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MARVEL COMICS
Week 9 in "Blood Hunt":
BLOOD HUNT #4 (OF 5) by writers Fabian Nicieza, Erica Shultz and artist Belviso, Giada, Bernard Chang: The Silver Surfer comes to investigate why Earth's skies have gone black, which should even the odds a bit. Also, Satana and Hallow's Eve join the good guys, for -- as you'd expect -- entirely selfish reasons. Looks like we're making our turn into the third act.
BLOOD HUNT #4 (OF 5) RED BAND: This issue's homage is to Tales from the Crypt #28.
X-MEN: BLOOD HUNT — MAGIK #1 (ONE-SHOT) by writer Ashley Allen and artist Jesús Hervás: I'm not really worried about Illyana defending the largest country on Earth all by her lonesome. If anything, I feel sorry for the vampires.
Also:
- AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #49 2ND PTG JR JR. BLOOD-SOAKED VARIANT
- AMAZING SPIDER-MAN BLOOD HUNT #1 (OF 3) 2ND PTG BLOOD-SOAKED VARIANT
- MIDNIGHT SONS: BLOOD HUNT #2 (OF 3): Blade is still present, but in what capacity I can't tell.
- UNION JACK THE RIPPER: BLOOD HUNT #2 (OF 3): Fighting vampires in Manchester is just cool.
- VENGEANCE OF THE MOON KNIGHT #6: The Midnight Mission joins the good guys.
-
VENOM #33 2ND PTG CAFU BLOOD-SOAKED VARIANT
This week in Spider-Man:
Here's a cover just for Jeff of Earth-J:
- JACKPOT/BLACK CAT #4
- SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MEN #4
- SPIDER-GWEN GHOST-SPIDER #2
- SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #8
- SYMBIOTE SPIDER-MAN 2099 #4 (OF 5)
- VENOM BY AL EWING VOL 6: INFILTRATION TP
This week in X-Men:
- HELLVERINE #2
- NEW X-MEN MODERN ERA EPIC COLLECTION VOL 1: E IS FOR EXTINCT TP
- REALM OF X TP
- SINS OF SINISTER TP
- WOLVERINE BY BENJAMIN PERCY VOL 3 HC
- WOLVERINE MADRIPOOR KNIGHTS #5
- X-FORCE BY BENJAMIN PERCY VOL 3 HC
- X-MEN ‘97 #1 3RD PTG BLANK COVER VARIANT
- X-MEN ‘97 #1 3RD PTG MARVEL ANIMATION VARIANT
- X-MEN ‘97 #4
- X-MEN: HEIR OF APOCALYPSE #2
This week in Star Wars:
- STAR WARS DARTH MAUL BLACK WHITE & RED #3 (OF 4)
This week in Ultimates:
- ULTIMATE BLACK PANTHER #5
- ULTIMATE X-MEN #2 2ND PTG PEACH MOMOKO VARIANT
- ULTIMATE X-MEN #3 2ND PTG PEACH MOMOKO VARIANT
- ULTIMATES #1 2ND PTG 25 COPY INCV JTC NEGATIVE SPACE VIR VARIANT
- ULTIMATES #1 2ND PTG SILVA VARIANT
Elsewhere at Marvel:
THANOS ANNUAL #1 by writer Derek Landy and artists Salvador Larroca & Sara Pichelli
Marvels annuals will all be parts of the same story again this year. This is "Infinity Watch" Part One. Thanos goes after the Infinity Stones (formerly gems) but discovers they've been incorporated into actual people, some of which I actually know. There are also back-ups in every issues detailing the origin of the Death Stone bearer, a stone I had not heard of heretofore.
All of these covers look familiar, but that may be because Marvel tends to tell the same Thanos story over and over, with slight variations.
Also:
- GIANT SIZE LITTLE MARVELS #1: Skottie Young's tiny Marvel chibis. No thanks.
- GODZILLA #1 FACSIMILE EDITION
- MMW THE INCREDIBLE HULK HC VOL 18 brings us up to Incredible Hulk #279.
DC COMICS
Week 1 in "Absolute Power"
ABSOLUTE POWER: GROUND ZERO #1 by Mark Waid, Joshua Williamson, Nicole Maines & Chip Zdarsky and Artists Gleb Melnikov, Skylar Patridge & V Ken Marion: Waller makes her move, using the combined power of Failsafe, Brainiac Queen and the Suicide Squad. This is going to run for a while, so if you want in on the ground floor, this is it.
Also:
- ACTION COMICS #1066: HOUSE OF BRAINIAC PART FIVE! We're promised the "true origin of Brainiac" (which hopefully explains Brainiacs 2-5 adequately) and further sets up "Absolute Power." And no mention of the Battle of Hastings, which saddens me. Guest stars Lobo (still).
- GREEN ARROW #13: This is part of a storyline called "Countdown to Absolute Power," and may possibly explain why the Emerald Archer has become an agent of Waller.
- POWER GIRL #10: This "House of Brainiac" tie-in guest stars the Holliday Girls, which I did not see coming. Also guest stars Lobo's daughter (still).
- SUPERMAN #15: HOUSE OF BRAINIAC PART SIX! Superman and Lex have a plan. This will end "House of Brainiac," but lead directly into "Absolute Power."
Elsewhere at DC:
LOBO: BIG FRAGGIN’ COMPENDIUM TP collects Lobo (miniseries) #1-4, Lobo #0-9, Lobo Annual #1-2, Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special #1, Lobo's Back #1-4, Lobo: Blazing Chain of Love #1, Lobo: Infanticide #1-4, Lobo: Portrait of a Victim #1, Lobo: Unamerican Gladiators #1-4, Lobo Convention Special #1, Lobo: A Contract on Gawd #1-4, Lobo: In the Chair #1, Green Lantern Corps Quarterly #8, Superman: The Man of Steel #30, The Demon #11-15, The Omega Men #3, profile pages from Who's Who #8 and the Lobocop #1 parody. I think I have all these in individual issues, so it's not for me. But if you're missing any (and care), this would be a cheap way of reading them.
ZATANNA: BRING DOWN THE HOUSE #1 (OF 5) by writer Mariko Tamaki and artist Javier Rodriguez: This series establishes that some terrible thing happened in Zatanna's past to put her off real magic, and now she works in a crappy Vegas casino doing sleight of hand. Is this new? DC reboots their characters so often I don't really know any more. Still, anything that brings us more Zatanna Zatara in the stage magician outfit (and not that weird Spandex thing with the demon tiara she wore in the '70s and '80s) is welcome. Maybe this time she'll get a supporting cast, a working milieu and all the other stuff that sets up an ongoing series. She can't simply be an extension of powerful men (Zatara, Batman, Constantine) forever.
IMAGE COMICS
BLOOD SQUAD SEVEN #2: Savage Dragon makes a guest appearance. Wasn't he replaced by his son in the actual title years ago?
DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH #23: This has apparently been on hiatus after a cliffhanger, but now it's back.
VOID RIVALS #10
UNIVERSAL MONSTERS: CREATURE OF THE BLACK LAGOON LIVES #3: I recently read the Universal Monsters: Dracula HC, and enjoyed it. But it was, if I'm remembering correctly, basically an adaptation of the 1931 movie. Which, while cool, is something I've seen before. This series, OTOH, is all new. Possibly a sequel to the movies or possibly standalone — hard to say. Either way, I'm enjoying it.
This week in Ghost Machine:
- ROOK: EXODUS #3: I have received my Geiger HC collecting all the issues that precede the Ghost World Special, so I'm starting at the beginning of this universe and will catch up soon.
Elsewhere at Image:
- IMAGE FIRSTS: LITTLE BIRD #1
- IMAGE FIRSTS: MARKED #1
- LEGO® NINJAGO®: SHATTERSPIN #1: "New and longtime fans of the LEGO NINJAGO saga can expect to uncover the secret history of Garmadon with familiar faces and shocking first appearances." I might be more interested if all the characters weren't literally LEGOs. I never understood the attraction of that toy, so I'm not going to read a comic book based on it. But I hear it's popular, so maybe this is just what other peope have been waiting for.
DARK HORSE
ANANSI BOYS #1 (OF 8)
REVIEW: This book takes its time getting to anything interesting, which I suppose you have to expect from adaptation of a novel (if it's faithful) Novels have different structures than comics, after all. This first issue is about "Fat" Charlie Nancy, "who leads a boring life as a boring Londoner," but is about to get married. The bulk of the book is about whether or not to invite his wild-and-crazy father, from whom he's estranged. Spoiler for a 19-year-old book, if one is needed, that he decides to invite the father, only to discover he's dead. And then after the funeral, he is told his father was Anansi, the trickster god of African folklore.
We're promised by PR (and the book, of course) that he'll soon discover he has a twin brother, hence the plural in the title. BUt not in this first issue which, as you can see, isn't terribly riveting. But it's a Gaiman story, so I'm pretty sure I won't be disappointed.
The art is clean and professional, albeit, again, not particularly exciting. I'm sure it'll pick up when the supernatural stuff kicks in.
ASIRI VOLUME 1 TP is a new GN by Nigerian creators Roye Okupe (writing), Samuel Iwunze (art), Toyin Ajetunmobi (colors), Spoof Animation (lettering) and Sunkanmi Akinboye and Etubi Onucheyo (cover). I wanted to read this before posting, but just ran out of time. I'm actually a little anxious, as my long experience in comics informs me that creating an entire universe of super-characters all at once tends to be shallow and derivative. (See: Image in the '90s.) But the team is drawing from African roots with Afro-futurism ambitions, so it may have a fresh slant not seen in Western comics.
HELLBOY: CROOKED MAN & RETURN OF EFFIE KOLB TP
REVIEW: This book collects two stories: Hellboy: The Crooked Man #1-3 (2008), by writer Mike Mignola and artist Richard Corben; and its sequel, Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: The Return of Effie Kolb #1-2 (2020), by writer Mike Mignola and artist Zach Howard.
I had read the original story, set in 1958, where Hellboy runs into some nastiness in rural Appalachia involving what appears to be the devil and a whole lot of witches. He is accompanied by Tom, a former resident who made an unwise deal with the devil in his youth and has returned home, a wiser and better man, to settle accounts. They find a heroic priest protecting a small patch of hallowed ground in turf otherwise controlled by the opposition, and the battle is joined.
And what a battle it is! This is from prime Hellboy years, with our protagonist at his surly, monosyllabic, roughhousing best. And what to say about Corben? He's a true original, whose eccentric art veers from astonishing virtuosity to weirdly ill-proportioned strangeness, a dazzling artistic display that often obscures just how good his pacing and blocking are. I loved The Crooked Man when that three-issue mini came out in 2008, and I loved it again last night.
The second story, set only 9 years later in-story, but 12 years later in real time, is new to me. It gives Zach Howard the unenviable task of following Corben's act. Amazingly, my attention didn't waver. Howard's work is slick, well-proportioned and shadowy, with the heavy inks reminiscent of Alfredo Alcala and the other Filipino artists working at Marvel, DC and Warren in the '70s. It's downright pretty (and spooky).
Mignola wraps up the loose ends of his first story, although I didn't really see the need. And he hits many of the same story beats.
But they are great beats, and his hillbilly dialogue and homespun homilies ("Person never really knows where they're goin' till they get there") ring true to this son of the rural South, which is a rare feat. The story does progress, bringing closure to all the characters from the first story. A new character is left open-ended, should Mignola decide to return for thirds. I hope he does.
RESIDENT ALIEN BOOK OF LIFE #1 (OF 4)
REVIEW: This is the eighth Resident Alien miniseries, following Book of Love. I stopped reading them some time ago — basically when the TV show came out, which is far more entertaining.
Which isn't to say that Resident Alien isn't well done. It is. It's very professional. The stories, by Peter Hogan (Tom Strong) and art, by Steve Parkhouse (Bojeffries Saga) are very pleasant.
But not especially exciting. The comic book Harry is thoughtful, measured, reasonable and really has no problems to speak of, aside from making sure his disguise as a human isn't broached. He even has a romantic relationship with Asta, who is somehow knocked up with Harry's baby as this story opens.
Asta worries that the baby won't be human-looking enough to pass, but Harry assures her he can disguise the baby as he disguises himself. And Asta's aunt is an experienced Native midwife, who is just as boringly wise and warm and wonderful as all the other people in this series. So no problems. Everybody proceeds in this issue in their wise and warm and wonderful way, as friction-free and placid as the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation on downers.
Of course, there wouldn't be a story if there weren't complications, so I can assume those will ensue. But I'm sure they'll be dealt with via thoughtful discussion and careful steps, ensuring a smooth journey and a happy ending.
I probably won't be around to see them, as you might have already guessed. I just don't find the series interesting. Especially since it suffers so much in comparison to its TV counterpart. I'd rather spend my time with Alan Tudyk and Sara Tomko, who are not wise and warm and wonderful, but are instead impulsive and erratic and hilarious. Call me shallow, but that's my jam.
USAGI YOJIMBO 40TH ANNIVERSARY READER GN collects eight short stories selected by Stan Sakai, including “Chanoyu," “A Mother’s Love,” “Blade of the Gods,” “The Way of the Samurai,” “Cut the Plum,” “The Artist,” “Buntori” and “Adachi." This is another book I wanted to read before posting, and just ran out of time. I suspect a smattering of this kind might convert me to Usagi Yojimbo fandom, so I will read it soon.
WILLIAM OF NEWBURY #2
REVIEW: I was introduced to Michael Avon Oeming's art with Powers, or perhaps Mice Templar, or perhaps both at the same time, I don't remember. I was pretty enthusiastic. In retrospect, I think I liked it because it was such a departure at the time — refreshingly cartoony in a time when the "photo-realism" of Neal Adams and Jim Lee dominated the industry. I love Adams and Lee et al, but at the time it had produced a lot of sameness across the board.
But I grew tired of Oeming's work, especially as it kicked open the door for lots of other cartoony artists on otherwise serious books, accented by the advent of the "primitive" style. It was these styles that began to show up far more than I wanted, and I quickly lost my initial enthusiasm. I haven't picked up any of his more recent work, including Hammer of the Gods, despite my lifelong love of Norse mythology.
Well, color me stupid. Because it wasn't Oeming's art that I didn't care for, it was Oeming's art on human beings. Anthropomorphic animals, on the other hand ...
William of Newbury is based on a real man of the same name, a 12th century historian who lived during an unsettled time in England called "The Anarchy." Belief in revenants of many kinds was prevalent, so William's history includes mention of these as facts.
Oeming's William is a monk as well as a historian, and a demon-fighter on top of that (albeit amusingly neurotic about everyday life). This being comics, the demons and revenants and possessions and so forth are real, and a pretty big deal — William is kept pretty busy. He is accompanied by a thief named Winnie that, with this second issue, I am beginning to suspect is female (call me slow as well as stupid). He is pursued by agents of his own church, for reasons of their own. William is a true believer in his determination to help the helpless, though.
And he's a raccoon. William of Newbury is set in an anthropomorphic-animal version of England's 12th century, with talking pigs and dogs and whatever (although I'm still not sure what sort of animal Winnie is supposed to be). There are real animals, as well, filling their usual medieval niches, including some memorable dogs in the second issue. But if I can accept Goofy and Pluto in the same story, I can do the same here.
This is good, good stuff. Take it from this former Oeming-basher, William of Newbury is well worth your attention.
IDW PUBLISHING
GODZILLA: HERE THERE BE DRAGONS II — SONS OF GIANTS #1
REVIEW: Evidently, there was a previous "Sons of Giants" series, and this is a sequel. I enjoyed this enough that I'll probably go back and read the first.
The "Sons of Giants" appears to be an an ancient, secret organization that admires, or maybe even worships, kaiju. Masons who favor Godzilla and Mothra masks, if you will. I don't know what the first series told us about these fellows (and I can guess they were always fellows), but this one tells us that it formed in the Roman Empire after Godzilla made a visit there. And that it possesses an anti-kaiju sword forged in Edo-era Japan after Godzilla made a visit there. These two flashbacks are seen in the "present," as it is explained by a journalist to Aaron Burr (just after he killed Alexander Hamilton). The flashbacks are drawn in appropriate style, as if lifted from those eras.
Oh, it turns out Burr is a member of the Sons of Giants, and this is a secret organization, so things aren't looking good for the journalist.
Anyway: Lots of history (with kaiju thrown in)! Lots of cool artwork! Lots of nasy ol' Aaron Burr at his Aaron Burriest! Yes, I'll be here for the next issue.
JULIE & THE BLUE GUITAR: AN AMERICAN GIRL MYSTERY — MYSTERIES ACROSS TIME
"IDW Publishing and Mattel has announced a first-ever line of AMERICAN GIRL original graphic novels, featuring all-new mysteries based on American Girl’s beloved historical characters and original modern-day characters, plus a reimagining of the fan-favorite historical introductory 'Meet' books."
No, I won't be reading these, as I am obviously not the target audience. I thought I should mention the launch of this line, though. How long before a movie, do you suppose?
Elsewhere at IDW:
- SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SPRING BROKEN #1: If you're into Sonic the Hedgehog.
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
SWEETIE CANDY VIGILANTE VOL. 2 #3
MORE COMICS
BLOODSHOT UNLEASHED: RELOADED #4 (Valiant): Another "Road to Resurgence" title. Hey, I found a checklist at Bleeding Cool:
CARTOONS & ANTISEMITISM: VISUAL POLITICS IN INTERWAR POLAND (University of Mississippi Press) by Ewa Stanczyk: Examines pre-World War II visual imagery of all sorts in Poland, which as you can imagine, was pretty anti-Semitic. I don't know what we're supposed to learn from this. That anti-Semitism is bad? Yes, we know. That propaganda works? Yes, we know. That it's happening again now? Yes, we know. I guess the idea is that we can't hear it enough.
COMMANDO PRESENTS VOL 1: COMMANDOS VS. ZOMBIES TP (DC Thomson): This is probably terrible — UK comics seemed aimed at kids ever moreso than U.S. ones — but I do love me some Nazi zombies.
DENIZEN TP (Vault Comics) by writers Tim Daniel, David Andry and artist Chris Shehan: "A family's cross country road trip goes off the map and into the unforgiving wilds of Joshua Tree National Park, when mom and wife-to-be Helene succumbs to a malevolent force tucked inside an abandoned camping trailer." Jushua Tree National Park is "unforgiving"? Well, I'm not going, then. Parks should be nice.
FAILURE TO LAUNCH: TOUR OF ILL-FATED FUTURES GN (Iron Circus Press), by various, "is a light-hearted, educational tour of (so far!) unrealized technological and societal advances promised in years past, but which never came to be." My jetpack and flying car better be in here.
FROM GUM WRAPPERS TO RICHIE RICH: THE MATERIALITY OF CHEAP COMICS (University of Mississippi Press) by Neale Barnholden: This book tries to establish that kids received comics only four ways before the Internet: As comic books, comic strips, bound books and bubblegum wrappers. It uses Watchmen, Uncle Scrooge, RIchie Rich and "Fleer Funnies starring Pud" as examples (don't ask me which is which) to discuss kids' culture, book history and consumerism. It sounds interesting, but not enough that I'd spend money on it.
HEAVYWEIGHT FAMILY STORY OF HOLOCAUST EMPIRE MEMORY (William Morrow) by Solomon J. Brager: This sounds like an interesting story about a kid finding out the whole story of the family mythology of his boxer great-grandfather and (not boxer) great-grandmother escaping the Nazis. But what really jumps out at me is that I have now lived long enough to have gone from hearing twentysomethings tell stories about their parents escaping the Nazis to hearing twentysomthings tell stories about their great-grandparents escaping the Nazis.
Yes, it is all about me. Why do you ask?
NINJAK VS. ROKU #1 (OF 4): Why is Ninjak fighting my TV? Ha ha! I kill myself! Anyway, this is another “Road to Resurgence” title.
PROJECT CRYPTID #10: Ahoy Comics alert!
PROVIDENCE PANTHEON BAG SET A-C (4 count each): I keep hoping for a hardback collection of all 12 issues, but so far all we've seen is three limited-edition HCs collecting four issues each. Used copies seem available for a reasonable price on Amazon, but that's not what I want. AND I WANT WHAT I WANT. So there.
RAI BOOK OF DARQUE #2 (OF 2): Another “Road to Resurgence” title.
SHERLOCK HOLMES & EMPIRE BUILDERS VOL 1 HC (Tripwire), by writer Joel Meadows and artist Andy Bennett, is a sci-fi take on the great detective. "When Watson leaves Holmes to help Francis Crick unravel the DNA helix and finds himself in the employ of England's most evil man, Holmes is forced to team up with an unlikely group to defeat this monstrous figure and return England to its status quo." If you go this far afield of what Holmes originally was, and what made him a sensation in his time, is it really Sherlock Holmes any more? It isn't for me, so I'll pass.
SKIN DEEP ONE-SHOT
REVIEW: Silver Sprocket's one-shot, single-comic length story is by Flo Woolley, an English artist (from Leeds) with whom I'm unfamiliar. But I like her stuff. It's very feminine, if I can say that — soft and rounded, fashion- and style-oriented. And very, very attractive.
The story is set in some sort of underground ballet/dance theater, country of origin uncertain, a cast all female or female-presenting. The story is told from the perspective of a minor player named Mareike. She's possibly just a gofer, it's hard to say. But she is enamored of Soňa, the prima ballerina — words that are never spoken, but that's more or less what Soňa is. She's the lead dancer in whatever kind of dance theater this is, and Mareike thinks "Her movements are so fluid and precise, they're barely human."
Well, you don't have to hit this veteran comic book reader over the head! Yeah, something's up with ol' Soňa, who takes an interest in Mareike, which elevates Mareike's status. As Mareike rises higher and higher in the organization, and gets closer and closer to Soňa, we get to see exactly what that "up" is. I won't spoil it, but it's worth waiting for.
SPECTRUM WORLDS OF GERRY ANDERSON #1 (Timebomb Comics): All we're told is this: "Spectrum is a perfect bound, full color anthology, presenting three cult concepts from the mind of prolific creator Gerry Anderson: New Captain Scarlet, Space Precinct, and Terrahawks. The creative teams are Steve Tanner (writer), Pete Woods (artist) on New Captain Scarlet; Richmond A Clements (writer) and James Gray (artist) on Space Precinct; Dan Whitehead (writer), Ste Pickford, (artist) on Terrahawks." Which doesn't really tell us anything. Here's a PREVIEW.
TERRY & THE PIRATES MASTER COLLECTION VOL 8 HC: Comic-strip collectors alert!
WEREWOLF AT DUSK & OTHER STORIES GN (Liveright) by David Small (Stitches): "The three stories in this collection are linked by the dread of things internal. In the title story, an adaptation of Lincoln Michel's classic short piece, the dread is that of a man who has reached senility with something repellant in his nature. The specter of old age also haunts the semiautobiographical story 'A Walk in the Old City.' Brain matter cascades and spiders loom as a psychoanalyst, self-assured in his practice, wanders along empty streets, reality warping into the irrational with the insouciance of a dream. In the final story, a reinterpretation of Jean Ferry's 'The Tiger in Vogue,' this dreamscape gives way to the ominous environs of Berlin in the 1920s. Amazon has a PREVIEW.
WORLD OF ARCHIE JUMBO COMICS DIGEST #141
ZEROCALCARES ARMADILLO PROPHECY GN (Ablaze) by Zerocalcare: "The Armadillo Prophecy is Zerocalcare's debut OGN, and it's the story of how he coped with learning too late that a dear friend from his childhood had died, all while a giant armadillo represents his imaginary conscience. Dryly funny, witty, and inventive, it's a classic that has sold over 140,000 copies in Italy alone. Now in its 13th reprint, it is Zerocalcare's most popular title. Structured as a series of short stories that tie in to form a cohesive narrative, this is the seminal story that made Zerocalcare famous for his ability to write comedy with depth and elements of drama embedded in the plot. While it references Italian society, it's definitely a universal tale of loss, coping and coming of age. Season 1 of Zerocalcare's original animated series 'Tear Along the Dotted Line' debuted WORLDWIDE on Netflix in November of 2021. Season Two, 'This World Can't Tear Me Down,' premiered April 2023. Both can be streamed now on Netflix!"
At first I was going to ask if I was supposed to know who Zerocalcare was, but evidently I'm supposed to.
Replies
Here's a cover just for Jeff of Earth-J
Thanks! I think I snagged that one when it was first solicited back in March. NOTE that artist's signature credits Romita (click image to enlarge).
THANOS ANNUAL #1 by writer Derek Landy and artists Salvador Larroca & Sara Pichelli
I tried reading some non-Starlin "Thanos" stories a while ago. Never again.
Marvels annuals will all be parts of the same story again this year.
Oh, joy.
Thanos goes after the Infinity Stones (formerly gems)...
Ha!
...the Death Stone... I had not heard of heretofore.
Ooh, edgy! (Is that what we're supposed to think?)
Midnight Sons: Blood Hunt #2 has spoilers (and they are spoilers, because there is not much clarification in the story itself) about what is happening with Blade right now.
I assume Blod Hunt #4 will have more to tell about the matter.
Can't say I recommend this Midnight Sons tie-in series, though. It is a bit light in plot for my tastes. I wanted a bit more of Victoria Montesi and Tulip.
Come to think of it, I think the Marvel has been stretching the line a bit too thin. There are too many eminently forgettable books being published at the same time.
I assume Blood Hunt #4 will have more to tell about the matter.
It does. And I think it's Black Panther: Blood Hunt #3 (of 3) that gives us the answer we've been kicking around. I won't spoil it here, but I will say: You were dead right, Luis! Huzzah!
Can't say I recommend this Midnight Sons tie-in series, though. It is a bit light in plot for my tastes. I wanted a bit more of Victoria Montesi and Tulip.
I keep getting Victoria Montesi and Victoria Bentley mixed up, as they are (or were) both supporting characters in Dr. Strange who are both attractive brunettes who never do much. But they are, of course, vastly different. Bentley is a sad magician wannabe, but Montesi is an actual child of Chthon (and, weirdly, a Vatican priest, not possible in our world). So, yeah, she could be pretty interesting.
Over in Strange Academy: Blood Hunt, we also have another attractive brunette magic-user, the now-young Agatha Harkness. Doctor Strange has an attractive brunette problem like the X-Men books have an attractive redhead problem: So many that it's easy to mix them up.
As to Tulip, I don't remember her. The only character I remember with that name is the one from Preacher. The Internet helpfully informs me that she is an arms dealer in Blade, which explains why I don't remember her, since I haven't read a Blade comic in quite a while.
Come to think of it, I think the Marvel has been stretching the line a bit too thin. There are too many eminently forgettable books being published at the same time.
Preach on, brother. Wait until you see how many books are associated with the upcoming "Venom War."
Venom-centered crossovers are the textbook example of eminently forgettable books far as I am concerned, Captain.
If so many books are forgettable, are they selling and making Marvel money anyway?
Are the LCS ordering them and not selling them?
Are the readers actually so new to comics that the material seems fresh to them?
Are the buyers speculating like what led to the earlier Marvel bankruptcy?
I think the readership (most of it, anyway... present company excepted) really does turn over every four years or so, just like publishers thought back in the '50s.