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I'm debating delving into manga. I'm a bit hesitant from the sheer volume of stuff out there. Not only would that be a lot of reading to add to a big pile of "to be read", but it would also be a lot of shelf space.
Especially since, if I do, the first thing I'd probably delve into would be Alice in Borderland. I've been re-watching that show on Netflix in preparation for season 3. The manga seems to have 9 volumes available of Amazon. At 300+ pages each, that'd be a lot of reading.
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HUZZAH!!!
It looks like my copy of Dracula: Book II - The Brides is on its way! I just got the shipping notification yesterday, so the package hasn't worked its way far enough into the system to give a potential delivery date. It's coming from the New York State area, I think. So it'll probably be a few days.
Absolute and Ultimate Comics are still by far the best.
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Woot! 9,273 book cataloged. I think now I've got just around 2500-3000 books to go.
And I finally decided to move into the digital age for my Gap List. When I first started keeping it, it was small enough I just wrote it in pencil. As it grew, it got to be a bit of a pain, but I didn't have to rewrite it too often.
Yesterday, though, I finally got tired of rewriting it and just converted it into a spreadsheet. This way I can have a picture of the list on my phone. I could probably use the cataloging app I have, but that would require searching through the app each time. Which would be a time-consuming pain considering how many books I have in there. This way, I have a brief list that I can look over pretty quick.
Mortal Thor RULES!!! He is WORTHY!!! (also Absolute and Ultimate Comics are awesome.)
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I've had a handful of Rippaverse books arrive over the last month or so. Kept intending to read them, but other stuff would get in the way. Finally got around to it. Overall, I'm glad to see the Rippaverse is still doing well, even if it's not as well as the initial, multi-million dollar campaigns. I hope they can keep it up. I like indie stuff.
The Rippazine is the company magazine where they showcase new characters through short stories, give some excerpts from upcoming products, and throw in a few other regular bits to fill out the rest. This was the fourth issue. The story it contained was interesting. A reporter who kind of reminds me of Kolchak, but he's an Except with an unspecified power (although I think at least part of it might be a photographic memory of sorts). He gets teamed up with a Vicky Vale like character who has her own mystery past and a kind of death touch. The story was a good set up for the future. The rest of the magazine was...unexceptional. I'm not sure I'll keep getting these.
Yaira - This third issue had a few more revelations about the title character. Including that she was part of some dark magic group, and that they are mightily peeved at her. Otherwise, the story was meh. I really don't see the Soska Sisters as being all that good of writers. The story they're giving has potential, but the way they plot it out leaves a lot to be desired. And the art was borderline terrible. This is the book I'm most heavily considering giving up on.
The Horseman - This is the great Chuck Dixon's biggest contribution to the Rippaverse. And this is the first of the character's new ongoing series. He's definitely inspired by the Punisher, but like Batman is driven more out of a desire to protect the innocent than to just take out the guilty. They're setting it up so he's being bankrolled by a wealthy tech-industrialist, definitely not with the best of intentions. With Dixon at the helm, I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes. The art from Joe Bennett was solid.
Saints and Sinners - This is the company's first anthology. For writing chores, they have an eclectic group: Some with no previous experience writing, several with a good bit of writing experience. The stories were a mix of decent to really well done. At least one of the "no experience" guys did a great job (and had my second favorite story of the bunch), the other...meh (too rambling). One Youtuber who has an entire book series under his belt did a pretty good job with his story, but I was a bit disappointed in the end (because he kills an interesting character). All in all, I enjoyed most of it. I'd love to see them do it again, but maybe with some more well-known and experienced comic writers (like the aforementioned Chuck Dixon).
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New History of the DC Universe - This new issue brings us from just after Crisis up to when Didio brought back the long-dead Barry Allen. Nothing special. It does fold the Milestone characters into the continuity.
Viking Moon - Vikings arrive as would-be settlers, in pursuit of a previous settlement by Leif Erikson. They come across Native Americans. Then werewolves. This should be cool. Pruett's writing and setup are solid. Marcelo Frusin's art is great. The werewolves, only briefly seen, remind me of the ones from The Howling.
Skinbreaker - This is Kirkman's new series, which he's apparently been working on with artist David Finch for the past 8 years. It's a fantasy world. So far we've only seen one tribe of orange-red skinned, orc or hobgoblin like barbarians. They are born with a weird skin covering that renders them photosensitive, until a coming of age ceremony when they are exposed to sunlight and it burns off the old skin: "The Light reveals strength." There's the old chieftain who's weakening. His son who's reluctant to challenge (and presumably kill) his father. And there's the thuggish rival who thinks his strength should obviously rule. The writing is great. The art is spectacular.
Green Lantern - An army of Starbreakrs vs not just the Green Lantern Corps, but (by the end of the book) all the other colored corps as well (unfortunately). Adams is doing an interesting job of this. And he's building up to the next big problem. Still, I've been away from GL for a long time. There's a lot of new faces (and some that I recognize, but am kind of disappointed to see).
Mr. Terrific: Year One - Huzzah! Jefferson Pierce. I kind of like DC making him and Holt good friends since forever. But when did Mr. Terrific get a kid?!? And I can see they're building towards the evil chick being a greater menace in the modern parts of the story. So I wonder how big an impact this will have going forward.
Hyde Street - We get the origing of Doctor Ego. I've got to say, it was a bit underwhelming. At the same time, he comes across as one of the smartest residents of Hyde Street. Not a complete wanker, just kind of really confident in his knowledge of lots of stuff. And they're also building up towards a bigger story with the enigmatic Butcher of Hyde Street.
Conan: Scourge of the Serpent - This first issue is pulling together three different REH stories to weave a greater narrative involving the serpent god Set: The Shadow Kingdom with Kull, The God in the Bowl with Conan, and The Haunter of the Ring with John Kirowan. We'll see if they pull in any other stories going forward. Jim Zub's writing is, of course, epic. The art is by Ivan Gil. I like it a lot.
MORTAL THOR!! ABSOLUTE DC!!! ULTIMATE MARVEL!!!! THINGS THAT APPARENTLY ZOMBIE HATES!! Which SUCK!! Because honestly these reviews?!! Not worth ink its printed on.
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I nearly forgot to mention - I also picked up the new Tomb of Dracula Omnibus Volume 1. It collects Tomb of Dracula #'s 1-31, Werewolf by Night #15, Giant-Size Chillers #1, and Giant-Size Dracula #'s 2-4. And so many good writers: Marv Wolfman, Gerry Conway, Archie Goodwin, Gardner Fox, Chris Claremont. Only three main artists, though: Gene Colan, Mike Ploog, and Don Heek. The cover art for the omnibus is the same as that used for the first issue of Tomb of Dracula (I've got one of those!), by the great Neal Adams.
I've only skimmed through it, but it looks gorgeous. I've got something like 24 other omnibuses to read through, so I'm not sure when I'll get around to this one. Dracula is one of my favorite literary characters, though, so I might have to push this one up on the priority list.
ABSOLUTE AND ULTIMATE MARVEL RULE!!!
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I just finished reading Wagner and Jones’ Dracula Book 2 - The Brides. It was everything I had hoped it would be. Each of the brides has her own little backstory and character traits. And each was apparently based off women that Kelley Jones knows. That’s cool. The story also delves into Dracula’s rule of his domain, showcasing other supernatural creatures he must deal with, from ghosts haunting his castle to werewolves stalking the woods.
The art is, of course, gorgeous. Kelley Jones really does some of his best work with horror. And he clearly loves the Dracula mythos. Wagner weaves a compelling tale, with plenty of small bits showing Dracula with a kind of disconnection to time. And there are even some cool nods to the films portraying the Count.
All in all, I would again recommend this book for anyone who loves the work of these creators, or the legend of Dracula. Or both.
MORTAL THOR IS EPIC!! THE POWER FANTASY IS AWESOME!!! BATTLEWORLD IS GREAT!!!
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The other day, Walt Simonson posted something cool to his public Facebook page. He and Louise Simonson had been out for a walk and came across a bookstore with a book in the window called Thor & Loki: Epic Tales from Marvel Mythology.
Needless to say, he bought a copy.
According to Mr. Simonson's brief perusals, as well as an official description, the book has Thor and Loki "regale us with engaging and fantastical retellings of the classic tales of Norse Mythology." Just looking at the table of content pictures, however, I'd say the book also contains some classic retellings of stories from Marvel Comics. After all, there's one story called "Thor, Frog of Thunder".
Needless to say, I have also purchased a copy.
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The other day I backed a new Kickstarter by Mark Millar for a book he's doing called Conquered. From what I saw of it, it's kind of Independence Day, but with a fantasy twist instead of sci-fi. Basically, a fantasy-style barbarian army invades modern Earth through mystic portals. They're riding dragons and can cut off electricity.
It sounded interesting, and I typically like most of what Millar does.
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Huzzah! I succeeded in restraining myself when Wagner and Jones' Dracula Book III Kickstarter opened up earlier today. They had 10 drawings available that were done as a collaboration between the two creators. At $2,500 a pop though, when considering my wife's potential reaction....I chose life.
Still, I did get purchase one of the 666 signed copies of the book, as well as the Book 3 Art Portfolio and two t-shirts.
Dragons? surface to air missiles say hello.
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Dragons? surface to air missiles say hello.
That's what I'd day. Apparently, in the story (as briefly described by the writer) they precede the attack with some sort of magic that shuts down electricity grids. So I'm guessing it wipes out (or severely limits) communications or anything else that relies on electronics.
Honestly not nearly as fun as Absolute DC or even Ultimate Marvel. ESPECIALLY with the new Absolute "Justice" League.
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Honestly not nearly as fun as Absolute DC or even Ultimate Marvel. ESPECIALLY with the new Absolute "Justice" League.
I think Brainiac is about to make a Significant Mistake
I think Brainiac is about to make a Significant Mistake
You might be right. But at the same time, I do wonder if this is how Absolute U gets it ship righted
Also I think
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Superman and Spider-Man Headline the Next Marvel and DC Crossover
This could be cool, depending on the creative teams.
Honestly I want Thor and Superman to fight Darkseid who has the All Black. :p
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Batman - Still not sure who thought it was a good idea to have Vandal Savage suddenly be part of Batman’s villain wheelhouse. He already had an immortal megalomaniac enemy. And it seems Batman would have done his best to prevent Savage from basically taking over the city and corrupting the police force. Still, it’s nice to see someone other than Damian (who I see is still being written like a little a-hole) as Robin, even if they’ve kind of regressed the Drake character (since he already knew how to drive and had the Red Bird years ago). The art is really top notch, though.
The Rocketfellers - We get the completion of the “why” of the story. Evil tech the evil company head wants to use to save his own life (damn the consequences to the human race), and the sister of the protagonist is corrupted by her love for him. This is still a solid book, but I wonder how long they can keep it interesting. It’s a standalone, though. Not part of the Ghost Machine universes of either Geiger/Redcoat or Rook Exodus. The future world they built up for this kind of reminds me of the Marvel 2099 universe, with multiple corporations or power groups controlling everything.
JSA - Eleven issues of build up, and the bad guys get defeated in one. Seems they could have sped that up a bit. Khalid is, I think, one of my favorite modern incarnations of a superhero. So I was glad to see him be the one to get the final blow against the bad guys. And I loved seeing the reserves called in. The only bummer part I had was them destroying Jessie and Rick’s marriage. What is it with comic book writers having a mad on for normal, stable marriages? Anyway, then at the end we get Spectre. I hope they’re not just going to use him as a villain again. That gets kind of old.
Huck: Big, Bad, World - Ouch. First we get a slaughter from the bad guys against supers. Then we get Huck unleashed against the evil SOBs . I think they must be some remnant of the villain organization that got taken down in Big Game. And now it looks like we’ve got Super Baby, perhaps even with multiple powers. Though maybe just a telekinetic.
Rook Exodus - I’m so glad this series is back. It was probably one of the best things to come out of Ghost Machine. This new arc picks up after the defeat of Ursaw, with the remaining Wardens trying to put things back together and save their world. We get more on the Warden Bloodhound, father of Direwolf. He’s gone feral, basically. And maybe we get the new big bad, a new Warden named Arachnid. He’s like a creepy cyborg driver. Awesome.
ABSOLUTE DC "JUSTICE LEAGUE" rules!! Also good is Ultimate Marvel U.
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And the third volume of Marvel’s Ghost Rider Epic Collection came in this week. Been waiting for that one. This is the Johnny Cage original run. I think the Blaze run ended in 1983, so there should be at least one more book (since this one ends with issue 50 from 1980).
I find it’s been easier (and cheaper) to get all those in the Epic format. Plus they give a list on the front and back inside covers of all the Epic Collections. Sometimes I see things I make a note to maybe purchase in the future.
Also I'm looking forward to seeing how more of who will take the Absolute GA mantle.
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Matt Wagner sent out an email update yesterday for the new Dracula Kickstarter campaign. One of the things I love about updates like that, is they often promote other campaigns.
The one Wagner promoted in this update is a collected edition of the old Spider-Man newspaper strips done by Stan Lee and John Romita. I can still remember seeing those strips on the newspaper comics page back when I was a kid. So I may have to back that campaign as well.
ABSOLUTE DC RULES!!! ULTIMATE MARVEL RULES!!!
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I saw in the news the other day that Dynamite is starting a Thundarr the Barbarian series in January. I remember that series from my youth. It was awesome to young me. It wasn't until just recently that I learned such comic industry luminaries as Martin Pasko and the King himself, Jack Kirby, worked on the show. So, I may just give this a try.
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Just saw an article that Marvel is restarting Moon Knight in February. Again. With the same writer. AGAIN.
As much as I love the character, and have found Mackay's writing to be pretty decent, I'm getting tired of these endless restarts. I might skip this next series. Which would bring an end to weekly new books from Marvel for me.
I mean you could always get the Ultimates series... Or Thor's series. Hell even Hulk's!
But I guess you just don't listen...
Also POWER FANTASY RULES!!!
Honestly I'm more into the Absolute Universe than DC Vertigo...with the exception of Camp's story possibly.
Also ULTIMATE U FOREVER!!!
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Nemesis Forever - The villain continues his master plan, perhaps unaware of some of the many moving parts against him. Or maybe he is aware. He is, after all, like a hyper-strategic, evil Batman. At least Millar finally mentions some of the heroes that are a part of the same universe. It was beginning to feel like Nemesis operated in a vacuum. The art by Scalera is great.
Gotham by Gaslight - Well, this just to a dark turn into Lovecraftian territory. I kind of like it. Zod put up a great fight. I hope we get to see more of him.
Batman: The Last Halloween - Well, I didn't think this series could surprise me, but it did. Not the whole "Selina Falcone", but the final few pages. That bit from Gilda? In the words of Keanu...WHOA! I just hope the next issue isn't delayed as long.
Event Horizon - The location they ended up in did not look like I expected. And maybe this is a weakness of the art. Still, things began to unravel very quickly for the crew. Some of it's just hinted. Some of it is clearly on display. And we have a name for the devil of the story - Paimon. Right out of theology. Cool.
Batman: Dark Patterns - Another surprising turn of events. I didn't see that coming with the identity of the Child. Still , this story has been building nicely. Looking back, a lot of elements for this final arc have been laid through the year. Well done. I look forward to the final issue. I hope they do more.
Green Lantern Corps - A nice conclusion to the Starbreaker story. With enough meat on the bones to lead us in some interesting directions. Krona. A whole lot of Lanterns, of varying shades. I'm sure the solution to the Starbreakers WON'T come back to bite anyone in the butt. And that last page through me for a loop. Not sure I'm happy about it.
Aquaman - So his daughter is...evil? Maybe. Though I get the impression she's not his daughter. Or maybe some is wearing her like a suit. I'll be happy when I get the collection of those first 8 issues. The art is great. And Aquaman seems a little less serious. Throwing around quips seems different, but fun. Kind of like his upgrade as well, but they need to dial it back a bit, I think.
Transformers - That speecj by Megatron. Awesome. Then the switch to Dan Mora's art with the Autobots. And....Miles Mayhem?!? What in the name of MASK?!? I guess Hasbro owns that IP these days. The only downside I could see was Cobra-La. Ye gods, no! Maybe from a parallel universe, though? That might not be too bad.
Conan - A very trippy, 25th issue. The story was weird, but cool, featuring an older King Conan and a mysterious guest. The art, by some dude named Alex Horley, was nice. It kind of reminded my of Richard Corben, with maybe a hint of Frazetta thrown in for good measure. Not the kind of thing I'd like to see every issue, but cool enough. We got some greatest hits from Conan's life. That was cool. Makes me want to go back and read the REH stories again.
The POWER fantasy is still the best comic book out there!!!
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Forgot to mention. So the comic book store I go to is part of a small chain. They have a convention every year, which I never go to because (a) it's an hour or more away, and (b) I am invariably busy (or otherwise occupied) when they schedule it.
Last year, they somehow snagged Jim Lee as a guest. I was tempted to try and go, but fell ill. This year, I don't know which guests they had, but I was super busy anyway.
Next year, however, they mentioned trying to get Ram V. That could be cool. And who knows, maybe I'll actually get to go.
Still going to promote The Power Fantasy and Absolute DC since they are the best comics out there.
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‘Batman: Knightfall’ Animated Films Set at Warner Bros. Animation
Sweet! That's the story which got me back into collecting the Bat books after some time away from them. Most of the past DC animated adaptations of older stories have been pretty decent (except Crisis), so I'm hoping they can do a good job with this one.
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I saw news this week regarding some of DCs planned new series for 2026. Two books, in particular, caught my eye: Firestorm and The Demon. There were a lot of others, but those are the ones I’m eager to hear more about. It all depends on the creative team, especially the writers.
So I shall hold myself as cautiously optimistic.
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Hello Darkness - For an October issue from a horror anthology, I was kind of disappointed. The stories were well-written (for the most part) and well drawn, but kind of preachy. I've noticed that more and more. Maybe they aren't getting as good of talent.
The Punisher: Red Band - Frank being Frank. Punishing people in very permanent ways. And King Pin being just...weird. Very self-flagellating. Literally. It's almost sad, but kind of interesting to see this new direction they're taking the character. He's still horrible, but his goal is ...good? I'd just worry that he's becoming more of a focus than the actual title character. The art is great. There's one detective, and I think they modeled her look after Grace Jones. That's kind of who she reminds me of, anyway.
New Gods - Opening pages with art by Denys Cowan were sweet! Black Racer!! WOOT!!! The fights had some great moments, especially between Granny Goodness (who's been a favorite ever since Ed Asner voiced her in animation) and Barda, then again Desaad and Mister Miracle. I think I kind of like the idea of Desaad actually being this handsome youth. I get the impression his outer ugliness is now more of a reflection of his inner self. More and more, I think Ram V gets the New Gods far better than any more of the more recent writers.
Battle Beast - Just a good knock down drag out fight between two unstoppable killing machines. I wasn't sure if they could up the mayhem, but when the series comes back in March of 2026, it looks like they're set to do just that. For fans of the Invincible Universe, this story is a must.
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New History of the DC Universe - This was the final issue. I read through the beginning, but lost interest with a lot of the more modern stuff from DC. Although I do think they’ve got a better handle on things since work started on this series. Overall, Waid did the best he could with the mess DC has made of their continuity over the years.
Hello Halloween - A one shot special from the Hello Darkness folk. Most of the stories were decent. Especially the ones by R. L. Stine, Robert Hack, and Megan Hutchison.
Moon Knight - I had nearly forgotten I still collect this one Marvel book. This continues the story of some ghosts haunting the Wrecker. Not MacKay’s best work.
Captain Henry and the Graveyard of Time - This one was just weird. Set in 1880, and some ex-soldier uses a suit to propel himself into the spirit world. Then shenanigans propel him still deeper, I’m assuming into the title “Graveyard of Time”, since it’s filled with a lot of clocks (and one angry clock golem). Like I said, weird, but kind of fun.
Sisterhood - The series is ramping up to the murderous conclusion, and now we see the dangers of letting an angry spirit share your body. I imagine this will end with pretty much everyone dying. Brutal, but kind of what’s to be expected from most Hyde Street stories.
Green Lantern - Everyone’s starting to pick up the pieces from the battle with Starbreaker and his people. Still, this issue almost feels like something got skipped over. Maybe several somethings. It was nice to see Hal having fun with a bad guy though. I still think there are way too many human Green Lanterns.
Skinbreaker - It’s the second issue of Kirkman’s new fantasy series, and things definitely get interesting. The main character makes a hard choice to protect his tribe. All so he can lead it to what he hopes is a better future. And then we skip forward to that future. And the forces trying to undo everything he’s worked for. That was….unexpected. Still, this new world Kirkman is building had lots of potential. And the art rocks.