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There’s Always Next Week: January 12, 2024

Posted on January 12, 2024 | by Super Robot Lifeform

_{by Paul}

With the overwhelming, three-roll blockbuster¹ success of last week’s Ultimate Spider-Man #1, what lessons will Marvel take away? Was it the beard (not Mary Jane, the beard of hair on his face)? Will bearded superheroes become the next hot trend in comics? Sure, you’ve seen Batman fight the Joker a million times… but you’ve never seen him do it with a beard! Be on the lookout for the first bearded cover appearance of your favorite characters and get ready to sit on them until Key Collector sounds the Slab Alert. In the meantime… there’s always next week!

AVENGERS: TWILIGHT #1

Art: Daniel Acuña | Story: Chip Zdarsky (Marvel Comics, $5.99)

In the weird world of tomorrow’s Marvel Universe, an aging but still clean-shaven Steve Rogers (who would definitely have been drawn with a beard if this had been commissioned a few months later) struggles to find his place in a world that hates and fears him. (TBD if anyone calls him out for this mutant appropriation.) The preview I read looks like an Old Man Logan-style story crossed with the mall scene from Minority Report, so who knows where it will lead? There’s a lot of buzz around this book because readers are hip to Chip and Alex Ross is providing covers, so get in on the ground floor here at Ash Ave Comics.

JOHN CONSTANTINE: HELLBLAZER—DEAD IN AMERICA #1

Art: Aaron Campbell | Story: Si Spurrier (DC Comics, $4.99)

I didn’t realize until I went to fetch the updated cover art with the trade dress that this was a Sandman Universe thing. No doubt DC is hewing to the comics industry superstition, dating back to the 20s (when Krazy Kat Presents: World of Krazy Kat—Mrs. Kwakk Wakk’s Revenge [The Death of Officer Pupp] bombed and tanked the circulation of dozens of Hearst papers), that a book with three titles is box office but a book with four titles is commercial suicide. Campbell and Spurrier bring John Constantine here to America to tell us what’s what (or, more accurately, wot’s wot) and rub elbows with some of his Vertigo buddies from the old days like Sandman and Swamp Thing. They had the magic (or should I say magick) touch with Hellblazer a few years ago so it seems a cinch they’ll do it again.

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: FANG THE HUNTER #1

Art: Mauro Fonseca | Story: Ian Flynn (IDW Publishing, $3.99)

I was a Nintendo kid so I only ever played Sonic the Hedgehog when I went to visit my cousin, who was brand-loyal to Sega for one reason or another and had both the Sega Master System and the Genesis. It was always like visiting a parallel universe where the guy who invented Super Mario went into greeting cards or something instead, setting in motion a chain of events leading to Sega dominating the earth. I relate this to you because the only two things I know about Sonic the Hedgehog are that my cousin had his game (and I was terrible at it), and we sell the 1:10 Sonic incentive cover every month like clockwork. There is a dedicated audience for this series, and if you’re part of it, we at Ash Avenue Comics salute you. This Fang the Hunter spin-off bills itself as “the first Classic-era Sonic the Hedgehog miniseries from IDW” (which I take to mean it’s related to his Archie Comics days and stars a fedora-wearing jerboa, a thing I never heard of before that looks like a cute little pocket-sized kangaroo and is probably an absolute terror. Jerboas, your ship has come in.

COLONIZED (ONE-SHOT)

Art: Drew Moss | Story: Chris Ryall (Image Comics, $9.99)

This caught my eye because it’s a spin-off of Zombies Vs. Robots, the Ashley Wood book that was written by Chris Ryall that I was really into about 15-20 years ago. This time it’s zombies vs. aliens, a struggle in which I don’t have any particular rooting interest (aliens, I guess), but it may be wise to read this in the event that a real-life zombie/alien conflict ever breaks out. I mean, knock on wood. I pray to god it never happens.

COBRA COMMANDER #1 (OF 5)

Art: Andrea Milana | Story: Joshua Williamson (Image Comics, $4.99)

For my money, Cobra Commander was the best comic book villain when I was a kid. Sure, maybe your Magnetos or your Doctor Dooms had more sympathetic back stories or convincing reasons for their evildoing, but they didn’t make me laugh. In supervillainy, as in so many other things, that goes a long way. He also features in one of my favorite comic panels of all time:

Now that is one evil chap. I have doubts that CC will be funny this time around. In fact, I suspect we’ll probably see him wreak some kind of sensational ultra-violence in the name of Seriousness and Sophistication. But all the other Energon Universe books have been winners so far to one degree or another, so this one deserves a look too.

JACKPOT #1

Art: Joey Vasquez | Story: Celeste Bronfman (Marvel Comics, $4.99)

Can we all be happy that Ultimate Spider-Man is here to band-aid that Spider-Man marriage wound for people? This way we get to see mainstream Mary Jane do stuff like this or Betty and Veronica around with Black Cat, while Ultimate Mary Jane can sit at home with the rolling pin when Spider-Man stays out too late or have Mary Worth-style subplots that interrupt the main action, which are the two things I remember her doing when I was a kid. Also, point of interest: Is writer Celeste Bronfman related to the Bronfman heiresses who were in the thick of the NXIVM cult we all read about in the news a few years ago? Is that a tasteless question to ask? I’m just saying, if she is, we might be seeing Mary Jane say and do some things we’ve never seen her say and do before. If you want my advice, my friends, you should buy this comic and find out.

ON FOC THIS WEEK

THUNDERCATS #1

Art: Drew Moss | Story: Declan Shalvey (Dynamite Entertainment, $3.99) | FOC: 1/15

SPIDER-PUNK: ARMS RACE #1

Art: Justin Mason | Story: Cody Ziglar (Marvel Comics, $4.99) | FOC: 1/15

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS: THE RETURN #1

Art: Nico Leon | Story: Amy Jo Johnson & Matt Hotson (Boom! Studios, $4.99) | FOC: 1/15

A three-roll blockbuster is what we boys of the comics-by-mail game call a book for which we needed three rolls of packing tape to wrap up all the orders we shipped out. ↩︎

Have You Seen Me?: PREVIEWS Picks You Might Have Missed

Posted on November 16, 2023 | by Super Robot Lifeform

We know how busy you are, so we got our highlighters out and found some choice new books hitting shelves soon you’re sure to love, like Sean Phillips’ and Ed Brubaker’s latest, Where the Body Was!

HARDCOVERS

Have You Seen Me?: PREVIEWS Picks You Might Have Missed - Ash Avenue Comics

WHERE THE BODY WAS

Art: Sean Phillips | Story: Ed Brubaker (Image Comics, $24.99, 12/6/2023)

ED BRUBAKER and SEAN PHILLIPS, bestselling creators of PULP, RECKLESS, and CRIMINAL, are back with a new original graphic novel that readers will be obsessed with… A boarding house full of druggies. A neglected housewife. A young girl who thinks she’s a superhero. A cop who wants to be left alone. And a private detective looking for a runaway girl. These stories collide one fateful summer in WHERE THE BODY WAS, a tale of love and murder in the suburbs, told from a dozen different points of view. All the neighbors on the block have an opinion about the murder and how it happened, but which of them is telling the truth? WHERE THE BODY WAS is a tour-de-force from grandmasters ED BRUBAKER and SEAN PHILLIPS. Starting with a map of the crime scene, this murder mystery follows the ripples of this killing as they echo through decades of love and loss and passion and violence. Like a true crime podcast crossed with a long-lost diary, WHERE THE BODY WAS is unlike anything BRUBAKER & PHILLIPS have ever done and a must-have for all their avid fans!

DEN, VOL. 3: CHILDREN OF FIRE

Art and story: Richard Corben (Dark Horse Comics, $34.99, 2/21/2024)

The third volume presenting the long-out-print masterpiece Den, by fantasy legend Richard Corben! This special edition collects the third volume of the long out-of-print Den, and also features bonus material, art pages restored by long-time Corben collaborator José Villarrubia, re-lettered by Nate Piekos of Blambot, and an introduction by Matt Kindt, all presented in a gorgeous hardcover with a dust jacket. Aliens flee their planet after a monster attack and crash-land near a sorcerer’s castle in Neverwhere. They must fight for survival and protect their egg and future kin at all costs from the many beasts, pirates, and other threats to their safety. Den: Children of Fire is the next book in a series of deluxe graphic novels from renowned creator Richard Corben’s library to be published by Dark Horse Comics. FOR MATURE READERS “The artist I most want to aspire to is Richard Corben. His style is visual and it tells the story just as you see it… …my favorite is Corben. I love everything he does, I love his stuff …he’s an amazing artist.” —Guillermo del Toro “Richard Corben stands among us like an extraterrestrial peak. He has sat in his throne a long time, above the moving and multi-colored field of world comics, like an effigy of the leader, a strange monolith, a sublime visitor, a solitary enigma.” —Moebius “Mr. Richard Corben… a genuine giant of his chosen medium.” —Alan Moore Well known for his legendary fantasy underground masterpieces published by Fantagor Press as well as Heavy Metal, Richard Corben’s work has been recognized internationally having been awarded one of the most prestigious recognitions in comics literature the Grand Prix at Angoulême as well having been inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame.

THE MOEBIUS LIBRARY: THE MAJOR

Art and story: Jean “Moebius” Giraud (Dark Horse Comics, $39.95, 2/7/2024)

A psychedelic, sequential romp created by legendary comics master Mœbius between 1997 and 2009, following a production principle that embraced graphic spontaneity and improvisation. The lead character of this pseudo-story, Major Grubert, evolves in a humorous yet philosophical manner, echoing how Mœbius’s creations are treated in the Inside Mœbius series. Join the Major on his last trip to the nebula of The Airtight Garage, where Mœbius rules as the playful Trickster of legend. What begins as a comical jaunt into unusually profound philosophical questions regarding the nature of existence, eventually winds up as a penetrating examination of the relationship between the author and his creation, the latter of whom must necessarily suffer at the heartless whim of his creator, despite the Major’s passionate desire for real life—and even freedom—beyond these comics! Translated by Diana Schutz, with lettering by Adam Pruett, Mœbius’s playfully-drawn, main black and white story is augmented with nine color pages.

FRAZETTA: WORLD’S BEST COMICS COVER ARTIST

by J. David Spurlock (Vanguard Productions, $49.95, 1/3/2024)

Werewolves, Jungle Lords, Vampires, Spacemen, Neanderthals, Barbarians, Queen Kong, Demons, Ghoul Queen—More horror than any other Frazetta book! Vanguard continues their trademark Definitive Reference series with Frazetta World’s Best Comics Cover Artist. While the prior book by J. David Spurlock catalogued and commented on all of Frazetta’s book cover art, this volume focuses on the artist’s revolutionary comics magazine and graphic novel cover art, which originally appeared on such publications as Creepy magazine, Ghost Rider, Tales From the Crypt, High Times, Mad magazine, Heavy Metal, Vampirella, National Lampoon, Jaguar God, Famous Funnies, Epic Illustrated, Space Cowboy, Death Dealer and EC Comics’ Weird Science-Fantasy.

TRADE PAPERBACKS

SHOOK! A BLACK HORROR ANTHOLOGY

by David Walker, John Jennings, Rodney Barnes and others (Dark Horse Comics, $24.99, January 31, 2024)

12 Funkdafied Tales of Terror! In partnership with Second Sight Publishing, Dark Horse Comics is proud to present Shook! A Black Horror Anthology. With over 190 pages of terrorizing material, the anthology is filled with stories from a range of award-winning Black writers and artists. Stemming from a love of Southern gothic horror, this anthology boasts a cadre of award winning or nominated writers representing awards such as the Will Eisner Awards, the Ringo Awards, the Hugo Awards, and is the largest collection of Glyph Comics Awards winners and nominees in a single publication. Including work by David Walker (Bitter Root, Black Panther Party), John Jennings (Kindred, The Blacker the Ink), Rodney Barnes (Killadelphia), and more! So, sit back and follow us on this journey of terror, suspense, nightmares, and the darkest depths of FEAR!!!!

NEMESIS THE WARLOCK: DEFINITIVE COLLECTION, VOL. 1

Art: Kevin O’Neill, Jesus Redondo | Story: Pat Mills (Rebellion/2000 A.D., $25.95, 12/6/2023

Long regarded as one of the crown-jewel epics from the pages of 2000 AD, at long last Nemesis the Warlock is back in print and better than ever. Written by Pat Mills (Marshal Law) and drawn by Kevin O’Neill (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), this definitive series is a comprehensive collection of the complete storyline in order, and features development sketches showing the evolution of Nemesis and the Blitzspear. Termight is the ruling planet of a cruel galactic empire, an empire led by the diabolically evil Torquemada, a twisted human despot intent on purging all alien life from the galaxy and punishing the deviants. His motto: Be pure! Be vigilant! Behave! But there is rebellion and resistance to his rule in the form of a devilish-looking alien warlock called Nemesis, who represents everything that Torquemada hates and fears. Together Nemesis and Torquemada are locked in a duel which will affect the fate of humanity and each of them on a personal level as their conflict spans time and space!

NEXUS NEWSPAPER STRIPS OVERSIZED EDITION: THE COMING OF GOURMANDO

Something long dormant beneath the surface of Ylum comes alive, triggering a visit from the planet-devouring Gourmando and his mysterious ally. With powers far beyond those of even Nexus himself, this unstoppable being banishes Nexus to an unknown realm–and the only way out is to face ones worst fears! Mike Baron and Steve Rude deliver a new Nexus adventure in this special oversized collection.

Weekly Shout-Out: October 5, 2023

Posted on October 5, 2023 | by Super Robot Lifeform

by Paul

Cht-ch-ch-cht-cht. That’s how I spell out the noise they make when they transform. I share that with you because I trust you.

SPOTLIGHT TITLES

Transformers #1 (Image Comics)

Art and story by Daniel Warren Johnson

Weekly Shout-Out: October 5, 2023 - Ash Avenue Comics

If, like me, you’re someone who has looked your spouse or partner dead in the eye and said, “No, these are not identical Optimus Prime figures. This one is painted like he was in the original cartoon, and this one has 25% darker colors to look like his 1990s ‘Generation 2’ toy” as if that explained everything or anything, you’ve probably already bought this comic. If you’re someone who finds the Transformers and their world to be a head-scratcher (fair enough), you should buy this comic, because Daniel Warren Johnson draws it with love, and finds some cool new twists on the visual language of classic Transformers that really sing. As someone who has read a lot of comics about Transformers (IDW’s More Than Meets the Eye/Lost Light run by Alex Milne and James Roberts is possibly my favorite comic of the last 10-15 years), I’ve seen them drawn by people who are good at drawing Transformers but dicey at drawing people and vice versa, but Johnson manages both here. He also writes and draws a great Starscream, the Daffy Duck of Transformers, giving him a page near the end of the issue to prove why he’s the universal favorite as he bitches about his lot in life while trashing public infrastucture. Even if you don’t like Transformers, I think you’ll like Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers. Check it out.

G.O.D.S. #1 (Marvel Comics)

Art by Valerio Schiti/Story by Jonathan Hickman

After wrapping up Ultimate Invasion last week, Jonathan Hickman teams up with Valerio Schiti to bring us G.O.D.S., a new series led by a character who looks so much like a fashionably made-over Dr. Strange that I spent a good chunk of this book thinking, “Is this guy not Dr. Strange?” Schiti and Hickman, evidently aware that this might be an issue for readers like me, make sure to establish that our raffish new hero is not Dr. Strange by showing him talking to Dr. Strange on page one of the story, and even then I spent about thirty pages thinking, “That’s Dr. Strange though.” But he is not Dr. Strange. He’s a new guy named Wyn who reads floating books, gestures theatrically to do magic things, has a streak of distinguished white in his hair, and wears a red coat that swirls animatedly about him as though it were a sort of red cape. We’ve never seen anything like him before. At least he’s good company through this extra-sized first issue, and he has good banter with his on-the-spectrum sidekick. This one is like one of those early Vertigo comics where marginalized misfits would do magick-with-a-k and talk to old, bored gods and quote Arthur Rimbaud, except this one has the Collector and Dr. Voodoo in it. One weird thing about this book is that even though it’s a 64-page Jonathan Hickman story, there is not a single graph. Where are the graphs? There’s a lot of jargon here and a good graph would help keep the players straight and they could also throw in the reason this book is called G.O.D.S. Well, I’m sure they’ll get around to it.

Abbott: 1979 #1 (Boom! Studios)

Art by Sami Kivelä/Story by Saladin Ahmed

It’s been a couple of years for us since we last saw hard-boiled, chain-smoking, magic-using investigative reporter Elena Abbott, but for her, it’s been six years, and things are not going great. It’s the end of the 70s and it’s tough all over—there’s a gas crisis, no one knows what to do about this hostage thing, Carter is blowing it right and left, and Japanese auto manufacturers are introducing economical, reliable cars to Americans, which is bad news for Abbott’s hometown of Detroit. Of course, society always has some extra curveballs for a Black woman, especially when she’s responsible for thwarting an occult conspiracy bent on taking over her city and then the world. This is the conclusion to the Abbott trilogy. If you’ve read the last two, you’ll know you’re in good hands, and if you haven’t, you should catch up at Ash Avenue Comics because we have both of the trades in stock.

AT A GLANCE

Clementine, Book Two (Image Comics)

Art and story by Tillie Walden

Plucky apocalypse survivor Clementine’s YA adventures continue as she adjusts to life after being rescued by an island community. But things are not what they seem. Things are about to get coco-nuts! Note: Don’t write to me if they don’t live on a tropical island. I haven’t read it yet. It just came out! I’m the guy who thought that guy was Dr. Strange!

Alice Cooper #1 (of 5) (Dynamite Entertainment)

Art by Edu Menna/Story by Rodney Barnes

Living legend of rock and Phoenix-area local treasure Alice Cooper returns to comics to take on the Devil himself, who is threatening to take his own band on tour to do I don’t know what. But the archangel Gabriel wants Alice to stop him. That’s right. What they condemn today they’ll embrace in 40 years. Is this in continuity with Marvel’s The Last Temptation of Alice comic from the 90s that Neil Gaiman wrote? If not, does that open the door to some kind of Crisis of Infinite Alices? I look forward to it.

Weekly Shout-Out: July 5, 2023

Posted on July 5, 2023 | by Super Robot Lifeform

by Paul

Brethren, as the wet maltipoo barks at the blow dryer, so shall we bark at THIS WEEK’S COMICS! ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF

SPOTLIGHT TITLES

Barnstormers #1 (Dark Horse) by Tula Lotay and Scott Snyder: After 128 years of near-misses, the elusive four-quadrant Paul comic book has been achieved, casting the wide net that captures my four favorite things and combines them into a Pinnacle of Comics. Until now, no one comic could contain between its covers:

Robots
Neon
Old-timey Preston Sturges-style Americana
Tula Lotay

It also has biplanes, Pinkertons, and Fabergé eggs. And it’s double-sized for only $4.99. I really loved Barnstormers. I wish the second issue came out tomorrow. Strong, strong recommend.

Also available: Barnstormers #1 Cover B Dave Johnson | Barnstormers #1 Cover C Tula Lotay | Barnstormers #1 Cover D Massimo Carnevale | Barnstormers #1 Cover E Foil Tula Lotay

Knight Terrors: The Joker #1 [Of 2] (DC) by Stefano Raffaele and Matthew Rosenberg: Ever since The Dark Knight, you can practically see writers of Joker stories rolling up their sleeves and saying “Okay! Time to make my mark!” before hunkering down at the keyboard to deliver 22 pages of sphincter-tightening torture porn and graphic Harley Quinn abuse that aim to shine a light on the dark heart of a rotting social order but read like some incel paid a professional cartoonist to illustrate his collected Facebook status updates. Happily, for me, Matthew Rosenberg steers clear of this sort of thing in Knight Terrors: The Joker #1, sparing us the Joker’s hoary break-your-one-rule shtick by letting him dispatch with Batman on page 3 and then seek fulfillment by leaping feet-first into the true mouth of modern madness: the office. There’s some good bits with the Joker getting pushed to the edge by his chirpy colleagues in his busywork Wayne Enterprises department (“What is our office even called?” he asks in disbelief). I would have been happy starting in media res with the Joker already established at his desk, but there’s still enough of it for my taste, and Stefano Raffaele wrings as much comedy out of it as a DC artist can.

Also available: Joker The Man Who Stopped Laughing #9.1 Knight Terrors #1 Cover B Francesco Mattina Card Stock Variant (Of 2) | Joker The Man Who Stopped Laughing #9.1 Knight Terrors #1 Cover C Simone Bianchi Card Stock Variant (Of 2)

Delphinium, Part One (Strangers Publishing) by Pat Aulisio: This is a boutique sort of zine concerning an astronaut who finds himself marooned on an uninhabited planet called Delphinium. He strolls around, meets a space bug, eats an alien mushroom, and that’s about it. Look, not everything has to be pulse-pounding, okay? You’ll wear out the edge of your seat sitting on it like that all the time. This comic is soothing and agreeable, and I enjoyed exploring Aulisio’s dense alien landscape alongside my new astronaut buddy. Aulisio draws in a scratchy, primitive style that brings to mind Gary Panter, and the black-and-white astronaut really pops against the blue and purple surface of the planet. This is a nice graphic package all around. Delphinium isn’t a book for everyone, but if you’re a fan of comix-with-an-x, you should check it out.

AT A GLANCE

In the spirit of our age, here are some books I haven’t yet read but on which I will offer some opinions nevertheless.

Weird Work #1 (Image) by Shaky Kane and Jordan Thomas: I’ve always wanted to check out Shaky Kane’s work but, what with all the hurlyburly of modern life, have never quite managed it, so I’m looking forward to this chance. Weird Work bills itself as cross between L.A. Confidential and Futurama.

eJunky #1 (Scout) by Kyle Faehnrich and Nicholas Tana: If you like hardcore dystopian sci-fi with weird drugs, sinister corporations, and a hell of a lot of jargon, this book has your name on it. If your name is Nicholas Tana or Kyle Faenhrich, anyway. This is one of these Nonstop books Scout puts out now where they publish a first issue and then publish the whole series in one volume a few months later, sparing retailers the headache of having to analyze another sales trend. Good looking out, Scout Comics. This one has a nice Darick Robertson cover, too.

Gene Simmons’ Dominatrix #1 (Opus) by S.L. Gallant, Gene Simmons, and Holly Interlandi: Yes, this is a real comic. Yes, we did order it, and yes, we do have it in stock for purchase. Indeed, it turns out, this is actually a revival of an old series, as I was bowled over to discover recently while generating inventory for our ComicHub store. “When one of her sessions is interrupted by mysterious agents who seem to have hyper-strength,” reads the solicitation for this new series, “Dom’s narrow escape leads her down the rabbit hole of a global conspiracy.” I scoffed at this at first. How could Dominatrix’s skill set lend itself to unmasking and toppling a global conspiracy? I wondered. But then I remembered all the Garth Ennis comics I’ve read and thought, I guess there probably is always some demand for a good dominatrix amongst the secret chiefs of the global order. I’ll tell you this, though: Gene Simmons’ Dominatrix is going to have to network like no superheroine has networked before. Build that brand, girl.

Weekly Shout-Out: June 28, 2023

Posted on June 28, 2023 | by Super Robot Lifeform

by Paul

My friends, amid this week’s torrential downpour of new comics, think of me as your umbrella.

SPOTLIGHT TITLES

Weekly Shout-Out: June 28, 2023 - Ash Avenue Comics — ***The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos #1***

The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos #1 (Dark Horse) by Isaac Goodhart, James Tynion IV, and Tate Brombal: The inside front cover of this book informs us that Tynion’s contribution here is that it’s “based on an idea by James Tynion IV.” One imagines him sitting at the great oaken desk in the library of his grand estate, flickering candles illuminating the darkness, as, with widening eyes, he exclaims, “Great Scott! What if… Scott Pilgrim lived in the world of Something Is Killing the Children?” while the eyes of intricately-carved busts of James Tynions I-III seem to gaze upon him approvingly.

And well they should. This comic is delightful, with an appealing, well-designed protagonist trying to manage his undiagnosed mental issues in a way that rang true for me. He also meets a werewolf. Isaac Goodhart’s storytelling and linework bring back warm memories of 90s Duncan Fegredo and Peter Milligan books like Enigma and Girl. Off to a strong start.

Creed: The Next Round #1 (Boom!) by Wilson Santos, LaToya Morgan, and Jai Jamison: Set in the year 2033 (as the book mentions once and then wisely never brings up again), Adonis Creed’s daughter Amara is now a headstrong teen pugilist who feels too reined in by her protective father. Considering the casual, wanton violence superheroes resort to at the drop of a hat, it’s strange that there isn’t a thriving genre of boxing comics, which seem like they would be pretty fun to draw. A really cool thing about this book is that, as Creed film fans know but I had forgotten (I only saw the first one), Amara is completely deaf and her mother, Bianca, is mostly deaf, so they communicate using Black American Sign Language, something I had never heard of and appreciated learning a little bit about. Wilson Santos and letterer Andworld Design do a great job depicting this visually, and Santos takes care in staging the characters so that they only speak out loud when they know that Amara or Bianca can see their faces to lip-read. He’s also good at making the boxing suitably kinetic, and mostly stays on the right side of making the characters resemble their real-life actors without being distracting. Deserves a look.

Brynmore #1 by Damien Worm and Steve Niles (IDW): Underneath the cover image of the ghoulish visage of a character I’ve come think of as Count Not Appearing in This Comic is a nicely atmospheric story of a man returning to his hometown to re-build his shattered life by rehabbing a disused church into a house for himself. You don’t need me to tell you that rehabbing a disused church into a house for yourself is always a terrible idea and that you’re probably going to find something in the basement you’ll wish you hadn’t, as this guy does. Great work by Damien Worm, marred only by colors that are maybe a little too dark for their own good. Either he forgot that not everyone was going to read this on a tablet, or he was coloring with a different paper stock in mind and IDW switched it late in the process. There’s also a semi-transparent marble texture laid over the artwork for some reason. It’s distracting at first, but you get used to it. Steve Niles’ script is tasteful, restrained, and doesn’t cover up the nice artwork with unnecessary balloons so thank you for that, Steve.

The Exiled #5 (Massive/Whatnot) by Gabriel “Eskivo” Santos, Wesley Snipes, Adam Lawson, and Keith Arem: There’s a scene early in this comic where the main character (I think he’s the main character) wistfully regards what I take to be an old flame and says, “You always looked nice in a bulletproof vest.” Later on, the main villain (I think he’s the main villain) says to his lackey, “Quit petting that goddamn dog before I CUT ITS HEAD OFF!” It’s hard to tell if these scenes are meant to be funny because Eskivo draws them with the same gravity and import with which John Byrne drew the death of Phoenix. All I know is, they made me laugh. If, like me, you haven’t read The Exiled #1-4, The Exiled #5 probably isn’t the place to start. Then again, maybe it wouldn’t help much anyway. If you have warm memories of Extreme Studios books full of heroes with muscles so rippling they show through even the least binding fabric, The Exiled #5 will feel like a warm bath. It’s dumb, but it has a strange kind of power. For the life of me, I cannot imagine which of these roles Wesley Snipes thinks he would play in a movie version of this.

AT A GLANCE

Starfinder: Angels of the Drift #1 (Dynamite) by Edu Menna and James L. Sutter: If you’re in the market for a hot take, you can have this one for free: In 15-20 years, the dominant genre of comics will be gaming tie-ins. Speaking of which, here’s one. Also, one or more major companies will be publishing a significant number of Americanized adaptations of manga and anime. Take that to the bank. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, ya bank-tanking pipe-smoker.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin—The Lost Years #4 (IDW) by Ben Bishop, Kevin Eastman, and Tom Waltz: These Last Ronin books are good fun, but it does feel a bit like a sign of the times, doesn’t it? Doesn’t it feel like they had to lay off three of the Turtles due to budget cuts? “Sorry, Raphael, but with recent advances in AI we’re now able to thwart the Foot Clan with 75% more efficiency. We wish you luck in your future endeavors.”

Nudism Comes to Connecticut (Fantagraphics) by Susan Schade and Jon Buller: That’s a good title. That’s a title that makes you want to find out what happens. I bet those stuffy prep-mongers at Vineyard Vines didn’t take it lying down, that’s for sure.