The Best Comics of My Week:
Good As Dead #2 & 3 – I’ve been a fan of David Lapham since the start of his career, and think that he’s only improved since working more with Maria Lapham. This latest series, which is delivered in prestige format chunky chapters, is among the best work they’ve ever done. They’ve created a whole town and cast of characters that are colliding in all sorts of messy ways. The Valade family has an iron grip on the town, given that they own the only bridge in or out of it (which leads to the Canadian border), and Sheriff Calhoun has it in for them (he thinks they killed his father). Now, with Calhoun infected with a strange biological disease, and his deputy working for someone else behind his back, all of the town’s secrets and rivalries are coming to the fore. There’s so much story and character development packed into these issues, and Lapham’s art is as appealing as it was when he started Stray Bullets. This is a terrific crime series, and I believe it would make an incredible TV show. The issues are a bit pricey, but totally worth it!
Quick Takes:
Captain America #4 & 5 – I like how Chip Zdarsky has been thinking about Cap in this arc. It makes sense that he would have returned to the military before joining the Avengers, and that there would have had to be an inflection point that would have caused him to make that change. This story explains that, while also tying Cap’s past a little closer to Doctor Doom’s, which makes sense since it looks like Zdarsky is going to be one of the writers dealing with the fallout from One World Under Doom (see below). I also want to know more about the other Cap that was introduced in this arc, and expect we’ll see him again soon. Valerio Schiti’s art has reached a new level that I really like, and I love the way he draws Cap in his classic outfit.
Invincible Universe: Battle Beast #6 – I’d assumed that this was going to be a six-issue miniseries, so I started to get confused when the story didn’t seem to be wrapping up that much. Turns out, it’s an ongoing? And Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley set up the inclusion of some familiar characters in the next arc? I’m down for it! This is no replacement for the magic of the original Invincible series, but it’s nice to see these creators playing in that universe again, even if it is for a prequel story.
Nightwing #131 & 132 – Dan Watters is chugging along with this story, which has Dick mentoring a new hero with Superman’s powers, and figuring out what’s been going on with the mystical evil circus, and its connection to a local industry leader who is privatizing the local police. There’s a lot here, but Watters makes it all work. Dexter Soy’s art also works well for this story.
One World Under Doom #8 & 9 – As a line-wide event it kind of fizzled out, but Ryan North’s approach to this story was interesting. At first, as Doom consolidated his power over the Earth, it felt like he had a lot to say about the recent rise of authoritarianism we’ve seen in the real world. These last two issues, though, are more about Doom as a character and man, as Valeria Richards makes an attempt to get through to him. In typical Marvel fashion, this story doesn’t so much end as set up some future one-shots and miniseries, and that’s a bit disappointing, especially since North isn’t writing the follow-up stuff. I think the most interesting thing about this book is the way it sidelined Stephen Strange, and just kind of passed on the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme to someone else in an epilogue. There are some strange choices made here.
Save Now #1 – I have been looking forward to this finally coming out since Matt Kindt previewed the concept in the back of some other Bad Idea comic a couple of years ago. The main character has the ability to restore ‘saved points’ in time, effectively giving him the chance to experience events over and over until he gets things right. This is invaluable for the superhero team he works with, but the trick is, he continues aging in a linear fashion through each reset. In the near future, the world basically collapses, and this hero keeps returning to different points to try to fix things, but can’t. There’s more to it, including his guilt at having cheated on his wife once, although she is no longer aware of it. Kindt takes this cool concept and really builds from it, making a compelling story. Tomás Giorello is always an amazing artist, and I enjoy how he subtly ages the main character. I’m looking forward to the next chapter of this.
Survive #2 & 3 – I’m enjoying this action story set in a sunken Russian submarine. The last two survivors confront one another and have to settle their differences if they want to survive. I like how Robert Venditti slowly gives us an understanding of both characters, while keeping the tension between them, and in their situation, ratcheted up. Doug Braithwaite is such an accomplished artist, and his work looks really good here. I’m looking forward to reading the final issue in this series soon.
Wonder Woman #26 & 27 – I’m enjoying this Mouse Man arc. I like how weird a villain Mouse Man is, and the way Tom King is depicting the island that he runs. We finally get some backstory as to how this society came to be, and it helps explain things a lot better. We also see what happens when Diana’s child is threatened, as she becomes more violent than we’re used to seeing her depicted. Now that the Sovereign storyline is over, I didn’t really expect King to stick around long, and I’m still not sure that there are long-term plans for this title.
The Week In Music:
Saul Williams Meets Carlos Niño & Friends at Tree People – Saul Williams is my absolute favourite living poet and a real touchstone personality for me. For this record, he hung out with Carlos Niño and some friends (including Kamasi Washington, Aja Monet, and Nate Mercereau) for a live improvised performance. Williams has been a staunch advocate for stopping the genocide in Gaza, and all of the pieces here are either about that, or feel that way. Niño and crew do their best to keep up with him and his flow of ideas, often giving us discordant jazz as a backing. It works well, but only as something you can actively listen to. As a document of this time, it’s unmatched. I was excited to learn that this group has also put together a proper, less improvisational album.
Tortoise – Touch – This band is new to me, and I came to it through my admiration for guitarist Jeff Parker. Tortoise has been making music for years, but this is the first I’ve tapped in, and I can tell I’ve missed a lot. They are pretty genre agnostic, as this album has a number of different styles. I guess you’d call it post-rock, with heavy jazz influences. It is full of beautifully textured soundscapes, and comes highly recommended. I’d love to see this band perform live some day.
Armand Hammer X The Alchemist – Mercy – This is Christmas come early for me! Armand Hammer previously worked with The Alchemist on their album Haram, which was brilliant, and now that they’ve released a follow-up, I can’t decide which I like more. This time around, Al gave them much cleaner, less experimental beats, and billy woods and E L U C I D went wild on them. Lyrically, this is as brilliant as anything that woods and E L U C I D have done before, but also feels even more carefully considered. Where their last album, We Buy Diabetic Test Strips, was experimental and kind of aggressive, this one is frequently very pretty. I can’t decide which is my album of the year – this or woods’s solo album Golliwog. 2025 was a good year, musically.
Sudan Archives – The BPM – I feel like Sudan Archives has moved far from where she started with this new album, and while I miss the strings-heavy work she did before, I have to admit that the enthusiasm I feel from her on this record is clear and infectious. She’s a talented songwriter and singer who is branching into more pop-driven and dancefloor ready compositions. There are a few songs that made me think she might end up on Top 40 lists, but then in other places she gets weird and exciting. It sounds like she’s having fun with this album.
