Summer Comics Review 2023

No top 10 this year, just going over some standouts. Oscars 7. Go.

Berserk Deluxe Edition vol. 1

by Kentaro Miura (Writer/Artist),Jason DeAngelis (Translator)

A stunningly illustrated manga following a savage lone warrior and his great struggles. 

Human Target vol. 1

by Tom King (Writer), Greg Smallwood (Artist)

A very intriguing noir murder mystery throughout the DC universe.

Public Domain vol. 1

by Chip Zdarsky

A sharp satire about the current state of the comics industry and how its creators are left behind by the giant movies based on their creations. 

Trials of X vol. 1-4

by Simon Spurrier, Gerry Duggan, Tini Howard, etc.

Another continuation of the Krakoan age of the X-Men. The most interesting thing Marvel has going on now in my opinion.

Something is Killing the Children vol. 1-4

by James Tynion IV (Writer), Werther Dell’Edera (Artist)

Engagingly written and drawn story about monsters coming to life and the secret society that fights them. 

Decorum

by Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Mike Huddleston (Artist)

Really creatively told sci-fi story that says a lot about the future of the universe and of the possibilities of comics as a creative medium.

Frankenstein 

by Junji Ito

Gruesomely illustrated and riveting adaptation of Mary Shelly’s classic novel. Also collecting some other good horror short stories about a haunted house with a gateway to another universe. 

That's all. It seems I only come back to this blog for this but still stay connected. 

Comics Review 2022!

What's up and what's good? I'm back on this mid blog for the only thing that's even slightly consistent here, the yearly comics reviews. I mostly read these in the summer but I stretch the limits of summer a little bit. This year I may have flopped worse than ever, technically reading the least amount of comics yet. But I read some bigger books so it balances out. Anyway, I'm doing the Oscars 6. Go.

10. Kang the Conquerer: Only Myself Left to Conquer

By Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, Carlos Magno (Visual Art)

A surprisingly interesting and thoughtful Marvel miniseries about Kang and his many iterations of existence throughout time. 

9. Superman Son Of Kal-El vol. 1

By Tom Taylor, John Timms (Illustrator), Daniele Di Nicuolo(Illustrator), Gabe Eltaeb (Colorist), Hi-Fi (Colorist), Dave Sharpe (Letterer)

A story about Superman's son, Jonathan Kent becoming the new Superman and what responsibility an ultra-powerful being has to people and the world. Bonus points for making boomers mad about Superman being gay.

8. Nightwing vol. 1

By Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo (Illustrator), Rick Leonardi (Illustrator), Neil Edwards (Illustrator), Adriano Lucas (Illustrator), Scott Hanna (Illustrator), Andy Lanning (Illustrator), Wes Abbott  (Letterer)

Another great new DC series by Tom Taylor. He is really able to reinvent Nightwing and the bat family and make them convincingly occupy their own world with their own new stories.

7. Ultimate Spider-Man vol. 1

By Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Mark Bagley (Artist), Stuart Immonen (Illustrations), David Lafuente (Illustrations), Trevor Hairsine (Illustrations)

By now it's a classic but it's a modern take on Spider-Man's origin and youth. It's really a blast and a breeze to read through, super fun and surprisingly life-like in its depiction of high-school kids.

6. Daredevil vol. 1-7

By Charles Soule, Stefano Landini (Illustrator), Ron Garney (Illustrator),Christos Gage, Mike Perkins (Illustrator), Matt Milla (Colorist)

A great Daredevil run continuing from Mark Waid, comes Charles Soule's Daredevil. He introduces many new important elements such as Daredevil's "sidekick" Blindspot, Wilson Fisk becoming mayor and more all in a fun fresh way.

5. Star Wars: Darth Vader vol 1&2

By Greg Pak, Raffaele Ienco (Illustrator), Neeraj Menon (Color Artist), Joe Caramagna (Letterer)

A great series filling in several unanswered questions about Darth Vader's reaction after the prequels specifically in regards to Padme. As well as his failure after Empire Strikes Back and his relation with the sith and his identity, fighting enemies, all awesome.

4. Avatar: The Last Airbender vol. 1&2

By Gene Luen Yang (Writer), Michael Dante DiMartino (Writer), Bryan Konietzko (Writer), Gurihiru (Illustrator), Dave Marshall (Editor)

I recently rewatched this classic show and this comic continuation directly follows it up and greatly lives up to it. It's not at all afraid to follow up on major plot points and serious themes and stories. Most of all, it really captures the show's spirit and feels like you're watching an episode of it.

3. Reign of X vol. 1-5

By Al Ewing, Jonathan Hickman, Gerry Duggan, Benjamin Percy,Valerio Schiti (Visual Art), Mahmud Asrar (Visual Art), Stefano Caselli (Visual Art), Matteo Lolli (Visual Art)

This is a direct continuation of Dawn of X, which I put on my list 2 years ago but it has been rebranded and contains so many different collected series that I feel it needs a new entry, especially for how many freaking volumes I've read. It continues as a vibrant fun reboot giving new life and energy to the X-men through intriguing great stories.

2. Uzamaki

By Junji Ito, Yuji Oniki (Translator)

Spiral into chaos with master of horror Junji Ito, who is also a master illustrator, he crafts this amazing manga showing crazy mysteries, disturbing imagery, and visions of the end of the world. And it's all about spirals! 

1. Star Wars: Lost Stars vol. 1-3

By Claudia Gray, Yusaku Komiyama (Visual Art)

I don't think I can fully capture this in words but if I must say anything it's an amazingly touching adaptation of one of the best Star Wars novels, in which two best friends and soulmates struggle to find each other against the backdrop of the galactic civil war. It really rises above the purview of a star wars manga and becomes an amazing human story.

 

In regards to this blog, I've certainly left it by the wayside and I've promised many posts that never came to be but I may yet come back with some posts so thanks for sticking around and stay connected. 

Comics Review 2021

 2021 in review

Welcome back readers, I am once again going to be ranking my favorite of the comic book collections that I read this summer. I didn’t read too many compared to recent years but I have read quite a few still. So I will once again be doing a top ten list. Don’t read too much into the placement of each book on the list. This is just my subjective opinion. All of the books in this list are here because I enjoyed them very much. Shoutout to everyone who worked on these books! With out further a do, I’m doing the Oscars 5. Go.

10. House of El Vol. 1

By Claudia Gray (Writer), Eric Zawadski (Illustrator)

This is a very interesting book about the class divisions on the planet Krypton and the battles between the houses. There is a lot of cool stuff in here about brainwashing and avoiding the threat that is coming for them that is to destroy the planet. Big up to Claudia Gray once again for being an amazing writer.

9. Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren

By Charles Soule (Writer), Will Sliney (Illustrations)

This is a miniseries that is kind of an excellent legacy project as a continuation of Soule’s Darth Vader project and tells Kylo Ren's origin and gives more details about Luke’s Jedi temple and the knights of ten into canon. The story of Ben Solo and his downfall is told pretty well here and it has captivating characters and art.

8. X-Men/Fantastic Four: 4X

By Chip Zdarsky (Writer), Terry Dodson (Illustrations), Rachel Dodson (Illustrations)

Chip Z does it again! I mean come on, the fantastic four are ludicrous, like legit delusional, really stupid. I’m with the X-men 💯%, no, one bowsand percent. The fantastic four abuse children. Deluded no wayyy, son it made me mad and scream at these freaking meddlers. No wonder I never liked Richards. Absolutely compelling comics though.

7. Silver Surfer: Black

By Donny Cates (Writer), Tradd Moore (Illustrator), Dave Stewart (Colorist)

An awesome story through the crazy cosmic space surfing. Tradd Moore killed this beat with his giant powerful drawings. The colors Dave Stewart put down were just right enhancing it, it really pops off. The story of it is pretty cool and brings in the origin of the universe and the king in black.

6. King in Black

By Donny Cates (Writer), Ryan Stegman (Illustrator)

Speaking of the king in black, Stegman and Cates murdered this beat in the conclusion to their Venom saga with the symbiotic god Knull. He was the one who created Venom. This book goes hard in the paint. It truly is a very cool and metal book with lots of awesome moments for all the superheroes involved in this crazy world-threatening event. It is scary and it is rad as can be.

5. Black Hammer Vol. 1

By Jeff Lemire (Writer), Dean Ormston (Artist), Dave Stewart (Colorist)

The best sitcom since Seinfeld, except it’s a comic book. This one is a very fresh premise of superpowered people being trapped on a different dimension and their relationships with each other. It’s secret wars. Just kidding that was a reductive joke, it’s very different. It’s like an awesome show with fresh art and storytelling that blows you away out the wazoo crazy wonderful stuff. It is a actually quite a serious book and I can't recommend it enough.

4. The Mighty Thor Vols. 1-5

By Jason Aaron (Writer), Russell Dauterman (Illustrations)

This is basically an epic book. Yes I read God of Thunder on this list before, but this ones different. It’s basically Jane Foster becoming Thor and her struggles with that as she's dying of cancer. Basically the gods must be crazy bro. I really liked that this book is a personal story and a fantasy epic that goes all across the realms and the galaxy. It takes a long time to get to the war of the realms.

3. Black Widow Vol. 1

By Kelly Thompson (Writer), Elena Casagrande (Illustrations)

A crazy mystery that really pulls in different directions and can be a kind of touching book that makes you wonder what’s going on. It can be a good new beginning for Black Widow and one of the most compelling stories that make you want to keep reading and reading. Just reading one volume I knew that this had to be near the top of the list, that's hard to do.

2. Immortal Hulk Vols. 1-6

By Al Ewing (Writer), Joe Bennett (Illustrator)

Joe Bennett is a sick person but his art is also sickly disgusting and Ewing rolls this thing out of the park. Hulk smashes Earth and makes it all go green, destroying capitalism and stopping global warming. An inspiring and insightful story that goes much deeper than just the Hulk. This is a very well known and praised book. But I can't stress enough that it has a great story and  crazy stuff is always going down here. 

1. Hawkeye Vols. 1-4 

By Matt Fraction (Writer), David Aja (Artist), Javier Pulido (Artist)

This the comic that stuck with me and felt me the most and it's far and away the best and most creative on this list. The most personal and emotional story. It really cemented Kate Bishop as an original gangster in the hierarchy of power in the Marvel Universe. Clint Barton is a sad boy but he got his own problems. I can’t wait for the Hawkeye show to be inspired by this one. I read the first two volumes a few years back and didn’t really feel them, I didn’t know what was up. Now I grew up and I do know. It’s 100% 🔥, not even just the action bro. Also I really enjoyed the third volume which just featured Kate Bishop in LA with West coast vibes and how all those stories converged in volume 4. There is some poetic stuff out here, bro. I also read the first volume of the follow-up by Jeff Lemire which is good and keeps up the awesome connection between Clint and Katie and Clint's past with his brother. But it doesn’t live up to this majestic book as much. The best thing I ever read maybe. Like just everything comes together so perfectly. 

Thank you for reading this nonsense and be well for the next one. Stay connected.

Comics Review 2020

 I have failed you, my dear readers, I have failed you. In past years I have read many more comic book collections than this year, the fourth that I am doing this ceremony. In the past, I have done lists awarding certain categories now I am doing away with those and ranking a top ten. I'm doing the Oscars 4. Go.

10. Captain America: Sam Wilson vol. 1-3

by Nick Spencer

This series goes really deep into Sam Wilson's character and has many great arcs that are culminating towards the Secret Empire event. This is a great example of Nick Spencer's amazing writing. The Disney + series Falcon and Winter Soldier will be inspired by this. 

9. Scarlet Witch vol. 1-3

by James Robinson

This comic explores Wanda Maximoff in a light that she has never been in before. It is all about her trying to find out her true heritage and dealing with magical problems. The storytelling in this book was great and I couldn't get enough. 

8. Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes

by Neil Gaiman

This fantasy book has been acclaimed by many as one of the best comic series of all time. The first volume of the series sets up the dream world and the other paranormal aspects of the series while also having some good tales throughout. I will definitely continue to read this series.  

7. Female Furies

by Cecil Castellucci, Adriana Melo

This comic serves as something as a tie-in to one of my favorite comics, Mister Miracle by Tom King. But it focuses more on his wife and her team of female fighters for Darkseid. It focuses on some hard-hitting issues with males and believing women. This series has great art and is one of too-few great Fourth World series.  

6. Quicksilver: No Surrender

by Saladin Ahmed, Eric Nguyen, Martin Simmonds

This comic has a very interesting plot in which Quicksilver is the only person that isn't frozen in place in the world because he's going so fast and he has to save everybody but first come to terms with how annoying he is. It was a truly interesting and quick read with great art and much like Saladin Ahmed's other great comic, Black Bolt.

5. Dawn of X vol. 1-3

by multiple authors

The X-men books have been revamped by Jonathan Hickman starting with the House/Powers of X series and now in Dawn of X with several series that are all in these volumes. In this series the mutants have founded their own nation on the Island of Krakoa. These are some of the best X-men comics in while and are making big moves. Out of the six series my favorite is Marauders and I have to say that the exception to the greatness is Fallen Angels, though all of the series have been getting better generally as the volumes go on.

4. Venom vol. 1-3

by Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman

Venom is a really great comic that establishes amazing new lore in the Venom mythos with the god of the symbiotes, Knull. The art by Stegman is incredible and dark. This series has really good character connections and stories. It has already tied-in to an event Absolute Carnage and will lead to another huge event, the King in Black later this year.

3. Black Widow vol. 1

by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee

Black Widow by Waid and Samnee is an absolutely awesome series that is action-packed and full of amazing art. Mark Waid and Chris Samnee have also done their Daredevil run and they are one of the best creative duos in comics. This book goes into Black Widow's past and the institution of shield.

2. The Amazing Spider-man vol. 1-6

by Nick Spencer, Ryan Ottley

As I said before, Nick Spencer is an amazing writer and he proves that once again with his Amazing Spider-man book. This series is such a great one to binge read, with all of the different fun plot-lines and mysteries going on. It absolutely is a great Spider-man comic.

1. Batman: Arkham Asylum- A serious house on serious earth

by Grant Morrison, Dave McKean

Lastly is what I would consider the best and most creative comic on this list, Arkham Asylum. Yes, it did loosely inspire the video game. But this comic has so much to offer in the storytelling, the photography mixed with abstract painted art, and the genuine horror. This book isn't entirely perfect but it is definitely the most original comic that I have read from Marvel or DC in a while. And Grant Morrison truly does write a Watchmen a week. 

Thank you for reading and stay connected.

Comics Review 2019!

Hello and welcome back to another summer comics review ceremony, this is the third annual event in which I describe my favorite comics that I read this summer, out of the 64 I read. Most of these are Marvel and DC superhero collected editions from the library. Even though I read a lot this year, I did start earlier than the other two years that I have done this, the dates haven't exactly been in sync, so next year and ever year after I will be going from May 25th to September 30th to keep it organized. In this list I won't be including any comics that I have awarded in previous years, even though I have read further volumes of some of these, I want to branch out and recognize new and different books. I also won't be including the categories of Black Panther and Justice League that I did last year, simply because I didn't read any comics in those categories that I thought were truly great and worthy of recognition here. Anyway that's good, because these categories are just a starting point for me to discover different comics and reading more outside of them really shows my diverse portfolio of comics. For all of those reasons I'm going to include 7 honorable mentions (in no particular order) before the top 3, so now it's basically a top ten. I'm doing the Oscars 3. Start.

Best Batman Book
Batman vol. 1-8
By Tom King
I did include this run as an honorable mention in the first summer comics review. But that was when I had read only the first two volumes. Those volumes were great, but it only got better from there. This story really explores the city of Gotham and the character of Batman and Bruce Wayne. I can truly tell you that Tom King is one of the best comics writers around.



Best Avengers Book
Avengers Forever
By Kurt Busiek
This classic 90's Avengers story from Kurt Busiek is truly great. It is a time travel story and it inspired some parts of Avengers: Endgame. It follows the battle between Kang and Immortus with great Avengers characters and themes within. It is an amazing story that I hope is adapted further when Kang is brought into the MCU.





Best X-Men Book
X-Men: Worst X-Man Ever
By Max Bemis
Worst X-Man Ever is a tremendous X-Men comic that manages to navigate the world a lot better than books focused on the main team, through the eyes of a mutant boy named Bailey whose only power is that he can explode once and then he'll die. There are a lot of twists and turns all over the place and throughout it all this book manages to tell a great story.




Best Spider-Man Book
Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man vol. 1-4
By Chip Zdarsky
This series is a very fresh new take on the character of Spider-Man that also talks about who he is and what he means. It has many fun adventures and a great cast of characters including J. Jonah Jameson, and Peter Parker's long lost sister, Teresa. Zdarsky writes action and humor very well and he's one of my favorite writers. This book should be a great one for people new to comics.
Honorable Mention: The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 1&2 by Nick Spencer



Best Independent Book
Assassination Classroom vol. 1-5
By Yūsei Matsui
This manga is a great story about a creature that destroys the moon and then becomes a teacher for a class of "failing" kids and threatens to destroy Earth if they can't assassinate him by the end of the school year. The creature, Koro Sensei is a legend, super powerful and even though he is treating to destroy the planet, he actually connects with the kids and teaches them better than anyone ever had. This book is very funny and touching, it's quite the stupendous tale.


Best Star Wars Book
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra vol. 1-5
By Kieron Gillen and Si Spurrier
Aphra is a new character introduced in the comics and she is definitely one of the best non-movie characters in Star Wars. She is an archeologist that is always getting into trouble and she is also quite the antihero, so there is a lot of depth to her character. Two of the most craziest characters in the book are murderous droids that are basically an evil version of C-3PO and R2-D2, they are always following Aphra and putting her in danger. There is so much crazy stuff in this book, I couldn't recommend it enough.



Top 3.
Honorable Mentions: Old Man Hawkeye vol.1 by Ethan Sacks, Doctor Strange vol.1 by Jason Aaron, Daredevil vol. 1-7 by Mark Waid, Star-Lord: Grounded by Chip Zdarsky, Thanos Wins by Donny Cates, V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, and Skrull Kill Krew by Mark Millar and Grant Morrison.

3. Moon Knight Legacy vol 1&2
By Max Bemis
Summary: This takes place right after Lemire and Smallwood's amazing run on Moon Knight. This was a natural progression of Moon Knight dealing with the aftermath of all of that as a somewhat normal person grounded in the world. 
Thoughts: This book was absolutely amazing! It crafts an excellent story and we discover lots about the character of Mark Spector and his past and his current journey. Moon Knight continues to be one of my favorite superheroes and I love reading his books, especially this one. 


2. Powerless
By Matt Chernis and Michael Gaydos
Summary: In an alternate universe where all the heroes of the Marvel universe don't have any powers, what do they do with their lives and how do they become everyday heroes? The story is told through the eyes of a therapist an everyday person who has many superheroes, including Spider-Man, Daredevil, and Wolverine (the main focuses of the story) as patients.
Thoughts: Powerless is a incredible and underrated story about humanity and heroism. Gaydos' art is great, it just jumps off the page. I really can't stress how amazing this comic is and how great it is at tying in all of the Marvel lore. The stories played out very well and were spectacular. And I actually screamed out loud when a prediction I made at the beginning of the book came true. Powerless is a truly fantastic comic. 

1. Thor: God of Thunder vol. 1-3 
By Jason Aaron
Summary: In this story beginning Jason Aaron's epic years-long run on Thor, the god of thunder along with a younger and older version of himself battles an unhinged villain named Gorr the God Butcher. 
Thoughts: An immediate classic, Thor God of Thunder is just amazing, it balances so many things and does it so well. I don't want to say much more because of spoilers, but I will heap as much praise on the book as I can, it is one of the best comics that I have ever read. Now excuse me and stay connected as I go off to read the fourth volume of Thor: God of Thunder.

Comics Review 2018!

Summer Comics Review 2018
I am well aware that it is no longer summer, but I still want to put up this blog to review the comics that I read earlier this year. I'm stepping it up from last year with several more categories and I'm including honorable mentions for some of them. All that, even though I read less volumes than last year at 47 compared to 2017's 55. Not all of this is new it's just what I've read, if you have any recommendations comment them down below. I'm doing the Oscars 2. Start.

Best Black Panther Book
Black Panther: The Complete Collection Vol. 1
By Christopher Priest
Black Panther existed before these comics, but not really in the way you would know him now. This brought in so many concepts and was revolutionary both for comics and diversity. On top of that this story is very funny and feels like it is a movie.
Honorable Mention: Black Panther/ Captain America

Best Batman Book
Batman: Year One
By Frank Miller
A very classic origin retelling of Batman, this brings in a version of the character that is somewhat freaky and scary and gives a lot of development to Gordon. Year One is better than The Dark Knight Returns and is a required reading for Batman.
Honorable Mention: Batman Beyond vol. 1

Best Avengers Book
New Avengers vol. 1
By Jonathan Hickman
This is legendary and I read it because of Infinity War and it brings up a major showing. The coolest part is when Captain America uses and breaks the Infinity Gauntlet. Just the lore and the saga of this makes a legendary epic.

Best X-Men Book
X-Men Grand Design
By Ed Piskor
Grand Design is a modern retelling of the X-Men, still with a very retro take. This was actually published in 2018 and was also the best comic published this year that I read. Piskor does the writing and art, he also recolored the actual original first issue of X-Men. And I really like how he incorporates all of the X-Men lore and characters.
Honorable Mention: Generation X Vols. 1&2

Best Spider-Man Book
Spider-Man: Maximum Carnage
By Tom Defalco
While this book is long and somewhat dated, Maximum Carnage is probably the best Carnage story in existence. It also gives good insight for Spider-Man and Venom, as well as featuring many other heroes and villains. Fan-favorite.
Honorable Mention: The Amazing Spider-Man Vols. 1&2

Best Independent Book
Maus II
By Art Spiegelman
Even though this book is about animals like mice, cats, and pigs, it is one of the most human comics on this list. Maus I and II are both about Art Spiegelman's father's experiences in the holocaust, with different ethnic groups represented by animals. And it is independently published, which is a plus for lots of people. This is the second volume, I'd recommend it as well as the first.
Honorable Mention- Optimus Prime vol. 1

Best Star Wars Book
Darth Vader vol. 1
By Charles Soule
This must be on here simply for a Force-dream sequence that Vader has of him meeting back with Obi-Wan. But other than that it is a great story, showing the immediate rise of Darth Vader right after Revenge of the Sith. This is a great story with great art and a Star Wars must-read.

Best Justice League Book
JLA: Tower of Babel
By Mark Waid
Batman has contingency plans against every member of the Justice League. What would happen if those plans were stolen and used against Batman and the JLA? This story goes very well into Batman's character and his relations with the rest of the league. Waid is a master writer in this and treads out the story of Batman and the every other character.




Top 3.

3. Infinity Gauntlet
By Jim Starlin, George Perez, and Ron Lim
Summary: Follows Thanos on his mission to court death and destroy half of the universe using the powerful artifacts of the Infinity Gauntlet and Infinity Gems, while the "Avengers" are on a mission to stop him.

The is the primary basis for Infinity War, it is able to explore every character in depth in just 4 issues and really sheds more light on Thanos. Adds a very fun spin and feels like thanos is battling the heroes in a game of chess and it is nice to read.

2. Moon Knight Vol. 1-3
By Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood
Summary: Really unsummarizable, but if I had to, it's a split personality hero being manipulated by Egyptian gods and other characters in and out of outer space, other dimensions, and his own mind.

Moon Knight is very trippy and has spinning stellar art that carries well with the journey and story of this journey. Lemire and Smallwood are gods for this series and it is up there for my all-time favorites. I read the Legacy series to this also, which is a lot more linear and grounded than this but still continues on naturally and's pretty good.

1. Kingdom Come
By Mark Waid and Alex Ross
Summary: Kingdom Come has a human preacher character guided along a trip to watch a civil war between old and new dc heroes.

If you have not yet looked upon the paint art of Alex Ross, you are missing out. And this entire series is painted like that. And as I said before, Mark Waid is a G. So, the writing, story, and themes of this are right there and really put out the the theme of doubt in our heroes. Alex Ross also wrote a first draft of Kingdom Come, establishing one of the greatest DC comics series of all time.