MAJOR PUBLISHERS
MARVEL COMICS
Week 2 in "Blood Hunt":
BLOOD HUNTERS #1 (OF 4) by Mark Russell, Christos Gage, Erica Schultz, Bob Quinn, Javier Garron and Bernard Chang: For some reason, Hawkeye is on the run from the law. And from vampires, like everybody else. Since Cloak was taken out in "Blood Hunt" #1, Dagger has nothing better to do, so she joins him. And Man-Wolf, who never has anything better to do, joins the two of them. (And apparently Man-Wolf's dad J. Jonah Jameson is going to tag along as resident whiner.)
Marvel is calling this an anthology and a team book, so make of that what you will. But, hey, a superhero universe has finally found a use for archers, who fight with pointy wooden sticks! The preview below hints at how the band gets together.
“It’s really exciting to write Dagger and see her assemble a team of fantastic fang hunters!” Erica Schultz shared. “You’re going to love the dynamic between these characters, and see where the drama is!”
“It’s an honor to be contributing to BLOOD HUNTERS and the BLOOD HUNT event, and to collaborate with Erica Schultz, who’s crafted a bloody exciting story; and the masterful magician, Marcelo Maiolo, whose color work is amongst the bloody best in the medium,” Bernard Chang added. “I hope the work will live up to fan expectations, as well as those of previous creators who have tackled the very same characters from when I was reading and collecting comics in my teens, like the legendary Rick Leonardi and Mike Vosburg.”
DRACULA: BLOOD HUNT #1 (OF 3) by Danny Lore and Vincenzo Carratu: For some reason, Dracula is interested in keeping Blade's daughter — Brielle Brooks, aka Bloodline — alive. I have no idea why, and since I don't give a whit about Brielle Brooks, I do not care.
Looking at the preview below, it appears the red-armor, white-hair Dracula is now the permanent status quo. Too bad. I miss the ol' Carpathian count's Bela Lugosi look. But I guess that's been milked for all it's worth, and the world has moved on.
“One of the most interesting things about Dracula, for me, is that he doesn't run on mortal time, and because of that, his reasoning tends toward shadowy and full of schemes,” Lore explained. “Right now, his goal is to keep Brielle safe — but what does it mean to protect the kid of the number-one thorn in your side? And why?”
“I’m obviously very excited to be part of this crossover which is spearheaded by Pepe Larraz, one of the most important artists of our entire generation,” Carratù shared. “I'm very grateful to my editors for giving me the chance to be a part of this. I love drawing monsters, and Dracula is the prince of all monsters. It's always fun to be able to draw a battle between vampires because they allow you to do things that cannot be done with normal anatomies and Dracula is the icing on the cake!”
“In the early stages of a Marvel character’s history, one of the most important moments is when their world broadens to include the rest of their universe,” Lore added. “In her origin, we brought the world of magic and the supernatural to Brielle, and I’m overjoyed to be a part of bringing HER to the world of capes and superheroes.”
STRANGE ACADEMY: BLOOD HUNT #1 (OF 3) by Daniel Jose Older and Luigi Zagaria: With Doctor Strange turned, Doyle Dormammu, Zoe Laveau, Shaylee Moonpeddle, Germán Aguilar and Toth take center stage. Their mission is to get the Darkhold and use the Montesi Formula to destroy all vampires. But — and I didn't know this until I was today years old — Agatha Harkness transformed the Darkhold into a child in last year’s Contest of Chaos.
"As a huge fan of the incredible work of Skottie Young and Humberto Ramos, I was beyond honored to be able to jump into the world of Strange Academy!” Daniel Older said. “And what better way to do it than in this epic crossover event? Truly a comic writer's dream come true. I've spent the past couple weeks walking around my home city of New Orleans, dreaming up thrilling adventures for these kids and I can't wait to watch them come to life in Luigi Zagaria's brilliant art.
“I’m a big fan of Strange Academy. It attracted me immediately from the first issue and I loved the work done by Skottie Young and Humberto Ramos. I already walked through the gates of the academy last year in Midnight Suns, and the chance to create pages of something so new thrills me,” Zagaria shared. “Drawing the kids’ various forms of magic, each full of color, and contrasting them with the dark tones of the story has been inspiring, and knowing that this will be part of a crossover involving the entire Marvel Universe excites me.”
AVENGERS #14 by Jed MacKay and C.F. Villa: Steve Rogers has to form an ad hoc Avengers while the big guns are busy.
I did a double take on this issue's cover: I don't think I've seen Captain America, Hercules (in his original costume), Quicksilver (in his original costume) and (a) Hawkeye in purple together since Avengers #38-45. It was a short-lived lineup (with Goliath, Wasp and Scarlet Witch), but memorable to me, thanks to John Buscema's artwork. Hercules was sent by the Enchantress to destroy the Avengers (Captain America, Hawkeye, Goliath, Wasp, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch at the time) in #38, but naturally switched sides and joined up (officially in #45). But that's where the wheels came off. Avengers #45 was the same issue Captain America quit to have a normal life (ha!). Hercules left to battle Typhon with #46 and never returned (although we watched his solo quest through #50), the same issue where Goliath lost his growth powers. And Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch re-joined Magneto at the end of #47.
I have wondered my entire life what Roy Thomas was thinking when he had finally returned the Avengers to full strength — seven members! — and then methodically reduced "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" to three B-list characters (Hawkeye, Wasp and a powerless Hank Pym). He didn't add any full-time members until Avengers #52 (Black Panther) and Avengers #57 (Vision), and Goliath got his growth powers back in #51. But from Avengers #48 to around #70 my favorite superhero team kind of sucked. It didn't much improve even with a heavy hitter like Vision (who rarely got used to full potential), or when Goliath became Yellowjacket and Hawkeye became Goliath II. (What th--?!) It took the return of Captain America around issue #70 (with lots of Iron Man and Thor appearances going forward) for me to feel like I was reading the "real" Avengers again.
I did notice something right away about this lineup (the figure in yellow is Hazmat from X-Men), that will become particularly pertinent when you see next month's cover: None of these characters can fly.
DOCTOR STRANGE #15 by Jed MacKay and Pasqual Ferry: From the preview, it looks like Clea might be in the market for a new boyfriend, and Earth might need a new Sorcerer Supreme. (We actually knew this was going to happen last week, so no spoiler.)
This is pretty bad: When it comes to fighting vampires, Doctor Strange was the Avengers' biggest gun. But I guess if you're a vamipre army and you've got all the time in the world to plan a war (which they do), you come up with a plan to take out the other team's best players at the outset.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #49 by Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr.: This is the only issue of the regular title to be involved in "Blood Hunt," as the Spider-action moves immediately into the three-issue Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt miniseries. And, spoiler, we see in the preview below that White Rabbit has been turned.
No loss. She wasn't a very interesting villain anyway.
VENOM #33 by Al Ewing and Juan Ferreyra: This involves some guy named Lee Price, who apparently used to host the symbiote, coming back to un-life to stalk Venom. I don't read symbiote stories, so that is meaningless to me. If I read this, it will be in an omnibus.
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This week in "Fall of X"
X-MEN: FOREVER #3 (OF 4) by Kieron Gillen and Luca Maresca: Marvel's PR doesn't say much, but this will somehow involve the White Hot Room.
Oh, and Doug Ramsey! That's good. Maybe we'll finally find out what he and Krakoa have been up to for the last couple of years. It didn't seem kosher.
Elsewhere in X-Men:
GIANT-SIZE X-MEN #1 by Ann Nocenti and Lee Ferguson: No, not that one. This is a new Giant-Size X-Men #1, starring the Angel, who is neither giant-size nor particularly interesting. This will also contain a reprint of Marvel Two-In-One #68, which co-starred Angel and The Thing.
Looking at the preview. You'd think, after all these years, Worthington would have used some of his vast fortune to invest in a shirt he could wear with his wings. Even the Hulk eventually got re-usable pants. Or you'd think, after all these years, that Angel would have gotten more interesting. You'd think so, but you'd be wrong.
Other X-books shipping include WOLVERINE #49 (Part 9 of "Sabretooth War") and X-MEN ‘97 #1 2ND PTG MARVEL ANIMATION VARIANT.
This week in Spider-Man
- AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #49 (see above)
- EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE #2 2ND PTG TODD NAUCK VARIANT
- SPIDER-MAN: SHADOW OF THE GREEN GOBLIN #2
- ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #3 2ND PTG MARCO CHECCHETTO VARIANT
- WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #1 2ND PTG RYAN BROWN VARIANT
This week in Star Wars
- STAR WARS: DARTH VADER #46
- STAR WARS: HIGH REPUBLIC #7
Elsewhere at Marvel:
- MSH SECRET WARS FACSIMILE EDITION #5
- CAPTAIN AMERICA #9, CAPTAIN MARVEL #8, DAREDEVIL #9, DEADPOOL #2, FANTASTIC FOUR #20 are NOT part of "Blood Hunt"!
DC COMICS
This week in "House of Brainiac"
SUPERMAN: HOUSE OF BRAINIAC SPECIAL #1 (ONE-SHOT) by Joshua Williamson, Mark Russell, Edwin Galmon and Steve Pugh: HOUSE OF BRAINIAC PART 2.5 An essential issue in the Action Comics/Superman crossover as Brainiac's secret history with Lobo and Czarnia is revealed! How did Brainiac create a Bottled City of Czarnia? Who steps up to protect Metropolis after Brainiac's army leaves it in ruins? Will Lois Lane confront Perry White about his own secrets as he runs for mayor of Metropolis? And how is Amanda Waller involved in all of this? All these questions are answered in this crucial issue that connects to DC's Superman-Sized event! Meanwhile, Bibbo steps up! With the heroes gone and a city in need of some champions, our favorite bartender organizes the community to save their beloved home.
Other Super-books shipping this week include KNEEL BEFORE ZOD #5 (OF 12) and STEELWORKS TPB.
This week in Batman:
THE BOY WONDER #1 (OF 5) by Juni Ba: The young prince Damian Wayne was raised to be the heir to the fearsome League of Assassins--to follow in the footsteps of his deadly mother, Talia, and the Demon's Head himself, his grandfather Ra's al Ghul. But everything changed when his father, the Batman, reclaimed him and brought him back to Gotham City. As Robin, young Damian suddenly discovered he was merely one of a number of princes, preceded in the role by his brothers Nightwing, Red Hood, and Red Robin...and Damian doesn't care to be merely anything. But when his father is forced to leave the city on urgent business, and a rash of abductions is accompanied by whispers of a demon stalking Gotham's dark alleys, Damian will find himself battling alongside his adoptive brothers--and in the process, learning what the mantle of Robin really means! Visionary writer/artist Juni Ba makes his mark on the timeless story of Batman and Robin, synthesizing the characters' complex history into an accessible and heartrending fairy tale!
Other Bat-books shipping this week include BATMAN #147, BATMAN & SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES #5 (2024), BIRDS OF PREY #9, NIGHTWING: A KNIGHT IN BLUDHAVEN COMPENDIUM TP and POISON IVY #22.
Elsewhere at DC:
OUR ARMY AT WAR #81 FACSIMILE EDITION reprints the first appearance of Sgt. Rock.
SHOWCASE #22 FACSIMILE EDITION reprints the first appearance of the Silver Age Green Lantern.
IMAGE COMICS
AIN'T NO GRAVE #1 (OF 5) by Skottie Young and Jorge Corona: This same team did Middlewest and The Me You Love in the Dark, if that gives you any hints. It's a Weird Western that drops names like Unforgiven and Guillermo Del Toro in its PR. The short description is "a young mother has to strap on her guns again to fight Death."
“Jorge and I are back at it again and I can’t wait for people to get their hands on this genre bending western tale we’ve been weaving," said Young.
Corona added: "Without spoiling too much of the plot, Ain't No Grave takes some of my favorite elements from our previous books and merges them into a dark fantasy story wrapped in all the violence of a classic Western. It feels good to be back working with Skottie and the team."
ENERGON UNIVERSE SPECIAL 2024 #1 collects the FCBD book with some additional covers.
GEIGER #2 by Geoff Johns, Gary Frank, Brad Anderson and Rob Leigh: I plan to read and review this series soon. Problem is, with so many false starts, I'm not sure what "counts" and what doesn't. Before the current ongoing, there was Geiger #1-6 (2021), Geiger 80-Page Giant #1 (2022) and Geiger: Ground Zero #1-2.
As for this Geiger #2 (2024 series): “I think this may be the most action-packed Geiger we’ve ever done," said Frank. "It was great fun to draw and I’m sure it’ll be fun to read. And we get to see Tariq and Nate starting to get to know each other a little more and realise that the other is a more complex man than they thought.”
RAT CITY #1 (2ND PTG)
THE SACRIFICERS #10
THE SINGULARITY TPB by two-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated, Emmy, and BAFTA Award-winning composer Bear McCreary, writer Mat Groom (Supermassive, Inferno Girl Red, Self/Made), artists Ramón K. Pérez (Stillwater, Deep Cuts), Danilo Beyruth (Deep Cuts), Matias Bergara (Eisner Award nominated The Scumbag), Rod Reis (C.O.W.L.), Eleonora Carlini, Helena Marsellis, John J. Pearson (The Infernals), and more, with creative director Kyle Higgins (Radiant Black, Moon Man, Deep Cuts): It's a graphic novel ! It's a concept album! It's two mints in one!
Here's the description:
"How much loss can one soul endure? In The Singularity graphic novel, Blue Eyes can’t stop being reborn. He tumbles from life to life, from one unthinkably strange universe to the next—the only constant is that, one way or another, everything that he learns to love is lost. But when Blue Eyes finally catches up to a mysterious figure he’s seen recurring throughout his lives, he realizes he might just have a chance to escape his cursed immortality—or, at very least, exact revenge for it.
"The accompanying album’s story includes three spoken-word monologues lifted directly from the pages of the graphic novel and performed on the album by Lee Pace (Foundation, The Hobbit trilogy), Danai Gurira (Black Panther, The Walking Dead), and Ryan Hurst (Sons of Anarchy, God of War Ragnarök)."
And here are some creator comments:
"Ever since I was a kid, growing up on the groundbreaking comic books and graphic novels of the '80s and '90s, I have dreamed of expressing myself in the medium," said McCreary. "When I began writing my concept album, The Singularity, I felt perhaps this opportunity had finally arrived. Thanks to creative guidance from my friend Kyle Higgins, and his team at Black Market Narrative, I have found myself connected with the brilliant writer Mat Groom, and a cadre of some of the most talented artists working today. These visionaries have astonished me with their ability to translate my ambitious music into stunning imagery and moving narrative. Together, with the passionate team at Image Comics, we have materialized my music into a gorgeous and vibrant book, fulfilling my lifelong dream. I hope that fans of cinematic music, rock, concerts, and comics all find something to explore in The Singularity."
Groom added: "I've loved—and been inspired by—Bear's work for almost two decades now. So I knew that, to create an appropriate pairing for his music, we'd need to create a story that was thrilling, emotional, and tremendously bold. Working to achieve that with Bear and a Murderers' Row of comic artists has been one of the greatest privileges of my career."
“There’s nothing I love more than an outside the box narrative, a challenge to do something new across mediums that—while so complimentary—have rarely worked together in such a fully immersive and realized way as they do with The Singularity,” said Higgins. “This is a special project made by an immensely talented group of creators all working at the top of their game. This is a project made from a deep well of love, passion and craft and I could not be more proud to be a part of it. A huge thank you to everyone who has joined us to make an incredibly one-of-a-kind storytelling experience.”
Eric Stephenson, Publisher and Chief Creative Officer at Image Comics added: "When Kyle first approached us about The Singularity, it sounded incredible—almost too good to be true, really—so we’re all deeply honored that he, Bear, and the rest of the team have chosen Image as the home for such an ambitious project. It’s the kind of inventive work every publisher wants to be part of, and we couldn’t be more excited to share this comics fans and music lovers everywhere."
TRANSFORMERS #8
DARK HORSE
THE WITCHER: CORVO BIANCO #1 by CD Projekt Red, artist Corrado Mastantuono (Disney Italia, Nick Raider) and writer Bartosz Sztybor (The Witcher: Fading Memories, The Witcher: Wild Animals): Geralt's happily retired with Yennefer. Well, that won't last. Featuring Mastantuono's U.S. debut.
“For all who know Geralt, Corvo Bianco is his endgame,” confirmed longtime Witcher writer Bartosz Sztybor. “The end of his journey, one and only place where he can retire – taking a break from killing monsters and trying to figure out how to make his own wine. As a fan of pop–culture and postmodern genre mixing, that setup above sounded like a perfect premise for a western. A western in The Witcher world – that’s something that was never done before! So I quickly got excited and thought about getting on board someone who really knows what western is. Corrado Mastantuono is a comic book legend, one of the biggest names of all time, a person that created the most important titles in European comics, including a real western classic – Tex. With him mixing fantasy and western was never easier and more beautiful. Geralt roaming the Continent with a wild bunch of mages, Elves and Dwarves is my homage to Andrzej Sapkowski, Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone. Just imagine, Yennefer having a duel with another mage and Geralt attacking a stagecoach. Corvo Bianco was his dream, but he needs to fight for it!”
IDW PUBLISHING
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: BLACK, WHITE AND GREEN #1 features a different lineup of acclaimed writers and artists on every new issue, including Declan Shalvey, Paulina Ganucheau, Javier Rodriguez and Jock, using only black, white and green.
Not only are turtles green, but so is money, and IDW seems to making a lot of it off TMNT these days.
"Getting to work on the Turtles is an absolute dream come true,” commented Shalvey. “I was a total Turtles nut as a kid (had the Turtle Van, the sewer playset, the works) and have always loved the characters. It's amazing to see the passion behind these characters, even through all the different iterations over the years. I’ve been hoping someone would invite me to do something with them for a long, long time. For it to happen on the Turtles’ anniversary is a real treat ... the cherry on the cake, or the pepperoni on the pizza, if you will."
“You can't remain as popular and exciting for four decades without having variety, and if TMNT has proven anything since its debut in 1984, it's that the characters can adapt to all kinds of stories in comics, from the ultra serious to the hysterically funny, aimed at young, old, and everyone in between,” stated IDW Editor-in-Chief Jamie S. Rich. “What we wanted to do over the course of this year was build out the line so that there is a Turtles book for everybody. If you're a fan of cool art and high concepts, you will like BLACK, WHITE AND GREEN, for instance. If you're a superhero fan, NIGHTWATCHER might scratch a particular itch for you. And MUTANT NATION is our celebration of the long history IDW has with TMNT, giving our regular readers all the characters they have come to love over those first 150 issues and maintaining the continuity as we enter a brand new phase of Turtles storytelling.”
IDW Co-Publisher Mark Doyle is proud of the storytelling and talent that IDW will offer TMNT fans during this milestone year. "One of the great things about being at IDW is seeing all the amazing and diverse talent working on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles over the years. We wanted to create a slate of books that reflected that talent and allow them to tell a wide range of stories that would thrill all kinds of fans.” Doyle added, “It's an honor to be publishing TMNT comics during the iconic franchise's 40th anniversary and we've gone all-out to truly celebrate Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's unforgettable creations."
BOOM! STUDIOS
AMORY WARS: NO WORLD TOMORROW #1 (OF 12): Here's a FIRST LOOK.
CROCODILE BLACK #1 (OF 5): Here's a FIRST LOOK.
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
AOD VS. REANIMATOR: NECRONOMICON RISING TP
LADY HEL TPB
RED SONJA: EMPIRE OF THE DAMNED #2
VALIANT COMICS
This week in Valiant "Resurgence"
FAITH RETURNS #1 (of 2) by Jody Houser and Luca Erbetta: Faith finds herself indebted to Capshaw and G.A.T.E. I assume those are names to conjure with for regular Faith readers. There's a PREVIEW at Bleeding Cool.
THE VALIANTS #1 (OF 4) by Ryan Cady and Al Barrionuevo: A sinkhole opens in Washington D.C. that is a gateway to "The Faraway," and apparently a lot of Valiant stars are destined to jump into it.
MORE COMICS
ALPI: SOUL SENDER VOL 3 GN: A Titan manga.
ARCHIE JUMBO COMICS DIGEST #350
B&V FRIENDS FOREVER FAIRY TALES (ONE-SHOT)
DARK SOULS: WILLOW KING #4 (OF 4): A Titan book.
DEADWEIGHTS #2 (OF 6): Ahoy readers alert!
DEER EDITOR TPB (Mad Cave): A collection.
GOLD DIGGER: WAR MISTRESS OF MARS #1 (OF 4) by Fred Perry (Antarctic Press):
"IN THE GRAND TRA-DEN-TION OF RICHARD CORBEN!"
"FULL-FRONTAL ASSAULT WRESTLING ON ANOTHER WORLD!"
"ADULTS ONLY"
All that, and the "Mature Readers" rating, tells me those cover characters are going to turn around.
HEART OF THOMAS HC (NEW PTG): A rare manga release by Fantagraphics. It's a shojo based on a French film, Les Amitiés Particulieres, apparently quite famous. Here's MORE.
H.P. LOVECRAFT: THE CALL OF CTHULHU GN by H. P. Lovecraft, Steve Philip Jones and Trey Baldwin (Caliber): I already have an adaptation by François Baranger, and I can't imagine a better one. But I haven't seen this yet.
LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN GALLERY VARIANT ED HC (Graphitti Designs) is a gallery edition of the first six issues, as drawn by Kevin O'Neill.
MUGSHOTS #1 (OF 4) by Jordan Thomas and Chris Matthews (Mad Cave): "Brighton, UK. 2008. The kidnapping of a young woman sets in motion a chain of events that will set con artists, gangsters, killers and corrupt police on a collision course in this tale of family trauma, betrayal, murder and revenge that threatens to bring the city's whole underworld down."
I like the art.
ROBERT SILVERBERG’S BELZAGOR HC is an adaptation by Philippe Thirault, Bruno Lecigne, Sam Timel and Adrien Villesange (Humanoids).
SHI #1 30TH ANNIVERSARY ORIGINAL ART EDITION by Billy Tucci, Peter Gutierrez and Barry Orkin (Crusade): Premium-formatted, remastered original art from Shi: The Way of the Warrior #1 (1994). Probably a must-have for Shi fans.
STILL (ONE-SHOT) by Eli Powell (Invader). A follow-up to Powell's Ravage. The guilt and regrets of a hunter living in the woods manifest.
WHAT IT IS GN is a collection of Lynda Barry's collage art (Drawn & Quarterly). Here's MORE.
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