I'm reading Spiderman Evolve or Die and I just don't understand why they randomly split this story between three differently named comic series?? (ASM, Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman, and Marvel Knights). Frustrating to have to Google reading orders heh
They used to love doing that kinda thing. As much as I find modern accelerated release schedules annoying, I’d take multiple issues of ASM in a single month over a story split between 3-4 different ongoing titles. (Though, the modern trend of inserting point issues, like a 92.BEY that’s different from #92, is annoying in its own way.)
Bummed that this is how we are getting it, but stoked for everyone involved. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Returns With an Equally Unbeatable Podcast
Zeb Wells was asked on the Cerebro podcast about Ben Reilly (who he just wrote in Amazing Spider-Man) dating Madelyne Pryor (who he just wrote in Hellions). It was a joke, since they’re both clones he’s written. And, Maddie has a history with troubled blonde boys (Havok), and that Peter clone is definitely into redheads. Zeb’s first response was “…no comment.” And then he said to check out the Free Comic Book Day issue, which made me gasp so hard my chest hurt. Ben Reilly’s whole “Chasm” arc really echos Maddie’s in Inferno in certain ways. Them actually getting to be in the same story would be wild in the best way that cape soap opera can be.
This David Brothers essay on the Dwayne McDuffie Milestone classic is good. Read it, and more importantly, find & read the comic it’s about.
Just finished all of Bendis's Miles Morales comics and loved them. It's gonna be weird jumping into stories about him written by someone else, is Saladin Ahmed's stuff good?
It’s fine, which is on average how I’d describe most Miles Morales comics since he joined 616 post Secret Wars. (Which, I’m not someone who wishes he’d stayed in the Ultimate universe. There’s 100% room for a Spider-family in NYC that includes both Peter and Miles. I just don’t think the Spider office at Marvel has gotten it quite right in an ongoing manner.) I will say, the first arc was really strong, easily the best Miles stuff since UCSM. And, while I personally dropped off, I don’t think it’s bad; I just decided I wanted other books in my monthly reading instead.
Caught up on some Radiant Black this morning that I’d let build up. Just one issue behind with the main series, plus the Supermassive one-shot. Fun stuff. I like some parts more than others, but the protagonist is engaging, and the character design is strong, which are the most important details to get right in ongoing superhero comics imo. The issue inside the “Existence” has some very cool design stuff; almost tempted to buy the more expensive black light version if I come across it. Speaking of good visuals, the Radiant Red tie-in miniseries (which I haven’t bought any of yet) has a variant cover coming up by my favorite X-Twitter artist, Valentine Smith, who also drew a fantastic Siryn fan zine:
This week’s ASM #1 by Zeb Wells, John Romita Jr., & Scott Hanna leaked… and the last couple pages with MJ are driving Spider-Twitter mad, lol. I saw the pics of those couple pages and… I’m intrigued. We’ll see. There’s also a scan from the FCBD story that confirms Ben Reilly and Madelyne Pryor have a story together coming up in ASM, which is thrilling.
If you haven’t been reading Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters, FCBD next week is a great chance to finally get a taste. It’s so, so good; truly top tier all ages comics, and possibly my favorite Chris Samnee series?
Finally got around to the library books I've been holding onto. Really enjoyed the first four volumes of Hope Larson Batgirl. Found the four volumes of Seanan McGuire Spider Gwen kind of underwhelming. I bought a few more graphic novels. Managed to find a used copy of Batwoman Elegy that didn't have the CW cover. As for non-Marvel/DC I got The Prince and the Dressmaker, On a Sunbeam, and The Magic Fish. Didn't think I'd be spending so much on comics, but I'm really excited to jump into these
Oh nice, they’re circling back around and finishing this story (which was cut short by the early pandemic shutdown). Cool.
Man, first Spidercide returns to menace Ben Reilly and now fuckin' Judas Traveller shows up in Thunderbird. The 90s are back, people.
Tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day (at participating comic book shops)! Home Page Always a great occasion for hitting up your local shop, or finding one. Get one or more (depending on the shop’s policy) of the official free promotional comics, and then also buy something! Some shops have sales in addition to the FCBD stuff. The Spider-Man/Venom FCBD this year sounds good. If you’re not reading Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters by Chris Samnee, I highly recommend that one. And, some other stuff that looks pretty neat.
RIP George Perez Weirdly fitting on today of all days when more people will step foot into a Comic shop than any other day of the year
Losing George Pérez so soon after Neal Adams is so sad. Two absolute titans of American superhero comics. Brilliant talents, and by all accounts I’ve heard, also true gentlemen. Glad Pérez got what few people get: a victory lap towards a semi-known end, during which he got to hear over and over how much he meant to so many people. So many loving tributes. And, even a new (quite limited) printing of his dream project, JLA/Avengers, that took decades to finally happen in the 00s and then spent years out of print.
On a more positive superhero note, the FCBD Spider-Man/Venom issue’s short Zeb Wells & John Romita Jr Spidey story ruled. Between this and that new #1, I’m all in on ASM. Wild that we’re getting basically an Inferno (the original w/ Maddie Pryor) sequel in ASM! Also, bought the Giant-Size X-Men: Thunderbird one-shot, which has to be one of my favorite issues of the Krakoa era. John Proudstar’s gonna be a great [re-]addition to X-Men.
That Thunderbird one-shot is so damn good. Was surprised to see Nyla Rose from AEW is one of the writers. Looking forward to her next story (assuming there will be more from her)
Finally read Sara by Garth Ennis & Steve Epting this afternoon. What a good comic. Published by TKO, about Soviet sniper women going up against Nazis. I’m not the biggest Ennis reader, but there’s no denying that he’s great at what he does, and this one really sung for me. Surprised at how emotional I found the ending. If a modern war comic with top notch craft appeals to you, and you haven’t gotten around to it yet, definitely worth looking into.