MY WEEK IN COMICS - - - August 03, 2025

MY WEEK IN COMICS  - - -   FOR WEEK ENDING AUGUST 03, 2025    

#479-#494 =   SECONDS graphic novel by Bryan Lee O’Malley (Ballantine Books, 2014) Hardcover, 330 pages. 

I never read any of the SCOTT PILGRIM books, and I don't remember seeing the movie. This was my first encounter with the work of Bryan Lee O'Malley and I'm beginning to see why those former works were so popular. O'Malley is a good story-teller, and his manga-influenced art is simplistic yet appealing in a whimsical way.

The story centers around the restaurant business and is a hodgepodge of the slice-of-life, romance, fantasy, and supernatural genres. After helping to open one successful restaurant, called Seconds, and achieving a measure of notoriety but not much wealth, main character Katie yearns to stretch her capabilities again and open a new restaurant. She's sort of a behind-the-scenes, not-as-important component at Seconds, and is also coming off a broken relationship. 

Despite the recognition and respect shown to her by customers and employees she's not satisfied and wants things to be perfect. Through a house spirit, she finds a way to fix "mistakes" and immediately changes the outcome of a restaurant employee's burn accident. 

But she's not satisfied, and wants to fix many "mistakes", although the house spirit is not happy to assist her. O'Malley keeps many aspects of his story vague and subject to reader interpretation. Did all these changes occur, or was Katie just experiencing things in alternate realities. 

Aside from some questionable scenes, this could easily serve as a young adult graphic novel. Perhaps that is why O'Malley seems to have deliberately included a scene in which Katie answers a question about what she has learned from the experience. Ironically, the restaurant office manager/co-owner points to a familiar quotation on a wall poster that Katie has seen every day - - about accepting the things you cannot change, etc. 

An entertaining read that is capable of generating discussion and reflection. I read this with a book club group from my local comic book shop. FOUR STARS.

#495-#499 =  HASHTAG: DANGER #1-#5 of 5 by Tom Peyer and Chris Giarrusso (Ahoy Comics, 2019)

     I didn’t want to write this review - - - because I admire this small

comics publisher out of Syracuse, NY and wish them well. They seem

to have a mission to produce comics that both entertain and amuse and leave the darker stuff to others. They put the funny back in funny books. If I could only recommend one of their titles it would be EDGAR ALLAN POE’S SNIFTER OF TERROR (Volume One or Volume Two). Please pick it up and give them some love.

    As for HASHTAG: DANGER there is very little that is funny about this title, although the cartoonish art is amusing. The book has a look like the Archie Comics house style, with a little exaggeration. However, this is a title that doesn’t seem to find its niche. It’s too dumb for most adults and too mature for younger readers. 

   The Hashtag: Danger team feels like a parody of Challengers Of The Unknown. They take on Yeti, Cyber-Earth, Cyber Fist, outer space, the time barrier, the non-existent Ape In The Iron Mask, imposters, and other threats (that only appear on the covers). 

    The team numbers just three members (and a baby yeti): Einstein Armstrong (the brain), Sugar Rae Huang (the brawn) and Desiree Danger (disputed leader). They seem more concerned with getting likes on social media and monetizing their team than saving lives. They are constantly bickering and nearly break up every issue.

   Each issue features a back-up story featuring Melville Snelson, an aging hippie and stand-up comedian down on his luck. His stand-up routine is deliberately unfunny, but the situations he’s placed in are more depressing than entertaining. To sum it up: “why?” TWO STARS.

#500-#501 =  CATACOMB OF TORMENT #1 (Oni Press /EC Comics, July 2025)

Another new title in the tradition of classic EC horror comics - and this one does not disappoint with three new stories and a reprint. 

    “What’s The Deal With Voodoo?” by John Arcudi and Patrick Piazzalunga is my favorite this time. Ralph Lesser, an aging stand-up comedian tries to stay relevant, but his jokes keep upsetting many sensitive audience members. Two of them confront him after the show, and accidentally cause his death. Cover-up is no joke. 

   A group of young entitled hipsters complain about the island resort where they are vacationing, make fun of the native help, and are generally obnoxious in “Quintana Roo” by Marguerite Bennett and Dan McDaid. They decide to ignore warning and explore the countryside outside the resort. The land has a mind of its own and resents outsiders, who meet grisly ends. Can’t say I feel sorry for them.

  Matt Kindt and David Lapham present “Garden Variety” in which a renowned executive chef has an unscrupulously cultivated mushroom garden where he prepares his secretive dishes until one day he gathers from the wrong source.

   “Halloween!” is the reprint story by William M. Gaines and Al Feldstein with art by Graham Ingels (from Shock SuspenStories #2, April/May 1952). A tightwad orphanage manager keeps his wards in unhealthy living conditions and pockets the State money for himself until the orphans decide to get creative with Halloween decorations.  Overall, FOUR STARS.

#502-#503 =  THEY CHOOSE VIOLENCE #1 of 5 by Sheldon Allen and Mauricio Campetella (AWA, June 2025) There aren’t many comics published these days where, after reading the debut issue, I immediately want to know what happens next. If I’m interested in the story, I can wait for the eventual trade paperback. (It used to be that publishers would only put out the better selling titles in trade paperback editions. Nowadays, everything makes it to a trade paperback.)

   THEY CHOOSE VIOLENCE is one of those titles that I would pick up every month because I don’t want to wait. Unfortunately, after buying Issue #1, I didn’t get around to reading it until just now. Issue #2 is out of stock. So, I’ll be waiting for that trade paperback.

   In short, this is a crime thriller about a vigilante trio of black women who in the daytime have professional jobs and in the nighttime bring brutal and fatal justice to those who did not receive sufficient or any prosecution for their criminal acts. Their targets are not just “bad” police officers, but include “bad” lawyers, judges, and lobbyists.

    So, this is a comic with a point to make, but I’m not entirely sure what it is just yet. Surprisingly, for what should be a controversial comic generating much pro and con opinions, there isn’t much I find in the news feed. The presentation is not subtle, but it seems that writer Sheldon Allen took a measured approach to the subject. It could be even more violent, but it doesn’t need to be.

    There are informative prefaces and afterwords that are even more revealing. In the preface publisher Alex Alonso refers to previous controversial titles that he was involved with, specifically TRUTH: RED, WHITE & BLACK (Marvel Comics, 2001). Of THEY CHOOSE VIOLENCE, Alonso says “this is no formulaic revenge saga for a ‘woke’ audience, with clear cut heroes and villains; it is the thrilling, cathartic and challenging tale of a three-woman vigilante squad whose revenge fantasy collides with the grim reality of unintended consequences.”

   In the afterword, writer Sheldon Allen promises “this won’t end the way you think it will.”  That is the promise that prompts me to want to read further. He clarifies: “I ain’t trying to preach or judge. There’s no agenda here other than observation and entertainment.” 

   His observations: “In this little thing we call civilization . . . violence has been normalized to such a degree that it’s on the precipice of being the preferred and only acceptable response to conflict resolution. We’ve all been complicit - - whether through inaction or active engagement - - in erecting a society where sympathy, empathy, compassion, and patience are punishable traits assigned to Beta runts, while aggression, intimidation, coercion, and retaliation are rewarded.” 

     His conclusion: “My hope with THEY CHOOSE VIOLENCE is to muse about what a full-scale embrace of violence would look like. It’s feasibility. The consequences. The collateral damage. The emotional toll. The descent into darkness. The morality of it all. Because believe it or not, this story is ultimately about you.”

    That’s an extremely bold promise. We’ll see if he can deliver on it. Based on potential, I”ve elevated the rating to FOUR AND ONE-HALF STARS. Hoping Allen and Campetella can deliver a FIVE-STAR series.