I Read Comic Books discussion
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What are you reading right now?
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What are you reading right now? (May 2023)
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Last week's adventures in comics.Hex Americana
An LGBTQ+ book about a teenage monster who gets involved with racing. Along the way a romance with a ghost develops.
Constellations
I thought this was terrific. It's about a teenager in upstate New York who is trying to determine their identity in the 80's. They were born a girl but likes to dress as a boy and hang out with boys. They cope with their unhappiness by drinking which eventually gets them in trouble sending them to rehab. Most of the book takes place at rehab as they find theirself and delves into the lives of some of the other kids there.
Merry-Go-Round
A bunch of short stories revolving around some college students in Bologna, Italy. The stories are mainly about them changing relationships and being untrue to one another. It was a quick but unfulfilling read.
The Rock Gods of Jackson, Tennessee
A ridiculously over the top story about 4 losers in high school getting an opportunity to open for a washed up rock star while a horror movie about mutant pigs slowly develops in the background. It's a tropey ode to the 80's.
The Little Red Fish
The story of oppressed fish in a Persian reef, beset by herons. The book is an allegory to the Iranian Revolution in 1979 up to when the Khomeini takes over. However, unless you know the history very in-depth, you probably wouldn't realize it.
The Faint of Heart
June wants to grow up to be an artist. The problem is no one else cares. Everyone else has had their hearts removed to make life easier. Now she's the only one left who cares about anything until one day she finds a heart in a jar sitting in an alleyway...
Five Years Vol. 1: Fire In The Sky
Terrific. Terry Moore seamlessly brings all of his characters into one book. That's way more difficult than it sounds given his different comics have conquered the worlds of romance / espionage, sci-fi and horror. Until this comic came about I just assumed all of his comics just appeared in their own universes. This is not the series to start with for new readers. You can and should start with whatever other Terry Moore series you want though. He's on my all time favorite list of comic creators.
Five Years Vol. 2: Stalemate
The Strangers in Paradise stalwarts do most of the heavy lifting as they attempt to stop the world's most dangerous bomb from being developed. It does feel like this may have initially been planned for a longer run until the Pandemic got in the middle of it. Still at this point I'd read Terry Moore's grocery list if he let me.
Batman/Spawn (2022) #1
Todd McFarlane has written over 300 issues of Spawn since the last time he crossed over with Batman in the 90's. His writing has not gotten any better unfortunately.
Catwoman, Vol. 1: Dangerous Liaisons
Catwoman steps out of Alleytown and back into Gotham proper. We're somewhat returning to the crime family setup as Catwoman gets mixed up from the five crime families currently running Gotham.
Catwoman 2: Cat International
The first volume of Howard's run wasn't too bad but this is all over the place. Howard can't decide which way to go and tries to go all of them.
Strange Academy: Finals
Finals ties up all the loose ends from the end of the previous series. All of the school stuff is quickly dropped in order finish everything up and it all goes pretty much how you expected it to.
Batman, Vol. 1: Failsafe
Chip Zdarsky takes over Batman (I guess Daredevil wasn't enough for the guy.) and puts him in an over the top, nonstop action flick. Batman is framed for murder (which has happened a gazillion times. Why didn't Failsafe deploy those times?) and a T-1000 version of Batman deploys to take Batman out.
Batman: Detective Comics, Vol. 3: Arkham Rising
Most of this is a mental health discussion as this new Arkham Tower is being built and if it will help Gotham or just be full of Batman's rogues. It's thoroughly boring and very short.
Batman: Shadows of the Bat - The Tower
I cannot wait for Tamaki's run on Detective to end. The writing is so shoddy and poorly thought out. The volume that immediately preceded this was about Arkham Tower being built and a discussion among the Batfamily about mental health. But this immediately starts with the Batfamily investigating shady stuff within the Tower. They've already decided it's bad between issues. The whole thing is so the doctor in charge can run a insurance scam for $6 million? The skyscraper probably cost over a billion dollars. He should just have become a general contractor. He could have bilked the taxpayers out of far more while building the damn thing.
Batman: Shadows of the Bat - House of Gotham
This collects the back up stories from Detective's 12 part weekly run and frankly should have been the main story because it is much better written. It's the story of a boy who witnesses the Joker murder his parents. Batman shows up immediately after and the kid associates the two of them together. Throughout a decade or so, Jason Todd's turn as Robin, Knightfall, No Man's Land and onward, this kid continues to fall through the cracks and it's the villains that keep him from falling too far.
Batman: Detective Comics, Vol. 4: Riddle Me This
Unsurprisingly, Tamaki finishes her Detective run off with a whimper. Riddler is some kind of DJ now and is somehow supposed to be involved in making this group in therapy commit crimes. It's way too convoluted for a 3 issue story.
Sins of Sinister
This is pretty much a variation of HoX/PoX where Sinister wins and how it all goes wrong.
Image! 30th Anthology #1
There's a lot of stories here in this anthology, quite a few which are going to run the full 12 issues. The big draw is the 12 part Geoff Johns story.
Marauders by Steve Orlando, Vol. 2
And so ends this horrible iteration of the Marauders. It's amazing how quickly things can change. This was one of my favorite books during its initial run. Then Steve Orlando took over and the book turned to shit. This was the perfect storm of terribleness with Orlando writing and Eleonora Carlini on art.
Green Lantern, Vol. 8: Agent Orange
Geoff Johns' run remains great. The art & design in this is mesmerizing. I only knew Larfleeze from the Green Lantern cartoon where he's a little goblin guy. In this book, his body turns into flames, he's hunched over, cradling his lantern but takes up most of the frame. Also, John Stewart gets some page time.
Ichigoki's Under Control 1 & 2
Been searching for a new manga to read on my break. A Highschooler is turned into a Cyborg piloted by his childhood friend. The series is painfully unfunny until its canceled and the author blasts through his endgame.
Samurai 8 Legend of Hachimaru vol 1, 2 & 3
Masashi Kishimoto's return after Naruto. It's his take on Star Wars. There's a lot here, but I think the story being too generic is what got it cancelled.
One Piece, Volume 67: Cool Fight
Punk Hazard is my favorite of the "mini" arcs.
Immortal Hulk: Great Power
4 issues spinning off of Immortal Hulk. All good.
Batman Eternal, Volume 3
I remember bits and pieces of Eternal, but couldn't tell you how it all fit together. I like Stephanie Brown and Harper Row.
Green Lantern Corps, Volume 4: Sins of the Star Sapphire
Not really about the Star Sapphires. More about 2 attacks from the Sinestro Corps. Still great even if it is mostly set up for other books.
Invincible Iron Man, Vol. 1: Reboot
Some of the dialogue is cringe, but I enjoyed it.
Today's trip to the LCS.Parker Girls #7
Astro Bots #1 <-- Suggested by an employee. It's by Simon Furman, the guy who wrote most of the Transformers stuff for IDW before they lost the license.
Immortal X-Men #11
Batman and the Joker:The Deadly Duo #7
Shazam #1 <-- Look at Dan Mora drawing two comics a month.
Currently reading
A middle grade graphic novel about a girl trying to get her family to accept her for who she is while also trying to love her curls!
Mod
A middle grade graphic novel about a girl trying to get her family to accept her for who she is while also trying to love her curls!"
This looks so cute! Would love to know your thoughts when you finish it!
Mod
- Mike: Swamp Thing: Green Hell (2021-) #1 through #3, Heart in a Box
- Dracula, Motherf**ker!
- W0rldtr33 #1
Check out the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to hear our thoughts on what we read! Or listen now at
Saturday's free comic book day haul.Spider-Man / Venom
Marvel Voices
Spider-Man 2 #1 <-- From the terrific video game
Knight Terrors <-- DC's summer event
The Cursed Library <-- Archie Horror comic
West of Sundown <-- A new Tim Seeley and Aaron Campbell comic from Vault
The Umbrella Academy / The Witcher
Frazettaverse <-- Something from Opus comics which I've never heard of
Fishflies <-- New Jeff Lemire Image book
Conan the Barbarian <-- Conan has moved to Titan Comics now.
The Sacrificers <-- New Rick Remender and Max Fiumara Image comic
Uncanny Avengers
Fright Night
Red Sonya
Last week's adventures in comics.Werewolf by Night
Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas wrote a comic. He probably shouldn't have, although Marvel is giving him more work. This was about a new werewolf kid who is also Native American.
Batman: Detective Comics Vol 1: Gotham Nocturne: Overture
Ram V. and Rafael Albuquerque take over Detective and it's instantly better.
I Am Stan: A Graphic Biography of the Legendary Stan Lee
Even though this is the first graphic novel biography, I do think other biographies give you a better sense of who the man was, good and bad. These feel like a series of one page strips in Lee's life more than a coherent look at his life.
Sorceline Book 2 (Volume 2)
The illustration is great but the story feels like it was written by a kid. I know this is meant for children but the story has a stream of consciousness feel to it and is all over the place. Very little makes a bit of sense.
The Tyrant Skies: A Marvel: Untold Novel
Finishes the trilogy of untold prose stories about Dr. Doom by David Annandale. This one is about the Red Skull invading Latveria for a second time.
Night of the Ghoul
A story told back and forth in two time periods. One is happening now while the other is a flashback to a legend of film that was never released. The main characters are a film historian and his son. They've found the man who created the film in a rest home and what's left of the film in an old vault at the studio. The best thing Scott Snyder has written in a while.
Image! 30th Anthology #2
Image just finished an anthology series for its 30th anniversary and I'm going through it now. It's uneven but they do have some bigger creators like Geoff Johns involved.
Image! 30th Anthology #3
Image just finished an anthology series for its 30th anniversary and I'm going through it now. It's uneven but they do have some bigger creators like Geoff Johns involved.
Image! 30th Anthology #4
Image just finished an anthology series for its 30th anniversary and I'm going through it now. It's uneven but they do have some bigger creators like Geoff Johns involved.
Image! 30th Anthology #5
Image just finished an anthology series for its 30th anniversary and I'm going through it now. It's uneven but they do have some bigger creators like Geoff Johns involved.
Image! 30th Anthology #6
Image just finished an anthology series for its 30th anniversary and I'm going through it now. It's uneven but they do have some bigger creators like Geoff Johns involved.
Batman & the Joker: The Deadly Duo
Batman has to help the Joker when someone sends a bunch of creatures with Joker DNA after him. He's kidnapped Jim Gordon in order to force Batman to team up with him. The story is about what you'd expect from one of the Image founders. It's just OK. The art, though, is really good.
Nubia & the Justice League Special (2022) #1
A fluffy one-shot where the Justice League drools all over Nubia when she comes to visit for the first time. The whole League feels like they are under someone else's control as they fanboy all over Nubia and preen like a bunch of peacocks about how great she is.
Batman: The Knight, Vol. 1
If it was a reality show, it'd be called Becoming Batman or something similar. Yes, these origins have been told before but it's been a while and this origin has been updated to include newer characters like Orphan Maker in addition to Ducard and even Hugo Strange at the beginning.
Wonder Woman, Vol. 3: The Villainy of Our Fears
Just some really bland and unexciting stuff. Dr. Psycho's back (working for Fox News basically) and he's got his little Villany Inc. team together that's never at all threatening. The whole threat of Milk Xtra feels like a joke without a punchline. I can't wait for Tom King to take over this book!
Artemis: Wanted (2022) #1
This honestly should have been the finale of Trial of the Amazons because that's really what it is.
THE MARVELS VOL. 2: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY
This is really trying hard to be the Astro City of the Marvel universe and suffers for it. (Yes, I'm well aware of the original Marvels series by Busiek and Ross.)
Serial, Vol. 1: The Glass Tomb
Zoe, the eternal demon child from Rachel Rising gets her own comic. A friend of hers is murdered sending her on the path of a female serial killer. Do not read this until you've read Rachel Rising or you'll have no idea what Zoe's deal is.
Serial, Vol. 2: Cat & Mouse
I like what Moore did with this. I also liked the little twist at the end. Maybe we'll get more to this story one day.
Suicide Squad: King Shark
This digital first DC series was more of a turkey than a shark. King Shark becomes friends with Defacer who is just a woman who vandalizes stuff from Nightwing. She's a throw away character. She's needed I guess because there's so very little to King Shark's character. He's just a shark man who eats people from the Suicide Squad.
Today's trip to the LCS.Invincible Iron Man #6
Junkyard Joe #6
Wolverine #33
X-Men Red +11
Green Lantern #1 <-- I was on the fence with this until I found out you get a Green Lantern ring with it.
Mod
- Mike: Peacemaker Tries Hard! (2023) #1, X-Men: Before The Fall - Sons Of X (2023) #1 (X-Men: Before The Fall, Starsigns #1
- Kait: Ballad for Sophie, Grand Theft Horse
- Peepee Poopoo #420 (one-shot), Batman (2016-) #135
Check out the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to hear our thoughts on what we read! Or listen now at
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Re: Chad: Have you dug into the FCBD comics yet? What was your favorite?
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Banned Book ClubThis is a nonfiction story about a young woman who goes to college in South Korea in 1983 and gets involved with a group that reads books banned by the regime in power at the time. I did not know about this period in Korean history, and I also really enjoyed the little details about the protagonist's family's restaurant.
Ballad for SophieThis is listed above and I talked about it on the podcast episode this week, but this in Erin's pick for the reading challenge and I found it really exceptional. The story jumps from the life story of a musician beginning in 1933 and the woman interviewing him in 1997. There's a texture to the art that makes me feel like it was done on paper, and there are little bits of magical realism that I loved.
Shuriken and Pleats, Vol. 2This is a short two-volume manga series from the creator of Vampire Knight. It's about a young woman trained as a ninja, whose "master" dies and she has to figure out what to do with her life from there. It reminded me of the anime Violet Evergarden (on Netflix). The ending felt like a compromise between what would be best for the character, and a "happy ending" for the reader. I enjoyed reading the story about a skilled young woman, but was a little disappointed by the end.
Attack on Titan, Vol. 1The new Kodansha app, K Manga, went live this morning and there is a whole lot offered to read for free right now. I never really planned to read this series, but there was a big banner for it on the app, and then it was 1am and I was still reading this series. In the story, the last survivors of the human race live inside a walled area that gets attacks by giants. The way the characters fight them is mechanically interesting. Also, I was reading the series like one character was the protagonist, but now I'm thinking an entirely different character is the protagonist and I'm really interested in that storytelling decision.
Last week's adventures in comics.Olympus: Rebirth #1
A really boring one-shot about Hippolyta after her ascension to Godhood. This, along with Artemis: Wanted, are really an addendum to the Trial of the Amazons event and should have been in that collection. The current Wonder Woman run is like traversing the minotaur's maze to discover all of the comic books involved.
Robins: Being Robin
After reading this, It's pretty clear Tim Seeley doesn't know much about the various Robins. For a book about all the Robins, they didn't have a whole lot of characterization other than he's the detective, he's the unhinged one, etc.
The Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 2: The New Sinister
I'm liking where Wells is taking Spider-Man. I do wonder how long we will have to wait to find out why Pete blew up his life.
Alien, Vol. 2: Revival
I think Marvel may need to let this license revert back to Dark Horse. They just hit the same story beats again and again that were in the movies. Aliens are unleashed upon a colony and destroy everyone. The company let them loose to see what would happen. Yada. Yada.
The Adventure Zone Vol. 2: Murder on the Rockport Limited!
I didn't like this nearly as much as the first book. Part of it was probably that a train setting seems out of place for a D&D campaign and is more of a Western campaign but whatever.
The Adventure Zone Vol. 3: Petals to the Metal
This is a fun series turning the podcast into graphic novels. It is odd to me with the mixing of technology into a traditional fantasy type campaign. This volume revolves around racing. It's like a goofier version of the podracing scene from Star Wars turned into a comic.
Batman: The Knight
An addendum to Batman's origin story. I enjoy how Bruce's emotions and morality keep getting in the way as he begins to establish his outlook and moral code. Great stuff, along with terrific art. Really enjoyed the stuff with Ghost-Maker.
Batman vs. Robin
This starts out really strong with Damian possessed and out to kill Batman. The whole Lazarus Planet thing kind of derails the series though as it all comes out before the last issue. I mean, who thought that was a good idea, especially when all Lazarus Planet is is little introductory stories for DC's new comics for the year. It's basically a Not Free Comic Book Day for DC.
Monkey Prince Vol. 2: The Monkey King and I
This is put together horribly. The story with Aquaman was cut in half between the two volumes. Then the Monkey Prince gets tangentially involved in Lazarus Planet and none of it is explained here.
The Invincible Iron Man, Vol. 1: The Autobiography of Tony Stark
Solid writing and art all around. Tony has pretty much hit rock bottom. He's out of money. He no longer owns any of his old companies or properties. The only thing he hasn't done is start drinking yet. Someone is out to get him. Someone new.
Black Cat Social Club
Three down on their luck witches are trying to make it as a punk band in L.A. They can't get people to come to their shows even when casting spells to charm them. Then along comes a demon to buy their souls and strengthen their powers. Now they're rocketing through the scene but how are they going to get out of this?
Phenomena Vol. 1: The Golden City of Eyes
This reminded me of a European sci-fi comic where very little is explained and you as a reader have to figure it out as you go along. It's set in a far future Earth with tons of aliens. There's two kids along with a fighter that end up teaming up to go to the aforementioned city in the title.
Ronin Island, Vol. 2
There's about 6 issues of story here expanded into 12 with multiple needless flashbacks about how the main characters were treated as kids before the zombies came. The art is just OK and suffers from a lack of backgrounds.
Ronin Island, Vol. 3
This YA zombie/oni story set in feudal Japan just ended OK.
Image! 30th Anthology #7
With the 7th installment we get a new Wytches story, Noble Causes and a new Keiron Gillen story in addition to the ongoing ones.
Image! 30th Anthology #8
With the 8th installment we get a new Casanova story and a preview of Worldtr33 which is just coming out now in 2023.
Image! 30th Anthology #9
With the 9th installment we get a new Criminal story!
Image! 30th Anthology #10
With the 10th installment there's a Bitter Root primer.
Image! 30th Anthology #11
With the 11th installment there's a Pretty Deadly primer and John Arcudi and Doug Mahnke reunite.
Image! 30th Anthology #12
With the 12th installment all the running stories come to a conclusion. Along the way Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker do a new Science Dog story and Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez return to Old Guard.
Stargirl: The Lost Children
Geoff Johns is still telling the same long form story he's been telling since Rebirth began with someone manipulating time. It's always nice to see him return to his Stargirl roots as well. It's about a ton of Golden Age sidekicks who have not only disappeared but been erased from time.
The Phoenix Chase: A Marvel: School of X Novel
This continues Aconyte's line of School of X novels set in the X-Men period of about 10-15 years ago after Schism and Avengers Vs. X-Men. Kid Omega and Havok head to space when some of Quentin's friends are held hostage unless they find a Phoenix Egg and make a trade.
Junkyard Joe, Volume 1
Hmm...a much smaller story than the other Mad Ghost comics have been. Muddy first met Junkyard Joe in Vietnam when he appeared on a mission. He thought he'd hallucinated seeing this robot until he shows up at his house 50 years later. Joe was the inspiration for a comic strip Muddy created once he returned from the war. Joe is a robot who doesn't talk so the story is told through the eyes of Muddy and the kids who just moved in next door. Of course, if Joe is showing up after all this time he must be on the run from someone...
Rowans Ruin
Your more or less standard haunted house story. This one with a twist that was telegraphed from miles away. Solid enough but nothing special, especially when Mike Carey has done far better.
I Am Batman 2: Welcome to New York
A surprisingly solid Batman story featuring a black Batman. Jace and some of his family have moved to New York while his sister recovers from a serious injury. He decides to keep being Batman. The mayor decides if there's going to be a Batman in New York, he's going to work with the police and follow procedure so they set up a task force and Batman is officially sanctioned.
Rubicon
A neat idea with poor execution. This was supposed to be Seven Samurai set in Afghanistan. It's not a bad idea at all. The story telling and art though were very poor.
Run Wild
Beautiful illustrations that are the highlight of this. Like The Cloud, the story gets really muddled and bogged down by a ton of exposition later in the story. The story is about a brother and sister, the last two humans on Earth. They are being pursued by these talking animals while other animals help them.
Scream Queen
This is not good. At best it's a schlocky B-Movie. Imagine if Sloth from Goonies started murdering people in the mall instead of meeting Chunk and his friends.
Shmobots
Would have worked better as satire ala Mark Russell. Didn't really see the point when the robots were just filling in for stupid, lazy humans.
Parasyte 1
On K Manga, I mostly started series that never got another anime season, but Parasyte is a manga from the 90s. Its Invasion of the Body Snatchers, except before overtaking the brain, Shinichi tied a rope around his arm and the alien merged with only his right arm. Lots of body horror and questions of human purpose ensue.
Witchcraft Works, Vol. 1 Vol. 2
Beautiful artwork, but the writing is lacking.
Peach Boy Riverside, Vol. 1 Vol. 2 Vol. 3
Extremely generic fantasy, but I going to keep reading it.
Fairy Tail, Vol. 01
I read the first chapter for bonus coins, but it was better than I remember the beginning of Fairy Tail being.
Ayashimon 1 2 3
I kept seeing this advertised after its was cancelled in Shonen Jump. The series has a satisfying ending, but don't expect everything to resolved. Art is the best part.
Samurai 8 Vol 4 Vol 5
Rushed ending to show the Big Plan the series was going to have.
Green Lantern Corps, Volume 5: Emerald Eclipse
Fantastic wrap up of Daxam, Mongul and the Guardians.
CAPTAIN MARVEL: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HERO VOL. 1
Introduction to Carol and she rebrands herself as Captain Marvel. She meets her air force idol and travels back in time. The art quality takes a dip in the 2nd half, but I like the story more.
Scarlet Spider, Vol. 1: Life After Death
Ryan Stegman never stood out to me during the Dan Slott run, but I liked him a lot here.
Scarlet Spider, Vol. 2: Lone Star
Kaine, a discount Spider-Man, teams up/fights with Houston's own discount Superhero team. Then, he fights werewolves.
Carnage: Minimum Carnage
This is 5 star title and 3 star book. It's fun, but Carnage stops being scary after a couple issues b/c he's too silly.
Invincible Iron Man, Vol. 2: The War Machines
About as good as the previous volume.
Mod
- Mike: Strange Academy: Finals (2022-2023) #6, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords - Part 1, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Part 1
- Paul: Deep Cuts #1, Unstoppable Doom Patrol (2023) #2
- Two Graves #6
- Captain America
Check out the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to hear our thoughts on what we read! Or listen now at
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Attack on Titan, Vol. 5 I've been making my way through the K Manga app daily "bonus ticket" reads. Nothings has caught my eye like Attack on Titan has. I've been reading this series as quickly as I can unlock tickets and I just finished volume 5. There are a lot of characters in this series, but who the main 3 are is pretty clear at this point. Every volume has done a good job at making me more invested in these characters and of adding intrigue to the mystery of the titans.
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Also, Viz media released an app called Viz Manga that's very similar to their existing Shonen Jump app. I feel like I read too few digital comics to have two apps with so much overlap, so I've been going through Shonen Jump and reading the unique titles that catch my eye on there, and then I plan to delete the app when I've finished that. I read the following there. These were all quick reads.
Goodbye, EriA kid records his mom dying and turns it into a documentary that people hate the end of. Then he meets a friend who "trains" him to become a better storyteller. This story is almost too meta, but I also enjoyed how the events and themes repeated. I feel like this is a story I could read multiple times and pick up something new each time.
Spirit Photographer Saburo Kono A photographer who captures spirits moves into a haunted apartment next door to the protagonist and helps him face some guilt he's been carrying. I found some of the scene and "act" transitions humorous. The photographer is creepy for most of the book, but this story ends really nicely.
DC3 Another manga about a girl who can kick butt! Her father assigns her a robot as a bodyguard anyway. The robot helps her to learn to trust other people and herself. There's some well done foreshadowing in this book.
Today's trip to the LCS.World's Finest #15
Predator #3
X-Force #40
X-Men #22
Dawn of DC Primer <-- Some free thing DC put out this week
House of Slaughter #15
Avengers #1
Titans #1 <-- Excited about this one after how Taylor has used the Titans in Nightwing.
Danny Ketch: Ghost Rider #1
Planet of the Apes #2
Last week's adventures in comics.A Spark Within the Forge
A brother and sister turn down different paths in this world where they are oppressed by soldiers based on Roman iconography.
Sisters of Sorrow
People in a women's shelter decide to get revenge on the men who ruined their lives when the justice system fails them. It doesn't set any new standards but it is a well done revenge story.
Grace Randolph's Supurbia Vol. 1
There's some solid stuff here. It's about the families of the premier superteam in this universe. Basically everyone is knockoff versions of the Justice League with more flaws. "Wonder Woman" only cares about her daughter even though her son is more inclined to follow in her footsteps. "Batman" is secretly having a relationship with his adult Robin that's just come out. "Superman" is a dick who is holed up with a former supervillain who is strung out on drugs while trying to cope. A new hero has joined whose wife is a nurse and wants to help turn family members into support staff.
Grace Randolph's Supurbia Vol. 2
This doesn't feel as focused as the first volume. There are two main plots plus tons of subplots. One is that Batu has kidnapped her son to take him back to her homeland to have him put to death for defeating her. The other is about Hella Heart and the Lois Lane analogue that is trying to out Sovereign and how he's kept this murderer out of prison because they've become lovers.
Grace Randolph's Supurbia Vol. 3
Some solid superhero drama. The story is a bit more muddled than the original mini. Russell Dauterman kills it on art.
Station
A murder occurs on the International Space Station and things quickly go south from there.
The Harbinger Book 1
Peter Stanchek is back. Something has made him forget everything. He just sees people's reaction to him when they realize who he is. He's fled to a section of Chicago called Psiot City that has become a refuge to the mutants of the Valiant universe. He's pursued by some generic villains called The Warning. It's OK. It feels overwritten.
The Harbinger Book 2
Faith shows up but this gets compacted down and feels like it ended prematurely. It's really overwritten with way too much inner dialogue that doesn't say a lot.
Thomas Alsop Vol. 1
Clearly John Constantine is an inspiration for this series. Thomas Alsop is the Hand of New York. His family has been the supernatural caretakers of the city since before it was created. It's a slow burn of a story. He's going around killing ghosts but at the same time there's a larger story going on when he sees all of the ghosts from 9-11 are still trapped at Ground Zero.
Thomas Alsop Vol. 2
Wow, That ending was terrific. Powerful stuff. I've lived in New York for the last 15 years. This is probably exactly how it would go if you announced you were going to exorcise the ghosts of 9-11 on its anniversary. And man that ending.
TANPOPO COLLECTION VOL. 1
Oof, this is the worst thing I've read in a long time. It collects all of d'Errico's Tanpopo books. They are adaptations of classic works like Faust or The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner. I only know that though because it says so in the index.
The Adventure Zone Vol. 4: The Crystal Kingdom
Our irreverent tabletop gamers have to stop a flying research satellite from crashing to the ground and destroying the planet this go-around. There's some more substance mixed into this iteration with these goofballs.
Toil and Trouble
A retelling of Macbeth from the perspective of the three fates. I really liked how this was done. It doesn't change any of the decisions or motivations of the characters in the play. It does add a whole another layer though as the witches war and feud over who should be king.
Translucid
The Horse and the Navigator have a codependent relationship as they play their Batman / Joker games. As the Horse finally decides to end the Navigator once and for all, we flash back to the Navigator's awful childhood. I love how the depictions of Navigator's synthesia is drawn.
Talent
This had potential but it was obviously planned to be a longer series and most of it is left unexplained by the end. A plane is downed and one man survives. He gains the abilities of everyone on the plane in order to settle their loose ends.
WildC.A.T.S Vol. 1: Better Living Through Violence
I was severely disappointed in this but it's about what I expected. I don't know why we don't get any introductions to the gazillion Wildstorm characters who appear here. If you haven't read any of their old series, you'll probably be lost.
Turncoat, Vol. 1
A very solid future noir. The creators have done a ton of world building in 4 issues. Takes place in a Manhattan where aliens have left after occupying earth for 300 years. Our main character is a former police officer turned private detective who gets involved in a missing persons case that draws her into a much darker scheme that involves the local NY bigwigs in typical noir fashion.
GCPD: The Blue Wall
Starts off really strong as a hard look at three rookie police officers, all three minorities as they discover what it's really like to be a cop in Gotham. At the same time, it's also about the police Commissioner, Renee Montoya, who has recently taken over from Jim Gordon. I was along for the ride until the book took a hard right into absurdity.
Batman Incorporated Vol. 1: No More Teachers
Ghost-Maker takes over the Batman Inc. team of international Batmen. In the main story, someone is going around and killing Batman and Ghost-Maker's mentors. (It would be helpful to read Batman: The Knight to see their mentors training them. Joshua Williamson's recent Batman arc would be helpful as well but not necessary.
Punchline: The Gotham Game
Spinning out of the back of James Tynion's Joker, Punchline gets her own shitty miniseries. She's teamed up with a new version of the Royal Flush Gang to sell drugs. Punchline is just a one note character, especially here. Oh, you also need to be reading Tini Howard's Catwoman to know what's going on as the whole story changes after Catwoman #50.
DCeased: War of the Undead Gods
A really good end to the DCeased story. Darkseid and the rest of the New Gods have been turned by the Anti-Life Equation. It'll soon be the end of the universe if our remaining heroes can't stop them. This brings out some of the cosmic beings of the DCU. There's just some terrific moments in this.
The Joker, Volume Three
We somewhat find out what happened on A-Day as Jim Gordon's story concludes. Because that's what this is, Gordon's story, not the Joker's. It's all fine. It's not very exciting though, even with a bunch of cannibals involved even.
The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing Vol. 1
This was pretty terrible. It's about a guy who gets shot in the head and thinks he's the Joker while the real Joker is running around the West Coast.
Batgirls Vol. 2: Bat Girl Summer
Robbi Rodriguez does a good job drawing the first two issues with a little cleanup from Fear State. Then Neil Googe has switched up to a really cartoony, goofy looking art style that looks awful. The Ripper is FINALLY caught but it's a real bore getting there.
Mod
- Mike: Alien (2021-2022) #7 through #12, Alien (2021-2022) Annual #1
- Kait: Attack on Titan, Vol. 1 through vol. 7, Goodbye, Eri
- Nick: Miss Truesdale and the Fall of Hyperborea #1, Faster
Check out the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to hear our thoughts on what we read! Or listen now at
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Re: Chad: I'm glad you liked Toil and Trouble! I really enjoy that book myself. Also, after your review of Thomas Alsop I have added vol. 1 to my to-read list!
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Goodbye, My Rose Garden, Vol. 3This short manga series wrapped up nicely, although it had me worried for a few chapters.
Attack on Titan #8A whole lot happens in this volume. One mystery is solved and two bigger mysteries are revealed. I couldn't identify some of the secondary and tertiary characters but that didn't impact my understanding of the story. Normally I feel like a comic this action-heavy wouldn't grab me, but this series does a great job of balancing character development, dialogue, mystery, and action.
Today's trip to the LCS.Nightwing #104
X-Cellent #3
Fury #1 <-- A Nick Fury one-shot by Al Ewing for the 60th anniversary
Thor #34
Bishop: War College #4
Daredevil by Frank Miller & Klaus Janson, Vol. 1The Art of Comic Book Writing: The Definitive Guide to Outlining, Scripting, and Pitching Your Sequential Art Stories
The Strange Death of Alex RaymondLiterally a comic about comics and comic creators. This is an amazing book full of interesting content and art. If you liked Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, this is in that vein - but more about the creators themselves. Of note his the lovely art and how it shifts with discussion.
Mod
That sounds really cool! Added to my TBR :)
Last week's adventures in comics.I Am Batman 3: The Right Question
The Question comes to New York when Renee Montoya considers becoming the NYC Police Commissioner.
Justice League Incarnate
The bridge between Infinite Frontier to Dark Crisis for all intents and purposes feels very unnecessary. It's bunch of universe hopping with a different artist illustrating each world while the team searches for Barry Allen.
The Adventure Zone, Vol. 5: The Eleventh Hour
Our illustrious heroes get stuck in a time loop in a Western town in this one. I like how we actually learned some personal things along the way about their regrets in addition to all of the humor.
Blue Beetle: Graduation Day
This is something of a Blue Beetle primer presumably for the movie coming out in August. Blue Beetle has graduated high school and is finding his way after deciding not to go to college. He goes to work at his aunt's diner in Palmero City, leaving El Paso (because DC only seems to operate in made up cities.) The Reach is rumored to be returning and the Justice League is grounding Jaime.
Black Adam (2022-) Vol. 1: Theogony
The movie may not be good but this series is. It takes place before the Death of the Justice League. Black Adam shares his power with a descendant when his power is corrupted and he believes he will die.
World of Krypton
I don't know that we need another retelling of Krypton's doom, especially one that doesn't add anything new. My other complaint is Krypton's society and look seems to get reinvented every time we see it.
The Joker Presents: A Puzzlebox
A good idea in theory spoiled because of how long and tedious this is. The Riddler's dead and all of Batman's Rogues are in custody while they try and determine who murdered him.
Sabretooth: The Adversary
How Sabretooth Got His Groove Back after being sent to the pit during HoX/PoX.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods Special: Shazamily Matters (2023) #1
This is about what you'd expect when all of the actors from the Shazam films write some comic book stories.
X-Terminators
The warning at the beginning of the book proved to be more letdown than anything else. Other than some slightly crude language calling each other sluts, the curse words were still bleeped out. Really the only thing this did was make Jubilee, Boom Boom and Dazzler sound even more shallow and superficial than normal. The girls go out drinking and get captured by vampires and chaos ensues.
GENIS-VELL: CAPTAIN MARVEL
It was nice to see Mar-vell return but this didn't do much for me. It was mainly treading water except for the very end.
Wolverine: Patch
This fits in right before Larry Hama began his long run on Wolverine. All of the usual Madripoor suspects along with the Russians, the Yakusa and SHIELD are searching through the jungle to find an escaped Russian mutant family.
Batman/Spawn (2022) #1
Todd McFarlane has written over 300 issues of Spawn since the last time he crossed over with Batman in the 90's. His writing has not gotten any better unfortunately.
Batman/Spawn: War Devil
You'd think this would be better than the Image Batman / Spawn crossover but you'd be wrong. Having 3 Batman writers and Klaus Janson on art made it worse.
Spawn / Batman
Batman comes to New York after he fights a cyborg that is just a human head on a robot. Miller's Batman is punch first, think later or not at all. Everything is black and white. The villain's very uninspiring, some rich lady that wants to kill most of humanity off.
Strange, Vol. 1: I Belong to Death
Clea is now the Sorcerer of both Earth and the Dark Dimension now that her husband Dr. Strange has died. She has one goal, to bring him back. I really like how MacKay writes Clea. She doesn't suffer fools at all. Every time she gets ticked off, she bursts into flames like Uncle Dormammu.
Strange, Vol. 2: The Doctor Strange of Death
I actually wish this was longer. (Yes, I am aware MacKay is also writing the new Dr. Strange series. I just would have liked more time to explore Clea in the Sorcerer Supreme role.) It ties up the Blasphemy Cartel well.
Moon Knight, Vol. 2: Too Tough to Die
I'm having fun with this Moon Knight series. But then again I can say that for most things Jed MacKay writes. The art is subpar, mistaking kinetic action for a lack of skill, particularly with character's faces.
Moon Knight, Vol. 3: Halfway to Sanity
Moon Knight addresses some of his D.I.D. issues while the vampire issue in New York rises up. I think it's hilarious that Tutor uses a classic pyramid scheme to build his vampire nation.
Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters Companion
Some tepid solos tales of the bounty hunters which are tangentially related to the big awkward crossover that was collected in a way to make it difficult to read.
Batman: Hush
This is one of those terrific Batman stories that I've pulled out again and again every time they add something new. This 20th anniversary edition of Hush gave me an excuse to crack it open again.
Mockingbird: Strike Out: A Marvel: Heroines Novel
Aconyte's Marvel Heroines line continues with a spy novel about Mockingbird. Instead of following the comic continuity, this one is an amalgam of the comics and Agents of SHIELD. Mockingbird has just divorced Hawkeye and returns to SHIELD for a mission in Oxford, England. A scientist she worked with early on at SHIELD has gone missing while working as a professor at Oxford. She meets Lance Hunter from Agents of SHIELD.
All-Out Avengers: Teachable Moments
This is a fun idea. Each issue you're dropped into the last issue of a longer story and you have to pick up what's going on. It's the dilemma that comic book readers have fought since the beginning of time, that you just have to jump in a long running series and go with it. Each issue is like that as the Avengers try and figure out what's going on.
The Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 3: Hobgoblin
This could be a really good series if Marvel would just leave it alone instead of constantly interrupting it with events. Begins with Hellfire Gala and AXE: Judgement Day issues. Then three issues about the Hobgoblin followed by a prelude to Dark Web. It's just way too much interruption.
Avengers, Vol. 11: History's Mightiest Heroes
The Avengers tread water for 6 issues before Jason Aaron's last Avengers story. The Avengers barely appear in some of these as they bop around time trying to save lost lorn previous versions of their archetypes from Mephisto.
Mod
Mike, Danny, Logan, and Jason talk about Dragonball Super ch. 88-92, Criminal, Vol. 2: Lawless, The Curse of the Jackal, and Killtopia, Vol. 1.
Check out the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to hear our thoughts on what we read! Or listen now at
The kickstarter for Tales From the Cloakroom vol. 2 is at
Extremely small week this week at my LCS. I actually had no comics in my pull. Ended up picking up Dr. Strange #1-3 and Alien #2.
Erin wrote: "Count Dante wrote: "The Strange Death of Alex Raymond"That sounds really cool! Added to my TBR :)"
The art is very cool and very instructive. The story is pretty bonkers.
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Avengers by Jonathan Hickman Omnibus, Vol. 2 (other topics)Captain Carter: Woman out of Time (other topics)
The Strange Death of Alex Raymond (other topics)
Killtopia, Vol. 1 (other topics)
Lawless (other topics)
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