Best Comic of the Week:
The Sacrificers #1 – Rick Remender is a writer whose work I will always check for, and a new series from him is a reason for excitement. This comic was first released on Free Comic Book Day, and I’d hoped that the first issue would have more to it than the free release, and was a bit disappointed to see it’s exactly the same. At the same time, this is the start of an incredible looking new series. We don’t get a lot given to us here – we meet a family of bird-like creatures who have a social obligation that is hard to bear (the title of the series is a hint). We also meet the sun, his mistress, and his daughter. Remender sets up a curious world, and leaves me wanting to know more about it. Max Fiumara’s art has never looked so good. These are all non-human characters, but he’s approached them in a way that makes them feel very human and relatable. This is shaping up to be a great series.
Quick Takes:
Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #6 – I’ve seen that this issue prompted a bit of controversy on the internet this week, as people haven’t liked the way in which Jon confronted the Injustice version of his father, and his ‘kill him with kindness’ approach has been compared to the “If I Was Your Mother” video that attempted to reset Vladimir Putin’s aggression. I can see how Tom Taylor was trying to keep Jon true to himself, and I think with a little more space in the issue, things could have been resolved better. I enjoyed this series, without having ever read Injustice, and am glad to see that there’s something more coming (hopefully with Taylor involved) called Beast World. I think the thing that bothered me more was that President Superman and Red Tornado just kind of disappeared from this series. I would have thought that Jon would have tried to rescue them.
Astonishing Iceman #1 – In the aftermath of the Hellfire Gala, the presumed-dead Iceman keeps turning up at Orchis attacks on other mutants. We learn how Bobby survived, and what is now limiting his ability to take the fight to Orchis directly. This is an entertaining issue that left me wanting to know a lot more about the big picture; I guess we’re not going to be getting a lot of that from these miniseries, and will have to just assemble things for ourselves.
Black Cloak #6 – I think that Black Cloak, by Kelly Thompson and Meredith McClaren, is one of the best series of 2023. The world- and character-building that Thompson and McClaren have done in this book is phenomenal and very unique. This issue brings together every thread that they started from the first issue, and it’s exciting and surprising. If I’m being honest, it’s also a little too quick, but I always hate the ends of movies too, preferring a slower and more deliberate ending. It felt like they were up against a page count limit in this issue, and had a lot of heavy lifting to do. I want to avoid spoiling any of the surprises in this issue, but it’s one of those stories that fundamentally changes almost everything you came to expect about the book. I’m really happy to see that there will be a second arc coming soon, because there is still so much to explore in this book and this world, especially in the way that Phaedra leaves things at the end of this issue. I really recommend that people who haven’t been reading this series look for the trade when it comes out and get onboard, because this series is great.
City Boy #3 – Cameron and Superman have a good chat, as this issue clarifies Cameron’s abilities a little and wrap up his first big conflict. There’s a lot of potential in this book. It’s a little decompressed, like Greg Pak is trying to stretch it out over six issues, but I’m hoping that as Cameron goes searching for his mother, we’ll get to know more about what his place in the DCU could be.
Doctor Strange #6 – This issue retcons a pretty big change to Strange’s past, as Jed McKay reveals that he spent thousands of years fighting a war on behalf of the Vishanti, and had to compromise on many, if not all, of his deepest held beliefs. It’s a very solid issue, with nice art by Juan Gedeon. I’ve been enjoying MacKay’s Strange, which reminds me that I should go back and track down the Death miniseries, and Clea’s series as well. There’s always more comics to read…
Fantastic Four #10 – Ryan North again indulges in an oddball approach to this series, as we see the Fantastic Four through the eyes of an alien race whose generation ship has gotten stuck in space. The story unfolds like a bit of a puzzle until we see things from the FF’s point of view. North’s approach to this series has been interesting, and really makes the book feel fresh. I’m liking it a lot.
Justice Society of America #5 – I’m not sure if part of the problem is that Geoff Johns just doesn’t have time for this book, but this issue was supposed to be out back in April, and the lengthy delays have really hurt this title. This issue has the Society finish the fight with Per Degaton, with a few lasting changes to their history. I’d be a lot happier if these changes didn’t take place, as I think there’s more than enough room in the DCU for the JSA to have their own book without more meddling. These are beloved characters, and I don’t know that we need to shoehorn in a new version of the original Huntress, or the other character who makes her debut on the last page (I think she was also in that Stargirl series I didn’t read). Johns’s first run on JSA was one of the best comics of its era, but after five issues, I don’t see that he has anything new to say. I love Mikel Janín’s art here, and hope he stays on the book, but would be more interested in seeing someone else take over the team (especially if Johns is going to keep referencing Flashpoint).
Knight Terrors: The Ravager #2 – As I’d feared when I ordered any of them, these Knight Terrors miniseries are shaping up to be summer filler. Rose fights a nightmarish version of herself who is trying to do their father’s bidding. I would probably be reading Ed Brisson’s Stormwatch if it wasn’t part of the Brave and the Bold anthology book, which doesn’t all appeal to me, and if I did, I’d probably know who the character who helps her in the waking world is, but since no one bothered to name him, I don’t. This could have been a lot better.
Love Everlasting #10 – Because the last few issues have followed Joan through a single life, and this issue shows her getting older and older, I’d assumed that this was the final issue of the series, but I was wrong. It looks like Joan’s long life in 1963 was an aberration from the rules that Tom King set up for this series, and that it’s going to keep going. I want to assume that there will only be one more arc to this book, but I think I know better than to guess what King and Elsa Charretier have planned.
Moon Knight #26 – Hunter’s Moon gets the spotlight for this issue, as he enters into therapy with MK’s doctor, and we get to see why he might need it as he recounts what happened during an encounter with an old Iron Man villain. The inclusion of Hunter’s Moon into the Moon Knight mythos was a terrific idea that came out of Jed MacKay’s run, and it’s added a few interesting layers to things (I feel like his being in contact with all of the previous Fists kind of connects him to Black Panther as well in a way that is new). This book has really impressed me. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to get from the GODS page at the end…
Paklis #7 – One of the things that frustrates me about Dustin Weaver’s anthology series is that it is sometimes years between chapters of a story, and I struggle to remember what’s happening. This issue has a new chapter of Amnia Cycle, which I remember being my favourite of the stories in the first issues, but I really don’t remember much about it now. 1949 concludes, and that’s pretty interesting. Weaver’s art is beautiful, and his writing and ideas are interesting. I’m happy to get this book in this format, but could understand why some people would prefer to wait for collected versions of the stories.
Quest #1 – I’m always down to check out something from one of the Luna Brothers. For some reason I thought that Quest was going to be a one-off, and I was surprised by how much development Jonathan Luna and Crystal Wood were putting into things. Quest opens on the wedding of a prince and princess, but their wedding is interrupted by the arrival of a few demons, who make off with the prince. The princess is insistent that she be involved in the plan to rescue her new husband, and when her father, the King of one of the two kingdoms their families represent, forbids it, she takes off anyway with the guard that has been watching over her for a while now. It’s kind of standard stuff, but Luna usually works in a new approach to this kind of material, and his art is always nice. I like the Eastern, Hindu-influenced approach to design in this book, and am curious to see where it goes.
Sins of the Salton Sea #3 – Ed Brisson and CP Smith are a very good team for this type of book. Wyatt is trying to keep a kid away from his cult leader father who intends to sacrifice him, but he doesn’t have a lot of resources, and teenagers can be hard to deal with. It also seems like maybe the cult isn’t wrong about the world slinking closer to ending, so that’s kind of interesting. I like the way Brisson has plotted out this book – I don’t really know what to expect from it, and that keeps me glued to it. Brisson is really good at crime and crime-adjacent stories.
Star Wars: Dark Droids #1 – I love how Charles Soule is setting up this new story arc, which has the item released from the Fermata Cage in Hidden Empire taking over all of the droids on an Imperial Star Destroyer. Soule’s Star Wars era is marked by some top-notch coordination across the line, and that has made things a lot more interesting. Luke Ross kills this issue – his works reminds me of the best of Mike Deodato, but also has its own feel to it. I’m interested in this mini-event, as Soule continues to put in time between Episodes V and VI.
X-Men #26 – Last week’s Hellfire Gala blew up the status quo for the X-Men and every book related to Krakoa. This issue of X-Men carries on from that, as we see what some of the surviving and still-free X-Men are up to. Synch and Talon are running the very small squad, with help from Emma Frost, while Kate Pryde, returning to the name Shadowcat, is kind of doing her own thing. I’ve always loved Kitty best when she’s a bad-ass, so this issue took me back to some of my X-Men glory days. Gerry Duggan is doing a great job keeping a number of balls in the air with this, and I suspect that this title is going to be the central one for the next little while. Stefano Caselli does a fine job of keeping us up to date on a number of characters. There’s a bleakness to this Fall of X stuff that has me wondering how the team will ever come back from it, and has me more excited than I’ve been in a few months about an X-event.
Comics I Would Have Bought if Comics Weren’t So Expensive:
Peacemaker Tries Hard #4
Prism Stalker: Weeping Star TP
Bargain Comics:
Mister Miracle: The Source of Freedom #1-6 – I was confused when DC put out a new Mister Miracle series so soon after Tom King and Mitch Gerads’s masterpiece. I was a little confused when I saw that it was going to be focusing on Shilo Norman, the other other Mister Miracle, but got even more confused when I realized that the Shilo in this series has never heard of Scott Free or Big Barda. It’s another multiversal, out-of-continuity story that is interesting, but as soon as I find that a book doesn’t tie in to established versions of characters, I quickly start losing interest. I like the way writer Brandon Easton uses this book to explore Shilo’s reluctance to reveal his race and identity to the world, and how he struggles with his celebrity. Fico Ossio’s art is very nice, and I like how he updated Miracle’s costume (which is always a favourite of mine). This was a good read.
The Week in Graphic Novels:
Captain Marvel Vol. 1: Re-Entry – I caught the tail end of Kelly Thompson’s run on Captain Marvel, and realized that it was a mistake to have not been reading the book all along. I’ve started gathering it up, and started with this first trade, which has Carol returning from a long sojourn in space and starting to reconnect with her friends and fellow heroes. Then there’s a fight with The Nuclear Man (not Firestorm), and she, Spider-Woman, Hazmat, She-Hulk, and a few others get trapped in a time-dilated Roosevelt Island hellscape. Thompson takes a light approach to these characters, while still having plenty to say about them. Nuclear Man’s misogyny is pretty glaring and a little silly, but I enjoyed the structure of this story, and liked Carmen Carnero’s art. I’m going to press on with this run and find more of it.
The Week in Music:
African Head Charge – A Trip To Bolagatanga – It’s apparently been years since African Head Charge have released any music. They’re new to me, but I’m intrigued by their use of instruments and electronics to create curious and novel African soundscapes. This album is really growing on me with each new listen.
Balimaya Project – When The Dust Settles – This is a jazz album with a very heavy African percussion section. The Balimaya’s first release caught my ear, and I’m pretty impressed with this new album. There’s so much jazz that sounds like this, but stays so distinct, coming out of London right now.
Braxton Cook – Who Are You When No One Is Watching? – This is one hell of a solid jazz album by saxophonist (and multi-instrumentalist) Braxton Cook. He dips his toe into multiple jazz-adjacent genres, but puts together a really cohesive collection here. It came out ages ago, but it’s taken me a while to get a copy, and I’m glad as I think he’s going to be an artist to watch.
