Had to take a week off, and I’m still not close to catching up (but at least I read my main FCBD books finally).
Best Comic of My Fortnight:
Black Canary: Best of the Best #6 – I found that this series dragged a little in the middle, but this last issue of Tom King and Ryan Sook’s big fight book was impressive. Almost from the beginning, we’ve known that Black Canary was looking to throw her fight with Lady Shiva, so that Vandal Savage would cure her mother’s cancer. At first, the tension of the series was predicting whether or not Dinah could last six rounds, but with this issue, it becomes more of a question of pride, and whether or not Dinah would allow herself to back down. A lot about this series doesn’t make sense, like how Shiva became such a famous individual when she’s always been seen as a shadowy character, but Sook’s art is phenomenal throughout, and I like books that acknowledge DC history more than most do these days.
Quick Takes:
DC All In 2025 FCBD Special Edition #1 – The preview of Dan Slott’s Superman Unlimited series does very little for me; it’s the kind of Superman story that doesn’t interest me, aside from Rafael Albuquerque’s art. The story on the flip side showcases the Absolute line, and provides a bit of a sample of those books’ aesthetics. I don’t like that we’re already looking towards a connection between the Absolute comics and the mainline DCU; I’d rather it get more time to develop and breathe on its own. I do like that DC is working towards a more coordinated purpose for their whole line; I just don’t want them to rush it.
Energon Universe FCBD 2025 Special #1 – I didn’t realize that the GI Joe book was getting so connected to Transformers, but the story here has an Autobot and a lot of talk about energon, so I guess it’s a more cohesive universe than I’d thought. The Transformers story was decent, and it was nice to see Daniel Warren Johnson drawing it again, and the Void Rivals story is a nice tease for what’s coming up in that book. Is Connor Hughes the new VR artist? I don’t remember. This was a decent sampler.
Free Comic Book Day 2025: Amazing Spider-Man/Ultimate Universe #1 – I think it’s wild how just about the only time I read Peter Parker Spider-Man stories is on FCBD (or a month later, this year), and I still do not have any real interest in the title. The Ultimate story gives us an idea of how Miles Morales will be heading to the Ultimate Universe, and that’s okay, but I still think that the line needs more time to cook on its own before there are any crossovers.
Free Comic Book Day 2025: Fantastic Four/Giant-Size X-Men #1 – I don’t love that Ryan North’s Fantastic Four is getting relaunched to coincide with their new movie, and I have mixed feelings about Humberto Ramos coming on as artist, as his style doesn’t really mesh with the types of stories North has been writing, but it is what it is. This preview gives new readers a good idea of what North’s approach is like, and it’s entertaining. The Giant-Size X-Men story previews the new Ms. Marvel-centric string of Giant-Size one-shots, and it was nice to experience some nostalgia, but also, I liked Iban Coello’s art a lot. I checked, because I thought it was Adam Kubert at first. Chip Zdarsky’s introduction of Wolverpool and Deadverine left me cold; I think this notion has run its course. In all, not a terrible FCBD selection, compared to recent years.
Free Comic Book Day 2025: General #1 – Dark Horse’s FCBD offering confused me, as I have no idea what Critical Role: The Mighty Nein is (a D&D homage, maybe)? I didn’t understand that story, but I picked this book up for the Black Hammer story, which is just a vague overview of the history of the Black Hammer universe, albeit one drawn nicely by Letizia Cadonici. I guess this means that Jeff Lemire probably has more Black Hammer coming after the Spiral City series ends.
Free Comic Book Day 2025: Star Wars #1 – This is a really decent FCBD offering. Alex Segura and Cary Nord preview the new post-Return of the Jedi Star Wars series, and it’s more interesting than a lot of that Battle of Jakku mess was. The story about Vaneé, Vader’s assistant on Mustafar, does a good job of explaining some backstory for the Legacy of Vader series, and Marc Guggenheim’s pre-Clone Wars story has me wondering about the Jedi Knights series, which I’d intended to ignore.
The Power Company Recharged #1 – I really enjoyed this one-shot that further establishes the Power Company as a team. Signal calls in the other Batman to help with the investigation of the murder of a metahuman and his parents, and this Batman is as hard to work with as the other, so the focus stays on the difficult group dynamics. I would happily buy a Power Company series written by Bryan Edward Hill and drawn by any of the artists on this book (Khary Randolph, Alitha Martinez, Norm Rapmund, or Ray Anthony Height – I assume Studio Skye Tiger were inkers). I’ve got a couple of trades of the I Am Batman series, but I’m not that familiar with this Batman, and enjoyed watching him play off against characters like Vixen and Josiah Power. There’s a lot of potential here for a solid superhero series.
Psylocke #7 – Kwannon’s fight with the ghost thing that keeps showing up leads to some problems for one of Rogue’s new students. This is a mostly-action issue, so aside from some developments in Kwannon’s relationships with Greycrow and Devon, not a lot is really happening here. I’m not sure that Alyssa Wong’s story is going to sustain me much longer.
Snotgirl #20 – I hadn’t heard that this series was ending, at least so far as the single-issue format is concerned. This issue covers a lot of ground, as Lottie makes up with her girlfriend and connects with her aunt on a new level, and as Virgil infiltrates a cult that is intent on bringing him down. It’s one of the more solid issues of the new run, and I’m sad that it’s going to be quite some time before I get to read more of the story, in trade format. I remember that Joe Casey’s Sex made the same move, and then kind of disappeared. I’m hoping that Bryan Lee O’Malley and Leslie Hung find more success with this move, as this is a unique comic that I’d never expected to like so much.
Ultimate Spider-Man #16 – I’m glad that even though I’m a month late in reading new comics, I’ve managed to avoid spoilers on books like this. This issue shows us the truth about Gwen Stacy, and has a cool twist to it that I never saw coming. One thing I appreciate about Jonathan Hickman’s writing is the way that the twists have clearly been planned out since day one, so all the pieces fall neatly into place, unlike retcons in other ongoing series. This was a cool issue, especially considering that it didn’t even really have Peter in it.
We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us #2 – Matthew Rosenberg and Sefano Landini have constructed a curious book here. It’s basically a send-up of a James Bond story, centred on the largely clueless daughter of a genius Bond villain. This man, The Vitruvian, has clearly transferred his consciousness into one of the robots that helped raise his daughter on their isolated island, but now that VEIL has found them, and Agent Rook has launched an attack, everything is falling apart. Rosenberg isn’t giving us a lot to work with here (but I feel like we know more here than we still understand in What’s The Furthest Place From Here?), but we know there is a council of villains, and that there are more revelations to come. Landini’s art is perfect for this book, and I am looking forward to working through this stack that already has issue three in it.
You’ll Do Bad Things #2 – With this second issue, things in Tyler Boss’s new series snap into focus a little better. The book is about a true crime writer who has been struggling, for ten years, to write a romance novel. Whatever scene he writes ends up turning into a grisly murder, and now it’s clear that these things are really taking place (I kind of thought we were seeing scenes from his books). Boss is building this story well, and Adriano Turtulici’s art has me thinking of David Lapham’s best work. This is an intriguing series.
The Fortnight in Music:
Joe Armon-Jones – All The Quiet (Part I) – Joe Armon-Jones, of Ezra Collective fame, has launched a fantastic two-part album with this one. He’s a master of the keyboard, and this album represents his spirit of collaboration, with tons of big name guest musicians and vocalists, and his spirit of experimentation. This is a really good, uplifting listen, and is sure to be considered one of the high marks of the London jazz scene this year.
Bon Iver – SABLE, fABLE – Justin Vernon and his Bon Iver project are less experimental these days, compared to the band’s height with 22, A Million, but that has given him space to make music that is a lot prettier. I’m not sure where I sit with that trade off, but I know I do like this album. The first three songs make up the SABLE project that was released a while ago, and Award Season has become one of my favourite songs (I love listening to it before going to sleep). I was happy to learn that it was being released with these fABLE songs that make up the bulk of the record, and which are the only track names easily visible on the packaging. Despite it having been out for a little while now, I need more time to absorb what Vernon is working on, but aurally, this is a very nice album.
Vega Trails – Sierra Tracks – Gondwana Records is one of the most consistent record labels operating today, inhabiting a space for quiet, gentle jazz and soundtrack-ready music. On the latest Vega Trails album, the group, led by Milo Fitzpatrick, continues to explore musical compositions that could be landscapes. This album is interesting without being challenging, and is a very nice soundtrack to whatever thing you need to be productive at. It’s lovely.
Navy Blue – Memoirs In Armour – I finally got to see Navy Blue in person the other week, and managed to pick up some of his albums. His brand of thoughtful rap really appeals to me, and this new album is one of his best!
Harmolodics – Harmolodics Live – I love discovering new music, and this last weekend I got introduced to Harmolodics, an excellent jazz band with almost no internet presence past an IG account and a website that’s not updated. These guys were incredible, and I was so happy that they had a CD for sale. I don’t know when or where this was recorded, but these seven tracks capture the energy of their set really well. I have no idea where you’d ever be able to find this except to catch them live again.
