Weekly Comic Roundup: Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Skyward, and More

This is Bill Lamar, and you are listening to

the Geekcast Radio Network. Hello and welcome

to the Comic Concierge Podcast, a podcast that

believes that comics are for everyone. The key

is finding the right one. This is one of my weekly

wrap -up episodes where I go through the weeks

that was and comics and give you my thoughts

and opinions on some of the most notable titles

that were released. A slight spoiler warning,

as I do get into some spoilers, I will try to

avoid the biggest surprises, but if you want

to know absolutely nothing about a book before

you read it, check the show notes and I'll put

timestamps for every book I'll be talking about

today. I do start each week with my recommendation

of the week. In my recommendation, the week is

not necessarily what I would think is the best

book, but what I feel like is the most appropriate

starting point for that week, in the sense of

if you're going to the comic book store and you've

never read a comic before, or you're looking

for a new series, or just a good jumping on point

that doesn't feel redundant, it's a book that

fills that mantra. Obviously a good book, but

not necessarily the best book always of that

week. Although this week, It is a case where

I feel like it is in the running for the best

book of the week because it's Doctor Strange

number 390. It is written by Donny Cate and the

orders for this is for your Irving. And this

is actually Donny Cate's last issue on Doctor

Strange. So it may at first seem like a weird

jumping on point, as Mark Wager is going to be

taking over this title I believe next month with

his new storyline. However, despite that, it

actually goes back to the beginning. Really seems

like the storyline is taking place before the

first issue or between the first issue. of doctor

strange and this is before he confronts loki

when donnie cage took over the book loki became

sorcerer supreme and doctor strange became a

veterinarian and it's just this odd tale of doctor

strange and an encounter with zelma who was his

apprentice but mostly all the encounter with

spiderman as well And it's just an off -shoot

story, it's kind of wacky and a little bit weird,

but in a good way. It has that sensibility that

you really get with Donny Cage, but it's a little

bit more laid back. If you look at some of the

stories Donny Cage has done for Marvel, Venom,

Thanos, even Doctor Strange, they've been these

big, bombastic storylines, hell coming to Earth.

Timeline changes Thanos destroying everyone utter

chaos everywhere. Really. This is a little bit

more laid -back for Don and Kate It's a little

more personal focused and in the fact that this

is really low -key And it was in a way that was

what was endearing about it. It starts with just

some great interaction between Spider -Man and

Zelma. And I love the way that Donny Cage lights

Spider -Man. Excited to see if he ever appears

in his Venom series. Although, sensibilities

-wise, tone -wise, it's a lot more stardonic

than his really dark and depressing Venom. However,

I think he really has a good voice for him. And

I should also mention, mention the artist. Sip

Zdarsky actually has a... Guest page I would

say in this where spider -man I don't want to

ruin if it bill those who have not read it as

an encounter with a Friend I would say I don't

know it was a little wacky aside that it was

rather funny and I thought it was quite clever

and ultimately that's what really made it work

and it also ends on a little bit more of a somber

of this relationship between Zama and Doctor

strange like especially the more they try to

make it a little bit more romantic It just never

felt that way to me, but I thought the way it

ended was on point and actually a good Conclusion

to that storyline I don't know Mark Wade will

has any interest of continuing it when he takes

over this title if he doesn't I would completely

understand that as I believe his book is gonna

see doctor strange in space Which I guess is

a theme now as we'll talk about with other books

that came out this week, but I Just thought it

was really well done well -structured, the artist,

Frida Irving. It's a different look for this

book. It's much different than some of the artists

that had worked with Donny Cates prior to this.

I did like it. It was a little bit weird to get

used to, especially the coloring. A little bit

more of a, I wouldn't say, faded look to it,

but it worked well. The way he depicted Peter

Parker, it took a little bit to get used to.

There's a specific panel and I thought like...

It gives this face. It's hard to describe, but

it's like I do feel like the face looks like

it doesn't like it's not a face that could exist

in human life however Just the expression on

it to me is like that's what I want from my spider

-man Spider -man or Peter Parker that can have

that type of expression that kind of joy When

he finds out what he's able to do it so it was

good. It was a well -told Almost like painterly

quality to it especially with the coloring if

this is the last story that he does for dr. Strange

I think it's fitting Again, I think it's just

interesting that polar opposite of what I've

been used to with Dr. Strange. I think this is

probably Donnie Cage's best issue with Dr. Strange

so far. I've liked what he's done with Dr. Strange.

It's been fun. It's been enjoyable. The Damnation

storyline, which I talked about a little bit.

I thought it was cool. It was fun seeing these

Midnight Sun people come that we don't get a

lot of. It had some good moments. He worked with

Nick Spencer on that and you can kind of tell

where he wrote some and Nick Spencer wrote some.

but maybe I'm wrong because I never took Donnie

Cage for someone that would have that sarcastic

sensibility to him all that much but reading

his Spiderman I could be very much wrong but

this is a great issue of you even if you've not

read anything that Donnie Cage has done previously

he read any of his Doctor Strange stuff or any

Doctor Strange stuff really yeah like I mentioned

it's tying back into some things in relationships

that happen but you know, if you know Spider

-Man, you know Doctor Strange, they have a great

interaction. And I really love there's a great

speech that Spider -Man gives to Doctor Strange.

I think it's really a motivating factor to him,

kind of explaining that even if Doctor Strange

is not being the hero that he thinks he is, ultimately

he's much more heroic than he gives himself credit

for. And I thought it was a good way to kind

of counterbalance that self -seriousness that

you can get with superheroes sometimes, while

showing with the... Person with the weight on

their shoulders. I can't do it anymore. They

feel like a failure and you just get someone

like Spider -Man to Say the right words to you

and get your back on track. So a solid issue

one of my favorite issues of this week as I mentioned

so I would highly recommend picking it up and

Yeah, I'm excited to see where Kate's goes next

knowing that Going with venom and he has the

ghost writer story coming up in a huge in humans

thing one of the biggest names in comics, but

I don't know how Mark Wade's gonna deal with

Dr. Strange, we'll see. I just know that he's

gonna have to do something special to really

live up to what Jason Aaron and Keats did with

the title. Another big title that came out this

week, probably, perhaps the biggest for Marvel,

was Black Panther number one. And this was the

Black Panther fresh start that started with,

still, the writer of Tawny Hishikawa, who's been

on Black Panther for a good two years now, and...

artist Daniel Lacuna. This is designed to be

a new starting point, a fresh start for those

that have not been keeping up with the title

or at least that what it's been billed as and

I did notice a number of reviews of this that

indicated that they felt that wasn't the case

with this as they were kind of lost and weren't

sure what things was going on and reading it

I actually think that's a little bit kind of

the point. So this takes place in possibly the

future. It's not completely known at this moment

in time but It's where Wakanda, people from Wakanda

have traveled into space and developed their

own little space community. The main character

that we're following, which we assume is T 'Challa,

we don't know for sure, awakes and he finds himself

to be the slave of this alien race and he's trying

to escape over and over again. It reminded me

of something like Planet of the Apes, for example,

where you have someone... be placed into a world

it seems at first like he can't even speak and

he's just trying to find his way out because

his people have been for some reason enslaved

and they're using these vibranium mines and things

like that so At the same time he's also being

haunted by this woman with white hair which we

could assume might be Storm because you know

T 'Challa did previously marry Storm if that's

a relation we don't know exactly and at the same

time there's another faction of people that may

be trying to help T 'Challa escape or this person

escape. From this slavery encampment from this

race and it's kind of this cool futuristic story

Where we see a lot of the Black Panther attack

like if they existed in Star Wars and as indicated

I know a lot of people saying it's hard to understand

what exactly is going on and I think that's the

point in a lot of way because you're put in the

mindset of the main character that is awoken

into this world and not really sure who he is,

what he's doing there, who's what, and what's

exactly happening. And I think a lot of this

are red herrings that are being set up. I have

a good feeling that this person that we think

might be T 'Challa may not be. He may end up

being a relative or something of that nature

or there's something to me that is going on here

that is not clear is being left vague on purpose.

If this is happening in the future perhaps, is

it happening during present -day Marvel Universe?

That is not completely clear exactly, but I just

ultimately think it was a good fun issue just

seeing this world in the use of the Wakandan

Empire in like a space -like setting. I thought

that was a cool idea that's actually working

and I did appreciate the art. At times it - similar

to the art in Doctor Strange, it took a little

bit to get used to some of the facial designs,

especially the alien creatures. I left a little

bit to be desired. A lot of the like goons, for

example, the guards that are guarding the base

seemed a little bit less descriptive than I would

like. They seemed kind of forgettable for the

most part, but I thought it was an effective

first issue or just establishing its concept,

giving you an idea of what it's going to be doing.

And I did try to adjust my process and where

I'm talking about work. are my possible recommendations

of the week. And this does fall on the line.

I did think long and hard that maybe this should

be it being a number one and it being designed

to be a jump on point. But as indicated, I think

some people might be somewhat confused thinking

that it's not clear or everything is not laid

out for you. And if that's something that bothers

you as a reader, I could see it not working as

well. But I feel like things will become clearer

and clearer as it moves on. I have not been the

hugest fan of Tawny Sea Coach's run on Black

Panther. I found it was a little bit too... Tied

to the history of black panther was impenetrable

at points where it was just hard to understand

exactly everything that was going on and he's

you know person that was growing learning comics

figuring it out coming from another world and

I have not you know been keeping up with it and

to me this was a better first issue than his

first issue with black panther and I know he'll

also be taking over Captain America next month

and has me a little bit more hopeful that he'll

be able to make that a successful title, and

speaking of Mark Waid again, I guess he'll be

popping up here and there. He's leaving that

book with Hanehisi Koz coming in, and I've loved

what Mark Waid's been doing with that title,

and I am hopeful that Hanehisi Koz can bring

something to it, because Captain America is my

personal favorite character, so we'll see how

that goes, but this to me was a huge improvement

over the previous Black Panther stuff I read

from him, and I'm excited to see where this goes

next. Another book that was in the running for

Recommendation of the Week was Skyward, number

two. And I thought this was a good issue in continuing

to build the world of Skyward. The first issue

I thought was really effective in establishing

the concept and giving you a sense of who the

main character was. And the idea behind this

book is that On one day on G day, gravity stops

working the way it should, causing utter chaos.

People literally begin floating away into space

and now it's flash forward and the world has

adjusted and found ways to keep living on. And

what issue number two also brings into the fold

is the fact that there are some people that are

Living on the ground still they're utilizing

technology in these magnets So they can kind

of live life as if nothing has happened or live

life like it used to be and I thought it brought

up This is a really good point of seeing You

know a culture a world that is still trying to

cling to a past and the present day People who

don't even know that world but they're not even

they have no attachment to it It's just an interesting

idea where you know You see a major event occurs

that forever changes the world and a lot of people

Still aren't able to overcome it or aren't able

to accept the way society has changed Where a

lot of people have been born into it and I know

nothing else or you're fine the idea of you know

being stuck to the ground just idiotic and kind

of not being able to just accept what the world

is now and I think that's an interesting idea

and I hate to bring everything back to September

11th, but I think that is kind of point when

you think about it now now though that you know

that happened. 16 years 17 years ago and now

you're living with a generation that grew up

post that and don't know what life was like beforehand

and everything that did change and adjust and

how a lot of us. myself included, still think

of what life was like before it and kind of wish

for a lot of that to return, where others are

just already past that point and just like, come

on, we move on. There's other things that we

need to accept. It's not an exact comparison.

I don't think this is going for that purpose,

but it's certainly something I feel like that

does come up in the discussion is something that

you can make an allegorical link towards for

sure. And again, I just like that idea. of seeing

how people adapt and adjust to this new world

setting. how some won't and we get a little bit

more information regarding how the main characters

Dan may have been linked to G day and There's

we get who possibly will be Probably the main

villain of all this and what it all means But

but it wasn't to me as maybe as fun as the first

issue. It didn't have Art wise there weren't

as much There wasn't as much to do because this

was taking place mostly on the ground But I thought

in a sense of building this world in the concept

more it was effective in that manner And even

if you have not read the first issue, I think

you know since it's only on issue two There is

I think enough here to enjoy it if you do like

it going back and picking up issue number one

But I really like the series. It's a good cool

idea. I think scientifically it probably makes

absolutely no sense and there's probably a lot

of holes that can be poked into it but In the

sense of making a cool story, it works for me.

Alright, let's move on to another book that came

out this week with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

urban legends number one And this is kind of

an interesting story before before even getting

to the comic the idea of this is coming out So

this was actually a series that originally came

out in the 90s through image, but I guess actually

never Officially had an ending it's written and

by Gary Carlson and art by Frank Fosco and I

guess IDW took this and now they're re Printing

it all over again. I think with possibly new

colors. It's hard to tell I've never read the

original series It does seem like the coloring

is a little bit updated or at least maybe tuned

up a little bit They're also gonna get think

find a way to have the creators finish it this

time around And with that, it's kind of reading

it. It does feel dated and how could it not?

Because it's legitimately a comic that came out

in the 90s. You know, some of the character designs

do feel like the costuming specifically, it's

like, oh, man, that is very much what you would

see a lot in the 90s. A lot of like scantily

clad women with costumes that make no sense.

Things trying to be edgy and in kind of what

I didn't like a lot about 90s comics, this idea

of kind of injecting violence just to be violent,

trying to be like, we're being cool because we're

taking this property that is Known to be more

of a kidlike property even though the original

comic is not that and bringing it back to its

roots But are you going too far with it? Are

you making it a little bit too? Ridiculous, and

I will say at least I do find it to be it's out

there I mean there's certainly going for it full

board. It's makes more sense in the sense of

this feels like actual ninjas. I did feel like

When it came to the violence level was a little

bit weird. It was a little more graphic I mean

the turtles I'll just say that man They do not

go through unscathed at all and I'm curious to

see where this goes exactly. There's some pretty

uh bloody affairs that happened in it and i was

like wow this is you know this is not not your

grandfather's told it turtles but i guess it

is because it came out in the 90s so i don't

know i thought it was okay i didn't think the

structure of it was a little bit weird and it

felt like it was it starts in the middle you

jump right in where this huge action set piece

is occurring and these villains who i don't know

who they are Breakdown come into the turtles

lair and start kind of wreaking havoc and then

it takes a step back But still this exactly what's

the purpose behind all this what ultimately as

a as an intro issue Just figuring out exactly

where is this going? And what is the? Reason

behind all this occurring. It was a little left

a little bit vague It felt like the biggest purpose

of this was like that set the tone Right away

to let you know that yeah, we're gonna go there

with this We're gonna we're gonna be you know,

we're gonna be edgy and I don't know it was okay

I'm gonna continue reading it because I think

it's it is kind of a novelty in the sense of

seeing this thing come back and I'm interested

to seeing how exactly do you finish a story 20

some odd years later in a way that makes sense

and Especially when it comes to the art design,

can you make it feel that way? You know, can

you try to replicate that all over again? And

something similar happened and I didn't get a

chance to read it this week as well with Marvel,

as Jonathan Hickman looked to finish his shield

story that happened. You know, there was missing

a few issues that, you know, it was a story that

people thought would never actually get finished

because he left Marvel. He's come back to finish

that now and I need to go back and reread shield

as I spend some time and to see like how that

works, but it does seem like Along with TV shows

getting second life. That's also now the same

thing with comic books that comics are getting

the second life in different spots because of

There being so many outlets and then being so

many publishers that are hungry for content Now

some of those stories that never got finished

Might actually have the opportunity to be finished

now. So I thought that's kind of a intriguing

Trend that I've been seeing more and more with

comic. All right Well, let's move over to the

world of DC for flash number 47 a flash 47 was

the beginning of the flash Wars storyline the

storylines been building for some time in the

pages of the flash comics And I went into this

with, I think, high anticipation. I thought the

buildup has been pretty solid. And I thought,

OK, well, let's see how this goes. And as a first

issue to this major story arc, it ultimately

was rather underwhelming. It suffered from the

fact that, to me at this point in time, not offering

a whole lot new in the world of Flash and even

within itself. And I think it's also already

somewhat convoluted, which is sometimes a case

for flash because you're dealing with multiple

flashes, timelines and things like that. But

it starts with these renegades, the task force

coming to the present day to take Iris for killing

Yeban Thon and the flashes don't want to do that.

And, you know, have this fisticuffs of that trying

to protect her. And it was fine. You know, there

was nothing bad. But, you know, if this is the

huge. event that's supposed to be occurring and

this is like, okay, this is bringing flash to

another level. This to me didn't really do that.

It's just like, okay, there's nothing to me that

signifies that this is going to be bringing anything

new to the table or taking the character in any

direction that has not been there. And even where

it ends up, the big reveal of there's a major

character that steps out and it just feels like,

okay, this is... Oddly enough for a character

like flash feels like we're spinning in circles

here for a moment in time and you know It seems

to be tying into Wally and his memories and everything

that's been happening since the beginning of

rebirth And I think part of the problem is the

fact that they've been building this up for such

a long time You know bringing Wally in and how

he's been kind of the key to this entire rebirth

thing and It just feels like it's a mystery that

keeps on just prolonging with no real key answers

and also no really reason to care all that much

to be honest with you it's there's so much going

on in DC right now that it seems like an afterthought

and if it's like okay is this even something

that's really do we care now why rebirth happened

it seems like we're already two years into it

is it's just tying into that I don't know and

I'm hopeful that maybe it can pick up steam like

if this was like the prelude issue I think I

would enjoy it a little bit more it just for

prelude For event that had many preludes already

that I thought were more fun and enjoyable. It

was a little bit odd and Also, the art was just

to me. Okay, it didn't have that Connecticut

energy I want with a flash comic. So I don't

know I Not in love with it. I little bit disappointed

too And I guess a part of that was just having

so much high expectations coming into it Alright,

let's continue with DC as we look at Justice

League. No justice number three of four and I

like the first two issues of Justice League No

Justice. I went to it with a lot of apprehension

because I didn't really like metal all that much

and now at issue 3 It's beginning to lose me

a little bit. It's suffering from a lot of the

problems I've felt with metal where things are

getting overly convoluted a little too much going

on into the fact that there's so much going on

that nothing is going on and we're dealing with

a lot of people just talking about things that

they need to do and it's I don't know if it's

just because of the Changing artists from issue

from this issue to the next issue, but it felt

like this one was specifically bogged down with

just a lot of overly Raw conversations about

everything they needed to do to win and it just

seems like when you play a board game for the

first time and someone's explaining to you all

the rules and everything they need to do in order

to win and how ultimately like, okay, let's just

play it because I'll learn a lot more when I

do it that way. I just wanted to say that to

let things happen. Don't feel like you need to

explain every minute detail about how everything

works because when you do that, I think what

I liked about the first two issues that there

were some room for good character moments, and

now with this, if things are building up and

coming to their boiling point, we're losing that.

I will say there were some good moments. I am

really liking what they're doing with Starro.

I feel like he's probably had, or he or whatever

you want to call Starro as a character has had

the most growth and some of the biggest standout

moments of this series so far. So that has me

excited to see how he functions within the Justice

League moving forward. Outside of that like it,

you know, it seems like mostly everyone else

is Just in the background and it also feels like

a lot of what the story has been building upon

similar with Dark Knight metal is a lot of continuity

connection being the biggest pieces of why this

is important in the sense of like At the end

of last issue and huge character reveal and now

it's like oh you remember this guy i'm like not

really and that's why why is he important because

he's important because he used to exist in its

other storyline but why is he important to this

storyline and it's never really all that much

explained it again it reminded me of metal where

you would have someone like dreams show up and

it's like oh what is that gonna do how is that

gonna change things and it didn't really like

it didn't really go anywhere all all that interesting

so It has me concerned. It just seems like there's

a lot of cooks in this kitchen and that can be

a problem. And it wasn't at first, but the more

and more we're going with this, hopefully issue

four can pull it around. And I'm going to be,

I think a lot more excited when all these teams

kind of separate and these writers are writing

their own stories and they're not trying to all

fit this into one, to one series. I mean, I still

had fun with it. There's some really fun standout

moments, like the idea of, you know, it's basically

Justice League trying to save the world and that's

cool, but I just as this big thing that's supposed

to be like the launching point to the new Justice

League it just seems like it is lacking in what

makes me enjoy the Justice League and that's

character and characters that you know get to

interact and have fun and if the whole idea is

like all these people that usually don't interact

are now interacting are now forced to be a team

and You don't leave enough room for that to happen

or at least have conversations that are not geared

towards plot only, it's not as intriguing to

me as a reader. That just like no justice is

doing but it's doing it a lot better and a lot

more effectively and with this dark star storyline

you see these green lanterns going to all these

locations to try to find help where they normally

wouldn't and it to me makes a lot more sense

because it is doing exactly what I was asking

for and if it's green lantern going to Hammond

or if it's John Stewart going to sawed every

time they're seeking help from these people that

are. there is a personal connection to it, or

at least there is a great conversation that happens

where you see that this is not ideal for them,

they don't want to be doing this, however...

they have no choice and this is the reason why.

For example, John Stewart, when speaking with

Zod, he talks about how he used to be a marine

sniper and how he would make choices then that

he thought were right at the time and he doesn't

feel bad for them because a big piece of what

this is about is how the Green Lanterns don't

kill their prisoners. It's that classic capital

punishment argument that you get a lot with comic

book superheroes where superheroes usually don't

kill and sometimes they do and we get that conflict

a lot with someone like Punisher and Daredevil

and here it's more on a galactic scale and it's

even a little bit more intriguing because There

are characters in which you can possibly not

provide the same level of punishment right when

I give a cosmic level level character that is

nearly immortal or Can easily escape almost any

prison? Are you just creating a cycle and I think

there is some room here that The dark stars have

in their creation and their leaders have some

reasoning and some legitimacy into their claims

and that's always good when you have some of

that nuanced and regular room between the conflicts

of these two characters and how the dark stars

aren't necessarily pure evil. It's just the way

that they go about things and their extreme motives

and methods are dangerous to all and it could

lead to some devastating devastating conflict.

Conflicts and you realize where someone like

Zod has limits in the dark stars don't and even

if their motives Fall more in line with that

of the Green Lanterns their methods or even more

dangerous So I there's a lot of things to me

a lot more to chew on with this storyline and

I know that This line is going to be ending at

issue 50, which I feel sad because I feel like

how Jordan the Green Lantern Corpse has been

one of the best DC titles, especially over the

last year or so. And like I mentioned, the R2

has been really fantastic. It's amazing to look

at. The coloring is exactly what you want for

a Green Lantern title. So highly advise picking

this up. Start with the first issue, the red

of the Dark Star storyline. And I think you'd

be able to follow enough of it and enjoy it.

As I just recently jumped back on I got off of

it for a little bit and I wish I didn't because

it's realizing Just how consistent this book

is man. All right Well, let's move over to the

world of Marvel as the infinity countdown keeps

going as we have a lot of these different spin

-offs that have been going on with the infinity

countdown and this week saw the release of Dark

Hawk number one and this is a continuation of

the one shot that came out a few months ago when

legacy first started they had a bunch of one

shots they had one for power pack and one for

Darkhawk and I didn't read that so it was a little

bit lost at first I've been following the infinity

downtown so I understood it well enough but there's

a Prelude until we until we get to the main story

that talks about the weavers or whatever they

refer to as the actual Darkhawks that are trying

to get into our universe. So I wasn't really

up to that. I know Richard Ryder's brother is

a part of it, but ultimately it's about the Dark

Hawk from the 90s. He's now a B comp and he's

trying to like make his everyday living and Also

coming back is another very 90s character in

Death Head who comes to hunt him down because

there's a bounty on his head So this is a very

much a 90s book in that way unlike the other

infinity countdown tie -ins this has nothing

to do with the gems or anything of that nature

just focusing on the character of Darkhawk Darkhawk

and I don't know, you know, where this is ultimately

leading if they're just trying to do like a soft

reboot or backdoor pilot to a future series and

just tying it into Infinity Countdown thinking

that would get more interest. But I thought ultimately

it was an okay story. It again was just like

setting the stage for him trying to get into

space because he's trying to figure out things

with his armor that have been going funky as

they kind of redeveloped what the Dark Hawk armor

was from the 90s. And I thought the art was pretty

solid when it came to the character standpoint,

like the character designs and things of that

nature look great. I did find the backgrounds

were really lacking in any detail it almost felt

like you had characters in front of a green screen

because everything behind them was so empty and

lacking any type of detail or anything that felt

like it was a lived -in world but when it came

to the actual characters and facial acting it

was really well done so i was thinking if they

can just find a balance between those two with

the future of going out from the space it may

be less of an issue but i didn't notice it in

this it just felt like it was like very hollow

in that there was lack of depth to everything

because of how Empty all the backgrounds were

so overall the thing was solid if you're a huge

Dark Hawk fan if you're a big fan of the 90s

comics This has a lot into it But I don't know

it's not I don't think it's really gonna tie

in majorly or have a lot of developments when

it comes to the general story and I do worry

that they are Bleeding this story a little bit

too dry because they have all these different

spin -offs they have all these one shots and

you know, there's more coming down the line and

eventually it's just gonna get too much and I

don't know if it would be possible to pay all

these threads off within a consistent and cohesive

manner. Maybe they can. They did do it with annihilation

back in the day. I think they're trying to follow

a similar method. But with annihilation, why

it worked is because those mini series all kind

of connected and then eventually went into the

bigger series but this also has the infinity

countdown prelude i guess that's going on as

well so there's a lot of different moving pieces

here so i could only imagine just like first

of all the cost is getting ridiculous and then

just trying to keep all the pieces moving it's

getting a little bit harder and harder but at

least been engaging and fun enough so i you know

i think there's a captain marvel coming out next

week i'm just hoping that eventually we get to

the point that there's all leading to Also coming

out this week was The End of Bendis at Marvel.

If anything, I'm probably bearing the lead taking

this long to get to this book, but it is Bendis'

last Marvel book, at least for now, with invincible

Iron Man number 600. Iron Man is a book I've

been sticking with here and there. To me, it's

going up and down in quality. two books at one

point and kind of combined into one and I, you

know, there are times where I'm like, I was really

digging in and there's other times I wasn't as

interested in like, for example, the adjusting

of who Tony Stark's parents are. I still feel

like that was a choice that makes no sense and

really hurts the character of Tony Stark because

his father relationship is such a big part of

who he is. And, and it didn't really lead to

anything I felt that was all that interesting

or said much about the character, unfortunately,

but with it coming to an end I thought I'd pick

it back up and see how things were put together

all the different pieces he has going and I gotta

say I was not the hugest fan of this issue it

felt like one where a lot of things were wrapped

up way too quickly or left dangling just because

I know maybe he had a longer plan in mind but

when he decided to make the move to DC he had

to speed things up and also this is like the

fifth ending of different bendises goodbye to

to marvel and it's almost like the return of

the king with lord of the rings right by the

eighth ending you're like okay i get it let's

move on already and i like the ending of jessica

jones defenders and even spider -man and i felt

like those gave me everything i wanted and i

felt especially his letter at the end of his

last miles morale spider -man issue said so much

that going to this it felt like this just came

out last because of Maybe the fact that that

it had different artists. So it took longer it

I don't know this seemed like the wrong book

for Venice to end his career on in Marvel because

you know I don't think of Venice I don't think

of his work on Iron Man, even though he's been

running the title for some time I do think of

Spiderman I'd even think of defenders because

it was one of his best most recent books and

of course, of course Jessica Jones So now to

end it on Iron Man, especially this story I do

know, you know, it's Riri Williams and that's

a character that he created and he cares a lot

for But again, that was a character. I felt like

never got the opportunity to really coming to

her own as we're already going back to Tony Stark

as Iron Man again so I don't know I thought overall

that there were some okay bits in here and I

did like the Doom story and where that developed

but ultimately it just didn't have that satisfying

conclusion or I didn't feel like it was Bendis

putting his stamp on the characters that he'd

been writing for some time like it was with Jessica

Jones like it was for the Defenders like it was

for Miles Morales Spider -Man where I felt like

that book all those books encapsulated everything

he did with those characters. This felt like,

okay, I got all these threads, let's just edit

as quickly as I can so I can pass it on to whoever

is gonna be writing this next, which will be

Dan Slott, which I am excited for. And next week

is Bendis' work on Superman coming out, even

though he's had two Superman stories already,

but his new weekly series begins. But yeah, I

would say if you're like, okay, let me pick it

up because it's Iron Man 600, it's Bendis' last

Marvel book, not an ideal. Spots, it doesn't

really make sense if you haven't been following

it and it's not that great of an issue So I would

say it's a pass for sure. All right, let's keep

talking about Marvel Let's move over to Moon

Knight number 195 and I specifically wanted to

talk about this comic this issue because One

I'm impressed by the range Max Bemis has done

with this series since he took over Moon Knight

Like I like the beginning where he's building

this rogue's gallery for the character of Moonlight

and then we had cool one -shot story where it

got into the history of Moon Knight Mark Spector

when he was a kid and there was this story of

him coming encounter with a former Nazi who was

undercover as a rabbi in the United States and

how that all worked out and now this story is

man very wacky and in a good way it has a little

bit more of a rise into humor at first I thought

looking at the art that Rob Gilroy was Writing

or drawing for Marvel. I'm like, wow, what did

this happen? I feel like he had no idea he had

a similar cartoony style to it It was a little

bit different and look exactly like his work,

but it's not type of style I ever expect to see

in a Marvel book But looking at it and like wow

This is actually kind of interesting that Marvel

would go this direction and I do feel like that's

one thing I do appreciate about Marvel over DC

for the most part is that they do especially

for their titles like Moon Knight their titles

that aren't necessarily marquee titles will go

out and try different types of styles where I

feel like a book has more of a voice. That's

what I loved about the series Power Man and Iron

Fist. It had its own unique style and take and

this isn't Moon Knight 195 has not been a consistent

art style which can drive some people crazy but

I like the fact that each arc so far has had

its own artist and I hope that continues with

this arc. The story itself is kind of weird in

the sense of there you have these collective

people that are trying to become one and they

become this huge mass. of like gigantic blob

really instead of it being an alien it's a mass

of actual humans so it's not as dark and twisted

as some of the other moon night stories which

tells you a lot about moon night when it's like

a mass of human beings becoming a giant blob

is more on the lighter side for this book but

you know there's not as much uh death and destruction

or you know dealing with characters that have

multiple personalities there's more of a consistent

level of levity that keeps things at least somewhat

fun in a twisted way so if you're looking for

something new and different I think you can pick

up this book and understand it well enough. Although

just know that Moon Knight has all these different

personalities and the way they showcase that

is that there's actually this like mindscape

where all the different personalities kind of

hang out and communicate with one another. So

if you're wondering what is going on, that's

what's happening. It doesn't really explain that

to you. But if you can kind of grab in and actually

get kind of a good starting point. But I would

say if you're at all debating about reading Moon

Knight, Moon Knight has had some amazing series

by Jeff Lemire, Warren Ellis. Greg Smallwood's

art on previous series was amazing. That was

one thing I did love about that run is that it

did maintain a consistent artist this like Max

Bemis I don't know much about him before reading

this and I've been enjoying what he's doing with

this character and hope he keeps on this title

for some time. Alright, let's move over to Oni

Press for The Ballad of Sang number three and

I talked about the first issue when that came

out and mentioned that I liked it though I loved

the action of it. I thought it was really kinetic

and in that sense, but I thought the story seemed

a little bit to cut and dry this idea of a martial

artist coming back and trying to right the wrong

of his master and ten say being brutally murdered

and I think for the most part it does. follow

a similar set of rules and storytelling style.

But I think what's really cool about it are the

characters in the world is building within itself.

It kind of reminds me of something of John Wick,

right? With John Wick, the story is pretty simple.

A dude is trying to seek revenge for what happened

to him. And that's kind of what's happening here.

But what I love about it is the underground world

that exists in the sense of that you have all

these different types of factions and characters

that have these extreme personalities. Last issue

had these kind of 80 rockers. with ridiculous

hair and you have this female gang in this one

where we're also finding a little bit more about

saying has kind of partnered up with this older

woman and we're learning more and more about

her and she seemed like out of her element but

we're seeing that actually she has much more

of a storied history with her as well so I think

that's what made this book really compelling

to me was that even though the story itself is

just kind of you know cut and dry for the most

part it's everything around it surrounding it

and again the art's been a lot of fun and enjoyable

so if you do like something like Kill Bill, for

example, that takes that martial arts type of

genre and puts his own little spin on it. I think

that's something you would really enjoy with

this. It's fun, it's enjoyable, it's kick -ass.

Legitimately, it is really kick -ass. The art

and the fighting is really great. And I do like

the character of Sang, adding a little bit of

difference to the fact that he's mute and he

only can communicate through written word. As

he writes, I think it adds a little bit more

layers to him as a character. And art -wise,

they do get a lot out of the fact that you do

get to understand who he is through his facial

expressions, even though it is more of a cartoony

style. So I would definitely recommend. this

book. I think it's it's rising up the ranks of

the books I'm really enjoying currently on the

shelves. Alright, let's move over to the world

of Dark Horse for Black Hammer, Age of Doom number

two. And I did see some people asking like, is

Age of Doom a good jumping on point for Black

Hammer? And it's not. It's just a continuation

of the Black Hammer series that's been going

on. And this is what Dark Horse is becoming,

making their norm, where every new arc is making

its own miniseries. So instead of saying Dark

Horse or Black Hammer, issue number, whatever

this would be, probably around the 20s, they're

just naming it based upon the actual Story arc

and then the issue in which we're in so this

is just the second issue of this third story

arc So no, it's not a great jumping on point

start at Black Hammer number one and continue

going with that said it is again being really

great It has everything I love about that Black

Hammer universe this issue focused a little bit

more on Black Hammer's daughter Who's a new Black

Hammer? We saw a last issue that she was sucked

into this other dimension, weird bar situation

where we didn't know where she was. It was indicated

that she was possibly in hell. And this issue,

she actually does travel to hell as she's trying

to find her way back, find her way to her dad.

And her journey is probably the bulk of this

issue. And I did enjoy that. I do like how she's

growing as a character and her where she's leading

up. It seems like much of this is this story

arc will be about her trying to find her way

back. And if the ending is in the indication,

she still has much more of a journey to go on.

It's not going to be an easy fix. And I did find

the Ending character that it is playing off of

quite intriguing now This has been a comic that's

been based upon a lot of the tropes of the silver

age and it seems like this story might be getting

more into some of the newer comics some of the

Kind of changes we saw in the 80s and 90s. So

I'm curious how it will play that also one of

my favorite parts of this in one of my favorite

parts of this series has been the relationship

with the characters of Gail and Barbie and They

have a great conversation here just on the steps

of a library about the relationships about kind

of things that they went through through, Gale

gives this huge secret away about who she was

hooking up with before she left and just their

interaction is just something about that relationship

really works because Gale has this type of feeling

towards him and he also has unacquainted love

with the local priest and how they kind of work

off one another. It's a really fascinating relationship

that I'm glad that Jeff Lemire takes a lot of

time. I mean, this has, you know, four pages

or so of this, them talking and, you know, consider

this as being a superhero story. Some may not

be as willing to take that time. Personally,

I appreciate that Jeff Lemire is always about

putting the humans first, even if they're heart

gigantic devil monsters in this book as well.

So if you like Black Hammer, I think the H or

Doom is picking up exactly where it should be

It continues to me be one of the best comics

on the shelves It certainly is a slower pace

and some people probably would appreciate much

more in a trade format because it does take its

time And I would say like story wise not a huge

as much has happened in these last two issues

You know, it's really not much has progressed

A lot of the answers have not really been given.

I did find intriguing that, you know, one big

piece of this was the library seemed to be leaking

to all these possible answers. And now that actually

seems not to be the case. So there seems to be

a lot going on that we're not privy to. And every

time we think we're getting an answer, something

else happens. And I know sometimes I can frustrate

people, but again, what I love about this book

has always been the characters. And as long as

I get those moments, I enjoy it. Also from Dark

Horse or Berger Books, which is affiliated with

Dark Horse is Incognito -Negro. Renaissance number

four came out this week and I'm loving this book

more and more with each passing issue. It's based

upon the story of this African -American reporter

who was growing up in the Harlem in 1920s and

he's been investigating this murder and it's

the thing about it though is that since he has

a lighter complexion he can Hide as a white person

do some makeup and acting he can get into some

spots where other people can't and he's learning

more and more that that he might not be the only

person and What this I think issue did was it

really? made you question a big piece of what

occurred in issue number three. He begins this

relationship with a person he thought was a suspect

but seems like that was a misconception. This

though asks the question if that is actually

the case. Is he being fooled? Is there more to

that? And also what I loved about this issue

as well is that it also cut into other subcultures

that had to hide who they were within that time

period because of what it would mean and in this

case it was those that were homosexual and how

they would have to to hide that as well and the

club that he went into and I love that scene

because it did not go at all the way I would

expect it to like there was much more of an acceptance

and it was not as big of a deal as I think most

issues would make make it out he still was focusing

on finding his issues he runs into people he

knows and there isn't this like huge conversation

about what's occurring it's just kind of matter

of fact he's able to put the pieces together

but it's really not all that important and still

what really matters is solving this case or finding

the story because of what it means. I like that.

It could easily get into this huge dissection

of all these cultural issues and it does, but

not in the most obvious way. I love it just because

it's very rare that we get a book and a story

where the biggest plot point is murder. And so

happens to him anymore really with like horror

stories and things that we get like murder is

not that big of a deal Which is a weird thing

to say but it's kind of the case and this it's

one specific murder that They're trying to find

the mystery to it's very old School storytelling

in my opinion that we don't get a lot like I

love you know classic Norse that stories of the

20s and 30s and 40s like Humphrey Bogart and

it has that type of Feeling to it that type of

atmosphere not as exactly this character isn't

as damaged. There's not a lot of voiceover It's

not as gloomy but in the way that the story is

going about it and how he's trying to pick all

these pieces and as each piece he finds, there's

more and more conspiracies here. What he thinks

is just one small murder or one thing involving

his friend seems to be involving a lot of people

and a lot of cover -up. The deeper he's digging,

the bigger the hole becomes. So if you like that

type of story, if you enjoy that type of storytelling,

or you just want something different, it's a

black and white comic, which I know some people

may not love, but I think it works for this story,

especially considering this time period. Keeping

it that look I think gives it that timeless quality

and considering the subject matter I think it

makes more sense and it certainly isn't like

saying something keeping it black and white for

sure. So Alright, well, let's finish up today

by going to the world of aftershock starting

with Brothers Dracul number two another Cullen

Bunn series with aftershock where he takes some

sorts of legend or mythological story and puts

his own little spin on it he has it with an holy

grail he did it with dark arc and now he's doing

it with brothers are cool as the name would suggest

this is a dracula story getting into the days

before dracula was the impeller this is him growing

up as a kid or probably teenager most likely

where he's actually living with a warring Sultan

who has imprisoned him and his brother. They

are basically slaves due to a war that his father

lost and he's actually put in charge to help

protect the Sultan's son as well. Last issue

left with them going into this cave and killing

this vampire and this is the result of that and

we see where Vlad is put in a situation where

he is told to protect this person that he hates

and he still does it and What becomes of it and

how basically his work is being credited towards

someone else even though pretty much everyone

knows that's not the case And I enjoyed this

story. I actually really appreciate the art especially

the coloring because there's actually some some

brightness to this colors that a color palette

is not at all what I would expect a lot of greens

and blues and for a story about Dracula not necessarily

something I would expect so I like that take

on it. It's very varying Even the look of the

vampires they have this bluish tint to them and

I think I like do like their design and I was

looking for like one thing that kind of Put this

book onto like what's going to be the hook? How

what's gonna bring this book to the next level

and I felt like the very ending of this did that

We're think it's becoming evident that this is

not just gonna be him growing up as a kid there

is more to this story and I'm curious to see

where it goes I do like the relationship between

flat and his brother how that's developing and

I do wonder if we're get into the point where

we do flash forward to the future at all because

that's where the book started but overall I I

do enjoy Dracula as a story. I think he's a great

character and I always like it when they put

it in more of a historical context like this

does, but it does have that supernatural element

to it. So I've been really enjoying this. I think

it's one of Colin Bunn's best books with... Aftershock

right now, so with this only being two issues

I think it's a good jumping -on point You could

probably honestly pick up the second issue and

get everything you really need to know the first

issue was really just Getting the brothers to

the location with the sultans getting him to

that cave This I think gives you a good understanding

of where the characters are the relationships

and we're looking forward to this I don't know

if the mini or if it's expected to be an ongoing

but uh Overall another good addition to the world

of aftershock comics Alright, well I got one

more book to talk about today and that is Her

Infernal Descent number 2 written by Zach Thomson

and Lonnie Nedler and also drawn by Kelle Charles.

Brought to us by the wonderful folks over at

Aftershock Comics, and I wish I was much more

versed in the world of classic literature because

I feel like there could be so many pieces of

this I would be picking up more so than I already

am. It's a story about this woman who's actually

traveling to hell, literal hell, to try to save

her family that recently passed her way, her

husband and her children, and along the way she's

been running into all these different literary

and historical figures. Sometimes, you know,

people like Freud, for example, or even Edgar

Allan Poe. actual guide has been William Blake

and I think what's been fantastic about this

is just how it's actually utilizing a lot of

their actual work, quoting it at times. It almost

feels like it's some type of like weird book

report where they're taking pieces of their classic

work and looping it into this actual storyline.

But I just really find the approach really fascinating.

It's one of those books I feel like that has

a lot to dissect and look into. It's very much

an intellectual book in that manner. You know,

for example, this issue had a conversation between

the main character and Freud and their back and

forth was a lot of running. I have a basic understanding

of psychology. I think I, you know, took some

courses in college by no means an expert, but

even I was able to kind of pick apart a little

bit of the digs here and there at him, or at

least the representation of his findings. And

what I found really great is how he's been utilizing

those figures in the sense of They've been using

her as this like reflection board of trying to

figure out where is their place now in current

world politics, in the world. Do people remember

them? Do they still read their works? I think

it's been an interesting idea that I've been

appreciating on top of this just general story

of this woman trying to save her family. And

I really find it fascinating where this book

ends up. There's even some Kafka plays a big

role in this book. So if you are a literary type

of person, if you love reading books outside

of the world of comics, I think this has a lot

to go into. And this might be a great comic to

give to some of your friends who don't love comics,

but they love literature. This, I think, has

a lot to go into. And like I said, I probably

would appreciate it a lot more if I read actual

books at the same level I read comics. But even

without that, I've been finding it really well

written and well told. The art's pretty solid

as well. Certainly, I think the pixel in a interesting

way all the world was super crowded and it has

a great conversation about when you think about

the amount of people that are currently on earth

what that would be like Well, then imagine all

the people throughout history and one location

like just the sheer amount of people that is

it's insane. So it's Time that almost has no

meaning in that type of situation. So Again,

this is only the second issue as well. A good

jumping on point for the most part. I would say

probably start with the first issue because it

kind of sets the ground and gives you an idea

of where this story is going. I think this is

only designed to be five issues or six issues.

I don't think it's going to be a super ongoing.

I don't think it could be, but if you love something

like Dante's Inferno and want to see a take on

that, I think this provides that for you. Alright,

well that'll bring us to the end of this week's

episode and if you like what you're hearing,

if you want to interact with the show, there's

a lot of different ways to do that. You can catch

me on Twitter, I am at Movie Revolt. The show

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if you feel like you have some time to kill and

you want to give us a review on iTunes, I greatly

appreciate that. But for now, that'll be the

end of this week's show. Remember that comics

are for everyone. The key is finding the right

one. Until next time, thanks for listening.