Every comic you've read in 2022

[Missy]

Go!

[Dread]

Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds #1: sadly, not very good.

Fantastic Four The Prodigal Sun #1: this is intriguing.

Ignited #2: I'm not feeling this.

No One Left to Fight #1: this is not for me. I don't know who it's for. Definitely not me.

Old Man Quill #7: the twist I sort of feared came, but this is still a great series. The best little chunk of the MCU that exists right now is set in the future.

Savage Avengers #3: Kulan Gath removed Conan's heart, but it's cool because the escaped Venom symbiote entered the wound and we have Conan fighting with a symbiote sword. I don't know what else to say to get you to read this. It's fucking nuts! I love it. Also, Conan picks up an unconscious Wolverine whose claws are extended, swinging him around as a weapon. Saying something like "little warrior, if you wake up you must tell me where you got these blades!"

Space Bandits #1: definitely not for me.

Stitched: Terror #2: so this is basically a trashy, lurid remake of the Blind Dead Films and I fucking dig it.

Superman Up In The Sky #1: this is pretty decent. I'll give it another issue.

Test #1: this is not for me. I really like the art though.

The Punisher #13: still so damned good. What an ending!

Thumbs #2: not for me.

Uncanny X-Men #21: Kudos to Matthew Rosenberg for rocking two killer arcs on X-Men and Punisher at the same time.

Batman Universe #1: this was pretty good. I'll check out more.

Black Hammer/Justice League: Hammer of Justice! #1: ok, this was pretty fucking great.

Giant-Size X-Statix #1: Fuck, I can't wait for X-Cellent.

Fallen World #3: This continues to be good. The best Rai related thing at Valiant (new Valiant) that I've read yet. 

Invisible Woman #1: this is not quite what I was hoping for, but I'll give it one more.

Lois Lane #1: ok, I'm in.

Reaver #1: I'll give it one more.

Road of Bones #3: kind of a ho-hum issue.

Stitched Terror #3: wild ending. Good stuff.

Unearth #1: this reminded me so much of the stupid biologists from PROMETHEUS that it bugged me. I'll give it one more.

Vampirella #0: decent establishing story and a classic by Busiek and Art Adams.

War of the Realms Omega #1: I forgot there was one more. These are just lead-in stories for the stories spinning out of WOTR. It's bookended by a Heimdall/Daredevil story. Easily the best part of a great crossover is those two guys. I liked a slice of everything I got here.

Wolverine/Captain America Weapon Plus #1: ok, I can honestly say I never thought I'd read a comic where Wolverine and Captain America violently fight the cyborg bear from Brute Force.

Wolverine vs Blade #1: this is rough. Just a showcase for some painted art that has poor storytelling.

Daredevil #8: so good.

Jimmy Olsen #1: not my cup of tea.

Loki #1: I might give this one more.

Punisher Annual #1: this is one of the wildest Punisher stories in years. Since Frankencastle I guess. Punisher sneaks onto a rocket pre-launch. Somehow so does J Jonah Jameson. Just as the astronauts (who are actually Russian Special Ops guys) threaten to kill their JJJ stowaway, Punisher pushes him out of the way and kills the dudes. But he pushes JJJ onto the control panel and the launch begins. Yes...I know. So The Punisher and J Jonah Jameson launch into space and take on The Brood. It's nuts. Weird scene: Punisher says something like "What's out there?". JJJ is like "Moon's haunted? I don't know. My son went into space and came back as werewolf. Don't ask me!" Fucking crazy.

Resonant #1: interesting. I'll read more.

Superior Spider-Man #9: the bulk of this issue is a conversation between Otto and Peter. It's amazing. Great issue.

The Life and Death of Toyo Harada #5: Fuck, this series is so MASSIVE. 

Uncanny X-Men #22: Wow. Well done, Rosenberg. Good sendoff.

Vampirella #1: this is on the brink. It gets one more issue.

X-Force #10: holy shit. Great ending. Quick question: how long has it been a thing where Rachel Summers is Mother Askani?

Fearless #1: a Marvel anthology featuring all female creative teams tackling female heroes. Looks like Sue Storm and Storm's stories are continuing. The Millie the Model one was awful, but I'm fully aware I'm not the target audience. I'll read more of this for sure.

Guardians of the Galaxy #7: fucking GREAT.

Marvel Team-up #1-4: Defenders Dialogue are doing MTU and Marvel Two In One so I'm reading along. Two In One is definitely the better of the two series thus far. I'm reading that in Epic Collection form.

• Issues: 43
• Trades: 0
• Omnibus: 0
• Graphic Novel: 0

[Dread]

House of X #1: Fuck this was good. I'm a Magneto Mark and boy am I excited about where this goes.

Justice League Dark #13: great.

Justice League Dark Annual #1: Even the annuals for this series are fucking great. Goddamn. So good.

Marvels Epilogue #1: man, this is easily the best read of the whole series. And It's great seeing Ross paint the X-Men.

Monster World The Golden Age #1: this came out of fucking nowhere! Holy shit! It's cool.

Psi-Lords #2: Ok, I'm out.

Star Pig #1: oof...no thank you.

Thanos #4: ok, here's the thing: Magus doesn't do it for me as a villain. There, I said it. But he's good in this issue, so whatever.

Valkyrie Jane Foster #1: this was great.

Web of Venom Funeral Pyre #1: ok, I've never read a story featuring this Mania character. But this was good. It was genuinely surprising when the thing happened at the end. Again, I've never heard of this character before.

John Carpenter's Night Terrors: Sour Candy: review forthcoming

Batman Last Knight on Earth #2: this is weird and kind of fun. On the other hand, I feel like it kind of sucks overall. Haha! Oh well..

Captain America #12: this is soooooo slow

Shadow Show: an anthology graphic novel in tribute to Ray Bradbury. A mixed bag, but good overall.

Conan the Barbarian #8: god,, this series is so fucking good.

Crow/Hack Slash #2: ok, I'm out. Maybe I'll read the rest if there's another HS omnibus.

Death's Head #1: wow, this sucked.

Ice Cream Man #13: easily one of the best horror series of the past few years. This issue is a palindrome. You can read it front to back or back to front (going right to left) and it's the same story. Holy fuck. What a logistical nightmare! Makes the Rorshach panel layouts in that issue of Watchmen look bush league.

Killers #1: ok, this is pretty wild.

Marshal Law The Definitive Edition: basically the Marshal Law omnibus. It's definitely too much to read so frequently, but I get it.

Manor Black #1: I read this like two hours ago and I've completely forgotten it. Bad sign.

Marvel Comics Presents #7: This was the roughest issue of the entire run. even the Wolverine story was not great. A complete dud.

Powers of X #1: I'll be straight up. I did not like this in the slightest.

• Issues: 63
• Trades: 0
• Omnibus: 1
• Graphic Novel: 2

[Dread]

Marvel Team-up #5-12: man, some of these are rough. But I love Ross Andru's Spider-Man.

Punk Mambo #4: still great

The Cape: Fallen #4: man, this is some dark shit.

Agents of Atlas #1: no. This isn't AoA. This is Champions or whatever. Lame.

Babyteeth #15: such a great series.

Berserker Unbound #1: far from a new idea, but fun as fuck.

Coffin Bound #1: ok, this is weird. I'll do another.

Daredevil #9: so good.

Dead Man Logan #10: still such a great series.

Age of Conan Valeria #1: nahhhh

Death-Defyin' Devil #1: oh, I love this.

Fallen World #4: so that's it, huh? Ugh...

Future Foundation #1: man, this had a couple decent moments, but I'm not the audience for it.

Invisible Woman #2: ok, two things I find weird: 1) retro-fitting Sue Storm as a freelance agent of SHIELD is fine I guess, but 2) she has to be one of the most powerful humans/mutants in the Marvel Universe. She doesn't need help or to break a sweat doing this stuff. Still, I'm kinda digging it.

Lois Lane #2: this is really good.

Old Man Quill #8: still digging this too.

Omni #1: just another comic book sci fi I can't get into.

Savage Avengers #4: holy shit, this series is so great.

• Issues: 88
• Trades: 0
• Omnibus: 1
• Graphic Novel: 2

[Dread]

Marvel Two-In-One Presents The Thing Epic Collection Cry Monster: Was reading this slowly along with the Defender's Dialogue podcast, but now that it's over, I powered through the rest. You can't beat 80s Marvel books written by Steve Gerber and Bill Mantlo and drawn by Sal Buscema and Ron Wilson. This ends right before my favourite storyline (Liberty Legion), but I have the hardcover of that anyway. Good stuff.

JLA/Avengers #1-4: this was at the top of my rereading list for obvious reasons. It was back before Perez was sick too. I finally got around to it. There's like three pages in here that are contenders for best comics pages ever for me. The whole thing is just a ruse to get Perez to draw every fucking character in both comics universes and all their different costumes. It's a pure delight. This is up there on all-time great miniseries. 

Sinestro Year of the Villain #1: This was pretty ho-hum, but MAN am I a mark for Sinestro's original costume? Yes, yes I am. 

Superman Up In the Sky #2: I'm out. It's fine; it's just not exciting for me.

The Island of Dr. Moreau #1: this is IDW's adaptation and I wasn't into it until the end. The art is great though, and I'll give issue 2 a try.

The Punisher #14: still so fucking good. Rosenberg is the definitive Punisher writer now. He has to be.

Bad Reception #1: not my bag.

Batman Universe #2: ok, this is really fun. This is the best Bendis in ages.

Batman/Superman #1: I hated the Death Metal thing, but this seems like kind of a cool start.

Black Hammer/Justice League Hammer of Justice #2: this has one more issue to keep me interested.

Black Mask Year of the Villain #1: not bad. I'm not exactly sure what happened at the end of the book, so maybe it wasn't as successful.

Captain America #13: this is the run getting going. I am digging this now. Almost gave yup in the first arc. It was awful.

Conan The Barbarian: Exodus #1: Esad Ribic's artwork is delightful. His story is not.

Daredevil #10: still so fucking good. Best DD arc since Waid/Samnee.

Doctor Mirage #1: not bad. I'll give it another.

Fantastic Four: 4 Yancy Street #1: a delightful Grimm-focused one shot. Really good.

Fearless #2: ok, this was pretty solid. I don't really enjoy the Ms. Marvel character, but I enjoy her addition to the core story.

Glory Days #1: not for me

Guardians of the Galaxy #8: this is really good. digging it a lot.

House of X #2: weird. How long has this Moira X thing been going on?

Loki #2: sold on this series now.

Marvel Comics Presents #8: the Wolverine story is coming to a cool finale next issue. The Spider-Woman story was ok. The White Fox one was not.

Monster World: The Golden Age #2: This is stupid fun. Right up my alley in the way that I'm pissed I didn't have this exact idea.

Power Pack: Grow Up! #1: Not good. There's also not as lot for younger kids to get into I don't think. It's just a real bland story. I think back to Fantastic Four Adventures and how fun and smart and funny they were and I decry the modern era of superhero comics directed toward children. I really think that almost all of the big publishers could do a shit-ton more to make comic books that little kids will like. But this ain't it. Rant over, I guess. Haha! 

Powers of X #2, 3: Man, I really don't think I'm getting into this and am either wondering where I should skip forward to, or if I should just drop the idea of following X-Men comics period.

Punisher Kill Krew #1: This is so awesome. Frankencastle fun with a real heart. This spins out of War of the Realms where Punisher takes it on himself to avenge a network of survivors from the War of the Realms event. Kudos to Marvel for not just like "moving on" after thousands upon thousands of people in cities across the world were murdered by Norse mythological beings. Thousands of people in New York alone for sure. This is a brilliant way to use the Punisher in the MU with crossovers. They very often do him dirty that way if they involve him at all. He was a great character in the main story of War of the Realms too. But I've been screaming from the treetops about Matthew Rosenberg's Punisher, I gotta give it up to Gerry Duggan's Punisher too. Can't wait to finish this miniseries.

Punk Mambo #5: kind of a lacklustre end to a  miniseries I mostly enjoyed. It fizzled for me, I guess. How they failed to make a "Mambo No. 5" joke in this issue is fucking so beyond me, man.

Reaver #2:ok, I'm in. This is my kind of fantasy. It isn't even that grim-dark. Haha!

Road of Bones #4: kind of a ho-hum ending.

Second Coming #1, 2: God sends Jesus back down to hang out with a  superhero to help him learn to be better or whatever. I don't know. This feels like something Garth Ennis would do, but it has none of the bite.

Silver Surfer: The Prodigal Son #1: This was really fun. Time to see if I cannot the other tie-in issues  in order.

Strayed #1: Hey! Look at that! A sci fi comic I enjoy. In this, a woman creates a way to communicate with her cat and the cat having the superpower to travel through space  and times the stuff written on the inside of the cover. This gets right to it, and it's fucking wonderful, and if someone gave me 75 million to make a sci fi movie, it would be this, and I just read the first issue. 

• Issues: 120
• Trades: 0
• Omnibus: 2
• Graphic Novel: 2

[Dread]

Stronghold #5: this somehow turned into one of my favourite cosmic horror comics. Wild.

Superior Spider-Man #10: this series turned out to be so kickass. Great villain redemption arc throughout. Fantastic.

The Life and Death of Toyo Harada #6: A comic miniseries is definitely similar to a pulp novel in length and pacing. This mini is more like an epic novel in that aspect. There's so much story in 6 issues here that it's almost exhausting. Some turns I wouldn't have done, but I enjoyed it overall.

The Watcher #1: No thanks.

The White Trees #1: This is an interesting little fantasy mini. I think there's only two issues, so I'll definitely finish it.

Unearth #2: not my bag. I'm out.

Valkyrie: Jane Foster #2: excellent. I'm down for more.

Vampirella #2: This was pretty good.

House of X #3: This was better than earlier issues.

Ice Cream Man #14: damn. Going to have to turf a WIP after this one.

Justice League Dark #14: right out of the Lords of Order and right into the Witching War. It never relents! I love this series. 

Killers #2: really good. I didn't think we'd see all the Ninjas but it looks like they're trotting them all out. The living ones anyway.

Rising Stars #1-9: I tried to reread this series, but I absolutely cannot. Obtusely written, art like IMage-lite and completely derivative. Even by the standards of the time.

Mall #1: 80s gang warfare set in a mall. Ok first issue. I'll do one more.

Marvel Monsters #1: not good.

Necromancer's Map #1: not for me

Red Sonja and Vampirella Meet Betty and Veronica #3,4: this is still fun.

Resonant #2: its ok, but it isn't grabbing me. 

She-Hulk Annual #1:this was fine

Thanos #5: i have been really surprised by how much i enjoy this miniseries.

Tommy Gun Wizards #1: ok, this is kind of cool.

Alpha Flight True North #1: lovely little anthology series based around the most underrated hero team of all time.

Thor #15, 16: great stuff

Babyteeth #16: not sure where to go with this

Batman Universe #3: Not the hugest fan of Bendis' Batman voice, but the art is definitely ripping off Michael Allred and that's cool.

Batman vs R'as al Ghul #1: "Written and drawn by Neal Adams" on anything post 1980s should have been the first clue. Yikes.

Berserker Unbound #2: fun.

Black Hammer/Justice League: Hammer of Justice! #3: This was kind of fun.

Coffin Bound #2: nah....

Conan the Barbarian #9: Still so good.

Daredevil #11: fucking excellent.

Death-Defying Devil #2: this is turning out really interesting. Kind of a swerve from issue one, but I enjoyed it.

Doomsday Clock #11: Say what you will, this is one of the boldest and weirdest event miniseries that DC has ever done.

• Issues: 163
• Trades: 0
• Omnibus: 2
• Graphic Novel: 2

[Dread]

The Sensational She-Hulk by John Byrne Omnibus: Byrne's She' Hulk run is definitely ahead of its time with its reliance on breaking the fourth wall, constantly. It gets a little frustrating, but often it's fun. Lots of cheesecake here, but also it's quite clear that Byrne was getting design choices from actual fashion magazines. Of course, the weird part is he did issues 1-8 and then returned in issue 31. I think he was doing Namor at the time too which probably was a lot.

Namor, The Sub-Mariner Epic Collection Enter the Sub-Mariner: this collects all of Namor's Silver Age appearances in order which is pretty fun to read those. Issues of FF, Avengers, and Daredevil get their play. Then, it's topped off by the first run of Colan in Strange Tales. He's credited here as Adam Austin because (if I remember correctly) they poached him from DC when he was still under contract. It's the perfect made-up Stan Lee name.

Everything #1: I'm intrigued.

Gotham City Monsters #1: ok, I'll give it another.

Guardians of the Galaxy Prodigal Son #1: this was ok.

House of X #4:I loved this. The two miniseries are really weird to take in. Sometimes it's almost incomprehensibly condensed and at other times it's got some great moments. Lots of this issue was great moments.

Invisible Woman #3: Again: I like that this character is finally getting some solo love, but I'm kind of dumbfounded by the depowering the creative team has done. 

She-Hulk #47, 51-60:The last buffer issue and the finale of the series. Not great.

The Savage Dragon #260-1: it's interesting the way these characters are sort of being moved around. There's a lot of information to get out in an issue of this series because it basically encompasses a month on average.

King Thor #1: I fuck with this

Legion of Super-heroes Millennium #1: if this was anymore than two issues, I wouldn't be giving a second issue a try.

Birthright Vol 10. Epilogue: Goddamn. What a beautiful series. How rare for something so good to be able to ride out its whole story, telling one massive epic and original fantasy story. It's consistent throughout, and the art is fantastic. I teared up a couple times during the final issue.

The Complete Kirby War & Romance: this is a weird omnibus hardcover from Marvel collecting all the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby War and Romance comics from the Silver Age. I have to say, these romance stories don't have the electricity or dynamism of the ones that Kirby and Simon did in the fifties. They're bland, reaching back to those 50s stories and trying to make them more "hip" but they're just poor. When the page count jumps from 5 to 8 for each story, the quality doesn't improve, it just gets more melodramatic. The war stories, on the other hand, are for the most part very good. Many are taken from Kirby's actual experiences during the war (I notice he never told the one that was the fucking coolest but it's probably a little too hardcore for Silver Age readers). There's another that's like "the history of the submarine" which is only interesting because it's a manual drawn by Kirby. Weird. This also has all the Lee/Kirby Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos work, so it's worth it just for that too.

The Avengers Epic Collection Judgement Day: the best Avengers storyline of all time is Under Siege. This picks up right after that. Great longterm storytelling by the great Roger Stern, and I'll be damned if Tom Palmers finishes over John Buscema's breakdowns isn't the best fucking art ever. This also has the Avengers vs X-Men miniseries with very early Marc Silvestri art (prior to Uncanny X-Men) and that Emperor Doom graphic novel which I remember being better than it is.

• Issues: 183
• Trades: 1
• Omnibus: 6
• Graphic Novel: 2

[Dread]

History of the Marvel Universe: this is an attempt to do a modern History of the Dc Universe. Mark Waid is a good guy ton capture the kind of feel they're going for here. The realignment of the timeline by creating the fake War of Siancong to make a sliding index timeline going forward is something I've written about on Twitter, but it really is brilliant. That said, once it hits issue three, it gets a little boring with the age of the heroes. Then later on it just jumps from event to event. But the story between Franklin Richards and GHlaactus is interesting as it has a lot of compelling similarities to my overarching universe. I just happened to read this while beginning a bible of sorts for my own mythos which is sort of a Jack Kirby meets Clive barker kind of thing. Perfect time to read this.

X-Men Fatal Attractions Book One: I remember this storyline more as something with the X-Men versus the Acolytes but that's a tiny part of it. There's the Legacy Virus and Illyana and the Upstarts and Colossus's slow descent into joining Magneto. There's just a  lot included here. I don't know why we needed five issues of X-Factor to establish that they're not actually part of this storyline. Anyway, I'll give it a little while before tackling book two.

Lois Lane #3: this is ok

Loki #3:again, this is ok.

Midnight Vista #1: this was excellent. I am down.

Moon knight Annual 1: so this is an instalment in Acts of Evil which is an Acts of Vengeance rehash. Moon Knights across time versus Kang. Kind of fun.

Old Man Quill #9: still great

Pandemica #1: not for me.

Powers of X #4: this was good.

Punisher Kill Krew #2: fuck this was fantastic. Ferreyra's art is brilliant.

Reaver #3: I'm done with this one.

• Issues: 192
• Trades: 2
• Omnibus: 7
• Graphic Novel: 2

[Dread]

Riddler Year of the Villain #1: Is King Tut in the canon DCU? I wasn't aware. This was kind of fun.

Savage Avengers #5: this series is so fucking good.

Something is Killing the Children #1: hell of a first issue

The Punisher #15: fuck. so good. Rosenberg, man.

Triage #1: not my thing

Vampirella-Red Sonja #1: this is a fun setup.

Web of Black Widow #1: now this is more like it. This is great!

Black Hammer Age of Doom #12: this series was about 6 issues too long.

Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda #1: this is pretty dicey, but I dig "random character" mashup series, so I'll read a little more.

Dead Man Logan #11: oh man. This is going to end extremely well methinks. Great ride so far.

Flash Forward #1: no thanks.

G. I. Joe #1: So I think this is a near-future thing, but definitely an Elseworlds thing. It's a fun first issue. 

Guardians of the Galaxy #9: this is some wild shit. I love it.

Hellboy and the BPRD Saturn Returns #s 1,2: This is really cool. More the Hellboy storyline. Not so into the Liz one.

House of X #5: this is fully weird. Not great. Just weird. It's interesting.

Inferior Five #1: This is fucking wild. Keith Giffen and Jeff Lemire.In no way is this what you suspect.

Killers #3: yeah, this is really solid.

Lex Luthor Year of the Villain #1: this is a little exhausting.This type of story. It's overused in comics.

Monster World-The Golden Age #3: still really weird and good.

Second Coming #3: I'm done with this.

Spider-Man #1: the series that JJ Abrams and his son wrote, and all I have to say is WTF? No thanks.

Strayed #2: and I'm out.

The Black Ghost #1: Don't like this art.

Valkyrie- Jane Foster #3: still good.

Vampirella #3: lots of Vampirella comics out there. This run isn't very good. I'm out.

You Are Obsolete #1: not enough interest for me to continue. Do not dig the art.

Batman/Superman #2: this is pretty cool thus far.

Captain America #14: This one was a dud.

Fearless #3:as always, the main story is really great and the backups are not.

Justice League Dark #15: still excellent.

Mall #2: This doesn't feel like it's going anywhere. Don't end a first issue on a cliffhanger showing the premise of the whole book and then follow it up with some boring-ass office shit. Ugh. Wasted potential.

Marvel Comics Presents #9: Hey, Wolverine has been the lead story in this whole series but we need more pages to finish the story so there's only room for one more story, so who should it be for? Wolverine again? Great idea.

New Mutants: War Children #1:Claremont and Sienkiewicz reread for this one shot. Not great. Art is fantastic.Obviously.

Powers of X #5: this is my favourite issue of this series. Maybe even the whole event. The future stuff is boring and lame to me. This is the shit I want.

Punisher Kill Crew #3: Holy fuck. You've got to be kidding me. Last issue,

Spoiler

Punisher rescued and drafted Foggy Nelson to join his war against monsters from the War of the Realms. This issue, they did the same for Juggernaut.

This is the best road-trip comic book ever. Especially since it's Thor's goat that's pulling Punisher's van through space and shit. This is Frankencastle levels of fun and craziness.

Queen of Bad Dreams #4: nope

SFSX #1: Great first issue. I'm intrigued.

Strikeforce #1: This one was a little clunky, but this group of characters will have me coming back for more.

Superior Spider-Man #11: still so good. I'm even gonna go back and read the Slott stuff after I finish the next issue.

Thanos #6: Decent ending. The whole series was kind of a big nothing though.

The Plot #1: Holy shit, this is good. Even though it's pretty close to a novel WIP I've got, I still enjoy it.

The White Trees #2: Great little two issue story.

Tommy Gun Wizards #2: still kind of cool.

Wolverine Annual 1: this is another Acts of Evil thing which is a pale comparison to Acts of Vengeance. This has Logan vs Morgana Le Fay in 1938 Hollywood. Not as good as that premise sounds.

Berserker Unbound #3: shit is happening now.

Bizarre Adventures #1: This was fun.

Black Terror #1: This was awful.

Daredevil #12: Fucking amazing Kingpin issue.

• Issues: 240
• Trades: 2
• Omnibus: 7
• Graphic Novel: 2

[Dread]

Everything #2: This series is hanging on a thread for me

Grendel Devil's Odyssey #1: I'm not vibing with this. 

House of X #6: This was the best issue of this event so far.

Legion of Super-Heroes Millennium #2: this was awful.

Lois Lane #4: the best issue of this series so far.

Murder Falcon #7: kind of beautiful.

Old Man Quill #10: still good

Savage Avengers #6: this series fucking rules.

• Issues: 248
• Trades: 2
• Omnibus: 7
• Graphic Novel: 2

[Missy]

Six-month check-in.

Chris Claremont X-Men Books
- Giant-Size X-Men #1
- X-Men / Uncanny X-Men #94-161
- X-Men Annual #3-5
- Classic X-Men #1-44
- Phoenix: The Untold Story
- Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans
- Iron Fist #14-15
- Marvel Team-Up #69-70, 89, 100
- Spider-Woman #37-38
- Avengers Annual #10
- Marvel Fanfare #1

My big reading project of the year was set to be finally digging into Chris Claremont’s X-Men run (and related issues), which what you see here. I took a breather after a month or so, because it was the only comic I was focused on and needed to step back for fear of overwhelming myself with too much X-Men.

These aren’t always the best, but where Claremont is on fire, it is the best. The character work is groundbreaking, and it’s fascinating to see where some of the longer-running X-Men stories began. For instance, Jean and Logan is not a thing. At all. Yeah, he’s into her and gets super creepy at the start, but Jean absolutely puts Logan in his place and he backs the fuck off. Further, his so-called feud with Scott, at least at this point, is not a thing at all. It took a while, but Logan has come to accept Scott as the leader and as a friend.

Everything with Piotr is just the best.

Fantastic Four Books
- Fantastic Four #30-175
- Fantastic Four Annual #2-6, 11
- Giant-Size Super-Stars / Fantastic Four #1-4
- Fantastic Four: The Lost Adventure
- Avengers #127
- Marvel Two-in-One #20
- Marvel Two-in-One Annual #1

Summing up the bulk of the Lee / Kirby run, as well as those that came after in a forum post wouldn’t do anything justice, but this book hit an amazing run from the mid-30s to 70s. Like, absolutely epic comics. We also get Sue and Reed’s marriage, the birth of Franklin, their near divorce, my insistence Sue absolutely went to town on Namor’s cock while she and Reed were separated. We also see the formation and ending of Johnny and Crystal, as well the her marriage to Quicksilver, the introduction of Black Panther, some epic Doctor Doom stories, Galactus, and JFC this is just as goo as everyone says.

Ric Grayson Books
- Batman #54-55, 99-100
- Nightwing #50-77
- Nightwing Annual #2-3
- Batman: Pennyworth RIP
- Red Hood: Outlaw #48

UGH! What started out weak slowly crept into “okay” territory, but ended with Dick regaining his memories via a magic crystal and the power of love. No. Thank. You.

Defenders Books
- Marvel Feature #1-3
- The Defenders #1-3

Felt like finally trying to get into this not-a-team comic, and it’s fine but not for me. It doesn’t have a voice at this point.

Shadow War Books
- Shadow War: Alpha
- Batman #122-123
- Deathstroke Inc. #8-9
- Robin #13-14
- Shadow War Zone
- Shadow War: Omega

Deathstroke is framed for the murder of Ra’s al Ghul, triggering a war between global assassins. It’s actually fun.

Martian Manhunter Solo Stories
- Batman #78 (1940)
- Detective Comics #225-236

I’m a long time J’onn J’onzz fan, so I thought I’d take a look at his solo stories in chronological order. After a year of stories, there’s no solid ground underneath the character. No recurring characters of note, no consistent use of his powers or type of story. They are all over the place here.

Amazing Spider-Man #84: This was probably part of the Beyond storyline, which was fine for a little while.

Batman / Superman: World's Finest #1-4 (2022): Simply amazing.

Batman: Gotham Adventures #33: Bruce gets to see what life would be like if the bat never flew through is window. Strong stuff.

DC Pride: Tim Drake Special: A collecting of Tim’s coming out as bi stories and one new tale. Would have liked a bit more, to tell the truth.

Fantastic Four: Life Story #1-2: Not for me, as it skips way too many character moments for bigger beats.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1 (2019): A strong start to a 14-issue run.

Jonah Hex #6 (2006): More of a Spectre story, IIRC.

Maniac of New York: The Bronx is Burning #1-4: A sequel to the Jason Takes Manhattan tribute, but very hard to read considering the recent school shooting.

Marauders #1-27: Kitty leads a team of ass-kickers. Fun, but lost its way / focus by the end.

Nightwing #88-93 (2016): Every panel is a joy.

Reckoning War: Trial of The Watcher: Makes me want to read the eventual collection.

Rima, the Jungle Girl #1-2: Wanted to try something new. Well, it’s from the 1970s, but new and different to me.

Robin #10-12: These are exceptionally quick reads, and will be meatier in the trades.

Showcase #6: Challengers of the Unknown, baby!

Superman '78 #6: Made with pure love.

Superman #125 (1939): Bonkers.

Superman: Son of Kal-El #6-12: Consistently one of the best books out there.

World's Finest Comics #146-147: Missed my boys.

 

TOTAL
January to June: 418

[Donomark]

On 6/30/2022 at 8:48 PM, Missy said:

 

DC Pride: Tim Drake Special: A collecting of Tim’s coming out as bi stories and one new tale. Would have liked a bit more, to tell the truth.

 

To be honest the recent stories with Tim discovering his sexuality haven't been perfect. Right off the bat, the off-panel break-up with Stephanie comes out of nowhere because the last two times he majorly appeared were in Tynion's Detective Comics run and Brian Michael Bendis' Young Justice, and both were heavy with Tim/Steph shipping. I think the issues where he's dealing with a lot in his head are solid, and the follow-up with Batman is good. But Tim is a very thoroughly written character, who has a lot of deep characterization to take from. I think Fitzmartin is putting her best foot forward, but there's dramatic potential still untapped. For instance Stephanie never had to be any kind of phobic to feel mad at how Tim treated her. Her "No big deal" behavior when meeting Bernard rang untrue.

[Dread]

Superman Funeral For a Friend: This is the whole omnibus collecting this post-Superman's Dead event. Some of it is pretty heartfelt and they do a pretty good job depicting the kind of mourning that might happen if someone like Superman were to die. I do have a feeling though that perhaps they didn't really know just how long they were supposed to keep this going. I mean, the Return of the Supermen happens right after this, so there must have been some coordinated effort across all these monthly titles and one shots. Some of it just feels very clipped. 

Strange Skies over East Berlin #1: not really my thing.

• Issues: 249
• Trades: 2
• Omnibus: 8
• Graphic Novel: 2

 

[Missy]

20 hours ago, Donomark said:

To be honest the recent stories with Tim discovering his sexuality haven't been perfect. Right off the bat, the off-panel break-up with Stephanie comes out of nowhere because the last two times he majorly appeared were in Tynion's Detective Comics run and Brian Michael Bendis' Young Justice, and both were heavy with Tim/Steph shipping. I think the issues where he's dealing with a lot in his head are solid, and the follow-up with Batman is good. But Tim is a very thoroughly written character, who has a lot of deep characterization to take from. I think Fitzmartin is putting her best foot forward, but there's dramatic potential still untapped. For instance Stephanie never had to be any kind of phobic to feel mad at how Tim treated her. Her "No big deal" behavior when meeting Bernard rang untrue.

Tim's treatment of Steph is super shitty, yet it made me want to see this story take place in a Tim ongoing -- if that makes sense. I wanted more meat on the bone; the break-up, the beginning of the ghosting, Tim's inner turmoil, him beginning to question his sexuality more and more, his "coworkers" starting to get all "WTF call Steph" on him, then his reconnecting with Bernard, and the rest we saw from there. The team did a solid job with what little space they had, but I'm always going to want longer Tim Drake stories.

[Dread]

The Punisher #16: end to a definitive run on the character. Perfect throughout.

Vengeance of Vampirella #1: Sniegoski picks up where he left off 25 years ago or so and it's...ok.

Batman Universe #4: dumb fun

Black Adam Year of the Villain #1: awful

Black Hammer/Justice League Hammer of Justice! #4: this is pretty middle of the road.

Black Panther And the Agents of Wakanda #2: I'm out. This is awful.

Butcher Queen #1: not for me

Captain America #15: This entire run by Coates is pretty ho-hum. A couple great memo nets, but a lot of mediocrity in-between.

Crazy #1: awful

Cult Classic Creature Feature #1: also not good

Death Defying Devil #3: not sure where the fuck this is headed. Interested.

Doctor Doom #1: What a brilliant first issue for a Doom series. Loved it.

Fearless #4: like the entire series, only the first story is worth reading, and in this issue, not even that.

Jessica Farm vols 1 and 2: Josh Simmons has quickly become my favourite living cartoonist. I just wish more of his stuff was in print.These books are an experiment in nihilistic creepiness (like everything he does).  Vol 1 was drawn one page per month between January 2000 and December 2007. Vol 2 was January 2008-December 2015. Volume 3 is on its way in 2024. haha! Good shit.

Fine Print vol 1: this is the newest Stjepan Sejic book that also deals a lot with sex, but this time it's succubi and angels and not BDSM.

Pulp: a graphic novel about an old cowboy who writes semiautobiographical pulp stories about his youthful exploits for a living. This is another Brubaker/Phillips joint in case the description didn't clue you in.

Daredevil Epic Collection Last Rites: this is the end of the Nocenti run and the beginning of Chichester's. Neither are very great. It does have the fun Punisher issue versus Tombstone and Taskmaster and the Last Rites storyline which is pretty great. But, damn near 400 pages of Lee Weeks art makes it worth the read.

Captain America Epic Collection Captain America Lives Again: this collects the beginning of the silver age run. It actually starts with the Strange Tales (I think?) story where Human Torch meets a guy in a Captain America costume to see if the readers wanted a Cap return. The next appearances was Avengers 4. It starts off on the Tales to Astonish stuff in the modern day, but it is ROUGH. Then Lee and Kirby figure it out and take him back to WW2 with Bucky to establish some action and adventure. They manage to eventually introduce some villains here. Batroc and MODOK are the ones with lasting power. They reintroduce Red Skull of course as well. Once the WW2 recap stuff gets done and he's in the modern day with those 10 page stories, it starts to hit hard. Good stuff.

Avengers Epic Collection This Beachhead Earth: it isn't popular but I don't enjoy this run. I don't enjoy this lineup. I also don't like Black Panther as an Avenger. His issues were the best of this collection. That should say enough.

Eternals Omnibus: this collects the entire Kirby series, the What If? backups, the Gillis miniseries and a bunch of one shots. The Kirby stuff is wild. Admittedly, it's a project of his I haven't really resonated with personally, though I'm a huge fan of the ideas at play. Even still, no one other than Kirby can do Eternals to any positive effect.

Avengers/Dr. Strange: Rise of the Darkhold: This is basically a compendium of all of the appearances of the Darkhold before the Midnight Sons run of the 90s. It has its ups and downs. Many of the issues are Avengers issues that are of varying quality but they're better than the Dr. Strange issues which are pretty rough. The Journey Into Mystery or Marvel Chillers stuff or whatever the titles were are the best part of the collection.

Avengers/X-Men Bloodties: been meaning to reread this for years. What a weird time for both teams . The X-Men were coming to the end of their unstoppable popularity and the Avengers can't seem to get off the ground in the 90s. As such, it's very uneven. Some good, more bad though. 

Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sin Complete Collection: the art in this book was never good. The writing has its moments. Also, kind of the last time that a book like this will ever get made. In the 90s Marvel went all in on their horror properties, but for one to not even feature one of those main characters (Ghost Rider, Morris, Blade, Blaze, Strange) to last so long is crazy.

Dr. Strange Into the Dark Dimension: this early 80s stuff is mostly forgettable. Great artwork from Paul Smith, reminding me of Simonson at the time.

Doomwar: this reads like a Jeph Loeb miniseries, in that it doesn't make much sense and seems to exist solely to feature a bunch of high profile guest stars. In this case, Black Panther, FF and the X-Men. Times were weird.

• Issues: 262
• Trades: 5
• Omnibus: 14
• Graphic Novel: 6

[Dread]

Punisher MAX #1-22: this is the Jason Aaron/Steve Dillon run. Having SD on art definitely brings the tone a little closer to the Marvel KNights Ennis stuff, but the overall feel is a mix of that and the Ennis MAX run. Aaron uses this MAX series to have an elderly Punisher meet a brand new Kingpin (Fisk) and also features Bullseye and Elektra. It's pretty fucking fantastic, actually.

Wynd #1: based on the cover art, I wasn't too interested, but it is by Tynion and I think I've liked everything I've read of his. It was the art that did it to me. Too cartoony for me.

Justice League Dark #16-22: still one of the best books Dc  has put out in years. I would love to write a Shadowpact/JL Dark series more than anything else, and this desire is only increasing.

Titans Together #1: this is...not good.

The Cimmerian: Red Nails #1: so, I think that Conan has gone into the public domain in Europe. And they can make euro-comics as long as they don't put his name on the cover. And it's fucking rad. This is the first issue adapting my (probably) favourite of Howard's Conan stories and it looks beautiful (SLIGHTLY cartoonish, but they draw it back and keep it textured with an almost watercolor sheen). It's even got the square word balloons! I'm in love. 

Something is Killing the Children vol 1: this series is so fucking good. Time to catch up!

All America Comix #1: No thanks.

Bleed Them Dry #1: Also no thanks.

Old Haunts #1: This was really good. I'm down for more.

Something is Killing the Children #6-8: fuck this is great.

Justice League Dark #23: still great

That Texas Blood #1: solid first issue. I'm down for a little more.

Empyre #0: Avengers: ok, I'm down for this crossover.

Empyre #0: Fantastic Four: also great.

The Grievling #1: kind of cool. Don't really like the whole two issue miniseries thing, but I'll read #2.

Empyre #1: so good.

Giant Size X-Men Magneto #1: ok, this was fun.

Shazam LIghtning Strikes #1: this was pretty fun.

The Cimmerian Red Nails #2: great end to this story. Need to get my hands on the other series.

Bliss #1: this was pretty good. I'll check out more.

Empyre X-Men #1: ok, this kicked ass too.

Batman - The Smile Killer #1: just quit it with the "he's just Bruce Wayne in a  mental institution" stories. Fuck sake.

World's Finest - Batwoman and Supergirl #1: awful.

Titans Together #2: ok, hell no.

Mortis #1: great art. hard to follow story.

Sacred Six #1: I'm out.

Snake Eyes Deadgame #1: Liefeld's Snake-Eyes series. Awful.

Supernaut #1: this should be right up my alley, and it...isn't. One more issue.

God. Awful little chunk this evening.

• Issues: 318
• Trades: 6
• Omnibus: 14
• Graphic Novel: 6

[Dread]

Empyre: Avengers #1: This is good shit

Empyre #2-4: see above

Justice League Dark #24: still great

Lords of Empyre: Emperor Hulkling #1: not the best single issue, but whatever

The Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes #1: this is weird and cool. Not a huge fan of the art.

Empyre: Captain America #1, 2: good shit

Empyre: Savage Avengers #1: Venom and Conan the Fucking Barbarian murder plant people and then have tacos. Conan learns from a dying farmer how to use his combine before he dies. Haha! Amazing.

Lost Soldiers #1: Intense. I'm in.

That Texas Blood #2: This is great.

X of Swords: Creation #1: ugh. I've been reading lots of X-men comics, but I still feel lost. Why are we in Otherworld now? 

Maestro #1, 2: this is surprisingly good.

Giant-Size X-Men: Storm #1: decent

Iron Man #1: this was really good.

Batman: The Hill #1: Loved the art. Very McCrea. The story was awful though.

Patriotika #1: just godawful.

That Texas Blood #3: this is really solid

Lords of Empyre: Swordsman #1: i totally missed the whole thing where Swordsman's corpse was possessed by a Cotati vegetable man. This is news to me. But it's weird and cool.

Empyre Avengers #2: Scarlet Witch, Man-Thing, Kazar...hell of an Avengers lineup.

Lost Soldiers #2: still intense.

Grendel, Kentucky #1: wow, this was fun.

Fire Power vol 1 Prelude: a graphic novel first volume in a Kirkman/Samnee kung fu series. The art is gorgeous (obviously) but the story is just a connect the dots of every kung fu cliche of the past 60 years.

Vampirella Trial fo the Soul: feels like a "pilot in a one shot" but I enjoyed it. These Vampi comics are wildly inconsistent in story quality, but this seemed decent. I'd read a bit more if there was some.

That Texas Blood #4: Fucking great.

Supernaut #2: can't do this unfortunately. Great ideas. Muddled and incomprehensible final product. I was originally pissed they got to this title before me, but it will still be used. My idea is better.

Fishkill #1: seems like it's trying to be Fell REALLY badly.

Empyre #5: how did I not see this twist coming?

Dark Knight Returns The Golden Child: Jesus fuck...

Batman Three Jokers #1: hmmm...interesting. Fabok's art will bring me back for more.

Vampire: The Masquerade Winter's Teeth #1: solid.

The Batman's Grave: Complete Collection: yes...Warren Ellis...but! Bryan Hitch with Kevin Nowlan inks? Hell yeah. The story here is basically one 12 issue discussion on whether Batman should kill with Bruce and Alfred. Alfred is for it! Until he isn't! Not breaking any new ground here. But it's beautiful.

Captain America Epic Collection Arena of Death: whatever Marvel did to Rik Levins should be investigated by the Human Rights Commission. His Image wannabe style here is godawful. The art highlights are the stupid 93 Annual where they introduced the augmented new hero, the rooster-themed super boxer, Bantam. That and the US Agent miniseries is really good. The Cap stuff if godawful both art and writing. sad to say. There's only one more Epic Collection worth of Gruenwald's writing left to come to finish the 137 issue run. I'll happily gulp it down.

• Issues: 350
• Trades: 7
• Omnibus: 15
• Graphic Novel: 7

[Dread]

X-Men #10: this was just ok.

The Rise of Ultraman #1: this was not even ok. I had high hopes.

Sun-Eater #1: pretty good. I'll do more.

Vampire The Masquerade: Winter's Teeth #2: not as good as the first issue. Not as bad as to make me give up.

Bliss #2: still weird and cool.

Empire Captain America #3: these are great little tie-in series

Batman: Three Jokers #2: weird, but I'm enjoying it. Really for Fabok's art more than anything. Very much got some Doug Mahnke meets Gary Frank vibes.

Old Haunts #2: loving this

Lords of Empyre: Celestial Messiah #1: this is an event low-point, but it's a pretty good event.

Empyre Avengers #3: see the Cap comment. 

X-Factor #1: This was nauseating. Hate the team, hate the tone. Really disappointed. I'm trying really hard to get back into X-men but it's like it's actively trying to make it difficult.

Empyre X-men #2, 3: still, this was good.

Legacy of Mandrake the Magician #0: Someone REALLY wants to write Zatanna.

Justice League Dark #25: fucking still so great.

Heavy #1: I love the idea. I don't know about the storytelling.

Empyre #6: This had a transcendently awesome moment. That's what people really remember from these things. Captain America gets to have them more than anyone else, but they're usually pretty good. So is this one. 

You Look Like Death Tales from the Umbrella Academy #1: no thanks

The Angels Wanna Wear my Red Shoes #2: exactly the same feelings as the first issue. I'll continue, but it isn't because of the art.

Something is Killing the Children #9: still great.

Hellblazer Rise and Fall #1: fun first instalment. 

Firepower #1: I don't know how long I'll be able to continue with this. I get it and it's beautiful, but I find it difficult to care.

Cimmerian People of the Black Circle #1: I will say no to manga Conan.

Giant Size X-men Fantomex #1: I guess this one takes place before the Storm one. It was good. I've read at least thirty issues of X-books with Fantomex in them, but if you put a gun to my head and told me to tell you his mutant power, I absolutely could not.

Empyre Fallout Fantastic Four #1: This was excellent. Really beautiful stuff. And ends with a holy shit moment. I'm interested to look back and see if that's been followed up on yet. This book is two years old. 

Old Haunts #3,4: this is great.

X-Men #11: While I mostly have no idea what is really going on, this series is good.

Firepower #2,3: still good. I guess I'm in!

Web of Venom Wraith #1: This was fucking cool. Cosmic horror to the gills. I'll have to read more.

Bliss #3: still great.

Something is killing the children #10: fucking fantastic.

X-Men Marvels Snapshots #1: a fucking GREAT Cyclops origin-adjacent story.

X-Men #12: Apocalypse has ANOTHER kid I never knew about.

Fantastic Four Antithesis #1, 2: Mark Waid and Neal Adams on FF is worth it. Adams' work is tight and really good. You can tell that he went to Marvel and was like "I want to draw Galactus and Annihilus. Make that happen." Not a bad swan song, so far.

Fearless Dawn Meets Hellboy: this is the first I've read of FD and I don't see myself reading any more.

Empyre Aftermath Avengers #1: this might contain the first ever gay Jewish space wedding, so that's pretty cool. It's also an excellent story. Some great moments.

Empyre X-Men #4: out of all the tie-ins, this one is probably the worst. It isn't that bad though.

Justice League Dark #26: Still so fucking excellent

Firepower #4: great

Legend of the Swamp Thing Halloween Spectacular #1:'tis the season. This is from 2 years ago. haha! So behind!

Lost Soldiers #3: intense still, but there isn't a lot of...story cohesion.

DC The Doomed and The Damned: another Halloween thing from two years ago. This was pretty solid. More than half the stories were good. That's solid for these.

DIE!namite #1: This is the Marvel Zombies of the Dynamite comics extended universe of property comics and I am here for it.

Grendel, Kentucky #2: this wasn't as good as the first issue, but I'll keep going.

Rorschach #1: fucking great

The Devil's Red Bride #1: Cool premise, but not for me.

The Vain #1: Fine. But not for me.

Vampire The Masquerade Winter's Teeth #3: ok, I'm out. This is going nowhere.

Iron Man #2: ok, this is fucking cool.

Maestro #3: this is wild.

Madam Satan #1: was this a pilot issue? Not great.

Something is Killing the Children #11: probably my favourite comic right now.

Werewolf By Night #1: this was alright. I'll check out another.

X-Men #13: ok, still a littler bewildered, but this was a good issue. I am always a sucker for Apocalypse's long and weird and constantly growing ancient history.

Batman Three Jokers #3: this was pretty solid.

Bliss #4: still pretty good.

Colonel Weird Cosmogog #1: really good.

Fantastic Four Antithesis #3: haha! Ok, I was gonna drop this, but I need to see the fourth issue now with that cliffhanger. Ridiculous.

Giga #1: pure boredom

Heavy #2: ok, I'm out.

Justice League Dark #27: fucking wild.

Old Haunts #5: pretty solid ending

Sympathy for no Devils #1: not for me

X of Swords Stasis #1: Jesus none of this makes any sense. What were they thinking at the X office?

• Issues: 417
• Trades: 7
• Omnibus: 15
• Graphic Novel: 7

[Dread]

Wolverine: Black White & Blood #1: This was quite good. I'm impressed.

DIE!namite #2: This is stupid fun. I am digging it big time.

Cutting Edge: The Siren's Song #1: distinct feeling I've read this before and didn't like it. I still feel the same.

Hellboy and the BPRD The Seven Wives Club: I think I've read enough Hellboy. I just discovered that. So many of his adventures are like "show up, beat up a ghost, damage some local architecture, manage to stumble into way to beat the threat. Repeat.

Iron Man #3: this is really good.

Miskatonic #1: I spent the whole issue on the edge of yes/no because it really reminded me of Alan Moore's Providence #1 (awful), but then the ending makes me want to read more.

Scarenthood #1: This is fun. Took  few pages for me to get into the art, but this would make a great movie.

Taskmaster #1: It's too jokey for my tastes. I just dig this character a lot.

A Dark Interlude #1: Oh right, the sequel to Fearscape. I liked Fearscape, but I'm done with that world. I don't need more.

Barbalien Red Planet #1: this is probably the best of the Black Hammer stuff that I've read since the original mini.

Dark Wing #1: Not for me.

Grendel, Kentucky #3: ready for hell to break loose next issue

Action Comics Annual #6: from 1994 for a new exclusive podcast on my Patreon.

Marvel's Voices indigenous Voices #1: anthologies are almost guaranteed to be more bleh than good and this is that. However, I really wanted to read this for Stephen Graham Jones first comic book work, and I was not disappointed. An obvious high point in this otherwise lacklustre anthology.

Rorschach #2: this is quite good.

Sea of Sorrows #1: hmm...I'll give it one more.

Grendel, Kentucky #4: kind of a disappointing ending, but a fun series overall. It just pales in comparison to something similar like...

Something Is Killing the Children #12: Still the best.

Savage Circus #1: I see what they're doing, but I don't need more.

Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black #1: ok...not exactly sure what's going on, but I liked it.

Widowmakers Red Guardian and Yelena Belova #1: fun one shot.

Justice League Dark #28: still amazing

Colonel Weird: Cosmogog #2: this is very cool.

Fantastic Four Antithesis #4: What a weird fun romp. Decent goodbye for Neal Adams

Marvel #1: Like any anthology, it's mostly bad.

I Walk With Monsters #1: pretty good. I'll try more.

Maestro #4: is this just the origin of Maestro? I feel like we got that in the original story. Didn't we? I don't remember. Oh well, this is good.

Firepower #5, 6: this just got ratcheted up. I love it.

Marvel #2: ok, this one was pretty good. 

Power Pack #1: pass. I'm glad they're making books for kids, but has anybody told the kids?

Werewolf By Night #2: ok this is awful.

E-Ratic #1: usually I would like to be clued in to what the fuck is going on by the end of a first issue, but Kaare Andrews rarely disappoints, so I'll give this more. Looks beautiful and is very intriguing.

Hellboy and the BPRD Her Fatal Hour and the Sending: this was decent. I know I said no more Helllboy, but I wasn't going to trash the ones I already had. The second story was really good. The first was forgettable.

Justice League Endless Winter #1: this was alright.

King in Black #1: fuck! Cates, man. I HAVE to go back and read that whole Carnage run. Wew are simpatico on storytelling, I think. I also created a character of similar standing with the exact same name (Knull) but I suppose I could just change it a tiny bit more and keep it. This is rad. I'm down for the whole thing.

Knock Em Dead #1: wow. Fucking cool idea. I wish I'd thought of it.

Knull: Marvel Tales #1: this was very helpful to bring me up to speed on him, but I think KiB did it in flashback really well too.

X of Swords: Destruction #1: this was kind of cool. The Captain Britain Corps is cool to see, but it should have been drawn by Alan Davis.

X-Men #15: this was alright.

Fantastic Four Road Trip #1: a fun body horror romp. 

MODOK Head Games #1: this is the THIRD MODOK-related release with this title in the past three years. It isn't great for branding. But I think they went a little overboard with the goofiness, but it still balanced everything else pretty well. It's definitely a sequel to the animated show. Interesting.

Red Atlantis #2: this was the holy fuck moment.

That Texas Blood #6: I just figured it out. This is Criminal if done by Jason Aaron. That's the vibe. This was a gut punch.

The Union #1: ok, this is weird. No denying that one of the absolute greatest costume designs of all time is Union Jack (and Captain Britain as well!), but this kind of smells. I'll give it one more.

Batman Black & White #1: you know...it was pretty good, but I think it was too long. It had me boringly flipping through JH Williams art. 

• Issues: 463
• Trades: 7
• Omnibus: 15
• Graphic Novel: 7

[Dread]

Crossover #2:this is just really wild and again...Donny Cates. 

Home Sick Pilots #1: I'm not entirely convinced but I like the storytelling, so I'll go one more.

King in Black Namor #1: this is a young Namor story and I am here for it.

Locke & Key/Sandman: Hell & Gone #1: No. I'm good.

Piecemeal: cool little horror sci fi one shot.

Red Sonja Price of Blood #1: not liking this one.

Scarenthood #2: tonally this is losing me. 

SWORD #1: did not light me on fire.

Superman Endless Winter Special #1: also not great.

The Cimmerian The Frost-Giant's Daughter #1: Holy shit. Beautiful. This is a winner from these "Conan is Public Domain in Europe and we can sell comics as long as we don't put the name Conan on the cover" books.

Vampirella The Dark Powers #1: ehh...I'll go one more. 

DIE!namite #3: really fun.

Iron Man #4: this is surprisingly good.

King in Black The Immortal Hulk #1: fun little reminder of how good that series was.

Miskatonic #2: this is turning out really good

Post Americana #1: wow. This was fucking nuts. Steve Skroce is back y'all!

Barbalien Red Planet #2: This is still really good.

Rorschach #3: great issue

Symbiote Spider-Man King in Black #2: this is fun.

Taskmaster #2: fucking great issue

Teen Titans Endless Winter #1:mediocre is the name of the game with this crossover

Wolverine Black White and Blood #2: another good issue. Only one bad story.

Black Adam Endless Winter #1: same as the TT issue

Justice League Dark #29: this is a tie-in to Endless Winter, but - in JLD fashion - it is way better.

Maestro #5: ok. That's exactly what it is.

King in Black #2: cool.

King-Size Conan #1: another anthology issue, this time, I think you could argue that every story was pretty good.

Marvel #3: this was awful.

Sea of Sorrows #2: i should drop it, but maybe one more.

Scarenthood #3: I'm only reading one more because it is the last one.

Something is Killing the Children #13: Still fucking great.

The Picture of Everything Else #1: I really thought this was going one way, but it went a little bit differently of a way. It didn't blow me away, but I'll read another.

U.S. Agent #2: Priest on US Agent sounds like a slam dunk But the story doesn't feel like it's left the ground yet. And this art is not food in any way.

Colonel Weird: Cosmagog #3: fucking weird and great.

Ghost Rider: Return of Vengeance #1: this was awful.

I Walk with Monsters #2: this is a slow burn but I'm kind of digging it.

Justice League Endless Winter #2: pretty mediocre DC event. Felt very early aughts.

King in Black Iron Man & Doctor Doom #1: Iron Man and Doctor Doom battle a symbiote infected Santa Claus. Yes. You read that right. It's pretty funny. I don't like Doctor Doom being used for comedy, but in the past few weeks I've read this and an issue where Doom fights Spider-Man and the Thing for a cannoli. I liked them both.

King in Black Namor #2: i don't really get how this is a tie-in as it takes place when Namor was a kid which is like 100 years ago. It's good though.

Lost Soldiers #5: this didn't hold together so well.

X-Men #16: this was good. I enjoy reading things I can understand.

Crossover #3: fucking great.

Batman annual #18: another for my patreon podcast

Eternals #1: well, look at that! Someone did Eternals right! Kudos to Kieron Gillen. And the Esad Ribic art is gorgeous.

Future State Harley Quinn #1: ok, so Harley is Hannibal Lectering for the authority that has taken over Batman to hunt down other Batman Rogues

Firepower #7: great issue. The kids are getting kind of annoying.

Future State Swamp Thing #1: this is where I realized this Future State thing is more like the 1994 Elseworlds Annual event which I'm working through right now.

Future State Superman of Metropolis #1: this was probably the second to the bottom of the list of these. Dull. But interesting ideas.

Future State Flash #1: this was quite good. 

Future State The Next Batman #1: ok, so this one is tied in with Harley, so considering the Gotham series starts and lasts a long time, I'm guessing all the Batman stuff is contained.

Future State Wonder Woman #1: So she's a girl...in the Amazon basin? This is the worst of them. It's the only one I won't be reading the second issue of.

Generations Shattered #1: this was excellent. Really impressive fluidity considering there's like thirty artists on this book. Felt exciting. Zero Hour/Avengers Forever. Interesting.

Iron Man #5: this is still great.

House of El: Book One: hard pass.

• Issues: 517
• Trades: 7
• Omnibus: 15
• Graphic Novel: 7

[Dread]

Savage Avengers #7-16: Just wanted to take a crack at catching up. This is a great series.

King in Black Return of the Valkyries #1: this was ok. Probably the worst of the KIB tie-ins I've read. Still not bad.

MODOK Head Games #2: this is ridiculous and fun. I like the team-up with Iron Man.

Symbiote Spider-Man King in Black #3: great!

Chris Claremont Anniversary Special #1: woof. This is awful.

E-Ratic #2: this blew open. Really good.

Future State Dark Detective #1: we really don't need this after the other Bat-books I've read in this line.

Future State Justice League #1: really not good. I think maybe I hate any of these that feature this new Wonder Woman for some reason. Haha!

Future State Green Lantern #1: wow...this reads like a really good Green Lantern Quarterly from the 90s. Tom Raney art *chef kiss*

Knock 'Em Dead #2: what a sad turn for the second issue. Loved the first. This one was barely readable.

Scouts Honor #1: Not my bag.

Future State Kara Zor-El, Superwoman #1: not worth the time reading it.

Future State Robin Eternal #1: slightly interested.

Future State Superman/Wonder Woman #1: yeah, no.

Future State Teen Titans #1: This was OK. I guess it's not part of the Batman  books continuity, but I'm glad. This is the most straight forward of these. Just basically a "five years later" story featuring the original Titans and some new ones. Not bad, but not really good either. I'll read the second one.

Haha #1: This wowed me. 

Home Sick Pilots #2: Good issue. I need to see something excellent next issue though.

King in Black Thunderbolts #1: this was fun. Not sure why they are making the team go without masks. 

King in Black Planet of the Symbiotes #1: this was also fun. 

King in Black Gwenpool vs Carnage #1: hell to the no

Red Atlantis #3: cool.

Red Sonja/The Super Powers #1: yeah, pass.

SWORD #2:oof. This is not good. I'm out.

Neverwhere: this is Richard Corben's first Den graphic novel. I reread it just to be immersed in his weird world again. It's beautifully done. But extremely horny without any actual sex.

The Cimmerian - The Frost Giant's Daughter #1: awesome. Great adaptation thus far.

The Union #2: decent

Barbalien Red Planet #3: this is still really good.

Crimson Flower #1: can't get over the art.

Future State Catwoman #1: not great.

Future State Immortal Wonder Woman #1: this wasn't great, but it's better than the other WW. Nubia is too. Is this her first appearance?

Future State Nightwing #1: not the hugest fan of the art, but I dig it enough.

Future State Shazam #1: whoa! wild.

Future State  The Next Batman #2: ok, this is getting good.

The Odd Comic World of Richard Corben: this is the 1977 collection of a bunch of stuff he did in the 70s, turned into an anthology. Some really good stuff. Some goofy stuff. The man was a legend.

Future State Superman World of War #1: this is kind of intriguing.

I Breathed a Body #1: weird, but I'll do one more

King in Black #3: still really good

Maestro War and Pax #1: ok, this is nuts.

Miskatonic #3: kind of losing its steam for me

Rain Like Hammers #1: not for me

Rorschach #4: this is crazy

Space Bastards #1: I didn't expect to like this, but I really do.

Batman Black and White #2: nowhere near as good as the first issue

Colonel Weird Cosmogog #4: this miniseries was really good

DIE!namite #4: still very fun

Future State Batman/Superman #1: still in the Gotham continuity, but at the beginning of the takeover. Pretty decent.

Future State Aquaman #1: this was pretty good.

Future State Legion of Superheroes #1: kind of hard to read. Wordy and chaotic. Then I see at the end that it's written by Bendis. Ha!

Future State Dark Detective #2: this was cool.

Future State Superman vs Imperious Lex #1: this was wild and fun. Steve Pugh's art is fantastic.

Future State Suicide Squad #1: this was the shit. Both stories. Really good.

King in Black Namor #3: this is only tangentially related to the event, but it is a really good early years Namor story.

Marvel #4: this was fine. The western Ghost Rider story was delightful, but everything else is too goofy.

• Issues: 577
• Trades: 7
• Omnibus: 15
• Graphic Novel: 9

[Dread]

Post Americana #2: this is just kind of crazy and fun. It isn't knocking me out, but I dig it.

Savage Avengers #17: this fucking rules. Next issue, we're bringing back the symbiotic sword for Conan.

Something is Killing the Children #14: still rules

Vampirella: The Dark Powers #2: still not great.

X-Men #17: this was extra rough. Other than the Portacio Uncanny era costumes (Scott and Jean in their X-Factor Costumes and Storm with lots of flowing fabric and her hair in a  pony tail), this is a total loss. The story never really gets going and the art makes it look like people are falling forward rather than walking with some wonky-ass anatomy. 

Future State Harley Quinn #2: this was fine

Future State Swamp Thing #2: also fine

Future State Superman of Metropolis #2: again...fine.

Deep Beyond #1: This premise is right up my alley, but this was so not good, I'm not bothering with a second issue.

Chained to the Grave #1: see above

DIE!Namite Valentine' Special: Our Bloody Valentine: this was fun as fuck

Fire Power #8: still great.

Fear Case #1: super intrigued.

Future State The Flash #2: wild ending. I enjoyed this.

Future State The Next Batman #3: Am I an idiot for not knowing who Batman is?

Hellblazer Rise and Fall Book Three: this whole series was a delight. Fucking Darick Robertson making Tom Taylor look like Garth Ennis in his PRIME right here. Fucking good.

King in Black: Black Knight #1: goes a little goofy a couple times, but I enjoyed it overall. I appreciate this pushing of Black Knight in advance (?) of the Eternals movie. 

King in Black: Return of the Valkyries #2: this was fine

King in Black Marauders #1: also fine. I don't really get it, but that's because I skipped some X-Men.

Man-Bat #1: I LOVE Man-Bat in Justice League Dark. I almost didn't finish this.

Luna #1: I'm intrigued.

Maniac of New York #1: well, there is one of my works in progress, I should probably drop.

Sea of Sorrows #3: every issue of this series is the exact same thing.

Red Atlantis #4: this was kind of a dry fart.

Rorschach #5: pretty good, but it's getting a little aimless.

Red Sonja Valentine's special: no thanks.

Scarenthood #4: again, not the best.

Taskmaster #3: this was really fun. I love the labelling of the moves he's using like (That time Captain America threw me out a window, or whatever)

The Vain #5: nahhhh

Wolverine Black White and Blood #3: again, this is pretty great.

Bliss #5: Yeah, I think I'm out.

Casual Fling #1: Weird. I'll do one more.

E-Ratic #3: I think I'm done. 

Black Hammer Vissions #1: This was good. Patton Oswalt wrote it, and it was fantastic.

Barbalien Red Planet #4: Goddamn. Heavy shit.

DIE!namite #5: this is stupid fun.

Future State Catwoman #2: This one was pretty innocuous

Future State Immortal Wonder Woman #2: What the fuck? Wonder Woman and Spectre are the only two people left alive in the universe and so she uses her lasso to make him commit suicide? Again...What the fuck? Also, Nubia gets fascist in the backup.  Yikes.

Shock Shop #1-4: Cullen Bunn's anthology series. Good shit.

Le Manoir: IN the past two years, Josh Simmons has gone from someone I had no idea existed to my favourite cartoonist. This is a French publisher's release of a book published previously by Fantagraphics called The Mansion. Le Manoir means The Mansion. It doesn't matter why because it's a silent comic. A twisted descent into nothingness. So nihilistic. Haha! Speaking of...

Dream of the Bat: Mansion Press (hmmm....) also published this compendium of all of Josh Simmons' Batcomics. They're sort of a raunchy, wild and brutally nihilistic look at Batman. Also some homoeroticism with the Joker....the pinups  push it past homoeroticism...haha!Wild, funny and weird shit. Not for everyone, but I love it. I'll count this as a trade paperback, I guess.

• Issues: 619
• Trades: 8
• Omnibus: 15
• Graphic Novel: 10

[Missy]

Action Comics #1029-1046, 1050 (1938)
Action Comics 2021 Annual
Action Comics 2022 Annual
Future State: Superman - House of El
Future State: Superman - Worlds of War #1-2
Superman: Warworld Apocalypse
This was mostly the Warworld stuff. Dug it, but looking back I think it could have had sharper teeth.

Adventure Comics     #322, #461-466 (1938)
All-Star Comics #58-74 (#69-72 twice)
What started out as a Huntress read-through QUICKLY became a JSA read-through. Fucking amazing series.

Amazing Spider-Man #1-5 (2022)
Peter Parker is the worst.

Avengers #167, 227-279, 281-287 (#263 twice)
Avengers Annual #13-14 (1963)
Mostly Roger Stern’s epic run on the series. Shame the way it ended (RE: office politics), but damn do these characters shine.

Batman #125, 127-130 (2016)

Batman / Superman: World's Finest #5-10 (2022)
Truly amazing work. Silver Age shenanigans with a modern look.

Batman Family #17-20
Wonder Woman #271-273 (1942)
Both series were (are?) part of my Huntress project. Interesting solo adventures of the rookie hero.

Batman v Robin #1
Might come back to this.

DC Special #29

DC Super-Stars #17

Deathstroke Inc. #10-12

Detective Comics #27, 237-238, 1062-1063 (1937)

Doctor Aphra    #1

Fantastic Four #286 (1961)

Fantastic Four: Full Circle #1

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #2-14 (2019)

GCPD: The Blue Wall #1

Giant-Size X-Men: Tribute to Wein & Cockrum

Gotham City: Year One     #1

Immortal X-Men #8-9

Justice Society of America    #1

Kitty Pryde and Wolverine #1-2
Easily the worst Claremont’s run.

Magik #1-4
Enjoyed this much more than I expected. Magic is now one of my Queer X-Men Queens.

Marvel Comics Presents #1-10 (1988)

Marvel Fanfare #40 (1982)

Marvel Graphic Novel: The New Mutants
Marvel Graphic Novel: X-Men - God Loves, Man Kills

New Mutants    #1-54, 81
New Mutants Annual #1-3
As good as this, and, hell, it’s great, Claremont felt checked out at so many points, and I lost count of the dropped threads.
New Mutants Special Edition

Nightwing #93-99 (2016)

Nightwing 2022 Annual

Robin #15-17 (2021)

Sandman #18 (1989)

Showcase '93 #1

Superman #18, 29-32 (2018)

Superman: Kal-El Returns Special

Superman: Son of Kal-El #13–18

The New Golden Age #1

The Ones #1

The Wicked + The Divine #1-11

Totally Awesome Hulk #19-22

Uncanny X-Men #162-303 (1981)
Wish I had more to say at the moment, but I’ll leave it with I think the book is great and deserves its reputation, but it fell off a steep cliff when The X-Men were shunted to Australia. It looks pretty, but they went from a family to coworkers, and Claremont didn’t really seem to have a direction at times.

Vampi #1

Vampirella Strikes #1-2 (2022)

Weapon H #1-5

Weapon X #1-27 (2017)

Weapons of Mutant Destruction: Alpha

West Coast Avengers #1-4 (1984)

What If...? #12 (1989)

WildCATs #1 (2023)

Wolverine #1-4 (1982)

X-Men #1-3 (1991)

X-Men and Alpha Flight #1-2 (#2 twice)

X-Men Annual #6-14 (1963)

X-Terminators #3 (2022)

TOTAL
January through June: 418
July through December: 496
Overall: 914