EYG Comic Cavalcade #86

March 16, 2024

Et tu, Brute?

Okay, I am a day late for that, as yesterday was the Ides of March, but it’s fun anyway. Welcome back to the EYG Comic Cavalcade #86 as we are piloting our way to number 100, only a few months or so away. With fifty issues of EYG Comic Catch-Up as well, that would be our 150 Legacy issue. Lots of excitement around here.

At my school, speaking of piloting, we are piloting a new curriculum for potential purchase next year. It is CKLA, from Amplify and in the 8th grade section, they have a sci-fi unit where they focus on Gris Grimly’s Frankenstein. Unfortunately, I am in 7th grade so I can not teach this graphic Novel, but I did order it from Amazon anyway. It arrived this week and it was a beautifully illustrated book. I also picked up Gris Grimly’s Edgar Allan Poe book, Tales of Death and Dementia. Both are very cool addition to the graphic novels in my collection.

Other books read this week:

Zorro: Man of the Dead #1-2. Fun new series from Massive Publishing. I had picked up issue #2 a few weeks ago and have been holding on to it until #1 came in. It came in this week and so I was able to read it and I enjoyed the new take on a present day Zorro very much. Sean Gordon Murphy and Simon Gough was the creative team behind these first two issues.

Blue Book: 1947 #1-2. Another book that I had to wait for was the new series based on the ‘true’ stories of UFOs from James Tynion IV and Michael Avon Oeming. I enjoyed the first volume of this book from Dark Horse and I discovered the second one was out a few weeks ago and was able to get both issues this week. 1947 is a big year in the mythology of UFO fans so I am excited to see where this goes. We get some examples of men in black in these issues (and that is not Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones).

Amazing Spider-Man #45. Written by Zeb Wells and art by guest artist Carmen Carnero. Cover art (gold medalist) by John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna and Marcio Menyz. Spider-Man is back trying to help out Mary Jane’s Aunt Anna Watson, who had lost her mind from the poisoned pills from the X-Men. Pete comes across Sandman in the mental institution too and Sandman gives Peter a hint that something Sinister was coming for Spider-Man.

Headless Horseman Halloween Annual. I had ordered this back last year, but it was missed. When we discovered that it was not ordered, we were able to get it into my pull list fairly quickly. This is a fun anthology book featuring several horror tales that deal with beheading. Another good Dark Horse book this week. I need to watch out for Dark Horse more than I have.

The Immortal Thor #8. “The Last Judgment” Written by Al Ewing and with art by Ibraim Roberson. Alex Ross did the cover art (silver medal). Thor faces off with his mother Gaea looking for answers about Toranos. He’s not pleased with the answers.

House of Slaughter #21. “The Butcher’s Wife: Part One“. Written by Tate Brombal and illustrated by Antonio Fuso. Cover art by Nimit Malavia & Werther Dell’edera. The houses meet with the Old Dragon and it gives Jace a target.

Ultimate Black Panther #2. Written by Bryan Hill and featuring art by Stefano Caselli. Caselli & David Curiel did the cover art. There is a traitor inside Wakanda, and T’Challa has received a prediction for his future involving a woman of energy bearing him a child. It does not look to be Okoye. Hiya Storm.

Fishflies #5. Written and drawn by Jeff Lemire. Bug is captured in a cellar by brother and sister Butch and Betty Bracken, and they seem to have experience in killing these things. Can Bug escape with Francis or will the dastardly twins kill another bug?

Dark Ride #11. Written by Joshua Williamson and art by Andrei Bressan. Cover art (Bronze medal) by Andrei Bressan & Adriano Lucas. The penultimate issue sees Sam finding his daughter, but discovering that his and Halloween’s father had something even more dangerous in motion. Dark Ride is heading for a fiery conclusion next month for sure.

Avengers: Twilight #4. “The Firefighters” Written by Chip Zdarsky and drawn by Daniel Acuna. Cover art was by Alex Ross. Thor is back! So is the head of Tony Stark. With a new team of old Avengers heading into the Raft to try and find and free anyone they could, the new Avengers are out in the world looking for them.

No/One #8. Written by Kyle Higgins & Brian Buccellato and art by Geraldo Borges. Ben Kern is ready to stop his running, in the most final way he could. Can No/One stop him from making a mistake? Only two more issues to go. I also love the companion podcast of Who is No/One featuring Rachael Leigh Cook and Patton Oswalt.

Black Widow & Hawkeye #1. “Broken Arrow: Part 1” Written by Stephanie Phillips and with art by Paolo Villanelli. Stephen Segovia & Jesus Aburtov did the cover art. Natasha and her new symbiote (not sure where that came from) is out looking for Clint Barton on behest of Bobbi Morse. They think he may be dead. On the contrary…

Spider-Gwen: Smash #4. Written by Melissa Flores and penciled by Enid Balám. David Nakayama did the cover art. This made last week’s Spider-Gwen Giant Size issue make much more sense as this issue leads directly into it. Making Em Jay a Carnage is still rather odd. I do like the inclusion of Dazzler.

Transformers #6. Written and drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson. As it seemed that they were preparing to kill Optimus Prime (I was having horrible flashbacks to Transformers: The Movie from the theater- a transcended moment in a lot of our lives), strange things happen. I am not really sure what happened except Sparky made some kind of sacrifice to save and fix Optimus. I have no idea how he knew what to do or how it worked, but it was definitely a boss move sand was pretty cool. I just am going to try not to think too much about it.

Napalm Lullaby #1. Written by Rick Remender and art and cover art by Bengal. A brutal and new series from Image that was a bit tough to follow. It seemed as if the beginning part was borrowing an origin from Superman. Still it is intriguing and I hope to be more into it as we progress. I do like the design of these characters.

Fall of the House of X #3. “The X Deaths of Dr. Statis” Written by Gerry Duggan and art by Lucas Werneck & Jethro Morales. Pepe Larraz & Marte Gracia did the cover art. This was a satisfying issue with Dr. Statis seemingly paying a price for his horrible acts during this Orchis storyline. Nice to see Firestar back and safe too. However, the cover does seem to indicate that Wolverine would have some role to play in this issue, and he is not to be found.

Other issues this week: Night People #1, Dead X-Men #3, What If… Venom #2, Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance #1, The One hand #2, Power Pack: Into the Storm #3, and Symbiote Spider-Man 2099 #1.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #84

March 3, 2024

New banner! Exciting times! Good books this week too.

I mentioned last post that Todd was going to Des Moines and was going to get some books signed for me. He returned with the two that I had, both signed by by Eric Gapstur and one signed by both Gapstur and Joey Vazquez. He also brought Amazing Spider-Man: Gang War #1 variant signed by Vazquez and he wondered if I wanted it. I told him yes, and it is a cool thing. Todd sure seems to have connections. I guess that is what happens when you go to conventions for as many years as he has.

I purchased Zorro: Man of the Dead #2, but I did not read it yet, because I am waiting for issue #1. It looks to be a present day Zorro story and the art looks fantastic. I have always enjoyed the character of Zorro, so I am excited to read this one and see what it is like.

New books this week:

Paul the Samurai #1. Written by Ben Edlund and penciled by Dave Garcia. Another book that Todd brought back for me from Des Moines that he was wondering if I would like to purchase. Paul is a spin-off of The Tick series from New England Comics and I love the Tick so I happily bought it from him. I have been working on picking up certain Tick books via eBay and this one is a great addition to the collection.

Spider-Punk: Arms Race #1. Written by Cody Ziglar with art by Justin Mason. Takashi Okazaki & Rico Renzi did the cover art. I really like the character of Hobie Brown, Spider-Punk, especially from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. However, this issue just did not do much for me. I do not know why it did not grab me as much as I would have expected, but it just did not.

Grim: Pen and Ink #1. This includes not only art but also commentary from Flaviano, the one-named artist extraordinaire from the Grim books. This is a reprint of issue one but in a beautiful black and white style. Something is Killing the Children did its number one in this style last year too. It is a wonderful piece of art in this manner.

Ice Cream Man #38. “Escape from Garyland” Written by W. Maxwell Prince and including art by Martin Morazzo. Legit, I think Ice Cream Man has the most consistently original and creative stories every new issue. This whole thing with this character of Gary was thoroughly engaging and made me want to know what was happening to all these poor Garys. Cover of the week too, btw.

Amazing Spider-Man #44. Written by Zeb Wells and penciled by John Romita Jr. Romita Jr., Scott Hanna and Marcio Menyz did the cover art. The Gang War comes to its conclusion as Spidey and his band of heroes take on the double dealing crime lords and one comes out on top.

Resurrection of Magneto #2. “The Weight of the World” Written by Al Ewing and art by Luciano Vecchio. Stefano Caselli & Jesus Aburtov did cover art. Magneto has to come to the understanding about his terrible past and the pain and loss of life that he caused. Can Storm convince him to return with her, and if she does, what is the path they must take?

Phantom Road #9. Written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Gabriel H. Walta. A weird and wild story and one of the quickest reads of the week. The imagery tells much of this story as Dom and Beverly face horrors from their past.

Avengers: Twilight #3. “With You I Can Do Anything.” Written by Chip Zdarsky and including art by Daniel Acuna. Alex Ross and Daniel Acuna did the cover art. The future tale of the Avengers rolls on with a great battle between Cap and the new Iron Man, son Tony Stark, James. Ms. Marvel makes an appearance as does Tony Stark’s disembodied head.

Immortal Thor #7. Written by Al Ewing and drawn by Martin Coccolo. Alex Ross did the cover art. There are some odd things going on in this book as it seems as if the Enchantress and Skurge have some magical being (Dario?) and the story is being told in a comic book…or so it seems. Its been weird so far, but I love Al Ewing so I will give him the benefit of th edoubt.

W0rldtr33 #8. Written by James Tynion IV and art by Fernando Blanco. Honestly, this book has been my least favorite James Tynion IV book so far. I find it confusing and I am having a difficult time following it. However, I am on board with it for however long it goes. This issue seemed to have a little more clearness for me and so we’ll see where it goes from here.

Invincible Iron Man #15. “The River”. Written by Gerry Duggan and penciled by Creees Lee. Kael Ngu did the cover art. This issue sets up what looks to be the big knockdown between Tony Stark and the Stark Sentinels. It sees the debut of Tony’s new armor and the Sentinel-Buster armor. Tony and Emma are great together too, by the way.

Punisher #4. Written by David Pepose and art by Dave Wachter. Rod Reis did the cover art. This feels like the end of the story for this new Punisher, but maybe I am wrong. I did enjoy his conflict with the new Jigsaw and his eventual acceptance of the Punisher name. I hope this is not over.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #17. “Retribution: Part 1” Written by Cody Ziglar and art by Partha Pratim & Federico Sabbatini. The anti-vigilante legislation in New York has been repealed, but that does not mean that Miles’ problems are over. Agent Gao has more plans and they may include Rabble.

Giant Size Fantastic Four #1. “Imperious Rex” Written by Fabian Nicieza and art by Creees Lee. Bryan Hitch & Alex Sinclair did the cover art. A new story featuring Atlantis, but no Namor. A new character arrives with a past connected to the underwater city. How does the FF play into this?

Newburn #15. Written by Chip Zdarsky and penciled by Jacob Phillips. Newburn is playing chess while everyone else is playing Chutes & Ladders. Newburn is on his way to next issue’s finale no matter how many bodies he has to step over on his way.

White Widow #4. Written by Sarah Gailey and art by Alessandro Miracolo. Cover art was done by David Marquez & Rachelle Rosenberg. Yelena wraps up her own limited series with a showdown with Armament. Yelena’s voice in the comic echoes that of the MCU character from the Black Widow movie and the Hawkeye series and I am here for that.

Other books this week: Dead X-Men #2, Women of Marvel #1, Power Pack: Into the Storm #2, Slow Burn #5, Deep Cuts #5 and Rare Flavours #4.

Comic Cavalcade #83

February 25, 2024

Jumping right in this week…

Marvel Two-in-One #99. Written by Bill Mantlo and penciled by Bob Hall. Hannigan & Byrne did the cover art. I was inventorying some of the older boxes in my collection when I came across a Marvel Two-in-One. On CLZ, I saw a pic of this book. I have always loved Rom so I went to eBay and picked it up. Story was okay. I miss Rom.

Spider-Boy #4. “Nightmare Scenario” and “Missing Pieces.” Both written by Dan Slott. 1st story art by Paco Medina. 2nd story art by Ty Templeton. Cover art by Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado. Baily Briggs has had some difficulties, feeling a touch jealous of Miles Morales and having to deal with his monster side.

The Six Fingers #1. “In the Gaps“. Written by Dan Watters and art by Sumit Kumar. This is an intriguing new book set in Neo Novena. Johannes is at the center of the story, and he is interesting. I enjoyed this one more than last week’s One Hand.

Tenement #9. Written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Andrea Sorrentino. The latest horror series from Jeff Lemire has its penultimate issue. This has continued to be wild and weird journey through the floors of this building.

Incredible Hulk #9. “Frozen Charlotte Part One” Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and guest artist Danny Earls. Cover art was by Nic Klein. Bruce is in New Orleans with Betty. Honestly, this monster-type story was not my favorite Hulk story . Hopefully I hope this improves.

Cobra Commander #2. Written by Joshua Williamson and art by Andrea Milana. The villainous Cobra Commander faces off with Buzzer and Ripper as we meet Zarana.

Spider-Woman #4. Written by Steven Foxe and art by Carola Borelli. Leinil Francis & Sunny Gho did the cover art. The Gang War arc is coming to an end but Jessica Drew continues to have her own problems with her now older son.

Ultimate Spider-Man #2. Written by Jonathan Hickman and art by Marco Checchetto. Peter Parker has found a black costume and is swinging around the city. However, with kids and a wife, Peter isn’t as lucky in keeping his secret a secret. His daughter May finds him in his costume. He also has to fight the Shocker.

Daredevil #6. “Introductory Rites Part Six” Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by Aaron Kuder. Dr. Strange guest stars as he tries to help Matt realize what has been happening with the demons he has been facing lately.

Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #5. Written by Brian Buccellato and art by Christian Duce. Drew Johnson and Romulo Fajaroo Jr. did the cover art. Luthor has created something to help battle the titans… the MechGodzilla. Monarch makes an appearance too.

Deer Editor#2. Written by Ryan Lindsay and art by Sami Kivelä. The buck noir keeps on as Bucky is tied to a chair, and he realizes that the mayor has some involvement.

Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #1. “Grootrise” Written by Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing. Art was by Kev Walker. Emilio Laiso & Bryan Valenza did the cover art. This brought the recent Groot storyline to a conclusion. This wrapped up the new Guardians arc, and Drax sacrificed himself to save Groot.

Animal Pound #2. Written by Tom King and illustrated by Peter Gross. The revolution is over and now the animals need to find a way to live. They are running out of food and this lead to one of the dogs killing a rabbit to eat. Politics find its way into the pound.

Sentry #3. “Legacy Part III” Written by Jason Loo and art by Luigi Zagaria with David Cutler. Ben Harvey did the cover art. This was my favorite issue of this series so far. Ryan Topper is grabbing the power from the other Sentrys. Jessica Jones appears in this book as well.

G.O.D.S. #5. Written by Jonathan Hickman with art by Valerio Schiti. Mateus Manhanini did the cover art. Mia DiMaria wants to be like Wyn and she has been doing what he asked. However, it sounds as if she doesn’t have much chance to advance. Cool creepy issue.

Captain Marvel #5. “Family Matters.” Written by Alyssa Wong and art by Jan Bazalour. Stephen Segovia & Romulo Fajaroo Jr. did the cover art. Captain Marvel is switching back and forth yet and the danger is real.

Luke Cage: Gang War #4. Written by Rodney Barnes and art by Ramon F. Bachs. Caanan White did the cover art. Luke Cage and his team of illegal vigilantes bring down the robots from Scythe. Luke has a battle armor, but it requires old school for him to win.

Other books this week: Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars: Battlefield #4, Rise of the Powers of X #2, The Last Hunt Predator #1, Alien: Black, White and Blood #1, A Haunted Girl #4, and Nights #5.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #82

February 17, 2024

Good morning.

Big week of new books. I was re-bagging and re-boarding one of the boxes last weekend and I came across the series of Strikeforce: Morituri from Marvel. I did not have nearly as many as I thought I had and, when I put it into CLZ, I saw that there were 31 issues. I went to eBay looking to fill it out, and found a full series. Actually, the eBay order did not include #10 and I had not known that when I made that order and was a little upset when I went through the books and ten was not there. However, fortunately, #10 was one of the issues I already had so I happily have the complete series.

Other books this week.

Jill and the Killers #1. Written by Olivia Cuartero-Briggs and illustrated by Roberta Ingranata. The cover art was by Sanya Anwar. This is a book Todd made me buy from a company called Oni Press. I hate to say it, but he was right. This was great. It is a cool mystery with some very likable characters. It is a fun book and was an enjoyable read.

The One Hand #1. Written by Ram V and featuring art by Laurence Campbell. The cover art was by Campbell, Lee Loughridge, and Tom Muller. Another new book with a central mystery. It had a really solid noir feel to it and I do like the setting that they are building.

The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos #7. “The Perfectly Monstrous Life of Adam Frankenstein.” Written by Tate Brombal and art by Soo Lee. Nick Robles did the cover art. The first of a two-issue arc to give the origin/back story of Adam Frankenstein, which, of course, means we get a lot of Victor Frankenstein. It is interesting.

The Displaced #1. “Chapter One: No Time for Goodbye.” Written by Ed Brisson and illustrated by Luca Casalanguida. This was my favorite new comic of the week. The Canadian city of Oshawa, Ontario sinks into the ground after a mysterious earthquake, but that is not the only main riddle. People forget everything about the city and the people who survived. This was truly compelling and I am excited to see what the story develops.

The Cabinet #1. Written by David Ebeltoft and Jordan Hart while penciled by Chiara Raimondi. Then there is my least favorite new book of the week. I did not like The Cabinet #1. The story did not grip me and the color palate was just truly obnoxious.

Vengeance of the Moon Knight #2. “Tigra” Written by Jed MacKay and drawn by Alessandro Cappuccio. David Finch is the cover art. I enjoyed this book with its focus on Tigra. Greer has always been one of my favorite secondary characters and the look at her past, focusing on her loves, was a great touch. We also discover that the new Moon Knight is NOT Marc, but we still do not know whom this guy is. I like the way this book has moved forward since Marc’s death.

Thunderbolts #3. “Worldstrike” Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly and including art by Gerald Borges. The married couple of Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson did the cover art. What if you crossed the Thunderbolts with a Godzilla/Kaiju movie? This is the issue you would get. A gigantic Bucky Barnes fighting American Kaiju? Yes, please.

The Deviant #4. Written by James Tynion IV and art by Joshua Hixson. This has been one of the most consistently entertaining and engaging books every month and I feel as if it is flying under the radar. The last page of the story in issue four was shocking and really continues to set this book up as a must read every week.

Beware the Planet of the Apes #2. Written by Marc Guggenheim and featuring art by Alvaro Lopez. So far, so good with this prequel to the original Apes movie. I have not been a big fan of the different 20th Century Studios books from Marvel, but this one seems to be intriguing me.

Night Thrasher #1. “Remix Part One: Don’t Call it a Comeback” Written by J. Holtham with art by Nelson Daniel. Alan Quah did the cover art. I loved the New Warriors back in the 80s and so I was excited to see Night Thrasher returning to the front of this book. While he was not my favorite of the New Warriors characters, I think he makes for a very promising protagonist. And the antagonist of Rage is compelling too.

Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver #1. Written by Steve Orlando with art by Lorenzo Tammetta. More fun with Wanda and Pietro. The sibling relationship is on full display in this issue and it was very realistic, even though it is playing out in the most fantastical manner. I am also pleased that Darcy remains a part of this book’s cast as she was one of my favorite parts of the last Scarlet Witch series, which ended too soon.

The Infernals #1. “Chapter One: Bethlehem.” Written by Noah Gardner & Ryan Parrott with art by John J. Pearson with Lola Bonato. This was a very strong week for new books as The Infernals is another fascinating and engaging books dealing with some religious iconography.

Superior Spider-Man #4. “Two Minds.” Written by Dan Slott and penciled by Mark Bagley. Bagley & Edgar Delgado did the cover art. This issue featured a struggle inside the mind of Peter Parker for control between Peter and Doc Ock, looking to reassume the form of the Superior Spider-Man. I am not sure I loved the inclusion of Uncle Ben, but it did make sense storyline wise. I loved the end result of the issue, as I worried about Doc Ock being shown as the actual Superior Spider-Man.

Fall of the House of X #2. “Long Games End” Written by Gerry Duggan and including art by Lucas Werneck. The fall of Krakoa continues in this issue as the X-Men are desperately fighting to save their very existence against Orchis. I am ready for the storyline to take its turn.

Transformers #5. Written and illustrated by Daniel Warren Johnson. Surprise Autobots. The book pulled out the debut of the Devastator, the combined might of the Constructicons giving an edge int he battle for Energon to the Decepticons. The Image version of the Transformers has been very solid so far and brings surprises every issue.

Blade #8.Mother of Evil: Part Eight.” Written by Bryan Hill and drawn by Elena Casagrande. KJ Diaz did the cover art (one of this week’s medalists). In that post of the Favorite Comic Cover of the Week, I said the cover had Blade with a group of glowing ghosts. I was wrong. They were not ghosts. They were souls of the damned in Hell. Easy mistake.

Amazing Spider-Man #43. Written by Zeb Wells and penciled by John Romita Jr. Romita Jr., Scott Hanna and Marcio Menyz did the cover art. Gang War continues! I have enjoyed this book, even though Spidey has not been the central focus of it. The main focus has been the crimelords, especially Madame Masque, but I loved how Spidey stepped up to her this issue. I just feel as if Madame Masque is out of her league.

Deadly Hands of Kung Fu: Gang War #3. Written by Greg Pak and drawn by Caio Majado. Shang-Chi steps up big time in the Gang War. The question about which side he is on is answered in this issue definitively. I do love Shang-Chi and I have enjoyed the characterization in this short series.

Other books this week: Miles Morales: Spider-Man #16, The Bloody Dozen #3, Daredevil: Black Armor #4, Blood Commandment #4, Kill Your Darlings #6, Black Panther #9, and Spider-Gwen: Smash #3.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #81

February 10, 2024

Welcome back to the EYG Comic Cavalcade. It was another solid week of comics this week and I am excited about sharing my thoughts on them.

I have received some Groo the Wanderer issues from the Marvel/Epic run during the 1980s this week from eBay. I go issues #61-70, #25 (which I was surprised was not among the books I already owned) and the final Marvel/Epic issue, #125. When I re-bagged and reboarded my Groo the Wanderers, I did not have as many of these issues as I thought I did. I thought I had a complete set of Marvel/Epic Groo the Wanderer issues, but I was actually missing quite a few. This is probably my next search to fill these issues because I do love Groo.

Since I am currently working on re-bagging. re-boarding and re-boxing all my comics (and inventorying them on CLZ), I wonder if it is going to turn out that I am missing more comics than I thought. I may have, in my head, thought that I had certain issues that I do not actually own. It is an interesting job.

New comics this week: 

Ultimate Black Panther #1. Written by Bryan Hill with art by Stefano Caselli. The next series from Marvel’s new Ultimate universe has arrived, with Black Panther taking center stage. This was a really strong introduction for the character and I loved the design of Killmonger. The Ultimate Universe feels as if it is off to a hot start.

The Sensational She-Hulk #5. Written by Rainbow Rowell and drawn by Ig Guara. Jen Bartel did the cover art (which was in the top six of the covers of the week race). This was a lot of fun as She-Hulk, Captain Marvel and my girl Patsy Walker aka Hellcat battled some demons at Patsy’s favorite bar and Damian Hellstrom, the Son of Satan showed up. I am not sure where my unreasonable love of Hellcat has come from, but I love that character so much.

Pine & Merrimac #2.  Written by Kyle Starks and illustrated by Fran Galán. Linnea and Parker find their investigation leading them to as island that has a dark and dirty secret and the couple are there to bring it down.

Captain America #6. Written by J. Michael Straczynski and penciled by Lan Medina. Taurin Clarke did the cover art. The story arc with the present day and past day Steve Rogers wrapped up in this issue as we see the ever heroic Steve Rogers save the day twice. I loved this dual story and I will miss it as the past time frame clearly led up to the recruitment of Rogers for the Super Soldier program.

Doctor Strange #12. ”Ghost Story“. Written by Jed MacKay and art by guest artist Danilo S. Beyruth. Alex Ross continued with his awesome Dr. Strange covers here. This story focused on Bats the ghost dog as he could smell the evil that was inside the Sanctum Santorum. That evil was Victor Strange, the ghost from the recent Crypt of Shadows #1. I was worried for Bats the entire issue. 

Daredevil: Gang War #3. Written by Erica Schultz and penciled by Sergio Davila. Elektra is out on the streets of Hell’s Kitchen doing what she can to protect the people from the Gang War ravaging the neighborhood. She winds up battling the new villain Bellona. IS she a Wolverine clone? Sounds that way.

Avengers #10. ”Twilight Dreaming” Part Four. Written by Jed MacKay and art by C.F. Villa. Stuart Immonen did the cover art. Myrddin confronts Kang the Conqueror, who is now awake and blaming the Avengers for not protecting him better. Meanwhile, Thor and Wanda are speaking with Nightmare. Lots of stuff going on here.

X-Men #31. ”The Passenger“ Written by Gerry Duggan and drawn by Phil Noto. Joshua Cassara and Marte Gracia did the cover art. X-Men members Shadowcat, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Ms. Marvel, and Psylocke, along with Spider-Man, fight Nimrod as the mutants prepare to invade the earth.

Fantastic Four #17. ”Salvaged from the Wreck of Ages.” Written by Ryan North and art by Carlos Gomez. Cover art was done by Alex Ross. A quick FYI, Indiana Jones does not appear inside this issue, despite making a cameo on the cover. This is a fun time travel story that allowed the FF to find the bones of one of their members who apparently died in prehistoric Arizona. I have loved these single issue stand alone stories Ryan North has tossed in during his run on Fantastic Four. It shows that every comic does not have to be multiple issue story arcs to be successful.

Wolverine: Madripoor Knights #1. ”Blindsides Galore! (or the Set-Up)” Written by Chris Claremont and art by Edgar Salazar. Philip Tan & Sebastian Cheng did the cover art. Another short series set in the Marvel Universe past, this included a team up from Logan (as Patch) with Captain America and Black Widow. Psylocke and Jubilee were here too, but the big three were the featured trio.

The Cull #5. Written by Kelly Thompson and art by Mattia De Iulis. This brought this series to an end. It is extremely different now than when the series started off. I am not sure I loved how it went. The art is beautiful though. It also pulled off a Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ending leaving a surprising END? to the series.

Other books this week: Antarctica #8, Star Wars: Mace Windu #1, Ghostlore #8, Love Everlasting #12, and Thanos #3.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #80

February 3, 2024

It is the 80th edition of the EYG Comic Cavalcade. Yay! 

I was able to get some older British issues including Wolverine and Gambit#56, The Avengers United #1 and Wolverine Unleashed #53. They are reprint issues and it is just kind of cool to add them to my collection.

I wound up with my two CGC books this week from eBay. Groo the Wanderer #1 from Marvel/Epic and Groo the Wanderer #11. #1 was a 9.4 and #11 is 9.6. They are wonderful and beautiful. I do not have a lot of CGC books but I do like the three that are currently in my collection.

I have received the whole series of Sergio Aragones’ Groo run of 12-issues from Image Comics. I love me some Groo, even if the jokes may get a tad repetitive at times. 

Other books:

Deer Editor #1. Written by Ryan K. Lindsay and art by Sami Kivelä. Todd got me this issue and demanded that I do the review of it. Okay, here we go… I loved this. The main character is named Bucky and he is a two-legged walking deer who is an investigative journalist. The comic had a noir feel to it and Bucky is a great character. And by the way, he is going through the city like he is just another human. It is weird, and I am in for it.

Ghost Machine #1. This is the other book that Todd got me and demanded a review for. This is an anthology book featuring a bunch

of the new series coming from Image including books within their own worlds. Several of these have been fun and I will probably be following. I used to like Geiger, but I have not continued with it. The Hyde Street horror series I will definitely check out. I already plan on picking up Redcoat. The Family Odysseys series are interesting too. This book was a decent kick off for these books.

Dark Ride #10. Written by Joshua Williamson and illustrated by Andrei Bressan. Declan Shalvey did the cover art for the B cover that I purchased. This series is ramping things up as Sam and Halloween are heading to their own choices. 

Spine-Tingling Spider-Man #4. Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by Juan Ferreyra. Ferreyra had an amazing cover too. This was the finale of this awesome Spider-Man horror book featuring the Jackal. I really enjoyed this book and I would be behind extending mor Spider-horror in the future.

Spider-Boy #3. ”Nonstop Action Figure” and “Spi-lingual” Both stories written by Dan Slott. First story art by Paco Medina and second story art is by Ty Templeton. Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado did the cover art. Spider-Boy takes on the Toy Soldier, who is an action figure with all the powers of the Avengers. I have been liking Spider-Boy a lot. This is a lot of fun.

Deadly Hands of Kung Fu: Gang War #2. Written by Greg Pak and art by Caio Majado. David Aja did the cool cover on this. I really enjoy these covers. Shang has been struggling to maintain the power and the organization of the Five Weapons Society. This has been one of the best books from the Gang War arc.

Avengers Inc. #5. Case Number: 005: “The Prodigal Son” Written by Al Ewing and drawn by Leonard Kirk. Daniel Acuna got the cover art of the week for this excellent cover. This books came to an end way too early. This has been an excellent book and the fact that it has not caught on and has been cancelled after 5 issues is a shame.

Local Man #9. Written by Tony Fleecs and Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs does the art. Jack and Inga’s dalliance comes to light and it causes some trouble. Jack’s killing of Camo Crusader comes out as well. And lots of water in this issue too.

Avengers: Twilight #2. ”Book Two: That’s Not Who We Are.” Written by Chip Zdarsky and drawn by Daniel Acuna. I have once again enjoyed this book despite me typically not being a fan of these alternate future stories. This one was cool following with old Captain America and we see an older Kamala too. I should never doubt Chip Zdarsky.

Marvel Voices Legends #1. I typically do not read these Voices books much, but I did read this one and I liked most of the book. It was neat to see a few characters we don’t see much such as The Patriot and Deathlok. I prefer that over seeing short story with Black Panther who has his own book. Caanan White & Frank D’Armata did the cover art.

Killadelphia #33. ”Death Be Not Proud: Part III“ Written by Rodney Barnes and art by Jason Shawn Alexander & German Erramouspe. Jason Shawn Alexander did the cover art. Savage Dragon guest stars in this issue. I am not sure I love the new version of Killadelphia without the Founding Fathers Vampires from the first 30 issues. It’s fine, but it is definitely down from those heights.

Dead X-Men #1. ”Earth Intruders” Written by Steve Foxe and art by Jonas Scharf, Bernard Chang and Vincenzo Carratù. This is strange as some dead X-Men, who died during the Hellfire Gala are back and after Moira. I am not sure about this book because I am not sure I understand what is going on here.

Incredible Hulk #8. ”Spirits of Vengeance Part Three“ Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and art by Nic Klein. Hulk and Ghost Rider (one of them at least) fighting monsters. That is about it. Lots of kids involved too. 

Moon Man #1. Written by Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi & Kyle Higgins and art by Marco Locati. Rapper Kid Cudi writes a comic. It is an interesting start. I would probably give another issue a chance. I think the ideas here are decent and I’m intrigued to see where it heads from here.

Other books this week: Miguel O’Hara: Spider-Man 2099 #5, Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars: Battleworld #3, The Bloody Dozen #2, and W0rldtr33 #7. (Only four in the other books this week Todd. Are you happy? I hope you’re happy)

EYG Comic Cavalcade #79

January 28, 2024

Welcome to the EYG Comic Cavalcade. 

Grabbed some back issues this week for the collection. There were some fun stuff including Champions #1 (that’s Vol. 1), A couple of older Marvel Team-Up including one with Spidey and the Cat, and an old X-Men issue that was a reprint of Along Came a Spider.

I picked up a couple of variant covers of Howard the Duck #1, the newest version of the character that came out last year. The cover included one by Skottie Young.

The highlight of the eBay adventures this week is grabbing the entire run of Groo at Image, issues #1-12. I won a bid on that just last night and discovered that I had won it just a few minutes ago. 

I also picked up a couple of comics that had been graded by CDC. I’m excited to share those when they arrive.

Books this week:

Punisher #3. ”The Other Side of Terror.” Written by David Pepose and art by Dave Wachter. The cover art was done by Rod Reis. I thought this was the best issue of the new Punisher so far. It was spooky and scary and the Fearmaster felt like a cool villain for him and the end with a new version of Jigsaw looks promising.

Universal Monsters: Dracula #4. Written by James Tynion IV and drawn by Martin Simmonds. The series starring the Universal Monster’s Dracula concluded with this issue. It was a wonderful four issues, and you just had to feel for poor Renfield. 

Crashdown #1. Written by “Comic Tom” Garcia and Ryan Sargeant with art by Ben Templesmith. Picked this one up off the stand. It is from the company Whatnot Publishing, which I had never heard before. It is a fun book that has some kind of sea creature. 

Resurrection of Magneto #1. ”The Lightning Path“ Written by Al Ewing and art by Luciano Vecchio. The variant cover (which was the Cover of the Week) was by Stefano Caselli & Jesus Aburtov. Interestingly enough, the issue was more about Storm than Magneto as Storm was on the way to try and find him.

Superior Spider-Man #3. ”Plot Armor“ Written by Dan Slott and penciled by Mark Bagley. Spidey tries to impersonate Superior Spider-Man with Doc Ock in his headset in hopes of saving Anna Marie. This has been a decent series so far, though I am not sure I love where it’s heading.

Spider-Woman #3. Written by Steve Foxe and art by Carola Borelli. Leinil Francis Yu & Sunny Gho did the cover.  Gang War continues as Jessica finds her son in a place where she least expected him. Shocking.

Immortal Thor #6. ”The Teller of the Tale.” Thor and Loki talk about a tale from their distant past and Thor sees the adventure in a new light. Thor does battle with a giant and something dealing with Marvel Comics is being set up. 

G.O.D.S. #4. Written by Jonathan Hickman and drawn by Valerio Schiti/ Mateus Manhanini did the cover art. This has been a weird ride so far. The Inbetweener is involved. Wyn and Doctor Strange make a fun pairing.

Daredevil: Black Armor #3. Written by D.G. Chichester and penciled by Netho Diaz. Mark Bagely and Romulo Fajardo Jr did the cover art. Matt Murdock has to try to survive the dangers of Baron Von Strucker. The flashback series has been decent so far.

Tenement #8. Written by Jeff Lemire and art by Andrea Sorrentino. The latest in the horror building story by Jeff Lemire kept going on with the potential sacrifice of Isaac. The crew heads to the second floor.

Other books read: Miguel O’Hara: Spider-Man 2099 #4, Newburn #14, Project: Cryptid #5, The Schlub #6, Power Pack: Into the Storm #1, Damn Them All #12, Hexagon Bridge #5 and Slow Burn #4.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #77

January 12, 2024

Another snowstorm opened up some time to read comics today. The last snowstorm allowed me o head to Comic World this past Wednesday. We’ve had nearly 20 inches of snow this week. 

I have also gotten some eBay shopping in. This week a copy of the Marvel Graphic Novel The Death of Groo by Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragonés arrived in the mail. It is a beautiful copy and I am very happy to have it. I have ordered several older Tick books that will arrive at a later date.

Other books this week:

The Sensational She-Hulk #4. Written by Rainbow Rowell and art by Ig Guara. Jen Bartel did the cover art. I was very excited for this issue because Patsy Walker, aka Hellcat was going to appear. She was a hoot in this issue, as she and Jen head out on the town (with Carol Danvers) and there was fun for all. I don’t know why I really love Hellcat, but I find that I really do.

Miguel O’Hara: Spider-Man #2. ”Beware… Dracula!“ Written by Steve Orlando and art by Michael Dowling. Nick Bradshaw & Rachelle Rosenberg did the cover art. I liked this issue much more than I did issue #1. The confrontation between Miguel and Dracula on the moon was very interesting and compelling. 

Swan Songs #6. Written by W. Maxwell Prince and illustrated by Martin Morazzo. This is my favorite book of the week (plus the winner of the Cover of the week). This is the most creative book I have seen in ages, a parody of Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends and a crossover with Ice Cream Man. The poems are funny and warped. 

Captain Marvel #4. ”Shifting Lines“ Carol and Yuna are after the MacGuffin in teh Negative Zone and they come across… The Black Cat??? What? 

Book of Butcher #1. Written by James Tynion IV and drawn by Werther Dell’edera. This was a surprise a couple weeks ago when it was just suddenly out. I thought comic companies usually promote releases like this. It even caught the staff at Comic World off guard. This was informational.

Ultimate Spider-Man #1. Written by Jonathan Hicks and art by Marco Checchetto. Checchetto and Matthew Wilson did the cover art. The Ultimate Universe is back and the new Ultimate Spider-Man kicks it off. Peter Parker had not been bitten by the radioactive spider and he was now a middle aged man, married to MJ with two kids. But something was missing. This was a good read and I am intrigued by the new version we are getting.

Daredevil: Gang War#2. Written by Erica Schultz and penciled by Sergio Davila. Elektra is in the Gang War in an attempt to protect Hell’s Kitchen. However, Madame Masque has a new assassin hired, and she had Wolverine-like claws. Who is she? Very curious.

Giant Size Spider-Man #1. ”Lethal Protection“. Written by Cody Ziglar and drawn by Iban Coello. Includes a reprint of Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #22 by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli. Bryan Hitch & Alex Sinclair did the cover art. Miles Morales has to face off with a wild and uncontrollable Venom.

Luke Cage: Gang War #3. Written by Rodney Barnes and drawn by Ramon Bachs. Caanan White did the cover art. Mayor Cage and his new group of heroes take on some giant robots created by Smythe.

Avengers #9. “Twilight Dreaming” Part Three. The Avengers take on the Twilight Court and pull out one of the oldest clichés around. They match up against the villains that were too even a match… so they decided to switch opponents. I saw that coming a mile away. As I was reading, I thought, watch them just switch opponents and that is exactly what they did. I have seen that countless times over the years. I found that pretty lazy.

Transformers #4. Written and drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson. Optimus puts everything on the line to try and save Spike, who was shot last episode. It did not help when Starscream and the Decepticons attacked the hospital. A shocking final scene too, btw.

Blade #7. “Mother of Evil” Part Seven. Written by Bryan Hill and art by Valentina Pinti. Cover art was by Elena Casagrande & Romulo Fajardo Jr. Blade received a call from Bruce Banner and he arrives in a small town and faces off with the Hulk. It’s a creepy issue with some horrifying imagery even though the cover is a bit of a mislead. 

Deep Cuts #4. ”Blue Notes“ Written by Kyle Higgins and Joe Clark and pencils by Ramon K. Perez. I really thought this book was over. It had been months since the last issue came out. I do enjoy the different style of storytelling that goes on in this anthology book.

Rise of the Powers of X #1. Written by Kieron Gillen and art by R.B. Silva. Ugh. This one takes place ten years in the future, immediately making me uneasy about it. Then Ms. Marvel is listed as Captain Krakoa. These future storylines are never my favorites. Unfortunately, this one was not any different.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #15. Written by Cody Ziglar and art by Federico Vicentini and Federica Mancin. Still in the Gang War, Miles teams up with Captain Kra…err… Ms. Marvel against the Hobgoblin and his henchmen. 

Fishflies #4. Written and drawn by Jeff Lemire. Franny Fox and her former fugitive friend who had turned into a giant bug are out and being pursued by the police. A real Frankenstein type story that is beautiful to look at (especially the colors).

Other books read this week: Thunderbolts #2, The Sentry #2, Blood Commandment #3, Antarctica #7, Spider-Gwen: Smash #2, Starsigns #7, W0rldtr33 #6, and Midlife (or How to Hero at Fifty).

EYG Comic Cavalcade #74

December 24, 2023

Happy holidays. Merry Christmas! As I write this, it is Christmas Eve and over 50 degrees outside. Clearly no white Christmas this year, and that does not bother me even a little bit. 

With a hectic schedule at EYG, I am getting last week’s books finished up. One of the best things about Christmas break is that next Wednesday, I get to go spend time at Comic World reading my pull list. 

I have a group of back issues being held for me in my box, from a collection that may be sold to Comic World. It includes the Demon in a Bottle issue of Iron Man. It could still fall through, but if it comes through, I’ll have that plus some Tomb of Draculas. Cool stuff.

This is the books from last week…

Amazing Spider-Man #40. Written by Zeb Wells and penciled by John Romita Jr. Romita Jr, Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz did the cover. We are in the Gang War storyline and The Rose is making his presences known. So the new alliance between Spidey and Tombstone is bringing in another big hitter.

Spider-Boy #2. “`Twas the Fight Before Christmas” and “X-Mas Ex Machina.” Written by Dan Slott. First story drawn by Paco Medina and second story drawn by Ty Templeton. Cover art was done by Humberto Ramos and Edgar Delgado. Spider-Boy teams up with Captain America in a battle with the Taskmaster. 

The Original X-Men #1. Written by Christos Gage and penciled by Greg Land. The cover art was done by Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer & Brad Anderson. A futuristic Phoenix comes back in time to see the young X-Men (who had, at one point, come to the present day Marvel Universe) for help with another universe Phoenix. This was really great and book that I wished had more than the one shot. 

Spine-Tingling Spider-Man #3. Written by Saladin Ahmed and drawn by Juan Ferreyra. This horror story continues to be one of the best books on the market. Spidey comes across Mysterio in this horror house and figures out, with the help of Spidercide, the man behind the terrors. The Jackal!

Superior Spider-Man #2. ”Suit Up“ Written by Dan Slott and penciled by Mark Bagley. I was not sure if I was going to get this series. After issue #1, I was still on the fence. This book cleared that up for me as I loved this issue. Doc Ock and Spidey team up, if reluctantly, to try to save Anna Marie. This solidified this book for me.

The Deviant #2. Written by James Tynion IV and drawn by Joshua Hixson. Hixson did the cover, which was our cover of the week. This book has been so great so far. Set during the Christmas holiday, it follows the story of a comic book writer researching a serial killer from the past. This has been so awesome so far.

Capwolf and the Howling Commandos #3. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Carlos Magno. Ryan Brown did the cover art. Capwolf continues to fight in the World War II battle. Looks as if old Nick Fury may be coming back to the action.

Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #3. Written by Brian Buccellato and art by Christian Duce. Drew Johnson & Romulo Fajardo Jr. did cover art. Superheroes vs. monsters are filling these pages. Is Superman dead? Since this is not in continuity (or at least, so it seems) anything is possible. It does look like Atom Smasher bit the big one (thanks Godzilla).

Animal Pound #1. ”Chapter One: The Proud Dog Dies.“ Written by Tom King and illustrated by Peter Gross. The first issue of the new Tom King book follows the adventures of a group of animals at an animal pound and their attempted coup of the pound. First issue had a lot of dialogue but I think it will improve as it moves along. Tom King has earned the patience.

Astonishing Iceman #5. ”Out Cold Part Five“ Written by Steve Orlando and art by Vincenzo Carratù. Jesus Saiz did the cover art. Iceman has his final conflict with Clean and sees if he can reform himself without help from Romeo. This short series ended with a solid conclusion. 

The Incredible Hulk #7. ”Spirits of Vengeance” Part Two. Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and art by Nic Klein. Hulk fights an undead Ghost Rider and then teams up with him as dangers abound. This version of the Hulk is interesting, but I do think it is going to pick up soon.

Uncanny Avengers #5. ”Unmasked“ Written by Gerry Duggan and art by Javier Garrón. This series closes up after a final conflict with Captain Krakoa, aka Steven Grant Rogers, the Captain America who joined Hydra a few years ago.

Killadelphia #32. ”Death Be Not Proud Part II: Whatever Happened to Blake Edwards?“ Written by Rodney Barnes and art by Jason Shawn Alexander & German Erramouspe. We have Spawn. And at the end of this issue, another independent all-star showed up… Savage Dragon. Wild series so far. 

Daredevil: Black Armor #2. Written by D.G. Chichester and penciled by Netho Diaz. Mark Bagley & Romulo Fajardo Jr. did the cover art. Daredevil has to deal with a bunch of villains such as Hobgoblin, Sabretooth, Mole Man and Baron Strucker.

Uncanny Spider-Man #5. “Fade to Blue” Written by Si Spurrier and drawn by Lee Garbett & Simone Buonfantino. Another short series that comes to an end this week. Kurt finally brings down the Vulture and frees Warlock. 

Doctor Strange #10. ”Nebraska Pt. 2” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Pasqual Ferry. Alex Ross did the cover art. Dr. Strange and General Strange end their war and Doctor Strange shows the compassion of a doctor. 

Other books read: The Plot Holes #5, Project Cryptid #4, Hunt for the Skinwalker #4, Newburn #13, Kill Your Darlings #4, G.O.D.S. #3, Hexagon Bridge #4, and Rare Flavours #3. 

2023 Comics Year in Review

2023 was the year that I really got back into comics, big time. I had been buying books and reading a few here and there, but I was having piles of comics at my house that I was not getting to and some that were still in the bag I bought them in at Comic World. And Todd is always hording those bags.

Anyway, with the beginning of the Comic Catch-Up post, I started working through those piles of books, getting them bagged and boarded. Once the piles were basically done, I switched the post to EYG Comic Cavalcade and here we are.

I have also expanded my collecting of books from just Marvel to Marvel, Image, Boom! Studios… and even DC (a little). I have a very wide swath of comics I get in a month.

So I have given out some of the year awards for EYG Year in Review for the world of comics.

Best Marvel Series: Daredevil. Daredevil was consistently one of the most enjoyable books each month. Chip Zdarsky created an amazing tale for Matt Murdock and Saladin Ahmed has continued the thrilling arc for the character in his new series. Runners-Up: Moon Knight, Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, She-Hulk.

Best Independent Series: No/One. This was a tough choice. I loved a lot of independent books this year, and I bought a bunch of them. However, I guess No/One got a bit of a push when I found the podcast that is tied to it. I have truly enjoyed this book so far. Runners-Up: Something is Killing the Children, Something Epic, Void Rivals, Killadelphia, The Great British Bump Off.

Best DC Series: Knight Terrors. This is a bit of a cheat, but this summer storyline lead me to buy the entire run of books, including all the crossovers. I liked more of this than not, with the main limited series being some great stuff with Batman and Deadman involved. Runners-Up: Peacemaker: Tries Hard, Superman: Lost.

Best New Character: Spider-Boy. Dan Slott’s latest creation in the world of Spider-Man is the young Spider-Boy who remembers being Spider-Man’s sidekick. Problem is that he is the only person who remembers that happening. Spider-Boy has been fun so far. Runners-up: No/One, Danny Dillon, Hunter’s Moon, Hallows’ Eve, Red Goblin

Best Writer: James Tynion IV. Tynion has been one of the best and most prolific writers on the independent scene all year. With Something Killing the Children being awesome every month, there was also Blue Book, Universal Monsters: Dracula, The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos, W0rldT33, The Department of Truth, The Deviant etc. It has gotten to a point that when I see James Tynion IV on a comic, I want to buy it. Runners-Up: Jeff Lemire, Al Ewing, Chip Zdarsky, Szymon Kudranski, Jed MacKay, Saladin Ahmed

Best Artist: Szymon Kudranski. His work on Something Epic was absolutely astounding. His art of those issues stuck with me and made me think of him for this book. It is so realistic that it looks photographic and I find it absolutely beautiful. Runners-Up: Lee Bermejo, John Romita Jr., Elena Casagrande, Werther Dell’Edera, Martin Simmonds.

Best Graphic Novel: Inside the Mind of Sherlock Holmes. A creative book featuring the iconic detective. Runners-Up: Parasocial, Killadelphia trade paperback. 

Best Issue #1: Something Epic #1. This book inspired me to head out and actually search down as many of the variant covers that I could find. It was such a great issue I felt excited after reading it. Runners-Up: Hellcat #1, Predator versus Wolverine #1, The Deviant #1.

Best Surprise: Predator vs. Wolverine #1. I could not believe that I enjoyed this book as much as I did. While the next couple issues were okay at best, this first issue really shocked me with how much I enjoyed it. Runners-Up: Killadelphia, Void Rivals, Transformers

Most Underappreciated: Hellcat. I loved this limited series. I know it did not have the best following, but Patsy Walker had an exciting and enjoyable mystery to solve involving her ex-husband Damian Hellstrom. Runners-Up: Moon Knight, Ghost Rider, Peacemaker: Tries Hard

Best One Shot: Hellfire Gala #1. Big things happened in this book and I was really enjoying it. The Orchis storyline kicked into high gear and the X-Men have yet to recover. Runners-Up: Fallen Friend: The Death of Ms. Marvel #1, The Original X-Men #1, Howard the Duck #1.

Best Older Series I Started this Year: Gideon Falls. I absolutely loved this series and it was a big reason why I dove into the independent scene as much as I did. Jeff Lemire created a classic with this 28-issue masterpiece. Runners-Up: Omega the Unknown, Planetary, Ice Cream Man, Howard the Duck, That Texas Blood

Cover of the Year: Amazing Spider-Man #35, Cover D. Drawn by Elena Casagrande. 

Comic Character MVPs for 2023: Spider-Man, Optimus Prime, Deadman, Erica Slaughter, Ms. Marvel, Daredevil, and Moon Knight.

The 2023 Anna Devane Kick Ass Female Award

The Anna Devane Kick Ass Female Award

Previous winners:  Rey (Star Wars), Mockingbird (Marvel Comics), Wonder Woman (DCEU), The Shirewolves, Captain Marvel, Kamala Harris, Wanda Maximoff, Pearl 

I loved Anna Devane when I was younger and watched General Hospital. I loved how she could kick the butt of anyone placed in front of her. That is where this award came from.

You can call it a woke award if you wish. It doesn’t matter to me. I love a great female asskicker. Here are some of the best of 2023.

Runners-up: M3GAN kicked off the year in a great movie, although she is a robot technically and not necessarily a female.Spider-Gwen is a major star from the Across the Spider-Verse film and she has had a couple of series at Marvel Comics this year.I don’t care what anyone says, I loved The Marvels (Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau).They re definitely in this category.Barbie dominated the box office and found her way into the real world.Another one I will debate till the end is Hope, aka the Wasp, from Quantumania.Yes, she did not have as much to do, but she came up big a couple of times.Another comic character is Daredevil, aka Elektra Natchios.She was a major figure in Matt Murdock’s life and now is still in the DD costume during the Gang War story.Julia Page is a reporter from the No/One comic and she probably wouldn’t have made this list had it not been for the podcast that I listened to tied to this series.The podcast was inspiring to me and Julia was a great character.The biggest tour of the year kicked a lot of ass as Taylor Swift made ALL the money.The Last of Us debuted on HBO and gave us a perfect version of Ellie. Her confrontation with the cannibals was absolutely mind-blowing. Donna Noble returned with The Doctor for three specials on Disney + and showed why she was one of the best companions the Doctor ever had. Juliette Nichols battled through the first season of Silo on Apple TV + trying to solve a death inside the dystopian silo. Lucy Gray Baird dominated the screen in the new Hunger Games film. She was the winner of the Games and of our hearts. One of the top characters in the new D& D YouTube series Bonus Action was Bar’B Mourdusa, a barbarian, as played by Amanda Nicholas. 

And our winner among this massive list of powerful and dominant females is…

Winner: Dorothy “Dot” Lyon. 

Aka Nadine Tillman, played by Juno Temple on FX’s Fargo. 

Dorothy has been the main protagonist in Fargo season five and she has been just so awesome. Being pursued by her ex-husband, Sheriff Roy Tillman, Dorothy had to fight off his flunkies while still trying to maintain her new life from crashing around her. She has been absolutely brutal all year and her wits and intelligence shone through everything. I am excited for her final showdown with Roy, which is clearly coming soon.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #73

December 17, 2023

Good day all. This is our #73 post of the EYG Comic Cavalcade. I was just thinking that it was about time to get a new header for this, but I am not sure that I have the time right now. With school wrapping up, plus all the movies, TV shows, rewatches, and the Year in Review, time is sparse.

Still, it is on the to do list for soon.

My friend Todd picked up a couple of comics from England featuring Spider-Man and thought of me. He knows I am a huge Spider-Man fan and he asked if I was interested in these books. I was. They included Spider-Man Comic #320 and The Spectacular Spider-Man weekly #361. These are cool, oversized books to add to the collection. 

Here are the rest of the books from this week:

White Widow #2. Written by Sarah Gailey and art by Alessandro Miracolo. David Marquez did the cover art. I think this was the best cover of the week. I actually enjoyed the story much more than I did in issue #1, which was okay. I liked the characterization of Yelena in this book and it gave me a bit of the flavor of Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye series. 

The Enfield Gang Massacre #5. ”Chapter Five: Death & Reasons.“ This continues to be one of the most original comic books on the market. I love how it feels like an old time comic book and it keeps on being a fun read.

Blade #6. ”Mother of Evil” Part Six. Written by Bryan Hill and drawn by Lee Ferguson. Elena Casagrande & Jordie Bellaire did the cover art. Blade gets training from Dracula. Yup. That’s what I said. The ultimate odd couple plays out as Blade prepares for what he has to face.

The Bloody Dozen: A Tale of the Shrouded College #1. Written by Charles Soule and art by Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque. Will Sliney did the cover art. An intriguing and unlikely trio is recruited to go into space after…vampires? An interesting start to this book that I did not remember ordering. 

Antarctica #6. Written by Simon Birks and art by Willi Roberts. It’s Christmas time and seven year old Hannah is hoping to spend the holidays with her father. However, there is more here than what is being told. Antarctica continues to be a compelling, mind-twisting book.

Immortal Thor #5. ”Caveat Emptor” Written by Al Ewing and drawn by Martin Coccolo. Cover art was by Alex Ross. Thor and the reassembled Thor Corps has to take on Toranos and Thor has a different idea on how to stop the rampage of the god.

Moon Knight #30. ”The Terminal Seconds of Moon Knight“ Written by Jed MacKay and drawn by Alessandro Cappuccio. Stephen Segovia & Rachelle Rosenberg did the cover art. Moon Knight aka Marc Spector has been on this path for quite a while now, and he has finally died… and will not come back. It seems that his work will carry on, though.

Spider-Gwen: Smash #1. Written by Melissa Flores and penciled by Enid Balám. Gwen and the Mary Janes go on a tour, opening for Alison Blaire, the Dazzler! That is, until a hulk-creature crashes the party.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #13. Written by Cody Ziglar and drawn by Federico Vicentini. The Gang War continues in these pages as Miles takes on the Buzz Boys. Hobgoblin is around as well.

Punisher #2. ”The Negotiation“ Written by David Pepose and art by Dave Wachter. Rod Reis did the cover art. Joe Garrison is after information on what happened to his wife and who may have ordered the attack. He found out that his wife was the actual target. That did not make him too happy.

Daredevil: Gang War #1. Written by Erica Schultz and penciled by Sergio Davila. Davila, Sean Parsons & Ceci De La Cruz did the cover art. Daredevil, aka Elektra Natchios, is out to protect Hell’s Kitchen so she has to team up with Spider-Man and the others in the Gang War. She does not like that much and is happier on her own. 

Luke Cage: Gang War #2. Written by Rodney Barnes and art by Ramon F. Bachs. Caanan White did the cover art. Luke, in his new costume to protect his identity, along with Cloak & Dagger, Danny Rand, and Jessica Jones take on Smythe during the Gang War, all the while trying to avoid the law against costumed vigilantes.

Captain America #4. ”A Series of Unexpected Attacks” Written by J. Michael Straczynski and art by Lan Medina. Jesus Saiz did the cover art. Cap gets messed up by the demon he was facing called The Emissary. We also see back in Steve Rogers’ past the dangers of a hidden bomb. Love this series.

Guardians of the Galaxy #9. ”The Magnificent Mantis” Written by Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing and penciled by Kev Walker. Emilio Laiso & Bryan Valenza did the cover art. Mantis and Gamora head to earth in search of the Soul Gem so they could retrieve Drax’s human soul.

Other books read: Silver Surfer: Rebirth Legacy #4, Phantom Road #7, Batman: Robin Lives #1, Superman: Lost #9, Damn Them All #11, A Haunted Girl #3, House of Slaughter #20, and Marvel Zombies: Black, White & Blood #3. 

EYG Comic Cavalcade #72

December 7, 2023

I was able to spend this past NEW COMIC BOOK DAY at Comic World as I used a personal day from school. Once again, it was wonderful. I was able to sit at the back table at Comic World and read most of the new books this week. I do love being able to do this.

It also appears that the curse of the number three in independent books is officially over. I have five #3s this week and they were all in my pull box. Mercifully, the long nightmare is finally over!

Books read this week:

Fantastic Four #14. Written by Ryan North and art by Ivan Fiorelli. Alex Ross did the cover art. The Fantastic Four returns to the site of the Baxter Building with the expectation that it would reappear after it was sent into the future. They discovered people (super villains actually) constructing something on the location.

Thunderbolts#1. “Worldstrike” Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly and art by Geraldo Borges. Terry Dodson did the cover art. A new team of Thunderbolts head out to take on the Red Skull. Included Bucky Barnes, Sharon Carter, Val and Red Guardian. I liked the interactions between these characters.

Amazing Spider-Man #39. Written by Zeb Wells and penciled by John Romita Jr. Romita Jr, Scott Hanna and Marcio Menyz did the cover art. Gang War is underway! There were some awesome interaction between Spidey and She-Hulk. Tombstone is up. This is a great arc so far.

Daredevil #4. “Introductory Rites” Part Four. Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by German Peralta. John Romita Jr, Scott Hanna and Marcio Menyz did the cover art. Daredevil confronts the Daily Bugle reporter Ben Urich. We fins out why Ben has been acting as he has been.

The Sentry #1. Written by Jason Loo and penciled by Luigi Zagaria. Ben Harvey did the cover art. The book had me immediately when Jessica Jones showed up. She is one of my favorite characters in the Marvel Universe. The recently murdered Sentry’s power seems to have been split up among a group of other people. Intriguing for sure.

Invincible Iron Man #13. “The Mysterium Marauders” Written by Gerry Duggan and art by Juan Frigeri. Kael Ngu did the cover art. Ironheart. Starfox. Tony Stark and Emma Frost. On the way to find the mysterious metal called Mysterium.

X-Men #29. “House of Doom.” Written by Gerry Duggan and art by Joshua Cassara. X-Men head into Latveria to attempt to recruit the Latverian mutants. They end up having dinner with Dr. Doom.

Blood Commandment #2. Written and drawn by Szymon Kudranski. Vampires, werewolves and absolutely beautiful art work. It is a shocking book filled with some amazing imagery. It is a remarkably designed book.

Transformers #3. Written and drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson. Big battle between Optimus Prime and Starscream. Watching Optimus beat Starscream with his own removed arm was epic. And a shocking moment with Spike.

Nights #3. “Never Knows Best.” Written by Wyatt Kennedy and art by Luigi Formisano. Vincent started off the book with a bit of a stain… it surprised me when I saw it. This book is a oddball coming of age story that looks at some supernatural as well.

Alpha Flight #5. “Divided We Stand Part Five” Written by Ed Brisson and art by Scott Godlewski with David Cutler. Leonard Kirk and Edgar Delgado did the cover art. The conclusion of Alpha Flight as they come together to save as many of the mutants from Krakoa North. I liked this book.

Avengers #8. “Twilight Dreaming” Part Two. Written by Jed MacKay and art by C.F. Villa. The Avengers have to confront Nightmare in order to get back to Vision and Scarlet Witch who were battling the Twilight Court. I loved what Thor does near the end with Nightmare. Otherwise, I do not have a great connection with the Twilight Court.

Other books this week: Destiny Gate #3, Midlife (or How to Hero at Fifty) #3, Project: Cryptid #3, The Avengers Voices #1.