#I highly respect niko for doing the comic like they are

[orisretr0]

So I like Siren!Lime.

(Lime and Curd goes to @neverniko101)

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 3 June 2019

Quick Bits:

Batman #72 essentially gives a bit of recontextualization for what has been going on during the series, giving a summation of events, in this third part of “The Fall and the Fallen” from Tom King, Mikel Janín, Jorge Fornés, Jordie Bellaire, and Clayton Cowles. It’s all right, with some glorious artwork as always, but it kind of feels like we’re treading water here.

| Published by DC Comics

Bettie Page: Unbound #1 builds on what’s come before and the magic of her unicursal hexagram pendant, but you needn’t have read anything previously as this first issue does a good job of weaving in the relevant information to inform this adventure. I quite like what David Avallone, Julius Ohta, Ellie Wright, Sheelagh D, and Taylor Esposito have been doing long term with Bettie Page and this is another fun start to the next chapter, blending Lovecraftian horror with a jaunt through pastiches of Dynamite’s current properties.

| Published by Dynamite

Birthright #36 returns from the trade break with the start of the next stage in dealing with the weakening walls between realms and what terrible things may happen as magic keeps building up on the threshold of our world. The artwork from Andrei Bressan and Adriano Lucas remains absolutely stellar as they, Joshua Williamson, and Pat Brosseau continue one of the best fantasy adventure series that strangely keeps flying under the radar.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Black Cat #1 is a highly entertaining debut, leaning hard into history and heists, with three tales spotlighting the Black Cat and the Black Fox. Jed MacKay pens two of the tales, one in the present illustrated by Travel Foreman, one in the past by Mike Dowling, both coloured and lettered respectively by Brian Reber and Ferran Delgado, that play stylistically off one another as they build up the respective crews and show them in action. There’s also a very cute two-page heist with cats by Nao Fuji.

| Published by Marvel

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #5 begins a long dark night for Xander’s soul as he’s struggling with overcoming the demon trying to take control as a vampire. Great bits building what he means to Buffy and Willow. David López takes over line art duties here, and it’s definitely a change, darker and scratchier than what’s come before, but it suits the raw emotion of the story.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Captain Marvel #6 begins a tie-in to War of the Realms with Carol and Natasha trying to find Doctor Strange in South America. It’s a fun start to this story from Kelly Thompson, Annapaola Martello, Tamra Bonvillain, and Clayton Cowles with a Freaky Friday twist as they try to stop Enchantress.

| Published by Marvel

Criminal #5 begins “Cruel Summer”, which Ed Brubaker promises to possibly be the longest arc yet, kicking off an investigation into a woman running from an abusive affair. Brubaker, Sean Phillips, and Jacob Phillips give us an intriguing start to this arc through a sad sack private investigator in Dan Farraday 

| Published by Image

DCeased #2 continues the destruction of the DC Universe through a “not zombie” zombie plague. Tom Taylor, Trevor Hairsine, Stefano Gaudiano, Rain Beredo, and Saida Temofonte are telling a great horror story here, with some big casualties wiped off the board pretty quickly.

| Published by DC Comics

Deadpool #13 is another War of the Realms tie-in, dropping Deadpool into Australia to tackle Ulik and his trolls. It’s a decent start from Skottie Young, Nic Klein, and Jeff Eckleberry with some funny Wade/Blind Al moments and Wade trying to convince the Australian heroes of his worth as an Avenger.

| Published by Marvel

Deathstroke #44 is part one of “RIP”, with Priest, Fernando Pasarin, Ryan Winn, Jeromy Cox, and Willie Schubert kicking it off with Slade’s funeral. Some interesting bits of possibility as to who might pick up the Deathstroke mantle.

| Published by DC Comics

Descendent #2 continues this conspiracy-laden thriller from Stephanie Phillips, Evgeniy Bornyakov, Lauren Affe, and Troy Peteri. This one’s a bit heavy on the shadowy organization being shadowy and light on explanation, but there are still some entertaining character moments.

| Published by AfterShock

Eclipse #16 brings this series from Zack Kaplan, Giovanni Timpano, Flavio Dispenza, and Troy Peteri to a close. I find it kind of funny that the reason for the solar activity and underlying state of the world aren’t answered, but that’s been part of the through line of this final arc, focusing more on the characters and the heart that keeps people going.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

Fallen World #2 continues this wonderful exploration of the new state of 4002 AD by Dan Abnett, Adam Pollina, Ulises Arreola, and Jeff Powell. The threat of Father-possessed Bloodshot in horrifying and the future is looking pretty bleak. Also, I think this is some of the best artwork I have ever seen from Adam Pollina. He’s really giving it his all for this series and it shines through on the page.

| Published by Valiant

Giant Days #51 deals with the fallout of McGraw’s loss as we head towards the end of the series. The shift in behaviour for Esther to more responsibility and adult attitudes also seems to be a sign that John Allison is giving us that the end is near.

| Published by Boom Entertainment / BOOM! Box

The Green Lantern #8 is one of the weirdest Green Lantern/Green Arrow team-ups you’re going to come across. With awesome demons from Liam Sharp.

| Published by DC Comics

Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #1 gives us a trio of tales and a framing story, focusing on the other heroes who were sucked into oblivion in the first issue, and where some of them have ended up now. Great work from all of the creators involved and hope to see them usher more stories of the characters.

| Published by Marvel

Incredible Hulk: Last Call #1 is another of the 80th Anniversary specials, this time reuniting the classic Hulk team of Peter David and Dale Keown for this one-shot. It’s an interesting tale of Bruce wanting to kill himself and an old co-worker of Betty’s trying to talk him out of it.

| Published by Marvel

Justice League #25 concludes “The Sixth Dimension” from Scott Snyder, Jorge Jimenez, Alejandro Sánchez, and Tom Napolitano. Gorgeous art as always, and an interesting bit of the League being more than the sum of their parts to choose a different way. There’s also a prelude for the “Year of the Villain” even from James Tynion IV, Javier Fernandez, Hi-Fi, and Napolitano and it’s a little grim. While they were gone, the world has been doomed.

| Published by DC Comics

Meet the Skrulls #5 brings this excellent series to a close, with hints of something even bigger than a Skrull invasion lurking within the Marvel Universe. Robbie Thompson, Niko Henrichon, Laurent Grossat, and Travis Lanham have provided a taut thriller through this series, but also shown that the tightest bonds in the field are really with your family.

| Published by Marvel

Savage Avengers #2 continues slowly bringing together the team in the Savage Land, along with revealing the long time Conan villain pulling the strings. It’s bloody, violent, and great. Mike Deodato Jr. and Frank Martin are making this look gorgeous.

| Published by Marvel

Stronghold #4 goes in some very interesting directions as Michael and Claire escape from the Stronghold’s clutches and go searching for the Apostate. Some absolutely marvellous artwork from Ryan Kelly and Dee Cunniffe, with some great repeated variations on layouts as Michael cycles through different lifetimes.

| Published by AfterShock

Uncanny X-Men #19 catches us up with what’s been going on with Emma Frost since her X-Men: Black story across Astonishing X-Men and the beginning of this series, and, well, it’s also bleak. And there’s more death. Also a reminder that the Vanisher’s name is Telford Porter. TELFORD PORTER.

| Published by Marvel

War of the Realms #5 is kind of a mess of pieces, I don’t recommend anyone trying to reconcile appearances and locations in this book with any of the tie-ins, but on its own, it’s one hell of a gathering storm for the finale. Russell Dauterman and Matthew Wilson are unparalleled here with the artwork. It’s drop dead gorgeous.

| Published by Marvel

Witchblade #14 slips back to the present to deal with what happens after Alex and co. get ported off to the future. I love how Caitlin Kittredge, Roberta Ingranata, Bryan Valenza, and Troy Peteri are presenting this, rather than just leaving us confused in the future.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

Young Justice #6 concludes “Seven Crises” with some answers, kind of, but not any particularly satisfying ones, more just a bunch of hand waving. Which is not to say this isn’t good, Brian Michael Bendis, John Timms, Gabe Eltaeb, and Wes Abbott deliver a very entertaining excursion into Gemworld, with some funny moments and great action. It’s just that the questions about how and why any of this is happening or who these versions of the characters are and out of which continuity remain.

| Published by DC Comics / Wonder Comics

Other Highlights: Age of X-Man: Prisoner X #4, Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III #2, Beasts of Burden: Presence of Others #2, Black Hammer ‘45 #4, Dead Man Logan #8, Domino: Hotshots #4, The Dreaming #10, Elvira: The Shape of Elvira #3, Female Furies #5, Hashtag Danger #2, Hotel Dare, Jim Henson’s Beneath the Dark Crystal #10, Jughead: The Hunger vs. Vampironica #2, Marvel Action: Avengers #5, Marvel Team-Up #3, Noble #18, Old Man Quill #6, Paper Girls #29, Red Sonja #5, Ronin Island #4, Section Zero #3, Shadow Roads #8, Sharkey: The Bounty Hunter #4, Six Million Dollar Man #4, Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #9, Star Wars: Age of Rebellion - Luke Skywalker #1, Star Wars Adventures #22, Thumbs #1, Tony Stark: Iron Man #12, Vampirella: Roses for the Dead #4, Volition #6, War of the Realms: Journey into Mystery #4, War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas #3

Recommended Collections: Avengers - Volume 3: War of the Vampires, Captain Ginger - Volume 1, Cemetery Beach, Cloak & Dagger: Agony & Ecstasy, Die - Volume 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker, The Dreaming - Volume 1: Pathways & Emanations, Hack/Slash Omnibus - Volume 6, Impossible Incorporated, Maxwell’s Demons - Volume 1, Mind MGMT Omnibus - Volume 2, Mirror: The Nest, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars Adventures: Destroyer Down, The Thrilling Adventure Hour - Volume 2: Residence Evil

d. emerson eddy is all thumbs.

[tessatechaitea]

Justice League of America #5

Lobo!

Notice the shirt? Lobo! Notice the eyes? LSD!

This issue begins in Penn City where somebody dropped a Buddhist Love Bomb in a garbage can. At least that's what I think is in the garbage can based on the first three panels. The bomb is the head of some poor bastard with a grenade strapped in his mouth in the way that your lover straps a ball gag in your mouth before your lover pegs the fuck out of you. Also strapped to the bomb's head is a lotus flower. That's why I'm guessing it's a Buddhist Love Bomb. I just now typed "Lotus Flower" into Google to see if I maybe shouldn't just be saying "Lotus" and Google's predictive text added "bomb" to the end of it. Holy shit, is that a real thing?! No, no. It looks like it's a rap song by Wale featuring Miguel. Remember that bit about how old I am? Yeah, never heard of that song. Later, the Justice League of America has decided to give a press conference to basically say they're better than the Justice League and more in touch with the common people and probably way more patriotic in that they have "America" in their name, in case you missed that part. Batman does not attend because he's a public relations nightmare. He would probably just tell all of the reporters that their questions were stupid. Oh! Is Batman's secret identity Sean Spicer?! Vixen tells everybody that the JLA used to call their base the "Secret Sanctuary" but that that seemed way too pedophiliac for their liking. Plus, if a reporter heard that before they had claimed it at this press conference, it probably would have cast suspicion on their organization. So instead, they're opening up the front half of the mountain to the public and calling it Mount Justice! People should feel free to come by to file complaints and drink some free coffee and possibly be seduced by Lobo.

Duh, Lana Lang! That's what practically the definition of America! Although you left out the "according to our own interests and with complete disregard to the will of the populace of the country we're sticking our noses into" part.

Ben Rubel, Supergirl's rival and future fuck interest, points out that according to the rumor mill, Lobo has taken "countless" lives, so why is that maniac on the team? Most of the other reporters have previously hit puberty, so they already know the answer to that question. It's easy to forgive somebody for genocide when you want to fuck their alien brains out. Vixen says Lobo will save one life for every one he's ever taken. That's impossible! I bet even if he single-handedly saves every life on Earth from some massive comet or alien invasion, he still won't be close to saving a life for every one he's killed! Hopefully he can save the same life multiple times and it will count. Olivia Ortega, some reporter from Gotham who isn't Vicki Vale for some reason, asks why Batman isn't at the press conference. Vixen says Batman stands by whatever she says instead of saying, "We're in Rhode Island, honey. Gotham is not in Rhode Island. Duh." I think I'd be as bad as Batman at press conferences.

Oh ho! What a clever retort, The Ray!

I guess Frances Rock is Frank Rock's granddaughter. I bet her high school clique was called "Easy Company." Sex joke! Nikos Aegeus (otherwise known as simply Aegeus) got his start in terrorism when he met a blind and crippled Bellerophon² who gave him the means to tame Pegasus and a quiver of Zeus's thunderbolts. Now he sells weapons created from folklore! That sounds exciting! Plus, it shows he respects rap music enough to realize it's impact on folklore and culture. Unless he thought up the Lotus Flower Bomb due to some other story from The Bible that I don't remember. I mean, it could be from somewhere else but like I said earlier (or later since it's in a footnote), The Bible has all the stories in it. Aegeus is currently attempting to sell a bunch of wacky weapons to The Whispers gang from Gotham. And since it's still dark, I'm guessing it's not yet tomorrow (which is the only day Ray pointed out everybody doesn't work under Aegeus's terrorist threat. I suppose the day after tomorrow, they'll get back to it).

Oh, so Batman can maim but Lobo³ isn't allowed? What a fucking bat-jerk.

I guess the plan is for Lobo to beat up all of Aegeus's men (carefully, so as not to maim them, of course! Lobo is totally known for being careful!) while the rest of the team have coffee and cakes? That sounds good to me! More Lobo! Less all the other dimwits! Lobo accuses Batman of being a dick and Batman is all, "I don't have to explain myself to you!" So Lobo is all, "Cool, cool." Then he flips Bats off British Style and walks off to do his job. I hope he kills a few people every job and hides them before Batman can see and Batman, thinking Lobo's "honor" keeps him from doing all sorts of stuff Batman never actually specified in the beginning of the deal, lives in enough of a state of denial to keep from noticing. But then it'll come out that everywhere the Justice League of America has been, bodies begin turning up buried all around the places they battled! Then Superman will be all, "I told you this was a bad idea!" And Alfred will be all, "I told you this was a bad idea!" And Vixen will be all, "I told you this was a bad idea!" And the government will be all, "You are an accessory to these murders and are sentenced to life in prison!" Lobo beats up some bulldozers and then breaks into the Mayor's Office where Aegeus and his men are holed up.

Uh oh! I think that constitutes maiming!

Lobo is suspicious of Batman's reasons for bringing him on the team. My guess is that he's the team hit-eater. You send him in first when you're unsure of the weaponry of the enemy and then figure out a plan based on how badly Lobo's body has been damaged by the attack. Lobo greets Aegeus with a great line I'm not bothering to scan. Lobo's met with a spear to the chest which drops him to his knees because it's covered in a poison that halts regeneration. Oh no! Is that all it's taken, all this time, to kill Lobo?! Seems like a bit of a cheat. Like how almost everything nowadays is immune to Green Lantern Light. It's always about negating the thing that's too powerful instead of coming up with an imaginative way to make the too powerful thing interesting in terms of story. Although, really, this is kind of clever because Aegeus is using ancient weapons from folklore and, apparently, this poison was used by Heracles. While Lobo and The Atom (he was hiding in Lobo's underwear) deal with Aegeus, the rest of the Justice League of America chastise the residents of Penn City. They also give them some hope that they'll drive the main employer out of town and then Batman will cut them all checks so they stop acting like criminals. Or maybe Wayne Industries will just set up a weapons manufacturing plant in the city himself since the citizens all of experience crafting weapons now. And Batman doesn't mind weapons being created as long as, like America, he's in control of them. Lobo gets blasted out of the Mayor's Office and into the park next to the Justice League of America where he reports that he failed and is probably dying. Then he points out that Aegeus's army hasn't been destroyed and they're right behind them flying in on a battalion of chimeras. I guess next issue, everybody will be killed by chimeras. The Ranking! I know Lobo won't die. But I'm just going to point out that if he did happen to die, or he just happened to be removed from the team, or if he in any way stops appearing in this comic book, it will no longer be the best comic book that DC currently publishes. It will, in fact, be the worst one because I will punish it more harshly than I'd punish a comic book written and drawn by Rob Liefeld with a back-up story by Ann Nocenti. _____________________________ ¹Okay, that was a cheap shot. The Bible actually has some quite beautiful poetry in it. It's just that the people who believe it's more than it is that make me want to shit all over it. Plus, everybody who is interested in Western Literature needs to fucking read The Bible. If you don't know The Bible and you think you understand every book you read or every movie you watch, you need to think again. You're almost certainly missing several themes and allusions and references to biblical stories. Hell, you even need to know The Bible to understand Bugs Bunny's biggest contribution to insulting asshats. ²I highly recommend John Barth's Chimera as well as pretty much anything written by John Barth. Although some of his books seem a bit too much like work so you might want to start with his shorter stuff which will get you intrigued enough to slog through the really long shit. Although I'm not sure if Giles Goat-Boy was really worth the effort I expended on it. Although I did masturbate a few times to the scene with the summer dress. Woo boy! Good stuff! I wonder if I should attempt to read The Sot-Weed Factor again or just reread The Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor? ³What's up with Lobo's hair? He looks like Bon Jovi! This is getting perilously close to another version of Twat Lobo!

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 21 August 2017

As I write this, the gulf coast of Texas is being battered by hurricane Henry. I can only hope that everyone was able to evacuate and that those who couldn’t, or were and are caught in unexpected turns of the storm, are able to stay safe and sound. My thoughts go out to everyone effected by this disaster.

My two favourite books of the week were Hi-Fi Fight Club #1 by Carly Usdin, Nina Vakueva & Irene Flores and War Mother #1 by Fred Van Lente & Stephen Segovia. Published by BOOM!/Boom! Box and Valiant Comics respectively.

Hi-Fi Fight Club is essentially Empire Records or Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity recast with an all-female staff. And, well, the staff also has a secret, but it’s not revealed until the end of the issue really, so I’ll leave that out for you to figure out.

The first issue is from the point of view of Chris, Vinyl Mayhem’s newest and youngest employee, as she struggles with her identity and finding her place in the world/at work. Carly Usdin does a good job of presenting the setting and characters through Chris’ eyes.

One of the main draws, though, is the art. The art team of Nina Vakueva & Irene Flores with colours by Rebecca Nalty are a joy. Vakueva has a style that reminds me a lot of Veronica Fish mixed with a bit of Terry Moore, leading to some fairly expressive faces and overall some very pleasant art to convey the story.

I’m really looking forward to how this series deepens.

And then there’s the return of War Mother.

I’ve been waiting for a follow-up to the War Mother one-shot that was part of the 4001 AD crossover from last year by Fred Van Lente and Tomás Giorello, and this doesn’t disappoint. Van Lente is back for this new mini while he’s joined by Stephen Segovia for the artwork.

Van Lente does a good job of getting the reader up to speed on what occurred in the previous one-shot, while giving a concrete introduction (or re-introduction depending on if you’re a new reader or not) to the characters. I’d have liked a little more about the time’s overall current state, but I’m sure that will be addressed whenever Valiant gets back to a new Rai series, and isn’t really necessary to enjoy this issue. 

War Mother (Ana) and her people’s biome, The Grove, is failing and she’s searching for something new before they run out of food completely. In doing so, she investigates a broadcast of a safe haven and goes to check out its source and the viability of the building claiming protection. This leads her to a confrontation with a couple other factions fighting to survive in this world, and a revelation that perhaps not everything is as it seems. It’s fairly compelling to find out what happens next.

Stephen Segovia also is a great addition to the book, giving the futuristic world a distinct lived-in feel. His depiction of the Urbanites is a suitably creepy addition to the world.

Quick Bits:

Archie #23 is kind of an “after the big event” episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, focusing more on character ramifications and fallout of the horrible accident in the previous issue. It’s rather morose, but Mark Waid tries to alleviate that a bit through some of Archie’s natural clumsiness.

| Published by Archie Comics

Black Hammer #12 reminds me that David Rubín really deserves to be a household name. His panel transitions and page layouts are gorgeous. His art just flows. It also helps that Jeff Lemire’s story is quite compelling as well.

| Published by Dark Horse

Doctor Strange #24 concludes the Secret Empire tie-in story-arc from Dennis Hopeless and Niko Henrichon. Overall, the arc was decent, even if the victory is less than satisfying. I would have liked to have seen more from Hopeless & Henrichon, because they seem to have a good grasp on Doctor Strange himself and his magical world, but I’ve liked what they’ve given to us. Henrichon’s art is joyful in itself.

| Published by Marvel

Edge of Venomverse #5 closes out the prequel mini-series of mostly one-shots before the Venomverse event can start proper. Every issue of this series has been incredibly well done and this issue is no exception. 

This may be the best, not necessarily due to the story of Deadpool working to stop an alien worm parasite from invading Earth--although Clay McLeod Chapman’s altered “Sound of Silence” lyrics are fairly humorous--but because of the truly incredible artwork of James Stokoe. I think there’s probably nothing that Stokoe can’t elevate with his art.

| Published by Marvel

Generation Gone #2 still feels like a new take on Akira to me. I don’t know if it will shape up to have nearly as much impact as that, but it’s very good so far. Aleš Kot and André Lima Araújo are doing something interesting here.

| Published by Image

Generations: The Thunder #1 is another that reminds me that they’ve never quite lain out what Generations actually is, how or why the modern heroes are being thrust wherever or whatever this “Vanishing Point” is in what’s mostly been various pasts, but still manages to deliver a decent story. Mostly winding up feeling like annuals or possibly an extended version of those old fifth-week events where every one-shot special followed a specific theme; like everyone was turned into an ape or all of the heroes rocked ‘80s mullets and big hair. Okay, maybe that last one didn’t happen, but you get my point.

The other three (Hulks, Jean Greys, & Wolverines) haven’t been bad, by any means, but they do feel kind of inconsequential with character points that have either already popped up in their source series or look to be brought more to the fore in upcoming issues. Jason Aaron’s work here with the Thors feels a little bit more like another important wrinkle in his ongoing Thor saga, as well as laying some groundwork for the upcoming Marvel: Legacy #1.

It also has some great art from Mahmud Asrar and Jordie Bellaire.

| Published by Marvel

The Hard Place #1 is a solid first issue, very nearly rising to one of my favourites of the week. Doug Wagner pens a fairly standard man-out-of-prison story that you see in film and television, complete with the temptation to get back into crime, but he does a great job of making AJ Gurney feel like a fully realised character.

Nic Rummel’s art is also compelling. He has a style similar to Shawn Martinbrough’s with angular features and heavy use of thick lines and solid black shading. The muted colour scheme from Charlie Kirchoff adds greatly to the feel and atmosphere of the issue.

This one comes highly recommended if you like crime dramas.

| Published by Image / 12 Gauge

Incidentals #1 is the first of the Catalyst Prime series that I’ve read since picking up the Free Comic Book Day issue back in May. I gravitated toward this one solely because Larry Stroman’s name was attached and I was in no way disappointed by his work here with Rob Stull inking his pencils and Snakebite Cortez providing the colours.

I’m not as sold on the story. The concept is fine, one of a team being gathered out of those transformed by “The Event”, but Joe Casey’s execution leaves a little to be desired. He’s got several plates spinning in following the different characters, but he provides very little in terms of exposition and narrative context. It leaves you wondering a bit as to who some of these people are and in some cases what exactly is going on. I normally tend to like Casey’s work, so I’ll give it a chance to grow on me, but I can’t say that I was won over by the story in this first issue.

| Published by Lion Forge / Catalyst Prime

Redneck #5 gives us the revelation of what really happened in the first issue and, well, all I can really say is “Ah, hell.” Donny Cates and Lisandro Estherren can really do no wrong here. 

| Published by Image / Skybound

ROM vs. Transformers: Shining Armor #2 is every bit as dense as the first issue, even as we focus more on the initial battle between the Autobots, Decepticons, Space Knights, and Dire Wraiths. We also get to see what happens when a Cybertronian is taken over by a Dire Wraith, depicted in all its terrifying glory by Alex Milne.

| Published by IDW

X-O Manowar #6 closes out the “General” story-arc, but, like “Soldier” before it, it’s less a hard story break, and more of an end of an act. There’s some nice forward momentum in regards to the monoliths causing havoc on the planet Gorin, who’s behind them or at least allied with them, that looks like it’s going to come to a head in the next arc.

This issue also has some very beautiful shots of the landscape and the monoliths from Doug Braithwaite that break up the pace of the action and intrigue.

| Published by Valiant

Other Highlights: Conan: The Slayer #12, Daredevil #25, Dept. H #17, The Dying & The Dead #5, Eternal Empire #4, First Strike #2, I Am Groot #4, Lazarus: X+66 #2, Letter 44 #35, Lumberjanes #41, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers #18, Plastic #5, The Punisher #15, Red Sonja #8, Renato Jones: Season Two #3, Shipwreck #5, Shirtless Bear Fighter #3, Sisters of Sorrow #2, TMNT: Dimension X #4, Underwinter #6

Recommended Collections: The Beauty - Vol. 3, The Few, Guardians of the Galaxy: Mother Entropy, Sif: Journey Into Mystery Complete Collection, & Snowfall

d. emerson eddy is really, really bad at Quake Champions. Like “your grandma is probably better at this” level of bad.

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 8 April 2019

Quick Bits:

Asgardians of the Galaxy #8 throws the team into the chaos of The War of the Realms on Earth as they join the rest of Earth’s forces trying to fight back against Malekith’s army. It’s interesting as their own earthbound connections pull them apart.

| Published by Marvel

Avengers: No Road Home #9 seems to be taking a different turn as this penultimate chapter goes off in an entirely new direction with Nyx. The snuffing of the light might be something we don’t expect, making for a very interesting conclusion to this issue. Also, again Mark Waid, Jim Zub, and Al Ewing give us some amazing character introspection.

| Published by Marvel

Batman #68 continues “Knightmares” with Tom King, Amanda Conner, Dan Panosian, John Timms, Mikel Janín, Paul Mounts, Jordie Bellaire, and Clayton Cowles giving us a look at Selina and Bruce’s respective bachelorette and bachelor parties (at least as interpreted through whatever Bruce is currently going through). It has some moments of humour, especially as Selina and Lois continue to bond, but we’re still no closer to finding out what’s really going on and being a “simulation” (or at least seeming to be) kind of robs the story of any character development.

| Published by DC Comics

Bettie Page #3 sees Bettie and Queen Elizabeth II attempt to unravel the plot of the flying saucers. Great art from Julius Ohta and Sheelagh D as the intrigue is ratcheted up.

| Published by Dynamite

Captain Marvel #4 gives us a rematch between Carol and Rogue and it’s bloody brilliant. Wonderful action and twists as we head towards a finale from Kelly Thompson, Carmen Carnero, Tamra Bonvillain, and Clayton Cowles.

| Published by Marvel

Detective Comics #1001 brings Arkham Knight (he’s probably not Jason Todd this time around) to the DCU amid mysterious deaths of entire bat colonies and an explosion causing a miniature sun to appear in the sky. Incredible artwork from Brad Walker, Andrew Hennessy, and Nathan Fairbairn.

| Published by DC Comics

The Empty Man #6 unleashes the chaos of the virus fully on the world as society begins to tear itself apart. There’s some interesting bits as the old face of the virus is fed to its new form and the body horror art of Jesús Hervás and Niko Guardia is just amazing.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Fairlady #1 is an impressive debut from Brian Schirmer, Claudia Balboni, Marissa Louise, and David Bowman. It’s a kind of detective tale set across the backdrop of a fantasy world that just went through a devastating war and this opening case delves into some of the aftereffects on people as we’re introduced to our lead of Jenner Faulds. 

| Published by Image

Faithless #1 is...something. I’m not really sure what. This first issue from Brian Azzarello, Maria Llovet, and AndWorld Design introduces us to Faith and her very odd encounter with Poppy, who may or may not be a pile of maggots. It’s more strange than sexy.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

The Flash #68 continues the Trickster’s reign of “happy” terror across Central City, giving a bit more insight into what he’s doing, and delivering a nasty blow to the Flash. Scott Kolins and Luis Guerrero again make this look stunning.

| Published by DC Comics

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #5 is a gut punch rollercoaster from Tom Taylor, Yildiray Cinar, Nolan Woodard, and Travis Lanham. Taylor is doing his damnedest with this series to knock Chip Zdarsky off his roost for funniest and most heartfelt run. 

| Published by Marvel

Hawkman #11 unleashes an army of Hawkmen on the Deathbringers as it feels like Robert Venditti, Bryan Hitch, Andrew Currie, Jeremiah Skipper, and Richard Starkings & Comicraft are bringing “Cataclysm” in for a landing. Just some all out chaos this issue with some brilliant fight sequences and surprising revelations.

| Published by DC Comics

Infinite Dark #5 returns from its trade break with new terror, and new problems, as Deva awakens to find herself in the chaos after she saved the station in the first arc. Ryan Cady, Andrea Mutti, K. Michael Russell, and Troy Peteri are building some great horror here, with some existential terror and interesting science.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

Justice League Odyssey #8 lays bare all of Darkseid’s plans for the Ghost Sector in the wake of the breaking of the Source Wall and it feels suitably epic. It feels like Dan Abnett is building something big here, with gorgeous artwork from Daniel Sampere, Juan Albarran, and Ivan Plascencia.

| Published by DC Comics

The Life & Death of Toyo Harada #2 might well be even better than the first issue as we get more development from Harada’s past and a deeper look into Angela, her plans of betrayal, and how much of a monster she really is. Great work from Joshua Dysart, CAFU, Butch Guice, Andrew Dalhouse, Dan Brown, and Dave Sharpe.

| Published by Valiant

Livewire #5 starts off a new arc as Kano takes over the art duties, joining Vita Ayala and Saida Temofonte. This first part introduces a new player to the game in the form of the Psiot Safety & Education Program, which looks like a government-sanctioned shackling program.

| Published by Valiant

Low #21 reveals what happened to Stel and Zem, caught by the Neo Sapiens, and essentially kept as lab rats. Gorgeous artwork from Greg Tocchini and Dave McCaig.

| Published by Image / Giant Generator

Murder Falcon #7 cues up for the end as Jake battles Magnum Khaos as an existential threat, and the remaining members of Brooticus attempt to defend reality alongside the Tokyo Musical Defense Force. Daniel Warren Johnson, Mike Spicer, and Rus Wooton are really giving this their all and it shines through in a highly captivating, entertaining story.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Oblivion Song #14 continues to explore the new status quo of Nathan’s life after prison and the Oblivion colony having a team of gatherers attacked by the Faceless Men. Robert Kirkman, Lorenzo De Felici, Annalisa Leoni, and Rus Wooton never waste a moment in this series. Some very great moments in the art as De Felici and Leoni nicely convey how Nathan’s feeling alone, even amongst a crowd.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Orphan Age #1 has a premise similar to Jeremiah and the “Miri” episode of Star Trek, wherein all of the adults have died for some reason and the children have inherited the Earth. It’s not a bad start from Ted Anderson, Nuno Plati, João Lemos, and Marshall Dillon, introducing us to our three leads as they come together in a town besieged by the “New Church”.

| Published by AfterShock

Outer Darkness #6 concludes the first arc from John Layman, Afu Chan, and Pat Brosseau as the planetbound crew hunt the demons stalking them. Also a cat scaring the crap out of them.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Rat Queens Special: Swamp Romp #1 gives us a taste of the new creative team of Ryan Ferrier, Priscilla Petraites, and Marco Lesko as the Queens take on a quest from a creepy dude with a severed unicorn’s head to hunt and kill the Slog Chimp. It’s a funny adventure, with things not being as they seem, and the revelation that unicorns are assholes. Definitely a good start for this new team.

| Published by Image / Shadowline

Ronin Island #2 throws the islanders at the demons, while demonstrating further class division as Sato and his soldiers basically subjugate all of the farmers, imprisoning their leaders. Highly entertaining story here from Greg Pak, Giannis Milonogiannis, Irma Kniivila, and Simon Bowland, while still leaving us wondering what’s really been happening on the main Japanese islands.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Savage Sword of Conan #4 sets up for the finale of Gerry Duggan, Ron Garney, Richard Isanove, and Travis Lanham’s tale, “The Cult of Koga Thun”, as Conan, Menes, and Suty inch closer to the treasure. Nice bits of humour and a sad note as Suty’s wounds turn sour.

| Published by Marvel

She Could Fly: The Lost Pilot #1 begins to follow-up to one of the best, most unique series last year, from Christopher Cantwell, Martín Morazzo, Miroslav Mrva, and Clem Robins. It picks up shortly after when the first series left off, but there’s a text piece giving a recap that should help new readers coming in. This continues on the various forces trying to learn about the device that allowed the pilot to fly, but the real draw again is Luna’s struggles with her mental illness and the oddities around her. Beautiful, inventive artwork abounds from Morazzo and Mrva.

| Published by Dark Horse / Berger Books

Star Wars: Age of Rebellion - Grand Moff Tarkin #1 is the first of two in this series of one-shots focusing on the prominent characters of the Rebellion-era. Greg Pak, Marc Laming, Jordan Boyd, Neeraj Menon, and Travis Lanham tell a tale displaying just how disturbing Tarkin’s cold calculus can be.

| Published by Marvel

Star Wars: Age of Rebellion - Princess Leia #1 is the second of these one-shots this week, with a story bridging Han Solo’s capture in Cloud City and his rescue, from Greg Pak, Chris Sprouse, Will Sliney, Karl Story, Marc Deering, Tamra Bonvillain, and Travis Lanham. It’s interesting in that this is really the first of these stories to serve up plot points relevant to the larger Star Wars story instead of just being a character piece. It still works well as the latter, though, giving us an insight into Leia’s capabilities pretending to be a bounty hunter.

| Published by Marvel

Supergirl #29 answers a lot of questions about the Circle and their actions to “protect” the universe. Kara’s quest has gone in some interesting directions but it feels like Marc Andreyko, Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira, FCO Plascencia, and Tom Napolitano are guiding us to at least some kind of conclusion. Plus, hints of more to come from Rogol Zaar.

| Published by DC Comics

Superman #10, I think, almost brings this series in line with the current time period in Action Comics as Jon finishes his tale of escaping Earth-3 and the crazy battle that Jor-El seems to have embroiled himself in.

| Published by DC Comics

Symbiote Spider-Man #1 begins a limited series set after Secret Wars while Peter was still wearing the pre-Venom symbiote suit, not knowing it was a living entity, from Peter David, Greg Land, Jay Leisten, Frank D’Armata, and Joe Sabino, with a flashback section with line art from Iban Coello. It’s interesting to look back at this time, especially with what’s going on with Black Cat as well in the current comics.

| Published by Marvel

Titans #36 concludes “Into the Bleed” by Dan Abnett, Bruno Redondo, Marcelo Maiolo, and Dave Sharpe, and with it the series. There a very nice last hurrah between the team and Mother Blood as the multiverse hangs in the balance.

| Published by DC Comics

Vampirella vs. Reanimator #4 concludes what has been an excellent series from Cullen Bunn, Blacky Shepherd, and Taylor Esposito. The art continues to be a highlight, with an excellent use of black and white with spot colours.

| Published by Dynamite

The War of the Realms: Journey into Mystery #1 kicks off the first tie-in mini-series to the event with the weirdest gathering of the team for the weirdest road trip as this motley crew of heroes come together to protect Thor’s baby sister. It’s an interesting set-up from The McElroys, with some excellent artwork from André Lima Araújo and Chris O’Halloran that is worth the price of admission alone.

| Published by Marvel

Web of Venom: Cult of Carnage #1 is a one shot from Frank Tieri, Danilo S. Beyruth, Andres Mossa, and Clayton Cowles building upon the ongoing Carnage thread as he’s become a harbinger for Knull. There’s some very nice expansion on existing history and it’s great to see Misty Knight and John Jameson being used again.

| Published by Marvel

Wonder Twins #3 is another entertaining issue from Mark Russell, Stephen Byrne, and Dave Sharpe. I’m really quite liking how this series is structured, with a satisfying feature story that is concluded with each issue, while still building a broader narrative across each issue. 

| Published by DC Comics / Wonder Comics

Wonder Woman #68 brings “Giants War” to an end with some interesting developments leading to more questions. There’s some nice interpersonal character building between Wonder Woman and Giganta from G. Willow Wilson that looks like it’s going to possibly explode in the future.

| Published by DC Comics

Other Highlights: Age of Conan: Bêlit #2, Amazing Spider-Man #19, By Night #10, Catwoman #10, Clyde, Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor #6, DuckTales #20, Ghostbusters 35th Anniversary Special: The Real Ghostbusters, Go Go Power Rangers #19, Gunning for Hits #4, Hit-Girl Season Two #3, House of Whispers #8, Invaders #4, James Bond: Origin #8, KISS: The End #1, The Long Con #8, Marvel Tales: Thanos #1, Noble #17, Prodigy #5, Spider-Man/Deadpool #49, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #43, The Unstoppable Wasp #6, Winter Soldier #5

Recommended Collections: Absolute Scarlet, Catwoman - Volume 1: Copycats, Hot Lunch Special - Volume 1, Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth, Kick-Ass: The New Girl - Book Two, Mech Cadet Yu - Volume 3, Patience! Conviction! Revenge! - Volume 1, Rose - Volume 3, Runaways - Volume 3: That Was Yesterday, Star Wars - Volume 10: Escape, Strangers in Paradise XXV Omnibus, Unnatural - Volume 2

d. emerson eddy might be a sleepytime gorilla.