ARCHIE #1 by Ben H. Winters and Fabio Moon. When I heard that there was a new ARCHIE series coming, I was hopeful. Will we get a new version of ARCHIE AFTERLIFE? Will we get something more real world, as we saw during the LIFE WITH ARCHIE storyline that ended with the redhead’s death? Nope. We get a bunch of stories representing modern takes on the classic tropes involving Archie and his Riverdale friends. But they just don’t have the classic feel and most of it falls flat. They have even gone as far as having a word jumble and a pin-up page. There is also a SABRINA series coming in October that appears to be in the same vein. Even ARCHIE IN HELL, coming in November, looks weak. Sorry kids: Oni may be the new home but go find some classic issues at your LCS or a Con.
THE BIG SHAKEDOWN #1 by Jordan Blum, Tim Seeley, and Scott Koblish. In the future, the big, long prophesized earthquake has hit California. Five years later and people are doing whatever they need to to survive on a daily basis. One of those folks is Ester Blanco: a former private investigator who is tasked to find a missing child. Where that goes from there is into a weird adventure with some of the seediest. Add into that, her need to earn money to pay for an excavating team to find something she desperately wants. The story is engaging, the characters are filled with a ton of mystery and the art works. Looking forward to the next installment.
BLUDWIRE #1 by Paul Allor and Ermitis Blanco. Sometimes, a comic I have never heard about or even considered grabs me because of the cover. And that’s the case here. Two people riding a motorcycle through the air in a dynamic pose caught my eye. Then I saw it was from Mad Cave and they have been turning out some pretty cool independent comics lately. It’s got a powerful woman of color named Ace, a Hexbot Romance robot, guns, cops and tons of action. Ace is a self described “sentient freak” Zora has been assigned to free and Ace is about making sure Zora does not have to deal with what Ace has gone through. I know: not a lot to drag a reader in for. But I expect it to reveal more as the story goes. Art is great and the story will leave you wanting more.
CONCRETE: STARS OVER SAND #1 by Paul Chadwick. One of my favorite series from the late 1980’s was always Chadwick’s CONCRETE. Concrete was once a normal man who had his brain transplanted by aliens into a large stone body. It was so filled with warmth and heart as this person has to navigate the world. It will not appeal to everyone. The art is beautiful and the story is wonderful. Give it a bit to wash over you and you may find this is a great distraction from meaningless superhero tales.
CROWBOUND #1 by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen. This is a really dark Fantasy story and, considering it is coming from Lemire, known for such unsettling titles as NOBODY, SWEET TOOTH, ROYAL CITY, and THE BONE ORCHARD books, it’s not totally unexpected. A woman and her daughter live near a place called The Factory, where children are supposed to join when they reach thirteen. But Rose Lee’s daughter is taken a year earlier, leading to her making a deal with someone known as The Scarecrow Queen, where she needs to sacrifice her soul to get her daughter back. Dark, horrific and made even more so by Nguyen’s art, this is perfect for fans of dark thrillers.
CULT-DE-SAC #1 by Cullen Bunn and Fico Ossio. When a man gets a major promotion, he moves his wife and two children to a residential neighborhood called Willow Park. It’s their dream home until they meet the head of the Homeowner’s Association and things get weird, complete with neighbors saying they should pull their kids out of the local school and homeschool them. What they soon discover is their neighbors are all a part of a demonic cult and it looks like our family is being looked at for possible sacrifice. Yeah . . . it gets dark, REALLY FAST! It’s a fun, scary story that hits all the right notes: cult business, creepy neighbors and a terrified family. Recommended.
DEATH VIGIL #1 by Stjepan Sejic. After too many years away, this book is finally back! The Death Vigil is a group of dead people who have been gifted(can’t get that gift until you die) who come together to fight demons. Oh yeah: they are led by Bernadette, who is The Grim Reaper. It is wild and crazy and looks amazing! There is a bunch of back story here that may lead you to find the trade paperback of the original books from some time back. But I recommend taking the dive. It’s got a group that has great camaraderie and often are wise-cracking with each other.
DENVER #1 by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray. And Pier Brito. Well, we have another post-apocalyptic tale here where everything has spiraled out of control and only a few American cities remained; specifically Denver. Basically, it has become a police state and one police officer is trying to do his job but also care for his family. Originally a Kickstarter, the book is dark and gritty, with an art style that echoes Richard Corben. And the cliffhanger ending is enough to drag be back in for another go.
THE DIRT BENEATH THE DEVIL #1 by Dan Panosian and David Ferracci. Here’s an interesting Western Horror tale from Panosian, whose work I always seek out. Set at the end of the 19th Century, a young woman travels to Kansas City for the reading of her father’s will; a father who was a bit of a devil to most who knew him. Along with other heirs, they are forced to ride on horseback from Kansas to Wichita along her father’s route that led to his fortune. Oh yeah: the woman is assigned an almost demonic horse that is tied to her father’s past. That connection between her and the horse is where things get real interesting. This is a thriller with Horror elements and I am all in for it!
THE DOGSITTER #1 by Jamie S. Rich and Megan Levens. So, here’s an odd one that normally wouldn’t end up in my weekly pull pile but, since a lot of Ignition Press books as of late have been really good(looking at you RIPCORD and INNARDS), I thought I would give it a go. It’s about a veterinary student who is working two gigs to make ends meet: working at a flower shop and also being a dogsitter. She’s primarily sitting for an executive who pushes her buttons with her demands. At the same time, she meets this guy at a party but he’s somehow connection to her dog mom boss. See where this is going? Welcome to the love triangle! The story is pure romantic comedy , but the art is nice. May not be your cup of tea . . . just saying.
ELRIC: THE SLEEPING SORCERESS #1 by Julien Blondel, Jean-Luc Cano, and Valentin Secher. Elric is one of those characters you either get or you don’t. This is an adaptation of Michael Moorcock’s original story by Blondel, Cano and Secher and then add in translation by Marc Bourbon-Crook. The art is okay, feeling very much like a Dynamite Red Sonya story and that’s fine. Titan Comics has offered up other Elric tales and this is just another. Overall, it’s okay but not necessarily for newcomers to the character.
EXCOMMUNICATED #1 by Jeremy Robinson and Taigo Palma. What happens when a devout nun named Sister Josephine receives a call from a priest telling her he needs her help with an exorcism. She arrives, he denies the call, and he soon dies, leaving her to finish the rite. The priest and the possessed are dead and now the church, calling what happened unsanctioned, excommunicates her. But her drama does not end there as she is being hunted and it appears the hunter is also possessed. Robinson, besides having numerous stand alone novels and series to his credit, is also the person behind the amazing NECTAR. Palma’s art fits nicely and this was a fun, entertaining read worth checking out.
EXQUITISITE CORPSES: RASCAL RANDY #1 by Tyler Boss and Dylan Burnett. Did you read EXQUITISITE CORPSES? It was a fun ride and I loved it and Rascal Randy-a giant rabbit(maybe) was a breakout character in the book. Well, now we get a new story with a new cast and a kid who is a major Randy fan. There is also a murder or two and obviously Randy is the chief suspect. But is he the guy? This book will confuse the heck out of you without reading the mini-series but will only help to add more to his legend if you did. Again, recommended if you read the series or bought the trade.
FEAR OF DEATH #0: A RACHEL RISING STORY by Terry Moore. If you know me, you know I am a HUGE fan of Moore’s entire collection of works over the last 30+ years. And his supernatural series RACHEL RISING is my second favorite behind STRANGERS IN PARADISE. In this prequel, 10 year old Zoe witnesses a brutal murder and that leads to visits from the Angel of Death and Lilith. For those of us who loved the original series and the way it has connected into his entire universe, this is a perfect addition. Highly recommended!
FIXATION #1 by Amy Chase and Savanna Mayer. What happens when the superfan of a slasher movie series wins a contest and gets to stay in the house from these famous films, despite the fact that a fan has previously been killed in this location recently? That’s the premise of FIXATION. There is an interesting cast of characters including someone previously associated with the series who has not only been banned from the location, the fact they are hanging around just makes you wonder if they are the killer. Intriguing story with average art. But it does have potential, especially for fans of slasher films.
THE FOLK OF DOONEY HOLLOW #1 by Jeremy Haun and Alex Lins. Here’s a strange tale from the guy who gave us THE BEAUTY. In the Ozarks, there is a hidden village called Dooney Hollow where people who go to it have a tendency to just disappear. A young graduate student has come here to study the locals and research the folklore. The locals includes a nice old man and his severely compromised wife. What our heroine finds is an area with signs of rituals, a mysterious little girl and a monster that acts as a guardian for Dooney Hollow, keeping the residents trapped. It is a dark, somewhat creepy story and a great start with lots of mysterious moments ending with the meeting of the monster..
THE FOREVER HOME by Christian Ward and Sami Kivela. Honestly, the title and minimalistic cover is what first attracted me to this. The world as we know it has ended but one man has built a special home for himself and his family to protect them from the horrors, mostly unseen, on the outside. And time moves differently in here as every year outside represents only twenty minutes inside. The family, including the two children, are essentially trapped inside. Until THAT moment when it all goes badly. To say more what be a major spoiler. Let’s just say that things change rapidly in the last few pages and their little world will never be the same. From the shocking splash page in the beginning to the final splash page, you quickly understand that this world is not the world you know. It is a great first chapter and where it goes from here is anyone’s guess.
GASTRONOMIQUE #1 by Marguerite Bennett and Helena Masellis. If you are a fan of erotic body horror tales, this is the book for you! Set in the days of the French Revolution, it begins with a female spy sitting in a cell and gets informed by her sister that the imprisoned woman’s niece has been killed and eaten by a strange man named Tarrae, who apparently can eat anything and everything. By the way, Tarrae was truly known as the hungriest man in history. No joke! He was a real dude who lived during the time of the French Revolution, so we have some historical accuracy thrown into the tale. The sister takes the imprisoned woman’s place and is executed. Now the woman, Lady Charlotte, sets about to track down Tarrae and enact her revenge. It’s a decidedly weird thriller with moments of eroticism and gore. Bennett’s work is hit or miss sometimes and this one had potential and I hope it gets a bit better as it goes. At the moment, it’s good…but not great.
GIANT-SIZE YOUNGBLOOD #1 by Rob Liefeld. Okay…our boy suckered me in again! YOUNGBLOOD was one of the early Image titles and, despite gripes about Liefeld’s artwork and stories, I always found them fun. This, however, was a colossal seven dollar waste of time, for me at least for me. What we get is a 28 page fight. Cool! But then the rest of the book is filled with alternate/variant covers from past YOUNGBLOOD books. I’m paying SEVEN DOLLARS for a pin-up book with a lackluster story? Yeah…I don’t care if the story ends with TO BE CONTINUED, I’m out!
HACK/SLASH-MERCY SPARX: A SLICE OF HELL #1 by Josh Blaylock and Joe Song. Devil’s Due represents another lost classic featuring two of their most popular characters. Originally released in 2010, it tells the tale of an undead serial killer that comes back to life within the confines of a Catholic church. It’s up to Cassie Hack to team up…sort of…with Sparx, who has her own issues involving religion, to catch the killer; although each one has their own agenda. It’s a fun read, although knowing some back story about these characters might help when understanding said agendas.
HAMMERFIST #1 by Rick Remender and Steve Epting. This is the story of Mike Denton: a contract killer dealing with his drug addiction. Oh yeah: he’s also a bit of a deadbeat dad and a sleazeball. Desperate for money to feed his drug habit, he takes a job involving a bank robbery. Simple, right? When things go badly, one of the robbers opens a portal and that leads to the discovery and use of the Hammerfist. I will admit, it’s a bit weird and feels like RESEVOIR DOGS and SUPERNATURAL had a baby. The art is crisp and sharp and the story weaves between Mike’s need for drugs and his love for his estranged daughter.
HANK HOWARD PIZZA DETECTIVE: THE INSIDE JOB #1 by Robert Venditti and David Lapham. Another mini-series from Venditti and Lapham. It is basically an anthology with a handful of short stories. I love a fun detective story with an interesting character and have been a huge fan of Lapham’s since STRAY BULLETS. So, this was an easy fit for me. I’m sure many fans will be put off by the use of newsprint pages and delivering a black and white comic. Personally, it is totally in my wheelhouse!
HANK HOWARD PIZZA DETECTIVE: FAIR PLAY #1 by Robert Venditti and David Lapham. Hot on the heels of HANK HOWARD PIZZA DETECTIVE: THE INSIDE JOB #1, we get another mini-series from Venditti and Lapham. A robbery from a fair results in Howard commandeering a pizza food truck and dealing out justice to get the money back. Short, sweet and fun.
JUGHEAD PIEMAGEDDON #1 by Tom King and Dan Parent. Okay…I caved. I jumped on a new Archie-centric story for one reason and one reason only: Tom King. In the future, an elderly Archie and Jughead reminisce over a pie eating contest that went horribly wrong. That’s it, folks! The highlight is a wonderful two-page spread involving pie fights with a ton of cameos from the Archie universe. Kind of disappointing. Me thinks Mr. King sticks to what he is really good at!
JUNK PUNCH #1 by Paul Tobin, Carlos Javier Olivares, and Colleen Coover. Welcome to one of the stranger new titles as of late. Thank you Mad Cave! Clara Castaneele has a chemical affliction that leads her to punch people in the crotch! Yeah . . . that’s exactly what I said! And she gets hired to fight a missing soccer goal. And Clara is kind of crazy. She likes to drink, “do sex”(yes…that’s a quote!), and enlists her friend Medium Cotton to assist her. She is also doing this while having assassins chase her and you know she has no problem punching those evil doers in the junk! It is a crazy ride. Picture Harley Quinn amped up to eleven!
THE KARMAN BLADE #1 by Darcy Van Poelgeest and Ian Bertram. The duo previously responsible for LITTLE BIRD and PRECIOUS METAL is back with a new Science Fiction/Fantasy series. In a distant galaxy, a scavenger and former soldier stumbles upon a weapon made from dark matter called the Karman Blade. The discovery and subsequent energy spike alerts evil Commander vane, who wants the blade for himself. Unfortunately, that blade is now permanently bonded to the hand of our hero. The story is weird but compelling and the art is almost hypnotic. This will not appeal to everyone as it looks like the mythology that will go with it, much like PREVIOUS METAL was, will be very heavy.
LAND OF NEVER #1 by Steve Orlando and Miguel Mora. When a girl named Wendy is kidnapped from her home by a strange looking, burly man, her father goes on a mission to find her, even without help from the police. And she’s not the only kid missing, leading dad down a strange road where the kidnapper is revealed to be what is described as a ‘lost boy’. Yeah . . . Orlando is going off with his own, modernized version of PETER PAN. The art is serviceable and the story interesting, even if it gets a little too wordy at times. It’s another Mad Cave book and further proof that they are a player in the indy comic publishing world.
THE LAST DRIVER #1 by Sean Murphy. Murphy blew fans away with his two recent Batman mini-series and this is another gem. In the near future, cars have been replaced by something called The Grid: designed to make travel faster and more efficient. In fact, driving a car is a crime-literally! But there is a former stuntman who has no problem breaking that rule and the law. When he finds out his granddaughter needs a heart transplant, he accepts a deal that may get her past the rules of privilege and get that life-saving transplant. But he has to do a drive to get that chance. I cannot say how much I love this book, from the story, the beautiful art, and the fact the book is not set up in the normal format, making it appear as a widescreen action film. While it feels like something from out of one of my favorite films, VANISHING POINT, the addition of the person offering our hero the opportunity is named Kowalski-same as the hero in the afore mentioned film. I don’t think that was done by accident and it’s a nice Easter egg for those who know. This gets my highest recommendation and I cannot wait for the next four chapters!
LAZARUS ORDER #1 by Sloane M. Siegel and Juan Doe. Sometimes I pick up a book because I see it on the shelf of my LCS and sometimes I let my daughter point me to a book based on her seeing a preview of one. That was the case here. In this medieval world, there is a plague that turns people into vampires, werewolves, the living dead and rat/man hybrids known as Rattusvirs. To combat this sickness comes the Lazarus Order: an organization made up of plague doctors who have sworn an oath to God to gain supernatural powers The trade-off? Every time a plague doctor uses their powers, they use a little of their life force until they eventually fade away. The story involving its two main protagonists is engaging as is the concept that there is some sort of group that is using the plague to eliminate the plague doctors. The art style is very cartoony but it fits the story, else it would be darker than it already is.
LOVEBUNNY & MR. HELL #1 by Tim Seeley and Brendan Hay. As part of Devil Due’s 25th Anniversary celebration, where they have been reprinting classic tales from back in the day, we get this. Lovebunny is a ditzy, former child star who, along with her sidekick Kid Caliber, is fighting crime; tough to do when you don’t have powers. Think Harley Quinn with bunny ears. Her other sidekick is Mr. Hell: her demonic roommate with a ravenous appetite. It’s a lot of goofy stuff in glorious black and white; perfect for fans of the afore mentioned Harley Quinn.
M1: MONSTER LEAGUE RACING #1 by Lily Windom, Robert Windom, and Jae Lee. Is this what happens when you take the concepts from SPEED RACER, throw in monsters and mysterious stuff, and have female characters as your main characters, and you get this. An interesting story with the usual killer art from Jae Lee with his typical odd page layouts. I have already read issue #2 and that amps things up more than issue #1. Definitely recommended.
MARVEL ZOMBIES: WAR ZONE #1 by Tom Waltz and Jaime Infante. Oh look: another Marvel Zombie title. Zombies have taken over the world and now good old Frank castle and Microchip must find a way out of the city, which is difficult when the citizens and many super-powered heroes are in the way. It is what it is. It is not bad but just not great. Want a good Zombie series? Go seek out the DCEASED series of books because they tell a linear story as opposed to Marvel’s multiple attempts to do the same.
MARY JANE: FACE IT, TIGER #1 by K.M. DeMatteis, Ann Nocenti, J. Michael Straczynski, Ashley Allen, Andrea Broccardo, Alina Yerofieieva, Luigi Zagaria, and Phil Noto. In honor of the introduction of Mark Jane Watson in THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, Marvel turns out this one-shot with four new stories featuring everyone’s favorite redhead. There is nothing earth shattering here except for the final story involving MJ and Venom, that promises to be continued. Basically, it is a book for completists.
MILES MORALES SPIDER-MAN #1 by Bryan Edward Hill and Nico Leon. Time for another Marvel reboot. Miles is dealing with repercussions from his recent adventures in his own magazine and in REBORN: ULTIMATE IMPACT. He is also trying to make plans with Valentia, who has something called Waardenburg Syndrome. It’s a vengeful villain, on with his dad, a brief appearance with Nick Fury and a bunch of potential storylines lined up. Is it good? If you’re a Miles fan, sure. Overall: it was just okay for me.
MEGALITH: THE OLYMPUS SAGA #0 by Matt Kindt, Ramon Villalobos, and Jonathan Marks Barravecchia. Not so much an origin story to the Megalith saga but three stories that ties into it. Three stories that add to the overall arching tale. The artwork is okay and Kindt obviously knows where he wants this overall story to go.
MONEY SHOT: THE F*CK OFF #1 by Tim Seeley, Patton Oswalt, and Garth Graham. The craziest, naughtiest Science-Fiction comic is back again. It is totally an 18+ book as it contains a lot naked people and some crazy sex acts. It will titillate some, offend some, and others will just blow past it and concentrate on the humor in the story. And apparently it is going to be c*ntinued! Okay then!
OF THE EARTH #1 by Chris Condon and Charlie Adlard. I am sure that many will not recognize the name Chris Condon or even Chalie Adlard. Let me start with Adlard. One title: THE WALKING DEAD. With that in his resume, I was certainly curious about this title. Condon? He did ULTIMATE WOLVERINE and GREEN ARROW, the recently concluded THE PERIL OF THE BRUTAL DARK, currently writing ULTIMATE IMPACT: REBORN, but might be best known for THAT TEXAS BLOOD and THE ENFIELD GANG MASSACRE. This is a wild ride possibly involving supernatural stuff and a monster known as the Wildcatter. The art is perfect and the story is full of twists and turns. Toughest for me was a scene where an emaciated dog is hit by a car and that just brought back some bad memories for me.
QUEEN IN BLACK #1 Al Ewing, Iban Coello, and Ze Carlos. For anyone who hasn’t followed what has been going on with the symbiotes in the Marvel Universe, Eddie Brock was the the King in Black but Dylan Brock separated them and Venom is now with his new host, Mary Jane Watson. Knull returned and god captured by Hela. And has become the Queen in Black. And Knull and Hela are now on opposite sides in a race to conquer Earth. This is the starting point for a storyline running through this mini-series, many spin-off books and other parts of the Marvel Universe. If you’re a Venom fan, you’re all in. Otherwise, you may wish to pass.
RED SONJA NOIR: THE PLUNDER & THE PRINCESS #1 by David Avallone and Edison Enn. Dynamite’s RED SONJA titles have been hit or miss. For me, most have been big misses, the exception being the highly unusual Priest mini-series. But you stick the word NOIR on a book and I’m curious. I don’t know how Noir I would call this but there is a dragon and a mystery. The story is just fine but the art, often that things that suffers the most in Sonja stories, is fantastic and certainly the saving grace here. If you’re a Sonja fan, you are all over this. As a one-shot, it was just a pleasant, enjoyable read.
REGICIDE #1 by Patrick Kindlon and Ludovic Lalliat. Kindlon is a comic book author and a member of the band Drug Church. Lalliat is a French artist known for creating dark fantasy art. This title follows a Romanian farmhand who ends up being paired with a masked stranger wearing his best Dr. Doom cosplay mask as they go to Transylvania to assassinate a murdering viceroy. I love the plot and the characters but Lalliat’s art left me a bit cold, looking like something that should be in a black and white Indy book of the 90’s. Still, the story is good and gory in spots and good enough to make me keep going with it.
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD: UNTOLD TALES OF THE TARMAN #1 by S.A. Check, James Kuhoric, and Greg Larocque. I am a sucker for anything zombie related so this one caught my eye immediately, helped on because of an amazing Kyle Hotz cover. Throw in the fact that Larocque was doing interiors and I figured it couldn’t be awful. Wel, it’s okay for fans of the movie or the genre and basically gives you an origin story for this legendary character. If you’re a fan of the movie, pick this up. It’s just a lot of fun!
ROM #1 by Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici. Yep…that toy turned comic book from the Seventies is making a comeback. This is not a reprint of the original #1 from Marvel this is a brand new story that was originally in the Energon Universe FCBD book. But it drops this legendary hero into Kirkman’s connected universe, specifically VOID RIVALS, but I am sure it will eventually include TRANSFORMERS, and G.I. JOE. The story is fine and works, especially if you were not familiar with the character previously. If you are a fan of the Energon Universe titles, you will want this. Otherwise, it is just another space story with an amnesiac character in armor and toting a ray gun.
SEVEN WIVES #1 by Zoe Tunnell and V. Gagnon. A cultlike preacher named Dunn has been murdered and it is up to a pair of detectives to figure out who was responsible. Oh yeah: Dunn had multiple wives . . . seven, as the title implies . . . and all of them are possible suspects as well as his son. What happens is a series of interviews with Dunn’s wives as the detectives do their work. There are lots of breadcrumbs dropped along the way and it is up to the reader to follow the clues, just like the fictional detectives. The story is entertaining even if the artwork is fair. But all the bits and pieces thrown in help to make it a compelling read.
SHELLSHOCK #1 by John Arcudi, Michael W. Conrad, Julio Anta, Benito Cereno, Tom Fowler, Shawn Martinsbrough, Albert Monteys, and David Lapham. Oni, which has been tapping into the classics with their modern take on the EC Comics, now dips its’ toe into the war genre with this anthology. It is okay but holds none of the emotional impact of the classic titles, specifically FRONTLINE COMBAT. If you are a completist, get it. Otherwise, get one of the classic EC anthologies from Dark Horse.
SICKO #1 by Tini Howard and Amilcar Pinna. Welcome to the perfect Horror book for the Covid generation. Valentine is a medical student who has contracted a mysterious disease that causes her body to turn against her, allowing her to weaponize the disease and is looking to take retribution upon those things that piss her off. And now a mysterious healthcare group is trying to track her down before things get worse. It’s crazy, weird, and sometimes gross and gory. Really good stuff!
SIGHT #1 by Darin S. Cape and Jack Purcell. This is the strange story of Angelina: an amateur boxer who is burdened with the ability to see moments of the future before they happens. She also works part-time as a hospice worker, meaning she can see the impending deaths of her patients. Sounds simple enough but her visions take a turn when she envisions a possible alien invasion and now she must navigate that. What makes this title so unusual is the way the story unfolds, as events happen in the past, present and the future. Luckily Purcell’s art signals which is which depending on if the panels are open on the left, the right, or not at all. Once you know the code, the story makes more sense on a second read. Good story and always great art from Purcell. If your LCS doesn’t have it, have them order it for you.
SIX OF US #1 by Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta. So there is a hit comedy show called SIX OF US: a television sensation that has previously ended. Now five of those six are gathered at the funeral for the sixth one, who apparently dove into an empty swimming pool. But was it really an accident? Was it a suicide or maybe it was murder. That’s the premise here. And if you do not hear the FRIENDS theme song playing throughout the depiction of the opening title of the show, you are either from another generation or just forgot the iconic opening. King does a great job of tying the characters, before and after fame, to the real show and it’s a bit freaky. Either way, it’s an interesting murder mystery in true King style.
SPIDER-MAN: LONG WAY HOME #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Adam Kubert. Okay . . . I get it. We all have Spider-Man fever and the title of LONG WAY HOME ties into the previous movies, right? So, do we need a team-up with Spidey, The Hulk and The Punisher? Normally, I would say no but it is written by Jonathan Hickman and illustrated by Adam Kubert. That is the hook here, ladies and gentlemen. We get The Punisher and his military team fighting with Hydra and A.I.M., the Hulk rampaging through it all and Peter basically not even in the story . . . yet. It’s an okay read but I want to see what issue #2 has to offer.
SPIDER-WOMAN ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 by Ann Nocenti, Dan Watters, Stefano Raffaele, and Andrea Broccardo. For the record, this is the Jessica Drew Spider-Woman who was introduced in MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #32 in 1977; not the other Spider-Women over the years like Julia carpenter, Mattie Franklin, Gwen Stacy(yeah…on Earth-65) and Skull Queen Veranke. Also of note: is this a 49 and a half year anniversary? Anyway, two stories with the first having her not only brawl with a tiger costumed bad guy while also helping some woman she just met. In the second, and the better of the two, she battles one of Miles Warren’s former assistants turned giant spider. Most importantly, there is a cliffhanger final page that will lead into an all-new series coming in November. I’ve always been a big fan of the character, with all her trials and tribulations, so I’m looking forward to that title. In the end, get it, read the second story for the cliffhanger, and move on.
THE STRANGER BOOK ONE by Wes Craig and Jason Wordie. This DC Black Label title presents a new take on the Superman story. Set in the Thirties, Clark Kent is a man who is now working as a janitor to make ends meet, while trying to understand who he is, a past he is unsure about, and dealing with powers he does not quite understand. There is even a Lex Luthor appearance and he is just as slimy as you would expect him to be. The art is interesting and has the art nouveau feel to it. Seeing this legendary hero as a man who does not know about his origin and apparently lived in an orphanage is a nice trope that works nicely.
TALES OF WONDER #1 by Steve Skroce and Ian Herring. What happens when two elderly comic creators try to put aside their differences at a Con but that does not work well and anticipated chaos ensues. Top that off with the appearance of the fictional heroes in the flesh showing up and de-age the creators while also fighting a monster brought to life. It’s a bit crazy and a little interesting, especially if you are a student of comic history to know about the occasional drama that exists within the community. It is not for everyone but will cause a core readership to get where it is going.
TANK GIRL: BLUE HELMET #1 by Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett. Why the sudden interest in reprinting TANK GIRL stories from 35 years ago? Not quite sure but this is the second one in the same number of months. Originally appearing in DEADLINE MAGAZINE, it is a very interesting and twisted take on Jack Kerouac’s BLUE HELMET…which doesn’t really exist. I can see how much of what was created here ended up being turned into Hewlett’s future music project, which is probably where most comic fans know his name from. It is a great read for those of us who grew up on Underground Comics.
TERMINAL #1 by Robert Kirkman, Joe Casey, and Andy Kubert. An event ten years in the past has created a group of people with genetic latent powers. It has led to a war between two groups, although this superhuman war has taken place outside of the knowledge of most people. And the war can be extremely brutal. Enter a young woman searching for her missing sister and what she finds, to her shock, is her sister is now a part of this superhuman community. And now this woman is brought to an island…no, not THAT island, where she meets this group of superhumans, including an enormous, floating eye! That’s the setup in this mythology where the lines between heroes and villains are blurred. The story is doing a lot of world building and Kubert’s art shines through.
TOMB OF APOCALYPSE #1 by Ashley Allen and Domenico Carbone. An alien artifact activates and manages to teleport Jubilee and Wolverine to an Egyptian dig site. The two make their way into the labyrinth and jubilee encounters a transmission from Apocalypse, who tasks her to search for a galactic artifact for him. Wait: isn’t he still a bad guy? And he has sent some old friends to join in the search. Saying more would spoil it. It’s kind of fun and the art looks great. The only problem I have with mini-series like this is whether they are canon or not to current continuity.
VAMPIRELLA SUMMER SPECIAL 2026 #1 by Erica Schultz and Adriana Melo. This one is an easy one to write. Vampirella is in Pompeii in present day where a skull calls to her. She becomes connected and finds herself in Pompeii prior to the eruption of that volcano and connects with a young girl and her family and tries her best to change their fate. It’s a little heartbreaking story by Schultz and appropriate art from Melo. This is not going to set the world on fire but if you’re a Vampi fan, you will want to add this to your reading list and collection.
WARBIRD #1 by Derek Kolstad, Robert Venditti, Alex Maleev, and Esad Ribic. With a cast like this, specifically Venditti, Maleev, and Ribic, this should be really good, right? Well, this is a spy story, so there is that. It follows Cole Norton who is a master of repossessing things. And he gets tasked to repossess something called The Warbird: a next-gen fighter jet that the Russians have. Offered a huge finder’s fee, Cole goes into this with some trepidation but, you know, money IS money, right? But when he learns an old partner may have died trying to accomplish this, it becomes personal. It’s a little like James Bond and a little like MISSION IMPOSSIBLE and I am okay with that.
WATSON V. HOLMES #1 by Jon Santana, Rafael Santana, and Jordan Rodriguez. What happens when you tap into what Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s characters end up in a tale involving vampires? You get this! As it turns out, Mr. Watson, a big, burly man, is the hero and Holmes is the baddie. Really? It’s a fun first issue with some gore and some interesting twists. Story is fine and the art fits.
ZORRO’S LEGACY #1 by Dan Abnett and Aaron Lopresti. We’ve already got Howard Chaykin and Jorge Fornes telling their story, Abnett and Lopresti are providing a different take on the character. Set in the present day, Zorro lives again in the form of someone new. Actually, the newest Zorro is injured and now someone else has taken up the mantle and he has a slightly different mindset and arsenal. The beauty of this is a combination of the writing and the art and, of course, the ability to transport the legend to the here and now.
