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'Cinema Purgatorio' and other stories from the Towers of Shame

My to-read piles — the Towers of Shame, known collectively as the Wall of Shame — have gotten so uncontrollable that I'm making a dedicated effort to clear out as much as I can. One self-disciplinary move is to read whatever's on top, regardless if t

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Strange antecedents and other PS Artbooks

SILVER AGE CLASSICS: UNUSUAL TALES VOL. 4 HC

Unusual Tales #16-20 (Charlton Comics, May 59-Jan 60)

I didn't expect more from Unusual Tales Vol. 4 than I had gotten out of other volumes of the same series. Which is why I was surprised by the story "Th

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Review: 'Red Sonja: Empire of the Damned' #1

THE BOOK

RED SONJA: EMPIRE OF THE DAMNED #1

Writer: Steve Niles | Artist: Alessandro Amoruso | Covers: Josh Middleton | Joseph Michael Linsner | John Tyler Christopher | Cosplay / Rachel Hollon

Dynamite Entertainment | Teen+ | $4.99

After landing in

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Review: 'Archie & Friends Hot Rod Racing' #1

THE BOOK

ARCHIE & FRIENDS HOT ROD RACING #1

Story: Craig Boldman | Art/Cover: Stephen Butler

Archie Comics Publications | $3.99

A BRAND-NEW STORY kicks off this NEED FOR SPEED issue! "The Race to Save Face" is the first appearance of Daisy Thunder of

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Review: 'The Horror' HC

THE BOOK

THE HORROR HC

Writer: Lars Jacobson | Artist: Eduardo Francisco

Dark Horse | B&W with spot color | 104 pages | 6 5/8" x 10 3/16" | 14+ | $24.99

Travel with Colonel Kurtz and his family as they enter the “heart of darkness” on a humanitarian

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Review: 'Deadweights' #1

THE BOOK

DEADWEIGHTS #1 

Story: Tyrone Finch | Art/Cover: Sebastian Piriz

Ahoy Comics | $3.99

Is this another exciting new superhero universe? No — just a buddy comedy about two unlucky henchmen trying to make their way in the world! Deadweights take

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Review: 'When I Arrived at the Castle' TP

THE BOOK

WHEN I ARRIVED AT THE CASTLE TP

Story/Art: Emily Carroll

Silver Sprocket | Mature | 72 spot-color pages | 8” x 10” | $16.99

Like many before her that have never come back, she’s made it to the Countess’ castle determined to snuff out the hor

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Review: 'Universal Monsters: Creature of the Black Lagoon Lives' #1

THE BOOK

UNIVERSAL MONSTERS: CREATURE OF THE BLACK LAGOON LIVES #1 (OF 4)

Story: Dan Watters, Ram V. | Art: Matthew Roberts, Dave Stewart | Covers: Matthew Roberts, Joshua Middleton, DANI, Joëlle Jones, Alex Ross

Image/Skybound, $4.99

Miniseries prem

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'Alarming Tales Vol. 1' and more PS Artbooks

ALARMING TALES VOL. 1 TPB

Collects Alarming Tales #1-6 (Harvey Comics, Sep 57-Nov 58)

Where did this come from?

Well, the technical answer is "Harvey Comics," which produced Alarming Tales #1-6 (1957-58). But the first two issues are almost entirely

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Where The Body Was

 

Where The Body Was
Ed Brubaker, writer; Sean Phillips, artist; Jacob Phillips, colorist
Image Comics, 2023

As the title implies, this is a murder mystery. Or is it? Spoiler alert: the question is not fully resolved until the end. The story begins in

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House of Slaughter Vol. 2: Scarlet

 

House of Slaughter Vol. 2: Scarlet
James Tynion IV, series development; Sam Johns, writer; Letizia Cadonici, illustrator; Francesco Segala, colorist
BOOM! Studios, 2022

Edwin Slaughter is a member of the Scarlet Masks, the scribes of the Order of St

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Phantom Road Vol. 1

Phantom Road Vol. 1
Jeff Lemire, writer; Gabriel Hernández Walta, artist; Jordie Bellaire, colorist
Image Comics, 2023

Long-haul trucker Dom encounters Birdie on the road at night after she has been in a massive car crash. When they retrieve a strange

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The Sandman Universe: Dead Boy Detectives

 

The Sandman Universe: Dead Boy Detectives
Pornsak Pichetshote, writer; Jeff Stokely & Javier Rodríguez, pencillers; Craig Taillefer, Jeff Stokely & Javier Rodríguez, inkers; Miguel Muerto & Javier Rodríguez, colorists
DC Black Label, 2023

When last

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Parasocial by Alex de Campi & Scott Henderson

 

Parasocial
Alex de Campi, writer; Scott Henderson, artist
Image Comics, 2023

A story straight out of Stephen King's novel Misery, but this time the protagonist is a fading genre-TV actor instead of a novelist. The graphic novel begins at a comics co

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W0rldtr33 Vol. 1: Terminal

 

W0rldtr33 Vol. 1: Terminal
James Tynion IV, words; Fernando Blanco, art; Jordie Bellaire, colors; Aditya Bidikar, letters
Image Comics, 2023

This is Tynion's most horrific series to date, full of unexpected violence and bizarre events. The story beg

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Ice Cream Man Vol. 9: Heavy Narration

 

Ice Cream Man Vol. 9: Heavy Narration
W. Maxwell Prince, writer; Martín Morazzo, artist; Chris O’Halloran, colors
Image Comics, 2023

Four more generally bleak stand-alone stories: it has been a while since there was any hint of an overarching narrat

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'Combat' and other PS Artbooks

 CLASSIC ADVENTURE COMICS VOLUME FIVE, VOLUME SIX

Collecting Combat #1-10 (Dell, Oct-Nov 61 to Oct-Dec 63)

It's rare I find post-Code/non-Silver Age superhero material I really enjoy, but Combat is that unicorn. Published by Dell from Oct-Nov 61 to O

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Monica by Daniel Clowes

 

Monica
Daniel Clowes
Fantagraphics, 2023

Monica is the protagonist of this graphic novel, but the narrative ranges far wider than her life story, extending into social commentary about the mid-Twentieth Century . The focus is on her mother Penny at

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'Seven Seas Comics' and other PS Artbooks

I’m trying to bang through as many PS Artbooks as I can for entirely pedestrian reasons: I need to get the books that are in the bedroom where I generally read them out of the bedroom, because of some work being done on the house, and I need to get t

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Saga Vol. 11

 

Saga Vol. 11
Brian K. Vaughan, writer; Fiona Staples, artist
Image Comics, 2023

In this installment Alana is still a single mother, trying her best to support her family after they lost their home. When she goes to Vitch for forged identity document

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