MY MONTH IN COMICS - - - for the four weeks ending on Sunday FEBRUARY 08, 2026
Editor’s Note: I’ve encountered a tech glitch on my blogspot account. Admittedly, I’m not tech savvy and have learned my way around various apps through trial and error. Blogspot is part of Google, and at present Google is blocking any attempts to insert stored cover images from my laptop. I have yet to figure out how to correct this and the Google help pages aren’t really showing me the way. I also tried copying and pasting these images - which is tedious - - but while the images showed up in my draft they were blank when posted to the blog.
Sometime in the future I will either correct this or have to make a decision whether to continue posting reviews. Without images, I feel they are less likely to be reader-friendly.
#37 = ET ER #2 (AWA/Upshot, June 2022) Three science-fiction stories that feature medical tales of an ER (emergency room) that services ETs (extra-terrestrials).
The best story this time is “Herd” by John Lees and Laci Krstic. The residential quarters of an expedition to mine and terraform a remote planet is nearly wiped out by giant wasps. The two remaining survivors are waiting for the Galactic Council to send a rescue ship, but decide to go outdoors and kill some wasps.
The medic who arrives in a huge armored suit coming to their rescue has a bigger challenge to worry about involving an airborne virus. There’s a surprise ending.
In “Final Cut” by Stuart Moore and Nelson Blake II, an alien movie director is troubled by numerous setbacks on set - enough to cause him to worry and ingest a ton of weird drugs. His Assistant Director gets him to the interplanetary emergency room and subjects the medical staff to the director’s hallucinations and ramblings. However, she has other objectives in mind.
Two EMTs have to transport an unconscious alien, their “Precious Cargo” (by Michael Coast and Mark Texeira) through some planetary obstacle courses (meteor showers, asteroid swarms, etc) in order to help save a waiting patient at the galactic hospital. Will they arrive in time? Will the surgery succeed?
I like the premise of this anthology series. There have only been two issues released, and since that was four years ago - - I’m not anticipating any more. I enjoyed both of these, with a slight nod of favoritism to Issue #1. Overall, THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#38-#47 = DR. WERTHLESS: THE MAN WHO STUDIED MURDER (AND NEARLY KILLED THE COMICS INDUSTRY) graphic novel biography by Harold Schechter and Eric Powell (Dark Horse Comics, July 2025) Hardcover, 200 pages . . . . .
I found this biography of Dr. Fredric Wertham to be very informative and it changed my opinion of the man, who I previously only knew as the author of SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT and his influence on comic books, the establishment of the Comics Code, the demise of the EC horror titles, etc.
Despite the text-heavy panels, illustrator Eric Powell did a remarkable job of hitting the key points in just the right way. His profile of Wertham is realistic without being a caricature.
You might think that based on the title, this is not an objective biography. I thought it was very fair, and showed all sides of the complex Dr. Wertham. If anything, he was a sympathetic psychiatrist who did his best to understand the motives of some very horrific serial killers in an effort to help derive a cure for the condition. He also established a free mental health clinic in the Harlem borough of New York City.
So,despite his zealous campaign against comic books, he had a good side as well. The author shows how his individual personality quirks held him back, and how he used the comics campaign to promote himself. FOUR STARS.
#48-#49 = ABSOLUTE BATMAN 2025 ANNUAL (DC Comics, 2nd printing, March 2026)
This stand-alone annual allows other creators to play within the Absolute Batman world of Scott Snyder. The two stories here are non-essential to the main title, but provide lots of entertainment. The art is well above-average, and is what prompted me to pick this up.
The spotlight story here is the untitled opener from writer-artist Daniel Warren Johnson. Batman takes on a group of white supremacists. It’s violent and brutal in places. The Absolute Batman has nothing to hold him back from utilizing a flame-thrower, or his massive tank-like vehicle to crash and smash. This is the new Bat-mobile?
Batman’s actions are as extreme as the extremists he is fighting. It takes a more benevolent Catholic priest to intervene and hold him back.
The current action is book-ended by flashback scenes where young Bruce Wayne discusses a newspaper article about an extremist bombing incident with Thomas, his father. Thomas Wayne shows his gentle nature in the way he answers Bruce’s questions. Ironically, Bruce answers his father’s understanding by stating: “You did a lot of cool stuff when you were younger, Dad. You made a difference. You did something. I’m gonna do that too. I’m going to be just like you.”
The second story, “Sanctuary” by writer-artist James Warren is a little harder to figure out what exactly is going on - - but the art is equally engaging. Some young criminals in Black Mask head gear break into the home of one of their dads. They are obviously not welcome, and when Batman arrives (who has been trailing them) it’s another brutal violent battle. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS overall.
#50-#53 = EXQUISITE CORPSES, VOLUME ONE by James Tynion IV and Michael Walsh with assists from other creators (Image Comics, September 2025)
This is my second reading of this offbeat, diabolical horror/crime mashup. I was prompted to pick it up again (and glad I did) because this was a selection of the Captain Blue Hen Book Club, and then bookmarked for a later date. After a second reading, I remain impressed and delighted by the incredible premise and potential of this book. I’m elevating my original rating of Four Stars to FIVE STARS and recommend this to all readers who appreciate this genre.
Here is the core of this series: a generational group of elite, entitled wealthy from the original 13 colonies meet every five years to determine who will sit at the head of power, The method of decision: a gladiator-like game of death between hand-picked murderers of various stripes and peculiarities until only one representative remains standing. The location: a small town in Maine that can be easily sealed off, the ruling powers and law enforcement bought off, and the unsuspecting residents unaware that they are in the middle of a blood bath and are likely to become innocent victims.
It’s hard to find any of the 13 elites and 12 killers to empathize with; but there are three non-residents that I root for and hope they survive:
- Laura, the niece of the absent police chief, an innocent EMT tech who encounters one of the killers in Volume One.
- Audrey, the single parent mother of a five-year old, who’s struggling to make ends meet and works for a demanding and uncaring boss.
- Craig, the college-aged friend to all, who doesn’t have a mean bone in his body and goes out of his way to help Audrey (crush on an older woman, maybe?) when her work demands get in the way of spending Halloween with her son.
Among the powerful class, I am attracted to two members but I don’t worry about them. I don’t think author Tynion does either - he hasn’t identified any of them by name, just the states that they represent.
- The elderly woman from Massachusetts. She seems a bit cynical and somewhat disgusted by her association with the others, and a little ashamed of her family’s history. She seems to be in the game for spite, rather than money or power.
- The woman from South Carolina, who seems to have the most class and is constantly harassed by New York (the rep that I dislike the most). Her chosen killer is her twin sister, who was tired of watching from the sidelines and has trained for this.
Among the killers, I wish them all to lose. If I have to root for any of them, I’d pick The Fox Mask Killer (New York) because they look cool and I expect a prominent role (based on the cover spotlight). My second choice would be the Lone Gunman (Massachusetts) not because of his background (pretty awful history) but because he’s the pick of the elderly woman.
#54-#55 = MARVEL/DC: DEADPOOL/BATMAN #1 2nd printing (Marvel Comics, December 2025) Since I enjoyed the BATMAN/DEADPOOL offering from DC, I was happy to find a copy of this.
I have to say the Marvel crossover book is head-and-shoulders better than the DC crossover book. For one, the creative talent assembled is better. Also, the main story by Zeb Wells and Greg Capullo has a much more interesting storyline, easier to understand compared to what Grant Morrison came up with, has Deadpool actually being funny, and contains many humorous scenes. In a nutshell, Deadpool is hired by The Joker to capture and deliver The Batman.
Like the DC/Marvel crossover book, the remainder of this one is filled out with short stories featuring more team-ups from the two publishers. Like the DC book, many of these are pointless and fail to entertain - - with two exceptions this time.
I especially enjoyed the Captain America/Wonder Woman tale, a heart-warming story with a message by Chip Zdarsky and Terry Dodson. Also better-than expected is the Daredevil/Green Arrow team-up by Kevin Smith and Adam Kubert. Overall, THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#56 = STRANGE #1 by Jed McKay and Marcelo Ferreira(Marvel, March 2022) I enjoyed this version of the Doctor Strange universe enough that, after reading two issues, I subscribed to the 10-issue mini-series. After forgetting about it for several years, I’m going to finish reading. What I like about STRANGE is that it operates in the same milieu as DOCTOR STRANGE (which to me often seemed heavy-handed) but takes a more light-hearted approach that goes down easier.
The new Sorcerer Supreme is Clea, Strange’s estranged wife, and she’s a badass (not even as forgiving as Stephen, more blunt and to the point).
Before joining the afterlife for the third and final time (we’ll see if that holds), Stephen Strange gave Clea his Eye of Agamotto, Cloak of Levitation, and another unnamed (so far) gift/skill. Doctor Doom shows up claiming those treasures for himself, and gets promptly turned away.
Clea’s purpose, with assistance from Wong, is to bring back Stephen permanently. She has to navigate the cool Shrouded Bazaar first and hold off an attack on a goblin and other fairy-like merchants from the Blasphemy Cartel. After a short break, Clea has to survive the mysterious scythe-wielding Harvestman (like the Grim Reaper) and a monstrous Thunderstrike. An interesting opening. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#57 = STRANGE #2 by Jed MacKay and Marcelo Ferreira (Marvel, June 2022) Clea, daughter of Dormammu and wife of Stephen Strange, is as determined as ever to defy Death and resurrect her husband. I, for one, am in no hurry to see her do so, as STRANGE presents a fresher version and sometimes more humorous version of those familiar DOCTOR STRANGE tropes while also introducing some fascinating new elements and characters.
This starts off as a battle between The Harvestman (the enforcer of Death) and a zombie version of fallen hero Thunderstrike with Clea stuck in the middle. As she later recounts to Wong, Clea sees this as a possible opening to bring Stephen back while Death and her minion are distracted.
Wong cautions: “I don’t like this, Clea. It feels like an escalation. Death has created a counterpart to the Sorcerer Supreme. An opposite number . . . . . And this ‘revenant” threat . . . things are stirring in Death’s Domain in ways that we don’t understand. At the precise moment when we are looking into meddling in her affairs.” Wong then reminds her of a long laundry list of things to do and threats to investigate.
To make matters worse, The Blasphemy Cartel from last issue returned to destroy the Shrouded Bazaar under Clea’s protection, which causes her to make a declaration of war. Plenty of stuff here for MacKay and us to explore. FOUR STARS.
#58-#61 = ALL STAR COMICS #1-#2 written by James Robinson & David Goyer with pencils by Michael Lark and inks by Wade Von Grawbadger & Doug Hazlewood (DC Comics, May 1999) If you’re feeling nostalgic and want to read some classic super-hero characters from the 1940’s, but told in 1960’s style (without the angst of modern tales) - - then you can’t go wrong with this two-issue project which preceded the JUSTICE SOCIETY series by Robinson.
1945: a bunch of black-magic worshipping Nazi sympathizers conduct a ritual to summon the demon lord Koth, but instead it brings forth the war god The Stalker. It takes the combined efforts of The Atom, Starman, Green Lantern, Johnny Thunder, Sandman, Hackman, Star Spangled Kid, Housman, Dr. Mid-Nite, Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Wildcat, The Flash, and Mr. Terrific to end the threat to humanity. THREE STARS.
#62 = STRANGE #3 by Jed MacKay and Marcelo Ferreira (Marvel Comics, July 2022) The Blasphemy Cartel gang continues to target innocent magical refugees. Zombie versions of dead heroes are appearing. The Harvestman is trying to stop Clea from bringing Stephen Strange back from the dead. When the Cartel massacre the magical bazaar, Clea has had enough and lets loose her fury.
Her quest for answers leads to The Rose, who underestimates her as she takes down a bundle of masked Cartel members.
This enrages Director None of the Blasphemy Cartel, who calls for a full tactical assault on Clea’s Sanctum and authorizes a Lazarus Agent to join in.
Clea’s approach to magic (and violence) is bold, blunt, and beautifully illustrated. Magic against gangsters is something I’d never think to find in a Doctor Strange title. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#63 = STRANGE #4 by Jed MacKay and Marcelo Ferreira (Marvel Comics, September 2022) A special dinner guest arrives at the Sanctum Sanctorum in Greenwich Village, New York City. It’s Umar the Unrelenting, mother of Clea. Right in the middle of their argument, the Cartel bursts in with a rocket-fired Genie,as well as the Lazarus Agent - the undead ShadowKnight (the gestalt of Moon Knight and thousands of ghosts bound together).
But mother and daughter prove too formidable.The full potential of Clea is realized. Tough to bring down. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
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