Tag Archives: marvel

Daredevil: Born Again S1 E4

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“Sic Semper Systema”

We are getting closer and closer to Matt Murdock resuming his crusade as the Man Without Fear. After the death of White Tiger at the episode’s end last week, this week Matt is facing a lot of struggles.

Matt wants justice for Hector, and this leads him throughout the episode. He comforted Hector’s niece, who came wanting to see her uncle. Matt would not let her. Groundwork being set for the niece to assume the mantel of White Tiger, as she does in the comics.

Matt’s new case is a tough one. His client insists that he get probation, despite this being a multiple offense. Of course, it was just stealing caramel corn. These scenes between these two were quite powerful and, you could tell, spoke to Matt. Oh, and the client, who was on tape stealing the caramel corn, asked if it could have been Skrulls. LOL!

Matt went to see Frank Castle, aka Punisher, after he found a bullet with the skull on the casing. We all knew Frank had not been the one to shoot Hector, but Frank did not seem to anxious to come out of his bunker to help Matt out. The scene with these two was the best scenes of the show so far, and that is saying something considering how strong the acting has been so far.

We also saw Wilson Fisk struggling with his instincts. He does not seem to fit in the role of the mayor very well. Certainly Adam, the man who Vanessa had an affair with, would agree as Fisk has him locked up in a cage.

And… watching Fisk desperately trying to keep himself in control as this group of children sang to him (terribly, by the way) was funny, as was Fisk’s rapid departure after the first song.

Two-part episode next week. I have a feeling we’ll see the costume make its full return.

Plus….. there was Muse!

The Leftovers S1 E1

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“Pilot”

I needed some more TV shows to watch. Of course, I have a bunch of shows that I watch during the week, such as Daredevil: Born Again, The White Lotus and Yellowjackets. However, with the rewatch/new watch shows, I have finished Battlestar Galactica, Bates Motel, Dark Matter and others leaving me just The X-Files to watch. I decided it was time to dip into the queue and see what series I could add to the X-Files.

I have been interested in The Leftovers for awhile now. I have heard positive word of mouth about the series, and it did not hurt that it was from Damon Lindelof, one of the driving forces behind LOST, my favorite show of all time.

The Leftovers has been on my MAX list for awhile now and I thought this was the perfect time to start this show.

My first thoughts was that the Russo Brothers must have taken inspiration from this show for Avengers: Endgame, because there were so many early episode similarities. The disappearance of the people from the earth right down to the THREE YEARS LATER that came on the screen. (Yes, Endgame was FIVE YEARS LATER, but that is semantics).

The world we were being introduced to had that same grim feel that Endgame had in its first moments where we see the post blip. This was with only 2% of the population of earth disappearing. I can’t imagine how that would feel, when people you know were just gone, with no explanation. Avengers: Endgame could blame Thanos. Where were the answers for these people?

The pilot began to introduce us to characters, and getting to know a large ensemble is a challenging task. This show did it very well as I was engaged with everyone as the episode progressed. There were plenty of mysteries and untold stories that will be revealed, I’m sure. The trauma from everyone in this town was obvious.

There are three seasons of The Leftovers with 28 episodes overall. There were several moments in the pilot that caused me to shout out. I am sure that this will live up to the hype.

The Electric State

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What do you expect for a budget of $320 million? A good movie?

The Electric State, based on a 2018 graphic novel, is one of the most expensive Netflix movies ever made, and to be fair, you can see the money on the screen with some tremendous special effects. However, there is not much of anything else in the film and it just lacked any kind of heart, any type of spark.

Joe and Anthony Russo directed the film, reteaming with writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely from their MCU days. They worked together on Captain America: Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Those are classic Marvel films. This one is not those.

According to IMDB, “With humans isolated in their VR helmets and a continuing battle against a strange breed of monstruous drones in the wake of a technological meltdown, a teenage girl named Michelle and a robot travel the West Coast of the U.S in search of the girl’s missing brother.“

One thing for sure, this movie has an astounding cast. Starring Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt, the film also featured either live action or voice over performances from Stanley Tucci, Woody Norman, Woody Harrelson, Alan Tudyk, Jason Alexander, Holly Hunter, Tuc Watkins, Giancarlo Esposito, Ke Huy Quan, Colman Domingo, Anthony Mackie, Hank Azaria, Rob Gronkowski, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate, Greg Cromer, and Kurt Loder.

Despite the loaded cast, this movie was a slog, taking pieces that we have seen from other films and mashing them together into a lesser contraption.

I immediately was pulled out when one of the characters was Mister Peanut. Yes, Mister Peanut from Planters. The character design of the robots, almost all of the robots, was so childish and cartoonish that I had no connection to them at all.

The biggest problem with that is that the robots did not fit with the tone being set up in this movie. Had this been a satire or a straight up action/comedy, maybe these robots would have worked, but this movie tried to be a serious film with sprinkling of humor throughout, and it did not work. Had this movie really embraced the ridiculousness of the film, it might have been a much better movie.

While there is a great cast, there is not any characters with any depth to them at all. They are all, with the possible exception of Millie Bobby Brown, one-dimensional characters that lack any real development through the film. Chris Pratt played the same character that he has played in many different movies. How are you supposed to give character development to Mister Peanut?

Electric State missed the mark badly. It had a chance to do something new and different, but slipped back into the most cliched story you could expect and just could not nail the tone. It tried to be too many different things and failed at all of them. A real disappointment. Hope the Russos do a better job with Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars over the next few years.

1.2 stars

EYG Comic Cavalcade #143

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March 15

We are just a couple of days from St. Patrick’s Day, so here is an early greeting for everyone to have fun and stay safe.

I finally picked up 20 Degrees Past Rigor #1 off eBay this week, but I have not yet read it. I had issues #2 and #3 already and I was waiting on #1, but it was a hard book to track down. I finally broke down and dropped some $ on eBay to get the book to me. We’ll see if it is worth the time.

Here are the other books this week:

X-Men #13. “Gods and Monsters” Written by Jed MacKay and penciled by Netho Diaz. Cover art was done by Ryan Stegman & Marte Gracia. The X-Manhunt storyline continues as the X-Men battle a mind controlled Storm in an attempt to get Charles Xavier back in custody.

Redcoat #10. Creators are Geoff Johns and Bryan Hitch. Hitch and Brad Anderson did the cover art. Simon Pure’s travels bring him into a meeting with Annie Oakley. The trick shot artist and the Redcoat put on a display of shooting and then need to help some people in trouble. Simon revealed some of his deep-seeded doubts to Annie.

All-New Venom #4. Written by Al Ewing and art by Carlos Gomez. Adam Kubert & Laura Martin did the cover art. Well, Rick Jones was revealed this issue to be the Sleeper Agent, seemingly eliminating him from the possible suspect list for the All-New Venom. With Madame Masque in this issue fighting against Venom, does this mean that Robbie Robertson is the one remaining possibility or does Marvel have a swerve coming? We are supposed to find out next issue.

West Coast Avengers #3-4. Written by Gerry Duggan and art by Danny Kim. I missed these two issues so I had to get caught up. I got one on eBay and the other was backordered at Comic World for me. Ironically enough, I missed West Coast Avengers #5 that was released this week. It’s coming next week for me (Thanks Todd).

Darkwing Duck #1. Written by Daniel Kibblesmith and drawn by Ted Brandt and Ro Stein. Variant cover B art was done by Mark Bagley (Bronze Medalist). I saw an interview with Daniel Kibblesmith a few months ago on YouTube talking about this project and it intrigued me. I like Kibblesmith and I think Dynamite has been doing some excellent books of late so I wanted to give this a try. I enjoyed the book for the most part.

Amazing Spider-Man #69. “Acceptable Losses.” Written by Joe Kelly and penciled by Ed McGuinness. Cover art was done by McGuinness, Cliff Rathburn & Marcio Menyz. Peter Parker is back among the living thanks to Cyra’s change of heart. She helped him turn into the Spider-Juggernaut???? One more issue of this volume before a reboot for Amazing Spider-Man.

How I Became a Shoplifter #1. Written by Tom Breyfogle and art by Daniel Hillyard. I picked up issues #2, 3 of this in the bag sale last weekend, so I ordered issue one on eBay. I received a notice form eBay that the issues (I got all three versions of issue #1’s cover) had been delivered, but they were nowhere to be found at my house. I checked the tracking and it said that it had been delivered to Manchester, CT. This was, of course, nowhere near my house in Iowa. I contacted the seller at eBay and he responded that sometimes they scan the address incorrectly and that I should be patient and give it a few days. He promised that he would make sure I got my order even if he had to resend the issues. A few days later, the package arrived at my doorstep. I was grateful for the communication by the eBay seller, ih8jocks1692.

Deadpool #12. “Pools of Blood.” Written by Cody Ziglar and art by Andrea DiVito. Taurin Clarke did the cover art. The Deadpool/Miles Morales team up/face off continued in this issue with Miles coming face to face with Princess.

X-Factor #8. “The Summers of Days Past.” Written by Mark Russell and art by Bob Quinn. Greg Land & Frank D’Armata did the cover art. The Legacy numbered 300 issue of X-Factor featured a battle between the X-Men and X-Factor over the custody of Charles Xavier. Xavier seems to be causing all kinds of trouble lately as X-Manhunt gives us chapter 5.

Power Man: Timeless #2. “No Time at All.” Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly and art by Bernard King. Ario Anindito did the cover art. Luke Cage and Aeon have a massive cosmic battle and Power Man shows off his Hulk-side. Oh and… hey there Apocalypse. How have you been?

Phoenix #9. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Alessandro Miracolo. Variant cover art was done by Todd Nauck & Rachelle Rosenberg. Newly powered up and new costumed Jean Grey as the Phoenix is in search of Adani. Nova and Rocket Raccoon guest star.

Absolute Superman #5. “Ad Astra Per Aspera.” Written by Jason Aaron and art by Rafa Sandoval. Sandoval and Ulises Arreola did the cover art (Gold Medalist). We see the flashback to the death of Krypton and how young (but not baby) Kal-El wound up on the earth.

Batman: Dark Patterns #4. “The Voice of the Tower Part 1” Written by Dan Watters with art and cover art by Hayden Sherman (Silver Medalist). This issue reminded me of the movie Dredd from 2012, except for the weird ending with the building looking to be alive. Not sure what this issue was. It was odd from the start.

Green Hornet Miss Fury #3. Written by Alex Segura and Henry Barajas with art by Federico Sorressa. Cover art was done by Francesco Francavilla. Silver Shrike is causing trouble and he has place Kato into all kinds of danger. This noir style book continues to be excellent.

In Hell We Fight #5. Written by John Layman and drawn by Jok. This was another book I picked up on eBay to complete a run of books I got in the bag sale last weekend. I enjoyed this book as it reminded me some of Hazmat Hotel.

Sister Imperator #1. Written by Corinna Bechko and art by Puste. Cover art was done by Mikael Eriksson. This is a series listed as from the world of Ghost, which I do not know what that is. However, this does seem to be the origin of the titular character and it was an interesting and tragic story. Dark Horse has been solid this last year or so.

Namor #8. “The Wrath and the Splendor.” Written by Jason Aaron and art by Paul Davidson & Alex Lins. Cover art was done by Alexander Lozano. The new Namor series wrapped up with Namor taking control of the throne of Atlantis only to make some major, sweeping changes to it. I have enjoyed this Jason Aaron penned series considerably and I would welcome more undersea adventures from him with Namor.

The Nine Lives of Salem #1. Written by Cullen Bunn and art was done by Dan Schoening and Ben Galvan. Cover art was Dan Schoening & Matt Herms. Salem the cat from Sabrina the Teenage Witch has his own one shot in the Archie Comics company. It was fun and fits right in with the other recent books with feline and/or canine lead characters.

Nick Fury vs. Fin Fang Foom #1. Written by J. Michael Straczynski and art by Elena Casagrande. Cover art was done by Gary Frank and Alex Sinclair. This was a pre-WWII story with Nick Fury attempting to clear the Chinese skies of the “cloud” that turned out to be the dragon Fin Fang Foom. These strange Marvel team ups have been fun and I like seeing Fin Fang Foom featured prominently.

Geiger #12. Written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Gary Frank. Gary Frank & Brad Anderson did the cover art. The Glowing Woman is trying to help out Geiger to control his powers. However, what is her true motivation? Not sure.

Hellhunters #4. Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and art by Adam Gorham. Declan Shalvey did the variant cover B. Zarathos provided a bit of a power boost for the Hellhunters. Logan, in particular, looks really cool with his horns and his flaming claws.

Iron Man #6. “The Insurgent Iron Man.” Written by Spencer Ackerman and drawn by Julius Ohta. Cover art was done by Yasmine Putri. Tony Stark is plotting to take down Doctor Doom… by supplying Doctor Doom with Stark weapons. Huh? This felt like a political thriller with the intrigue of spy action. I am not sure that things are going to go well for Tony.

Other books this week: The Moon is Following Us #7, Transformers #18, Void Rivals #17, Napalm Lullaby #9, and Warm Fusion #2.

Daredevil: Born Again S1 E3

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“The Hollow of His Hand”

Holy crap.

My jaw is still agape after the dramatic end to Daredevil: Born Again episode 3.

The episode’s main drive is the Hector Ayala case and Matt’s desperate attempt to free him. Things were looking good for awhile since Matt had the witness in his custody, the man who the police were roughing up when Hector came across them. However, the witness proved to be a little weasel, and decided to change his story on the stand.

Hector was in a lot of trouble and Matt decided to put him on the stand. Matt dropped the bomb of all bombs… Hector Ayala was the White Tiger.

The judge and the D.A. were angry at Matt’s grandstand play, especially after Matt had argued that Ayala’s life as White Tiger should be kept out of the case.

Moving forward, the reveal of Ayala as White Tiger took the breath out of the case against him. It removed the motive for Hector to have attacked these police officers. Despite D.A. “Hawk” Hochberg’s talented closing, hector is found not guilty on all counts. It had to be that way. There was no reason why Hector would attack these cops just out of the blue and the jury knew that.

Wilson Fisk was not happy about this. He summoned BB Urich to talk to her about vigilante’s and the rule of law. Fisk indicated that he would need to step up with these vigilantes.

And then it happened.

As Hector dressed up in his White Tiger gear, and he went out and gets shot in the head. I have to say I was kind of expecting it. What I was not expecting was seeing the gunman walk away with a big skull on his chest.

Frank? That can’t be you, right?

Unbelievable moment that drove this episode. It appeared that Matt did not murder those cops in that apartment so that is a good thing, but they really do not bring it up much. The one cop only had a black eye. Sounds sure made it seem as if bones, like neck bones, were breaking.

Anyway, back to the Punisher. My guess is that this was one of the police officers who had the skull tattoos that shot Hector. I can’t believe that Frank Castle would kill Whiter Tiger.

Good episode with a major ending.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #142

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March 8

Big week here at EYG Comic Cavalcade. We had everything from weather to special sales to eBay orders. I have a bunch of books to enter into my CLZ app. I broke the 17,000 limit this week and, after today’s “fill-the-bag” sale at In This Issue Comics, I am nearly to 17,100.

I went to the comic shop In This Issue Comics in Bettendorf, which my friend James goes to for his Turtles books. There happened to be a special sale going on. It was a really nice little shop with terrible parking. It had a great variety of independents and variant covers. While I am always loyal to Comic World, In This Issue Comics was a nice shop that I might go back to some day, just to check it out. Certainly, I will go there before I go back to the other one in Davenport that I visited last month that made me think of an armpit.

Books this week:

What If…? Mickey and Friends Became Avengers #1. “The Coming of the Avengers.!” Plot by Steve Behling, script by Luca Barbieri and art by Alessandro Pastrovicchio. I started off with this because I got this cover A from Comic World, but picked up the Pluto variant at In This Issue Comics. This cool Pluto as Ant Man variant looks awesome and I just could not ignore it.

The Missionary #2. Written by Ryan Stegman and art and cover art by Jason Howard. This DSTLRY book continues with all kinds of demons and creatures battling their way through the pages. The character designs are really cool and well done. The imagery of the book works so well for these larger sized pages from DSTLRY.

Falling in Love on the Path to Hell #1-4. Story and art by Gerry Duggan & Garry Brown. I picked up these four issues of this ongoing Image book off eBay this week and I have #5,6 & 0 on the way in another order. I have enjoyed this series very much as we cross genres between Western and Samurais. It is a mystical story with two characters stranded on an island. Always reminds me of LOST. This has been very enjoyable so far.

Hornsby & Halo #3. Written by Peter J. Tomasi and art by Peter Snejbjerg. Peter Snejbjerg and John Kalisz did the art for the cover. I actually haven’t gotten this read yet, since it just arrived in the mail today from eBay. However, I had #4 last week and realized I was missing an issue. I am hoping to get to these two later tonight or sometime this weekend. They look cool.

Uncanny X-Men #11. “Echoes of Madness” Written by Gail Simone and art by Javier Garrón. Cover art was by David Marquez & Matthew Wilson. The big crossover “X-Manhunt” started in this issue with Chapter 1. Charles Xavier is out and about, back to causing trouble, even if he does not intend to.

NYX #9. “Charles.” Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly with art by Francesco Mortarino. Variant cover B art by Peach Momoko. This is Chapter 2 in the “X-Manhunt” crossover event as Charles makes his way to New York. Mojo is also here ready to bring his own brand of problems.

Storm #6. “Thundercloud.” Written by Murewa Ayodele and art by Luciano Vecchio. Cover art was done by Mateus Manhanini. Chapter 3 of the “X-Manhunt” happened in this issue. Storm faces off with the X-Men and she shows them that she is anything but a soft touch. Xavier came to Storm for help and boy does she give it. Poor Cyclops and Juggernaut.

The Spectacular Spider-Men #13. “Life and Limb.” Written by Greg Weisman and art by Emilio Laiso. Cover art was by Emilio Laiso and Edgar Delgado. The Lizard stopped the Electros from finishing off the Spider-Men, but the Lizard was still in a crazed form. So Peter and Miles had to face off with the reptile.

Juvenile #4. Written, illustrated and cover art by Jesus Orellana. Juvenile has been an excellent book so far and this penultimate issue of the series is not the exception. The kids get together and attempt an escape from the institution. I look forward to seeing what the end of this book will bring.

Doctor Strange of Asgard #1. Written by Derek Landy and art by Carlos Magno. Cover art was done by Geoff Shaw & Arthur Helsi (Gold Medalist). After losing his Sorcerer Supreme mantel for earth, Strange heads to Asgard to attempt to become the Sorcerer Supreme of Asgard. Thor says sure, but there are other obstacles for Strange to avoid. This is a cool new book featuring Dr. Strange while Doom is earth’s sorcerer supreme.

Jumpscare #1. Written by Cullen Dunn and art and cover art by Danny Luckert. This brand new Dark Horse book was a lot of fun. A new super hero is one the scene and she can summon weapons that she has seen from horror movies. Luckily, she is an aficionado of the genre. This is another cool, new Dark Horse book. I love the originality.

The Ultimates #10. Written by Deniz Camp and art by Juan Frigeri. Cover art was done by Dike Ruan & Neera J. Menon. It is always great fighting Nazis. We wind up with an unofficial Invaders reunion… though Namor has seen better days and our villain is a surprise (though I guessed it right away) identity.

The Terminator #5. “Gemini Rising.” Written and cover art by Declan Shalvey and art by Joe Mulvey. Action in outer space with astronauts and a Terminator. This Dynamite book has given us multiple locations for these robot battles and this one makes me think about the Alien franchise instead. Still cool though.

Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #11. “Uncharted” Part 1. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Paolo Villanelli. Cover art was done by Mark Brooks. Some of the answers as to why Gwen had to leave her dimension and how she got tied up with the TVA come out in this issue, as King Loki guest stars.

Space Ghost #10. Written by David Pepose and art by Jonathan Lau. Variant cover C art was done by Bjorn Barends. Space Spectre arrives from the future with a mystery identity and a mission to prevent what is coming. Can Space Ghost stop someone so close to him?

Wolverine #7. “Ancient History.” Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by Martin Coccolo. Cover art was done by Martin Coccolo & Bryan Valenza. The mystery of the Adamantine rolls on as Wolverine goes one on one with Romulus. Things do not look good for our hero.

Spider-Boy #17. “Bug Brothers.” Written by Dan Slott and art by Nathan Stockman. Paco Medina and Edgar Delgado did the cover art. Spider-Boy and Boy-Spider try to co-exist now that Bailey is back from his overseas trip with Daredevil. It is weird but it seems as if every Spider character has a monstrous sidekick nowadays. Bailey has Boy-Spider, Miles has Shift and Peter has Rek-rap. Hmm.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #7. “The Sewers of Newark.” Written by Jason Aaron and art by Juan Ferreyra. Variant cover B art by Kevin Eastman. A new story arc begins with this issue, but the Turtles are certainly not on the same page yet. However, perhaps Donatello is not as crazy as he seemed.

Kill Train #2. Written by Olivia Cuartero-Briggs and art by Martina Niosi of Outclass Studios. Skylar Patridge did the cover art (Bronze Medalist-tied) We get introductions to some of the other people on the Kill Train and they team together to try and keep themselves alive.

Pinupocalypse #1. Written, art and cover art by Andrew Tarusov. This was one of the independent books I picked off the shelf at In This Issue on Friday and I was surprised how much I loved the book. It reminded me a bit of Love Everlasting crossed with a zombie book. The book was from Massive Comics and I really loved it. Those unexpected treats are the best.

Dust to Dust #3. Written by JG Jones & Phil Bram and art and cover art by JG Jones (Silver Medalist). Sheriff Meadows tried to convince people around him that the mysterious dust storm did not cause a family’s truck to burst into flames. He suspects foul play but no one else seems to buy into it. This was my favorite of the Dust to Dust issues so far as I was into the investigation.

The Tin Can Society #6. Written by Peter Warren and art by Francesco Mobili. Cover art was by Francesco Mobili and Chris Chuckry. I swear Tin Can Society has the absolute best cliffhangers/last pages of any series out there. My jaw dropped at the last page of this issue.

The Immortal Thor #21. “Two Did Enter.” Written by Al Ewing and art by Jan Bazaldua. Cover art was done by Alex Ross (Bronze Medalist-tied). We get a Executioner-centric issue as he faces off with Thor as they fight over who will go ahead to face the danger coming.

Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu #6. “Shame.” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Domenico Carbone. Davide Paratore did the cover art. I have to say that I was a bit confused by this issue and I do not remember much about it. I do love the cover from Davide Paratore and it was nearly a medalist this week.

The Fade #1-2. Written by Aabria Iyengar and illustrated and cover art by Mari Costa. Another fun independent book from the shelves of In This Issue. I liked this story and the way they brought the “Fade” into the book. Is it just all in their minds? This was a great couple of books.

Sam and Twitch Case Files #11. Written by Jordan Barel and Todd McFarlane with art by Thomas Nachlik (with special thanks to Magnus Arts). Cover art was done by Raymond Gay & Marco Failla. This issue focuses more on Twitch than we have gotten in the entire series.

Secret Six #1. Written by Nicole Maines and art by Stephen Segovia. Segovia and Rain Beredo did the cover art. It is another DC book that I liked a lot. I just grabbed this at Comic World this week because the heroes intrigued me and… dang it… I really enjoyed this one too. I have too many DZC books on my list. I don’t need another, but… it looks like I have another.

Parliament of Rooks #4. Written by Abigail Jill Harding with Richard Starkings and illustrated and cover art by Abigail Jill Harding. Things are taking a sharp turn for the worse with our mismatched lovers. There are a lot of monster fight going down this issue and it feels like it is building towards a conclusion.

Hyde Street #4. Storytellers are Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis. Cover art was done by Ivan Reis & Danny Miki with Brad Anderson. This month’s tale is of an actor cast in the role of Frankenstein’s Monster in an Abbott and Costello movie and his problematic path, from hours in the makeup chair to injuries to his eyes. Hyde Street continues to be one of the more entertaining horror anthologies of the month.

Blade Forger #1. “Sakima.” Written by Inaki Miranda & Roy Miranda with art and cover art by Inaki Miranda. I liked this book even though it felt all over the place. It is told over the span of decades and feels like a mixture of current and fantasy storytelling.

Scarlet Witch #10. Written by Steve Orlando and art by Jacopo Camagni with Russell Dauterman. Variant cover C art by Corin Howell & Raul Angulo. This next run of Scarlet Witch books came to an end with this issue. It looks as if Wanda is going to have a new series coming up with Vision. I am not sure why they can’t just keep these as a Scarlet Witch book featuring the extra character. They did the same thing last year with Quicksilver.

Blade Red Band #5. Written by Bryan Hill and art by Federica Mancin. Cover art was by David Yardin & Romulo Fajardo Jr. This also brings this round of Blade books to a close. Only five issues for Blade this time. Blade is much like Wanda because they both come back for short runs in a book and then go away for a short period before they return in a new volume. I wish Marvel would not do that so many times or call it a mini-series and put the numbering on the cover (such as 5 of 5).

Two-Face #4. “The Trial of Harvey Dent.” Written by Christian Ward and art by Fabio Veras. Cover art was by Baldemar Rivas. This Two-Face series has been bat-shit crazy. All of the action inside Harvey Dent’s mind, but we are learning a ton about the character of Two face. It has been a great read.

Justice League: The Atom Project #3. “The Bond.” Written by Ryan Parrott and John Ridley and art and cover art by Mike Perkins. Captain Atom is in a difficult mindset and he is not quite in a state of mind for help from the other Atoms.

Other books this week: Web of Spider-Verse: New Blood #1, The Nice House by the Sea #6, Living Hell #3, Moon Man #7, Knights vs. Samurai #6, and Huge Detective #4.

Elevation (2024)

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I came across this movie on MAX and, while it was listed as a 2025 film, everywhere else had it as a 2024 release. Had I know that, I could have saved this for the June Swoon, but I do think I have plenty of films available for that. I decided to list this under the “classics” instead of 2025 for that reason.

Anthony Mackie played Will, who lived with his son Hunter (Danny Boyd, Jr.) in the Rocky Mountains. Humanity has been destroyed by these creatures that suddenly just popped up from out of nowhere. Fortunately, the creatures could not go past 8,000 feet elevation.

Hunter was sick and needed certain materials that could only be found in the hospital, which meant Will had to go down the mountain to try and find more. He was accompanied by two women, Nina (Morena Baccarin) and Katie (Maddie Hasson).

I really like Anthony Mackie. He is a star and you can see how he commands the screen in a film like this. Sadly, I do not think the film matches up to the strength of Mackie’s screen presence.

The writing is, at best, passable. The story depends way too much on exposition which can become repetitive and dull. The story is full of contrivances and coincidences that really damages the plot.

Nina and Katie started out really hating one another. There was clearly conflicts between the two women, but that conflict disappeared in what seemed no time, without any true resolution. The relationship between them felt forced and had no basis in reality. I know that the film has giant sci-fi monsters running around, which is why the central relationships have to have a dose of realism if the film is to work. These three characters are lacking in that area.

This felt like a poor man’s The Last of Us, mixed with a little bit of A Quiet Place. It was just not at a level of either of those franchises. Anthony Mackie is great and he is doing everything he could to elevate this script, but there is only so much he can do.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #140

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February 22

Another big week of books, both from Comic World and eBay.

One of the books that I picked up off eBay was Come Find Me, which was a one shot from DSTLRY. I have become a big fan of this company, but I have one major problem. The books do not come out on a regular basis. There are great issues and then it feels like months before the next issue comes out. A one shot like this is nice. It is also an anthology, so there are a variety of stories within it.

Other books this week:

Bug Wars #1. “The House of Slaymaker” Written by Jason Aaron and drawn by Mahmud Asrar. Cover art by Mahmud Asrar & Matthew Wilson. I picked up this issue off eBay because it was sold out so quickly across the comic book shops. I’m not sure why it was this hot, but it was a really great issue form one of the best writers in the business in Jason Aaron. Lots of fun.

Behemoth #1. Written by Grant Sputore & Ryan Engle and art and cover art by Jay Martin. Another great new comic, this time from Dark Horse. What a wonderful concept this book has. A bus load full of people wind up getting eaten by a giant monster and they have to survive inside. This was more fun and I am pleased that I was able to get this issue after a bit of delay.

Amazing Spider-Man #68. Written by Justina Ireland and penciled by Andrea Broccardo. Cover art was done by Patrick Gleason and Richard Isanove. Peter gives up his remaining life power up thingies to save Aunt May, Randy and Shea… and some other guy… who got killed because Peter was having his crisis. I will be happy when this arc is over since I do not feel as if this writer has a good enough grasp on Spider-Man.

Ripperland #1. Written by Steve Orlando & John Harris Dunning and art and cover art by Alessandro Oliveri. Ripperland is another new banger from Dark Horse. I have always been a big fan of Jack the Ripper (I know that doesn’t sound right…) so this hit a sweet spot for me.

Laura Kinney: Wolverine #3. “The Devil in Me- Part 2” Written by Erica Schultz and art by Giada Belviso. Cover art is done by Elena Casagrande & Edgar Delgado. Laura and Elektra, aka Wolverine and Daredevil, are out battling the forces looking to hurt mutants. Laura and Elektra are a good pair and a lot of fun.

Green Hornet Miss Fury #2. Written by Alex Segura & Henry Barajas with art by Federico Sorressa. Cover art was done by Francesco Francavilla. I have been liking this pairing of two classic noir characters. Dynamite has been doing some fun books lately and this one works so much.

Kill Train #1. Written by Olivia Cuartero-Briggs and art by Martina Niosi. Cover art was done by Skylar Patridge. Another good new series, this one was from Mad Cave. Todd grabbed this one for me in Des Moines. I have to say that this series did a great job of setting up the story f these trains.

Uncanny X-Men #10. “Off the Leash” Part Two. Written by Gail Simone and art by Andrei Bressan. Cover art was done by David Marquez & Matthew Wilson. I was worried about Deathdream because he surely looked dead last issue. Thankfully, he was able to survive the event and this issue gave us the chance to get to know our new characters more. And I liked them.

Dust to Dust #2. Written by JG Jones & Phil Bram and art and cover art by JG Jones. The dust storms are still causing trouble. I still love the look of this book. It is one of the most interesting looking books on the market right now. Very dramatic cover too.

Mystique #5. “Compromised” Written, art and cover art by Declan Shalvey (Silver Medalist). This series came to a great conclusion. This series had a really great series of covers. Declan Shalvey did a great job on this series, considering he was doing most everything on the book.

Doll Parts: A Lovesick Tale #3. Written , illustrated and cover art by Luana Vecchio. Another book where the writing and art are done by a single person. Luana Vecchio also did multiple variant covers for this series. Doll Parts has been a wild story so far and this issue takes it to another level. This has so much adult content among these young characters that it can be unnerving to read at times. Still very much compelling though.

Zatanna #1. “A Tilnoom Edalb” Written, art and cover art by Jamal Campbell. Weird. Third straight book where the creative did all of the writing and art. This felt very different than the previous Zatanna series from late last year. She sure took a bad blow near the end of the book. Of course, she will not die. I mean, it is her book. I’m not sure if I will be a long term reader on this one, but I will mot likely give it another issue or two before I decide.

Thunderbolts: Doomstrike #1. “A Doomed Man.” Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly. Art was done by Tommaso Bianchi and cover art was from Leinil Francis Yu & Romulo Fajardo Jr. Bucky and Black Widow are the remaining Thunderbolts trying to face off with Dr. Doom. Things do not go well for them, nor does it go well for residents of Shelbyville, Indiana.

Doom Academy #1. Written by Mackenzie Cadenhead and art by Pasqual Ferry. Cover art was done by Pablo Villalobos. Strange Academy gets a face lift and a new location. Latveria! I have loved the Strange Academy characters and to see them in the new place spices things up as they have some new learning to do. I love the new character of Scoop.

Daredevil #18. “Introductory Rites” Part Eighteen. Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by Aaron Kuder. Cover art was done by John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna and Richard Isanove. Matt Murdock returns to a court of law… only to get his butt kicked by the possessed Foggy Nelson. Can DD get through the case while still stopping these demons?

Mine is a Long, Lonesome Grave #1. Written by Justin Jordan and illustrated and cover art by Chris Shehan. This is a new independent book from Oni Press and it was a good read. Harley Creed is a bad man. Someone placed a hex on Harley and he has seven days to try and reverse it or he will die in twisted, screaming agony. This was a good week (or weeks) for new independent books. Long title though.

The Patchwork Girl of Oz #2. Adapted, illustrated and cover art by Otis Frampton. Based on the novel by Oz author L. Frank Baum. I was surprised how much I liked the first issue of this, which I was not expecting in my pull box. I am sure it was a book that I asked for, but just did not remember it. However, I have had a lot of fun with this book and this issue gives us our first glance at the Patchwork Girl. She looks awesome.

Daredevil: Unleash Hell #2. Written by Erica Schultz and penciled by Valentina Pinti & Jose Luis Soares. Paulo Siqueria & Rachelle Rosenberg did the cover art. Our new Muse is being led along by the ghost of the original Muse and it is great. I loved the character of Muse and seeing a new form of the serial killing artist is epic.

Infinity Watch #2. Written by Derek Landy and art by Ruairi Coleman and Enid Balám. Salvador Larroca & GURU-eFX did the cover art. Avery Zavala is a stone bearer from another timeline and he pretty much kills all of the Infinity Watch. I’m not completely sure what is going on, but it feels as if there are shenanigans.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #30. Written by Cody Ziglar and art by Luigi Zagaria. Federico Vicentini & Neeraj Menon did the cover art. The Miles Morales and Deadpool showdown continue don from the previous Deadpool issue as Miles comes face to face with Princess.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #3. Written by Christos Gage and art by Eric Gapstur. Leonardo Romero did the cover art. This prequel series to the Disney + animated series continued with Peter trying out for football. This book has been fun, but the animated series was one of the best Spidey animated series of all time. You should check it out on Disney + for sure.

Ultimate Wolverine #2. Written by Chris Condon and art by Alessandro Cappuccio. Cover art was done by Alessandro Cappuccio and Frank Martin. Ultimate Wolverine has only had two issues so far, but it is right there beside Ultimate Spider-Man as the best Ultimate book so far. This is full of action and having the Winter Soldier version of Logan? Epic!

Let This One be a Devil #1. Written by James Tynion IV and Steve Foxe with art by Piotr Kowalski. Gavin Fullerton did the cover art. Another banger from Dark Horse this week. A new horror series from James Tynion IV gives us a couple different time lines, including a horrific birth. I do love me some Tynion IV.

NYX #8. Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly with art done by Francesco Mortarino. Laura Kinney faces off with Julian in a massively emotional conflict. Can she stop him without popping her claws? Is that what he really wants her to do?

Exceptional X-Men #6. Written by Eve L. Ewing and art by Carmen Carnero. Cover art by Carmen Carnero and Nolan Woodard. We are introduced to Sheldon Xenos, a mutant who has a job for the young mutants being trained by Kitty and Emma. Does he have their best interest at heart? Axo believes so. I disagree.

Weapon X-Men #1. “The Real Thing” Written by Joe Casey and penciled by Chriscross. Alex Ross did the cover art. Wolverine. Deadpool. Cable. Thunderbird. Chamber. Sounds like a huge team up. However, one of them will betray another. Which one will it be?

The Question: All Along the Watchtower #4. “The Great Escape” Written by Alex Segura and art by Cian Tormey & Raul Fernandez. Cover art by Tormey & Romulo Fajardo Jr. Cyborg Superman has taken over the Watchtower and only The Question can stop him. Or can she? Things do not look good for our detective.

X-Factor #7. “Terms of Use” Written by Mark Russell and art by Bob Quinn. Cover art was by Greg Land & Frank D’Armata. Angel returned to take the mantel of leadership as X-Factor heads to Genosha to try and prevent Dr. Doom from getting his hands on a special weapon.

G.I. Joe #4. Written by Joshua Williamson and art and cover art by Tom Reilly. The Joes are captured by Cobra after Duke surrendered. Why does it seem like Duke believes that they have got Cobra right where they want them?

Werewolf by Night Red Band #7. Written by Jason Loo and penciled by Sergio Davila. E.M. Gist did the cover art. Jack Russell is in serious trouble, but thankfully, Elsa Bloodstone is not dead and on the case. She is building her own group to help Jack and it features her own Werewolf by Night (Jake) and Reptil.

House of Slaughter #30. Written by Sam Johns and illustrated by Letizia Cadonici. Cover art was done by Jorge Fornes and Werther Dell’Edera (Gold Medalist). I have been very down on this series recently, though the covers have been fire. I believe this arc, “Azure” is done with this issue and I hope the next one is more engaging for me.

Incredible Hulk #22. “The Skin of Charlie Tidwell” Part One. Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and art by Nic Klein. Matthew Wilson did the cover art. Things are still bad off for Charlie, as she is becoming more of a monster than Hulk expected.

Other books this week: X-Force #8, Ultimate Black Panther #13, W0rldtr33 #13, Shazam #20 (Bronze Medalist), Creature Commandos #5, Challengers of the Unknown #3, Seance in the Asylum #3-4, Aliens vs. Avengers #3, The Power Fantasy #6, and New Gods #3.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man S1 E9, E10

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Spoilers

“Hero or Menace”

“If This Be My Destiny…”

The finale two episodes of the first season of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man are absolutely amazing!

In episode nine, we get a big showdown between Spidey and Scorpion, with Lonny smack dab in the middle. Lonny gets exposed to a gas that gives him super strength (and will eventually turn him into the Tombstone we know in the comics). Spidey and Lonny defeat Scorpion.

In episode ten, we have a big battle with Dr. Strange and the symbiote and we are shown that this battle is what would lead to the battle from the first episode at Peter’s school, and the spider that bit Peter was the spider that Norman had created with Spider-Man’s blood that they had collected. I loved that adjustment in the story. It made everything work for me.

The writing on this series has been excellent. It has developed more than just Peter Parker. I feel like they built the supporting characters around Peter so well, especially Lonny who could arguably be considered a co-lead character. They show us the beginning of several villains in the Spider-Man world, like Otto Octavius, Scorpion, Norman Osborn, Venom etc.

With Spider-Man’s actual suit debuting in episode nine, Spider-Man looked sensational. The animation of these episodes were so great with some amazing shots. I have not necessarily loved the animation prior, but this seemed to really be something special.

The voice acting did great all season long. Everything was excellent, especially Coleman Domingo, who was so epic. I would love to see Domingo play Norman Osborn in the MCU. The show has done a great job of slowly building Norman into who we expect he will become. And yet, it feels very justified.

I did not expect this series to be great because recent Spider-Man animation has been more directed toward very young children. This series was right up there with the best Spider-Man series and right there with X-Men ’97. I am happy that this series has a three season order so there are at least two more to go.

I love Spider-Man.

Captain America: Brave New World

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The fourth film in the Captain America franchise debuted this weekend from Marvel Studios. It has been a film that has had its struggles dating back to Covid, multiple reshoots and delays. Finally, it has arrived in theaters. As with other struggles, this film has had some middling reviews from critics. All of this made me a little nervous about the movie. I am pleased to say that I enjoyed this a great deal.

Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) was still facing challenges of assuming the mantel of Captain America, but the new president of the United States, Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) reached out to Sam with an olive branch and an offer to reform the Avengers.

Ross, who had done plenty of horrible things over the years, was trying to turn over a new leaf. However, an unexpected assassination attempt changed everything for the new POTUS.

Sam was completely confused when one of the attempted assassins turned out to be his friend and invitee Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), one of the original soldiers who was given the Super Soldier Serum and then experimented on by the government for years. Sam believed in Isaiah’s innocence and it created a chasm between Sam and the admnistration.

This film works well as a sequel to the Disney + series Falcon and the Winter Soldier and also, oddly enough, the Incredible Hulk. There are elements in the film that tied it to The Eternals as well.

Anthony Mackie is tremendous as the lead in this film. He showed that he was an excellent choice to take over the role of Captain America. He is charming and does a really great job with the dramatic moments as well. Harrison Ford, who took over the role of Thunderbolt Ross from the late William Hurt, looked to be having a ton of fun as President Ross who eventually turned into the Red Hulk. Harrison Ford is always exceptional, and he and Mackie have great chemistry. They are the standout of the movie.

You can tell at times that this film has been stitched together from reshoots, but it does a decent job of blending them together. With as many reshoots that this film had, it is amazing that this film is as coherent as it is. The film is a political thriller, but I would have liked even more of that.

The inclusion of Giancarlo Esposito as Sidewinder had been added later. Esposito was great and cool, but he was not in the film very much. I hope that he has more to come down the road in the MCU because the little bit we get of Sidewinder in Brave New World is wonderful.

I loved Tim Blake Nelson returning as Samuel Sterns from the Incredible Hulk. He is another character that could have had more screen time. I loved the look of this character.

No spoilers here, but there is a cameo in this movie that I absolutely loved!

I thought the action scenes were really solid. The aerial action with Sam and Joaquin (Danny Ramirez) was a lot of fun as was the eventual Sam and Red Hulk showdown that we have seen in the trailers.

There are some moments where the film is a little messy, but none of that bothered me. I understood with all of the challenges this movie faced that it may not have been the most polished of films. Some of the first act exposition may have been too much, but there was a lot of material that the film had to provide to those who may not have watched the corresponding films/series.

In the end, Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford were great together and they carried this film. It may not be the best of the Captain America franchise, but, to me, it is a welcome addition.

4.3 stars

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man S1 E6, E7, E8

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Spoilers

“Duel with the Devil”

“Scorpion Rising”

“Tangled Web”

The next three episodes of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man dropped on Disney + today and, boy, they were epic. I really liked how the three episodes worked together a story seeing Spider-Man get his butt kicked a couple of different times.

Daredevil showed up… and voiced by Charlie Cox. Spidey and DD fought, with Daredevil showing the inexperienced Spider-Man what a real fighter was like.

Then the arrival of Scorpion led to Spidey getting beaten so bad that he was nearly killed.

Lonny kept his downward spiral towards Tombstone going as he imbedded himself into the 110 Street gang even more. Pearl discovered his involvement and things went poorly.

There were some great scenes with Nico and Harry as they begin to show some signs of a connection. The whole Nico drag racing scene was a lot of fun and teased the powers that Nico have.

Otto Octavius is arrested… by Iron Man? We get a hint at his future with the octopus arms working separately from Ock.

Having Norman Osborn do the “Great Responsibility” line and switch it around to make it “Great Responsibility – Great Respect” fits the character well. It is a really awesome, unexpected turn.

And we are just about to have the actual Spider-Man suit, as we got a giant tease at the very end of episode 8.

There are just two more episodes remaining in season one and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man has been an excellent Spider-Man animated show. It is well written and blended together well.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #138

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February 6

We had some ice last night in the weather and it has led to there being a no school day today after I had a personal day on NEW COMIC BOOK DAY. All that meant that I had some open time to finish reading the books and the EYG Comic Cavalcade is able to come out early this week.

I picked up several graphic novels yesterday, two at Comic World and two at BAM!. At Comic World, I grabbed We Called Them Giants by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans and Fantastic Four: Season One by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and David Marquez. The Gillen/Hans book is beautiful and really great. At BAM!, I got Dark Horse graphic novel Skull and Bones: Savage Storm by John Jackson Miller and James Mischler and the beautifully drawn The Road, adapted by Manu Larcenet.

This is a double dose of Marvel this week as the missing shipment from Diamond (boooooo) last week arrived with this week’s books. Diamond is really setting themselves up as the antagonist of this column.

Books this week:

Exorcism at 1600 Penn #3. Written by Hannah Rose May and art by Vanesa Del Ray. Cover art was done by Vanesa Del Ray. The possession of the President’s daughter takes more steps forward as Kevin tries to convince everyone that it was happening. I was getting frustrated how these adults were all so blind with their denial, but it seemed like everyone has come around to the truth as the penultimate issue of this series concluded.

Deadpool #10. Written by Cody Ziglar and art by Roge Antonio. Taurin Clarke did the cover art. Deadpool and Ellie are back from the dead with their healing factors compromised. Taskmaster tried to help them train their fighting style to adjust. I was not a huge fan of this issue or the way they have downgraded Deadpool’s healing factor. I am willing to see where they go.

The Patchwork Girl of Oz #1. Adapted, Illustrated and cover art by Otis Frampton. This is an adaptation of one of the novels from L. Frank Baum and I really enjoyed it. It was a surprise to find it in my box, because I did not remember actually ordering it (I’m not saying I didn’t do it. Just did not remember it). I like the more cartoony art here because it worked so well with this story. I found this to be very joyous.

Hellhunters #2. Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and drawn by Adam Gorham. Variant cover art by Salvador Larroca & Edgar Delgado. This World War II series with these characters continues to be interesting, especially now that Logan (aka Wolverine) has joined the crew. He has made it much bloodier than it had been. This dynamic is intriguing as well.

Namor #7. “The Battle of the Eighth” Written by Jason Aaron and art by Paul Davidson & Alex Lins. Varian Cover art by Olivier Coipel (Silver Medalist). I thought this was epic. Namor facing down the leaders of the different ocean kingdoms. Namor’s battles were so awesome.

The Ultimates #9. Written by Deniz Camp and guest artist is Chris Allen. Cover art was done by Dike Ruan & Neeraj J. Menon (Bronze Medalist). We get a whole issue featuring Luke Cage in jail. This Ultimate universe continues to be rocking hard.

Spider-Boy #15. “All Eyes on the Prize.” Written by Dan Slott and art by Paco Medina. with Spider-Girl’s origin art by Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado. Cover art by Paco Medina and Edgar Delgado. The Dragon’s Challenge rolled on as we end up with a final battle between Daredevil & Spider-Boy and Bullseye & Spider-Girl. Daredevil does something to protect Bailey that was unexpected and costs them dearly.

Avengers #23. “The Casino Job Part 2” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Farid Karami. Cover art was done by Valerio Schiti & Alex Sinclair. The ultimate odd couple is taking on the Avengers this week. Kang the Conqueror and the Black Cat. Huh? Strange pairing for sure, but Kang needs someone to steal something and he chose Felicia.

The Spectacular Spider-Men #12. “Hero Worship.” Written by Greg Weisman and art by Emilio Laiso. Cover art was done by David Baldeón and Edgar Delgado. The two Electros return and are about to defeat the two Spider-Men until we get the appearance of a scaly surprise. Honestly, this issue felt a little lesser than it has been recently. We’ll see how it goes from here.

X-Men #10. “Brinksmanship.” Written by Jed MacKay and penciled by Netho Diaz. Cover art was done by Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer and Marte Gracia (Gold Medalists). This was another epic issue that was highlighted with a tension filled confrontation between Cyclops and Lundqvist. This scene was just awesome and stood out as one of the best one-on-one verbal matchups in the entire series. I loved this.

Juvenile #3. Written, illustrated and cover art by Jesus Orellana. Juvenile has just been a tremendous book over the first three issues. Sara and Max are amazing together and there is a ton of stress after they are recaptured from their escape attempt. What is going to happen to them? It is especially up in the air after we see Ella. This might be my current favorite independent book going.

Justice League: The Atom Project #2. “Cold Fusion.” Written by Ryan Parrott and John Ridley and art and cover by Mike Perkins. I will admit that I was not as into this issue of the series as I was issue #1. I do like super powered polar bears though.

Absolute Superman #4. “Chasing the Storm.” Written by Jason Aaron and art by Rafa Sandoval. Rafa Sandoval & Ulises Arreola did the cover art. Superman seems to be messing with the Peacemakers, and they are not happy about it. I actually thought this was the weakest of the Absolute Superman books so far too. Still, I like this new take on the character.

Ultimate X-Men #11. Written, illustrated and cover art by Peach Momoko. This was an interesting book. There were several mentions of other Ultimate books, including Black Panther and the new Black Cat. I wonder if this was included to make sure everyone understood that the Ultimate X-Men was still taking place in the same universe even though it is so different from anything else.

Sabretooth: The Dead Don’t Talk #2. Written by Frank Tieri and art by Michael Sta. Maria. Tyler Kirkham and Arif Prianto did the cover art. I enjoyed how this book is building the world of this time, with all of these groups vying for power. Plus, Sabretooth takes on an alligator man. Always fun.

When I Lay My Vengeance Upon Thee #2. Written by Gus Moreno and illustrated and cover art by Jakub Rebelka. More possession this week as Father Stygian and Father Barrera have to face some seriously gross stuff.

Frankenstein New World: The Sea of Forever #1. Script by Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden & Thomas Sniegoski. A follow up series from ten years ago, Mike Mignola returned to Frankenstein and young Lilja following her vision above ground. I like this take on the Frankenstein story in this new series from Dark Horse.

Parliament of Rooks #3. Written by Abigail Jill Harding with Richard Starkings and illustrated by Abigail Jill Harding. Darius has gone full monster form, though his thoughts are still with his beloved Princess Seraphina. Some beautifully drawn monster images make this book stand out. I am curious to see how this Ablaze book wraps up.

Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu #4. “Rats” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Devmalya Pramanik. Davide Paratore did the cover art. Things are going rough for Moon Knight as he is out for vengeance of those that killed the Midnight Mission. Moon Knight takes it to another bloody level.

In Bloom #2. Written by Michael W. Conrad and art by John J. Pearson with Lola Bonato. John J. Pearson did the cover art. The story of the people “blooming” take another turn in a much more shocking and graphic manner. There were a couple of scenes of pure horror in this book.

Storm: Lifedream #1. Cover art was by Taurin Clarke. There are three different chapters of this Storm story that is written by and drawn by different teams. I do enjoy me some Storm and this does cover a long part of her history. It is clear that there are big plans moving ahead for Ororo Munroe.

Red Before Black #4. Written by Stephanie Phillips and illustrated by Goran Sudžuka. Goran Sudžuka with Ive Svorcina did the cover art. This book has been reminding me of Thelma and Louise while bringing in a character this issue that made me think of the Crocodile Hunter. Lots of fun.

What If Galactus Transformed Spider-Gwen #1. “Tipping the Scales.” Written by Kalinda Vazquez and art by Daniel Picciotto. Ron Lim and Israel Silva did the cover art. This is the final of the What If Galactus series and this book felt the same as a lot of the others. I was enjoying the set up, but the book ended before the big final battle. This left me feeling unsatisfied as many of these recent What Ifs have. I thought this was an excellent HALF of a story.

Power Man: Timeless #1. “Something New” Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly and art by Bernard Chang. Andrei Bressan & Rachelle Rosenberg did the cover art. This is the surprise of the week. I did not expect this to be a new series. I was not a fan of the previous Power Man: Timeless one shot from a few months ago, but this was great. They brought this Power Man into the 616 universe (it seemed like) and I suddenly found his adventure engaging as could be. I never thought I would want to read on with this book, but I do.

Phoenix #8. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Alessandro Miracolo. Yasmine Putri did the cover art. Jean Grey is going through some personal growth inside a cocoon? We get the new form of Phoenix at the end.

Wolverine #6. “Lineage.” Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by Martin Coccolo with Martin Coccolo and Bryan Valenza did the cover art. Laura arrived in the book to help Logan follow the clues that are leading them to Adamantine.

Two-Face #3. Wild, but I could not find the creator credits inside this issue of Two-Face. The cover listed Ward, Veras & Plascencia but that was all I could find. I found the creators of the few pages of Zatanna at the end of the book that is appearing in all of the DC books this month. The Two-Face book has been good so far as we get a big reveal at the end of it.

Psylocke #3. “Lady-Killer.” Written by Alyssa Wong and art by Vincenzo Carratù. Cover art was done by Mahmud Asrar & Matthew Wilson. This was a solid issue of Psylocke as she met up with John Greycrow, after finding his bloody arm with a note on it last issue. This was probably my favorite issue of the series so far.

Scarlet Witch #9. Written by Steve Orlando and art by Jacopo Camagni. Russell Dauterman did the cover art. Hey, fresh off her appearance in the Avengers, Black Cat is now here stealing from Wanda. Felicia is really giving those luck powers a go. Not sure why Black Cat has suddenly been everywhere, but I don’t mind it.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6. Written by Jason Aaron and art by Juan Ferreyra. Cover art was by Jorge Fornes. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back together and… things are falling apart. They can’t get along and spend most of this issue fighting with each other. And Donnie is carrying around a rat claiming it is Master Splinter. Things aren’t good for the Turtles.

Other books this week: Grim #21, Rocketfellers #3, Bitter Root: The Next Movement ashcan, and Spirits of Vengeance #6.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man S1 E3, E4, E5

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Spoilers

“Secret Identity Crisis”

“Hitting the Big Time”

“The Unicorn Unleashed”

The second week of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man on Disney + saw the release of three new episodes. Three solid episodes again this week as we see several new interpretations of Spider-villains as well as the debut of one of the most iconic ones.

The dual story of Peter’s rise as Spider-Man and Lonnie Lincoln’s downward spiral to Tombstone is fascinating. They are spending a ton of time building the character of Tombstone to become, perhaps, the big bad of the series, long term.

But we also got our first look at Otto Octavius, pre-Octopus arms. It is revealed that Octavius is behind the weapons that have been showing up around New York.

We got a version of Speed Demon, Unicorn and who will eventually (I think) become Rhino.

Harry Osborn is brought into the “Team Spider-Man” by Norman. Norman said that he couldn’t always be available, but his son could. The Peter-Harry friendship is starting to develop, even though Harry seems to be becoming Peter’s Ned Leeds in this cartoon.

This is also interesting since the show is using the Iron Man/Captain America MCU storyline as a backdrop. I assume they will show up sooner or later.

My biggest problem I have in this show is the fact that everybody wears the same clothes every time. I know it is meant to identify these characters, but it is becoming very odd. I want Peter in something besides that yellow shirt and blue jacket.

I would say that the animation style is still a little distracting, but the storytelling has been top notch so far.

Paradise S1 E4

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Spoilers

“Agent Billy Pace”

Okay, I am officially in.

I may have still been slightly uncertain about this show after the first three episodes, but after the fourth episode, I am all in. I thought this was easily the best episode of this show that I have seen yet, and it was also the one that crushed me.

This episode featured Billy Pace, with a look at his background, and it was tremendously engaging. He had a dark past and the episode played with the uncertainty that he was the reason the president was killed. As it moved on, it became clear that Billy Pace was a bad guy who had found his friend and family with Xavier and his kids. By the end of the episode, I was in love with this character.

And then the show killed him off.

Man, that scene where he is poisoned by Jane on the orders of Sinatra. Then there was a scene with Sinatra and Billy that was just tense and anxious, which is what led to his death. I know I was nervous about Billy the rest of the film at that point and I thought he had made it when he got home. Then, the rugged gets pulled out from under me.

The death of Billy Pace was a kick in the gut. I would not have guessed that his death would have meant anything to me, but it has been awhile since I have felt this upset over a character death.

By the way, the mystery of the surface world is another cool thing and having Billy kill the people doing the investigation was a rough truth that caught me off guard. I am looking forward to seeing how everything ties together.

The music was by Poison this episode… Every Rose Has Its Thorn. Was the band’s name a hint?

I am fully in on this show now, at I guess, the halfway mark. You can watch Paradise on Hulu or Disney +.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man S1 E1, E2

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Spoilers

“Amazing Fantasy”

“The Parker Luck”

There is no fictional character that means more to me than Peter Parker. I have spent my entire life loving Spider-Man. He has been an inspiration to me and my own core beliefs come from him. Every time I see a new Spider-Man project, I am both excited and a little nervous.

Nervous because there is always a chance that the project will be bad. I have gone through that a few times. And to be honest, seeing the initial images from Disney +’s new Spider-Man series, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, I was a little more nervous than usual.

However, after seeing the first two episodes of season one, my fears were alleviated. I loved these episodes. Even though the show did take some leeway with some things, YFNSM seemed to get the flavor, the tone of Spider-Man right.

One of the original issues I was afraid of was the animation style, but as the episode continued, it did not bother me at all. In fact, i think it worked very well with the character of Spider-Man.

I thought the show was funny and gave us a real good look at this Peter Parker, which is MCU-adjacent. While there are definitely connections to the MCU (Hey there, Left Hand Free), the differences are here too. It sure appears that Norman Osborn is going to be the Tony Stark figure in Peter’s life as the scene in Peter’s apartment with Aunt May was basically reenacted with Norman in Tony Stark’s place.

I love the balls this series is showing. I could tell immediately that there would be plenty of hatred on the internet because of certain “woke” items. I hate that term, by the way. When I first saw Harry in the first episode, I knew there would be some hate-spewers coming for this show. The gender swapping of Curt Connors will surely get some ignorant comments too. Fine. None of that bothered me.

Even the spider bite did not upset me. It certainly was different than any other version of Spider-Man, but that is not a bad thing. The spider was not from Oscorp in the original comics, yet the we’ve seen that happen in other Spider-Man versions.

The choice of Nico as Peter’s friend is intriguing. I have always enjoyed this character in the different comics. The football player is not Flash Thompson, but Lonnie Lincoln, who, by the way, we know from the comics as Tombstone. Amadeus Cho, a Shuri-like Wakandan also show up. The side cast is very eclectic. Great Dr. Strange cameo too.

Spider-Man has had some awesome animated series in the past with the 1990s Spider-Man and Spectacular Spider-Man, but it also had some shows that felt way too childish. I was concerned this would fall into that category like Ultimate Spider-Man. After the first two episodes, I feel as if those fears have been put to rest. It may not be in the same range as those first two I mentioned, but I think this has some real room to grow.