#Rick W. Snyder II | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

eddycurrents · 5 years ago

Photo

For the week of 26 August 2019

Quick Bits:

Absolute Carnage #2 expands a bit further as Eddie and Peter regroup after getting their butts kicked. The story’s still a bit of chaos as the sparks are lit and it works to reference bits and pieces of the broader story across all of the tie-ins, but this remains visually stunning. The art from Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, and Frank Martin is worth it alone.

| Published by Marvel

Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors #1 looks to be doing a bit of the heavy lifting on Carnage’s side of the story, continuing on from the Web of Venom: Cult of Carnage one-shot, delving into what Carnage is doing at the Ravencroft Institute and his followers. Great start from Frank Tieri, Flaviano, Federico Blee, and Joe Caramagna.

| Published by Marvel

Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales #1 expands on what we see of this confrontation in Absolute Carnage #2 from Saladin Ahmed, Federico Vicentini, Erick Arciniega, and Cory Petit. In terms of the overlap between the two books, it doesn’t actually line up the same entirely, but it’s still interesting, building too off of Miles’ interaction with Knull way back in the early issues of Venom.

| Published by Marvel

Action Comics #1014 is an intriguing story from Brian Michael Bendis, Szymon Kudranski, Brad Anderson, and Rob Leigh. While the Leviathan search and bits and pieces with Thorn and Red Cloud occur in the background, the thrust of this one is Marisol Leone introducing herself to the Daily Planet and inquiring how much money they need to operate at full efficiency. Very different premise than you would have thought from the head of a criminal organization who bought a newspaper. It makes you wonder what her long game is.

| Published by DC Comics

Amazing Spider-Man #28 concludes the arc with the Sinister Syndicate and Boomerang, showing just how messy the interconnections between Spider-Man’s life is right now. Very nice art from Kev Walker, John Dell, Laura Martin, and Andrew Crossley.

| Published by Marvel

Angel #4 is another highly impressive issue in what has been an excellent reinterpretation of the Angel characters and concepts from the beginning by Bryan Edward Hill, Gleb Melnikov, Roman Titov, and Ed Dukeshire. Very interesting hint at the Darkness behind everything and the drive for Angel to form his own team, while protecting Buffy.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Ascender #5 concludes the first arc, with a pretty harrowing confrontation between Andy & co. and a number of the vampires’ agents on Sampson. Jeff Lemire, Dustin Nguyen, and Steve Wands do a great job of setting a catalyst to change the status quo here and add another level of tension.

| Published by Image

Avengers #23 continues “Challenge of the Ghost Riders”. The art from Stefano Caselli and Jason Keith is gorgeous, especially the fiery landscapes and colours of hell. It’s kind of weird that this series is still working through supernatural influences, characters, and locales, but it definitely makes this for a different kind of Avengers story.

| Published by Marvel

Batgirl #38 is another great issue from the new creative team of Cecil Castellucci, Carmine Di Giandomenico, Jordie Bellaire, and AndWorld Design. They’re building on what came before from Mairghread Scott and Paul Pelletier’s run, with the supporting cast, politics, and conflict with the Terrible Trio, but there’s a new verve to Babs’ character, a DIY attitude as she scrapes the bottom of the barrel just to continue her superhero career. It’s different, accentuated by very beautiful artwork from Di Giandomenico and Bellaire.

| Published by DC Comics

Batman/Superman #1 is kind of terrifying as Joshua Williamson, David Marquez, Alejandro Sanchez, and John J. Hill unleash the next stage of The Batman Who Laughs’ plan as Batman and Superman are forced to question who has been infected by the insane Batman’s toxin. There are some truly gruesome bits here, especially as we learn how the Batman Who Laughs took out his world’s Justice League, so go in with a strong stomach. Great art here from Marquez and Sanchez.

| Published by DC Comics

Black Panther #15 finally gets T’Challa back home to Earth. It’s not necessarily the homecoming you’d have expected, as he’s conflicted with memories of his life in the Intergalactic Empire and his past. Beautiful artwork from Daniel Acuña.

| Published by Marvel

Black Science #42 is part one of the two-part finale for the series from Rick Remender, Matteo Scalera, Moreno Dinisio, and Rus Wooton. It’s fairly epic. It continues to play into the conflict between Kadir and Grant, spotlighting two different possibilities: defiance or submission. We’re not entirely sure which choice Grant actually made, which makes this more interesting.

| Published by Image / Giant Generator

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chosen Ones #1 is a one shot with three stories telling tales of various Slayers through history. The lead from Mairghread Scott, Ornella Savarese, Wesllei Manoel, and Jim Campbell pulls double duty of not only introducing Sunnydale’s first Slayer, but also as to why the Hellmouth was fixed to the town. It’s rather good, with the added conflict of what humanity has done to itself, even without vampires in the mix. The other two stories are shorter, somewhat whimsical in art style, but still wonderfully told by Celia Lowenthal and Alexa Sharpe respectively.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Captain America #13 gives us the first part of “The Legend of Steve” as Jason Masters and Sean Izaakse join Ta-Nehisi Coates, Matt Milla, and Joe Caramagna to provide the line art. This is an interesting start, melding some real life politics of the southern US border with Steve’s current conflicts.

| Published by Marvel

Detective Comics #1010 continues the rather compelling tale of Deadshot, Batman, and a plane full of billionaire crash survivors on a desert island. Peter J. Tomasi, Christian Duce, David Baron, and Rob Leigh weave humour and action throughout the story, including a rather interesting aside with a pair of World War II pilots who’ve been surviving on this island since before the war ended.

| Published by DC Comics

Dial H for Hero #6 proves that Joe Quinones is one of the best artists in the business. Again. Quinones, Scott Hanna, and Jordan Gibson weave through multiple different styles as a plague of superheroes erupts in Metropolis, complete with shifts to different formats, in this incredible tale.

| Published by DC Comics / Wonder Comics

Doctor Mirage #1 upends the status quo in this excellent debut from Magdalene Visaggio, Nick Robles, Jordie Bellaire, and Dave Sharpe. There’s some early Vertigo vibes here in the story’s tone and atmosphere, especially from the gorgeous artwork from Robles and Bellaire. Particularly when it comes to the eye effects. There’s something spooky and seemingly nefarious going on here, which makes it all the more compelling.

| Published by Valiant

Doctor Strange #18 is a very entertaining one shot from Mark Waid, Jesús Saiz, and Cory Petit. A rather brusque, rude Strange invades a family’s home in the middle of nowhere in search of an invasive demon. It’s a nice change of pace from the longer arcs.

| Published by Marvel

The Flash #77 continues two main threads; Captain Cold continuing to gather his Rogues and Flash reuniting with the other new Forces users to try to outrun the Black Flash. It’s interesting, picking up the various threads that Joshua Williamson has been weaving for some time now into a wider tapestry. Nice artwork from Rafa Sandoval, Jordi Tarragona, and Tomeu Morey.

| Published by DC Comics

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #11 is another gorgeous one shot from Tom Taylor, Juann Cabal, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Travis Lanham delving into the character traits that really define Peter’s supporting cast, in this case an adventure of the “Friendly Neighborhood Mary Jane”. Wonderful funny bits here.

| Published by Marvel

GI Joe: A Real American Hero #266 begins “Snake Hunt” as Cobra Commander tries to do reconnaissance on Throwdown, hoping to kidnap him and brainwash him to Cobra’s side. Interesting set up here.

| Published by IDW

Ice Cream Man #14 is another highly inventive issue, spotlighting a man who has lost himself in crossword puzzles, ignoring his life, wife, and pretty much everything else following a tragedy. W. Maxwell Prince, Martín Morazzo, Chris O’Halloran, and Good Old Neon are consistently delivering intriguing horror with this series.

| Published by Image

Justice League #30 kicks off the “Justice/Doom War” from Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Jorge Jimenez, Alejandro Sanchez, and Tom Napolitano. It posits a bleak future where Luthor and Perpetua win, leaving the universe Doomed, causing even more complications when the Justice League attempt to prevent this horrible future. It does lead to some very intriguing returns to the main DC Universe, though.

| Published by DC Comics

Justice League Dark #14 is part one of “The Witching War” from James Tynion IV, Alvaro Martínez Bueno, Raul Fernandez, Adriano Lucas, and Rob Leigh. It’s interesting to see the other side of the coin here as the darker, villainous forces of the DC Universe gather to wage war on Wonder Woman’s team. Gorgeous artwork as always from Martínez Bueno, Fernandez, and Lucas.

| Published by DC Comics

Killers #2 adds a few more members of the Britain’s ninja programme to the mix as we get further details on what the Jonin wants and pieces of why they’re being attacked in the open. From the one arc in Ninja-K, I was under the impression that most of Colin King’s predecessors were dead, but apparently that really isn’t the case. Still, it’s an intriguing story, and the action art from Fernando Dagnino and José Villarrubia is beautiful.

| Published by Valiant

Knights Temporal #2 builds nicely off of that impressive first issue, going deeper into August trying to find out more about himself while being pressured to move forward by Jane. There’s definitely more going on than what we’re being let in on and it’s an intriguing mystery. Cullen Bunn, Fran Galán, and Dave Sharpe have something interesting here.

| Published by AfterShock

Mall #1 is a very impressive debut from Michael Moreci, Gary Dauberman, Zak Hartong, Addison Duke, and Jim Campbell. It’s a post-apocalypse thriller set within a mall that has seemingly withstood the brunt of the destruction of the world. This first issue sets up a bunch of gangs and cultists running this society and a mystery of who killed the top dog. Great art from Hartong and Duke.

| Published by Vault

Manor Black #2 is quite possibly even better than the first issue. Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt, and Tyler Crook are delivering a story here that is rich in mystery as we still don’t really know what Ari or the wild magicians’ deals are, and it just seems like their existence is throwing the town into a tailspin. The character moments here are wonderful and haunting. And the artwork from Tyler Crook...next level.

| Published by Dark Horse

Martian Manhunter #8 reveals a lot of Diane’s past and her history with the real John Jones in one of the most impressive character-driven issues to date. Steve Orlando, Riley Rossmo, Ivan Plascencia, and AndWorld Design continue to deliver an incredible story here.

| Published by DC Comics

Marvel Monsters #1 is an interesting one shot. There is a framing story featuring Kid Kaiju from Cullen Bunn, Scott Hepburn, Israel Silva, and Travis Lanham that’s entertaining, introducing a new villain, but you’re really going to be wanting to pick this up for the art pieces. There’s a murderers’ row of artists doing splash pages of the monsters and cross-section pages from Superlog and Gaigan-Yamazaki. It’s amazing.

| Published by Marvel

The Necromancer’s Map #1 is the follow-up to the very excellent Songs for the Dead series from last year by Andrea Fort, Michael Christopher Heron, Sam Beck, Ellie Wright, and AndWorld Design. Though I highly advise reading the first series, both for enjoyment and background, you can technically dive into this one and still be brought mainly up to speed. It’s a wonderful magical fantasy and this opening chapter goes into a number of mysteries, in the titular map, in the sickness afflicting one of few people that might be able to help with the map, and in Bethany’s raised and bitter friend/protector/minion, Elissar’s, past.

| Published by Vault

Power Pack: Grow Up #1 is another of the 80th anniversary specials, this one reuniting the original Power Pack team of Louise Simonson and June Brigham, with the creative team rounded out by Roy Richardson, Tamra Bonvillain, and Joe Caramagna, as well as a back-up illustrated by Gurihiru. This is definitely one of my favourite so far, capturing the feel of the old stories perfectly, while still telling an entertaining story for modern audiences.

| Published by Marvel

Resonant #2 is another winner for Vault. The artwork alone from Alejandro Aragon and Jason Wordie is worth giving this a look alone. Really neat layouts, panel transitions, and character designs. But also as a whole with David Andry and Deron Bennett, they’re crafting some unique world-building across this horror landscape that really sets this apart from your usual post-apocalypse.

| Published by Vault

RWBY #1 begins a new digital-first series based on Rooster Teeth’s animated web series franchise of the same name, from Marguerite Bennett, Mirka Andolfo, Arif Prianto, and Gabriela Downie. I’ve never watched any of the series, but this is still entertaining. This first issue gives us the backstory of the world and the lives of Ruby’s original team of Huntresses. I get the impression that I’d get more out of it if I had a grounding in the series beforehand, but I quite like the effort to fill in the blanks. Also, the artwork from Andolfo and Prianto is gorgeous.

| Published by DC Comics

Sera & The Royal Stars #2 delivers immensely on the promise of the first issue, richly unfolding the fantastical lore here of Parsa’s mythology, especially as aspected through its zodiac, and on the continued familial conflict between Sera’s side of the family and her uncle. Jon Tsuei, Audrey Mok, Raul Angulo, and Jim Campbell are telling a very fine fantasy story here.

| Published by Vault

She-Hulk Annual #1 has some wonderful artwork from Andy MacDonald and Matt Milla, with some very neat panels, layouts, and compositions. The story itself is also fairly entertaining, with some nice funny moments, as Jennifer Walters gets zapped into a robot body while Bullseye runs around with hers.

| Published by Marvel

Spider-Man: Life Story #6 concludes what has been a very interesting look at Spider-Man through the lens of aging normally across time from Chip Zdarsky, Mark Bagley, Andrew Hennessy, Frank D’Armata, and Travis Lanham. It’s been interesting seeing the different elements of the Spider-Man mythos remixed and reinterpreted in this fashion, entertaining along the way.

| Published by Marvel

Star Pig #2 is more odd fun from Delilah S. Dawson, Francesco Gaston, Sebastian Cheng, and Shawn Lee. Some interesting humour as Vess learns that Earth culture seems to have permeated throughout much of the galaxy, and that creepy spore creatures enjoy collecting human artifacts.

| Published by IDW

Star Trek: Year Five #5 begins the next “episode” in the series, from Jody Houser, Silvia Califano, Thomas Deer, and Neil Uyetake. After investigating a long dead ancient civilization, communication breakdowns begin to occur aboard the ship, with some interesting and combative results.

| Published by IDW

Star Wars: Age of Resistance - General Hux #1 shines a spotlight on one of the new era’s antagonists, with Tom Taylor, Leonard Kirk, Cory Hamscher, Guru-eFX, and Travis Lanham providing insight into Hux’s past. Some very dark humour in this one.

| Published by Marvel

Star Wars: Age of Resistance - Poe Dameron #1 gives us a tale of Poe before the Resistance was fully a thing, giving us a look at life under the New Republic. Tom Taylor, Ramon Rosanas, Guru-eFX, and Travis Lanham craft an interesting story here, establishing both a wider plot, and a more succinct tale as Poe learns some manoeuvres.

| Published by Marvel

Stranger Things: Six #4 concludes this mini focusing on the experiments prior to the first season from Jody Houser, Edgar Salazar, Keith Champagne, Marissa Louise, and Nate Piekos. It’s been interesting seeing the kids prior to Eleven and really just how evil Brenner and co. are. Some interesting twists too.

| Published by Dark Horse

Superman #14 begins the “Conclusion” to the House of El portion of the Unity Saga arc that has been running since the series began. Great art from Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Oclair Albert, and Alex Sinclair. And a very welcome return of the Legion of Super-Heroes.

| Published by DC Comics

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #97 turns up the heat on “City at War”. This is a rough one as Karai’s forces press their advantage on Splinter and we get further hints as to how far Karai has really fallen. Great art from Michael Dialynas and Ronda Pattison.

| Published by IDW

Test #3 gets weirder. Yeah. I didn’t think that was possible either. The reality being lain out here from Christopher Sebela, Jen Hickman, Harry Saxon, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou is layered, like peeling away at an onion, but we’re never quite sure what actually lays underneath and why any of this is happening.

| Published by Vault

Thanos #5 sets up a very intriguing reveal as to who Gamora has been telling this story to in the penultimate chapter from Tini Howard, Ariel Olivetti, Antonio Fabela, and Joe Caramagna. It makes you kind of reexamine the rest of the narrative, making you wonder what Gamora is really getting at other than just relaying her early years with Thanos.

| Published by Marvel

Thor #16 brings this volume to a close as Jason Aaron, Mike Del Mundo, Marco D’Alfonso, and Joe Sabino deliver a story that’s essentially a coda to War of the Realms and a summation of much of the seven years of Aaron’s time writing, giving a look to the possible immediate future of the present, before heading off to the forthcoming four-part finale of King Thor in the far-flung future.

| Published by Marvel

Tommy Gun Wizards #1 is built on a great premise of infusing magic into Prohibition era Chicago, setting wizards into Eliot Ness and his Untouchables’ war against Al Capone. It works even better in execution as Christian Ward, Sami Kavelä, Dee Cunniffe, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou bring it to life. Incredible period designs from Kavelä.

| Published by Dark Horse

Venom #17 elaborates on the Maker and Dylan portion of the story hinted at in Absolute Carnage #2, as they’re attacked by the new family of Life Foundation symbiotes from Absolute Carnage: Separation Anxiety, from Donny Cates, Iban Coello, Rain Beredo, and Clayton Cowles. It is interesting as to how interconnected these stories are. Unlike many other events, you kind of have to read all of these.

| Published by Marvel

Wonder Woman #77 begins “Loveless” from G. Willow Wilson, Jesus Merino, Vicente Cifuentes, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Pat Brosseau. If follows up on Aphrodite’s death as Wonder Woman darts off to confront Cheetah. There are some shenanigans going on, so the set up is not as straightforward as you’d think.

| Published by DC Comics

Other Highlights: Bone Parish #12, Books of Magic #11, DuckTales: Silence & Science #1, Fantastic Four: 4 Yancy Street #1, Fight Club 3 #8, Freedom Fighters #8, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass, House of X #3, Immortal Hulk: Director’s Cut #2, Invader Zim #46, Jughead: The Hunger vs. Vampironica #4, Just Beyond: The Scare School, Lumberjanes #65, Marvel Team-Up #5, Mary Shelley: Monster Hunter #5, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #42, Mountainhead #1, Planet of the Nerds #5, Red Sonja & Vampirella meet Betty & Veronica #4, Rick & Morty #53, Runaways #24, She Said Destroy #4, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge #5, TMNT: Shredder in Hell #4, TMNT: Urban Legends #16

Recommended Collections: Age of X-Man: The Amazing Nightcrawler, Age of X-Man: X-Tremists, Barbarella/Dejah Thoris, Captain Marvel - Volume 1: Re-Entry, Doctor Who: The Thirteen Doctor - Volume 2, GI Joe: A Real American Hero - Sierra Muerte, The Girl in the Bay, Heathen - Volume 2, Jim Henson’s Beneath the Dark Crystal - Volume 2, Oberon - Volume 1, Orion - Book 2, Star Wars: Vader - Dark Visions, The War of the Realms: Journey into Mystery, Wolverine: Infinity Watch

d. emerson eddy knows the way to San José. But it’s full of sharks.

#This Week in Comics

0 notes