#72 = CRUEL KINGDOM #1 (Oni Press/EC Comics, January 2025) Four cool entries to begin this new series of weird-flavored fantasy short stories. The theme for half of these is the risky mix of technology and fantasy, or science and magic. Each story has a twist ending befitting a homage to those classic EC comics of yore. My favorite of the bunch is “Friendly Visitors” by Al Ewing and Kano wherein humans from space visit a hobbit-like world and promise to protect everyone from dragons, etc. by installing shields over their villages. The village sorceress has a differing viewpoint.
Humans in a post-apocalypse medieval village take advantage of their robot protector in “Blood Of The Robot King” by Greg Pak and Leomacs.
“Death And Pickaxes” by Chris Condon and Charlie Adlard recalls fairy tales of Sleeping Beauty & Snow White, and introduces the eighth and only surviving dwarf.
“The Demon’s Face” by Ben H. Winters and Andrea Mutti is a spin on “Sword In the Stone”. Maybe there’s a reason that sword is stuck.
Impressive debut issue. FOUR STARS.
#73 = THE LUCKY DEVILS #1 by Charles Soule and Ryan Browne (Image Comics, January 2025) If you loved EIGHT BILLION GENIES then I believe you will love this series. Soule is on a roule. Browne deserves some renowne. If you trust my opinions, go out and see if you can still find a copy of the first printing. I think this is going to sell out once word gets around, and then you’ll have to wait for the second or third printing.
THE LUCKY DEVILS reminds me of why I enjoyed EIGHT BILLION GENIES so much (and they both feature imp-like creatures): a whimsical but subtle (and a little cynical) look at humankind, our impulses and why we do what we do. Add some very expressive art for a winning combination (at least for me). Plus, that double page spread of Browne’s imagining of Hell is delightful.
I dont’ want to say too much here. You need to read how Soule sets up the story without spoilers. Love the characters. Love the dialogue. But, you need to at least know the premise to understand what I’m excited for.
Those little devils riding on your shoulder are real, at least for one out of a hundred humans. The devil’s job is to influence their hosts to make life miserable or difficult for the other ninety-nine. Also, the devil’s job is to make their host more powerful, thereby messing the lives of as many as possible. That is how devils get themselves promoted to a higher level, where they can badger a host to disturb 1,000 others, all the way up to the highest level, where the host makes it awful for millions of us.
The devils pick one of the Seven Deadly Sins as their tool. The devil badgering Cam is called Collar, and his tool is Wrath. The devil badgering Starr is Rake, and her tool is Envy. On the higher levels the devils get to employ all Seven of the Deadly Sins.
Collar and Rake are friends, and want to throw a snowball into the fire and make their hosts as powerful as ever. Their problem, and challenge, is that the hosts are two of the nicest, kindest, and caring people on the planet.
Now go get Issue #1 and see for yourself. FIVE STARS.
#74 = DAZZLER #1 by Jason Loo and Rafael Loureiro (Marvel Comics, November 2024) With the slew of new X-books that Marvel has released, is Dazzler a strong enough character to sustain an ongoing series? Depends on the creative team and where they take the storyline. Jason Loo is hedging his bet a little by making this a team book. It also features Domino, Strong Guy, Multiple Man, Shark-Girl and Wind Dancer. Issue #2 will put the spotlight on Domino and Strong Guy, although Dazzler will be at the root of the conflict.
Dazzler, the mutant who can convert sound into high energy, is back to performing on the concert circuit and the other mutants are all members of her band, road crew, security, and marketing. She’s got a message to convey in her songs about prejudice against mutants, and I suppose this will be the predominant theme that also serves as a stand-in for all minorities, foreigners, and gender divergents who experience bias.
The art’s good, and Loo goes the extra mile by writing lyrics for Dazzler’s songs and then posting them in the back of the book. That effort deserves a bit of recognition, and it caused me to up my rating a little. Sure, there’s a costumed villain threat here that interrupts a sold-out concert, but that’s just window dressing so Loo can introduce all the characters and set up the storylines for future issues. THREE STARS.
#75 = THE AGENT #1 by Mathieu Gabella and Fernando Dagnino (Ablaze Publishing, 2023) This mixes crime with magic in a nourish blend with some interesting European art. I admit to being a bit confused as to where things were going. I didn’t have the benefit of reading that concise Goodreads synopsis until after. May have to seek this one out in trade paperback. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS. Here’s that synopsis:
“For some, magic is a myth. For others, it is a weapon.
What if witchcraft really existed? If our beliefs, superstitions, and legends were material? This is what Rhym, a young narcotics lieutenant, must question when she finds herself confronted with the impossible. While staking out a subway deal, a suspect magically kills his informant and drives the entire station into madness with just a handful of weed. Rhym miraculously escapes unscathed. She's unaware, but she is a witch, and that fact arouses the interest of a very particular unit of the French secret services. A group of special agents who, like the criminals they hunt, have mastered the art of sorcery…
Welcome to a world where it is better to wear an amulet than a bulletproof vest and where a simple curse by email can destroy you more surely than a bomb. Between thriller, espionage, and fantasy, Mathieu Gabella and DC Comics artist Fernando Dagnino (Suicide Squad, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Teen Titans, Justice League) present a powerful adventure!”
#76 = PRODIGY: SLAVES OF MARS #1 by Mark Millar and Stefano Landini (Dark Horse Comics, August 2024) Prodigy is one of Mark Millar’s less violent creations, but one of the most interesting characters he has created. If you like pure action-adventure, this will please you. Volume One was outstanding.
I bought this with no intention of subscribing to the series. I just wanted to see if it would be good enough for me to wait for the trade paperback, and it was. That volume will release in April of this year. FOUR STARS. Here’s the publisher’s synopsis:
Eisner Award-winner Mark Millar's personal favourite creation, Edison Crane is a complex blend of Bruce Wayne, James Bond, Sherlock Holmes and Indiana Jones. He's the world's smartest, coolest man who stifles the boredom of his billionaire life by taking on mysteries no one else can possibly solve.
But the murder of his father is his greatest adventure yet and reunites him with an older, smarter brother who went off-grid years ago and has been living on the streets ever since. How does this all connect to the secret space program and what has the planet Mars been planning for all of us?
#77 = PROFANE #1of 5 by Peter Milligan and Raul Fernandez (Boom! Studios, June 2024) A crime comic with several differences that distinguish it from the rest of the pack. I sampled Issue #1, and also look forward to the trade paperback in April 2025.
The first person narrative with shared observations is a homage to noir, but that’s not what makes this different. Milligan adds a little magic to his detective story. Main character and P.I. Will Profane uses a scrying spell to obtain clues, creating a pile of bourbon, lipstick, cigarettes, and an old Mickey Spillane paperback and gesturing over it.
The other difference is how Milligan lays out a thin line between reality and fiction and straddles it. The mystery trail leads to Spud Coltrane, a famous detective novelist. Profane
reads some of his work, and learns that Coltrane has used some of the events that have actually happened to Profane - - and his detective character shares the same name (Will Profane).
There’s a cool twist at the very end when Profane discovers the murdered body of the author. It won’t spoil the story to share it, because I’m sure Milligan has more surprises in store:
Profane narrates: “I’m a fictional character . . . If that wasn’t bad enough . . I’m a fictional character whose writer is dead. . . . And whose story can never be finished!” FOUR STARS.
#78-#80 = MARVEL 85TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL (Marvel Comics, October 2024) (Note To Self: Stop buying these over-sized anniversary tribute comics since they rarely satisfy completely.)
This $7.99 comic celebrating 85 years of Marvel Comics is better than some others for two reasons. 1) There is an introductory piece that creates the theme and links the stories together, which becomes a story in itself that concludes at the end (but I didn’t like the ending so much). Counting that, there are six stories here by various creators. 2) The art throughout is better than I’ve seen in the other anthology books.
The linking story is by Ryan North and Joshua Cassara and takes place in the 85th Century at the outer space Museum of Heroism as two monster aliens tell the stories behind the exhibits. It’s a ruse because they are secretly messing with time so they can destroy the home-worlds of their various visitors. However, they mistakenly assumed that the Wolverine and Deadpool visitors were just cosplayers. They are the originals (since in a way they are immortal and still around in the 85th century). They have their own ruse and back-up plan to foil the monsters.
The only story that really worked for me is nostalgic, an untold tale of the original Excalibur team, written and drawn by Alan Davis. There’s also a Ms Marvel tale that is just average, and a disappointing Peter Parker/Spider-Man story by the usually reliable Priest with art by Carla Pagulayan. A stylish Moon Knight story by manga writer/artist Yuji Kaku is interesting but confusing. A new Contest of Champions story written and drawn by the versatile Steve Skroce didn’t live up to the usual standards and was so-so. At least it crammed a lot of Marvel characters, enough that this tribute issue could seem fairly representative.
Overall, THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS.
#81 = BARFLY #1 by Kyle Starks, Patton Oswalt, and Jordan blum with art by Ryan Browne (Dark Horse Comics, July 2024) The interesting detailed art of Ryan Browne and that expressive cover are what drew me to this book. I had previously read just Issue #1 of MINOR THREATS, of which this is a spin-off title.
If you want super-hero titles with quirkiness and wacky humor, then you should be checking these books out.
With his boss (The Entomologist) in jail, Barfly (who everyone calls Sh*teater) is kind of lost without a henchman role. He works by day at Burger Mines (where the employees abuse him) and takes jobs on the side using his unique skills to assist low-level burglars (who then cheat him out of his take and abandon him).
Hard not to empathize with the poor guy. Things are looking up when his boss breaks out of jail and returns. THREE STARS.
