Weekly Comic Recommendations

This is Phil Lamar and you are listening to the

GeekCast Radio Network. On Sears Podcast, the

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 back

through the week that was in the world of comics

and give you my thoughts and opinions on some

of the more notable issues that came out. Slight

spoiler warning, as I do get into some plot details,

I do try to stay away from the big surprises

that do occur, but if you're someone who prefers

to know absolutely nothing about your book before

you read it, go to the show notes and I'll be

putting time for every book that I'll be talking

about today. I do start each week with my recommendation

of the week, and my recommendation of the week

is a little bit different in the sense of it's

not just the best book per se, but rather the

best starting point for that given week. A book

that anyone could enjoy if they've been reading

the series, if they've not been reading the series,

if they read a comic before or never read a comic

before. Basically, a starting point that doesn't

feel redundant is the way I like to look at it.

Last week, as I mentioned in last week's episode,

It was an insane week a lot of major books came

out and I thought this week we might see someone

of a dip like Almost like a fifth week in LA

where we just kind of get whatever's left, but

that really wasn't the case There's a lot of

major titles that came out and a lot of them

very good But at the end of the day what I felt

like was the best toys for recommendation of

the week is Exile Manowar number 14. It's written

by Matt Kent and the artist is Ariel or Olivetti,

and this is the beginning of a new story arc

for this series. And I chose this issue for a

number of reasons. First, I really enjoyed this

issue. I thought it was really solid. I've been

really enjoying this overall relaunch of the

titles since a little over a year ago when Matt

Canada kind of reshaped the idea of this book.

And we saw Exo Man Noir kind of in space in this

planet for some period of time. Progress he was

going through the journey was going through emotionally

as well as the actual journey of being a farmer

to the like ruler of that country Now he's left

that planet and this is really a simple story

at the heart of it It's just his journey back

the earth really and it it has a number of flashbacks

to What happened to him before he left and we

learned last issue and again, this is slight

Spoilers so that a big reason he left was because

he found out or something his wife thinks at

least that His son was becoming sick because

of the radiation He was bringing with him as

a as he was coming back from space If you know

the suit itself that it caused his son to get

leukemia and unfortunately passed away So he

made the decision, you know because of that to

flee the flee earth and kind of remake his life

and now he's made the Decision to come back and

you see this like the struggle that he's going

through a lot of flashbacks To who he was and

for those that don't know anything about the

character of Exo Manowar This actually functions

as a good idea of where he's coming from. So

it's an interesting tale It's like I like to

say it's like a combination of Iron Man Thor

and Captain America all rolled up into one as

one character He was a character who was a Visigoth,

you know during the Roman Empire and he was actually

abducted by this alien creatures and during that

abduction he came across this armor that he now

wears and it's this alien armor within itself

and only a few people can wear it or that's what

he was told and He's been wearing that armor

ever since he made his way back the but by the

time he actually made his way back to earth due

You know to the power relativity we see that

Earth is in present day. So he is now in a world

that he doesn't know with technology. He doesn't

really, doesn't really understand and is a lot

of things ensued. It's been a long time since

then. So he's developed and acclimated to this

world, but he still has that Visigoth spirit

and has that warrior mentality that we see. And

that's very much what Matkin has been kind of

getting into since the beginning. This also is

kind of the prelude to the big event that Valiant

comics will be doing in this upcoming summer

harbors your wars, too I know when people say

event It's like a dirty word in the world of

comics and we see a lot of publishers like Marvel

and DC Well, it's completely changes everything

that every book has to be a part of it. It is

overlong Delays happen, but I think with Valiant

they usually handle it pretty well events. Don't

go on for too long We do have some spinoffs,

but typically they're isolated for the most part

and they're honestly very good with 4001 For

example last year was really good. The first

harbinger wars was a solid as well So I'm very

excited for what's gonna happen and even though

it's a prelude It doesn't get into I think a

lot of the plot details that will be about there

We just know that something is happening and

XO might man of war is gonna be playing a part

of it So I think this is that's why I think it's

a great choice or recommendation of the week.

It's a great story that you see a person going

through this eternal battle of, you know, what

should he do? Is this the right choice to come

back home? how his family has affected him. So

there's a lot going on in that sense, but it's

also visually told. There's not a lot of dialogue

in this. It's a great -looking issue as well.

Some fabulous flashpages and just the use of

landscape from everything you see, X -Men are

more like next to this like burning sun compared

to them being in the ocean. Just the variety

of background. I think it's really stunning and

how much things change. So we have that, we have

a great story, we have a good introduction to

a character for social may not be aware of him,

and a good idea of things to come, a major storyline

to come in the future. So I think that makes

it a very great issue to pick up if you've never

read a Valiant comic before, if you never read

an Exo Man or a comic before, but if you have,

if you enjoyed this title, it then kind of has

been tying in. the major first arc that Matt

Ken has been working on for over a year now.

It's like the day new maw as they say to that

and the beginning of a new. So ultimately this

is a big transition issue and often with transition

issues they feel empty or purposeless but necessary.

This feels necessary but I think there's more

meat to this bone. And I think if you're someone

who wants. To look into getting the valiant.

They've been beginning a lot of praise as of

late I do know that recently there's been a lot

of changes with the company on the editorial

side But so far nothing has changed regarding

quality when it comes to their actual comics

So that makes this a very good book. I think

to jump into and read and if you do enjoy this

I'll go back to the very first issue that came

out last year. It was with the same team same

Artist a very different style. You'll see a very

different character and you just see and it just

will kind of hint at just the progression that

he's made as a person. And it's kind of interesting

doing that because you're actually going in with

more background knowledge over where he is compared

to where most readers were when that story first

started. He kind of came to this planet and we

were learning about what happened, but in this,

we were getting a lot of those answers. Again,

a high recommend. I've pretty much, you know,

looking at all the companies out there, you know,

Valiant doesn't put out a lot of books. They

rarely put out more than two books a week. And

I think they have really good quality control

in the sense of that. So rarely is there a dud.

They're usually really good or great. And this

to me was one of the better issues of the series

so far and one of the best, better Valiant pieces.

Personally, I actually began reading Valiant

because of the Valiant miniseries. And that kind

of gave me... access to a lot of the different

characters in the Valiant universe, and it was

a great jumping on point. So when I try to find

those, especially with the Valiant characters,

I'll make sure to highlight them, and this became

a perfect week for that. So, you know, a lot

is going on this summer, a lot of major titles

are out there, and we know Marvel's having their

refresh, we have Doomsday Clock, but within that,

don't forget that Valiant is doing their thing

too, and this is a good opportunity to jump on

board. Also coming out this week from Valiant

was Shadow Man number two and I enjoyed the first

issue of Shadow Man. This is a character that

I don't know a huge amount about actually really

the first issue that I read of him that was solely

about Shadow Man was the last issue and although

I enjoyed it I did feel like that issue didn't

give me a lot of answers in the sense of who

he was as a character and I felt like as someone

that was going into that character for the first

time I was kind of left out in the cold a little

bit and this This issue doesn't really answer

all that much more, but I think I'm better understanding

the main plot of what's going on here in the

background and what this is being focused in

on. So even though I don't have that background

knowledge, it doesn't seem to be that big of

a deal in my enjoyment overall with this book.

And what's really working for me with this issue

is the relationship between Jack, who is... the

regular version of Shadow Man and his ally, Alyssa

Miles. They just have a really good back and

forth, and I like the fact that Alyssa is just

as capable of an individual within the fight

that they're going through, even though she's

not Shadow Man, or she doesn't have this other

identity to go off of. She is the one kind of

leading the charge, and really, Shadow Man was

gone for a period of time, or you know. Jack

was gone for a period of time so she was really

taking up the mantle and she still has that you

know that strong will and and she's the one that

was doing a lot of investigation and she makes

up for lack of power I think with her know -how

and a lot of this is turning into that just that

an investigation finding out there's something

going wrong there's something amiss in this town

of New Orleans and a little bit of investigation

is done if anything I wish there was more to

it We used to go to this restaurant and she finds

out that something may be happening and a lot

of it's based upon things that recurred off screen.

And I just wish, you know, we got a little bit

more of the reasoning behind some of the choices

that she was making. And, uh, but this also had

some really great actions and really great character

creature design. The artist is Steven Segova.

Segova. I'm not exactly sure. And I don't know.

His work all that well, honestly, this is maybe

the first thing I remember of him and I do I

do like his work It's pretty good and it excels

mostly I think with When it comes to the creature

design as I mentioned near the end of the book

near the end of the book When it comes to your

storytelling ability, it's it's there. It's not

the best of the best into work in progress I

would say I could see him getting better and

better as as he gets more opportunity just when

it comes to the facial features at times there's

no subtlety there it's a lot of extremes and

at times the anatomy seems a little bit weird

especially when it comes to arms it just seems

to be off but those are really minor nitpicks

uh he does what he needs to do and when things

get really kind of ramped up um and near the

end of this book it's i think really really shines

i think that's probably where he put the majority

of his energy in and it shows um so i'm really

excited for next issue when we get it seems like

we're going to be more in the other realm i just

He's got a really cool look to, they're like

almost zombie -esque creatures, like of the undead,

but the real undead, what they used to be back

in the day when they were based more on magic

like Voodoo than what they kind of morphed into

with things like the walking dead. Because this

takes place in New Orleans, it has, just within

that, a different feel than most books. It's

a location that is not utilized all that great

deal. It feels like it's coming from an authentic

place in the sense of it's a little bit over

the top, obviously. It's not true to life, but

I just like the fact that you're getting something

that is out of the norm of your normal location.

So I don't think this is Valiant's best book.

I don't think this is gonna work for everyone,

but I'm liking where it's going. It's making

me more of a fan of... Shadow Man, I do wish

we get a little bit more of him and like a little

bit more background or he seems to be kind of

a minor player in this so far, which is not necessarily

a bad thing, but if he's gonna be one of those

characters that I get excited about when he shows

up in other issues or, you know, as I mentioned,

the Harbinger War series, I think you need a

little bit more in order to... make him a standout

character in my mind now people who like i know

there are a lot of people out there that are

a huge fan of the character and we're really

excited that he was getting his new series again

and this was really anticipated for those people

i don't know if this is giving you what you want

and i can see bits and pieces of why people would

really like that character but I'm just hoping

for more and which is a good thing because that's

something you want as you continue reading it

I'm getting enough to want to keep going but

it's more so I wasn't I didn't know what exactly

to expect what it came to this book and I'm just

settling in and understanding what where that's

gonna be so I'd like the second issue more than

the first issue I like where it leaves off and

I will certainly be picking up issue number three

when it comes out next month Alright, let's move

over. Let's see in the world of any books but

move over to that of image comics for killer

be killed number 18 and sadly this book is nearing

its end it sounds like it's going to be finished

with issue number 20 and I wasn't sure like how

that would work this felt like a book that could

go on for a long time even Ed Brubaker mentioned

it and his back notes that he had a really long

-term plan for this and Maybe it didn't work

out. I know this is and works for it becoming

a movie So maybe because of that he wanted to

have a finite end before that comes out so I'm

not sure exactly what's happening but I will

say it is feel like it's organically coming to

its conclusion and what's interesting about this

issue is that the main character of Dylan is

not in this physically, his narration is there

like it always is, but most of this is dedicated

to that of Detective Sharp, a detective that's

really been the person on the case of Dylan or,

you know, the serial killer and the one trying

to bring him to justice, as they say. And what

we see that this is actually a great issue if

you're a person who loves procedural cop drama,

because this very much is that. It picks up where

the last issue ended, where we see the Person

we thought might be Dylan who was murdered in

the sense of there were someone dressed like

him had his look at his had his red hoodie He

was killed but we find out who that was the reasoning

behind that person and why he kind of was a copycat

killer of Dylan's murder spree and What was great

about that too is when we got that backstory

Sean Phillips did some drawing of like Afghanistan,

I believe or Iraq with some modern -day military

technology. And it had me thinking of like, wow,

I would love to see Sean Phillips do a story

like this. Like he, it had a really great look

to it. It had, as you would expect with Sean

Phillips, where there's a sense of realism, but

it's not photorealistic. It's like a good blend

of in -between. And it works for this sort of

the killer re -killed. And I would love to see

him do a book centered in that type of setting.

I think it would be phenomenal. You know, something

like Sheriff's of Babylon or something of that

nature, or a war book. It has a drama -like feel

without feeling cartoony. But obviously that's

not the main point of this issue. The main point

is seeing Detective Sharp go through and she's

not convinced that that man was the killer. So

it's just her mindset, her process of trying

to... put in doubt over this finding. And as

you often see with crime stories, when they have

a killer, they have someone spotted, they have

evidence against them, they want to close the

case on it, but she's trying to prolong it because

she doesn't feel like it's the actual... They

got the right guy and it's that quest of and

it's really leading where it leads off It's like,

okay everything is kind of coming to head everything

like it is reaching its boiling point and as

often as with this book it likes to play with

structure and how things happen and time and

place so Now that we know that a lot of the bits

and pieces that were kind of bolt up in a few

issues with Dylan's roommate come into play now,

so it's It's been a fantastic book. It was my

number one book of last year and it continues

to be great. It's still to me, like when this

is out, this is the first book I go to. This

is not a great jumping on issue as it's issue

18, obviously, but if you're someone who loves

like crime, like dramas, if you like, you know,

Brut Eberbicker's other series or you want something

new to get into. And as I mentioned, they are

making a movie out of this and it's going to

be done by the director of the first John Wick.

And it's kind of odd to me because this isn't

really an action type. movie. There's action

in it, but it's not like, you know, Dylan is

not John Wick, he's the opposite of John Wick.

He's a bumbling dude that's just trying to figure

his way out of things and kind of lucks into

things or sometimes unlocks into things. But

I'd be interested to see how they approach it.

But I've been really enjoying the series and

continues to be one of the best books on the

shelves. And I'm sad that it's going to end.

We did get word that Sean Phillips and at Brubaker

are going to have someone another book that's

supposed to be starting around September. Nothing

more than that in the sense of it was just a

tweet that John Phillips alluded to. So that

might just be like one side issue. It might be

something related to this, maybe a new series.

No idea, but I'm excited to see where they're

going. And I really sad this book is ending,

but you know, I'd rather it end on a strong note

than go on for too long. Another image series

that is kind of continually rising in my ranks

of books that I've been enjoying is Ice Cream

Man, and that continues with Ice Cream Man number

four. I didn't love the first issue, but I think

I'm really starting to understand where this

book is going. It's, you know, this anthology

series where each issue is a new story with a

new set of characters with the Ice Cream Man

kind of at the center of it in this crazy town

and This issue specifically, it was weird because

it didn't even feel like a horror story per se.

It really centers on this guy who is going to

be giving this eulogy for a past friend and the

process he goes through. And at the same time,

that friend who has passed away is kind of onlooking

the situation from hell and the horrors and the

tribulations that he's going through in that.

And it was just... It was a compelling analysis

or kind of compelling look at like the way in

which we deal with situations like that because

it was, I think a person, the main character

wasn't like best friends with this person. It

was someone who had, who died way too young in

large part due to the choices that they made,

the poor choices that they made and how you approach

a speech like that. How do you sum up someone's

life that has had those types of, and then at

the same time he answers the conversation with.

that person's father who went away, who kind

of abandoned the family when they were younger.

And what he sees is that he's actually having

some of the same conflicts himself and wondering

like, why can't he do the same thing? It's a

different approach. You don't intend to see that

where it's the character trying to contemplate

about leaving his family and what that means.

The other big piece of this, and this was almost

recommendation of the week, the reason I hesitated

a slightly bit, because this also relates into

some of the previous issues where we learned

there's more going on with this ice cream man

than we previously knew. There's a new character

that kind of shows up at the end, so there are

some mystical forces. at play. Don't know more

beyond that. We don't know exactly why or how

or who these people are. Are they from hell?

Is he some sort of demon? Is he some sort of

angelic figure? Who knows? But I just like this

type of storytelling that's been doing that.

I love the ability to kind of pick up an issue

like this and not knowing what at all the story

is going to center on. The last issue was quite

good as well, and they've gone into some really

far out places. Last issue was dedicated a lot

to a lot of musical references. with this guy

who was once a singer and is trying to reclaim

that magic once again and everything that he

went through. So I would definitely recommend

picking this up. And this is actually, I think,

is a good issue to read if you've not read any

of the previous books because that bit of the

Ice Cream Man is near the end. It doesn't really

affect the overall story. And I think if you

did like that a little bit, you may want to go

back. The problem I had with the first issue

was that there was a little bit too much focus

on the Ice Cream Man. It didn't really establish

itself well enough to kind of give you an idea

of what exactly was happening. The way the stories

intertwined was oddly put together, but it seems

like the structure has improved with each passing

issue where you're better understanding where

things are going and the ice cream man isn't

necessarily dominating the story. He appears

when necessary, but he's not the driving force

really, or he's not the... the focus he is kind

of the driving force because he's the one sending

things into play but I don't know I've really

liked this book it's a really it's a good example

of how you can approach horror in non -conventional

ways and there's a lot of horror books out there

and this is kind of each story so far has approached

the genre in a new way and it's not like a slasher

type of book or something that relies a lot on

scares it's it's much more story based really

where the horror bits are just kind of accentuating

what's occurring Alright, let's move over to

the world of Dark Horse for Aliens Dust to Dust

number one and when this came out It was actually

Aliens Day was this last week as well and they

had the aliens Deadly Orbit trade paperback came

out which I would highly advise getting that

to me was one of the best Aliens comics that

have come out James Stokoe who did their writing

and drawing it was it was phenomenal unfortunately

that book was very much delayed and it took a

long time I kind of understood because The art

on that was ridiculously well done. It was one

of the better Alien stories. The movies have

been hair mess, but I thought what that did was

bring Alien, the franchise, back to its roots.

And Aliens Dust to Dust is doing something similar.

It feels a little bit more like Aliens than Alien.

It takes place in a similar world as it did with

Aliens A Different Planet. but it's this settlement

where they were trying to terraform the world

in order to make it habitable, but it's gone

wrong, and it's really gone wrong because now

a bunch of xenomorphs have showed up. We don't

know how or why yet, but that's not necessarily

important because this first issue is legitimately

just an extended chase sequence, or extended

escape sequence, really. This is written and

drawn by Gabriel Hardman, similar to how... James

Joko took his series and I'm really liking that

approach to this alien franchise because Aliens

is such a visual visually driven story. So when

you have the artist and writer the same person,

I think it tends to compliment itself really

well. And I love the way that Gabrielle approaches

the xenomorph characters. He looks like he should.

It's, you know, it's that classic design, but

the world itself is well represented. It doesn't

feel like similar to the way that Sean Phillips'

work doesn't feel photorealistic. It still doesn't.

It still feels like it exists within a comic

book, but the Xenomorphs have that, like, grotesque

type of look to them. You know, when you see

the little mouth pop out like you, you know,

that iconic image, it has that unsettling feeling

to it. And the story so far has been very simple.

It's a mother and a child trying to escape this

world as Xenomorphs are coming in and causing

huge havoc. And that's all that really is for

this first issue. It's a four part series, so

we'll see where it goes from here. But it was

just that. It was because it was so specifically

focused. It was like a cold open to a movie.

Very chaotic. You kind of get dropped in and

things are just happening and it's just chaos

everywhere. You can't really get your bearings,

but that actually ends up being a good thing

because it just heightens the tension as you're

just everyone's just running for their life.

Everything is just just car crashes are occurring.

Dinomorphs are popping out of everywhere, people

are dying, it's just horror upon horror, and

by the end of it, once you think you're safe,

no, that's really just the beginning. But I think

it leaves off at a good spot, and this being

Four Issues is probably a smart move. This is

not gonna be rewriting the book of how to do

an alien story, and I think that's the best thing

to do, though. If you're an aliens fan, this

gives you more of what you like. It's not trying

to... look into the deep mythology of the xenomorphs

and better understand where they're coming from.

No, it's a monster movie done in comic book form

and may not be the most sophisticated in the

world, but it's effective and entertaining and

sometimes that's all you want. So if you are

an Aliens fan or you're looking for a good Alien

series to begin with this being issue number

one, even if you've probably never watched an

Aliens movie, I think you know enough just by

the osmosis of that being in the zeitgeist of...

you know, culture that it is. You know, everyone

knows the creatures. They've been periodated

forever. You could probably pick this up and

enjoy it well enough. Dark Horse does a lot of

great things with the license properties that

they have. And I think Aliens might be one of

the best examples of that. Alright, well let's

take a break from indie books for just this moment

and go into the world of Marvel Comics. Last

week was DC's week with Action Comics 1000, Miracle

Man, Superman, Batman, tons and tons of different

DC books. Some good DC books that came out this

week as well, but really, to me, this was Marvel's

week. Not necessarily to the height of Action

Comics 1000, but they had a lot of books that

I did end up really enjoying. And starting with

All New Wolverine number 34, this continues the

old woman lore story. where we see Laura and

her band of characters trying to enter the world

of Latveria to rescue her sister that Dr. Doom

previously captured. And ultimately what I really

liked about the story so far is that it exists

in a future that is not dystopian. It exists

in a future that is not dreadful and like it's

not where every bad thing that you can possibly

imagine happen happens. It's actually somewhat

of a pleasant future. The heroes... kind of one

in a way. You know, they're obviously villains

because they're going after Doctor Doom, but

there is a pleasantness to it. It seems like

things worked out to be okay for the most part,

and that in a way is so different than all the

other future stories we tend to get from Days

of the Future Past to Old Man Logan. It ends

up just being a unique approach in that way.

With that said, it's not like there's not drama

here that really is as, spoiler, as I indicated.

Laura... x23 Wolverine previous Wolverine is

feeling like she's going to be dying because

of the issues with her her cloning so she's not

got much life left and there's a lot of things

in this you're sure that I really loved and what's

kind of funny about this is that I didn't honestly

even realize it and it's I'm guess I'm that oblivious

but this is a team made up of all female characters

but it never seems to like pronounce that or

make that a big deal not that it'd be an issue

if it did but it just kind of shows that yeah

Marvel does have a really Great cast a female

character as many of which were written by tom

taylor created by tom taylor or at least evolved

or Becoming to something more by tom taylor like

this old new world marine book has been Really

under appreciated. I'm glad he got the x -men

red book, which has been my favorite x -men comic

And this this is coming to an end uh series wise

and we'll probably get into why that is after

this But i've really been liking this book great

art too and I love this this this combination

of characters where you have Gabby her clone

sister which is kind of weird that a clone has

a clone of a another clone that is also a clone

that but you know it's comics that's how it works

out Captain Marvel Maria Hill and some other

characters that show up that I don't want to

spoil it but this does feel like a culmination

of everything Tom Taylor has been working towards

like telling the story if he got to write this

comic for 60 years or something like that and

eventually this is the book he would get to but

you know in the world we live in that's impossible

so he's just fast forwarding to this elseworld

like tale. I also like that this exists in the

pages of all new Wolverine and it's not just

something else some other mini series that they're

just doing to try to extend its life or you know

have another book that could easily be ignored.

I appreciate it when a book like this exists

within the normal. You can see how this is related

to something like old man Logan because similar

with old man Logan He had a specific mission

he was going through and this is the same thing

here And it's just the trials and tribulations

of that occurring. This isn't as insane. He's

you know, we're not seeing dinosaurs and symbiote

type of we're not seeing dinosaurs with a venom

sending me it or you know a world where that

skull has his own town or something of that nature,

but it's I think personally in line with that

same type of story. But yeah, if you had any

interest in All New Wolverine or Enjoy X -23

as a character, you can probably go back, because

it just started with issue number 33, read that,

and then continue with issue number 34, as there's

only a couple more issues until this finally

meets its end. I'm not sure what they're gonna

be doing with Laura once Wolverine comes back,

as we know that he's been making his... presence

known. Is she going to stay Wolverine? Is she

going to X23? How are they going to handle it?

I know this book is endings. Maybe that's an

indication of what might be occurring. But for

now, but for now, I think ultimately this is

been one of the better storylines in this run.

And for a run that I've really enjoyed the vast

majority of it, that says a lot. Speaking of

Wolverine. We know Wolverine is making his way

back to the pages of Marvel Comics It's what's

revealed back in the legacy one shot long long

ago that he is alive once more But the thing

is many characters have not known he is actually

alive that is changing with hunt for Wolverine

number one This is written by Charles soul who

also wrote the death for Wolverine story and

this issue is really a prologue into the major

stories or additional miniseries that will be

coming out. This is really all about the X -Men

discovering that Wolverine is in fact alive.

It begins with the Marauders trying to steal

the statue of Wolverine, who was previously melted

in adamantium, and they want to take it because

it's Wolverine's body and it's adamantium. It's

worth priceless amounts of money, but X -Men

are there to stop that from happening. and then

throughout that we learn what happened to Wolverine

that he actually was never in that he was no

longer in that statue and he was buried like

a normal human being but as the X -Men leader

find out too he's no longer in that casket where

they placed him the thing is is he alive someone

take him the only people who knew he was buried

there were the X -Men so they assume that means

that somehow some reason Wolverine is alive and

Perhaps doesn't know who he is or what exactly

is going on. We get some glimpses of Wolverine.

Not much. We just see that he's popping his claws

once again. Does he have his healing factor?

Not sure. It seems like it's a good indication.

And it's just Kitty Pryde going around trying

to get different people to help them on this

journey. People like Daredevil because I'm not

sure, but I guess. My assumption is that because

he's a person who's dealt with death and resurrection

a lot, so hey, why not go to Daredevil? And obviously,

Iron Man, who is kind of combining the new Avengers

once again, and there's gonna be a couple different

miniseries, all with different characters, all

trying to find Wolverine. So I mentioned how

with All New Wolverine, I appreciated that it

was just in the pages of the normal Wolverine

story. I kind of wish this was just within the

pages of X -Men. I don't know if it necessarily

needs to be its own separate thing. Like having

multiple books that are all dedicated just to

finding one character at the end of the day,

I don't know. It seems like it is over -bloating,

unnecessarily stretching out this idea. It seems

like... You know, I understand Wolverine's a

popular character and there's a story here they

want to tell But I don't know if it warrants

as much as they're giving it I could be wrong

I mean the books haven't come out yet We'll see

but I have that sense that this is a little bit

It's not necessarily an event because this isn't

like taking over everything But does this need

to be as many books as it is? Could it all exist

within itself? I'm not sure and we saw something

similar to this with like secret empire where

you had people going on different adventures

to try to find different Pieces of the cosmic

cube now. They're trying to find wolverine who

we know has an infinity gem So does this tie

into the infinity storyline that we're counting

down towards with the the infinity countdown

Comic, I don't know. I don't know how all intertwined

not knowing is not necessarily a bad thing My

question is will this be good? I've enjoyed this

issue. It was Fine for what it was, as I indicated,

this is just a prologue to what more is coming.

It's that necessary book to get you to where

you want to go. I ended up enjoying this book

well enough. It did what it needed to do. I did

like some of the reveals that we do see, you

know, the image of Kitty Pryde taking out Wolverine

from the Antimantium shell. That was intriguing

and I like seeing the aftermath of his death

and what it did to the X -Men personally, which

I feel like we didn't get much of or... nearly

enough of so now that we're so it's good that

we're dealing with it now although now we're

dealing with it and he's back live again so who

knows but yeah if you're a huge wolverine fan

i know obviously he's one of the most popular

characters ever you might be disappointed the

of the lack of wolverine this book but you might

be happy knowing that he will finally be coming

back after being gone for three years and it's

funny i say that and then i'm going to talk about

dr strange's damnation which existed in dr strange

had its damnation also spin -off and all the

different miniseries and I ended up loving all

this like I really enjoyed this story and What

I think what was really good about it you you

had to read Doctor Strange and Damnation together

to get the whole picture But if you didn't read

the Ghost Rider spin -off or the Iron Fist spin

-off issues It didn't really matter all that

much the Ghost Rider piece does tie into the

end of this a great deal But it's really you

get everything you need to know in a speech bubble.

So there's there's that but This done by Nick

Spencer and Don and Kate this idea of Mephisto

taking over Las Vegas and Dooming a lot of the

Avengers into this hellish dimension along with

a lot of the arrivals of Mephisto like Damarmu

and seeing them all intertwine and seeing them

trying to make deals with the devil but I just

like the approach this cast of characters that

included like the Midnight Suns how it utilized

Wong and kind of the plan that went in place

to finally dethrone Mephisto I thought it all

just worked together really well and it's weird

that Doctor Strange Damnation number four and

Doctor Strange 389 Exist Concurrently it's a

little odd of know which knowing which one you

should read first or how the events Untold or

how exactly they're going to put this all together

in book form. My guess is Damnation will come

first because dr. Strange 389 kind of sums up

the end of damnation more of a conversation piece

but doing this way I think you get a lot of the

action feels like damnation number four is more

of a things that existed outside of Doctor Strange's

story where the Doctor Strange 3D9 was more focused

on him and this issue specifically is a lot of

it is just him having conversations with a figure

I don't want to talk about because it would or

a character I don't want to talk about because

it would completely spoil some some major things

that happen especially for long -term Doctor

Strange fans. This had an event -like feel, but

not in a bad way. It felt like you're reading

this huge story with all the characters that

you could ever want, the different takes of them,

and I just also loved how one of my favorite

things with Doctor Strange is he's not a character

that tends to beat someone through just having

more power, punching them harder. It's a little

bit more, you know, you have to use the intellect

and especially Wong in this and how he... played

a key role in the back and forth and relationship

between Wong and Doctor Strange has been really

fascinating. And they're falling out, they're

the kind of conflict that's been occurring and

how within this too, the idea of magic having

a cost has stayed within these pages, something

that Jason Ayer established when he first picked

up the Doctor Strange book and they're still

utilizing that here. Donny Cage has a couple

more issues with Doctor Strange and then Mark

Way is gonna be coming in. I like Mark Wade.

I don't know the way he's going to be taking

it. Dr. Strange is not a character that I've

read a lot of single issues. He hasn't had a

lot of solo series really until the movie came

out But I've been loving this run since she's

an Aaron took over and Don and Kate's now so

Mark waves. It has a lot of shoes to fill He's

one of the great so I'm sorry. I'll do Fabulous

style would you know, it's gonna be focused with

dr. Strange in space, which is kind of great

because dr. Strange does have some connections

to cosmic characters. So, uh, yeah, so again

This is again and not an issue. You'd want to

jump into because it's the end of the arc This

would be a fabulous thing to collect especially

just seeing how they're gonna Connect it all

and how they're gonna insert the different mini

series and things like that if that would be

a separate piece or what? Have you but uh, yeah,

I'm sad down cakes is gonna end. I love this

first story This is to me different than his

first story with that focus on Loki It's a little

bit more I think out there and fun where with

a little bit more of a personal piece at the

end Speaking of out there and fun Lockjaw number

three written by Dan Daniel Kibble Smith who's

also been writing the Valiant series quantum

and woody He's been taking block job character

into a miniseries out of him not something I

think would work But there was that pet adventures

book a while back, which was a lot of fun. And

this continues it here. If you're a huge dog

lover, get a lot of great dog action in that.

Well, that's not a drawing. That's not what I

meant. But this has been focused on Lockjaw and

the character of D -Man. And what we've seen

is that Lockjaw and have been going all to these

different areas from Savage Land to now we get

to the world of Spider Ham. And if you are if

you are animal lover or just like puns or or

just like, if you like comic books that enjoy

being comic books, this is exactly that. I mean,

it's only a few pages in, and when we get into

the Spider -Ham universe, which is, you know,

the Marvel universe, but everyone's an animal,

we get the Wrecking Zoo. Instead of the Wrecking

Crew, the Wrecking Zoo, which includes, you know,

the normal Wrecking Crew, but they're all animals.

Like we have the mole -dozer, or the whisker,

or dolphin dressed up within the Wrecking Crew

type of look, and it's just... Fabulous just

like I'm gonna be goofy and I'm not gonna be

ashamed of being goofy And I think you need something

like that. We get a lot of dour pressing comics

at times It's good to have something that's just

like I'm just gonna have some fun with this.

That's be ridiculous And within that we get a

lot of background of lockjaw and we find out

what's been happening This is really a huge story

dump issue without feeling like it has a lot

of Exposition you get some exposition here and

there but we learn more about lockjaw his sisters

and all this has been happening and has a main

villain that I was a little bit more serious

than I thought it was gonna be. When you're dealing

with the Wrecking Zoo, I thought it'd be something

along those lines, but more of a cosmic level

character. Daniel Kibble -Smith, I think, he's

a comedic writer, he's worked for some late night

tech shows, and like I mentioned, he's doing

the Quantum of Woody stories, but he's good at

having a lot of humor, but... Just putting in

there some heart and some emotional moments a

little bit that don't feel too tacked on But

like yeah, this is a good book If you're just

like I want something that is just fun and you

can give this to a kid This is an all -ages comic

without ever feeling like an all -ages comic

one That's like talked down to so highly recommend.

It's been a lot of fun I think there's only one

issue left and this is exactly that this is something

you don't want to go on for 50 issues. This is

Ideal for a four -issue miniseries that you know,

you can it's a good palate cleanser And then

after you're reading this you can then read something

like moon night 194 which I'll talk about now

and man if you want to talk the opposite of Animals

dressed up as a wrecking zoo. That's probably

a comic that deals with moon night in his and

his dark adventures This is really hard comic

to talk about because there's a huge surprise

in this that comes out of nowhere But in a good

way, it's like holy crap things just got serious

right away with through an unexpected situation

but for those that don't know like moon night

is this character that He is from mark specter

and he has multiple personalities all which have

shown up in one form or another You often see

within the series them talking to one another

and this is mark specter who recently just found

out he has a daughter who he didn't know about

because that daughter was only knew the Additional

personality that would show up So it was odd

situation where the daughter knew him, but he

didn't know horror because of his multiple personalities

In this, though, he's having a conversation with

her, somewhat explain, you know, why exactly

he is the way he is, like what caused that to

happen. And I don't know much about the history

of Muna. I've read a lot of the series and not

many of them have touched upon his origin or

what exactly has gotten him to his state that

he's in with this fractured psyche. And I always

assumed it had to do with the fact that he was

that he was empowered by the gall of Ra that

had something to do with it. But this seems like

it existed a long before that. and we see why

that may have happened. This was almost pick

of the week because this is an issue that you

can read and not know anything about Mark Spector.

It's a one -shot issue. It's a complete story.

I've been liking this current run of Moon Knight.

Moon Knight's one of those characters that, for

some reason, no matter who's doing it, tends

to be one of the better Marvel comics, if it's

Jeff Lemire or Warren Ellis. And this run is

no different, so. The last arc was really focused

on giving Mark Spector, giving me a major villain

to face off with. This issue is really transitioning,

I'm guessing, to the next piece, the next arc.

But, and when you have those, they can feel unnecessary.

Like I mentioned with like Hunter Wolverine,

it doesn't give you that much. It's just there

and you don't get much out of it outside of just

the idea of where the story is going. This is

a complete story that could exist by itself at

any time. Like you could read this today or 10

years from now and it's just as effective because

it's completely told within 22 pages. And I love

when a comic can do that. When you can tell a

complete story and not rely on what came before

or what will be coming after, but. There's not

necessarily anything wrong with serialized storytelling,

that's why comics exist the way they do, but

every so often when you have a book that's just

like, okay, let's slow things down, focus on

this one specific story we want to tell, and

this could have been stretched out to three or

four issues or two issues, but now this is all

it's worth, this is the best way to tell it,

and maybe we'll get more pieces of this, more

people will learn more about the different trials

and tribulations of Mark Spencer's childhood

and what... made him the person who he is, I'd

be all for that. If this is just the beginning

of multiple one -shot stories like this, that's

a great way to take it. But for now, I'm just

going to enjoy this for what it is. And like

I said, close to recommendation of the week.

So if you're someone who's been wanting to get

into the character of Moon Knight, who've heard

good things about the previous series, this is

a good thing to jump into now. And if you like

it, there's plenty to go back to. Like I mentioned,

the Jeff The Mirror one was great. The Warren

Ellis run has been great. This current one has

been fantastic. A lot of great Moon Knight books

out there. He's not just a copy of Batman. He's

much more than that. He's actually much different

than that, so. And speaking of telling complete

stories all in one issue, you have Daniel's annual

number one and written by Donny Cates and a few

other writers and sometimes with annuals you

don't know which way they're gonna go. Is it

one extended issue that has this huge kind of

event type of feel to it? Is it a bunch of different

stories? Is it something that's just out of continuity

that people can pick up and enjoy? This is a

series of stories that all focus in on just how

evil Thanos is and I'm sure this exists in large

part due to the fact that there's that little

movie that's coming out with Thanos at the center

of it and actually this is great if you loved

Avengers affinity war and you're like I want

more Thanos the Donny Cage Jeff Shaw Thanos wind

stories has been fantastic But this is good too

because it just shows you all the different ways

you can approach Thanos and each story is very

different with different artists and creative

teams Some that are a little bit more Jokey than

others. There's like a cartoony story. That's

almost reminiscent of something of like Scottie

Young, but not done by Scottie Young And then

there's sometimes that Thanos just likes to mess

with people by helping someone across the street.

And then what that actually leads to is pretty

devastating. So as I mentioned, if you're someone

who loved Avengers of Ending Wars, I need more

Thanos in my life. I love what he did in that

movie. I want to know more about him. I don't

know if any of this exists within Got Nudity

or anything like that. It doesn't really matter

to me. But this is a good just array of Thanos

-centric stories. And what's fascinating about

it is that each creative team just approached

it in a very different way. So you're wondering,

like, why is Sandel such an important character?

It's not just because he's super powerful, but

he opens the door for a lot of different types

of stories. A lot of people are going to tell

you to go read Affinity Gauntlet, and that makes

sense. But I think this is just as effective.

It's also cheaper. You know, it's only one issue.

And what's, I think, the benefit of it over something

like Affinity Gauntlet is that Within it you

get a multiple different types of stories. It

also shows just what's one of the big benefits

of of comic characters is that Yeah, there are

commonalities with characters that you expect

no matter who's writing them but that doesn't

mean there is no room for creative license and

this showcases why that's such an important thing

to do and What when done well and what can happen?

Like I enjoyed every small story within this

most of them don't last too long and most of

them are only a few pages And it's not horrifically

priced, which sometimes Marvel likes to do. So

again, almost debated about this being pick of

the week. Thought it might be a little bit too

obvious. I also thought some of the other books

I talked about were a little bit better. But

again, it's a good pick up. in after you read

this and like this definitely read uh donnie

caches and jeff saw's miniseries because the

character that's narrating most of these stories

which is done by the character that's narrating

most of these stories the cosmic ghost writer

was established in that run and he was soon also

beginning his own miniseries and i'm really looking

forward to that as well all right well let's

get back to the world indie comics and let's

get into boom studios as they have a couple good

issues that came out this week that I wanted

to talk about starting with Abbott number four

and I've been loving this series. It's been one

of my favorite new series that have come out

this year written by Sadi Daman and drawn by

Sammy Cavella and it's just oozing in style.

It takes place in the 1970s and has that very

70s look to it. I love how much cigarettes and

smoke play into the aesthetics of this book almost

like if you If you lean in close enough, you

can feel the smoke It's like taking what Mad

Men did in that and like upping it to another

level in large part because Sammy Kavella's art

and His design his panel design is dynamic. It

is so good. There's a lot of every issue He just

has a way to tell his story in ways. I did not

expect and I really love it when people take

panels and just try to do new inventive things

with them. You know, something that I saw a lot

in the Quantum Wooding series that I've talked

about, something that Andre Sorrentino does a

lot and Sammy Cavella has his own type of look

to it. This one too has a really great look where,

you know, you see Abbott, she's looking through

a lot of these clues, trying to find different

things. And it's a page in which it's laid out

like a clue sheet and each panel is shaped like

a photo. And the way it looks like you're looking

at the, you know, a wall you would see with a

detective trying to piece everything together.

But it's a story that that's being told. It's

just fascinating to look at it. Just, wow, there's

so much thought and ingenuity put into this issue.

And within that too, Abby is becoming a character

I just I am fascinated by and I can't help but

root for in large part because she's someone

who's have lost gets lost gets thrown at her.

She is this reporter and She in this issue she's

dealing with the fallout of being fired and I

like the fact that despite the fact She's not

getting a paycheck. She's not working for the

newspaper anymore Yeah, she feels kind of down

and dumps for a little bit, but she doesn't allow

that to deter her there's a determination with

her as a character that Makes her avoid a lot

of the tropes and common mistakes of other noir

type of characters that would fit in the same

mold. And she's someone that you could easily

root for because of that. Even though she's dealing

with mystic arts at times, or dealing with...

ramifications that are beyond her norm. She sticks

with what she knows. She does the job that she

would normally do if she was investigating a

general, everyday murder. And because of that,

she's able to get closer and closer to the truth.

So this only has one more issue left, which is

sad to say. I don't know if it's going to then

come back and be, you know, have another miniseries

or what exactly is going to happen. But I could

see this with the Eisner's recently announced.

And one of the books we'll talk about was nominated

for one. I could see this being In the shortlist

for Eisner's for next year for new series for

miniseries for art for story I'm not you know,

there's a lot of different things that can be

nominated for it very early in the year Of course,

but for me it's as of right now unless the fifth

issue goes off the wheels completely It's one

of the best new series and that's after the fact

that I was a little disappointed with the first

issue Mostly because of where it leaves off and

you find out there's more of a fantasy Aspect

to it and I was worried that it would get away

from some of the more social cultural issues

that seemed like to be the focal point but the

way of things come together the problems I had

proved to be mute and If you're looking for a

new series to get into this is a good one It

should probably be out with the next issue with

the last issue coming out next month Within you

know by Christmas time or maybe before that this

will be out in trade paperback form So maybe

you want to wait until then? But also it's only

four issues So it's not like you'll be breaking

the bank if you go back and pick them up if it

still is at your local comic book store and speaking

of the Eisners of all the Eisners that that came

out one of the ones I was the happiest about

was seeing that grass kings got a nomination

because I've loved this series It's one that's

not been talked about a great deal. So I didn't

think it would have a shot because you know,

there's Mr. Miracle and all these other books

that people talk about which also got right for

these Rightfully so got their nomination, but

Matt Kent's Grass Kings got nominated as well

for for best new series. And this too is nearing

its end. It's so many great books or only have

a couple more issues left, but it is feeling

like it's coming to its natural conclusion. Last

issue, issue number 13 was action packed, which

was odd because this is not an action packed

type of comic. It's much more slow burn. This

takes things back a little bit. This issue is

more focused on the serial killer who's been

this figure in the background that has been driving

a lot of the plot without being the focal point

it's like a lot of things have been happening

because of the ramifications of that killer reason

why the grass kingdom being is being invaded

and we find out some major revelations in this

issue with this being the penultimate issue of

who that might be and who really knew about him

and I just love there's so much I love about

this book the art by Tyler Jenkins the 70s aesthetic

similar to that of Abbott, but this takes place

during more modern time But also just the watercolor

look to it. It's a fabulous Looking comic very

minimalistic now I in a way almost you could

think this is written and drawn by Matt Kent

because it has a very similar style to it so

I could see why Matt Kent went to Tyler Jenkins

because If you look at something like mind management,

which Matt Kent did has, you know, a little bit

more, more true to life look to it than, than

my management, but still not a lot of great detail

per se, but the look of it still really, it's

about getting the most out of, out of a little,

you know, some, something so much of Jeff, Jeff

Lemire and I know Jeff Lemire, Matt Kent are

friends and I could see why, cause their approaches

to stories have a lot in common with one another.

Um, you know, with this being issue 14 and nearing

the end, again, not a great issue to jump into,

but it's just been paced really well. And I think

what was been really great about the series is

I mentioned how this issue focuses a lot on this

mystery that's been in the background. But sometimes

when you have a mystery that lasts an entire

series or the majority of a series, it can feel

like you're being it's being dragged out or it's

going on. for far too long, but there's been

so much going on with this series, and so much

of it's been built upon building character and

making you care about even people that are just

in the background, that it's never been an issue.

And in this, even small characters that have

bit parts, you care about them because they were

given the time, and Matt can allow the story

to develop and really make this world into something.

It's cliche to say, but the Grass Kingdom is

very much... the main character of this story

and the reasoning behind why people have kind

of gone to it. So I thought, you know, I wasn't

sure where I was going to go after issue 13,

which had, you know, helicopter crashes and bazookas

and gunfire. This took a little bit of a step

back, which I think is necessary. So it's been

one of the best series that's been out. I'm super

excited to see how this all finally comes to

its conclusion. Alright well one more book to

talk about today and I'm gonna talk about baby

teeth number 10 and also written by Donnie Cain

She's coming in again this episode and when this

came out when baby teeth came out I'm like, okay

this will be a fun type of look at a omen type

of story where you have the Antichrist who was

born the difference here is that instead of the

Damien being the Son of some denthy denthy intolerance

It's just this normal everyday teenager who is

in way overhead to begin with after the fact

that oh She's also the mother of the person who's

going to bring on the apocalypse Not so much

that it is evolved to well beyond my wildest

expectations And what's really great about issue

number ten is everything is coming full circle

The end of the first issue, you know, we flash

forward we think we flash forward to seeing Sadie

talking to her now son explaining what's happening

and kind of doing a narration of everything that

flowed up to this point and finally we find out

where that is coming from and You know at first

it seemed like he it was existing in this dystopian

type of future where everything went to hell

that oh that apocalypse that we were talking

about that must have occurred and It is not that

and there are some truly devastating moments

in this I'm more on the personal side and when

you have a story that is dealing with you know

has a who has a purple demon cat and Occults

and all this other thing and this just utter

insanity at the end of the day. It's a story

about a mother and her child and what that means

it sounds kind of Let me sound Let me sound ridiculous

and overly sentimental that that would be the

focus of this issue or this story but in truth

of the matter is that is what it is and what

I found very effective and well done about baby

teeth is that it On every occasion subverted

my expectations. Oh, I think this character is

going to be this or be this antagonist or have

this type of motivation to know her father He's

this military figure you think that he's gonna

come down hard on his daughter and be you know,

just attached from disappointed But no, he's

much more of a caring individual. It is taking

all those tropes and commonalities with a story

like this horror genre Expectations and saying

let's let's tweak them just a little bit and

give us something brand brand new so a lot of

horror books out there and it's weird even calling

this a horror book because it's not necessarily

scary but i guess exists in that type of realm

for the most part it's been one of them for me

one of the best aftershock books since it's come

out And it's only got a couple more issues left.

Again, another great book that's coming to its

end. So what I love about Danny Cakes as a writer

is that he never overstays his welcome, whether

it be God Country, his work on Thanos, his work

on Doctor Strange. He has a certain idea, a certain

story he wants to tell. And once he's told it,

he leaves for greener pastures. And that's a

hard skill to learn, especially for a new writer.

And really uncommon because often you would see

like once a... Person has a book that's working

once person has a story that's working or it's

caught on They just want to continue it keep

going not the case I don't know if that is indication

of kind of the mindset of writers today of this

things are switching As more things are open

up and you have more avenues and more publishers

to tell stories You don't have to rely on Marvel

like you once did or DC like you once did who

knows ultimately it means great comics So I'm

all happy for it But that's gonna bring us to

the end of today's episode and I want to thank

everyone for listening. If you want to interact

with the show, you can do so by emailing me at

movierevolt at geocastreader .com, also on Twitter

at movierevolt. The show is on Facebook and Instagram

as well. Just search Comic Concierge. You can

go to the episode post at geocastreader .com

or nerdy .co .uk. Leave some comments. Let me

know some books you want to cover. Did you agree,

disagree with any of my take on any of the books

this week? Again another passion -packed week

next week is looking pretty packed as well some

major new series coming out Upcoming this week

as well. I have a conversation with Matt my fellow

cinema geek over the first volume of Silver Surfer

done by Michael read and dance lot. That was

a really fun conversation in addition in the

upcoming weeks, I'll be speaking with Jason Michael

from the Atlantic screen podcast screen connection

podcast and we'll be talking about the Joel Jones

series lady killer so a lot of fun things planned,

but for now this is the end of this week's episode

Thanks for listening and always remember comics

are for everyone. The key is finding the right

one