I’m so far behind in my reading that I’ve just got to books that came out at the start of May. I’ve got more time to read now, although I am heading out of town for a week and can’t take many comics with me. Soon I’ll catch up, I promise.
Best Comic of My Week:
Mind MGMT/Fort Psycho FCBD 2026 Special #1 – I’m excited for the return of Mind MGMT (again, it’s already in my to-read stack), and love the way Matt Kindt layered various possible interpretations of what Mind MGMT, a secretive spy organization, might actually be. It looks like Kindt is going to be taking a very meta approach to this newest series, and I couldn’t be happier about that. The Fort Psycho story, with Brian Hurtt, also has me excited, as it shows a black ops team taking on some enemies. Because it’s a Kindt-written story, I know that there’s way more going on here, and I’m excited to see the full story.
Quick Takes:
Adventures of Superman: Book Of El #8 & 9 – Superman’s adventures in the far future continue, and I just clued in to the fact that this is the only in-continuity book currently featuring the Superman we know and love. Philip Kennedy Johnson continues to explore the ramifications of his excellent Action Comics run, as Kal-El continues to search for his missing adopted child. Along the way, we meet another of Superman’s children, as Kryl-Ux makes his move to attack Tamaran. I like this series, but find I’m not all that invested in the characters that have been introduced in it.
Alien, Predator, & Planet of the Apes CGD 2026 #1 – Marvel is really pushing its 20th Century Fox licenses this year with their own CGD release. Saladin Ahmed’s new Alien story helps to explain some backstory to his current series, as does the Predator story by Jordan Morris. Greg Pak’s Planet of the Apes story does the least in terms of providing us with much of anything (how many astronauts ended up on that damn planet?), but makes the series it’s promoting look like fun. I’m not reading any of these series, but wouldn’t say no to them in a heavily discounted trade.
Amazing Spider-Man 1000/Queen In Black CGD 2026 #1 – I don’t have a lot to say about this one. The Spidey story was amusing, and it’s always nice to see some JRJR art, but it hasn’t done a thing to get me interested in reading this series again. Likewise, the Queen In Black stuff set off my anti-symbiote sentiments, despite being written by Al Ewing. The Infernal Hulk stuff was interesting, and made me reconsider the fact that I dropped the title before its latest relaunch because the story was too slight. I might have to read this stuff in trade one day.
Armageddon/X-Men CGD 2026 #1 – Chip Zdarksy took a strange approach to the main story here, teasing a dark future where General Ross has taken over the world and locked up Captain America, but it’s all pretty non-linear and a bit hard to follow. I was impressed with the art by Frank Alpizar and Delio Diaz, who are new to me and seem very polished in the Marvel big event way. The X-Men story did what most of the FCBD/CGD books should – it kind of introduced us to the characters and their upcoming DNX event, while providing some action. Jed MacKay and Federico Vicentini handled this nicely. I like how the DoomQuest series gets introduced as well, with Ryan North choosing to focus on a Doombot’s role in acquiring a massive amount of energy for its master. This has me looking forward to DoomQuest (two issues of which are already in my stack).
Deicidium: Omens FCBD #1 – We’ve not heard a lot from Ram V lately, after a few big runs have ended recently, so I was happy to see that he got his own Image FCBD offering. Deicidium: Omens introduces us to a slightly futuristic world where things seem a little totalitarian. We learn that the gods who used to live among mankind are returning, whatever that means, and that things are all going to change soon. V threads the needle well, tantalizing without giving too much way, while artists Evan Cagle and Anand RK make it clear that this book is going to look unique. I don’t know if the actual series will be black and white or in colour, but it’s gorgeous as it is right now. I’ll definitely be ordering this one.
Energon Universe 2026 Free Comic Book Day Special #1 – I don’t really remember MASK from when I was a kid, aside from always liking the costumes of the characters, so this didn’t give me much of a nostalgia high. I do like how integrated the Energon Universe is, and thought that Dan Watters and Pye Parr handled the introductions nicely. The choice to focus on the series’s villains made it more interesting to me. The Transformers story was really just a teaser, but I like how the Void Rivals story felt essential to part of that larger series. I haven’t been following GIJoe at all, so the revelation in this issue, while cool, had no emotional punch for me. I am thinking I should look for the Joe trades though, and maybe catch up on this book. Like MASK, I never much cared about this property, but I can see a future where these books become more intertwined, and I might need the backstory.
Wiccan: Witches’ Road #5 – In the end, I enjoyed this series. I feel like the final issue, which showed the resolution of Wiccan and Hulkling’s fight with Baba Yaga, relied too much on other heroes (I’m not sure why or how Kate Bishop showed up), but the series worked. I’m a huge fan of Wyatt Kennedy’s Image book Nights, so I was happy to see him get a Marvel title. I’ve picked up the follow-up special as well, and hope to read it soon.
The Week In Music:
Loraine James – Detached From The Rest Of You – This album marks a big departure for Loraine James, whose previous albums (either under her real name or as Whatever The Weather) stayed away from vocals. This one has a number of vocalists (including Alan Sparhawk and Anysia Kym) and feels less like an electronic album than all her other stuff. She still creates interesting soundscapes, but it’s in service to the song, and that takes some getting used to from her. I love seeing artists move in new directions.
Knats – A Great Day In Newcastle – Knats, a jazz group from Newcastle, was a cool find for me last year, and with this new album, it’s interesting to see how the group is growing and changing. They’ve added a poet, Cooper Robson, giving this a bit of an Irreversible Entanglements vibe, as the band explores the problems of their community through very upbeat jazz. It makes for a really unique album with a lot of replay value. I’d love to see this band play live some day.
