New comics

Exquisite Corpses 1-8

Borrowed from the library because the title appealed to me, James Tynion IV doesn’t suck, and the concept of 12 assassins/serial killers duking it out in a sealed off little town was pretty interesting.  Unfortunately, Tynion appears to be the big picture guy, with a different writer doing the heavy lifting w/ each each.  Same w/ the mishmash of artists. 

This was not a fun read.  It’s such a hopeless situation for the townspeople that there’s no entertainment value in the experience.  The killers don’t have enough charisma to sustain the story either.  And the constant return to the shadowy overlords (one from each of the original US states, vying for control of the country) doesn’t add anything.  Not going to read any more of this.  

New comics!

Death Vigil 1-8

Definitely the weakest of Stjepan Sejic’s comicography.  To be fair, it’s an insane list of comics he’s worked on.  But this reads like his take on a generic manga, with a large cast of visually interesting characters, overly-complicated lore/rules, and lots of battle scenes that ultimately don’t engage me all that much.  

I’ll have to re-read the second volume now, I’m sure it’ll make a lot more sense.  I’ll also keep buying it, since Sejic is worth supporting.  Even less good Sejic is worth reading.

Wonder Woman 37

Very much a setup issue.  I didn’t think I’d ever be saying this, but Tom King’s characterization of a perfect Diana is starting to wear a bit thin on me.  At first, it was simply badass.  But now, it’s starting to smack of self-righteousness.  Even though she’s right.  Hopefully this feeling doesn’t last, because I want to keep loving this title.  

Daredevil 7

I had to buy this issue because I didn’t cancel last month in time.  I’ve already forgotten what happened in the last two months.  No regrets about halting my sub.  

Dark Knights of Steel II 3

Amanda Waller completes her coup, killing the queen and installing herself as regent.  Tom Taylor’s doing nice work with this, but it still hasn’t reached DCeased levels.  

Detective Comics 1113

Jeff Spokes isn’t a bad fill in for Mikel Janin at all.  This continues the story from Batman as the Bad Seeds event continues.  Batman fights to stop the blimps from releasing their toxin over Gotham.  Not bad.  

Absolute Cassandra Cain 1

Matias Bergara gives off major Kevin O’Neill vibes with his art here.  It’s a nicely done action story, but nothing stand out.

New comics

More new comics that have backed up.

Batman 13

Matteo Scalera and colorist Tomeu Morey create a Kelley Jones tone here.  Batman fights his way to the top of GCPD headquarters in a very poor man’s version of The Raid.  Vandal Savage is the final boss on the roof, and we’ll see how it goes next issue.  It’s fine.  I’m not that excited about this “Bad Seeds” crossover event.  

Fantastic Four 16

One of Ryan North’s weaker efforts.  The FF violate the Prime Directive on an alien world and go through convoluted lengths to fix the situation.  Not his most inspired work.  

Supergirl: Survive 4

Kara and Kal-El experiment with their powers, then meet an exiled Braniac.  This is the evil one, right?  So him building a gateway to the Phantom Zone can only lead to bad things, right?  I love how this continues to surprise me and leave me guessing.

Daredevil 6

I tried.  But Flaviano as guest artist starkly illustrates how weak Stephanie Phillips’ writing is on this title.  And while I love Lee Garbett, he’s no Hayden Sherman.  He needs at least some semblance of story backing him up to keep me buying.  Cutting from my sub. 

New comics

New comics!

Six of Us 1

When I finished reading this issue, I couldn’t help myself from saying, “He’s so freaking good” out loud.  Tom King absolutely nails it with this first issue, which isn’t always the case with his titles.  (Not that they don’t almost always end up spectacularly.)  

It’s wonderful pitch: A member of this thinly-veiled cast of Friends (it’s Matthew Perry, RIP) is murdered by one of the other five.  Who dunnit?  King does a wonderful job of starting to flesh out the six actors, clearly tying them to their real-life counterparts while setting them apart with original relationships and motivations.  I can’t wait to read the rest of this.  

And who doesn’t wish that the Friends could have made a movie out of this?

Death Vigil 2

This is probably the weakest of Stjepan Sejic’s series that I’ve read.  It’s probably no coincidence that this is the most plot-heavy of his titles as well, with far less emphasis on the relationships between his characters.  I just picked up the first volume of this, and I’ll decide from there if I want to keep buying this.  

Doomquest 4

Doom lives through his own “Inner Light” (the legendary Star Trek: TNG episode).  He forswears his life of domination in order to live out a traditional family life with his childhood soulmate, Valeria.  By his own admission, it’s fulfilling, full of love, and unlike anything he’s ever experienced before.  The twist comes at the end, as Valeria’s dying of old age.  He decides that it still isn’t enough.  That’s he’s meant for more.  For he is Doom.  So he repudiates his life to her face before moving on down the timestream.

It’s heartless, cruel, cold, and utterly Doom.  A masterpiece of an issue by Ryan North.

Parker Girls 1-10

The Parker Girls, now run by Tambi, take down faux-Mark Zuckerberg.  Because he’s a murderous psychopath.  I said this last time with Five Years, but Terry Moore is such a master of the craft at this stage of his career.  The writing and art blend so seamlessly into a reading experience that’s just a joy to sit through.  

Dr Strange and Dr Doom: Triumph and Torment

A colleague recently recommended this to me, and Marvel coincidentally happened to reprint it a few weeks later.  It’s got 80’s era Mike Mignola illustrating this Roger Stern story.  Dr Strange is forced to grant Dr Doom a boon, so they journey together into Hades to confront Mephisto and save the soul of Doom’s mother.  The story is solid, and Mignola channels P Craig Russell way more than his own distinctive style (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing).  But it suffers from the 80’s wordiness that can be such a momentum killer for a banger comic.  I don’t regret buying this, but it doesn’t rank among the top tier of that decade.

Legion of Super-Heroes 1

I bought this solely due to Hayden Sherman’s name on the cover.  As long as he keeps drawing Absolute Wonder Woman.  Joshua Williamson writes a good-enough start that has the potential to be excellent.  (This looks to be a reboot of the team.)  And if it’s at all serviceable, I have no doubt that Sherman’s beautiful art will take it the rest of the way.

Superman: The Stranger 1

Wes Craig (of Deadly Class and Kaya fame) writes and draws this take on the 1920s Superman at the start of his career.  It’s lovely to look at, evoking Tim Sale’s work, but with a flavor of its own.  This is on my sub now.

The Ones

From the library.

The Ones TPB

I was excited to learn there was a Brian Michael Bendis series that I hadn’t read before.  Turns out I had nothing to get worked up over.  Bendis fails to elevate any of his characters above the Chosen One tropes they’re all pulling from.  The plot is basic, the resolution is unsatisfying, and the art by Jacob Edgar doesn’t rise above serviceable.  I’m glad I borrowed this before buying it sight unseen.

Regret reading: No

Would read again: No

Would buy: No

Rating: Didn’t suck

New comics

New comics!

Absolute Wonder Woman 23

It’s so nice to have Hayden Sherman back.  He’s so perfect on this book.  And angry Diana’s awesome too.  Don’t fuck with her.  

Dark Knights of Steel II 2

Amanda Waller continues to execute her nefarious plans, and the only reason it’s not pissing me off is because of my anticipation of her inevitable comeuppance.  Otto Schmidt always rocks.  

Batman: Bad Seeds: Sunset 1

The start of a mega Bat-crossover that I only got because Matt Fraction did half the writing.  (With G. Willow Wilson on the other half.)  TLDR: Poison Ivy (Mayor of Gotham somehow) surrenders Gotham to the Parliament of Trees to terraform into a prehistoric floral mess.  Vandal Savage (GCPD Commissioner somehow) sets out to oppose her and cement his authoritarian control of the city.  It’s fine, but I won’t be picking anything up outside of Batman and Detective, which I’m already getting.  Oh, and Greg Rucka is doing a Gotham General two-parter that I’m trying out for sure.  (Hoping it’ll be in the same vein as Gotham Central.)

Peter Cullen, Library books

RIP Peter Cullen.  What a world we live in where the top headline of the day is that the voice of a 1980s cartoon character passed away.  It’s well deserved.  Thank you, sir, for the joy you brought to 5-year-old me and 45-year-old me.  

Some library books:

WildCATs 1-12

I tried this out because Matthew Rosenberg has a really good success rate.  So apparently he is capable of writing crap.  This reads like the worst of the 90s Image comics.  It’s even worse, because it doesn’t have the art of a Jim Lee or Marc Silvestri to go with it.  I was ready to quit three issues in, but forced myself to finish out of some morbid curiosity and hope that it would get better.  It never did.  

Regret reading: Yes

Would read again: No

Would buy: No

Rating: Hated

Push the Wall

Frank Miller’s memoirs and lessons learned over one of the most brilliant careers in the history of the medium.  It’s a little boilerplate in terms of the lessons, nothing that hasn’t been said before.  But it’s still fun to hear them in the context of creating Dark Knight Returns, Daredevil, and all of the other classics he’s created over the years.

Regret reading: No

Would read again: No

Would buy: No

Rating: Fine

New comics

More new comics!

What If: Runaways 1

I picked this up because Rainbow Rowell wrote it.  Unfortunately, it falls into the same two-prong trap of many What Ifs.

1. With only a single issue to tell the story, there isn’t enough space to properly explore the posited alternative scenario.  The story feels thin and superficial.

2. The heroes end up where they do in the primary timeline, maybe with a few minor modifications.  Which is what happens here.  

Five Years 1-5

Picked this up used for five bucks.  Totally worth it.  Terry Moore is just so easy to read.  He’s such a good writer, and an even better artist.  His stories flow so smoothly and completely engage me.  This induced me to go out and get more of the Moore comics that I’m missing from my collection.  (Serial and Parker Girls.)

Absolute Catwoman 3

The MacGuffin is lame and the tech in this story is advanced beyond reasonable believability.  But it’s fun enough and I miss reading an all-women team.  It’s been too long since Birds of Prey was good.  

Detective Comics 1112

Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin almost make me believe that the retconned-into-their-lives Prion is worth the emotional weight that Batman, Green Arrow, and Black Canary assign to him.  This is the best issue of the arc, and while I doubt Prion will ever be mentioned by anyone ever again, he was worth the introduction.

Flash 36

I shouldn’t have doubted Ryan North.  Green Arrow calls out the creepy nature of Wally’s new application of his powers.  It does feel a little out of character for Wally to not see it himself.  I’m going to chalk it up to him being excited by what’s essentially a pretty cool new toy, and that he’ll come to his senses pretty quickly.  

Powers 25 12

Brian Michael Bendis neatly wraps up the mystery, but as with most of his Powers stories, the fun was in the journey.  I’m super happy he came back to this with Michael Avon Oeming, and hope they’ll continue to produce more Powers.  

Last Driver 1

I’ll try anything that Sean Murphy writes and draws.  This story’s got fast cars and lots of action, so he’s definitely writing to his strengths.  I’ll stick around.  

Death Vigil 1

I never read volume 1 of this series by the legendary Stjepan Sejic.  This is more plot driven than the usual character-heavy fare of Sunstone and Fine Print, but I’ll stay with it for a while longer.  (And I’ll also try out the earlier story as well.)

New comics

New comics!

Absolute Batman 23

Conspiracy Bruce Wayne who doesn’t trust his friends or family gets really old really quickly.  I hope he snaps out of it soon, because I’m not interested in reading about this Batman.  The Clayface/Batman/Robins sequence was pretty cool, but the nonstop grimness of this series is starting to wear on me.  

DIE: Loaded 8

Okay, I think I’m done.  I didn’t even read this, just skimmed it.

100 Bullets: US of Anger 2

Same with this.  Buying it out of force of habit, time to buckle down and break the cycle.  

Fantastic Four 15

Another wonderful time travelling story from Ryan North, and the tribute to FF artists past was a lovely touch for this 65th anniversary issue.  And truly, RIP to Johnny’s glorious moustache.

Battle Beast 12

Yesss.  More insane fight sequences from the immortal Ryan Ottley.  I’d like to see his R-rated take on some Marvel characters.  Maybe a Wolverine/Sabretooth fight.  With this brief cessation in hostilities, the title goes on hiatus until next March.

Daredevil 5

I can’t bring myself to drop three titles in a week.  And Lee Garbett gets at least the beginning of arc number 2 from me.  I hope Stephanie Phillips finds her footing and brings something better next month.  This story was maybe replacement level.  

Wonder Woman 36

The second half of this title’s version of The Contest.  It’s pretty good, but I’ll always wish for Miken Janin’s art.  Looking forward to Tom King’s return next month.

Batman 12

A number of assassins come to town.  Batman fights a couple of them and Verity Pennyworth (the new butler) proves her worth.  She’s not as cool as Alfred (I mean, who is?), but she shows promise.  She’s got a ways to go though.  

Supergirl: Survive 3

Every issue of this title zigs a different zag, and it’s frankly mind boggling that Ethan S Parker and Griffin Sheridan haven’t driven the whole thing off the road yet.  In fact, they’ve kept it super fun and engaging.  Kara does the “Hal Jordan creating a lost city with a power ring in Emerald Twilight” thing while Mr Mxyzptlk looks on.  (And it’s one of the few times he’s not infuriating.).  And the cliffhanger promises a fourth new direction in as many issues.  Can’t wait. 

Assorted things

Last few new comics: 

DIE: Loaded 7

I know it’s been like three weeks since I read this, but I had to read it again to recall anything about it.  I should really cut the cord with this thing, but I don’t know what’s keeping me from doing so.  It’s strangely compelling despite not being all that memorable.  

Punisher vs Amazing Spider-Man 1

An iFanboy pick.  Certainly a well-made comic, with good art by Matteo Della Fonte and a fun 80’s style story by Dan Abnett. But it doesn’t grab, and I won’t be picking up the next issue.  

Stuff from the library:

Original Sin 

By Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson.  It explores the events that led up to and followed President Joe Biden’s decision to not run for a second term.  Ignoring the politics of it all, and assuming it’s factually correct, I enjoyed reading this in-depth account of a crazy presidential election and the personalities involved with how it all went down.

Regret reading: No

Would read again: Yes

Would buy: No

Rating: Pretty good

Alison

By Lizzy Stewart.  This graphic novel tells the story of an emerging artist in London during the 1980s.  It delves into her relationships, her growth, and her struggle to find herself. It’s fine, but nothing I’m going to remember

Regret reading: No

Would read again: No

Would buy: No

Rating: Didn’t suck

New comics

Battle Beast 11

It’s a fighting issue, which means it’s a good issue.

Fantastic Four 14

This is Ryan North at his best, a one-shot with a clever problem and an even more clever twist/solution.  Absolutely love it.  

Detective Comics 1111

Tom Taylor reveals how Prion died, and Batman unravels another twist.  Probably not worth buying w/out Mikel Janin’s art, but the combination is enough to keep me reading.  

Flash 35

So….basically Wally needs to make the city a surveillance state with himself as the camera in order to prevent all the crime.  How is this not creepy?  I’m surprised North hasn’t addressed the concern yet.  

Dark Knights of Steel II 1

Tom Taylor comes back to this universe, this time drawn by Otto Schmidt.  (Woots!)  A good start to this arc.  I’m not as invested in this Elseworld as I was with Taylor’s DCeased and Injustice, but there’s no denying he knows how to do an alternate reality.

New comics

I’ve got like 3 weeks of comics to recap here.  

Detective Comics Annual 2026

Batman teams up with Lobo (?!?), but it’s really an excuse for Tom Taylor to do his spin on Batman’s Black Mercy hallucination.  It’s not all that different from what you’d expect: married to Selina, kids, parents and Alfred still alive.  It’s competently done, but nothing that’s must-read.  

The backup story is a twisted little Pyg story that wasn’t bad at all, but still missable.  Not a waste of money, but I wouldn’t buy this again.  

Super Creepshow 1, 3-5

An anthology series I picked up on iFanboy’s recommendation.  It’s a bunch of creatives doing their EC Comics spin on superheroes.  Very Twilight Zone.  A fun read, and while I’m not going to go out of my way to find the missing second issue, I’d pick it up if it was convenient to do so.

Doomquest 3

Hee, Doom as George Washington.  Ryan North’s having so much fun with this, and he’s taking us along for the ride.  

Absolute Wonder Woman 22

Barbara succumbs to temptation and accepts the Cheetah spirit into her life.  Diana rescues Circe from Scylla.  Dillon Snook does a fine job, but I obviously miss Hayden Sherman.  

Absolute Batman 22

Absolute Harley Quinn’s origin is well told by Scott Snyder.  Batman eludes the Robins.  Joker adds a twist to the story at the end.  (Thomas Wayne is alive.  We think.)

Absolute Catwoman 2

Some well done action scenes, and I like what Snyder and Che Grayson are doing with some Bat-Universe staples.  No reason to quit yet.  

Daredevil 4

Is this worth picking up for the Lee Garbett art?  Because the story is very mid for me.  There’s some promise with the detective freezing in the middle of a crisis, but that’s not enough.  Maybe another issue or two.  

Barbara Gordon: Breakout 3

Really not living up to the promise of the premise.  It’s off after this issue.

Assorted Crisis Events 9

A down-on-his-luck guy has no choice but to become a temporal soldier, trapped in a shitty existence.  It’s not Deniz Camp’s best work, but it doesn’t suck.  

Powers 25 11

The mystery continues as the killer is possibly revealed.  Standard good Bendis/Oeming material here.

Wonder Woman 35

Stephanie Williams does her take on Diana’s contest victory, the one that won her the mantle of Wonder Woman.  I wonder how much of this is plotted out by Tom King. It’s well done, and goes a little deeper into Diana’s psychology at the time, but it’s not required reading or anything.  

Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Spider-Man: Brand New Day

What’s the special sauce w/ the MCU Spider-Man movies?  How do they consistently stand out from the rest of the pack?  Let’s list the ways:

1. Tom Holland.  He continues to shine.  This go around, he plays the reluctant loner, forced to work alone to keep his friends safe.  It’s a well-worn trope, but he pulls it off well in a way that doesn’t make you want to smack him upside the back of his head.  (See the end of Tobey Maguire’s first Spider-Man.)  

Yet through all of the depression, Peter’s innate joy for life still comes through.  His “That is so cool” when the Hand strike a kickass fight pose, while he’s getting his ass kicked, is his character in a nutshell.

2. Zendaya.  So perfect in this role.  The scene where she kisses/fools Spider-Man pulled all my emotional strings.  Phenomenal.

3. Sadie Sink as Jean Grey.  Was anyone surprised by the reveal?  Regardless, she’ll be just fine as the MCU’s first X-Man.  Particularly loved her scene with Marisa Tomei (yay!).  This movie did a great job of hitting all the feels for me.

4. There are some gorgeous camera shots from director Destin Daniel Cretton and cinematographer Brett Pawlak.  There’s one where the camera spins around during a fight/chase sequence that I just loved.

5. I’m a sucker for the “hero shares a silent moment with a kid” thing (See: Cap with the kid in the museum, Andrew Garfield at the end of Amazing Spider-Man 2.)  Also, Peter getting a chance to see what he means to the city was sweet.

6. I liked that Scorpion was a misdirect as the main villain of the film.  And that the finale didn’t fallback to a generic battle with huge explosions.  

7. Peter’s last scene with Ned.  There may not be a magical kiss, but there’s a magical handshake.  (And I still think the kiss will work, just like it did at the end of Chuck.  MJ was possessed the first time, didn’t count.)

8. It’s always a pleasure to see Florence Pugh as Yelena.  

9. Heh, Naomi Watts voiced EV, Spidey’s AI.  Excellent.  

What didn’t work as well

1. I don’t buy evil Jean Grey.  Before the reveal, her actions, especially when torturing Peter, evince a cruelty that doesn’t fit with her character, even within the context of her single-minded quest.  Also, her plan really doesn’t make any sense at all.  With her powers, jumping into Director Metzger’s mind from the get go would have been much cleaner w/ a far greater chance of success.  But then there wouldn’t have been a movie.  

2. Peter develops organic webshooters and there’s no reference to Tobey from the last movie?

3. I’m on the fence with funny Punisher.  Jon Bernthal plays it well, and Garth Ennis has put to rest the notion that Frank can’t be both grim and hilarious, but it didn’t quite sit right with me.  

4. Good to see Mark Ruffalo, and the Hulk fight scenes was pretty good.  But he still felt shoehorned in.  

5. Not enough Ned, not nearly enough MJ.  These movies ultimately sing because of the relationship between the three.  The too-few scenes we get with them only reinforce that truth.

6. Rarely a fan of “whipping up next-gen tech in the back of my garage” gimmicks.  He may be a genius, but Peter’s no Tony Stark.

7. Cretton did a superb job with this film, but it also means this is time not spent on Shang-Chi 2.  Where the hell is that movie??????????????????

This is the kind of Marvel movie I know and love.  Nice to see it can still be done.  Really hoping the Russos can bring more of the same in December.  Also can’t wait for Peter and MJ to get back together.  

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: Yes

Would buy on DVD: Yes

Rating: Good

Updated MCU rankings

1. Avengers: Endgame

2. Captain America: Civil War

3. Captain America: Winter Soldier

4. Spider-Man: No Way Home

5. Avengers: Infinity War

6. Shang-Chi

7. Avengers: Age of Ultron

8. Ant-Man/Wasp

9. Avengers

10. Spider-Man: Brand New Day

11. Spider-Man: Homecoming

12. Captain America

13. Dr Strange 2

14. Thunderbolts

15. Thor: Love and Thunder

16. Spider-Man: Far From Home

17. Iron Man 2

18. Black Widow

19. Fantastic Four: First Steps

20. Black Panther

21. Iron Man

22. Ant-Man

23. Dr Strange

24. Deadpool & Wolverine

25. Iron Man 3

26. Thor 3

27. Captain Marvel

28. Thor

29. Thor 2

30. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

31. Guardians of the Galaxy

32. Guardians of the Galaxy 2

33. Guardians of the Galaxy 3

34. Hulk

35. Eternals

36. Captain America: Brave New World

37. Ant-Man/Wasp: Quantumania