I've been numbering my entries, picking up where I left off with the 2,021 COMIC BOOK QUARANTINE ODYSSEY. I’m curious to see how long it takes me to read that many comics. I want the results to be realistic so I’m not going to binge read unless I happen to be in the mood. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t end up reading some comics, so we’ll see how long this takes. The journey began with the 1,000 Comics Challenge on approximately March 15, 2020.
PICKS FROM THE BRICK: Bargain bins at local comic shops are the best place to explore and look for new titles to read while on a limited budget.
On this Facebook page, Matt Lowder has reviewed many books he found while browsing the $1 books at Captain Blue Hen. It’s a great way to sample a #1 issue, see if you like where the story is going, and then add the series or get the trade paperbacks. I’m even more frugal, plus I like surprises. I pick up the $10 comic bricks at Captain Blue Hen. For only 25 cents a book, I’m willing to roll the dice. Far better than plunking down $4-$5 for something you may not like. Captain Blue Hen makes browsing affordable. If you’re on a real budget, get the 100 Comics Box for $20. That’s 20 cents a book. CBH even puts together all-Marvel boxes, all-DC boxes, and all-independent boxes. Check it out. I’m going to share some of what I’ve found in the bricks (not all good, but I don’t feel bad when that happens).
#391 DEATHSTROKE #25 (DC, 2018) I’m familiar enough with the character to jump right in. I’ve never read a disappointing story from Priest, who can usually be relied on to spin a good yarn. A shackled Deathstroke/Slade is on trail by The Society (Vandal Savage, Killer Frost,Ultra Humanite, Reverse Flash, Black Manta, Raptor, Deadline, and The Riddler) not for any specific crime (except for Deadline’s grievance) but to determine whether or not he is sufficiently evil enough for membership. Priest started using solid black background panels with just a subtitle for scene breaks way back when he was writing Black Panther ( early 2000’s, one of my favorite versions of this character). Then they were relevant to the story, or clever plays on words. He’s still using them, but apparently only to identify locations. The pencils by Carlo Pagulayan are really good, even when using three different inkers. FOUR STARS.
#392 STRANGER THINGS #2 of 4 (Dark Horse, 2018) Bummer. I already read this mini-series, but it was nice to revisit. It actually improved my appreciation for this. It’s a slow moving story that felt like it had too much filler scenes when I first read it. Still does, but if you’re a fan of the Netflix series you won’t mind. Young Will Byers is stuck in a house that resembles his own but is just a dark version of it. He’s all alone, except for a lurking Demogorgon, and is trying to communicate with friends and family on the other side, hoping he can get home. THREE STARS.
#393 CEREBUS #82 (Aardvark-Vanaheim 1986) I love Dave Sim’s expressive black & white art, but I could never figure out what his stories were about. Perhaps that’s because I’ve only sampled random issues in bargain bins and never read a run of issues or a storyline. The disembodied heads of two astral wizards debate who has more humility and who is more pretentious while Cerebus is more concerned with curing his sinus infection. There’s a caricature of Ben Grimm/The Thing that’s just different enough to avoid being sued, a character that looks and acts like Groucho Marx and a sly dig at Chris Claremont. The contents page was a neat nostalgic trip to an earlier time in my comics shop habit. There are listed four U.S. distributors handling the Cerebus title in addition to Diamond, plus three more in Canada and one in the U.K. All for a book with listed circulation of 26,500. Amazing. THREE STARS.
#394 BROTHERS DRACUL #5 of 5 (Aftershock, 2018) This makes two books in the brick so far that I’ve read before, but it was cool to revisit this again (I gifted my issues to a friend). It gave me a chance to re-evaluate this after reading Matt’s below average ranking. It’s still good. I stand by my initial assessment. A well-researched version of the Vlad Tepes legend, with Vlad and his brother becoming unwilling vampire hunters. Has Vlad joined the ranks of vampires (Bram Stoker votes yes!), or is he simply gone mad? Madness would certainly explain why he’s impaled so many people on display outside his castle. He sees vampires every where he looks. The final pages leave the conclusion up to a readers’ choice. FIVE STARS.
That’s all for now, but I’ll continue to share what I find among the bricks, once I scrape the mortar off and read them. There’s actually a few books I finished that I’ve set aside for a second reading. That’s promising.
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#395 ARTEMIS & THE ASSASSIN #3 (Aftershock, July 2020)
Transported to the Wild West, an infamous WWII spy and a time-traveling assassin have to contend with outlaws, drunkards, and even a fifteenth-century ninja in order to return to their respective time periods.
The tense time-travel adventure by Stephanie Phillips (DESCENDENT, Butcher of Paris), Francesca Fantini, Lauren Affee, and Troy Peteri continues at a breakneck pace! FIVE STARS.
As Ethel approaches the truth about the man who murdered her family, she’s discovering that the justice of the old West isn’t as glorious as fiction makes it out to be. Chasing one fickle lead after another has not paid off. No one can be trusted – a lesson she failed to learn from cowboy legend, Solomon Eaton. And Solomon is in his own heap of trouble, going up against a town full of men who will do anything to prevent him from saving his son. FOUR AND ONE-HALF STARS.
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Back to some Picks From The Brick (see above)
#397 THE AMERICAN WAY: THOSE ABOVE AND THOSE BELOW #1 (DC/Vertigo, 2017) This is a sequel to THE AMERICAN WAY (2006), which I did not read but learned that it was about a team of government-created super heroes in the 1960’s that was seen as an allegory for the politics of the time. Likewise, this new installment following up on some of those heroes uncannily seems to mirror the temper of the time today, just three years after it was published. Does writer John Ridley have a crystal ball? If so, Mr. Ridley - - please tell us when this will all get better! This takes place in 1972, where Jason Fisher, a black super-hero, takes down a black gang killing drug dealers because while he agrees with their philosophy he takes issue with their methods. Then he gets discredited for doing so. Missy Deveraux, the former Ole Miss, considers whether to run for governor when her husband, the GOP’s puppet governor of Mississippi, ends his two terms in office. Amber Eaton has infiltrated the Department of Defense in order to attack from the inside. FOUR STARS.
#399 BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #7 (DC, 2008) “The Snare”. Former area resident (PA.) Chuck Dixon scripts this one, the continuation of a storyline where most members of the team are prisoned in China after uncovering a secretive satellite launch center. China’s building a space gun, and Metamorpho is trapped in outer space where the facility has been overrun by workers turned zombie (?).
Quite a cast of characters. Surprisingly, Dixon holds it all together and the story actually move along at a comfortable clip. Good art by Carlos Rodriguez. THREE STARS.
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