MY WEEK IN COMICS - - - APRIL 12, 2026

166 =  DAREDEVIL #1 by Stephanie Phillips and Lee Garbett (Marvel Comics, May 2026) 

If not for the fascinating foreshadowing on Page 1 as well as the last 5 pages of this issue, I would be calling this an underwhelming debut. But those pages are strong enough to entice me back for more - -  and I’ve subscribed to this title. Daredevil is my favorite Marvel character.

    As can be expected when a new creative team takes over, especially if they are going to make some changes, the debut issue is going to have to dedicate most of the space to setting things up.

   In short, “Matt Murdock as a professor” as Phillips and Garbett pitched it to Marvel and received the green light. Matt is teaching contract law at Empire State University, and his first day is kind of rough as he is challenged by students as well as fellow professor Doctor Sari Ellison. She takes him down a notch and makes light of his credentials. (I also get a vibe that she may be a future romantic interest for Matt, despite the present indifference). 

   The action here is minimal with Daredevil confronting two different criminal gangs and taking them out easily. It does provide an opportunity to show how Garbett is going to depict action and the panels are fun to view. 

   It’s those last five pages that hold the most promise - - where Daredevil meets a new supernatural-like foe in garb similar to the Grim Reaper who warns Daredevil that Matt Murdock will die in the future. 

Also, it’s the very first page that has its’ hooks in me with a montage of dire images and premonitions in the captions:  , , , One mask will fall as another is raised . . . The hand that offers peace may strike first . . . And he who looks without sight . . . will see too much.”  THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.

167 =  EVERYONE LOVES A JEWEL THIEF #1 by Aaron Campbell & Tim Seeley with art & cover by Aaron Campbell (Ignition Press, April 2026)

This is a bit different from the usual crime comic, which is why I’m anxious to see where things are going. Seely and Campbell do a good job with this set-up issue, including flashbacks and prior history of the “gang”. 

    Scott Fredriksson is a struggling novelist, about to lose both his agent as well as a teaching position. For some weird reason, he believes that pulling off a jewel heist will gain him celebrity and boost his writing career. His plan is to turn himself in, face misdemeanor charges, and parley that into interviews and a book deal. He’s convinced his friends, his former high school Dungeons and Dragons gamers, to assist him in his fool-proof plan. 

   We already know it’s going to fail, because in present time his gang members are being interrogated by a detective duo (with the female partner always correcting the verbal errors of her male counterpart). 

So far, I don’t care for a single one of this cast of characters. But the story-telling is good enough to hold my attention and the art and colors (Jordie Bellaire) help create that moody crime comic feel with expressive images and dark, earth tone colors (with a few exceptions). THREE AND THREE-QUARTER STARS.

    

BALTIMORE COMIC CON September 25-27: GUEST UPDATE

Baltimore Comic-Con 2026 Welcomes Champagne, Green, Hall, Noto, Pham, and Richardson

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - April 13, 2026 - The Baltimore Comic-Con will be held on September 25-27, 2026 at the Inner Harbor's Baltimore Convention Center. The Baltimore Comic-Con is thrilled to welcome Keith Champagne, Randy Green, Bob Hall, Phil Noto, Khoi Pham, and Afua Richardson as guests of our 2026 event! You can purchase your tickets online today!

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Keith Champagne is a comic book writer and creator best known for several decades of work with DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and many more publishers. From Stranger Things to Superman to Uncanny X-Men, he's provided art and/or stories for countless characters and projects.

After graduating with a BFA in Painting, Randy Green worked for several advertising agencies as an artist/art director and did some comic book work on the side. During this time, he worked mostly for Dark Horse and Image. Eventually, Randy was able to get enough steady work to pursue comic book art full-time, working for Marvel, DC Comics, and others as well. Top Cow's Witchblade was his first long run as an artist on a title and opened the doors to many other opportunities, including Tomb Raider and a short-run creator-owned title, Dollz, which he hopes to do more with in the future. Afterwards, he continued on some more work at Marvel on Emma Frost and New X-Men Academy X, always managing to squeeze in a project or cover for some of the comic companies here and there. In recent years, Randy has been doing most of his work behind the scenes for Disney Parks, and has had several books come out through Dark Horse and Aspen Comics, as well as several indie creators, and is currently working on a title, Stopwatch, written by Beau Smith coming soon from Clover Press. Randy has been working comics full-time for nearly two decades now, and enjoys life in the country with his family, wife Amy, and children Haley and Max.

Bob Hall had a long association with Marvel Comics, where at one time or another he drew most of the major books and characters such as The Champions, Spider-Man, Dr. Doom, Conan, Thor, The Fantastic Four, The Submariner, Captain America, PSI Force, The Avengers, and The New Mutants. He was the artist for the West Coast Avengers mini-series and was the primary artist on the original Squadron Supreme. He drew movie adaptations of Willow, Dark Man, and the notorious first Captain America movie, as well as pencils and inks for the graphic novel, Emperor Doom. Bob was an editor at Marvel in 1979. For Valiant, he wrote and penciled the monthly series Shadowman, wrote Timewalker, and then created Armed and Dangerous, a black and white "comicbook-noir" series. For DC, he wrote and drew the Batman graphic novel projects Batman DOA, I Joker, and It's Jokertime. Recently, he has been creating educational comics that have tackled measles, mosquitoes, COVID-19, and vaccine hesitancy. Bob is a member of the National Cartoonists Society, Actors Equity Association, and the Society for Directors and Choreographers. His work can be seen at www.bobhall.com. Commissions and original art are available through www.catskillcomics.com. He can be messaged on Facebook.

Phil Noto is a comic book artist, painter, and illustrator best known for his work on Marvel Comics’ Black Widows series and numerous Star Wars projects. He attended Ringling College of Art and Design. After college, he began a career in animation at Walt Disney Feature Animation where he worked on such films as Lion King, Pocahontas, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan, and Lilo and Stitch. In 2001, Phil started his comic career as the cover artist for DC Comics' Birds of Prey. Some of his projects over the past 20 years are Danger Girl, Jonah Hex, Avengers, X-23, Uncanny X-Force, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Infinite Horizon, Poe Dameron, Daredevil, Cable, and X-Men. Besides doing comic art, Phil has illustrated middle grade novels for Lucasfilm Publishing and done work for Time Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, and the Criterion Collection. He also does retro fine-art paintings with numerous shows at Stranger Factory Gallery in Albuquerque, NM and, most recently, Outre Gallery in Fitzroy.

Khoi Pham is an artist and mentor. His artworks include DC’s Teen Titans, Marvel’s Mighty Avengers, X-Men Legacy, Scarlet Spider, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Chaos War, Incredible Hercules, Gambit, Mighty Thor, and X-Factor, and Top Cow’s Cyberforce. He has done numerous cover illustrations for various publications. Khoi was an attorney and venture capitalist prior to switching to art and mentoring. He has a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Saint Joseph’s University.

Afua Richardson (pronounced "ah-FOO-wah") is an award-winning American comic book illustrator best known for her work on Marvel's Black Panther: World of Wakanda. Some of her other works include The Wild Storm, Attack on Titan, X-Men '92, Captain Marvel, and All-Star Batman to name a few. Afua is also a musician, voice actor, activist, and mentor. As a recipient of the Nina Simone award, she is aptly called a Jane of All trades.

"We're so happy to have these folks joining us in 2026," said Marc Nathan, show promoter for the Baltimore Comic-Con. "With some truly spectacular works under their belt, and being nice people on top of that, we are privileged to welcome to this year's convention."

Tickets that are now on sale include: Weekend Friday only Saturday only Sunday only VIP Creator Fan Packages As always, children 10 and under are free with a paid adult admission!

Click to Buy Tickets

Book Review: IN THE DOLLHOUSE WE ALL WAIT

IN THE DOLLHOUSE WE ALL WAIT by Amanda M. Blake (April 07, 20Crystal Lake Publishing = ISBN #9781968532512) Paperback, 358 pages (April 10, 2026 Torrid Waters = ASIN #B0653KLLSZ) Kindle Edition, 311 pages 

Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .

An extreme horror novel of privilege, cruelty, and survival—splatterpunk at its most unflinching.

“In the dollhouse, if you don’t play with Annie…she plays with you.”

Sam Frain thinks she’s found the perfect a live-in nanny position in a sprawling mansion owned by one of the wealthiest families in the country.

The job seems simple: Take care of Annie Lange.

Annie may look like a grown woman, but she lives inside a world built for a little girl—frilly dresses, scripted games, rigid rules, and what seems like every doll in the world.

As Sam learns the true nature of Annie’s games, she's forced into a waking nightmare of psychological domination, grotesque excess, and carefully curated cruelty. In this gilded cage where money erases morality, survival means choosing whether to resist—or become part of the performance.

Blending the social unease of The Nanny Diaries with the ruthless brutality of Hostel II, In the Dollhouse We All Wait is a harrowing work of extreme horror that explores power, complicity, and the terrifying truth that the rich really are different.

My FOUR-STAR Review on the Goodreads website . . . .

I don’t read extreme horror often, but when I do I like it in small doses. If there is too much graphic violence, torture, mutilation, dismemberment, etc. in the story I become numb to the effect and stop worrying for the characters. Sometimes, if I feel the book lacks a point and is just a platform for more of the same extremes - - - then I do not finish. 

     Consider this a friendly bit of information to share with those readers who are faint-hearted or become greatly disturbed or nauseous/sick when reading extreme horror. There are many bothersome scenes in this novel. In my experience with this genre of horror, IN THE DOLLHOUSE WE ALL WAIT would be a book that I wouldn’t recommend to anyone just dipping their toes in the water to see if the temperature is warm enough to go in further. However, it would be the one extreme horror novel I would recommend once they weren’t afraid to keep swimming in these waters. 

    I knew before I started reading this novel what I was getting into. But, once my sense of comfort with main character Sam (Samantha Frain) was in place it was the point at which the intensity began, and the scenes did not stop and the ferocity increased. But, I did not stop reading. Each scene revealed a little more of what was going on behind the curtains and provided more detail on the home, the character of the adult in middle-school clothing Annie Lange, and the purpose of it all. I had to know what would become of Sam and hoped for a happy outcome. 

  In an article written by author Amanda M. Blake for Crystal Lake Publishing she says: “DOLLHOUSE demanded an unflinching look at Annie’s terrible dollhouse. No matter where the story led me, I forced myself to look.”  That’s what happened to me - - I kept looking, right until the last page.

  Blake continued: “When I write stories like this, it can actually sink me deeper into my natural depression, so I have to be careful with myself. I’m sitting with all those awful feelings a lot longer while writing than you do while reading. DOLLHOUSE was no exception. DOLLHOUSE makes you sit with your discomfort a lot longer.”

   It’s hard to read this novel and not think of the current cover-up situation regarding Epstein Island. In the same article, Blake mentions this and reveals that she did not intend any social commentary. That was not the inspiration for the novel. It was her own collection and love of dolls and other factors that led to the novel being (in her words) “a dip into nihilism, childish tantrums without consequence, and wealth rot well before we got hit with the full consequences of the power these people have acquired and consolidated.” 

    Still, estate owner Harold Lange and his malicious daughter Annie reminded me of Jeffrey and Ghislaine Maxwell. However, by comparison Epstein and Maxwell’s immoral sex trafficking are quite mild when you consider the levels to which the Langes took this and treated human beings as possessions and toys. Children sometimes break their toys. 

   I received an advance digital review copy of this novel from Crystal Lake Publishing without obligation to review.

Preview: MINNIE POUCHES IN THE MICRO REALM

Top Shelf Set to Release Minnie Pouches in the MicroRealm — One Anxious Hero’s Big Rescue!   In Stores June 23, Pre-order Available Now   Exclusive Trailer Reveal: School Library Journal’s Good Comics For Kids

LOS ANGELES, CA (April 9, 2026)​— Meet Minnie! Minnie is super-strong and super-anxious… but she’ll have to journey through the MicroRealm to save her best friends: her five pets! Top Shelf Productions is set to release the critter adventure, Minnie Pouches in the MicroRealm, available June 23! Middle grade readers are invited to crack open new worlds of adventure in this all-new graphic novel from Eisner-winner Caleb Goellner (TMNT/Naruto, Ghost Cage) and Eric Lide (Sonic the Hedgehog, DragonForged: Sword of the Champion).   “I’m mega excited for readers to adventure through the MicroRealm with the mighty Minnie Pouches and her preposterously cute (and powerful) pets,” said co-creator Caleb Goellner. “Getting to work with the perfect editor, artist, and publishing team made this a dream project for me. Now I’m stoked for it to be a dream comic for fans of action, adventure, and the power of friendship!”   “Bringing the MicroRealm to life with this team was some of the most fun I’ve ever had in comics!” said co-creator Eric Lide. “I can’t wait for readers to join Minnie Pouches (and her pets) on this reality-hopping over-the-top adventure! Expect lots of laughs, epic fight scenes, and lots and lots of pizza!”   Her parents are famous scientists and multiverse travel influencers…but Minnie Pouches hates being on camera. She feels too big, too shy, and too nervous. She can’t even finish an important middle school project! One day, when the pressure becomes too much, Minnie rage-quits her parents’ show and activates her stylish fanny pack to disappear into the MicroRealm. Now, far from home, she’ll dance through encounters with greasy pizza dinosaurs, angry laser robots, and toothy pool floats to push past her fears, find her missing pets, and save the entire family.   Minnie Pouches in the MicroRealm​ will be available wherever books are sold, as a full-color softcover graphic novel (ISBN: 978-1-60309-590-7) as well as a digital edition, on June 23, 2026, for a list price of $14.99. For more information please visit the ​Top Shelf​ web site.   About the Creators Caleb Goellner is an Eisner Award winner, writer, and cartoonist best known for his work on Ghost Cagewith artist and co-writer Nick Dragotta from Image Comics and Rest Area 51 with artist Coleman Engle from Tapas Media. He has written Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Sonic the Hedgehog stories for IDW Publishing, plus Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Amazing World of Gumball stories for BOOM! Studios. Caleb was born and raised in Kansas City and currently lives with his wife and two pugs in Los Angeles.   Eric Lide is a comic artist from New Jersey. He draws the webcomics Station Square and Ozzie the Vampire and covers for IDW’s Sonic the Hedgehog series. Currently, he is working on his debut graphic novel, tentatively titled The Champion of Draeland.   ​​About the Publisher Top Shelf Productions has published critically acclaimed and popularly beloved graphic novels since 1997. Celebrating more than a decade as an imprint of IDW Publishing, Top Shelf continues to showcase the vanguard of the comics medium, publishing works of literary sophistication, visionary artistry, and personal resonance.