TOP PUBLISHERS
MARVEL COMICS
EXCEPTIONAL X-MEN #1: New X-editor Tom Brevoort said in some interview or other that he'd love to have a new #1 every week if he could. He's not missed many. In this one, Kate Pryde is a bartender in Chicago, and wants nothing to do with the X-Men. But Emma Frost has a new group of young, untrained mutants, and they're in Chicago, and Kate's on a bunch of covers, so ... “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in."
Marvel was kind enough to introduce us to the three ... oh, let's call them New Mutants:
Here's a preview.
MARVEL ZOMBIES: DAWN OF DECAY #1 (OF 4): Earth catches a plague from Groot (starting with Captain America) that turns people into plant-based zombies. Sort of like The Last of Us, although actual (alien) plants instead of fungus. So this is an all-new, all-different Marvel Zombies story! But just like all the others, Steve Rogers bites it early. On the good news side, Groot won't turn, obviously, and somehow Hulk is immune. So it's a Groot-Hulk team-up! (I would think that characters with healing factors, like Wolverine and Deadpool, would be as immune to zombie plagues as they are to vampirism -- but no, both were turned in the original Marvel Zombies by Robert Kirkman.)
Note homage cover to House of X #1:
WHAT IF DONALD DUCK BECAME THOR #1: What If Donald Duck Became Thor? He'd fight the Stone-Ducks from Saturn, of course.
Note homages to Journey Into Mystery #83:
And Thor #337:
Elsewhere at Marvel:
AGATHA HARKNESS THE SAGA OF THE SALEM WITCH TP: Collects Fantastic Four (1961) #94, #185-186 and #222-223; Avengers (1963) #128; and Midnight Suns #1-5. This is not the Agatha collection I want -- it's just a sampler to cash in on Agatha All Along. I have read all of Agatha Harkness' stories up to about 2015, not all of which are included here. Some are pretty important, like West Coast Avengers, where Agatha seals off the non-existent Billy and Tommy from Wanda's memories, kids who were (re-checks notes) shards of Mephisto's soul. (They got reincarnated as real somehow.) This volume also skips over Agatha's death, her time as a ghost and mentor to Wanda, and how she came back to life. Midnight Suns is where she turns young and evil, which is included, a storyline that continues into Contest of Champions, which is not. I guess an Agatha Harkness omnibus wouldn't sell well enough to justify its existence, but I would buy it just to get all this chronology sorted in order in my head.
DARKHOLD: THE SAGA OF THE BOOK OF SINS TP: Collects Marvel Spotlight (1971) #4, Werewolf by Night (1972) #1 and #3, Avengers (1963) #185-187, Doctor Strange (1974) #59-62, and material from Dracula Lives #6. Once again, this cherry-picks a fairly convoluted history, which I would like to read comprehensively and chronologically, please.
INCREDIBLE HULK #16 has an homage cover to Sub-Mariner Comics #32 (1941).
MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN #24: Still a vampire.
MOON KNIGHT ANNUAL #1: "Infinity Watch" Part 7.
MSH SECRET WARS #9 FACSIMILE EDITION: Three issues to go. (Hey, facsimile collectors, there's an actual collection available. You don't have to buy individual reprints.)
MYSTIC OMNIBUS HC: This reprints the CrossGen character, not the Golden Age series. I assume we're seeing this because trademarks. DC would have blended the characters into their universe by now, to everyone's chagrin.
SPIDER-MAN: CLASSROOM HEROES #1: For Young Readers.
STAR WARS: THE ACOLYTE -- KELNACCA #1: Sorry, Marvel, the TV show has already been canceled.
UNCANNY X-MEN #274 FACSIMILE EDITION: Not sure why this was picked for the facsimile treatment. It's the beginning of a Rogue-Magneto romantic relationship, a development I despised. Maybe it's because Rogue is wearing a really skimpy outfit?
DC COMICS
ABSOLUTE POWER #3 (OF 4): We already know that the Resistance is going to retreat to Themyscira, and the solicitation doesn't tell us much beyond that. I am curious how they'll get around the "no man sets foot on Paradise Island" problem. Maybe it's no longer in effect. And can Amazos reduce Amazons to "baseline" human? I'm still not sure of the parameters of the Amazos' power-suck power, as it seems to be able to do whatever the plot needs for it to do. (Like stealing Aquaman's power to breathe underwater, but not Tempest, Dolphin, Aquagirl and whatever other Atlanteans ranged against it.)
BATMAN #152 continues Batman and Catwoman's quest for Amanda Waller's mother box. Last issue ended with a cliffhanger, as the Suicide Squad (led by Bizarro) attacked. Since this isn't the last issue of Batman, I'm guessing Bruce and Selina aren't just smears on the ground. The "how they avoid that" will be interesting. (Maybe Bruce has some blue kryptonite?) There's also a Birds of Prey vs. Waller back-up story.
Elsewhere at DC:
PLASTIC MAN NO MORE #1 (OF 4): Plastic Man suffers catastrophic cell damage on a Justice League mission and now he appears to be slowly dying. Does he have time to fix all his mistakes first? Well, probably not. And he's probably not going to die, because he's valuable IP.
I can't say I'm really enthusiastic about this. Bob Haney proved to me way back in 1971, in Brave and Bold #95, that Plastic Man doesn't work as a serious character. I don't even think he works in the DC Universe. As I've whinged before, he should be off on Earth-Quality having adventures with Woozy Winks where Plas is the straight man. That scenario is how the character works best (because he was designed to). Plastic Man is redundant in a universe that already has Elongated Man, who fits in much better with Flash and the Justice League (because he was designed to).
TRINITY SPECIAL #1 ONE-SHOT: Collecting some of the back-up stories in Wonder Woman, starring the children of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. I was just alerted to this back-up series by Jeff of Earth-J, and now I want to read it!
Here's an homage to Detective Comics #38:
BATMAN: CITY OF MADNESS HC: This collects the three-issue miniseries that came out last year, and the reviews were pretty good. It's apparently a horror story, which Batman could use more of. I guess I have to get it.
BATMAN FAMILY YEAR ONE BOX SET: This collects, presumably, Robin: Year One (2000), Batgirl: Year One #1-9 (2003) and Nightwing #101-106 (2005). And, presumably, I read them. But I don't remember any of these stories, which means A) I didn't read them, or B) I did, but they were unmemorable. Are they good enough to take up some shelf space, Legionnaires?
DCEASED: WAR OF THE GODS TP: This is apparently the end of the DCeased story (they had probably killed everybody but Red Bee and Kite-Man), so it may be time to get the boxed set of TPBs. I'd prefer an omnibus HC or a set of five HCs, but only two of the miniseries were released in HC and I'm not gonna hold my breath for an omnibus.
DETECTIVE COMICS #400 FACSIMILE EDITION: First appearance of Man-Bat.
ELSEWORLDS SUPERMAN VOL 1 TP: Collects Superman: Speeding Bullets, Superman: Kal, Superman: Distant Fires, Superman: A Nation Divided, Superman, Inc. and Superman: War of the Worlds, in case you missed any of those. They're all kinda OK.
HARLEY QUINN AND THE GOTHAM CITY SIRENS COMPACT COMICS EDITION: Keeping y'all up to date on Compact Comics.
JOKER TP COMPACT COMICS EDITION
IMAGE COMICS
LADY MECHANIKA: DEVIL IN THE LAKE #1 (OF 4): I've only read a little of this character's adventures, in FCBD issues. The series began at Aspen, moved to Benitez Productions (Joe Benitez is the creator) for most of its releases, then to Image in 2002. The gist seems to be a riff on Frankenstein, a living, mechanical woman (or mostly mechanical, not sure) in what looks like the Victorian era, searching for her creator -- not only to find out the who of her creation, but also the how and the why. The art is usually good,, but the find-your-creator trope is pretty played out in my head, so I wasn't moved to try more.
Now comes Devil in the Lake, and I really quite enjoyed it. There's no quest here; Mechanika seems to be a paid adventurer (a less kind term is mercenary) who in this case is hired to discover what happened to a Russian expedition led by English people in search of a legendary monster in a Siberian lake. Since the book opens with a man in a diving suit climbing out of the lake, saying "It is the devil" in Russian, and then dying, I'd say the likelihood of the English family being alive isn't good.
But our heroes don't know that, and mount up. There is a scene with some sort of former companion -- romantic or otherwise, I can't tell -- who is drinking himself to death, and Mechanika feels responsible for that. I guess I'd have to read previous issues to find out who Archibald Lewis is.
I should mention also that Joe Benitez gets Russian patronymics right, which is rare in Western entertainment. Great job, Joe!
The art, like in most of the FCBD books, is terrific. Siya Oum gets steampunk right, gets the 19th century right, and makes Mechanika attractive without treading into fan service. Her work is very detailed, but also very clear. Her storytelling is excellent.
"I've been a fan of Siya's work for a very long time and we've been talking about working together on a Lady M story for over five years now and it finally happened," said Benitez. "Can't wait for you guys to see her amazing art on the pages of our new story arc!"
SCARLETT #4 (OF 5)
DARK HORSE
ARKHAM HORROR: TERROR AT THE END OF TIME #2 (OF 4): This is a supernatural noir, and like most noirs, I like it.
No date is given, but it appears to take place between the wars. It opens at a party that, by the women's clothes, is during the Roaring '20s. (But I'm no expert on women's clothes. The men are all in tuxedos, which doesn't tell me anything.) Anyway, it's a swanky affair, presumably in the Northeast, probably Arkham, Massachusetts. Something happens --there's a glimpse of our leading lady Jenny Barnes firing two automatics, with some elder god sort-of stuff happening in the background -- and then we're at a private investigator's office in Arkham, where Jenny has just finished telling the story that we just got pieces of. Apparently, her sister Izzy disappeared at that party, and she wants P.I. Joe Diamond to find her.
I'm not spoiling anything, because that all happens in the first three pages of the first issue. Which I just read, so that's why I'm talking about it.
Jenny is tougher than she seems (she really does wield twin automatics, Shadow-fashion) and Joe is a typical Dashiell Hammett gumshoe, perhaps more open-minded than most. They go diving into a weird cult that is entirely plausible for the early 20th century, when the rich were going through an occult phase (Aleister Crowley, Hemetic Order of the Crimson Dawn, Edgar Cayce, etc.). Turns out it's the real thing, with what appear to be demons and a timey-wimey slant, and Joe and Jenny have their hands full. I fully expect, with the Arkham connection, that we'll touch on some Lovecraft mythos.
Now I've read the second issue, and this plot is moving fast. Plus, dinosaurs.
I admit to being a little suspicious of Jenny. Since we didn't her what she told Joe, she may not have told him the truth, or all of it, anyway. She may be leading him down the primrose path, Wicker Man or Midsommar fashion. Heck, for all I know.a, the reverse is true, and she's being set up by Joe. Certainly the audience doesn't know the whole story of that page 1 party yet.
And it's good. I love period pieces in this particular period, I love Lovecraftian horror, I love detective noir. This combination works perfectly naturally. It's good, creepy fun by Cullen Bunn, who knows his way around creepy. And the art is perfect -- a little old-fashioned looking, which fits the period. And good storytelling. I don't know if this is attached in any way to the various Mike Mignola universes, but his spirit seems present somehow.
Can't wait for issue #3!
DUCK & COVER #1: Here's another period piece (yay!), set in the 1950s in small-town America. You have some stock characters, albeit with some slight twists. There's the school bully, who (weirdly) has a bullet stuck in his neck. You have the leader of the local J.D. gang, but she's a chick. You have the kid who loves movies and wants to grow up to be a director, but he's Black. And so on.
This goes pretty much the way you expect it to, which is Stand by Me with a different set of characters. All of the main ones end up in a huge fistfight at a drive-in that turns into a Breakfast Club situation. Then suddenly the story takes a left turn into a combination of War of the Worlds and Red Dawn. I kid thee not.
The title refers to what kids in my generation were taught to do if the nukes started to fall. The threat was real but "duck and cover," we know now, was pretty silly. (At least we didn't have "active shooter" drills, which I find horrifying.) And something like that happens, but where we're going now I have no idea. Especially when the mutant dog shows up.
This is by Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque, the same team that did American Vampire, so I have confidence that it will all tie together in a satisfying way. And it's already not as mysterious as it sounds. I don't think it's a coincidence that I'm able to describe the book so often with movie references -- I think that's a theme Snyder's milking, and I could probably intuit more of what's to come by mining previous conversations between the two movie nuts for some foreshadowing.
For example, one of them referenced the conspiracy theory that someone is keeping Hitler's head alive (in Florida), so I fully expect a living, disembodied head at some point. And yes, there was a movie called They Saved Hitler's Brain, but it wasn't made until 1968.
Say, maybe these kids will make it.
IDW PUBLISHING
STAR TREK #500: Is IDW using Marvel Math now? I'm not going to count, but I wonder.
Also, no review, because IDW embargoed reviews to date of sale.
BOOM
FIREFLY MALCOLM REYNOLDS YEAR ONE #1: Here's a FIRST LOOK.
MINOR ARCANA #1 is written and drawn by Jeff Lemire, it stars a girl who returns to her hometown and discovers her mother's "magic" may be real. It will have four major storylines mirroring the suits of the tarot. Here's a FIRST LOOK.
TITAN COMICS
CONAN THE BARBARIAN: BATTLE OF BLACKSTONE #1 (OF 4): I started reading Titan's Conan the Barbarian recently, and was impressed. I'm even more impressed with Titan's handling of the Cimmerian after reading this issue.
The premise is a strange sigil that does some remarkable (and not good) things simultaneously in various time periods, involving Conan, Agnes de Chastillon (Dark Agnes), Solomon Kane, Francis X. Gordon (El Borak) and James Allison of Bald Knob, Texas (circa 1936, clearly a stand-in for Robert E. Howard himself). The framing device is Gordon, and the bulk of the story is Conan's (as you'd expect from the title, and his popularity), but I sure want to see more of the others, about whom I know little.
Well, except for Solomon Kane. I've read all the prose, and most of the comic books (if not all). I like them. And I don't expect to see much of the REH analog, since Howard died in 1936.
But Dark Agnes? El Borak? Howard himself didn't write many stories about them, and I'm not aware of any pastiches novels or comic books that star them. I'd sure like to see more.
But alas, it's Conan's story, and it's only four issues long, so we won't see much of the ancillary characters. Although the Conan part of the story is very good -- well characterized, terrific art. Maybe that will sell this well enough to merit a sequel. We can only hope!
SEA OF THIEVES: SEA DOGS SEARCH TP
FANTAGRAPHICS
FANTAGRAPHICS UNDERGROUND: CRUSHER LOVES BLEEDER: Somebody worked really hard on the promo copy for this very strange book. I'll honor that effort by printing it in full:
"A boy loves a bug and a bug loves a boy, but can a bug love a boy for more than his blood?
"The old-timers in Texas's Erzsébet county say that nature don't ask permission, it feeds when it needs. But the bloodsucking bug in this here yarn got to thinking that nature ought not be absolute. Would you believe that this guy would rather dry up 'n die than ruin another picnic by taking his thirsty fangs to the softest baby with the deepest veins? And would you believe, just when he's ready to die of thirst and turn to dust, a sickly human boy named Thum — a kind-hearted crusher done crushin' — finds our starving bug — a big-hearted bleeder done bleedin' — and hatches a plan to invite this feederfly back to where he slumbers?
" 'Cause what difference does it make to a deep sleeper if you punch a hole real gentle and slurp-slurp real quiet? When the fully sated feeder's kin catch wind of his safe space for suckling, he realizes that there are matters more complicated than how and when to die. Does Thum's frail frame house enough blood for the swarm or does devotion to the hive leave Thum a husk? How do you choose between those who are kind to you and those who are just your kind when one lives for the other's suffering? Better pick quick, little bleeder, or you bet yer butt you'll regret it."
OCULTOS HC: An anthology of short stories about the occult by Spanish artist Laura Pérez. And lo, there's a PREVIEW.
ONI PRESS
AUTUMN KINGDOM #1: Local folklore in a Swedish forest is apparently for real, and arcane creatures capture the parents of two girls, named Sommer and Winter (yes, really). They have to find a MacGuffin to save their parents and stop something bad. Honestly, you can learn more from the preview than anything I can tell you. I like the art.
EC COMICS: CRUEL UNIVERSE #2 (OF 5): EC alert! This issue's writers are Chris Cantwell, Chris Condon, Stephanie Phillips and Ben H. Winters. Artists are Javier Fernandez, David Lapham, Leomacs and Riley Rossmo. Looking forward to it.
IN THE SHADOW OF STALIN HC: Historical fiction about a journalist in the 1930s who tries to report on the Holodomor, Stalin's deliberate starvation of Ukraine. As noted, I like period pieces. I also like Russian history and literature. I also like Ukraine, and this is pretty timely. Khorosho, tovarishch!
ARCHIE COMICS
SABRINA ANNUAL SPECTACULAR ONE-SHOT: Unlike the Archie Horror titles, this one is more in the vein of the "All Ages" line. In fact, despite an artistic roster that includes Steven Butler, Bob Bolling and Dick Malmgren, all the stories look like they were drawn by Dan DeCarlo (who also draws one).
In the new story, Sabrina's nemesis Amber Nightstone resurrects Mother Striga, who we're told is the witch who originally gave witches a bad name. The story's continued, so that's all I can tell you. The reprints are OK; most Sabria stories follow a familiar pattern with a punchline a veteran reader can see coming from a mile away, but they're still nice -- throwbacks to a time when "all ages" didn't mean "kiddies."
Here's a complete story (click to enlarge):
WORLD OF ARCHIE JUMBO COMICS DIGEST #143
Here's a complete story:
VALIANT COMICS
ARCHER & ARMSTRONG ASSASSIN NATION #2 (OF 2): Part of "Road to Resurgence," which is coming soon -- Resurgence #1 ships Sept. 19.
Hey, another homage to Detective Comics #38!
VALIANT UNIVERSE HERO ORIGINS: SHADOWMAN TP: Valiant really wants you up to date on these characters.
VALIANTS (2024) #4 (OF 4): More "Road to Resurgence" with a variety of Valiant characters.
MORE COMICS
BLOOD & ICE MASTERWORK EDITION GN: I don't know anything about Epicenter Comics, but this GN is set during Napoleon's retreat from Russia and I'm always a sucker for historical fiction.
DARK EMPTY VOID #1 (OF 5): MAD CAVE STUDIOS (W) Zack Kaplan (A/CA) Chris Shehan Scientists have created a stable, microscopic black hole in a secret underground compound, but when they lose control, the black hole spews out a cosmic maelstrom, strange dangerous creatures, and most surprisingly...a mysterious human teenage girl. Now, a depressed but brilliant psychologist must help her estranged husband and the other scientists solve the mystery and close the black hole before it consumes all of Earth.
Dare to witness a cosmic horror series that will amaze and terrify you, with hit comic creator Zack Kaplan (Kill All Immortals, Beyond Real, Mindset), fan-favorite artist Chris Shehan (The Autumnal, House of Slaughter), rising star colorist Francesco Segala (Nights, House of Slaughter) and Ringo-nominated letterer Justin Birch (Road of Bones, House of Slaughter).
KINGSTONE BIBLE HC #1 (OF 3): A graphic adaptation of the Bible, and if it's only going to be three volumes, I'm guessing they're leaving a lot out. Not the smiting and fornicating and girding of loins, of course -- that's the fun part. Probably all the begatting. It's by Kingstone, and you can either buy the hardcover or two trade paperbacks (of 6) this week that cover the same material.
LIPSTICK CLIQA #1 (OF 2): This cover stopped me cold, because it's awesome. Of course, the interior art isn't quiiiiite as good. Which I know because this website seems to have the whole issue available. It involves cholo vampire babes in the barrio, who are competing for turf with others supernatural gangs/neighborhoods. Interesting idea by Vault Comics.
MAGICK #1: Bragi Schut, writer and story editor of the Ninjago TV series, as well as screenplay writer for The Last Voyage Of Demeter, Escape Room and Samaritan, pens this tale of a man who knows the language that can change reality. (Commonly known as magic.) That comes with a price, so it might be fun. (Mythos Comics)
SANTOS SISTERS #7: This seems like the last remnant of Sitcom Comics. It's published by Floating World, so there's a story there.
SIMPSONS TREEHOUSE OF HORROR OMINOUS OMNIBUS VOL 3: FIENDISH FABLES OF DEVILISH DELICACIES HC (Abrams ComicArts): I got the first one of these, and felt it would be representative of pretty much all of them, and didn't buy any more. Let me know if I'm wrong about that, Legionnaires.
SOUND: A COMICS ANTHOLOGY GN: "What does sound look like to you?" This anthology by Difference Engine (?) presents writers and artists from Southeast Asia exploring that question. I'm curious about the art, but the topic is so art-school-exercise it makes my eyes roll.
TRIDENT OF AURELIA: STORM TP: This continuing fantasy series is about mermaid kingdoms and quests and tridents and so forth. I'm only including it because Battle Quest Comics provided a preview, so here you go:
UNCLE SAM SPECIAL ELECTION EDITION HC: This is the same Uncle Sam published in two parts by Vertigo in 1997, by Steve Darnell and Alex Ross, now for some reason published by Abrams ComicArts as a GN. It's only sort-of the Quality Comics character, in that it's an anthropomorphized spirit of America that looks like the "I Want You" poster. But it's not at all the can-do guy from the comics, and is instead an Uncle Sam suffering for all of America's sins. As much as I like Ross' art, I will never re-read this story. Too depressing.
Replies
EXCEPTIONAL X-MEN #1: A "new number one"... and a new adjective.
STAR TREK #500: Is IDW using Marvel Math now?
Apparently.
Hey, another homage to Detective Comics #38!
You'll find about a dozen of them on the "Three of a Kind" thread, including...
EXCEPTIONAL X-MEN #1: A "new number one"... and a new adjective.
I eagerly await "number ones" for Above Average X-Men, Adequate X-Men and Mediocre X-Men.
Also, regarding Axo's power set: Did someone find their Grandma's mood ring, and think "I could turn this into a super-hero"!?