Every comic you've read in 2021

[Dread]

The Forgotten Queen #1: Goddamn. Valiant really likes to tell the kind of stories I like to tell. 

The Life and Death of Toyo Harada #1: I guess, see above.

The Punisher #9: still so great.

Uncanny X-Men Winter's End #1: I did not like the art in this. The story was inconsequential but fine.

Cruel Summer & Bad Weekend: Look, I don't dig the new branding of Criminal at Image. Can we please AT LEAST have "Criminal vol #: Cool Name?"

Uncanny X-Men #14:wow...while Age of X is going on the flagship title is going through some Chuck Austen shit...

Vampirella Vs. Re-Animator #3: this is pretty bad

Wolverine Infinity Watch #2: this is really fun

Wolverine The Long Night #3: this is fucking great.

Wyrd #2: just not engaged here. I'm out.

X-23 #10: I like the characters. The plot is pretty decent. I just can't get past the art. I know there's only two more issues in this run left, but I can't be bothered. Just looks like something a teenager draws when they should be paying attention in class.

X-Force #3, 4: This is a fun and interesting arc. Great cliffhanger. 

Infinity Gauntlet: This still has to be the best "event comic." Six issues, self-contained, spanning the entire universe and separate pantheons and pretty much every popular hero at the time dies in the fourth issue. Imagine someone like George Perez drawing three issues of a series and having someone finishing the other three for him today! Imagine the controversy! Imagine it's even better looking. Man, Ron Lim is a champion.

Daredevil #3: this is fucking great. I didn't see that end coming. Im intrigued. But it definitely needs to end properly and I don't think Marvel has the balls to do it right.

Dial H For Hero #1: pass.

Fantastic Four #8: I mean, this may as well be a Doctor Doom series but I'm loving it.

Freedom Fighters #4: I gave this a long rope because I love this property and the premise, but it just refuses to stop being so so mediocre.

GI Joe Sierra Muerte #2: do I need an early 2000s homage to 80s indie comic art version of GI Joe? Turns out, no.

Heroes in Crisis #7: as of everything, I'm of two minds on this series. I'll explain when I've finished. 

Hulkverines #2: fucking great.

Ice Cream Man #11: this was nice and fucked up.

Age of X-Man Prisoner X #2: still good.

Bronze Age Boogie #1: very fun backup story, but the main story was terrible.

Captain America #9:liking the story but not the art.

Conan the Barbarian #5: this was excellent.

Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History #2: too goofy. I'm out.

Major X #1: Jesus Christ Rob Liefeld! His art CAN be great. His up close work on faces, I kind of enjoy at times. I really enjoy the classic Cable look he gives him here. He tries his best two write Deadpool(s) and it isn't good. I like his lean short Wolverine even though he draws him as an atrocity on the cover for the next issue. For that reason, I'm out.

Marvel Comics Presents #3: not the best.

Marvel Team Up #1: I have yet to read a Ms. Marvel story I like. And I don't like this treatment on Spider-Man or the storytelling here. I'm out.

Sabrina the Teenage Witch #1: not for me.

Snap Flash Hustle #2: yeah, the shine is off.

Stone Star #1: not for me.

Suicide Squad Black Files #6: same story for the whole series. The Katana story sucks (because Katana sucks) but the magical one is great. I'd love to write Suicide Squad Black.

Superior Spider-Man #4: I am really enjoying this.

The Forgotten Queen #2: fun.

The Punisher #10: still so damned good.

Uncanny X-Men #15: ok, I haven't been enjoying this arc up until now.

Robinsonia: an erotic european redo of Robinson Crusoe. It's particularly racist.

another addition:

War of the Realms #1: ok, this is fucking fun.

War of the Realms Journey into Mystery #1: also fun to slightly lesser extent.

X-Force #5: the quality is slipping here.

Age of X-Man Next Gen #3: look, in this kind of story, the biggest cliche is the "guy who knows how the world should be," but as cliched as that idea is, this series is pulling it off really well. 

Age of X-Man The Amazing Nightcrawler #3: still fun.

Assassin Nation #2: I mean, I'll give it one more.

Daredevil #4: I'm such a mark for Punisher and Daredevil stories.

Hard Time: The Complete Series: Brian Hurtt's art is fantastic. One of Steve Gerber's final works in the industry. Mostly written from outlines by Mary Skrenes as he was too ill. A lovely story that they had to sum up 49 years of in the final issue which works at least better than that final issue of Y The Last Man.

Nailbiter Returns: great! Love this series. Glad it's continuing

Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics: nothing in here that isn't better covered in Evanier's book, but If you need more pictures to read, this will do.

Avengers/Defenders Tarot: when I heard Alan Davis was involved, I jumped immediately I wasn't aware he was writing and not drawing. The art is ok, but you can really tell it was written by Davis, because it has the feels of something he'd really want to draw. Lots of hero cameos, obscure villains and a fun alternate reality character design.

Captain America Epic Collection Monsters and Men: I'm glad they turned Scarecrow into a more sadistic villain. A bankroller with his gimmick is stupid. First Jack Monroe as Nomad here, sci that's kind of fun. DeMatteis' run is fun but holds no candle to Gruenwald's. Lots of great Zeck covers. But his interiors make Cap look like a big doofus. Like Moose from Archie.

Blacksad: I'd read two of these stories when they first came out. Only one of them was in english. These were hard to find back in the day, but they are beautiful.  

• Issues: 231
• Trades: 13
• Omnibus: 14
• Graphic Novel: 13

[Missy]

Adventure Comics #316 (1938): A fun but predictable LoSH tale.

The Avengers #1-4, 262: Felt like some classic Avengers, and #262 was highly recommended on Twitter. I also give it a thumbs up.

Batman '89 #1: A continuation of the movie universe. Very good.

Batman: White Knight #1-2: What if The Joker got healthy and solved Batman? It's fine, but didn't inspire me to keep with it.

Daredevil #63-65 (1964): It's always a pleasure to come back to these lived-in characters.

Daredevil: Yellow #1-6: A quick but heavy look at Daredevil's earliest days.

Defenders #1 (2021): Not sure where it's going, but I'll give it some time.

Fantastic Four #1 (1961), Fantastic Four #1 (1996), Fantastic Four #1 (1998), and Ultimate Fantastic Four #1: For the 60th anniversary of The Fantastic Four, I read these four very different takes on the FF. Each one has its own merits, and I was quite shocked to see how close 1996 #1 was to 1961 #1.

Fantastic Four #23-28: Issue 27 is easily the best issue to date, while #24 is objectively terrible.

Fantastic Four: First Family #1-6: This slides right into early continuity without much disruption, and adds to the strife the team was feeling at the time.

Gambit #1-4 (1993): Lee Weeks, so that's a plus. But it overly dramatic and some elements are lifted from the original Wolverine miniseries.

Hellblazer #1-4: Some truly macabre stuff here, mixed with odd and somewhat out of place humor.

Hitman #47-60: The series comes to a definitive, emotional close. Over, very mixed bag of a book, but the good is so good.

Iron Man #218 (1968): Tony fights the KGB over a century-old bio weapon.

Marvel's Super-Heroes #12-13 and Marvel's Space-Born Superhero! Captain Marvel #1-5: This book is trying so hard to find its footing, and I had to bail after five issues. It's such a shame, because I've always wanted to get into Mar-Vell but there's very little here to latch onto.

Nightwing #83 (2016): This book just keeps getting better and better.

Punisher: War Zone #1-6 (2009): A lackluster sequel to Welcome Back Frank.

Quantum Leap #1-2: The show does not fit a comic book format very well.

Robin #5 (2021): This brought me to messy, ugly, slobbering happy tears.

Secret Origins #44 (1986) and Detective Comics #604-607 (1937): The Mud Pack is a wildly underappreciated story.

Seven Secrets #1-6: An interesting concept, but the cliffhanger went in a direction I didn't see coming and wasn't really established.

Spectacular Spider-Man #178-188 (1976): JM DeMatteis does not want you to be happy. Or the characters. My god this is bleak, but in the best way possible. Such an amazing run so far.

Starlight #1-6: What if Buck Rogers or Flash Gordorn returned to Earth, lived a good long life, and was asked to come back for one more fight in his twilight years? Surprisingly touching and straightforward for Mark Millar.

Suicide Squad #1-8 (1987): Solid. Gonna be coming back to it soon, I hope.

Suicide Squad: Get Joker #1: The Joker has Amanda Waller's kill switch. Oh no.

Superior Iron Man #1-4: Tony's a cunt now. I'm out.

Superman '78 #1: Same as Batman '89 #1.

Superman Annual #11: For the 1000th comic I've read this year, I treated myself to For the Man Who Has Everything. It's so damn good. "Burn."

Superman: Red and Blue #2: I'm finding this anthology series isn't quite for me.

Superman: Son of Kal-El #2: Jon struggled to find his identity, especially after Clark outed himself. Clark is way out of character in an otherwise good book.

Tales of Suspense #39 (1959): It's crazy to see how closely the Iron Man movie follows this issue.

What If? #3-9 (1977): Mixed bag but some good stuff in here.

World's Finest Comics #134 (1941): It's WFC.

January: 157
February: 125
March: 185
April: 131
May: 177
June: 86
July: 97
August: 128
TOTAL: 1086

[Dread]

Fallen World #1: I'm digging this. 

Guardians of the Galaxy #4: really good still.

Savage Dragon #258, 259: it's in a  bit of a transition phase right now, but damn, I want to write North Force.

Sunstone Mercy Vol 7: one of the more, ahem, graphic, of volumes. Still so great.

Dega: a short graphic novel I kickstarted from Dan McDaid It's petty good. Only partially coloured. I don't quite get that.

• Issues: 235
• Trades: 14
• Omnibus: 14
• Graphic Novel: 14

[Missy]

Is it selectively partially colored or uncolored in an unfinished sort of way?

[Dread]

The first 19 pages are fully coloured, and then the rest is basically black and white with single accents and the occasional single coloured PANEL. It's very odd. No story reason why, either.

[Dread]

Marvel Premiere #28: read this to follow along on the Defenders Dialogue podcast. Good bronze age monster stuff.

Houdini Master Detective #1: pass

Incursion #3: such a great story. Loving it. Eternal Warrior is probably my favourite comic book character not from the Big Two.

Mary Shelley Monster Hunter #1: pass

Meet the Skulls #3, 4: it's an easy high concept idea The Americans, but instead of Russians, they're Skrulls...and the kids are agents too. Solid idea, pulled off well.

Offbeats #1:really not good.

• Issues: 242
• Trades: 14
• Omnibus: 14
• Graphic Novel: 14

[Missy]

Avenging Spider-Man #6, The Punisher #10 (2011), Daredevil #11 (2011): The three-part The Omega Effect storyline is, honestly, remembered for one joke. It’s fine, but does nothing for any of the characters.

Batman ’89 #2: Pure fun.

Batman & Captain America: This had no right to be this good. John Byrne works magic to make Captain America feel like a DC character, especially a wartime DC character. And somehow this spun off into the Superman & Batman: Generations series.

Batman: Face the Face (Detective Comics #817-820, Batman#651-654): Between the end of a crisis and the start of One Year Later, Batman left Gotham City under the protection of a cured and healed Harvey Dent. Why? *shrug emoji* When Batman returns, someone starts killing villains, and all eyes are on Harvey. Is he the killer, or is someone else pulling the strings? I get why Two-Face fans would dig this, but it is not for me. It attempting to do too much and only serves to accomplish some of it.

Carnage #6-16: There’s a slight dip in the middle, but it’s needed to introduce new characters and set the stage for the big battle. It’s also good to see one creative team throughout the run.

Catwoman #1-4 (1989): This tragic retelling of Selina’s origin ties directly into Batman: Year One, while wrapping up some loose ends from that book and laying seeds for other writers to water down the line.

Chase #1-3: Sadly this did not hold my interests. I might come back though, if only because there are a total of 10 issues.

Daredevil #66-76: Matt visits Karen in LA, guilt trips her, then runs back home to work a politically charged case. As always, Matt’s a dick. Roy Thomas has left the book, and I’m not that keen on the new direction under Gerry Conway. Also, Matt is a real piece of shit.

Dark Ages #1: To save the planet, Dr. Strange makes a major mistake, casting the world into shadow. Seven years later, the story begins.

DC Comics: Bombshells #10-18: I get why the stories bounce around so much, but I do wish they stuck with the characters for more than one issue at a time before jumping to elsewhere on the front then back again.

Detective Comics #411 and Batman #232: The first appearances of Talia and Ra’s al Ghul. The Talia issue has its moments, but the Ra’s one is a stone-cold classic. And I will never back down from the idea that Ra’s initially calls Batman “Detective” from a place of sarcasm. By the end it is a title of honor, but those first few times, hmm, they seem suspect.

Extreme Carnage, parts 1-4 (Alpha, Scream, Phage, and Lasher): It starts out with an interesting hook, then sort of loses focus by the middle. Can’t say I’ll read parts 5-8.

Fantastic Four #29 (1961): Starts a little silly then ends on the moon. It’s an odd one, but a fun read.

Hellblazer #5: It’s interesting seeing John so utterly helpless in the face of terror.

Heroes Reborn
The Avengers #1-12 (1996)
Captain America #1-12 (1996)
Fantastic Four #2-12 (1996)
Iron Man #1-12 (1996)

Fantastic Four starts out incredibly strong. Stronger than it has any right to be. But it loses its focus after the Namor issues, and drops the ball once Wildstorm absorbs the Liefeld series.

Iron Man was okay to a point, but it had too much to do between the Iron Man characters, Hulk characters, introducing Rebel, and focusing on Doom in the later issues.

Captain America is a steaming pile of crap, even after Liefeld departs. And the whole series winds up being one retcon after another.

Avengers is forgettable at best and childish at worst.

Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year One #13-18: So I can only do this series in small doses. Tom Taylor is taking his time building this world, which is good, but the issues at play are complex and each side his to grow naturally. But some characters are way out-of-character, even for an alternate reality.

Kurt Busiek's Astro City #14-20 (1996): This is The Tarnished Angel storyline, and man is it sooooo damn good.

Magneto #1-6: With his powers vastly decreased, Magneto wages a one-man war on any human who would dare stand against mutantkind — including those turning humans into Sentinals. Again.

Nightwing #84: Part one of a three-part tie-in for Fear State. Ton Taylor’s pacing is a little off from his norm, but there’s a lovely moment between Batman and Nightwing, an old Nightwing side character makes their return, and Barbara is back in action.

The Pro: Before The Boys, Garth Ennis used The Pro to smear superheroes all over the place in a post 9/11 world. It doesn’t hold up so well ~20 years later, but some of the messaging still resonates and Amanda Conner is unmatched.

Robin #6 (2021): The tournament has begun. That’s it.

Ruins #1-2: It seemingly runs out of steam. Sad that, ‘cause it’s an interesting idea as a tarnished mirror held up to Marvels.

Seven Secrets #7-12: This needs to lean into the secrets a little more, but the action is great and there are a lot of ideas being threaded throughout the book. But it might have crossed one too many bridges for me. It keeps breaking reality — or, the rules of reality — and I’m not sure I can keep up.

Spider-Man: Spider’s Shadow #3-5: This What If…? tale does not end as one would expect, and the whole experience really could have been two issues. That said, it’s cool seeing Marvel bring back a line of What If…? comics.

Spider-Woman #5-10 (2015): The opening story takes a dark, real-world turn. The the book has to end for Secret Wars. It picks back up in the 2016 series, but this is a great slice of what it will become.

Spider-Woman #1-5 (2016): Roughly one year after the end of the 2015 series, Jessica is nine months pregnant and finds herself in a Die Hard-like situation… in a Men-in-Black-like maternity ward… in the middle of a blackhole… with no one to save her. And it is soooo much fun.

Superman ’78 #2: They did the Superman II thing and I love that they said, “Fuck it! Let’s do it.”

Superman & Batman: Generations #1-4: The final issue is a little too quick, but the miniseries overall is a love letter to the original versions of Superman, Batman, and their supporting characters. Byrne pulls a mega-swerve that’s setup from pretty much page one, and it is excellent to see it play out.

Superman: Son of Kal-El #3: They’re beginning to position Jon as the Superman of Earth, with Clark possibly erased from history in the near future.

The Terminator: Sector War #1-4: On the same night Sarah Conner was fighting for her life in LA, a police officer in New York was doing the same. The manga-inspired art is a nice treat, but it takes no more than 15 minutes to read this whole useless thing.

What If…? #8-10: Issue number nine was my very first What If…?, so this little run has a special place in my heart.

What If…?: Why Not: A collection of What If? stories from 2005, consisting of What If Karen Page Had Lived?, What If General Ross Had Become The Hulk?, What If Jessica Jones Had Joined The Avengers?, What If Magneto and Professor X Had Formed The X-Men Together?, What If Dr. Doom Had Become The Thing?, and What If Aunt May Had Been Killed Instead of Uncle Ben? They’re all solid stories, but the Spider-Man one is a bit weak for me.

Witchblade #80-85: Ron Marz begins his tenure on the title, and it’s a fine entry point to Sara’s world. It’s not the best, but it opens doors for new readers just fine.

Wonder Woman #1-6 (2011): The start of the Brian Azzarello run does an excellent job setting up new mysteries surrounding Wonder Woman and her family.

X-Men: Fatal Attractions (X-Factor #92, X-Force #25, Uncanny X-Men #304, X-Men #25, , Wolverine #75, Excalibur #71): This is way better than I had hoped it would be. My memory held this in esteem because it’s the first X-Men crossover I ever read, but it is still good all these decades later.

January: 157
February: 125
March: 185
April: 131
May: 177
June: 86
July: 97
August: 128
September: 188
TOTAL: 1274

[Missy]

I just realized September was my most productive month by three issues. Huh. Didn't feel like I read that many.

[Delete]

That scene with Dick and Damian in Robin #5 get me right in my cold dead heart.

 

Robin #6 was fun and nice to see that team forming naturally unlike that abomination of a Teen Titans runs. Cliffhanger is great too.

[Missy]

Robin #5 is a legit tearjerker.

[Dread]

Mike, once again, you're a fucking machine.

[Missy]

Sometimes I don't even realize how many I've read in a day. But I can definitely tell which days I had IT support calls and which ones I didn't.

[Dread]

 

9 hours ago, The Master said:

Sometimes I don't even realize how many I've read in a day. But I can definitely tell which days I had IT support calls and which ones I didn't.

The pandemic has really affected my ability to read and write. But I'm starting to pick up again. I don't read at night so long either anymore because I'm actually falling asleep, so I'm kind of riding that wave a little bit too. Sleeping well is a luxury. Haha!

[Missy]

My new sleep routine is 3a to 8a, maybe 9 on the weekends. Since I have anxiety around the act of sleeping, I basically have to push myself to the point of dropping from exhaustion. Or drink myself to sleep on the weekends.

[Dread]

Brutal. I know. That was me a while back. After my ex split, my insomnia kicked in HARD.

[Dread]

Marvel Zombies The Complete Collection Volume 1-3: I ordered a bunch of tabs and GNs for my school several years ago and ordered Marvel Zombies as one of them. I've also read the occasional one-shot (perhaps in IIWY? segments?). The original series is pretty awful. So is the second. Once Fred Van Lente takes over, it's great! 3, 4 and 5 follow various obscure characters as they work through ARMOR to destroy zombies in every dimension. Lots of Morbius. Lots of Howard the Duck. Lots of Machine Man. It's fun as fuck. Marvel Zombies Supreme is pretty great too. Written and drawn by two Italian guys. Battlestar and some specialized soldiers check out a strange occurrence at Project Pegasus to discover Squadron Supreme clones have been infected with the zombie virus. It's wild. Marvel Zombies Destroy is fucking wild. Peter David writing Howard's ARMOR team grabbing Dum Dum Dugan and a motley crew of characters who debuted in 1940 Atlas Comics (as well as brand new characters who I had to check and see if they ever existed back then) to go to a dimension where the Germans in WW2 made themselves zombies to take over the world. It's a pure delight. Most of the one shots are pretty bad. The chunk in the middle with the crossover into Marvel Ape (remember that shit?) was a garbage fire. Glad I finally read all this, though.

Sensational She-Hulk #9-30: I started the SSH by John Byrne, but because I'm mentally ill, I wanted to read the fill-in issues. And that's a hell of a fill=in. Not the last either. What was wrong with him at the time? Anyway, this stuff is almost always striving to be like Byrne's take on her. They all fall pretty flat. Some good stories and interesting satire by all kinds of folks from Steve Gerber to Peter David. A young Bryan Hitch does a spot-on mix of Byrne and Alan Davis. Halfway decent stuff.

The Man-Thing by Steve Gerber Complete Collection Vol. 3: This is the last bit of Gerber's run, the only recently finished Infernal Man-Thing miniseries with Kevin Nowlan, and what I was happiest to see: the Sandman-esque 12 part Marvel Comics Presents series Gerber did with Tom Sutton. 

Marvel Zombies Resurrection #1-4: This, of all of them, might be the best of the whole MZ run. Never heard of the writer before, but the story is great. Leonard Kirk's art helps a lot too. 

Old Man Quill #4: this series continues to be a complete delight.

Savage Avengers #1: holy shit. What? Why does this work?

Spencer and Locke 2 #1: I'm not digging this as much as volume 1, but I'll give it another issue. 

Stiletto #1: pretty forgettable.

Stronghold #3: wow, this really cracked it open. I wasn't feeling it so hard at first but this issue was great.

Tainted Love #1: HARD pass.

The Devils #1: holy shit, this is great!

The Punisher #11: still so fucking great. Rosenberg is quickly becoming a definitive Punisher writer, which is not an easy thing to do based on who already is.

Thor #12: this is a War of the Realms tie-in that's fucking rad.

Uncanny X-Men #16, 17: ok, I was bitching a while back about Rosenberg's X-Men as compared to his Punisher, but these issues were excellent.

War of the Realms: The Punisher #1: Gerry Duggan pits Punisher against a frost giant and it's delightful. What a great event, especially considering what comes next too. (Yes, I'm very behind).

War of the Realms: War Scrolls #1: great. Fun anthology series.

War of the Realms #2, 3: loving Punisher and Wolverine together. Always have.

War of the Realms Strikeforce: The Dark Elf Realm #1: Cool. Kind of a New FF feel with Punisher, Ghost Rider, Blade and She-Hulk being led by Freyja.

Wolverine Infinity Watch #3: Wolves, Loki and a ghost bloodhound board a magic viking ship to go into space to fight Darkhawks. Pretty wild.

Wolverine The Long Night #4: Still great.

Juggernaut: No Stopping Now: fucking hell, this was good. It takes place after X-Men comics I'm currently reading (haha) but I'll read anything with Ron Garney art. One of the modern greats.

Age of X-Man Prisoner X #3: this was interesting. Liking this weird X-event.

Age of X-Man X-Tremists #3: This is probably my favourite of the series. 

Black Widow #4: decent.

DC Year of the Villain Special #1: I look forward to seeing what they do with Leviathan. Might have to catch up on all the shit Luthor got up to in trade.

DCeased #1: Ok...

Dark Red #2: this is a pretty interesting look at a very political horror comic. I don't think I like it much, but it's interesting.

Dead Man Logan #6, 7: I might just have to skip ahead and finish this in one chunk. It's taking forever.

Ghost Tree #1: interesting, but not for me.

Gogor #1: this feels very 90s.

Goosebumps Horror of the Witchhouse #1: not great.

Heroes in Crisis #8: look, not what everyone wants to see in their superhero comics. I still find it interesting for a superhero book, a mainstream one at least.

Invasion from Planet Wrestletopia #1: this is terrible.

Justice League Dark #10: goddamn, this is really veering into one of my works in progress. But it's so great.

Marvel Comics Presents #4: I liked all three of these stories. The Wolverine one hits a climax, the Spidey story is quite heartfelt and the Moon Knight one is twisted. A great balance of stories. This series is pretty great overall thus far. But it's still a 2019 book. Haha!

X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula: I've read this every couple years since it came out. It's such a cool little slice of alternate history in the Marvel Universe. It's very imperfect, but fun nonetheless.

• Issues: 301
• Trades: 16
• Omnibus: 18
• Graphic Novel: 14

[Missy]

The Amazing Spider-Man #75-77 (2018): No spoilers, but I’m back reading Spider-Man comics off the shelf.

The Avengers #1-4 (1998): The opening of the Busiek / Perez era dives right into the soap opera drama, high action, and craziness that comes with being an Avenger. It’s exciting to be reading this again, and it’s amazing to see how well it holds up.

The Avengers #684: A prelude to Immortal Hulk.

Batman ’89 #3: Harvey’s turn to Two-Face, as always, is tragic.

Batman: The Imposter #1: An interesting take on Batman, but I think I’ll wait for the trade.

Batman: The Long Halloween Special: This reminds us that we don’t know if there was one, two, or three Holiday Killers. And I hope we have more down the line to finally address that.

Daredevil #77-96 (1964): Exceptionally wobbly book, and I’m glad Conway’s tenure ends soon after this. The way he treats Black Widow is questionable at best, and the moment where Matt and Karen rekindle their relationship damages both characters. The upside if the never-ending drama between Matt and Karen is over — for now.

Dark Horse Presents #51-62 and Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special: Sin City begins here, and of my god this is so perfectly pulpy. Miller has yet to become self-indulgent, and the book shines for it.

Fantastic Four #37 (2018): A good issue about The Grimm Family.

Hawkeye #1-3 (2012): Perfect start to a series.

Immortal Hulk #1-5: Holy shit read this!

JLA #1-11: This is better than I ever gave it credit for. The first four issues are iffy and feel like sequences are missing, but Morrison finds their footing by #5. Not keen on Rock of Ages, so I stopped partway through.

JLA: Secret Files #1: An origin for this team, and a lovely little Martian Manhunter piece.

JLA: Tomorrow Woman: Tomorrow Woman was more of a plot device than a character in Tomorrow JLA #5, but she was interesting enough to garner her own one-shot a year later. An android built for evil but turning good is nothing new to comics, but her inability to understand the word “freedom” made her all the more tragic.

Nightwing #85 (2016): Dick and Baby back in action together.

Robin #7 (2021): This tournament has to end soon.

Robins #1: Not for me.

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For #1-6: Perfect.

Spider-Woman #6-17 (2016): Love this to death.

Star Trek: Year Five #1-6: The creators on this series adore Star Trek, as it comes through on every page. Not only are the trinity treated well, Uhura is an utter badass.

Superman and The Authority #2-4: Not for me.

Superman: Lois & Clark #1: An interesting look at post-COIE Lois and Clark in the New 52 universe.

Superman: Son of Kal-El #4: Still an excellent read. Bring on the kissing next issue!

The Terminator: 2029 #1-3 and The Terminator: 1984 #1-3: Two three-issue minis that comprise a six-issue story set before, during, and after the events of the first movie. These are utterly faithful to the events of The Terminator, and change nothing to the timeline but add so much to Sarah and Kyle. I only wish this was a third mini set directly before Terminator 2.

What If…? #11-16 (1989): Mixed bag but mostly good.

World’s Finest Comics #135-136: Fun as always, especially #136.

X-Men: Red #1-11, Annual #1: So damn good. Too bad it ended.

Y: The Last Man #1-8: Yorick is wholly unlikable.

January: 157
February: 125
March: 185
April: 131
May: 177
June: 86
July: 97
August: 128
September: 188
October: 132
TOTAL: 1406

[Dread]

Nobody Is In Control #1: seems right up my alley, but the first issue didn't grab me.

Punk Mambo #1: I've been on the fence on this character ever since her debut, but I loved this issue. I'm around for more.

Queen of Bad Dreams #1: definitely not for me. Knew by page two.

Superior Spider-Man #5: I'm really loving this series.

Thanos #1: A mini about the Thanos/Gamora relationship. Wasn't super into this issue, but the second issue is where I'l make the decision.

Age of X-Man: Apocalypse and the X-Tracts #2: this is a close second for my favourites of the series in this event.

X-Men: Days of Future Present: This collects the annuals bearing that title (1992?) which has some good shit. Walt Simonson writing FF and X-Factor at the time really helped with the strength of this story I've never read in total. Fun future stuff. This is where Cyclops and Jean Grey discover Phoenix is their daughter from the future. And this is also I think the first instance of future Franklin Richards stirring up trouble. I'll read X-Factor drawn by Bogdanove and written by Simonson (either Walt or Weezie!) all day long.

The Forgotten Queen #3: this shit is wild.

War of the Realms Uncanny X-Men #1: this event has been so solid across the board. Pretty impressive.

Age of Conan Belit Queen of the Black Coast #2: just not for me.

Age of X-Man Apocalypse and the X-Tracts #3: when's the last time there were two concurrent kickass events at the same time at Marvel?

Age of X-Man Next Gen #4: still my favourite of the minis. 

Age of X-Man Marvellous X-Men #3, 4: never really connected with this mini.

Batman and the Outsiders #1: man, really uninteresting.

Highlander: The American Dream: I read the first issue of this a few years back and was like "oh, I'll grab this in trade. Well, I finally did that. It's great. The present day of the story is 1955, but the inciting incident is during the American Civil War. Well told, great art.

X-Men Kings of Pain: this is another collection of 90s annuals. In this case, the X-Annuals and New Warriors of 1991. Decent story. The payoff is pretty much a whiff. each issue has different versions of the same cover image by Mike Mignola (and Bagley draws the NW on that issue, weird...)

Black Hammer Age of Doom #10: so much of this series feels like spinning tires.

Captain America #10: this was a pretty good issue with a GREAT moment in it.

Conan the Barbarian #6: Sooooo consistent. Man. This team is killing this.

Eve Stranger #1: held zero interest for me.

Ice Cream Man #12: not the best story in this series. 

Marvels Annotated #3: This story doesn't really hold up very well for me. It drags, and the through-line is not interesting. It's definitely great if "see Alex Ross paint Marvel history" is what you want. Otherwise, I think it's quite heavily overrated. Maybe that's an unpopular opinion. My opinion of it certainly has changed.

Murder Falcon #7,8: This screeched to an abrupt and profound end. Great fucking series.

Red Sonja and Vampirella Meets Betty and Veronica #1: this is a hell of a lot of fun.

X-Men: The End Books I-III: this series has Chris Claremont and Sean Chen doing three six issue miniseries set 15 years in the future. It's quite a great sendoff. Claremont's wordiness comes into play and is far less annoying than it used to get. Great twists and turns and appearances by a lot of villains. It was a suitable end and had me somewhat surprised that Claremont not only integrated so much from other X-writers, but in one instance making a character someone long after him created as the ultimate big bad. Chen's slight costume design tweaks are great for the most part. Great reads. I teared up at the end.  

Taarna #4: Ok, I guess.

War of the Realms Journey Into Mystery #2: This is so good.

War of the Realms New Agents of Atlas #1: oh, I do not like this. They're the Champions for god sakes...

X-Force #6, 7: great! The art on this is fantastic.

Black Widow #5: halfway decent end to a so-so miniseries.

Daredevil #5: so great.

Fantastic Four #9: so good. Still, this is much more like a Doom series than FF.

Giant Man #1: did not expect this. This is really fun. Basically, all the Giant Men (and Atlas and Black Goliath) go undercover as Frost Giants. Fun.

Guardians of the Galaxy #5: wow, ok.

Hulkverines #3: this was a hell of a lot of fun.

• Issues: 338
• Trades: 19
• Omnibus: 18
• Graphic Novel: 14

[Dread]

Last one was too long to edit, so here's the next:

X-Men Epic Collection Proteus: this is a pretty fun era of the X-Men. Earlier in the Claremont/Byrne run. The new X-Men face Magneto for only the second time. They wind up in the Savage Land to face Garokk, The Petrified Man. They have a fun little battle with Arcade. They sow the seeds of the Dark Phoenix Saga. They have a great battl ewith Alpha Flight (Pierre Trudeau spent a lot of money on Weapon X and we want him back!). And Wolverine meets Mariko Yashida for the first time. Because it's Claremont so obviously we have to fetishize Japan a little bit. Great read.

X-Men Epic Collection Dissolution and Rebirth: what a wild ride this is. Begins at the tail end of the X-Men being dead and undetectable in Australia. Wolverine is crucified by the Reavers and rescued by Jubilee. Storm becomes a child.  Psylocke becomes Lady Mandarin and then just ninja Psylocke. Gambit debuts. The core X-Men team becomes Moira McTaggert, Siryn, Legion and Multiple Man. So weird. The art vacillates between the excellence of Jim Lee and Marc Silvestri and guys you've never heard of then or since. I told you it was wild.

Last Stop on the Red Line #1: completely forgettable.

Old Man Quill #5: this would be a contender for series of the year lists if I wasn't a year and a half behind reading comics.

Rock Steady #1: not for me

The Life and Death of Toyo Harada #2, 3: Dysart's Valiant stuff is pretty solid as a rule. The art on this is fantastic.

Uncanny X=Men #18: this was really great

Vampire Mob #1: Not good

War of the Realms #4:so fucking great. At first I felt like the plot was too piecemeal (think What If? issues trying to get through a lot of time in a few panels), but it all paid off with Dark Freyja and Iron Odin being horny and killing elves.

War of the Realms Strikeforce The War Avengers #1: Just great.

Age of X-Man Apocalypse and the X-Tracts #4,5: This probably stands as my favourite of these series.

Age of X-Man Next Gen #5: great ending to a great series

Age of X-Man Prisoner X #4,5: this was alright.

Age of X-Man The Amazing Nightcrawler #4, 5: Kind of a yawn.

Age of X-Man The Marvelous X-Men #5: Pretty good.

Age of X-Man X-Tremists #4, 5: not the best ending.

Age of X-Man Omega #1: Look, I thought the minis were fun for the most part, but I knew that it would end with a whimper and push us into the big time X-event that I'm excited to start now.

Asgardians of the Galaxy #8, 9:Really fun.

Incursion #4:Fuck this was good. 

Justice League Dark #11: Man, this series is killing it. I love the magic in the DC Universe. It's always falling apart sand threatening to destroy everything. Like, that is its natural state.

Marvel Comics Presents #5:Fun Nightcrawler story. Somehow already forgotten who the third story was of...

Mary Shelley Monster Hunter #2: this is not for me.

Road of Bones #1: very cool. A horror story in this setting is unique as far as I know. I'm down.

War of the Realms Uncanny X-Men #2: It seems like a lot more time has passed in this mini than the others.

War of the Realms Journey Into Mystery #3: this is just a little too goofy for me. 

• Issues: 365
• Trades: 19
• Omnibus: 20
• Graphic Novel: 14

[Delete]

I've read the first two issues of DC vs Vampires and it is really good so far.

Robin #8 Damian and Connor have a straight up anime fight and it's awesome.

[Missy]

Currently I'm taking a break from all other comics to finish Daredevil (1964) before the end of the year, but I cannot wait to catch up on Nightwing, Robin, Amazing Spider-Man, and finally get into the new Human Target and Hulk books.

[Missy]

Daredevil #97-300 (1964): Okay, that's more than half the series covered in one month, so there's a ton of ground here. Let's break it down by writers.

Steve Gerber: Daredevil and Black Widow are in San Fransisco, and things go down LSD Lane. Gerber gets the book back on track near the end, but ooooof! His run really should be skipped. The only upside is the introduction of Moondragon and some early references to Thanos.

Tony Isabella: This little five-issue run is amazing. Maybe I'm giving it more heft because it was coming off of Gerber's space-case stuff, Isabella had the voice of the book right from the jump.

Marv Wolfman: Very rough, overly wordy beginnings, but he gets there eventually. His Jester trilogy is especially awesome. Then again, I'm a mark for The Jester. And we meet Heather Glenn. Poor, darling Heather Glenn.

Jim Shooter: Here we meet Paladin, who enters in a dashing rogue mold. During a fight with Daredevil, Paladin realizes their brawl has sprawled into a YWCA, and he starts chatting up the ladies. This is also where Heather learns Matt is Daredevil and that her father has committed suicide (at the command of Purple Man). Those two events being related will have lasting repercussions on Heather.

Roger McKenzie: Now I liked his stuff, and it brought the long-running Death-Stalker plot to a close. You can start to see the book turn a little darker here. Oh, and some guy named Frank Miller joins him as artist.

Frank Miller: Look, I'm not gonna add anything new to the "Frank Miller reinvented the wheel" conversation, but I will say reading this in full context of what came before added so much weight to the introduction of Elektra, the reinvention of The Kingpin, and, later, Matt's fall in Born Again. And his tenure would not be as fondly remembered with David Michelinie.

Ann Nocenti: The best Daredevil (1964) writer hands down. The way she naturally weaves in politics to the overall story is a treat, she rebuilds Matt and Karen, but then starts showing the cracks as their Honeymoon phase fades. Fisk's desire to re-break Matt is petty, so petty, but it works in context of him having lost Vanessa. And the time in Hell opened so many amazing doors for the character and series. While I insist Nocenti did not actually script her final few issues*, her whole run is a must-read. And I mean, John Romita Jr, y'all! (*In a guest appearance, Captain America goes all-in against billionaires, the war on drugs, and other big oil. In one issue an African American teen tells Matt he's afraid of the police because they rough him up simply for being black. And Matt starts dating an African American woman. It quickly becomes clear Nocenti pissed people off, and she was shown the door.)

DG Chichester: He's currently on the book, so I won't say too much, but he wonderfully wraps up the Daredevil v Kingpin plot started by Miller and molded by Nocenti.

Daredevil Annual #5-7 (1964): IIRC, all three connect to various crossover, and they're mostly forgettable.

 

January: 157
February: 125
March: 185
April: 131
May: 177
June: 86
July: 97
August: 128
September: 188
October: 132
November: 208
TOTAL: 1614

[Dread]

Ann Nocenti and Louise Simonson are two underrated all-stars of 90s Marvel.

[Dread]

Custer: Bernet and Trillo's woman detective GN. I think this was the last thing Trillo wrote. It was ok.

War of the Realms New Agents of Atlas #2: kind of soured on this being Shang-Chi and the Champions. 

War of the Realms Punisher #2: so good.

War of the Realms Strikeforce The Land of Giants #1: cool.

Wolverine Infinity Watch #4: this was ok.

X-Force #8: not digging  the art. Sort of a forgettable padded issue.

Young Allies Comics 70th Anniversary #1: a solid little war story from the era of Bucky Cap. Great art.

Batman Last Knight on Earth #1: this was weird. I don't know what to take as reality here.

Daredevil #6: GREAT issue.

Dark Red #3: I'm just not vibing on it.

Doomsday Clock #10: wild.

Fantastic Four #10: man, do I hate how Slott writes Franklin.

Giant Man #2: Still good.

Heroes in Crisis #9: what a dumb and convoluted plot. Stupid ending. I still enjoy the framework. Also, solid Vision joke by King here.

Killer Groove #1: not for me

Offbeats #2: also not for me.

Punk Mambo #2: yes, I know this is a punk rock Constantine in the Valiant U, but I am loving this.

She Said Destroy #1: not for me

Spencer/Locke 2 #2: I have checked out.

Superior Spider-Man #6: this is still really good.

Thanos #2: still decent. 

The Devils #2: i get it. But I'm done. Bad art and trite writing.

The Forgotten Queen #4: great ending.

Thor #13: really great

Wailing Blade #1: no

War of the Realms War Scrolls #2: The transformation of Daredevil in this event is fucking wild.

Wolverine The Long Night #5: it kind of haphazardly crashes to an end. I get it. Making it better would be very different from a script that would work as an audio story.

Asgardians of the Galaxy #10: great series overall.

DCeased #2: this is not very good. I am out. They did this better and it made more sense in Blackest Night.

Dead Man Logan #8: still great

Fallen World #2: ok, this is nuts. I dig it.

Giant-Man #3: what a great little miniseries that came out of nowhere.

Guardians of the Galaxy #6: i am down for this direction. Not my favourite team lineup, but I'm digging the story.

Ignited #1: I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I do.

Incredible Hulk Last Call #1: Peter David and Dale Keown on Hulk. Had to try it. Not bad. 

Meet the Skulls #5: eh...kind of lacklustre.

Old Man Quill #6: great. I love this universe.

Red Sonja Birth of the She-Devil #1: I don't need a RS origin story.

Savage Avengers #2: what the fuck. Considering putting everything aside to just read this series up to the now based on the scene of Kulan Gath magically fighting the hostless Venom Symbiote. 

Sonata #1: not really my bag.

Stronghold #4: holy fuck this is crazy.

Superior Spider-Man #7: Gage made Gwenpool tolerable for me. I'm impressed.

• Issues: 406
• Trades: 19
• Omnibus: 20
• Graphic Novel: 15

[Dread]

The Life and Death of Toyo Harada #4: Holy shit, there's two more issues? Fucking fantastic.

The Punisher #12: still one of the best Punisher runs ever.

Thumbs #1: pretty good. I'll check out more.

Trust Fall #1: not for me

Uncanny X-Men #19, 20: man, while the series floundered a bit in the early parts of Age of X-Man, it's really come along. Great issues.

War of the Realms Journey Into Mystery #4, 5: despite a few issues (Wonder Man is meta like Deadpool now?) I really enjoyed this.

War of the Realms New Agents of Atlas #3: my least favourite is coming along ok. I do enjoy the new Asian/Polynesian heroes.

War of the Realms #5: coming along nicely.

X-Force #9: better than the last few issues.

Captain America #11: really coming around on Coates' run. Bringing in the Daughters of Liberty helps.

Daredevil #7: outstanding.

Hellboy and the BPRD Beast of Vargu: pretty fun. Fegredo is a great replacement for Mignola. I like him better.

Marvels Annotated #4: man, they really worked hard to make the protagonist feel for Gwen Stacy huh? This series is awful.

PSI-Lords #1: ehhh...I'll give it one more.

Red Sonja and Vampirella Meets Betty and Veronica #2: this is dumb fun.

War of the Realms War Scrolls #3: worth it for the Daredevil story alone.

Wolverine Infinity Watch #5: kind of a dry fart. 

Conan the Barbarian #7: still out here consistently telling solid Conan stories.

Crow/Hack Slash #1: I'm intrigued.

Exciting Comics #2: ok, I'm out.

Fantastic Four #11: the art on the cover and inside the book is both awful, and this is where the story goes to shit. I'm out. Slott actually had me for a little while.

Horror Comics #1: pretty typical

Justice League Dark #12: still fucking fantastic

Marilyn Manor #1: unreadable.

Marvel Comics Presents #6: Man, this Wolverine story is going on forever. The Deadpool one was unreadable. Really good 90s Ghost Rider story.

• Issues: 433
• Trades: 19
• Omnibus: 20
• Graphic Novel: 15