MY WEEKS IN COMICS - - - for the week ending Sunday NOVEMBER 01 2026
#421 - #428 = THE AUTUMNAL graphic novel by Daniel Kraus and Chris Shehan (Vault Comics, September 2021)
NOTE: I read this for the second time as part of Captain Blue Hen’s Book Club Selection for October. If you only want to read my thoughts after a new reading, scroll past the first review from 2024 . . . . . . .
“May the leaves always fall on the right side of the fence.”
I read this in the individual single monthly issues the first time.
Sometimes, I’ll read a debut issue so impressive that I give it a Five-Star Rating. Later, as the series progresses, it fails to live up to the initial promise and ends up with an overall Four-Star or lower rating. Rarely, does the reverse happen. THE AUTUMNAL is the exception.
I read the first three issues with increasing interest but rated each of them Four Stars. When I returned to this title (after stock-piling the remaining issues for a rainy day) everything started to click. By the time I paged through Issue #5 I was thoroughly hooked and this series ends up being a FIVE-STAR read for me. It builds creepiness slowly issue by issue until after the mid-point things get out of control and this goes bat-shit crazy (in a good, entertaining way). I’m not going to give away what happens later in this series; but if you pick it up and stay with it those final issues will reward you tenfold.
In just two words, chilling and unsettling. That final issue and resolution is a giant grab-by-the-shirt-collar-and-punch-in-the-face. If you like stories of small-town horror and dreadful secrets, this is the book for you.
Main character Kat and her middle-school daughter Sybil are both troubled and struggling on her meager income, but bond together when they try to adjust to the New England town of Comfort Notch as they try to settle her deceased mother’s estate but decide to stay and live there.
Her mother seems to have an unsavory reputation in the town, and neighbors are very panicky about touching any leaves outdoors as fall is just beginning. Sybil makes friends easily and learns a weird nursery rhyme while playing hopscotch. Is there a local legend and an ancient curse behind it?
Neighbors and strangers are friendly and helpful up to a certain point, but exhibit strange behavior. “Don’t hang around the park after dark.” When Kat rakes the yard, encouraging her daughter to invite some boys to have fun jumping into piles of leaves, a neighbor panics and gets abusive.
Kat is trying her best to fit in, but has to leave town one day (to get away and contemplate) and ends up at a seedy bar that doesn’t end well. She gets sage advice from an unlikely source, the owner of a tattoo removal service, who later becomes a confidant and lover. Creepy images of Clementine Briggs (a treelike wraith of a woman of local legend) keep showing up in Comfort Notch in strange places. A good samaritan neighbor dies and Kat finds herself being blamed by his unfriendly wife.
The art overall is spot-on and looks like a fall montage (warm, brown and orange earth tones) and just adds to the foreboding atmosphere. That brings us to the aforementioned Issue #4 which is where I’m going to stop describing scenes so as not to interrupt your own suspense/fear for these characters. Pick this one up if you’re so inclined. FIVE STARS.
SECOND READING, OCTOBER 2026
October 27
Great books are always worth returning to. I'm reading this (in trade paperback format) for the second time as part of a book club monthly selection.
That opening scene really tells so much about the mother-daughter main characters, and reminds why I was so empathetic and fearful for them the first time I read this. The art looks like gorgeous water-colors and is so evocative.
The first issue/first chapter is a master class on how to build not just empathy for the characters but also in creating a sense of dread by foreshadowing how something is off-center about this town and its inhabitants. I love the overlay of falling leaves that appears across the panels on many pages.
OCTOBER 30
I finished yesterday, and there was much discussion during the book club meeting last night, with just a few participants not as enthusiastic as the rest of us.
There are a few twists as the story progresses that show how information gets toned down and sanitized over the years, specifically as regards the nursery rhyme. The ending is not what I expected, even on the second reading, as I did not remember it. Now I won't forget it. I still highly recommend this, and am resisting temptation to include too much information that spoils it for new readers.
The root of this story is not new. There have been numerous works detailing how a village or even a country must sacrifice a young child, or children, or adults to a dragon, a monster, or a god in order to maintain the peace or to ensure prosperity. Shirley Jackson's THE LOTTERY comes to mind. The difference here is in the way the story is presented, layer by layer, and the creative art that accompanies it.
Good story-telling skills always make the difference, and make familiar themes seem fresh. FIVE STARS, for the second time.
#429 = BATWOMAN #8 by Greg Rucka and DaNi (DC Comics, December 2026) Bad Seeds Week 9, Part 1 “Open Season, Part Two”
This issue highlights the combative skills of Batwoman as she takes on a Vandal Savage T.U.C.O. squad that feels they have her cornered in the Church of St. Dumas.
A second squad followed a wounded Huntress to the same chapel and runs into the squad pursuing Batwoman. They feel they have a great chance of taking down some Bat-family members and decide to combine forces and split the bounty.
Only problem is there won’t be any bounty as Batwoman, with little assist from Huntress’ arsenal kicks their butts.
A great showcase for DaNi, and spotlights a knack for action scenes The conversations between Katie Kane and Huntress are revealing and focus on different philosophies.
A fun issue that doesn’t really need the back-drop of the plant invasion - - and that’s all it is here - - background. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#430 = CATWOMAN #92 by Torunn Gronbekk and Danilo Beyruth (DC Comics, December 2026) Batman, Bad Seeds: Week 9, Part 2 “The Ivory Towers, Part 2 of 2”
As I continue reading all the Bad Seeds cross-over titles, it becomes apparent to me that despite how they tie into the main story, they aren’t exactly essential to it. I suppose that’s just the way it goes with these major events from the Big 2 publishers.
For example, of the four books released this week - only one is really integral to the main Bad Seeds story. That’s the DETECTIVE COMICS issue. What keeps me from being upset about that is the fact that the majority of these cross-over issues contain some very engaging and entertaining stories in their own right. So, if one of the stated objectives by the creators of this event was to introduce and build interest in more of the Bat-family titles - - I’d say it worked. Will I keep reading them? No , . . but it’s because of time and budgetary constraints and not because the books are bad.
Catwoman completes her mission from current patron Carmine Falcone to get inside Vandal Savage’s home and rig the pre-installed microphones and cameras to give access to Falcone. She manages to subdue his jacked-up executive assistant as well as fend off the plants that have climbed to skyscraper levels to attack.
Meanwhile young Alfie Hendon who escaped a major building collapse is sought after by two criminal gangs because of who his father is. Catwoman, on her way out, recognizes his plight and gets him out of danger but not before confronting the gangs and the plants. Seems this Catwoman feels a role for herself as a defender/savior of the oppressed. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#431 = NIGHTWING #143 by Dan Waters and David Lapham (DC Comics, December 2026) Batman, Bad Seeds: Week 9, Part 3 “The Good Old Days, Part 2 of 2”
The publisher’s synopsis:
With Robin by his side and the plants of Bad Seeds spreading through Gotham City, Nightwing realizes an old foe is attempting to use this night’s chaos to settle a grudge. But with so much water under the bridge, can the two boy wonders still work together as they used to? Or are the good old days really gone for good?
This serves as a cool showcase for the teamwork of Dick/Nightwing and Damien/Robin and how they mesh together as a cooperative duo. Underneath the competitiveness and oneupmanship there is much respect and brotherly love between the two. Robin realizes how much he looks up to Dick; and Dick finds how how mature, responsible and smart Damien has become since the last time they worked together.
An old-school villain (The Ventriloquist) tries to restore the old Valentines-Day-Massacre vibe to criminal enterprise. His efforts get spoiled by the dynamic duo.
There are only scenes that tie into the Bad Seeds events in the beginning of the issue and then again near the end - where the plant invasion plays a role in the battle outcome.
David Lapham’s art is evocative, crams a lot of story into multi-paneled pages, and paints a crime comic atmosphere all over this issue. My favorite of this week’s Bad Seeds stories. FOUR STARS.
#432 = DETECTIVE COMICS #1114 by Tom Taylor and Clayton Henry (DC Comics, December 2026) Batman, Bad Seeds: Week 9, Part 4 “Hearts of Ice”
The publisher’s synopsis:
As dawn—and the imminent destruction that daylight will bring—approaches in Gotham City, Batman finds himself out of options. There is only one hope left to save his city, and it lies with the cold, calculating Mr. Freeze. Now, shoulder to (cold) shoulder with one of his greatest foes, the Caped Crusader must fight his way across Gotham in one last desperate attempt to save the city. This thrilling—and chilling—issue picks up right where Batman #14 left off as Gotham’s darkest night continues!
It became apparent to me (and I suspect, many other readers) that Mr. Freeze was going to play a decisive role in saving Gotham (and the world) from a return to prehistoric forests that suffocate all other lifeforms.
Still, getting his old foe to cooperate was no easy task, and once all parties were in agreement it was still an uphill battle to get through the plant monsters and bring back an Ice Age to Gotham. Anti-climatic, but still a fun reading experience. And, there is still a week of stories to follow. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
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