MY WEEK IN COMICS - - - May 18, 2025

MY WEEK IN COMICS  - - - for the week ending May 18, 2025

#311-#312 =  HELLO DARKNESS #10 of 12 by various creators (Boom! Studios, May 2025) 

     This issue was stronger than the previous ones, in my humble opinion. Not because the stories and art were necessarily better; but because they were different and showcased some new contributors. 

   My favorite of the four stories, one page of cartoons (Robert Hack) and several eerie poster pages this issue was “The Devil In The Corner Of Your Eye” by Genevieve Valentine and Ming Doyle. In a near future society, everything your eyes see is scanned and observed by ever-present facial recognition software and deemed an appropriate view or an inappropriate view in the domineering government’s opinion - - like 1984 with an even bigger presence.

An ordinary man tries not to let his focus dwell too long on any one thing, but his attention is misinterpreted and back-fires on him. 

   Dan Abnett and Jeff Stokely amuse with “A Friend Of Mine” and break the 4th and other walls in relating a mild ghost story that pokes fun at editors requesting certain types of tales.

  I had to laugh at how extreme and over-the-top “Granny Hags From Hell” by the Boulet Brothers (of vampire drag fame) and Max Fuchs. A comet passing by Earth causes elderly women to morph into berserker mutated assassins, just like the title implies.

   I’m getting tired of waiting for something to happen in James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera’s “Something Is Killing The Children: A Monster Hunter Walks Into A Bar, Part Five”. Even the bartender is getting impatient with the monster hunter sitting in the bar drinking and hearing local stories of children disappearing.

THREE AND THREE-QUARTER STARS overall.

#313 =  LOS MONSTRUOS #1 by James Robinson and Jesus Merino (Dark Horse Comics, May 2025) The first thing that grabbed my attention was the cover featuring a werewolf with a gun. Then the fabulous interior art and colors prompted me to give this a try. It also helped that the story was scripted by the reliable James Robinson. 

   The story is a tribute to those classic noir crime/detective movies. Just like those films, the time period appears to be the 1940’s. But not the Los Angeles of Sam Spade or Phillip Marlowe. This is the Los Monstruos of Perry Cutter, werewolf detective.

   The city is aptly named Los Monstruos because within its’ tightly enforced borders is a residency composed entirely of monsters of various types. In an alternate history, President Roosevelt received an assist in Cuba from the monsters. He then helped create a monster haven for them with this city.

   Perry gets a new contract from an elderly human who wants him to locate his former lover, now turned vampire, just so he can see her one last time and say fond farewells. The investigative trail points towards the casino of owner/mob boss Ramses Ra, a living mummy and his vampire gang. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS. 

#314 =  MARK SPEARS MONSTERS #0 FCBD SPECIAL written, drawn, colored by Mark Spears, letters by Micah Myers (Keenspot Entertainment, May 2025)”All That Remains” Prelude - Have You Found The Yellow Sign? This is not a reprint, but an original story that takes place before the events in the main title. Also, the entire story takes place in one timeline, in one and only one setting - - a nice departure from the complexity and confusion found in the main title. By focusing on a single aspect of his epic storyline, Spears also displays better scripting skills. 

   Sad-looking clown Mr. Fun E. Bones tries to entice an innocent little girl to go with him to Clown Town where he intends to feed her to King Clown. He is thwarted by Slayer and vows his revenge, enlisting a new player who looks like a female version of Slayer.

   By the way, there is no yellow sign within the story that I could find. In fact, there are no bright colors whatsoever, except for some red. The shading is pretty dark and very deep blue/gray.

     Like the early issues of MARK SPEARS MONSTERS this is already valued at $3, not bad for a Free Comic Book Day title. If you have a copy hang onto it.

    As for me, my fascination with this title and the art is wearing off. I’ve got nothing against digital art. It’s still a skill, and Spears is very adept at it. THREE STARS.

#315 =  TOM STRONG #1 by Alan Moore and Chris Sprouse (DC Comics / America’s Best Comics, June 1999) Back in the last months of the 20th Century, creator Alan Moore launched America’s Best Comics under the DC/Wildstorm umbrella. The tamest and safest of the lot was TOM STRONG, which ran for 36 issues and spawned three spin-off mini-series.

  Tom Strong is a kind of hybrid Doc Savage/Tom Swift/Tarzan hero and Issue #1 is his origin story told through the eyes of an adoring young fan who just received a packet from his fan club and reads the issue on his way to school.

   Tom Strong’s parents are sailing in the 1899 West Indies and crash upon some rocks on a fabulous island (Attabar Teru). They are able to salvage Sinclair Strong’s steam-powered Pneumatic Man. The natives spy on them until the coming of Tomas Strong, when they decide to assist in the childbirth.

   Tom grows up on the island, surrounded by the Pneumatic Man and his father’s other inventions, until an erupting volcano kills his parents. The natives raise him until he’s ready to leave. But he’ll be back to marry the chief’s daughter, Dhalia. By 1999, Tom and Dhalia have a teenage daughter (Tesla) and a gorilla butler (King Solomon). THREE STARS.

#316 =  TOM STRONG #2 by Alan Moore and Chris Sprouse (DC Comics/America’s Best Comics, July 1999) While Tom Strong is away on Venus, his daughter Tesla Strong handles the return of old foe The Modular Man — who converts everything metal to his own construct that slowly expands across all buildings in the city, doubling in size every forty minutes.  Tom Strong arrives just in time to infiltrate the Modular Man from the inside and persuade him to make a deal - - trading Venus for sparing Millennium City. THREE STARS.

#317 =  TOM STRONG #6 by Alan Moore with art by Chris Sprouse and Dave Gibbons (DC Comics/America’s Best Comics, February 2000) I forgot to mention before that in addition to a wholesome storyline, the art in these issues is also very appealing, kind of a throwback to the pulp era. Arch foe Saveen lays several traps for Tom Strong, including an underwater tank.

   Meanwhile, Dhalia and Tesla Strong are searching for Tom, and come across the Nazi warrior women who kidnapped him for Saveen. Across town, Tom has his hands full fighting an assembly of classic foes, while Saveen saves the most surprising adversary for the final pages. A continued story, that I was not able to finish. THREE STARS.

#318 =  BLOOD TYPE #0 FCBD 2025 SPECIAL by various (Oni Press/EC Comics, May 2025) A great introduction to the EC revival for those still unacquainted, featuring one reprinted story each from all three of the titles. 

   First up, from EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS is “Blood Type”, the short story that launches the upcoming BLOOD TYPE series. Corinna Bechko and Jonathan Case tell the tale of a female vampire on the run, who ends up on a chartered yacht, and then in a lifeboat where she persuades the other passengers that they can survive by drinking each other’s blood. She is the only one with stomach enough to handle it.

   “The Champion” by Matt Kindt and Kano is one of my favorite tales from CRUEL UNIVERSE, a touching drama about enslaved gladiators battling in a cosmic arena.

    From CRUEL KINGDOM comes “Death And Pickaxes” by Chris Condon and Charlie Adlard, about what happened after the Seven Dwarfs passed away and it was up to the Eighth Dwarf to complete the mission.  FOUR STARS overall.

#319 =  VANISHING POINT #1 by Mark Russell and Juan Doe (Mad Cave, April 2025) Mark Russell is one of the few scripters today who can pull off a dramatic one-and-done story in a single issue.

It’s a strong start to this series, a tale of a solitary asteroid miner living in isolation and worrying for his family back on Earth. It’s sad, heartfelt, and its message will stay with you after the last page. THREE AND THREE-QUARTER STARS.

  Synopsis from the publisher: 

In “Screams”, the captain of a mining ship goes on a ten year solo mission to the Jupiter Asteroid Belt where he makes a horrifying discovery!

VANISHING POINT is an anthology of short stories that are part science fiction and part existential horror. These are stories with a twist in which the twist is not the point of the story, but a beginning point from which to ask what it means to be alive.

#320 =  FCBD 2025: STAR WARS by various creators (Marvel Comics, June 2025) Marvel, who is part of the Disney empire, has enjoyed the licensing rights to Star Wars properties for 10 years now. While I was sad to see Dark Horse lose the rights, I have to admit that Marvel has been doing an admirable job.

    This issue is a sampler, and previews three new series - all with promise. 

     “Past Is Prologue” by Alex Segura and Phil Noto  features Luke Skywalker assaulting raiders who have been preying on New Republic trading vessels. The story continues in the next STAR WARS #1 re-boot.

   “Legacy of Vanee” by Charles Soule and Stefano Raffaele details the lonely vigil of a servant of Darth Vader who watches over his fortress for years after Vader’s death. He longs for a chance to continue to serve, until one day he discovers “there is another.”  It appears that may be Kylo Ren, to be continued in LEGACY OF VADER.

   “The Moon Of Death” by Marc Guggenheim and Maribel Musabekov goes back even further in Star Wars lore as Maverick Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn is troubled by a vision of Obi-Wan Kenobi that an assassin named Corlis Rath is fated to kill Jinn. To be continued in JEDI KNIGHTS #3. Overall, THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS.

#321 =  DIABLO: DAWN OF HATRED FCBD by Cullen Bunn and Daniele Serra (Titan Comics, May 2025) I’m assuming this is a tie-in to the Diablo video game, which I only vaguely remember. I don’t know if the regular series will be in full color, but this preview is only black and white and looks unfinished in some of the panels. 

    I also can’t tell if this takes place in a medieval setting or a fantasy world of the past/future/present. The story takes place on Sanctuary (wherever that is) and the seeming rise from the grave of Akarat, a long-dead ascetic. 

     Plenty of evil-minded players want to see the would-be savior dead and others flock to him like a messiah. The story is helped by detailed character portraits and biographies in the back pages, as well as some “script to art” pages that show how Bunn’s vision was illustrated. THREE STARS.

#322-#323 =  CONAN THE BARBARIAN FREE COMIC BOOK DAY MAY 2025 (Titan Comics) “A Simple Steal” by Jim Zub and Ivan Gil. Keep your eye on Ivan Gil. He has the right chops to illustrate barbarian adventures. This story, which is a prelude to the “Conan: Scourge Of The Serpent” upcoming event, looks gorgeous.

   Mercenary Conan accepts a job to break into a tower and ends up discovering so much more. The storyline will begin in SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #10 and rotate with the CONAN: SCOURGE OF THE SERPENT mini-series. 

      If you’re a Conan fan, you should be checking out how Titan Comics is handling the property. I’m following the black-and-white SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN magazine, as it also features other Robert E. Howard characters as well as Conan originals (usually by Jim Zub) and classic Conan reprints. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.

#324-#325 =  BOOM! STUDIOS 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL FCBD 2025 by various creators (Boom, May 2025) Five popular series are previewed: 

BRZRKR by Keanu Reeves/Matt Kindt and Ron Garney (the opening pages to Issue #1) a series I couldn’t get into. 

IRREDEEMABLE by Mark Waid and Peter Krause (brutal superhero action from Volume One) a series I plan to read some day but not this year.

THE MANY DEATHS OF LAILA STARR by Ram V and Filipe Andrade = Laila used to be the Goddess of Death. Then she got fired and met Kah, the funeral crow. Not enough pages here for me to figure out where this is going. I bookmarked it for later.

MOUSE GUARD everything by David Petersen. I’m familiar but have never read a Mouse Guard volume. An elaborate fantasy world with well-dressed walking-upright mice. Some day maybe I’ll check it out.

HELLO DARKNESS = I think this might be an original story, as I don’t remember reading it and I have all the issues published so far: “Afters” by Tini Howard and Chloe Brailsford. Young ladies gather around a pool, all friends, come to share their dreams. Except Margo seems like an outcast, and doesn’t want to talk about her dreams. They should have listened to her.

Overall, THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.

#326-#327 =  IDW DARK (FIND YOUR NEW FEAR) FCBD by various creators (IDW Publishing, May 2025) Four new series are previewed.

BENEATH THE TREES WHERE NOBOBY SEES: RITE OF SPRING written and illustrated by Patrick Horvath. Second volume returns to the quaint little village inhabited by cute storybook animals in clothing that hides dark secrets (like serial killers). Ms. Brewer the duck wants to find her missing brother and won’t let the police drop the case.

30 DAYS OF NIGHT: FALLING SUN by Rodney Barnes and Chris Shehan. A return to Barrow, Alaska (population 4,383) and an underworld plot to revive the vampire horde. 

TUATHA written and illustrated by Gavin Fullerton. Two woodland tribes in bloody war against each other.

BLOOD HONEY written and illustrated by Sean Peacock. Blood and romance in high school, involving cheerleaders and teams in fencing competitions. That’s all I can make of it from the pages revealed here.

OVERALL, THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS. I’m really only interested in the first series, maybe the second, and then meh. 

#328 =  I HATE FAIRYLAND FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2025 written and drawn by Scottie Young (Image Comics) This is one of those comics titles that I’ve been ignoring, just can’t read everything. However, now that I’ve sampled this I may just pick up Volume One and give it a go.

   Scottie Young has Gertrude attempt to cope with her unhealthy mental state by journaling, and uses that as a way to re-cap her adventures in Fairyland and bring new readers up to date.

  Storyline and art are weird, wacky, and fun. The back pages preview some art by Derek Laufman, who will be taking over illustration duties on this book in the future. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.

#329 = POST MALONE’S BIG RIG #0 by Post Malone and Adrian Wassel with art by Nathan Gooden (Vault Comics, FCBD 2025) I respect the talent of country crossover artist Post Malone although I don’t care for his songs or style. That doesn’t mean he makes for a good comic book writer/creator. He doesn’t. 

However, if you appreciate the art style of Nathan Gooden (of Barbaric fame), and I do, then you may want to check out this title. This is a black-and-white preview, but the art jumps off the page.

   The story is too dumb for my liking. It’s “The Dark Ages” and “demon hordes plague Europe as Hell invades Earth.” . . . “The Six Petals, a secret sect of the Knights Templar, are in desperate need of a holy weapon to drive back the scourge.”

    A timeline for the story is not specified, but the art makes it appear to be medieval times. But the holy weapon turns out to be a huge truck, the Big Rig. Apparently never having driven before, our young hero enters the cab of the truck and is miraculously transformed into “Trucker . . . Deliverer of Vengeance” and proceeds to run over a bunch of demons. Spare me, please. TWO STARS.

#330 =  GODZILLA: THE NEW HEROES by various creators (IDW Publishing, FCBD 2025) Between IDW and Marvel - - it’s the Godzilla Renaissance! Too much of a good thing? Too much of anything? Somebody must be buying these books. 

    This previews three new series.

GODZILLA by Tim Seeley and Nikola Cizmesija. Present day New York City is a walled metropolis, but will that stop Godzilla? Enter the U.S.A. defenders - - the G-Force, who remind me of the Suicide Squad (maybe the same eventual fate awaits).

GODZILLA: ESCAPE THE DEADZONE by Ethan S. Parker & Griffin Sheridan with art by Pablo Tunica. The Deadline is overrun by kaiju, but for the right price The Wanderer will kill them for you. 

STARSHIP GODZILLA by Chris Gooch and Oliver Ono.  Intergalactic pirates steal a cache of kaiju eggs and land on the wrong planet to try and sell them. Mechagodzilla will feature in this somewhere - - maybe it becomes their new spaceship.

Overall, TWO AND ONE-HALF STARS. I haven’t been reading these books, not even the Godzilla vs Marvel one-shots, or the Godzilla vs. Chicago/Los Angeles/big cities etc. . . but I’m already burned out on Godzilla. However, what I will continue reading is the Godzilla trilogy by Frank Tieri. (Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons, etc).