and Cross (Grim Film)

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

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

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

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

BEST CONTINUING SERIES

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

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

Shazam! by Mark Waid and Dan Mora (DC)

Transformers, by Daniel Warren Johnson (Image Skybound)

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

BEST LIMITED SERIES

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

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

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

PeePee PooPoo, by Caroline Cash (Silver Sprocket)

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

BEST NEW SERIES

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

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

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

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

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

BEST PUBLICATION FOR EARLY READERS

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

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

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

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

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

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

BEST PUBLICATION FOR KIDS

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

Mabuhay!, by Zachary Sterling (Scholastic Graphix)

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

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

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

BEST PUBLICATION FOR TEENS

Blackward, by Lawrence Lindell (Drawn & Quarterly)

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

Frontera, by Julio Anta and Jacoby Salcedo (HarperAlley)

Lights, by Brenna Thummler (Oni Press)

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

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

BEST HUMOR PUBLICATION

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

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

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

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

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

BEST ANTHOLOGY

Comics for Ukraine, edited by Scott Dunbier (Zoop)

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

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

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

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

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

BEST REALITY-BASED WORK

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

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

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

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

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

BEST GRAPHIC MEMOIR

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

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

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

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

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

The Talk, by Darrin Bell (Henry Holt)

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM—NEW

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

Eden II, by K. Wroten (Fantagraphics)

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

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

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

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM—REPRINT

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

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

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

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

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

BEST ADAPTATION FROM ANOTHER MEDIUM

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

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

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

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

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

BEST U.S. EDITION OF INTERNATIONAL MATERIAL

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

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

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

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

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

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

BEST U.S. EDITION OF INTERNATIONAL MATERIAL—ASIA

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

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

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

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

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

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

BEST ARCHIVAL COLLECTION/PROJECT—STRIPS

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

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

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

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

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

BEST ARCHIVAL COLLECTION/PROJECT—COMIC BOOKS

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

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

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

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

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

BEST WRITER

Stephen Graham Jones, Earthdivers (IDW)

Mariko Tamaki, Roaming (Drawn & Quarterly)

Tom Taylor, Nightwing, Titans (DC)

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

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

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

BEST WRITER/ARTIST

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

Bill Griffith, Three Rocks (Abrams ComicArts)

Daniel Warren Johnson, Transformers (Image Skybound)

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

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

Tillie Walden, Clementine Book Two (Image Skybound)

BEST PENCILLER/INKER OR PENCILLER/INKER TEAM

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

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

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

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

Chris Samnee, Fire Power (Image Skybound)

Jillian Tamaki, Roaming (Drawn & Quarterly)

BEST PAINTER/MULTIMEDIA ARTIST (INTERIOR ART)

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

Chaiko, The Monkey King (Magnetic)

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

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

Martin Simmonds, Universal Monsters: Dracula (Image Skybound)

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

BEST COVER ARTIST

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

Evan Cagle, Detective Comics (DC)

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

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

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

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

BEST COLORING

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

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

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

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

Dean White, Conan the Barbarian (Titan Comics)

BEST LETTERING

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

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

Bill Griffith, Three Rocks (Abrams ComicArts)

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

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

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

BEST COMICS-RELATED PERIODICAL/JOURNALISM

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

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

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

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

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

BEST COMICS-RELATED BOOK

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

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

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

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

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

Thalamus: The Art of Dave McKean (Dark Horse)

BEST ACADEMIC/SCHOLARLY WORK

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

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

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

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

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

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

BEST PUBLICATION DESIGN

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

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

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

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

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

BEST WEBCOMIC 

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

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

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

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

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

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

BEST DIGITAL COMIC

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

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

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

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

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

Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part One

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This morning, I did the June Swoon 3 film for the day and it was on HBO Max. It was an animated Justice League movie called Warworld. I did not find it great, but it did reveal to me something that I did not know. There was another Justice League animated film out and available on Max which was based on one of the classic DC Comics storylines ever told: EYG Hall of Fame series, Crisis on Infinite Earths.

A wall of anti-matter is sweeping across the multiverse, destroying everything in its path. The Monitor (sort of like DC’s Watcher) recruited heroes from across all different worlds in an attempt to prevent the multiverse’s complete annihilation.

One of the most fun part about watching this movie was seeing the background heroes recruited to stand behind the main heroes. I saw everyone from Metamorpho to Hawk & Dove to Swamp Thing. These were just there for Easter eggs as none of them earned speaking roles.

Barry Allen (Matt Bomer), aka the Flash of Earth One, was one of the main characters as he had been in several previous films, introducing the concept of parallel earths. We saw Barry in multiple places during his own timeline as well as on different earths, such as Earth 3 with the Crime Syndicate. If you know about the original DC Max-Series, you know Barry Allan played a vital role in that story, and so it is effective that he is front and center in this one.

The animation of this film remains to be of a lower quality than one would expect from this type of a project. With animation that we see in weekly shows such as X-Men ’97, a feature length film should be better than what we get here. Still, it is watchable, but it just does not make me stop and be amazed at the shots.

The voice cast is once again assembled with some great voices. Along with Matt Bomer as Flash, there are Jensen Ackles, Darren Criss, Stana Katic, Meg Donnelly, Zachary Quinto, Jonathan Adams, Aldis Hodge, Jimmi Simpson, Ike Amadi, Alexandra Daddario, Nolan North, Lou Diamond Phillips, Matt Ryan, Keesha Sharp, Matt Lanter, Ashleigh LaThrop, Erika Ishii, Liam McIntyre, Zach Callison and Ato Essandoh.

This adaptation does a decent job with providing a story that works for the most part. This is an enjoyable film, and a much better one than the Warworld one that preceded it. It also did a decent job of being a part one, leaving us with a cliffhanger, and yet feel as if we got a complete story for the first part. On to Part Two!

3.8 stars

Justice League: Warworld (2023)

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June 4, 2024

The fourth day of the June Swoon 3: A Cinematic Flashback brought me to HBO Max and the first animated film of the month. It is also the first disappointment of the month.

At first, I felt that Justice League: Warworld was an intriguing concept. Seeing Wonder Woman in the old West was a neat concept and watching her square off with Jonas Hex opened a lot of possibilities. I was thinking this was much like Westworld and seeing the Justice League involved in this setting would be cool.

However, it was not just the old West. After her short bit was done, we came across Batman in the world of Warlord. Wonder Woman was there too. I did not understand what was happening and, if this was the case, why was Batman not in the old West. and where was Superman?

Eventually we came to Superman as an agent of the government in a black and white alien invasion film where both Batman and Wonder Woman would appear as would King Faraday. It also borrowed heavily from a Twilight Zone episode I saw last summer during the Daily Zone rewatch.

All of these side bits seemed to be nothing more than time wasters as the real plot started up in this episode as they came across Mongul, with Lobo, who has some weird sci-fi storyline. Apparently, Warworld is a massive weapon against the multiverse and he was in search of a key. Why he brought the Trinity into the story made no sense, but that was not unlike most of the rest of this movie.

J’onn J’onzz was here too and played a role in the end of the film, but the movie made the entire thing feel unnecessary as it was being used simply to introduce the idea of Crisis on Infinite Earths. The movie brought in what I assume was Harbinger at the very end to rescue the Trinity and set up the next animated film. I am only guessing that this is Harbinger since the look of the character is nothing like I remember. She looked more like Marvel’s Frankie Raye aka Nova than she did the Harbinger from Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Jensen Ackles lead the voice cast which included Stana Katic (formerly of Castle fame) as Wonder Woman, and Darren Criss as Superman. Other actors included Ike Amadi, Troy Baker, Matt Bomer, Roger Cross, Brett Dalton, John DiMaggio, Frank Grillo, Teddy Sears, Kari Wahlgren, and Robin AtkinDownes.

The animation was fine, but did not standout in any instance. The characters did not feel right. Even in Elseworld type stories, the characters needed to feel like the characters we know in order for us to relate to them. Much of the story was convoluted and only felt as if it existed simply to put them in these specific settings. Worse yet, was it simply felt like a commercial for the next DC animation film.

Usually, the DC animated movies are very well done. This was quite a step down.

EYG Favorite Comic Cover of the Week

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For Week of May 27

Good evening. We have just one school day left before the end of the school year. That really does not have anything to do with this article, but I am just excited about it.

Bronze Medalist

Black Panther: Blood Hunt #1

Cover Art by Andrea Sorrentino

The Blood Hunt crossover event has had some solid covers (even if they are selling some variants of a blood red cover only). This one was from Andrea Sorrentino who has done some great rt in other horror series, especially teaming up with Jeff Lemire. He has a great cover of vampire T’Challa.

Silver Medalist

Universal Monsters Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives #2

Cover art by Matthew Roberts & Dave Stewart

These Universal Monsters books from Image have solid cover art every week and it has a bunch of excellent Variants too. I love this one with the creature spying on what is going on in the shadow.

Gold Medalist

Spider-Boy #7

Variant Cover B

Cover Art by David Baldeón 

I proclaimed to Todd that this was probably the winner this week, and sure enough, it secured the gold. Love this black and white variant with Spider-Boy in a black and white Venom-like costume. It is lovely.

EYG Favorite Comic Cover of the Week

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Week of April 8

So we have a strange week this week. My comic shop had their new comics lost in the mail. No one knows what happened to it. The only books that came out this week were Image/DC. I had nothing from DC which meant this week’s comic cover medalists are out of five Image Comics. Next week will be a large one.

Bronze Medalist

Rat City #1

Cover art by Zé Carlos

I don’t know anything about this issue except that sure looks like Spawn on the cover. I picked it up as a curiosity and because I liked the cover. I am interested to see what it is about.

Silver Medalist

Napalm Lullaby #2

Cover art by Bengal

I like this cover quite a bit with this new title from Image. Love the background on this cover as our main protagonists stand in front. I love how everything around them seem to leap off the cover. The title stands out beautifully too.

Gold Medalist

Phantom Road #10

Cover art by Gabriel H. Walta

I love this cover. Truthfully, it is not as much the art of the cover that stands out, but the coloring. This green makes this such a compelling cover. You remember the color because you do not typically see something like this.

Congrats to the all-Image week.

EYG Favorite Comic Cover of the Week

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Week of March 11

It is that time of the week. It is NEW COMIC BOOK DAY and that means it is time to give some medals out to the best comic covers of the week.

This week, we have an EYG Hall of Famer with his third (I think) medal and a group that has received their second medal in as many issues.

BRONZE MEDALIST

Dark Ride #11

Cover Art by Andrei Bressan & Adriano Lucas

The Image Comic with the demonic amusement park provided a great cover art with a clearly demonic character. The eyes and the teeth are just astounding.

SILVER MEDALIST

The Immortal Thor #8

Cover Art by Alex Ross

This the third medal awarded to the EYG Hall of Famer Alex Ross. Ross is the preemptive cover artist and he has been doing covers for Marvel including Fantastic Four, Avengers: Twilight, and Thor. This one is different than his normal cover with more of the vines taking the main section of the cover.

GOLD MEDALIST

Amazing Spider-Man #45

Cover art by John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz

This is the second issue in a row where Amazing Spider-Man cover artists Romita Jr., Hanna & Menyz received a medal. Last time it was a bronze. This one is a gold! Beautiful image of Spidey in the rain looking the worse for wear. The shadows are just a perfect addition to the image.

Merry Little Batman

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This is probably not for hardcore Damian Wayne fans.

If you can get past the fact that Damian Wayne, who is typically a very dark and violent character, is smoothed into a family friendly cartoon version of the character, then you will enjoy this hectic, engaging and fun-filled animated romp. If taking the darkness out of the story bothers you, well, skip this one.

I am not offended by the edginess removed from the Bat-Family, so I was able to watch and enjoy the Merry Little Batman special on Amazon Prime.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, “This Christmas, Damian Wayne wants to be a superhero like his dad–the one and only Batman. When Damian is left home alone while Batman takes on Gotham’s worst supervillains on Christmas Eve, he stumbles upon a villainous plot to steal Christmas and leaps at the chance to save the day.”

Luke Wilson voiced Bruce Wayne/Batman in this movie, which was an interesting choice. It definitely revealed the changes of the character since fatherhood took over. Yonus Kibreab voiced Damian and James Cromwell was Alfred Pennyworth.

Several iconic Batman villains make their appearances too, including Joker (David Hornsby), Penguin (Brian George), Poison Ivy (Therese McLaughlin) and Bane (Chris Sullivan).

Animated in a family friendly way, Merry Little Batman is absolutely directed to a younger audience, but it did not lose the humor or the message to the story. Damian learns a valuable lesson about being a superhero, about sacrifice and about Christmas.

This is a lot of fun and, if you allow yourself to enjoy the film, you will. If your preconceived notions of what Batman or Damian Wayne is supposed to be, then you may get in your own way.

3.75 stars