This marks the third consecutive year that I will attempt to document my comics reading by writing at least a mini-review. The goal is 1200 books read and reviewed in 2023, although I missed the mark in 2022 by 88 books. Still, I like that number as it’s easy enough to track - - - 100 books per month on average. Wish me luck!
# GOAL FOR July 20, 2023. . . 667 comics documented
CURRENT COUNT . . . . . 503 comics documented
#480 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #29 (Disney 100 variant cover) by Zeb Wells and Ed McGuinness (Marvel Worldwide Inc, September 2023) Norman Osborn is the captive of Doctor Octopus, who just used his new upgraded robot arms to take out Gold Gobin and Spider-Man. He installs a wired helmut on Osborn’s head to revisit old memories of the Green Goblins’s past disruptions of Doc Oc’s endeavors.
Spidey/Peter Parker and J.Jonah Jameson discuss ways to use an old set of Doc’s arms to figure out where he’s holding Osborn. Seems to be connectors inside the arms that create a spinal interface with the wearer. IF Parker dons it, will it change his disposition?
Meanwhile, there is a two-page scene that pulled me right out of the story - - the reappearance of the “web-whanging warrior” Rek-Rap (Parker backwards). The editor’s note says he won’t show up until a later story arc, but Ed McGuinness really wanted to draw him. What? Speaking of McGuinness, it’s his wonderful art that carried me through Wells’ slower than it needed to be story. Still not impressed with what he’s doing on this title. THREE STARS, thanks to McGuinness.
#481 HAUNT YOU TO THE END #2 by Ryan Cady and Andrea Mutti (Image/Top Cow Comics, July 2023) Issue #2 covers the first night of the paranormal investigative squad exploring the island of Isla Lodo - “the most haunted place on Earth.” While this title has plenty of supernatural horror to introduce, the future world devastated by ecological horror is equally worth of more exploration and I hope writer Cady has more to show us.
Billionaire eccentric Callum Shah and Matt Park inspect the ruins of Rasmussen Manor. Skeptical journalist Park has an encounter with a ghostly zombie-like presence and later the dead speak to him in his dreams. While exploring the derricks, the second team loses sight of military contractor Suzanne ‘Gersh’ Gershwin and one of her crew.
The follow-up issue continues the dread with a slow build-up. Mutti’s art continues to amaze me. However, this issue didn’t engage me as much as the debut did. Down one star. FOUR STARS.
Layla is a punk-rock attired runaway in New York CIty, 1987. She was abandoned at birth, raised in foster homes, pregnant at sixteen. Kicked out of the last foster home when her latent powers blew out the back of the house. Now she’s looking for Dianne Gold, who may be her true mother.
She’s living on the streets after leaving her boyfriend (and father of her child) Jerome - pissed off at him and herself for what happened.
There’s some human drama here and gritty street realism that is really well done. That alone would be enough to make the book interesting.
Add the urban fantasy that is the root of the story and you have a winner.
Plus, Randolph’s art really pops here. He does the colors as well; and utilizes shades of black and white with the occasional red and blue added in small portions to great effect. When I scanned the book and saw this art, it was an immediate impulse buy.
Layla may be a “siren”, and her unrealized abilities gain the attention of several underworld players when she uses them at a Chelsea Hotel party populated with some questionable and dangerous characters. Definitely worth a look so you can decide if you want to add yet another title to your pile. I did. FIVE STARS.
#483 - #490 ALLERGIC by Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter (Scholastic / Graphix, March 2021)
A coming-of-age middle-grade graphic novel featuring a girl with severe allergies who just wants to find the perfect pet.
I've been exploring some YA graphic novels lately, always looking for something new to recommend for my grandson. He has an allergy to dogs, and this book is perfect for him although he's dealing with it quite well and taking some helpful medications so he can visit his friend's home where there is a dog. He ended up getting a hamster, so that satisfies his need for a pet.
ALLERGIC is about so much more than a young girl with an allergy to furry pets (cats, dogs, etc) and her need to find a pet that won't cause her to break out and suffer. It's also about her family relationships as well as a new friendship that becomes threatened when a dog arrives. Her family is expecting a new baby, and she's already experiencing troubles with her younger twin brothers. FIVE STARS.
#491 - #493 THE 06 PROTOCOL #1 - #3 of 4 by Lee Turner and Cliff Richards (AfterShock, September 2022 - June 2023) Synopsis: The seemingly perfect life of the Mirino family is shattered when family patriarch, Faust, is brutally murdered on a quiet summer night. His wife, Cat, and 16-year-old daughter, Missy, are forced to confront a shocking truth about Faust’s involvement in a secret government program known as The 06 Protocol.
Now Cat and Missy have to protect each other as they are hunted, and haunted, by the people and secrets of Faust’s double life.
The debut issue reminded me of the Bourne movies, The Fugitive, and Season One of Hanna (Amazon Prime) in the best action/adventure/thriller ways. A secret division of the government were developing genetically perfect warriors in an experimental program that went awry. There’s a connection to Cat and her family that is later revealed and plays a big role in the proceedings. There is plenty of drama to keep things interesting and get readers vested in the main characters.
Issue #2 heightens the suspense. With W.A.S.P. (the secret agency) hot on her trail, Cat saves Missy and two friends from being gunned down by W.A.S.P. Corrector agents, and commandeers a school bus as they make their escape. With no idea who they can trust or turn to for answers, they learn of a W.A.S.P. monitoring site underneath the St. Louis Arch and enlist that agent in their investigation. They may be running; but they are determined to find answers.
In Issue #3 their flight takes Cat, Missy and companions from rural Missouri to Washington D.C. in search of answers and a fabled antidote. Along the route they learn of a latent experimental subject and recruit him before his injected rage awakens and he annihilates a clown at his daughter’s birthday party.
Beset with long delays between issues due to AfterShock’s reorganization, THE O6 PROTOCOL may have lost its’ audience and deserves better. If the storyline appeals to you, it’s worth hunting down the back issues. There should be a trade paperback released sometime in 2024 but the release date and announcement has yet to be determined. FOUR STARS.
#494 KNIGHT TERRORS #1 by Joshua Williamson and Giuseppe Camuncoli
(DC Comics, September 2023) I think I went a little backwards by reading KNIGHT TERRORS: FLASH before this one, but the Flash book was released before it. Seems like that was the plan of grand architect Williamson to release KNIGHT TERRORS during the second week of the crossover. That probably helped build the mystery and interest.
I generally steer away from cross-over events and I’m not going to alter my plan here, although KNIGHT TERRORS just might be one of the better cross-overs of recent years. However, I’ve heard a lot of less-than-positive comments on some of the individual mini-series. I think it best for me to wait and see if DC will publish a best-of KNIGHT TERRORS collection later and discard some of that stuff.
The art and colors are great here. Just keep in mind that there will be different creative teams involved in the connecting limited series.
Due to some side effects of the Lazarus Rain, the whole world is trapped inside their nightmares. A new villain comes to the front, Insomnia - The God of Nightmares. Why does he want revenge on the DC heroes? I love that the prime investigator here is Deadman/Boston Brand and appreciate the way Williamson is handling the character. Deadman begins the issue by inhabiting the physical form of Batman, and then vacates him to probe inside the body of Insomnia, where he exits quickly after learning of his background. (Not going to spoil it, read it if you want).
Why did I buy this? The other reason - - I couldn’t resist that great cover art. The issue ends with the introduction of another classic DC hero to assist Deadman, the pulp/detective version of The Sandman. Exciting. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#495 - #502 THE DRAGON PATH graphic novel written and illustrated by Ethan Young (Scholastic/Graphix, May 2021)
I've been wanting to explore some of the stories available in the young adult section of graphic novels. Always looking for books to suggest to my grandson Dylan. Thanks to some recommendations from Matt Lowder, I've been discovering the cream of the crop. This was highly entertaining, and an awesome introduction to the worlds and concepts of fantasy (and the theme of the hero's journey) for younger readers, especially middle-grade.
The story has some surprises, but is concise and covers Chinese culture in addition. Young's art is very appealing and reminds me of both Jeff Smith and Stan Sakai. I’ll add another 1/2 point to Matt’s rating and give this FIVE STARS.
#503 THE HUNGER AND THE DUSK #1 by G. Willow Wilson and Chris Wildgoose (IDW Publishing, July 2023) If you’re looking for a new fantasy comic to read, beyond swords and sorcery but still within the realm of Dungeons & Dragons and Warcraft, etc. this is your ticket. I became fully engaged with the story within a few pages. Wilson is a skilled and inventive writer when it comes to original science fiction or fantasy stories. The art by Wildgoose is beautiful and panoramic in scope.
Synopsis: In a dying world, only humans and orcs remain . . . mortal enemies battling for territory and political advantage. But when a group of fearsome ancient humanoids known as the Vangol arrive from across the sea, the two struggling civilizations are forced into a fragile alliance to protect what they have built.
As a gesture of his commitment to the cause the most powerful orc overlord, Troth Icemane, sends his beloved cousin Tara, a high-ranking young healer, to fight alongside brash human commander Callum Battlechild and his company of warriors. With a crisis looming, the success of this unlikely pair's partnership and the survival of their peoples will depend on their ability to unlearn a lifetime of antagonistic instincts toward one another...and rise above the sting of heartbreak.
The characterization is well done. Plus, there’s an interspecies romance brewing between the two main characters who seem to have instant chemistry. FOUR STARS.
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