BABS: THE BLACK ROAD SOUTH #1 by Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows. The wildest barbarian adventurer you will ever be exposed to is back in an all new mini-series. Babs, fresh from her last adventure, finds herself in the arena with the expected grisly results. While the victor gets the spoils, the victor also gets really drunk and loses the spoils too, resulting in the start of the next great adventure. Funny, foul, shocking, sexy and just about everything you could expect from this team. Highly recommended if you’re not easily offended.
BARBARIC: THE LONG DEATH #1 by Michael Moreci and Nathan Gooden. Not a title I’ve read before…didn’t even know it existed…but I was captured by the black bag declaring “featuring Lilith”. Now, I loved that run from Vault, so I dropped ten bucks to get it. What I discover was that Lilith is the Howell nude cover of Lilith. I also discovered there have been four previous runs of Barbaric runs and this continues from the previous run. It’s an unusual cast of characters, including a cursed barbarian, an equally cursed witch and a cursed talking axe, and their journey to the village of the witch. While not as funny as BABS, it does have some neat moments and has made me a fan because of its’ humor.
BATMAN/DEADPOOL #1 by Grant Morrison, Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Joshua Williamson, Scott Snyder, Mariko Tamaki, G. Willow Wilson, Dan Mora, Hayden Sherman, Bruno Redondo, Amanda Conner, and Denys Cowan. DC comes back with their own team-up between companies. Batman and Deadpool and Cassie Nova, Constantine and Doctor Strange, Nightwing and Laura Kinney, Harley and the Hulk, and Statis and Ms. Marvel. Nothing earthshaking here but some fun stuff and some silly stuff too.
BATMAN/GREEN ARROW/THE QUESTION #1 by Gabriel Hardman and Romulo Fajardo Jr. In this Black Label title, Oliver Queen is tasked by the Vic Sage version of The Question to help in an operation with personal ties for Ollie, as Queen Industries have ties to a project called Arcadia. Batman also is involved but mostly as a back story to the action until the end of the book, which leads to he and Ollie being face-to-face somewhere in Greenland. The story is a true slow-burn, especially when Batman gets involved and the art looks great. I do love a good non-canon book.
THE BEAUTY #1 by Jeremy Haun, Jason Hurley and Emanuela Lupacchino. This is the second series to tap into this wonderfully creepy story. A sexually transmitted disease gives people the perfect look and body, so everyone wants it. But there is a disadvantage as, at some time in the future, the constant fever they feel results in them burning from the inside out. The series follows the characters as detectives look into the disease and the involvement of both the government and a secret society. The story is killer…pun intended…and the original series from Image is in production as a mini-series produced by Ryan Murphy and starring Evan Peters. Highly recommended!
CAPES #1 by Robert Kirkman and Mark Englert. Welcome back to the world of INVINCIBLE in this ultra-violent tale featuring a whole bunch of supporting cast members. And there is a good reason as this is a reprint of of when the series ran in 2004 under the name MASKS. Kirkman tells readers that it will be reprints until issue #7. So, if you don’t have the original series, pick it up. If you do, sit tight until issue #7 drops..
CLOAK OR DAGGER #1 by Justina Ireland and Lorenzo Tammetta. An AGE OF REVELATION spin-off book. With the world we knew gone and Revelation ruling the world, Cloak and Dagger are simply trying to build a safe space for people. And when the Von Strucker twins begin kidnapping people, to turn them into mutants, Tandy gets involved and that means her partner, now a father, will be dragged into it too. This one was okay, although I would have liked more than just a plot that seemed to be a little bare.
CROWNSVILLE #1 by Rodney Barnes and Elia Bonetti. Once upon a time, there was a State Hospital near Baltimore to treat African Americans with mental illness. What was a caring facility turned into a place of abuse. 30 years later, someone revisits the place, trying to find what lurks there and how they are connected to his life. Barnes has written some amazing stuff as of late and this, along with Bonetti’s amazing illustrations, make this a winner.
THE DARKNESS #1 by Marc Silvestri and Ed Benes. I have to admit that I was a big fan of the original, classic run of this title and the character itself. This new book is both a needed reboot and a tie-in with the current WITCHBLADE series. It is also a bit more of needed origin story as Mafia Hitman Jackie Estacado eventually gives in to his curse and does so in pretty grisly fashion. And having Sara Pezzini make a bit of a cameo further tied it together. Silvestri co-created this character with David Wohl and Garth Ennis, so he knows Jackie well. And Benes art is perfect for it!
DREAD THE HALLS #1 by Jordan Hart, Chris Ryall, Luana Vecchio, Lee Ferguson, Walter Pax, Keithan Jones, and Fabio Veras. A huge anthology of Christmas themed tales. A lot of fun with a wealth of styles in the art and some humor scattered on a few stories.
EROTECH #1 by Sean Haines and Geoffrey Krawczyk. Here’s a little throwback to something that feels like a classy Underground Comic. In short, it’s the story of a company making an A.I. sex doll. And there’s some issues with it, despite the obvious moral ones. In the back up, it’s the adventure of A.L.I. Joe. It’s a fun little comic but certainly not for everyone.
EXPATRIATE X-MEN #1 by Eve L. Ewing and Francesco Mortarino. An AGE OF REVELATION spin-off book. Mystique’s team, made up of Rift, Ms. Marvel, Bronze, and Melee, head off on a mission to rescue Lyrebird. After a successful extraction, Mystique informs them that they need to bring Lyrebird to the Darkchilde, meaning this is a mission that they may not come back from. As far as these spin-offs go, this one started out a bit confusing because the team rescues Lyrebird, who looks an awfully lot like Nightcrawler and we don’t find out who it really is until halfway through the book. Far from the best of the spin-offs thus far.
FIRE AND ICE: NEKRON #1 by Sara Frazetta and Geoff Isherwood. If you have read any of the FIRE AND ICE issues/one-shots, you know that Nekron is one of those characters who teeters between good and evil. This is his origin story. Nice tale from Frank Frazetta’s daughter and so awesome to see Isherwood’s art again; it has been too long. Perfect for fans of the series while we wait for a new issue of the regular series.
GRAY LADY #1 by Mike Benson, Adam Glass, and Ken Lashley. It has been a long wait for this title to finally appear; many months after being solicited. The hook for me was that Ken Lashley was responsible for the interior art. It begins with a car crash and some family members die. As the book goes on, we learn who actually HAS died, as it appears early on, it was the son. It turns out, SPOILER, it’s actually the mom and she becomes hell bent to keep her son safe from a woman is responsible for harming other children. It is a major, unexpected swerve but we’ve seen it before…especially in THE SIXTH SENSE. It’s not bad but it’s not great but Lashley’s art shines!
GIANT SIZE CRIMINAL #1 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Brubaker and Phillips have been crafting a wonderful world over the course of nearly two decades and populating it with his wealth of characters. These are amazing crime comics often centered around the Patterson and Lawless families. This one-shot further touches on the book’s legacy. What I love a lot is the use of newsprint for the story, further giving it a Retro feel to it. Highly recommended!
HANK HOWARD PIZZ DETECTIVE IN THE TWO HOLLYWOODS #1 by Robert Venditti and David Lapham. Not much to say here because it is exactly what it says it is. What you need to know is that it is a black and white comic, printed on newsprint. And it feels like an extension of Lapham’s legendary STRAY BULLETS in the look and the tone. Consider this a stepping stone into his massive, nearly 100 issue run. Good stuff!
THE INFERNAL HULK #1 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Nic Klein. Johnson and Klein’s recent run on THE HULK has been up and down, becoming more of a Horror story than a superhero one. This title continues exactly where the last left off. The Hulk is now truly a monster: misshaped and ultra-violent, as seen when he destroys the Army in graphic fashion. And this is not even a Red Band title! It’s brutal to the point of truly horrifying. And, fear not, Bruce Banner is here too but has been separated from The Hulk. Where does he fit in this? It remains to be seen.
IT KILLED EVERYONE BUT ME #1 by Ryan Parrott and Letizia Cadonici. I love a good slasher novel…heck: one of my best friends writes amazing psychological thrillers. In 1996, a girl survives a massacre involving her best friends. Now, twenty years later, new murders similar to what happened in 1996, has begun in her hometown, leading to her working with a detective to get the answers as she has to finally reveal what happened on that night long ago. The story is intriguing, especially the flashbacks to the event. And the art is straight out of the SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN in style. It’s only a five issue run and should certainly scratch the itch for folks looking for the next Horror comic.
THE LAST
WOLVERINE by Saladin Ahmed and Edgar Salazar. An AGE OF REVELATION spin-off
book. Before you think you know who this is, I guarantee you don’t It’s not
LIQUIDATOR #1 by Peter Milligan and Piotr Kowalski. I’m a huge Milligan fan as he writes such amazing, thought provoking stuff, with some of his best being SHADE, EGYPT, HELLBLAZER, the completely underrated X-STATIX and so many more. In this new series, Aubrey Street arrives in the late 19th Century looking for a copy of THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE that won’t be published for close to another 100 years. And there’s a good reason as it’s place in 1891 has effected the life of a servant girl and Aubrey, whose job is to fix anomalies in time, needs to find the book and fix time. Beautiful art coupled with a time-tripping story.
OMEGA KIDS #1 by Tony Fleecs and Andres Genolet. An AGE OF REVELATION spin-off book.Quentin Quire is running a hit squad for Revelation, designed to take out dissenters to the rule. But these kids are all on board and should be watching their backs and their minds. Fleecs writes a good story, but Im a fan of his work anyway. And the art works too.
ORDAINED #1 by Robert Venditti and Trevor Hairsine. So here is a strange little book. It follows a priest who regularly is called to the deathbeds of patients to offer last rites. He ends up giving those to a dying man who has participated in decades of gangland violence and confesses to the priest. But he makes a miraculous recovery and sends his gang to eliminate the person who knows all of the criminal’s secrets. But the priest is a former Navy SEAL and he is fighting back. It’s a great story with an unexpected hero. Printed on newsprint just like the old days. And Hairsine’s art is beautiful.
PLANET SHE-HULK by Stephanie Phillips and Aaron Kuder. After the recent space-faring mini-series, She-Hulk has been asked to stay on Planet Sakaar for a week to watch over things. But that week turns into 10 days and now Jennifer is being forced to be a guest at the wedding of Korven Blackjaw: something she really has no interest in being at. But when wedding crashers show up and things turn deadly, it becomes a crime drama. Kuder’s art, as always, shines and the story has fun moments that harkens back to the Byrne run. I don’t see this as a long-running series but should be a fun mini-series.
RADIOACTIVE SPIDER-MAN #1 by Joe Kelly and Kev Walker. An AGE OF REVELATION spin-off book. In the Age of Revelation, almost everyone has been changed. So too is Peter Parker. And Peter Parker, mutated as he is, is in a relationship with Cecilia Reyes, who is trying to find a cure for him. When a group goes looking for Sinister’s labs, Peter gets involved and finds…Aunt May? Whoa! This had just enough beats to it to make it worth a continued read.
RED SONJA: NEW YEAR’S SPECIAL 2025 by Dan Panosian and Valeria Burzo. I’m typically not a fan of these Dynamite RED SONJA books because, no matter how good the story might be, the art always seems to fall by the wayside in style. But this looked interesting and went there. In typical fashion, Sonja runs into some folks and gets roped into a mission. The trick is the mission is not what it first appeared to be, leading Sonja to have to make a choice. A simple story with a bit of a predictable ending. Again, the art saves it.
SHIVER SUSPENSTORIES #1 by Ben H. Winters, George Northy, Melissa Flores, David M. Booher, Sami Kivela, Dan McDaid, Leomacs, and Lukas Ketner. Oni unleashes another EC inspired series of Horror tales. Like the stories in other titles, some are really good(the Hanukkah one, for example), and some are just okay(the serial killer and mistletoe). As always, your mileage will vary but if you’re a fan of the old EC’s, it’s worth a look.
SORCEROR SUPREME #1 by Steve Orlando and Bernard Chang. I was determined not to pick this up, based on Orlando being the writer, as I was not a fan of his earlier take on the Scarlet Witch. But I had a few dollars extra in the wallet and jumped, mostly because of Chang’s art. And still not a fan. The book has Legacy numbering that I assume goes back to the original DOCTOR STRANGE run. And there are guest appearances by Wanda’s sons, Clea, and Chthon, along with the supporting cast from her previous titles and even when Strange wasn’t in Asgard. Plus a certain ghost dog who is my favorite character in the recent Strange runs. But I cannot get behind it…just not my Wanda. And I’m not a fan of “smoking hot Agatha Harkness”!
SPEED RACER: TALES FROM THE ROAD #1 by Mark London, David Pepose, Sebastian Piriz, and Alessio Zanna. Definitely designed for fans of the original series and the current comics. The main story by London and Piriz is a mostly silent one starring Racer X and relies on images to tell the bulk of the story. The second tale stars Spittle. The first is a serous tale while the second has many humorous elements. A fun ride that will resonate with fans.
SURVIVE #1 by Robert Venditti and Doug Braithwaite. What happens when a Russian submarine on its’ way to Cuba suffers an explosion that kills all the crew but one? Even more important, what happens when that crewman finds out there is an American on board and he may have been responsible? Can they put aside their differences to survive? That’s the premise in this beautiful looking mini-series. While the main story in the first issue is a bit short, with previews of two other series, it gets to the point and ends with a cliffhanger.
TEETHER: PARENTAL GUIDANCE #1 by David Hutchinson. This is a weird one and I only jumped on it was because of the cover. This is an Eldritch Horror tale that follows the same road as the previous TEETHER tales. A boy and his father meet `a mysterious girl living in the woods and suddenly find themselves trapped in a cabin by horrific creatures; creatures that may have a connection to the girl. Rendered in an interesting, mostly pencil and ink style, the story is god if you’re a fan of Horror. It’s not on the same level as something like 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, but it’s pretty cool!
THE TERMINATOR METAL #1 by Declan Shalvey, Rory McConville, and Lorenzo Re. I was a fan of the last TERMINATOR series and was looking forward to this. And with a variant cover by Bob Layton that channeled Barry Windsor Smith, I was really excited. But the art and story left me cold as a survivor and his Terminator travel the wasteland with a very predictable ending. I find myself craving a continuing series that continues from issue to issue and not just one-off stories. Give me that and I’ll be there for it. This one? Not for me.
ULTIMATE ENDGAME #1 by Deniz Camp,
Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson, and Jonas Scharf. The end begins here. The Maker,
that renegade, quite insane Reed Richards from the original Ultimate Universe, formed
a new Ultimate Universe where his group of super-villains ruled. But Howard
Stark locked him away in The City while Howard’s son and others fought against
the autocratic rule. But that seal was only good for two years and time is up.
It’s weird and trippy and the end is bananas! My biggest complaint is that this
first issue drops before the final issue of the other series has ended, meaning
plotlines are kind of scattered.
UNDEAD-POOL #1 by Tim Seeley and Carlos Magno. The Merc with a Mouth is dead and fighting with his own brain that wants to eat people; even though he is still a merc for hire. His first task is to take out The Warriors: a group of teens inspired by old Avengers videos. One by one he takes them out except for the girl inspired by Daredevil. And she may be joining a new team as Cable, now more Warlock than Warlock once was, wants her on his all-new H-Force team. Great stuff if you like zombies and Deadpool. And the art is great!
VAMPIRELLA HELLDAY 2025 SPECIAL #1 by Frank Tieri and Mariano Benitez-Chapo. The other Holidays want to hire Vampi to save Christmas but when she finally finds Santa, he’s pole dancing in a kinky nightclub. What results is a wild ride against evil entities. Non canon but a lot of fun!
THE WILLOF DOOM #1 by Chip Zdarsky and CAFU. Coming directly out of ONE WORLD UNDER DOOM, Doom cut a deal with the Living Tribunal to bring his goddaughter Valeria back to life. While all seems back to normal. Doom’s robots are on the loose and that’s where a lot of the plot rests, not to mention Thunderbolt Ross planting a United State flag in Latveria, which has caused some issues. And let’s not forget that Doom has left Doom’s island to Valeria and that will surely lead this book and story into THE DUNGEONS OF DOOM. A nice next chapter if your followed the mini-series. And when did Thunderbolt Ross start to look like an aged Race Bannon?
YOUNGBLOOD by Rob Liefeld and Juan Manuel Rodriguez. Welcome to the Eighties once more! Rob Liefeld resurrects his classic team in an all new series and it starts now. All your favorites are on hand: Die-Hard, Vogue, Badrock, Chapel, and Shaft. Rodriguez art truly brings this title back to the glory days of this title and it feels like it never missed a beat. And having a surprise batch of characters come by at the end was a supreme act of genius…if you get where I’m going with that! Face it: this was fun back in the day and still holds that same charm today. And yes: Rob still cannot draw feet!
X-MEN: BOOK OF REVELATION #1 by Jed MacKay and Netha Diaz. An AGE OF REVELATION spin-off book. This story follows the power struggle with Revelation’s Choristers and Seraphim. The story is compelling and the art is great.
X-MEN: AGE OF RELEVATION FINALE #1 by Jed
MacKay, Ryan Stegman, and Netho Diaz. So he we are at the end of the three
month long alternate (possible) future event. All the forces from both the
X-Men, or what’s left, and Revelation’s forces, come together in a final
battle. In the end, heroes live, others die, Revelation wins and stuff is put
in place to have an effect on the core titles for some time to come, thanks to
a serious twist ending! Worth it just for the ending!
X-VENGERS #1 by Jason Loo and Sergio Oavila. An AGE OF REVELATION spin-off book. In the new Revelation timeline, there is a new team made up of Moonstar, Hawkeye, Shang-Chi, Cannonball, Water Widow, Vision, the Variable Man, and all have been changed by the Mutant Virus. And they end up battling with the Kree, the Accuser and the Supreme Intelligence. It’s kind of fun, especially seeing all these characters mutated. But it could have been better.
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