For the week ending May 11, 2025
#302 = BAD KITTY FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2025 (Roaring Brook Press, May 2025) written, illustrated colored and lettered by Nick Bruel Looking for an appropriate FCBD title to share with my grandkids (9, 6 & 6) I came across this and one other book.
This previews the first chapter of the upcoming BAD KITTY GETS A JOB graphic novel. The preview is prefaced and end-capped by commentary from a cat and mouse with many cool
references that parents can enjoy as well.
Bad Kitty is playing the video game, Hyper Crazed Feral Alley Cat Mayhem 3, and isn’t very good at it. He/she sees an ad for an armor accessory and begs his/her owners to buy it. Bad Kitty realizes the only way to get it is to go out and find a paying job.
FOUR STARS, in kid ratings.
#303 = DR. SEUSS GRAPHIC NOVELS FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2025 (Random House Children’s Books, May 2025) Before
this, I did not know that there were a series of new graphic novels based on characters from Dr. Seuss books. Every one of these stories fits that famous blend of wackiness, education, and life’s lessons that Seuss books are known for.
I liked them all, but my favorite of the three is “Green Eggs and Ham and the Lost Kitten” by James Kochalka. On a boring day, two dog-like characters can’t decide between seeing the new animal at the Zoo or finding the missing kitten. They try several funny ways to attract the kitten to them before realizing the connection between the two things.
Art Baltazar visits Cat In The Hat mythology with a look at the new graphic novel “Thing One & Thing Two Have Homework To Do” by way of a counting lesson. Kate Vandorn previews the upcoming graphic novel “The Grinch Takes A Vacation” and shows what led to his decision-making. FOUR STARS, in kid ratings.
#304 = RED ROOM FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2021 written, illustrated and lettered by the late Ed Piskor. (Fantagraphics Books, May 2021)
Warning: This contains extremely disturbing content.
Many comics fans shunned Piskor after he was accused of sexual misconduct. He lost several comics and film contracts, and lost his partner co-host - who then cancelled their successful YouTube Channel = Cartoonist Kayfabe! Shamed and despondent, Piskor took his own life. I’m not judging him, but the power of social media, etc to ruin lives is just as disturbing to me. I decided to visit some of his work, having pre-ordered several Red Room mini-series and never gotten to them. Maybe because it requires mental preparation before daring to read this.
Never one to shy away from controversial topics in his comic/art, Piskor took a dramatic departure here from his last work GRAND DESIGN, an inventive re-telling of the origins of Marvel’s X-Men.
Unlike a lot of FCBD offerings that are reprints, this is an add-on to the existing RED ROOM series and an entry point for new readers who dare. This is unsettling stuff. Because of the dark web and the benefits of untraceable crypto-currency, a new subculture has emerged: the live-streaming of webcam murders for entertainment, with voyeurs using bitcoin to pay and thereby avoiding being traced through conventional channels.
Reading this series requires bravery. Strong stomachs only. Despite the controversy, this remains a significant work in “underground” comics. The rating reflects my respect for the distinctive art style of Piskor, reminding me of classic 1970’s underground comics from R. Crumb and others. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#305 = I WAS A FASHION SCHOOL SERIAL KILLER #1 by Doug Wagner and Daniel Hillyard (Image Comics, April 2025) Mixing the fashion industry with murder? Now, that’s a concept I don’t recall seeing before - which attracted me to this book just based on the title alone. This is creepy and bloody, but it’s more than just that. There’s a good story behind the front window displays.
This title shows promise.
Main character Rennie is skilled at both design and execution, and this earns her acceptance at a fashion school. She’s a serial killer on the side, but she seems to have valid reasons for who is victimized. Besides her skills with leather, she also hand-carves hair chopsticks from bone and sews with human skin.
We don’t learn too much about her in Issue #1. She seems sort of an outcast, wears punk styles, and scratches at various itches when she gets annoyed. The supporting cast is also interesting.
Two murders occur in the debut issue, but I think Rennie is just getting started. THREE AND THREE-QUARTER STARS.
#306 = YOU’LL DO BAD THINGS #1 by Tyler Boss and Adriano Turtulici (Image Comics, March 2025) This book has been getting a good share of critical praise. I’m just getting around to reading it, after picking it up based on the promotional synopsis that called it inspired by Italian giallo films (which I happen to like).
It’s a competent mystery/horror blend and the comparisons to giallo are not misleading. Main character Seth Helms is a popular author of true crime novelizations spotlighting brutal murder sprees. He’s had nothing in the works for ten years, and is struggling with trying to write a romance novel while his publisher is pushing him to return to true crime, or at minimum crime fiction.
He seems to be suffering from headaches and missing lapses in time. Everything he tries to write turns to crime/horror which keeps ending in the character’s death - - incidentally there are also murders (that mirror his writing) happening in real life by a masked knife-wielding maniac.
While I may return to this later, I’m not going any further at this time. A couple things bother me. The story goes vague in places where it doesn’t need to. The art is reminiscent of Sean Phillips’ style but not as engaging. Turtulici colors his own work, and his choices seem wrong and pull me out of the story. I just don’t like the look of this book. THREE STARS.
#307 = BEST OF 2000AD FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2025 (Rebellion, May 2025) Four short tales from the world of 2000AD.
“Judge Dredd: Crossing Ken Dodd” (John Wagner and Jock) details how a whole troop of judges are required to escort a dignitary across a hazardous street from work to his home under heavy gun and missile fire. Who could be that hated? The twist is in the end.
“Rogue Trooper: The Fanatics” (Peter Milligan and Jose Ortiz) reveals what the genetic infantryman Rogue Trooper learns about the banality of the endless war as he crosses the remains of a battlefield.
“Scarlett Traces: Empire Of Blood” (Ian Edginton and D’Israeli) is a continuation of H.G. Well’s The War Of The Worlds with the British Empire utilizing the alien technology. It’s an excerpt from the graphic novel series.
“Anderson, PSI Division: The Seer (Alex de Campi and Silvia Califano) features psi-judge Cassandra Anderson who finds a seer with strange prophetic power, leading her to discover a new parasitic threat.
The art and stories are usually worthwhile and helps justify my occasionally buying some of the Essential Collections from Rebellion that collect some of the best stories. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#308 = ZENESCOPE LEGENDS: SPRING EDITION 2025 (Zenoscope, April 2025) I have to confess that the majority of what I’ve read from local comics publisher Zenescope (Huntingdon Valley, PA) has come from random single issues and trade paperbacks I found in bargain bins. I’ve never felt the need to follow any of their titles or series on a regular basis.
However, if you are more interested in reading “old school” stories of simple action/adventure usually featuring attractive and strong female lead characters - Zenescope has a lot to offer.
The prolific Joe Brusha (also President and CCO) wrote all three short entries here, featuring Robyn Hood (art by Gabriel Jardim), Van Helsing (art by Saint Yak) and a newer (male) character Killer Kobra (art by Massimiliano La Manno).
My favorite story in this preview edition is “Van Helsing: The Last Stake” where vampire hunter Van Helsing learns that old enemy Lord Victor Aldane is nearly resurrected. Knowing that she is no match for his chess skills, she agrees to a match and while losing, she still manages to slow him down enough to accomplish her mission. THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS.
#309-#310 = VATICAN CITY #1 by Mark Millar with art, color & letters by Per Berg (Dark Horse Comics, April 2025) I’ve never read a bad story from Mark Millar. I admire him but not everything he does is great (in my opinion) - so I pick and choose. After reading this over-sized debut issue I’ve decided to take a pass. As vampire stories go, this one doesn’t feel like it's going to move forward into different directions or contain characters that I start caring about.
A multitude of vampires organize and move about in daylight, apparently protected from the sun by their hooded cloaks. They start in Princeton, New Jersey and then overcome the entire state and then all of the United States. It’s bloody, and the art by Per Berg is interesting and sometimes the point of view is depicted as if drones or overhead cameras were capturing the action.
It’s not long before the vampire armada heads to Italy and the Vatican, where supposedly the holy structure was erected overtop the tomb of the Queen of the Vampires. A young applicant for the Swiss Guard that protects the Pope just happens to arrive when the Guard are outside the Vatican on holiday with the Pope. He soon finds that he arrived at the wrong time. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
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