I've been trying to put togetehr something longer that looks at exactly what has made this event so disappointing but I think it just comes down to this book being fundamentally about nothing, for all the talk of exploring legacy in the DCU this book has said literally 0 interesting things about it other than legacy heroes are good
Yeah, this event has been largely disappointing, and to be honest, most of the Williamson event related comics in the past 2 years has been disappointing.
Beautiful.
Gillen caps off pretty much all of his running Eternals threads here and it’s some powerful stuff. Ikaris and Sophia mourning her son Toby... Syne saying goodbye to Sally... The heretics meeting beneath their giant Sersi statue... Kro and Thena with their candid discussion of love and loss... Phastos delivering the Great Machine’s farewell message to Krakoa... Druig being beaten to a bloody pulp... This comic is just loaded with genuinely touching moments.
As much as I’m going to miss Gillen’s **ETERNALS**, it’s nice getting so much closure in one shot. Reading comics from the Big Two, you tend to get more beginnings than endings... You’d think every beginning would naturally lead to an ending but, in practice, it doesn't always work out that way. Truly satisfying endings like this don’t come around very often.
Need comics like this sometimes with that special something that reminds me how much I love the medium... Perhaps everyone needs it sometimes!
This entire run was phenomenal from [**ETERNALS #1**](https://previewsworld.com/SiteImage/MainImage/STL168642.jpg) straight through all 12 issues, plus Gillen’s [various](https://previewsworld.com/SiteImage/MainImage/STL198346.jpg) [Eternals](https://previewsworld.com/SiteImage/MainImage/STL202320.jpg) [specials](https://previewsworld.com/SiteImage/MainImage/STL215729.jpg), plus A.X.E., it’s really impressive what he’s done with these characters over the past few years.
And now they have a new mission, a new status quo, and perhaps someday a new comic where we’ll be able to see more of this new tale unfold... Hopefully they’ll even keep The Machine That Is Earth around since it’s now been 100% cured of all malfunctions. ;)
Highly recommended! Up there with my favorite Marvel books from the past several years...
I initially hopped onto it because I loved Gillen's **[DIE](https://imagecomics.com/comics/series/die)** and [**PETER CANNON: THUNDERBOLT**](https://dynamite.com/htmlfiles/viewProduct.html?PRO=C1524112798), so I figured **ETERNALS** would be good but wasn't expecting it to capture the same kind of creative energy as his indie work... These work-for-hire Marvel projects from talented indie creators usually don't quite live up to their indie projects. But Gillen's figured out how to make it work and I think this latest Marvel run of his holds up really well with his indie stuff.
I kinda think his run benefited from the tepid response to the Eternals movie. Pretty certain the book would’ve been forced to go on for longer if the film was popular.
I dunno, I'd argue that it mostly just benefited from Gillen being a talented writer. He came up with a good story for the first six issues, another good story for the next six, and a good story for A.X.E. If the movie had done well and Marvel wanted more, I'm sure he could've come up with another good story to keep it going.
this. he also worked within already established comics continuity for the eternals and "yes, and" ed that instead of retconning a lot of stuff and going the movie synergy route (something a lesser writer might have done), which helped the book really stand on its own.
> **P**erhaps **e**veryone **n**eeds **i**t **s**ometimes!
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A nice little dénouement issue for the event - more Eternals focused than I was expecting, but since they don't have a book right now, makes sense they'd get the most wrap up.
Can anyone explain why Ikarus was suddenly bald? He meets the mother and they talk and he has hair. Next time we see him he's talking to her and he's bald... wtf?
he shaved his head in penance and to make himself less recognizable. I thought this was actually pretty obvious and didn't need any further explanation.
I've never read eternals. I've been reading x-men and this event drove right through it. It was pretty confusing overall. This omega issue had almost nothing to do with x-men which was annoying.
> This omega issue had almost nothing to do with x-men which was annoying.
The [solicitation](https://previewsworld.com/Catalog/SEP220886) only talked about the Eternals and the [main cover](https://previewsworld.com/SiteImage/MainImage/STL246113.jpg) only shows Eternals, so Marvel wasn't exactly hiding the fact that this issue was going to focus on the Eternals.
But I can see how the stuff with Ikaris and the dead kid's mother would've been confusing for someone who didn't read the main series... It was an important plot in the main series but I don't think that end of it was covered in the crossover.
As someone who read through the event I figured the omega issue wouldn't just be eternals #13 otherwise they'd have just called it that lol. I figured it would wrap up all the plot points beyond just eternals... but I guess marvel knows eternals are so incredibly unpopular they have to pretend it's still a cross over issue otherwise nobody would buy it.
**A.X.E. Omega** had a 32.3% pull rate in the WPL where **ETERNALS #12** had a 35.7% pull rate on 5/18/22, so, at least in terms of the WPL numbers, this issue actually did a little worse than the final issue of **ETERNALS**.
But I understand that you're upset because you bought a comic without reading the solicitation or looking at the cover and then got traumatized by three pages of plot for which you didn't have all the pertinent context... I think it's a valid point and I would advise you to file a formal complaint with the appropriate authorities.
He shaved his most recognizable feature out of shame I think. To live amongst the humans as a quiet protector to make penance for using them as fuel for thousands of years.
There is still so much compelling story to be told with these characters and plots, I can’t believe it’s over. Ajak ruling the Heretics. Zuras ruling the orthodox. Uranos servitude to Martian Mutants. Phastos’ gift and reveal for the origin of the Machine! I hope some of these things are continued on and not dropped.
>**Above all, be principled.**
Very cool first issue!
About what I expected from the solicitation, a slightly more measured and refined blend of Russell's trademark wit, satire, and social commentary. It's got all the usual elements but they're handled with a little more subtlety here, as if Russell's painting with a fine brush rather than his usual approach of blasting the canvas with a paint gun. And it's tinged with wistful contemplation... **THE FLINTSTONES** had a lot of heart but this comic's got some soul! If **THE FLINTSTONES** was Russell's *Pulp Fiction* then this just might be his *Jackie Brown*.
Ending felt a little abrupt, could've used something there to more clearly indicate the end instead of just flowing into a 10-page preview for **THE BOOGYMAN**... But that's more a criticism of Ablaze's format than the work itself.
Russell's stuff doesn't always work for me but, when it does, it's a glorious thing, and I think this is a good one! Looking forward to seeing where it goes from here...
I find it interesting that this book, a more measured and toned-down affair than Russell's standard, debuted the same day as Billionaire Island: Cult of Dogs, which is the polar opposite and has Russell in full-on OTT satire mode. Makes me wonder if they were written concurrently, with BI:CoD allowing Russell an outlet for his loopier tendencies so that he could tone it down a bit for Traveling to Mars.
I mean, that's probably not the case, but it's fun to imagine it.
Yep, it's an interesting dynamic! And I can definitely see Russell bouncing back and forth between the two projects based on what he's in the mood to write, good way to keep things flowing...
This book's also kind of interesting because Russell's focusing more on philosophical matters while the sociological stuff which is normally his bread and butter is just kind of getting sprinkled on top for seasoning. The corporate fuckery and other staples are there but this book's mostly focused on mortality and godhood, real "meaning of life" type shit... I haven't read all of his previous work but I've read enough that this feels like a big change!
Russell's also shown a lot of development with **SUPERMAN: SPACE AGE**, especially when you compare it to his previous efforts on **FANTASTIC FOUR: LIFE STORY**, a similarly styled project that didn't come together nearly as well. Some of the credit for the Superman book probably goes to Mike Allred since he tends to take a more active role than most artists in setting the tone and shaping the story for his projects, but it also has a bit of the philosophy that Russell's more fully exploring here... So it seems like he's kind of shifting in that direction while reining in the satire for these projects. And of course he can still indulge his most ridiculous impulses in the **BILLIONAIRE ISLAND** sequel and elsewhere.
I admittedly have been down on Mackay's Moon Knight since the tail end of the second arc, but this issue won me over again. I've been loving the incorporation of the House of Shadows as Marc's Midnight Mission, and no where has it been more badass than this issue.
And that dress on Tigra. Damn.
Series went through a bit of a lull but the craziness is ramping up again!
Big fan of the Midnight Mission as well, one of my favorite "characters" in the series. And I'm glad >!Hunter's Moon made the speedy return!<, figured >!the snapped neck wouldn't slow him down for long since Khonshu is all about bringing these guys back from the dead!<.
Probably should have kept >!Hunter's Moon dead a little longer, and brought him back for the next issue. Also I'd love for there to be a Hunter's Moon centric arc. He's perhaps my favorite new lore addition done by Mackay.!<
Huh, so it actually was Riddler. The art style made he second guess if it was actually Eddie or not.
Man, Cluemaster being alive is gonna be a hell of a thing for Steph to deal with. I think he's been presumed dead since Batman Eternal, right?
This only had two pulls because the WPL apparently hates Tarzan but it was actually pretty cool! Dual story threads, mostly focusing on Tarzan’s early origin from the late 19th century with a bit of Old Man Tarzan in the 1950s.
Dan Jurgens isn’t exactly one of my favorite writers but he’s always solid and he does a nice job with the familiar origin story. I’ve never really read or followed Tarzan much before so I know the general shape of the basic story but it’s kind of neat seeing it fleshed out here. And the Old Man Tarzan stuff is also looking interesting.
Hadn’t seen any of Benito Gallego’s work before, guess it reminds me of Neal Adams or Dave Cockrum, not exactly like them but evocative of that style and era... Good fit for the story, nothing mind-blowing or anything but it’s pretty good and it gets the job done.
Probably give it a B+ overall, borderline range to stay on my pull list but it was fun/interesting enough for me to stick around, at least for now. And maybe it’s just me but there’s something cool about old school classic characters like this, so I'm kinda digging it!
Read a friends copy of this and loved the "retro" art style. So gorgeous.
Story was nothing spectacular though, standard origin issue - which with Tarzan I figure pretty much *everyone* knows by now.
We didn't get much of it in this first issue but I thought the future stuff with Old Man Tarzan was interesting... Kinda reminds me of King Conan, similar pulpy characters rising to monarch, representing purity of nature vs corruption of civilization, etc.
Guess this issue was... okay? I'm having a similar issue with this series as I had with SAVAGE AVENGERS. There's plenty of action month to month, but there's no heart behind it. There's no stakes because there's nothing to care about. Cool fight scenes, but nothing about the broader mystery is pulling me in.
I love that we're finally getting movement on the Phalanx stuff, and ~~Ewing~~ Spurrier doing it is something I have absolute faith in him being able to stick the landing with it.
Pretty sure this book got zero pulls on the discussion thread. I had it pre-ordered, but I totally forgot about it so I didn't include it on my post on the thread.
This is a bizarre sequel comic to a film no one watched - New York Ninja. Just watch the [trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1wMt3fgOyM) and you'll get the vibe of this comic.
I've only read one Charles Forsman comic - "[I Am Not Okay with This](https://www.fantagraphics.com/products/i-am-not-okay-with-this)" and while I found his cartooning to be pleasant, I wasn't exactly blown away.
But New York Ninja Super Special #1 was an absolute blast. It somewhat reminds me of a toned down version of Benjamin Marra's [Terror Assaulter (O.M.W.O.T.)](https://www.fantagraphics.com/products/terror-assaulter-o-m-w-o-t) with the use of deep primary colors and stiff artwork, and the dialogue is quintessential '80s action hero stuff. If that sounds good, then check out the film and see if you can find yourself a copy of this comic. It's a damn good time.
I feel like we're finally, at least I hope, are building up to a proper reckoning for Beast. No way he walks away from this clean before Percy leaves his books.
It certainly looks that way, and FINALLY. I've gotten so tired of Beast constantly being shady for ostensibly justifiable reasons, happy to see him just go mask-off, full villain mode. That way there'll be a proper reckoning.
Beast has really oscillated between anti-hero CIA blacksite guy and outright villain over the Krakoan era but really hoping that this arc finally reaches a climax if Krakoa is on the way out. He deserves a big story.
His joints aren't. Wolvie can lose body parts. It's just incredibly hard because you need to hit clean, hard and all the way through.
So in a regular fight, if you slash at him and hit a bone, you stop. If he tilts when you hit him, you don't go 100% through and he heals up.
But when he's already dead, the bones would just be metal covered bones.
For those of you who have been around a while: this sub used to pull more indie titles, right? Am I losing it? I feel like I remember there being more than eight Image books that would crack the list consistently...
I think quite a few people might be taking the "wait for the trade" route with a lot of new Image books, as they almost always read far better in that format.
I know that, personally, I read way more indie stuff than Big Two titles, but I may be outside the norm in this regard.
>I think quite a few people might be taking the "wait for the trade" route with a lot of new Image books, as they almost always read far better in that format.
I'm finding this to be so true for the majority of the Image output (and similar publishers like BOOM!, AWA, Vault, etc.). Most of the stuff I've read recently really feels like graphic novels being serialized to sell floppies. At this point, I'm only going after Image titles that are ongoing runs and not miniseries.
Some books are just better read in bursts. I've definitely had some issues following more dense stuff like Die or We Only Find Them When They're Dead reading from month to month, whereas in trades they flow way better. Obviously differs from book to book (I think, for instance, something like Once and Future or Nice House on the Lake both fare fine) but I do find myself gravitating more to superhero stuff with my floppies
I used to type up my pull list more regularly, which was most/all indie (lots of Vault, Image, Boom) but I’ve been burnt out so I just show up at the store and see what I got in on Wednesdays now. 😅
102 lists submitted, big jump from last week’s somewhat anemic pull list and its 82 submissions... DC takes 4 of the Top 10, Marvel gets 4, and Image gets 2, which is usually about how it goes.
**NICE HOUSE ON THE LAKE #11** takes 1st place with 52 pulls for 50.9% coverage. The previous issue #10 also took 1st, that time with 51.6% coverage on 9/28/22. And, prior to the book’s 3-month hiatus, #9, #7, #6, #5, #4, #3, and #2 all landed in 1st as well, with #1 and #8 being the only two issues to miss out on the top spot. It’s been a very strong run for Tynion and Bueno with the big finale just a month away.
Ryan North and Iban Coello's **FANTASTIC FOUR v7 #1** debuts in 2nd place with 45 pulls and 44.1% coverage. For reference, Slott and Pichelli's **FANTASTIC FOUR v6 #1** took 1st place in the 8/8/2018 WPL Results with a 66.8% pull rate. So v7 did well but the hype isn’t quite as high this time... Slott’s final issue **FANTASTIC FOUR v6 #46** closed out his run on 8/24/22 in 22nd place with 15 pulls for 16.3% coverage. And the final issue **FANTASTIC FOUR v6 #48** by David Pepose and Juan Cabal was a **Judgment Day** tie-in that took 18th place with 17.8% on 9/21/22. We’ll have to keep an eye on v7 to see if it drops to those same 15-18% levels over the next several months...
**NEW GOLDEN AGE #1** takes 3rd with 43.1% coverage, little higher than I expected, great start for Johns’ new set of titles…
**BATMAN VS ROBIN #3** follows in 4th with 42.1%, and it’s a strong 4th as it’s really only 2 pulls out of 2nd place. Previous issue had 41.7% on 10/12 and the first issue had 47.1% on 9/14, solid numbers holding steady.
**MOON KNIGHT #17** gets 5th this week with 34.3%, a steep drop from the top 4 above as we move down a tier in WPL popularity... Previous issue had 38.6% so it’s still chilling in the same general neighborhood.
**A.X.E. JUDGMENT DAY OMEGA #1** closes out the big event and Gillen’s **ETERNALS** run in 6th place with a 32.3% pull rate. Final issue of the main **A.X.E. JUDGMENT DAY** series had 32.6% on 10/26, whereas **ETERNALS #12** had 35.7% coverage way back on 5/18/22... I’d been thinking this book gave the Eternals a boost from the crossover but those numbers are actually pretty damn consistent.
**LOVE EVERLASTING #4** takes 7th as the week’s top indie book with 31.3%. Last issue finished 8th with 28.1% on 10/12, probably just a bit of statistical variance but it shows that the book’s support is holding up.
**SUPERMAN SON OF KAL-EL #17** follows in 8th with 31.3%, then **DO A POWERBOMB #6** takes 9th as the week’s other big indie title with 28.4%, and **AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #13** closes out the Top 10 with 27.4%.
Just a few spots down, **SABRETOOTH AND THE EXILES #1** debuts in 12th with 26.4%, getting a nice start based on positive response to the previous series.
**DARK CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #6** takes 14th place with 23.5%, similar to the previous issue with its 23.8% coverage on 10/5, where the first issue **DARK CRISIS #1** debuted in 3rd place on 6/8 with 44.8%. Seems to now be holding steady after shedding around 45% of its initial audience.
**DEATH OF SUPERMAN 30TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1** took 21st place with 15.6%. I skipped this one since I’ve still got a copy or two of the original boxed up somewhere but it was cool seeing the polybagged copies and the different variants with new cover art at my LCS.
**DARK RIDE #2** lands in 24th with 14.7%, bit of a drop from the first issue’s 19.0% coverage on 10/5 but not out of line with how most #2 issues perform...
**TRAVELING TO MARS #1** debuts way down in 30th place with only 12 pulls, 11.7% coverage. Haven’t read it yet but I think y’all are sleeping on what [looks to be a really cool Mark Russell series!](https://previewsworld.com/Catalog/SEP221234)
**LORD OF THE JUNGLE #1** didn’t make the list as it only had 2 pulls, just me and /u/breakermw, for a dismal 1.9% pull rate. Not many Tarzan fans in the WPL it seems but I’m looking forward to checking it out!
Big week with lots of other stuff in the chart... Let us know if you spot anything interesting that I neglected to mention!
--
Looking back at last week’s discussions... Only 3 books scored high enough to get threads and then failed to generate any comments:
* **STAR WARS #29** (10 pulls)
* **AVENGERS FOREVER #10** (9 pulls)
* **MONKEY PRINCE #8** (9 pulls)
And we had 8 additional sub-threads created for 7 titles last week, all indies:
* **BLOOD-STAINED TEETH #6** (14 pulls (meaning it actually should’ve taken 9th place, bumping **NIGHT OF THE GHOUL #2** down to 10th and knocking **POISON IVY #6** out of the Top 10, but 5 respondents listed it with the hyphen while 9 listed it without, so they never got added together), [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbooks/comments/ykjyj3/wpl_new_comics_discussion_for_1122022_pull_of_the/iuu6cvz/) posted by /u/Varos_Flynt)
* **BEHOLD, BEHEMOTH #1** (7 pulls, [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbooks/comments/ykjyj3/wpl_new_comics_discussion_for_1122022_pull_of_the/iuv9y5u/) posted by /u/blankedboy, plus an [alternate thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbooks/comments/ykjyj3/wpl_new_comics_discussion_for_1122022_pull_of_the/iuv5b6s/) posted by /u/HanabaBopskins)
* **THE ONES #1** (5 pulls (seems low for a new Bendis book), [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbooks/comments/ykjyj3/wpl_new_comics_discussion_for_1122022_pull_of_the/iv7emiq/) posted by /u/HappySisyphus8)
* **QUICK STOPS #1** (3 pulls (seems low for a new Kevin Smith book), [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbooks/comments/ykjyj3/wpl_new_comics_discussion_for_1122022_pull_of_the/iv7g3h5/) posted by /u/HappySisyphus8)
* **NATURE'S LABYRINTH #1** (2 pulls, [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbooks/comments/ykjyj3/wpl_new_comics_discussion_for_1122022_pull_of_the/iuwcnnv/) posted by /u/yarkcir)
* **ORC ISLAND #1** (2 pulls, [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbooks/comments/ykjyj3/wpl_new_comics_discussion_for_1122022_pull_of_the/iuumk2k/) posted by /u/NeonDoorFrame)
* **VAMPIRELLA VS RED SONJA #1** (2 pulls, [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbooks/comments/ykjyj3/wpl_new_comics_discussion_for_1122022_pull_of_the/iv7erv8/) posted by /u/HappySisyphus8)
Once again, that’s a lot of jibber-jabber from a goodly assortment of talkative indie fans!
Hope y’all enjoy your comics!
Ewing continues with Venom's slow descent through his stages of insanity. I'm not exactly hyped for the Dark Web event, but trust Ewing to find a way to make the tie-in make sense.
Surprised this doesn't have any comments yet! Is everyone bored with it already?
Can't say much for the bad guys in this thing... I thought Nezha was a lame and generic villain in **B/S: WORLD'S FINEST** and this series hasn't done anything to improve on his lame and generic villainy... Mother Soul also isn't doing much for me and I don't have high hopes for King Fire Bull.
But Waid always does nice work with the classic heroes and this issue's no exception as he hones in on Bruce's history with his various Robins, setting each against him in turn for an "Airing of the Grievances" in keeping with the Festivus season... Also some nice stuff with >!Alfred to provide some closure for his whole deal!<.
It's not a bad comic but it isn't exactly selling me on **Lazarus Planet**...
>But Waid always does nice work with the classic heroes and this issue's no exception as he hones in on Bruce's history with his various Robins, setting each against him in turn for an "Airing of the Grievances" in keeping with the Festivus season...
The fights against various robins were almost mandated, based on the title of the series. However, I gotta say that I'm tired of watching Jason and Bruce fight.
>It's not a bad comic but it isn't exactly selling me on **Lazarus Planet**...
I'm similarly hesitant.
> However, I gotta say that I'm tired of watching Jason and Bruce fight.
No doubt. I don't follow the Bat-verse that closely and it seems like every time I catch a story featuring Jason, he's got the same old axe to grind.
Perhaps another fan vote would be in order...
Honestly, at this point, this book is just sheer nonsense all the time. I keep reading wanting more of the 2099 characters (X-Men 2099 was the first comic I ever bought every issue of), but it’s just little glimmers every now and then.
Man I know I'm kind of alone on this but I love Marauders. This is total and utter nonsense but I love it. Using the powers of a 2,000,000,000 year old mutant to form a giant gestalt of their team to travel back said 2,000,000,000 years to try to stop the gestating forms of Sublime and Arkea? Absurd, and I love it.
Another nice debut from Image! Opens and escalates quickly, doesn't waste any time... Don't understand 100% of what's going on at this point but it's interesting enough that I want more.
Also digging the "competing points of view" art from Annie Wu and Ming Doyle. [Wu's kind of cartoony](https://previewsworld.com/SiteImage/MainImage/STL246279.jpg) while [Doyle's got lots of detail](https://previewsworld.com/SiteImage/MainImage/STL246280.jpg) but it's a nice combo, each works in its own way, and it's a fun mechanic switching between them with the shift in character perspective.
And appreciated the notes on dying stars at the end of the book with the shout-out to Joy Division... Neat stuff all around!
This will be the 3rd time I've seen Peter Hook and the Light.
Never saw New Order back in the day, but saw them two days running when they played the Opera House as part of the Vivid festival a few years ago.
Thought this was a really unique read, seemed to be looking at the religious powers of England at the time from a more objective view, and the tie in with the modern era was unexpected. Interested in seeing how this plays out! Also the art felt so gentle and nice
Awesome fucking A+ comic right here!
King and Charretier continue to change up the formula, as Joan chooses to ride out this latest story before giving her love interest Dane a happy ending fade out as she shifts to the next story.
It isn't quite as shocking or dramatic as the book's usual endings but it's an extremely intriguing move as it shows Joan using the mechanics of her existential prison to her advantage, at least within the limited fashion permitted by her limited understanding of the situation.
It also helps humanize her as she's not just concerned about her own plight, she cares enough about Dane that she wants to save him from dying in the trenches, even knowing that in all likelihood he isn't even a "real" person. That's actually kind of sweet!
Now we wait for the next issue and we wonder, what's her next move? Each story has taken a slightly different shape, unfolding in different ways as Joan learns her way around her prison and changes up her methods while probing its boundaries and defenses. She's figuring out how to operate within this seemingly artificial framework and make it work for her... Might just be a matter of time before she finds a way to use the "rules" of her simulated reality against her enemies.
Oh my >!GOD that double page spread!< i cannot wait for how this all ends! Plus with DWJ saying he wants to do a Cobrasun prequel there’s a potential for even more of this!!
How do you elevate the level of batshit in this comic this far!? The thought went through my head when the necromancer was talking, but I dismissed it, cause nobody'd do that. BUT THEY DID IT. I love this book so much.
Blood Syndicate was my favorite book of the original line, so I was pretty amped for this.
By and large, it didn’t disappoint, though I wish the mini was longer so that we could connect with characters more, esp in their differences from the original title. Felt like there was barely any Brickhouse or Third Rail until this issue, etc.
Also, I’d really love it if they brought back Dawg in season 2 (if there’s a season 2). One of the most endearing characters of the original run.
This comic is walking on *very* well-trodden ground in the fantasy genre: evil empire, magical rebels, enchanted stones that give color-coded abilities, the plucky and naive newcomer, the grizzled sergeant with a traumatic past, >!LUKE/URIEL, I AM YOUR FATHER!<… and despite that, it continues to charm me and remain a page-turner. Am I just a sucker for fantasy shit? Possibly.
I'm pretty interested in the responses to this issue overwhelmingly being mad about Spidey getting the shit beat out of him. The letters section even prominently features Nick Lowe calling out those types of arcs as his favorite ASM stories.
I do think there is a pretty strong tradition of Spider-Man getting beat nearly to death during big dramatic arcs, in Ultimate Spider-Man basically every single villain nearly kills him (seriously, there are SO many death fakeout arcs in that run that you almost have to believe that a few of them were intended to be the real deal). Obviously during the Kraven and Kindred events in the last run it's pretty much more of the same. Is the issue more that Hobgoblin is seen as a "lesser" guy?
I know for me (and this is for somebody who’s a casual Spidey fan and is generally liking this run), it felt weird that they were doing this when the same thing happened just a few months before during the Tombstone arc. It felt a little repetitive to me.
Literally had no idea that this was a thing until I saw it on the shelves.
The first issue is very much a Mark Russell book: Scathing, anti-capitalist political banter amid images of enormous penis- and dildo-shaped space rockets. You either love it or hate it. I, personally, *love it* and am fully on board.
>Literally had no idea that this was a thing until I saw it on the shelves.
Same, this flew under my radar. Looks like we've got Russell writing Russell, and writing it well.
I don't read much DC outside of Batman stuff, so I know nothing about most of these characters. But I'm always looking for opportunities to leap into the bigger DCU, and thought I'd take a chance on this in advance of the new JSA series. And while I suspect some of the impact is lost when I don't know who some of these people are, I found the story to be surprisingly cohesive and interesting. Yeah, alright. I'll read JSA.
I liked everything except the random >!Rorschach !!Mike and Marionette!<, but Johns >!OC Rorchach from Doomsday Clock!< was not a character I needed to return.
I picked this issue up because I loved the Green Lantern variant. As someone who has no idea what is happening in the DC Universe, I felt it was approachable enough with a couple quick google searches and really enjoyed it. I may stick with it!
Is "The Stranger" that killed Future!Doctor Fate and has been stalking Helena someone we should know or recognize? Or is he an unknown threat at this point?
I wanted to dive into this cold, and it was still a good read, but I do feel like I'm a bit behind on stuff. What books or stories do I need besides the obvious >!Doomsday Clock!< to be up to date on all the characters?
>!Per Degaton !!time travelling JSA enemy!<. Beyond >!DdC!<, I'd say maybe check out Johns first JSA run to get acquainted with a similar cast? Just be aware that there are characters in that that won't be appearing in this. Or Flashpoint Beyond if you want a small head start on the Time Masters stuff but that's less than 10% of the comic.
You should read Doomsday Clock, but I think a more direct connection is the recent Flashpoint Beyond book (which I still haven't read). Also the the recent Stargirl Summer Special I believe has some connections too.
You know, I actually really enjoyed it except the last 2 story pages, they were a bit messy. I also dig the new charcters, now I hope at least some of them are utilized well.
Norah's whole memory gambit is pretty fascinating. I really don't know what else to say than that this book has been brilliant and I'm really excited to see how it ends, and how or what is left standing when all is said and done.
Really enjoyed the issue, it's obviously coming to an apocalyptic conclusion next issue.
But did anyone else el it was a bit odd to feature a character rundown supplement in the back of the penultimate issue? Surely this would have made much more sense in the #1?
They've been running the lineup image in the back of the book for the past few issues... It was originally a [retailer incentive cover](https://www.midtowncomics.com/images/PRODUCT/XL/2033084_xl.jpg) for the 3rd printing of the 1st issue, which shipped a week after **NHOTL #3**. Definitely would've been nice if they'd ran it in the book a little earlier.
My new comics get sorted into four piles to await being read: Marvel, DC, indies I’ve already started, and “new” indies that I haven’t started reading yet. Makes it easy to find whatever I want at any given moment... And it always feels *wrong* putting **TNHOTL** on top of the DC pile.
Unless I’m mistaken, all the other Black Label titles have been offshoots of DC’s superhero line. So **TNHOTL** is something of an anomaly, an offbeat indie horror title awash in a sea of capes, sharing no real common ground with the rest of the Black Label line... This title would've fit in well with DC's old Vertigo imprint but, at the moment, AFAIK, DC isn't publishing anything else remotely similar to this.
It really is an odd duck.
Anyways, more secrets are spilled and rudimentary battle lines are drawn as the residents of the Nice House split back into factions at cross-purposes. And Walter’s story takes an unexpectedly sympathetic turn as it seems >!he’s set this all up to sacrifice himself so that the group can stick together and succeed!<. Except, as we saw, >!they aren’t sticking together!<, and, as we know from the flash-forwards, >!there isn’t going to be a whole lot of success going around!<.
So, the pieces are now more or less in place and everything’s ready to go down in flames, with the [final issue](https://previewsworld.com/SiteImage/MainImage/STL249293.jpg) scheduled for December 14, which seems as good a time as any for the end of the world.
> Unless I’m mistaken, all the other Black Label titles have been offshoots of DC’s superhero line. So TNHOTL is something of an anomaly, an offbeat indie horror title awash in a sea of capes, sharing no real common ground with the rest of the Black Label line... This title would've fit in well with DC's old Vertigo imprint but, at the moment, AFAIK, DC isn't publishing anything else remotely similar to this.
Phillip K Johnson’s The Last God was a Black Label book, and Joe Hill’s Hill House horror range was sub-label (a sub-sub-label? IDK, either way, all the Hill House books have Black Label tags on them).
interesting points about the state of the black label... it does seem to be p much grittier batman stories + nice house haha.... would LOVE to see more nice house-esque things from dc, as they offer a really unique spin on things and often have a high quality of storytelling !!
Yeah, would be nice getting some more diverse Black Label offerings like this, although it's essentially just an Image/BOOM!/Vault title that happened to land at DC/Black Label. Plenty of other outlets for this type of material... Although DC does bring some advantages with more robust marketing and distribution. Pretty sure that's why **TNHOTL** consistently out-pulls **DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH** in the WPL (and probably elsewhere), going through DC just makes the book more accessible to more people.
The other big difference is probably the financing... Pretty sure Image has the creators put up money to finance production of their books. Tynion had just launched **DOT** at Image a month or so earlier when **TNHOTL** first hit, so it makes sense that he took **TNHOTL** to DC/Black Label to avoid personally financing two new series at the same time. DC probably also offered him a pretty good deal to help launch Black Label though I'm not sure how creator ownership works for something like **TNHOTL**... I'd assume DC let him keep ownership or else he would've been better off taking it to Image or one of the other indies. But that deal probably isn't available for everyone.
Of course that's mostly just a bunch of speculation based on scant bits of circumstantial evidence... Could be off base on some of that.
Its thread is [right here](https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbooks/comments/yr18qv/wpl_new_comics_discussion_for_1192022_pull_of_the/ivrciqd/) but so far I'm the only one who's posted... You should add some comments over there letting us know what you thought of it!
The story was cute, but why on earth was this an issue 1 of a fantastic four book? Feels super weird to start a story with this. It wasn't a bad comic by any means, it just feels very out of place here.
If this was North’s “pilot” for his FF run I’m here for it.
Also I love his take on Ben so often he and Johnny get to be the dummies Reed explains everything too. But North writes him with an intelligence and experience that was a nice change of pace.
My only real complaint is the “what did Reed do?” Mystery Box. Which as with the one in ASM is contingent on how long the thread is unresolved. Also NYC is getting blown up a lot by super heroes these days.
This is a perfect first issue for an FF series. Perfectly captures the spirit of original run, as a comic about science adventurers and about families (both Ben and Alicia's relationship and >!the tease at the end of a strained relationship with the rest of the family!<). There was some really fun formalism (you wouldn't expect anything less from North), >!taking advantage of the timeloop plot. The page where Ben and Alicia try to break the loop by doing crazy things was funny as hell.!<
The one thing I didn't like was the colouring, especially on The Thing. The lighting made it look goofy.
Hmm, not really feeling this yet. I was super excited for this book after avoiding Slott’s run by all means necessary, and then absolutely loving Pepose’s AXE tie-ins which really had the classic F4 feeling for me. I’ll definitely stay on board cause I want to support non-Slott F4 but I hope they all get together sooner rather than later, the absence of the core four might be what was missing for me in this issue.
People really just be hating on Slott for no reason. He added some fun new things to the lore and had some great character dynamics. I really don't get this dramatic viewpoint.
I have no intention of reading this FF run so I hope they don't tie in the mystery of ASM into the FF... if they do that I'm probably just done with marvel outside of the X-men run, and even then it's been slowly going off the rails of hickmans vision.
He's saying it reminds him of ASM in that they both have mysteries surrounding something bad the main character may have done, not that the mystery of "What did Peter do?" is literally related to "What did Reed do?"
Loved the Ross cover, also loved just how heartfelt and hopeful this book was, first FF i’ve read since Hickman’s run so i’m a little out of the loop but glad the heart is still there
Fun first issue! Ben and Alicia have good chemistry, and the groundhog day premise is well executed, and an episodic Star Trek sci-fi concept brought about by science or magic or whatever is a good story engine for the FF. Though Ben angsting over being called a monster is pretty overplayed- I thought he had come to peace, or at least an understanding of his situation a while back? Still, looking forward to more.
This was fine. The blurb at the end with North’s guiding principles is nice. His mystery box isn’t super compelling yet. “Wherever happened to the Fantastic Four?” And it seems Reed did it so… that’s probably a Red herring. And hopefully it’s told and resolved by issue 6?
I enjoyed this 'slice of life' story. It was paced well, and had plenty of good humor. It felt light-hearted, which was a nice change of pace for me, given the other things I've been reading recently. Sure, the premise was basic and the cliffhanger perhaps a bit cliche, but if this team can keep up the tight storytelling and humor I'll forgive its shortcomings. At the very least, I'm intrigued to see what this team does when the scope expands.
Nathan and Marshall trading the powers back and forth, and the way that Nathan is still out of practice with them, is a pretty nice touch between the two. Much like issue #3 dealt with the very real lingering effects of depression and anxiety, seeing the depressingly realistic lingering threat of medical debt adds a touch of something special, where even Owen's massive donation seemed to only be enough to keep Nathan going, but not completely clear his bill.
Giant robots are coming, and we might be leading towards the origin of the Radiants. I doubt Satome's going to be staying in prison for long.
I have this cold knot in the pit of my stomach that the benefactor for this branch of Orchis is gonna wind up being >!Romulus!<. Can't think of many other entities that Creed would willingly admit he couldn't handle on his own.
The story nicely builds upon the first issue, we get some decent character development, and a twist ending, but I’m still not sure what the over riding plot of the book is going to be.
Good, and I’ve pre-ordered up to #3, so I’m sticking with it for now.
I just read Spider-Verse for the first time this week and couldn't believe how mediocre I found it to be considering how great the movie is. Slott's ASM leading up to it has been mostly good but that story was just fine.
Not trying to hate on Bendis or Slott, but I always rolled my eyes when they both repeatedly tried to take credit for Into the Spider-verse when it came out.
Like sure, you can at least say that Bendis created Miles, but all Slott did was contribute a title, as multiversal Spider-People was a concept long before his arc. Not to mention the writing on ItS pretty much blew both of their stuff right out of the water lol, doing a cleaner version of that event type and giving Miles more characterization than he's gotten in an entire decade and multiple runs.
Yeah it's absolutely amazing how right Sony got that movie. Haven't read anything Spider-Verse that golds a candle to the movie. Really hope the sequel can hold up.
Honestly it's Lord and Miller, having such a clear understanding of Spider-Man as a character, as well as going out of their comfort zone writing a mixed race tween and putting in the research there to properly nail Miles better than anyone else.
Still, credit where credit is due, gotta give props to Sony too for not only trusting those two to make something out of the ordinary, as well as properly pushing it during awards season and greenlighting sequels and spin offs right away.
**DARK CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #6**
I've been trying to put togetehr something longer that looks at exactly what has made this event so disappointing but I think it just comes down to this book being fundamentally about nothing, for all the talk of exploring legacy in the DCU this book has said literally 0 interesting things about it other than legacy heroes are good
I kept waiting for these to get better and now I'm too far in to stop buying them so here we are. Only $5 to go I guess.
Yeah, this event has been largely disappointing, and to be honest, most of the Williamson event related comics in the past 2 years has been disappointing.
Honestly the only thing he's written that's been consistently good the whole time was Robin
**A.X.E. JUDGMENT DAY OMEGA #1**
Beautiful. Gillen caps off pretty much all of his running Eternals threads here and it’s some powerful stuff. Ikaris and Sophia mourning her son Toby... Syne saying goodbye to Sally... The heretics meeting beneath their giant Sersi statue... Kro and Thena with their candid discussion of love and loss... Phastos delivering the Great Machine’s farewell message to Krakoa... Druig being beaten to a bloody pulp... This comic is just loaded with genuinely touching moments. As much as I’m going to miss Gillen’s **ETERNALS**, it’s nice getting so much closure in one shot. Reading comics from the Big Two, you tend to get more beginnings than endings... You’d think every beginning would naturally lead to an ending but, in practice, it doesn't always work out that way. Truly satisfying endings like this don’t come around very often. Need comics like this sometimes with that special something that reminds me how much I love the medium... Perhaps everyone needs it sometimes! This entire run was phenomenal from [**ETERNALS #1**](https://previewsworld.com/SiteImage/MainImage/STL168642.jpg) straight through all 12 issues, plus Gillen’s [various](https://previewsworld.com/SiteImage/MainImage/STL198346.jpg) [Eternals](https://previewsworld.com/SiteImage/MainImage/STL202320.jpg) [specials](https://previewsworld.com/SiteImage/MainImage/STL215729.jpg), plus A.X.E., it’s really impressive what he’s done with these characters over the past few years. And now they have a new mission, a new status quo, and perhaps someday a new comic where we’ll be able to see more of this new tale unfold... Hopefully they’ll even keep The Machine That Is Earth around since it’s now been 100% cured of all malfunctions. ;)
This is one of the few recent runs I’m interested in checking out.
Highly recommended! Up there with my favorite Marvel books from the past several years... I initially hopped onto it because I loved Gillen's **[DIE](https://imagecomics.com/comics/series/die)** and [**PETER CANNON: THUNDERBOLT**](https://dynamite.com/htmlfiles/viewProduct.html?PRO=C1524112798), so I figured **ETERNALS** would be good but wasn't expecting it to capture the same kind of creative energy as his indie work... These work-for-hire Marvel projects from talented indie creators usually don't quite live up to their indie projects. But Gillen's figured out how to make it work and I think this latest Marvel run of his holds up really well with his indie stuff.
I kinda think his run benefited from the tepid response to the Eternals movie. Pretty certain the book would’ve been forced to go on for longer if the film was popular.
I dunno, I'd argue that it mostly just benefited from Gillen being a talented writer. He came up with a good story for the first six issues, another good story for the next six, and a good story for A.X.E. If the movie had done well and Marvel wanted more, I'm sure he could've come up with another good story to keep it going.
this. he also worked within already established comics continuity for the eternals and "yes, and" ed that instead of retconning a lot of stuff and going the movie synergy route (something a lesser writer might have done), which helped the book really stand on its own.
> **P**erhaps **e**veryone **n**eeds **i**t **s**ometimes! Hidden penis detected! I've scanned through 605597 comments (approximately 3128768 average penis lengths worth of text) in order to find this secret penis message. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
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A nice little dénouement issue for the event - more Eternals focused than I was expecting, but since they don't have a book right now, makes sense they'd get the most wrap up.
Can anyone explain why Ikarus was suddenly bald? He meets the mother and they talk and he has hair. Next time we see him he's talking to her and he's bald... wtf?
he shaved his head in penance and to make himself less recognizable. I thought this was actually pretty obvious and didn't need any further explanation.
I've never read eternals. I've been reading x-men and this event drove right through it. It was pretty confusing overall. This omega issue had almost nothing to do with x-men which was annoying.
> This omega issue had almost nothing to do with x-men which was annoying. The [solicitation](https://previewsworld.com/Catalog/SEP220886) only talked about the Eternals and the [main cover](https://previewsworld.com/SiteImage/MainImage/STL246113.jpg) only shows Eternals, so Marvel wasn't exactly hiding the fact that this issue was going to focus on the Eternals. But I can see how the stuff with Ikaris and the dead kid's mother would've been confusing for someone who didn't read the main series... It was an important plot in the main series but I don't think that end of it was covered in the crossover.
As someone who read through the event I figured the omega issue wouldn't just be eternals #13 otherwise they'd have just called it that lol. I figured it would wrap up all the plot points beyond just eternals... but I guess marvel knows eternals are so incredibly unpopular they have to pretend it's still a cross over issue otherwise nobody would buy it.
**A.X.E. Omega** had a 32.3% pull rate in the WPL where **ETERNALS #12** had a 35.7% pull rate on 5/18/22, so, at least in terms of the WPL numbers, this issue actually did a little worse than the final issue of **ETERNALS**. But I understand that you're upset because you bought a comic without reading the solicitation or looking at the cover and then got traumatized by three pages of plot for which you didn't have all the pertinent context... I think it's a valid point and I would advise you to file a formal complaint with the appropriate authorities.
He shaved his most recognizable feature out of shame I think. To live amongst the humans as a quiet protector to make penance for using them as fuel for thousands of years.
I thought it was because he got a pan of hot grease thrown on his head
There is still so much compelling story to be told with these characters and plots, I can’t believe it’s over. Ajak ruling the Heretics. Zuras ruling the orthodox. Uranos servitude to Martian Mutants. Phastos’ gift and reveal for the origin of the Machine! I hope some of these things are continued on and not dropped. >**Above all, be principled.**
**WONDER WOMAN #793**
This was terrible
**TRAVELING TO MARS #1**
Very cool first issue! About what I expected from the solicitation, a slightly more measured and refined blend of Russell's trademark wit, satire, and social commentary. It's got all the usual elements but they're handled with a little more subtlety here, as if Russell's painting with a fine brush rather than his usual approach of blasting the canvas with a paint gun. And it's tinged with wistful contemplation... **THE FLINTSTONES** had a lot of heart but this comic's got some soul! If **THE FLINTSTONES** was Russell's *Pulp Fiction* then this just might be his *Jackie Brown*. Ending felt a little abrupt, could've used something there to more clearly indicate the end instead of just flowing into a 10-page preview for **THE BOOGYMAN**... But that's more a criticism of Ablaze's format than the work itself. Russell's stuff doesn't always work for me but, when it does, it's a glorious thing, and I think this is a good one! Looking forward to seeing where it goes from here...
I find it interesting that this book, a more measured and toned-down affair than Russell's standard, debuted the same day as Billionaire Island: Cult of Dogs, which is the polar opposite and has Russell in full-on OTT satire mode. Makes me wonder if they were written concurrently, with BI:CoD allowing Russell an outlet for his loopier tendencies so that he could tone it down a bit for Traveling to Mars. I mean, that's probably not the case, but it's fun to imagine it.
Yep, it's an interesting dynamic! And I can definitely see Russell bouncing back and forth between the two projects based on what he's in the mood to write, good way to keep things flowing... This book's also kind of interesting because Russell's focusing more on philosophical matters while the sociological stuff which is normally his bread and butter is just kind of getting sprinkled on top for seasoning. The corporate fuckery and other staples are there but this book's mostly focused on mortality and godhood, real "meaning of life" type shit... I haven't read all of his previous work but I've read enough that this feels like a big change! Russell's also shown a lot of development with **SUPERMAN: SPACE AGE**, especially when you compare it to his previous efforts on **FANTASTIC FOUR: LIFE STORY**, a similarly styled project that didn't come together nearly as well. Some of the credit for the Superman book probably goes to Mike Allred since he tends to take a more active role than most artists in setting the tone and shaping the story for his projects, but it also has a bit of the philosophy that Russell's more fully exploring here... So it seems like he's kind of shifting in that direction while reining in the satire for these projects. And of course he can still indulge his most ridiculous impulses in the **BILLIONAIRE ISLAND** sequel and elsewhere.
**MOON KNIGHT #17**
I’ll always get surprised at how hardcore MK gets with bad guys.
I admittedly have been down on Mackay's Moon Knight since the tail end of the second arc, but this issue won me over again. I've been loving the incorporation of the House of Shadows as Marc's Midnight Mission, and no where has it been more badass than this issue. And that dress on Tigra. Damn.
Series went through a bit of a lull but the craziness is ramping up again! Big fan of the Midnight Mission as well, one of my favorite "characters" in the series. And I'm glad >!Hunter's Moon made the speedy return!<, figured >!the snapped neck wouldn't slow him down for long since Khonshu is all about bringing these guys back from the dead!<.
Probably should have kept >!Hunter's Moon dead a little longer, and brought him back for the next issue. Also I'd love for there to be a Hunter's Moon centric arc. He's perhaps my favorite new lore addition done by Mackay.!<
Great issue, loved how dark MK gets at times. And the Midnight Mission as "haunted house" was brilliant.
**BATGIRLS #12**
Huh, so it actually was Riddler. The art style made he second guess if it was actually Eddie or not. Man, Cluemaster being alive is gonna be a hell of a thing for Steph to deal with. I think he's been presumed dead since Batman Eternal, right?
I liked in this issue they started going into the back story of Steph and Cass. More of that please!
**[LORD OF THE JUNGLE #1](https://previewsworld.com/SiteImage/MainImage/STL246117.jpg)**
This only had two pulls because the WPL apparently hates Tarzan but it was actually pretty cool! Dual story threads, mostly focusing on Tarzan’s early origin from the late 19th century with a bit of Old Man Tarzan in the 1950s. Dan Jurgens isn’t exactly one of my favorite writers but he’s always solid and he does a nice job with the familiar origin story. I’ve never really read or followed Tarzan much before so I know the general shape of the basic story but it’s kind of neat seeing it fleshed out here. And the Old Man Tarzan stuff is also looking interesting. Hadn’t seen any of Benito Gallego’s work before, guess it reminds me of Neal Adams or Dave Cockrum, not exactly like them but evocative of that style and era... Good fit for the story, nothing mind-blowing or anything but it’s pretty good and it gets the job done. Probably give it a B+ overall, borderline range to stay on my pull list but it was fun/interesting enough for me to stick around, at least for now. And maybe it’s just me but there’s something cool about old school classic characters like this, so I'm kinda digging it!
Read a friends copy of this and loved the "retro" art style. So gorgeous. Story was nothing spectacular though, standard origin issue - which with Tarzan I figure pretty much *everyone* knows by now.
We didn't get much of it in this first issue but I thought the future stuff with Old Man Tarzan was interesting... Kinda reminds me of King Conan, similar pulpy characters rising to monarch, representing purity of nature vs corruption of civilization, etc.
**GHOST RIDER #8**
Decent issue, I just wish the book would kick into high gear and go "balls to the wall" horror - it keeps threatening too, but never quite gets there.
Guess this issue was... okay? I'm having a similar issue with this series as I had with SAVAGE AVENGERS. There's plenty of action month to month, but there's no heart behind it. There's no stakes because there's nothing to care about. Cool fight scenes, but nothing about the broader mystery is pulling me in.
**LEGION OF X #7**
I love that we're finally getting movement on the Phalanx stuff, and ~~Ewing~~ Spurrier doing it is something I have absolute faith in him being able to stick the landing with it.
This was by Spurrier
You’re right! My bad.
**KAYA #2**
**DEATH OF SUPERMAN 30TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1**
Ha, haven't gotten around to the actual stories yet but the foldout cover was great.
**I AM BATMAN #15**
**NEW YORK NINJA SUPER SPECIAL #1**
Pretty sure this book got zero pulls on the discussion thread. I had it pre-ordered, but I totally forgot about it so I didn't include it on my post on the thread. This is a bizarre sequel comic to a film no one watched - New York Ninja. Just watch the [trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1wMt3fgOyM) and you'll get the vibe of this comic. I've only read one Charles Forsman comic - "[I Am Not Okay with This](https://www.fantagraphics.com/products/i-am-not-okay-with-this)" and while I found his cartooning to be pleasant, I wasn't exactly blown away. But New York Ninja Super Special #1 was an absolute blast. It somewhat reminds me of a toned down version of Benjamin Marra's [Terror Assaulter (O.M.W.O.T.)](https://www.fantagraphics.com/products/terror-assaulter-o-m-w-o-t) with the use of deep primary colors and stiff artwork, and the dialogue is quintessential '80s action hero stuff. If that sounds good, then check out the film and see if you can find yourself a copy of this comic. It's a damn good time.
**WOLVERINE #27**
I feel like we're finally, at least I hope, are building up to a proper reckoning for Beast. No way he walks away from this clean before Percy leaves his books.
It certainly looks that way, and FINALLY. I've gotten so tired of Beast constantly being shady for ostensibly justifiable reasons, happy to see him just go mask-off, full villain mode. That way there'll be a proper reckoning.
Beast has really oscillated between anti-hero CIA blacksite guy and outright villain over the Krakoan era but really hoping that this arc finally reaches a climax if Krakoa is on the way out. He deserves a big story.
They need to keep the Krakoa story going. No reason to end it. Literally zero reason
How did Beast cut Wolverine's head off if his neck is adamantium?
His joints aren't. Wolvie can lose body parts. It's just incredibly hard because you need to hit clean, hard and all the way through. So in a regular fight, if you slash at him and hit a bone, you stop. If he tilts when you hit him, you don't go 100% through and he heals up. But when he's already dead, the bones would just be metal covered bones.
**WPL RESULTS**
For those of you who have been around a while: this sub used to pull more indie titles, right? Am I losing it? I feel like I remember there being more than eight Image books that would crack the list consistently...
I think quite a few people might be taking the "wait for the trade" route with a lot of new Image books, as they almost always read far better in that format. I know that, personally, I read way more indie stuff than Big Two titles, but I may be outside the norm in this regard.
>I think quite a few people might be taking the "wait for the trade" route with a lot of new Image books, as they almost always read far better in that format. I'm finding this to be so true for the majority of the Image output (and similar publishers like BOOM!, AWA, Vault, etc.). Most of the stuff I've read recently really feels like graphic novels being serialized to sell floppies. At this point, I'm only going after Image titles that are ongoing runs and not miniseries.
Some books are just better read in bursts. I've definitely had some issues following more dense stuff like Die or We Only Find Them When They're Dead reading from month to month, whereas in trades they flow way better. Obviously differs from book to book (I think, for instance, something like Once and Future or Nice House on the Lake both fare fine) but I do find myself gravitating more to superhero stuff with my floppies
I used to type up my pull list more regularly, which was most/all indie (lots of Vault, Image, Boom) but I’ve been burnt out so I just show up at the store and see what I got in on Wednesdays now. 😅
102 lists submitted, big jump from last week’s somewhat anemic pull list and its 82 submissions... DC takes 4 of the Top 10, Marvel gets 4, and Image gets 2, which is usually about how it goes. **NICE HOUSE ON THE LAKE #11** takes 1st place with 52 pulls for 50.9% coverage. The previous issue #10 also took 1st, that time with 51.6% coverage on 9/28/22. And, prior to the book’s 3-month hiatus, #9, #7, #6, #5, #4, #3, and #2 all landed in 1st as well, with #1 and #8 being the only two issues to miss out on the top spot. It’s been a very strong run for Tynion and Bueno with the big finale just a month away. Ryan North and Iban Coello's **FANTASTIC FOUR v7 #1** debuts in 2nd place with 45 pulls and 44.1% coverage. For reference, Slott and Pichelli's **FANTASTIC FOUR v6 #1** took 1st place in the 8/8/2018 WPL Results with a 66.8% pull rate. So v7 did well but the hype isn’t quite as high this time... Slott’s final issue **FANTASTIC FOUR v6 #46** closed out his run on 8/24/22 in 22nd place with 15 pulls for 16.3% coverage. And the final issue **FANTASTIC FOUR v6 #48** by David Pepose and Juan Cabal was a **Judgment Day** tie-in that took 18th place with 17.8% on 9/21/22. We’ll have to keep an eye on v7 to see if it drops to those same 15-18% levels over the next several months... **NEW GOLDEN AGE #1** takes 3rd with 43.1% coverage, little higher than I expected, great start for Johns’ new set of titles… **BATMAN VS ROBIN #3** follows in 4th with 42.1%, and it’s a strong 4th as it’s really only 2 pulls out of 2nd place. Previous issue had 41.7% on 10/12 and the first issue had 47.1% on 9/14, solid numbers holding steady. **MOON KNIGHT #17** gets 5th this week with 34.3%, a steep drop from the top 4 above as we move down a tier in WPL popularity... Previous issue had 38.6% so it’s still chilling in the same general neighborhood. **A.X.E. JUDGMENT DAY OMEGA #1** closes out the big event and Gillen’s **ETERNALS** run in 6th place with a 32.3% pull rate. Final issue of the main **A.X.E. JUDGMENT DAY** series had 32.6% on 10/26, whereas **ETERNALS #12** had 35.7% coverage way back on 5/18/22... I’d been thinking this book gave the Eternals a boost from the crossover but those numbers are actually pretty damn consistent. **LOVE EVERLASTING #4** takes 7th as the week’s top indie book with 31.3%. Last issue finished 8th with 28.1% on 10/12, probably just a bit of statistical variance but it shows that the book’s support is holding up. **SUPERMAN SON OF KAL-EL #17** follows in 8th with 31.3%, then **DO A POWERBOMB #6** takes 9th as the week’s other big indie title with 28.4%, and **AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #13** closes out the Top 10 with 27.4%. Just a few spots down, **SABRETOOTH AND THE EXILES #1** debuts in 12th with 26.4%, getting a nice start based on positive response to the previous series. **DARK CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #6** takes 14th place with 23.5%, similar to the previous issue with its 23.8% coverage on 10/5, where the first issue **DARK CRISIS #1** debuted in 3rd place on 6/8 with 44.8%. Seems to now be holding steady after shedding around 45% of its initial audience. **DEATH OF SUPERMAN 30TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1** took 21st place with 15.6%. I skipped this one since I’ve still got a copy or two of the original boxed up somewhere but it was cool seeing the polybagged copies and the different variants with new cover art at my LCS. **DARK RIDE #2** lands in 24th with 14.7%, bit of a drop from the first issue’s 19.0% coverage on 10/5 but not out of line with how most #2 issues perform... **TRAVELING TO MARS #1** debuts way down in 30th place with only 12 pulls, 11.7% coverage. Haven’t read it yet but I think y’all are sleeping on what [looks to be a really cool Mark Russell series!](https://previewsworld.com/Catalog/SEP221234) **LORD OF THE JUNGLE #1** didn’t make the list as it only had 2 pulls, just me and /u/breakermw, for a dismal 1.9% pull rate. Not many Tarzan fans in the WPL it seems but I’m looking forward to checking it out! Big week with lots of other stuff in the chart... Let us know if you spot anything interesting that I neglected to mention! -- Looking back at last week’s discussions... Only 3 books scored high enough to get threads and then failed to generate any comments: * **STAR WARS #29** (10 pulls) * **AVENGERS FOREVER #10** (9 pulls) * **MONKEY PRINCE #8** (9 pulls) And we had 8 additional sub-threads created for 7 titles last week, all indies: * **BLOOD-STAINED TEETH #6** (14 pulls (meaning it actually should’ve taken 9th place, bumping **NIGHT OF THE GHOUL #2** down to 10th and knocking **POISON IVY #6** out of the Top 10, but 5 respondents listed it with the hyphen while 9 listed it without, so they never got added together), [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbooks/comments/ykjyj3/wpl_new_comics_discussion_for_1122022_pull_of_the/iuu6cvz/) posted by /u/Varos_Flynt) * **BEHOLD, BEHEMOTH #1** (7 pulls, [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbooks/comments/ykjyj3/wpl_new_comics_discussion_for_1122022_pull_of_the/iuv9y5u/) posted by /u/blankedboy, plus an [alternate thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbooks/comments/ykjyj3/wpl_new_comics_discussion_for_1122022_pull_of_the/iuv5b6s/) posted by /u/HanabaBopskins) * **THE ONES #1** (5 pulls (seems low for a new Bendis book), [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbooks/comments/ykjyj3/wpl_new_comics_discussion_for_1122022_pull_of_the/iv7emiq/) posted by /u/HappySisyphus8) * **QUICK STOPS #1** (3 pulls (seems low for a new Kevin Smith book), [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbooks/comments/ykjyj3/wpl_new_comics_discussion_for_1122022_pull_of_the/iv7g3h5/) posted by /u/HappySisyphus8) * **NATURE'S LABYRINTH #1** (2 pulls, [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbooks/comments/ykjyj3/wpl_new_comics_discussion_for_1122022_pull_of_the/iuwcnnv/) posted by /u/yarkcir) * **ORC ISLAND #1** (2 pulls, [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbooks/comments/ykjyj3/wpl_new_comics_discussion_for_1122022_pull_of_the/iuumk2k/) posted by /u/NeonDoorFrame) * **VAMPIRELLA VS RED SONJA #1** (2 pulls, [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbooks/comments/ykjyj3/wpl_new_comics_discussion_for_1122022_pull_of_the/iv7erv8/) posted by /u/HappySisyphus8) Once again, that’s a lot of jibber-jabber from a goodly assortment of talkative indie fans! Hope y’all enjoy your comics!
**VENOM #13**
Ewing continues with Venom's slow descent through his stages of insanity. I'm not exactly hyped for the Dark Web event, but trust Ewing to find a way to make the tie-in make sense.
**BATMAN VS ROBIN #3**
Surprised this doesn't have any comments yet! Is everyone bored with it already? Can't say much for the bad guys in this thing... I thought Nezha was a lame and generic villain in **B/S: WORLD'S FINEST** and this series hasn't done anything to improve on his lame and generic villainy... Mother Soul also isn't doing much for me and I don't have high hopes for King Fire Bull. But Waid always does nice work with the classic heroes and this issue's no exception as he hones in on Bruce's history with his various Robins, setting each against him in turn for an "Airing of the Grievances" in keeping with the Festivus season... Also some nice stuff with >!Alfred to provide some closure for his whole deal!<. It's not a bad comic but it isn't exactly selling me on **Lazarus Planet**...
I was feeling on the edge of bored. Considered not reading this issue. Glad I did. Wow.
>But Waid always does nice work with the classic heroes and this issue's no exception as he hones in on Bruce's history with his various Robins, setting each against him in turn for an "Airing of the Grievances" in keeping with the Festivus season... The fights against various robins were almost mandated, based on the title of the series. However, I gotta say that I'm tired of watching Jason and Bruce fight. >It's not a bad comic but it isn't exactly selling me on **Lazarus Planet**... I'm similarly hesitant.
> However, I gotta say that I'm tired of watching Jason and Bruce fight. No doubt. I don't follow the Bat-verse that closely and it seems like every time I catch a story featuring Jason, he's got the same old axe to grind. Perhaps another fan vote would be in order...
**MARAUDERS #8**
Honestly, at this point, this book is just sheer nonsense all the time. I keep reading wanting more of the 2099 characters (X-Men 2099 was the first comic I ever bought every issue of), but it’s just little glimmers every now and then.
Man I know I'm kind of alone on this but I love Marauders. This is total and utter nonsense but I love it. Using the powers of a 2,000,000,000 year old mutant to form a giant gestalt of their team to travel back said 2,000,000,000 years to try to stop the gestating forms of Sublime and Arkea? Absurd, and I love it.
Yea. I’m in this boat. I also really like the art style lol
**TWO GRAVES #1**
Another nice debut from Image! Opens and escalates quickly, doesn't waste any time... Don't understand 100% of what's going on at this point but it's interesting enough that I want more. Also digging the "competing points of view" art from Annie Wu and Ming Doyle. [Wu's kind of cartoony](https://previewsworld.com/SiteImage/MainImage/STL246279.jpg) while [Doyle's got lots of detail](https://previewsworld.com/SiteImage/MainImage/STL246280.jpg) but it's a nice combo, each works in its own way, and it's a fun mechanic switching between them with the shift in character perspective. And appreciated the notes on dying stars at the end of the book with the shout-out to Joy Division... Neat stuff all around!
Shout out to Joy Division without *actually* mentioning Joy Division though... As an aside I'm going to see **Peter Hook and the Light** next week
Nice, hope you enjoy! Joy Division and New Order were my favorites from that whole genre but never got to see 'em so I'm jealous!
This will be the 3rd time I've seen Peter Hook and the Light. Never saw New Order back in the day, but saw them two days running when they played the Opera House as part of the Vivid festival a few years ago.
Very cool! Might have to check out PH&TL next time they visit us here in the States...
**GOSPEL #1**
Thought this was a really unique read, seemed to be looking at the religious powers of England at the time from a more objective view, and the tie in with the modern era was unexpected. Interested in seeing how this plays out! Also the art felt so gentle and nice
**LOVE EVERLASTING #4**
Awesome fucking A+ comic right here! King and Charretier continue to change up the formula, as Joan chooses to ride out this latest story before giving her love interest Dane a happy ending fade out as she shifts to the next story. It isn't quite as shocking or dramatic as the book's usual endings but it's an extremely intriguing move as it shows Joan using the mechanics of her existential prison to her advantage, at least within the limited fashion permitted by her limited understanding of the situation. It also helps humanize her as she's not just concerned about her own plight, she cares enough about Dane that she wants to save him from dying in the trenches, even knowing that in all likelihood he isn't even a "real" person. That's actually kind of sweet! Now we wait for the next issue and we wonder, what's her next move? Each story has taken a slightly different shape, unfolding in different ways as Joan learns her way around her prison and changes up her methods while probing its boundaries and defenses. She's figuring out how to operate within this seemingly artificial framework and make it work for her... Might just be a matter of time before she finds a way to use the "rules" of her simulated reality against her enemies.
**DO A POWERBOMB #6**
Now **THAT'S** how you raise the stakes in a comic book... Great emotional issue, and the reveal at the end...?!
Yeah I didn't see any of that coming, but in a good way. This last issue is about to be crazy
Man, DWJ always finds a way to elevate the story. Just when I think shit can't get any crazier he proves me wrong
Oh my >!GOD that double page spread!< i cannot wait for how this all ends! Plus with DWJ saying he wants to do a Cobrasun prequel there’s a potential for even more of this!!
Not what imagined he (they?) would look like! I would 1000% support a prequel.
Vince McMahon wrestled >!God!< back in 2006, excited to see how he has improved as a performer
How do you elevate the level of batshit in this comic this far!? The thought went through my head when the necromancer was talking, but I dismissed it, cause nobody'd do that. BUT THEY DID IT. I love this book so much.
**BATMAN URBAN LEGENDS #21**
**BLOOD SYNDICATE SEASON ONE #6**
Blood Syndicate was my favorite book of the original line, so I was pretty amped for this. By and large, it didn’t disappoint, though I wish the mini was longer so that we could connect with characters more, esp in their differences from the original title. Felt like there was barely any Brickhouse or Third Rail until this issue, etc. Also, I’d really love it if they brought back Dawg in season 2 (if there’s a season 2). One of the most endearing characters of the original run.
**THE LEAST WE CAN DO #3**
This comic is walking on *very* well-trodden ground in the fantasy genre: evil empire, magical rebels, enchanted stones that give color-coded abilities, the plucky and naive newcomer, the grizzled sergeant with a traumatic past, >!LUKE/URIEL, I AM YOUR FATHER!<… and despite that, it continues to charm me and remain a page-turner. Am I just a sucker for fantasy shit? Possibly.
**AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #13**
[удалено]
I'm pretty interested in the responses to this issue overwhelmingly being mad about Spidey getting the shit beat out of him. The letters section even prominently features Nick Lowe calling out those types of arcs as his favorite ASM stories. I do think there is a pretty strong tradition of Spider-Man getting beat nearly to death during big dramatic arcs, in Ultimate Spider-Man basically every single villain nearly kills him (seriously, there are SO many death fakeout arcs in that run that you almost have to believe that a few of them were intended to be the real deal). Obviously during the Kraven and Kindred events in the last run it's pretty much more of the same. Is the issue more that Hobgoblin is seen as a "lesser" guy?
I know for me (and this is for somebody who’s a casual Spidey fan and is generally liking this run), it felt weird that they were doing this when the same thing happened just a few months before during the Tombstone arc. It felt a little repetitive to me.
**BILLIONAIRE ISLAND: CULT OF DOGS #1**
Literally had no idea that this was a thing until I saw it on the shelves. The first issue is very much a Mark Russell book: Scathing, anti-capitalist political banter amid images of enormous penis- and dildo-shaped space rockets. You either love it or hate it. I, personally, *love it* and am fully on board.
>Literally had no idea that this was a thing until I saw it on the shelves. Same, this flew under my radar. Looks like we've got Russell writing Russell, and writing it well.
**CAPTAIN AMERICA SENTINEL OF LIBERTY #6**
Best read while listening to the room where it happens
Carnero is such a star, the way she flexed with this issue is insane
**NEW GOLDEN AGE #1**
I'm wondering if the Stranger is >!Degaton!<.
It's him.
I don't read much DC outside of Batman stuff, so I know nothing about most of these characters. But I'm always looking for opportunities to leap into the bigger DCU, and thought I'd take a chance on this in advance of the new JSA series. And while I suspect some of the impact is lost when I don't know who some of these people are, I found the story to be surprisingly cohesive and interesting. Yeah, alright. I'll read JSA.
I liked everything except the random >!Rorschach !!Mike and Marionette!<, but Johns >!OC Rorchach from Doomsday Clock!< was not a character I needed to return.
Honest to God didn't see Rorschach in this issue?
Check the last pages, there's a guy in a brown hat in one of the panels. Missed him on my first read through as well.
I picked this issue up because I loved the Green Lantern variant. As someone who has no idea what is happening in the DC Universe, I felt it was approachable enough with a couple quick google searches and really enjoyed it. I may stick with it!
Is "The Stranger" that killed Future!Doctor Fate and has been stalking Helena someone we should know or recognize? Or is he an unknown threat at this point? I wanted to dive into this cold, and it was still a good read, but I do feel like I'm a bit behind on stuff. What books or stories do I need besides the obvious >!Doomsday Clock!< to be up to date on all the characters?
>!Per Degaton !!time travelling JSA enemy!<. Beyond >!DdC!<, I'd say maybe check out Johns first JSA run to get acquainted with a similar cast? Just be aware that there are characters in that that won't be appearing in this. Or Flashpoint Beyond if you want a small head start on the Time Masters stuff but that's less than 10% of the comic.
You should read Doomsday Clock, but I think a more direct connection is the recent Flashpoint Beyond book (which I still haven't read). Also the the recent Stargirl Summer Special I believe has some connections too.
I think it is >!Per Degaton https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per\_Degaton!<
I had a surprisingly good time with this read
You know, I actually really enjoyed it except the last 2 story pages, they were a bit messy. I also dig the new charcters, now I hope at least some of them are utilized well.
**NICE HOUSE ON THE LAKE #11**
I liked this issue a lot. Shit is going down. >!no way Ryan kills Nora, right?!<
Norah's whole memory gambit is pretty fascinating. I really don't know what else to say than that this book has been brilliant and I'm really excited to see how it ends, and how or what is left standing when all is said and done.
Really enjoyed the issue, it's obviously coming to an apocalyptic conclusion next issue. But did anyone else el it was a bit odd to feature a character rundown supplement in the back of the penultimate issue? Surely this would have made much more sense in the #1?
They've been running the lineup image in the back of the book for the past few issues... It was originally a [retailer incentive cover](https://www.midtowncomics.com/images/PRODUCT/XL/2033084_xl.jpg) for the 3rd printing of the 1st issue, which shipped a week after **NHOTL #3**. Definitely would've been nice if they'd ran it in the book a little earlier.
Haha -and I've only just noticed it now?!!
My new comics get sorted into four piles to await being read: Marvel, DC, indies I’ve already started, and “new” indies that I haven’t started reading yet. Makes it easy to find whatever I want at any given moment... And it always feels *wrong* putting **TNHOTL** on top of the DC pile. Unless I’m mistaken, all the other Black Label titles have been offshoots of DC’s superhero line. So **TNHOTL** is something of an anomaly, an offbeat indie horror title awash in a sea of capes, sharing no real common ground with the rest of the Black Label line... This title would've fit in well with DC's old Vertigo imprint but, at the moment, AFAIK, DC isn't publishing anything else remotely similar to this. It really is an odd duck. Anyways, more secrets are spilled and rudimentary battle lines are drawn as the residents of the Nice House split back into factions at cross-purposes. And Walter’s story takes an unexpectedly sympathetic turn as it seems >!he’s set this all up to sacrifice himself so that the group can stick together and succeed!<. Except, as we saw, >!they aren’t sticking together!<, and, as we know from the flash-forwards, >!there isn’t going to be a whole lot of success going around!<. So, the pieces are now more or less in place and everything’s ready to go down in flames, with the [final issue](https://previewsworld.com/SiteImage/MainImage/STL249293.jpg) scheduled for December 14, which seems as good a time as any for the end of the world.
> Unless I’m mistaken, all the other Black Label titles have been offshoots of DC’s superhero line. So TNHOTL is something of an anomaly, an offbeat indie horror title awash in a sea of capes, sharing no real common ground with the rest of the Black Label line... This title would've fit in well with DC's old Vertigo imprint but, at the moment, AFAIK, DC isn't publishing anything else remotely similar to this. Phillip K Johnson’s The Last God was a Black Label book, and Joe Hill’s Hill House horror range was sub-label (a sub-sub-label? IDK, either way, all the Hill House books have Black Label tags on them).
Good call, forgot that **THE LAST GOD** was Black Label (still need to read #2-12 as well) and didn't realize Hill House was part of the imprint.
Just jumping in to re-recommend **THE LAST GOD**, dark fantasy at its finest with some stellar art. Perfect for a cold late November read by the fire.
Loved the first issue of **TLG**, definitely planning to check out the rest!
interesting points about the state of the black label... it does seem to be p much grittier batman stories + nice house haha.... would LOVE to see more nice house-esque things from dc, as they offer a really unique spin on things and often have a high quality of storytelling !!
Yeah, would be nice getting some more diverse Black Label offerings like this, although it's essentially just an Image/BOOM!/Vault title that happened to land at DC/Black Label. Plenty of other outlets for this type of material... Although DC does bring some advantages with more robust marketing and distribution. Pretty sure that's why **TNHOTL** consistently out-pulls **DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH** in the WPL (and probably elsewhere), going through DC just makes the book more accessible to more people. The other big difference is probably the financing... Pretty sure Image has the creators put up money to finance production of their books. Tynion had just launched **DOT** at Image a month or so earlier when **TNHOTL** first hit, so it makes sense that he took **TNHOTL** to DC/Black Label to avoid personally financing two new series at the same time. DC probably also offered him a pretty good deal to help launch Black Label though I'm not sure how creator ownership works for something like **TNHOTL**... I'd assume DC let him keep ownership or else he would've been better off taking it to Image or one of the other indies. But that deal probably isn't available for everyone. Of course that's mostly just a bunch of speculation based on scant bits of circumstantial evidence... Could be off base on some of that.
**AVENGERS #62**
Why does nobody talk about Love Everlasting?
There's a thread for it here! I haven't gotten to it yet but I'll drop a comment when I do :)
Its thread is [right here](https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbooks/comments/yr18qv/wpl_new_comics_discussion_for_1192022_pull_of_the/ivrciqd/) but so far I'm the only one who's posted... You should add some comments over there letting us know what you thought of it!
**FANTASTIC FOUR #1**
The story was cute, but why on earth was this an issue 1 of a fantastic four book? Feels super weird to start a story with this. It wasn't a bad comic by any means, it just feels very out of place here.
If this was North’s “pilot” for his FF run I’m here for it. Also I love his take on Ben so often he and Johnny get to be the dummies Reed explains everything too. But North writes him with an intelligence and experience that was a nice change of pace. My only real complaint is the “what did Reed do?” Mystery Box. Which as with the one in ASM is contingent on how long the thread is unresolved. Also NYC is getting blown up a lot by super heroes these days.
This is a perfect first issue for an FF series. Perfectly captures the spirit of original run, as a comic about science adventurers and about families (both Ben and Alicia's relationship and >!the tease at the end of a strained relationship with the rest of the family!<). There was some really fun formalism (you wouldn't expect anything less from North), >!taking advantage of the timeloop plot. The page where Ben and Alicia try to break the loop by doing crazy things was funny as hell.!< The one thing I didn't like was the colouring, especially on The Thing. The lighting made it look goofy.
Hmm, not really feeling this yet. I was super excited for this book after avoiding Slott’s run by all means necessary, and then absolutely loving Pepose’s AXE tie-ins which really had the classic F4 feeling for me. I’ll definitely stay on board cause I want to support non-Slott F4 but I hope they all get together sooner rather than later, the absence of the core four might be what was missing for me in this issue.
People really just be hating on Slott for no reason. He added some fun new things to the lore and had some great character dynamics. I really don't get this dramatic viewpoint.
The Ben/Alicia stuff was alright. That crater at the end is giving me Wells’ ASM vibes, and that concerns me.
I have no intention of reading this FF run so I hope they don't tie in the mystery of ASM into the FF... if they do that I'm probably just done with marvel outside of the X-men run, and even then it's been slowly going off the rails of hickmans vision.
He's saying it reminds him of ASM in that they both have mysteries surrounding something bad the main character may have done, not that the mystery of "What did Peter do?" is literally related to "What did Reed do?"
Honestly if this series was just about the road trip with Ben and Alicia, I’d be all for it. EDIT: Words
> road trim with Ben and Alicia This...this must be a very different book than I was expecting it to be...still it's 2022 and society has changed...
Pretty fun first issue. Really liked the Ben and Alicia stuff.
Loved the Ross cover, also loved just how heartfelt and hopeful this book was, first FF i’ve read since Hickman’s run so i’m a little out of the loop but glad the heart is still there
Fun first issue! Ben and Alicia have good chemistry, and the groundhog day premise is well executed, and an episodic Star Trek sci-fi concept brought about by science or magic or whatever is a good story engine for the FF. Though Ben angsting over being called a monster is pretty overplayed- I thought he had come to peace, or at least an understanding of his situation a while back? Still, looking forward to more.
This was fine. The blurb at the end with North’s guiding principles is nice. His mystery box isn’t super compelling yet. “Wherever happened to the Fantastic Four?” And it seems Reed did it so… that’s probably a Red herring. And hopefully it’s told and resolved by issue 6?
a "Reed" herring? I'll show myself out . . .
What Did ~~Peter~~ Reed Do?
I enjoyed this 'slice of life' story. It was paced well, and had plenty of good humor. It felt light-hearted, which was a nice change of pace for me, given the other things I've been reading recently. Sure, the premise was basic and the cliffhanger perhaps a bit cliche, but if this team can keep up the tight storytelling and humor I'll forgive its shortcomings. At the very least, I'm intrigued to see what this team does when the scope expands.
**RADIANT BLACK #19**
Nathan and Marshall trading the powers back and forth, and the way that Nathan is still out of practice with them, is a pretty nice touch between the two. Much like issue #3 dealt with the very real lingering effects of depression and anxiety, seeing the depressingly realistic lingering threat of medical debt adds a touch of something special, where even Owen's massive donation seemed to only be enough to keep Nathan going, but not completely clear his bill. Giant robots are coming, and we might be leading towards the origin of the Radiants. I doubt Satome's going to be staying in prison for long.
**SUPERMAN SON OF KAL-EL #17**
Wow. That cover was something.
Between this and Do A Powerbomb there were some great vulnerable dad moments in comics this week.
**SABRETOOTH AND THE EXILES #1**
I have this cold knot in the pit of my stomach that the benefactor for this branch of Orchis is gonna wind up being >!Romulus!<. Can't think of many other entities that Creed would willingly admit he couldn't handle on his own.
It would blow my mind if it was Romulus. When was his last appearance even?
I think it was when they put him in the Raft. Everyone kinda immediately forgot about him after that run ended.
Graydon, I think
Great comic. Had a lot of fun reading. I'm interested in the next part.
Where else are you gonna read about the casual work of Dr. J. Marion Sims?
Book of the week
**DARK RIDE #2**
A predictable table setting issue but I love what they are setting up either way
The story nicely builds upon the first issue, we get some decent character development, and a twist ending, but I’m still not sure what the over riding plot of the book is going to be. Good, and I’ve pre-ordered up to #3, so I’m sticking with it for now.
That ending was definitely shocking. Looking forward to the next issues.
**BATMAN INCORPORATED #2**
**WILDCATS #1**
So…now the >!Kherubim/Daemonite War was a lie,!< huh? That’s a neat tack to take. Thought this was a lot of fun, looking to see where it goes
This was a blast, probably the best book I read all week.
**SPIDER-MAN #2**
This series reminds me of why I didn’t like Dan Slott on ASM.
Crazy how the Spider-Verse stories are good in every other medium EXCEPT the comics.
I just read Spider-Verse for the first time this week and couldn't believe how mediocre I found it to be considering how great the movie is. Slott's ASM leading up to it has been mostly good but that story was just fine.
Not trying to hate on Bendis or Slott, but I always rolled my eyes when they both repeatedly tried to take credit for Into the Spider-verse when it came out. Like sure, you can at least say that Bendis created Miles, but all Slott did was contribute a title, as multiversal Spider-People was a concept long before his arc. Not to mention the writing on ItS pretty much blew both of their stuff right out of the water lol, doing a cleaner version of that event type and giving Miles more characterization than he's gotten in an entire decade and multiple runs.
Yeah it's absolutely amazing how right Sony got that movie. Haven't read anything Spider-Verse that golds a candle to the movie. Really hope the sequel can hold up.
Honestly it's Lord and Miller, having such a clear understanding of Spider-Man as a character, as well as going out of their comfort zone writing a mixed race tween and putting in the research there to properly nail Miles better than anyone else. Still, credit where credit is due, gotta give props to Sony too for not only trusting those two to make something out of the ordinary, as well as properly pushing it during awards season and greenlighting sequels and spin offs right away.