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I actually came back when I heard it was ending, and saw through to the end but barely.

I actually dropped it again and came back just during that final year long story line. I decided I didn’t need yet another “Viltrumites invade everything and are then defeated by the power of love“ arc. So I skipped out on that bit, and came back for the true ending.

B.P.R.D. : The Devil You Know
Impossible Incorporated
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen : Tempest
Mage
Quantum Age (Black Hammer)
Saga
Strangers in Paradise
Stray Bullets
Usagi Yojimbo
Walking Dead

I've a few issues of Mage, SiP, Saga and Usagi to catch up on.

Between cancellations and contractions, a much smaller list. Some of the missing things I haven't officially quit and may catch up on, but here are the things I'm actually reading and up to date on:

Copperhead
East of West
Fantastic Four
Mr Miracle
Ms Marvel
Paper Girls
Saga
Sex Criminals
Sleepless
Southern Bastards
The Goddammed (is this still a thing?)
Thor
Usagi Yojimbo
Wicked + Divine

Wait a sec. Did I go from loving Rebirth to being behind on everything? Apparently I have. Not a deliberate choice, so I don't know what to make of it.

I think an art change and possibly a gap/delay pushed me away from Copperhead. I had been picking up ... no that reads wrong. I had been buying the comic publication sex criminals... better... but again a gap made me drift away. I guess I'm not hanging onto the end of each issue, desperate to know what's next.

I did peek at Mister Miracle 11. It looked interesting, if a little bleak. But considering the people we're talking about here.

Ive been waiting for the Mr. Miracle trade to drop.

This isn't exactly a pull list, it's what I'm getting based on the solicitations from March 2019. There are titles I'm following which are taking the month off from solicitations. Still, the list has gotten surprisingly short. And don't ask how many of those I get genuinely excited about getting a new issue of; the list is even more depressing.

Lazarus: Risen
Paper Girls
Adventures of the Super Sons
Green Lantern (maybe?)
Heroes in Crisis (I may drop it in the interim, but for now it stays on)
Martian Manhunter
Terrifics
Wonder Woman
Asgardians of the Galaxy
Thor
Magnificent Ms Marvel (trying the new creative team)

What are your thoughts on Heroes in Crisis BFOB? I've peeked at the issues when I've been in the shop.

This month's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen came in a protective poly bag. Could it be that this was a saucy issue? Was I going to have to sneak it past nanny before being able to read it furtively behind the gazebo? Not a bit of it! A pair of 3D-Spex fell out, meaning that a trip to The Blazing World is on hand! Oh there's some Fumetti goodness in there too by the looks of it!


Alien 3 - I'd read the Gibson script before, and I'm still happy it wasn't the filmed version after reading half of this. That's not to say that the comic isn't worth reading though.
Black Hammer - Mainly off the back of Quantum Age and its Legion connection.
BPRD - Coming to an end?
Edgar Allen Poe's Snifter of Terror - Bought for someone who likes Poe. But they're going to be disappointed with this as it seems to exist to poke fun at him.
Electric Warriors - Only for the Legion connections
Impossible Incorporated - Mayavale!
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Tempest - A Stunningly Ripping Yarn!
Quantum Age - Legion analogue
Strangers in Paradise - I have a few of these piled up. I liked the more comedic ones myself.
Stray Bullets - still excellent every issue
Walking Dead - Still strong

I'm not terribly impressed by Heroes in Crisis, but I also don't have as strong a reaction as most in these parts. I'm used to viewing King works as if they were in their own little universe, and I'm not particularly tied to the DCU as currently constituted, so I'm not especially outraged by the deaths. My unhappiness lies more in King's failure to do his usual strong character work. I think he cast his net too widely, trying to get into too many characters' heads at once. As such, it feels too much like I'm reading his brainstorming notes: here's a few lines about how I would handle this character, here's a few about how I'd handle that one. But we don't get to see him wrestle with those characters in any depth. And not knowing the truth about what happened keeps me from even getting into the heads of the leads, Booster and Harley. In theory it sounds like nobody really knowing exactly what happened is a recipe for King goodness, it just doesn't really work here.

I'm still holding on in hope of it all coming together well, but I wouldn't say I'm expecting that too happen. I think it just reinforces my belief that Tom King works best in self-contained stories. It loses something when he has to interact with a wider shared universe.

Pretty much the same as my last list.
I 'd add The Goon to it. I laughed out loud at a few moments, which makes it a keeper.
My dad ended up enjoying Poe's Snifter of Terror (located in the shop under S). He likes EC and Tales of Terror and the Poe mocking didn't bother him at all. What do I know?

My list has been changing lately, so I thought I'd go through the DC and Marvel August solicitations and see what I will be buying. Obviously it's only those two companies, and not every book ships in August, and some (Super Sons, sniff) are still being published but will be gone by then, and other disclaimers I'm probably not thinking of.

If it's something that will be in a trial period, I'll * it.

House of X/Power of X *
Power Pack: Grow Up! *
Thor
Immortal Hulk
Valkyrie: Jane Foster
Magnificent Ms Marvel

Batman/Superman *
Action Comics
Dial H for Hero
Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds
Event Leviathan
The Flash *
The Green Lantern *
Hawkman *
Lois Lane
Martian Manhunter
Shazam
Supergirl
Superman
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen
The Terrifics *
Young Justice
Superman: Up in the Sky

Flash and Green Lantern are starred because I had stopped reading them and are giving them another chance. Terrifics are starred because I'm waiting to see how things shake out without Lemire.

I'm riding out Aaron's Thor run, and I'm cautiously hopeful for Valkyrie, even though they killed original recipe Val to make it happen.

My DC list has grown again. I am shocked to see how much of this is due to Bendis. I have actually enjoyed everything he's done for DC, although to varying degrees. And he's indirectly why I'm reading Supergirl, and I'm sure a big part of why Lois and Jimmy are getting long minis.

I suspect my love/hate with Hickman's Marvel work will continue, but at least my curiosity is raised. Lord knows nothing else has healed Marvel's self-inflicted X-wound.

I'm not sure how Power Pack with the original team will work today, but I'm all for giving creators another go around with their creations.

I'm thinking of jumping into the X-verse again with Hickman, at least to sample the first few issues. I've enjoyed so much of his Image work, but never warmed up to his Fantastic Four.

My pull-list remarkably includes nothing from DC (except Young Animal's Doom Patrol), after a lifetime of being a DC fan. I've found the libraries are getting many of the DC and Marvel TPBs, so I've been waiting for those; they just don't interest me enough to shell out $$ for them.

Rumble (always makes me laugh with its weird monsters and a few humans on a hero's journey)
Invisible Kingdom (only read the first issue so far but enjoyed G. Willow Wilson's novels)
Lazarus (now quarterly with letters, short story and info bits; Rucka must have taken a lesson from Brubaker's Criminal with its essays)
Excellence (just the first issue so far; looks promising - but I was disappointed with The Magic Order)
Shadow Roads (supernatural western)
Guardians of the Galaxy (I think I need my superheroes-in-space fix; I find this a very quick read but haven't bothered to cancel it)
Doom Patrol
Impossible Incorporated (came for the Mayavale, stayed for the story)
The Girl in the Bay (another deMatteis, spooky mini-series)

TPBs:
Paper Girls
Strangers in Paradise
Delilah Dirk
Isola
Monstress
Black Hammer & spin-offs
East of West

Also, I got old issues of The Maze Agency, which I had never read (and have yet to tackle - summertime reading).

I always loved Maze Agency, but you have to enjoy (or at least be willing to accept) the sometimes gimmicky aspects of the fair-play whodunnit.

Of my last pull list, quite a lot have ended, taking it from 12 to 6

Alien 3, BPRD, Electric Warriors, Impossible Incorporated, Quantum Age, Stray Bullets have gone or are on a pause.

That leaves me with Black Hammer, Edgar Allen Poe's Snifter of Terror (bought for my dad), League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Tempest (1 issue to go), Strangers in Paradise (that I have a pile of to read). The Goon (just started) and Walking Dead.

Time for… Pull List Try Outs!

Black Hammer '45: 3 (Lemire/Fawkes/Kindt): As Age of Doom picks of super hero tropes of the past and Quantum Age looks at the Legion, '45 brings all the toys from war comics together on a mission. Slam Bradley makes a golden age appearance amidst War Wheels and giant soviet mechs. But it's the choices made by the characters that makes it interesting. The framing device showing the survivors shows you some of the ramifications.

Age of X-Men: NextGen: 4 (Brisson/To) A look at a different societal setup in the Marvel Universe. One with a lot of secrets and levels of control and self discovery. Lots of interesting personalities across organisations with different responsibilities to enforce, making for a good mix.

Bronze Age Boogie: 1 (various) Go-Go Golem, a haggard hippy Dr Lunar and a talking, wheelchair using ape leader hatch a plan on page 1. Page 2 goes back to the past for Conan vs zombie dinosaurs and evil sorcerers and then there's the alien cephalopod invasion on page 3... The main character has modern speech patterns that wear out in a couple of panels. Fortunately, it's saved as she clearly has access to items from another time. Oh, and her ape companion is a time traveller from another universe. Lots going on without being confusing and hints of lots of fun to come. The second story is the launch of a bear into space as part of a '50s space program. The usual jock, who would normally have been the hero returning with powers, is subverted here as the arrogant pain in the rear so many of them were. It's the bear that returns with the abilities.

Ascender: 1 (Lemire/Nguyen) I've not read the preceding title in this, but that doesn't stop it being an enjoyable introduction. It reminds me a little bit of what if Star Wars was set in a galaxy where Mordru had wiped out science as was supposedly the original timeline. Except Mordru here is a nicer version of Granny Goodness. Ships are grown and technology has been lost or is tightly controlled. Demonic winged creatures and their like are guards and enforcers. The central character chafes at the freedom her father has tried to give her. She wants to be part of the wider world. The arrival of something technological near her looks as though it’s going to make her involved in a battle between the nicely done necromantic Mother and the force that protects the rebellion.

Cinema Purgatoria: 18 (Various – but Alan Moore and Garth Ennis are in here) It’s like one of those UK anthology comics that would never last for long but would be the launching pad or inspiration for things in years to come. Except everyone here is already a big-name creator. Throwaway cautionary horror tales with cinematic themes settle you in for tales of ant invasions in the time of the US Civil War, giant monster combat (with more character depth in a few pages than BPRD managed across ages) and suicidal vampires (gore points for combusting genitalia which is a line you don’t often write in a review).

Criminal: 4 (Brubaker/Phillips) Our main character tries to do the right thing, only for it all to go south. He gets glimpses of how others see him, but is entirely incapable of changing his course or who he is. I’ll take a look out for an earlier issue.

Dial H For Hero: 2 (Humphries/Quinones) I was never a big reader of Dial H. Although a very early back issue I got was an Adventure Comics issue with them starring. While that was because Perez drew the cover, the story and reader involvement made it something quite different. This version gives each character an origin and an art style, as Giffen sued to do to the characters in Ambush Bug. Lots of fun there, and the character arc driving the story seems stronger than what I recall of the original too. It’s a rare thing for DC to produce an upgrade on anything, so it might be too early to say. There’s a moment where the writer is a bout to introduce a character only to get bored and tell the reader that we know how it goes. While it’s in fun, it a step on the slippery slope to self-parody and can ruin the suspension of disbelief. Marv Wolfman made a grown-up version of one of the cast evil. There’s a possibility of the Dial being used for nefarious purposes here too., although there’s a much more fun macguffin chase angle to this version.

Invisible Kingdom: 2 (Wilson/ Ward) I have no idea why the monastery of the Invisible Kingdom can pick up distress calls from the ships of their enemy in the middle of space. So it’s an odd cliffhanger that seems too convenient to bring our cast together. Maybe it’s to do with the secrets initiate Vess has discovered regarding her cause. There’s some very good characterisation here as Vess deals with the information she has uncovered. She challenges herself and her superior only to make excuses to explain it away as best she can. I keep thinking of the Lux corporation as a futuristic Amazon. They ship through space but have the same dreadful working conditions for their staff. I’m enjoying this one on a number of issues. Even Vess’ interaction with her parents was well done, without excessive drama.

Livewire: 6 (Ayala/Kano) What if Danielle Foccart found herself involved with a very different Legion training programme. The mechaempathy seen in Ghost int eh Shell and Interface is seen here, and all are visually better than what a lot of the Legion provided. I’d expected a bit of the Authority’s Engineer to be in the character too, but not in this issue. The main character is now a fugitive who has ended up battling and seemingly being captured by a group with powers like her own. She thinks they are as much a cult as anything else, and they certainly seem sinister enough. The visuals got me to pick this one up, and it’s a decent enough story without it having particularly high points.

Red Sonja: 4 (Russell/ Colak) I’d picked up and enjoyed the first issue of this. This issue is a bit talky which explains why it’s part four of the same story. Sonja is leading a guerrilla campaign against the mighty emperor. The black humour and tactics from the first issue is still in evidence here. Hit and run skirmishes don’t strain the credibility, Sonja’s ability to ward off pneumonia in the variant covers does that.

Peeked At:
Batman and the Outsiders: 1 (Hill/Soy) I remember the first version. I never thought they made half as much with the premise as they could have done. This version has a lot of Bat-Clones in the team, making it very samey in terms of skill sets. A few of the cast are presumably supposed to come off as cool, but really should be in immediate therapy. Saying that Katana is probably going to kill someone should come as no surprise considering she waves a sword around all the time. Tiresome watching them skip around it all the time. Has anyone asked her to just stop using the thing? The end seems to be a blatant attempt to tap into a Marvel storyline of decades ago. Verdict: Left on the shelf.

Joe Golem Occult Detective The Conjurers:1/5 (Mignola,Golden/ Bergting) It’s the first issue, but I feel as though I’ve wandered into something convoluted half way through. There are lots of references to previous stories that I’ve not read and the narrative jumps around without giving much in the way of grounding. Verdict: Left on the shelf.

I peeked at another of the Berger books, but found the art so scratchy that I put it back.

Regulars:

Black Hammer - Age of Doom: 10 (Lemire/Ormston) It hits a lot of big comic story beats. It's developed from being more than a take on a possible outcome of a DC Event and the effect it would have on its archetypal characters. This issue brings the gang back together, so there's more pay off from previous issues than progression. But there's a big cliff hanger.

The Goon: 2 (Powell) It’s Goon vs Vinnie the Vampire. Vinnie’s a Nosferatu which isn’t said nearly enough on Legion World. Violence with fun at Vampires having to be invited into homes. Bonus points for the opium advertising board.

Walking Dead: 191 (Kirkman/Adlard) The cliffhangers impress on this title. It’s not a story that is eaily predicted. One big conflict is avoided here, only for a character who really should have been bumped off a while ago paly a crucial part in the ending.

It turns out Stray Bullets isn't on hiatus. It's just that the shop seems to have skipped #40. I did pick up issue #41 and all parties meet at the local hospital. A place where people usually go to get well again. But here...

Black Hammer '45 also put the final into finale as it came to a close. We see who the people in the framing device have been traveling to pay respects to since the opening issue. Lots of WWII comic action. The Russian Mecha reminded me a lot of a RPG I played decades ago.

Walking Dead 192: The BIG cliffhanger from the end of last issue, turns out to have been true. One of the cast has a bit of an odd breakdown later on because of it, but it's still holding up after all this time.

My annual June 16 pull list update, 2 years and 4 days late...

DC
LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES: MILLENNIUM (when it comes out in September)
LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES (when it comes out in November?)

Image & Others
DIE
EAST OF WEST
SAGA (on a year or more hiatus)

Trade Paperbacks
BLACK HAMMER Universe books
SEX CRIMINALS
THE WALKING DEAD
THE WICKED + THE DIVINE
THE WOODS


Finally...DC is going to put out a Legion book again! Woot, woot!!

With the usual caveats, my September 2019 list:

Lex Luthor Year of the Villain #1
Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium #1
Inferior 5 #1
Action Comics #1015
Dial H #7
Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds #3
Event Leviathan #4
The Green Lantern #11
Hawkman #16
Lois Lane #3
Shazam #10
Supergirl #34
Superman #15
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #3
The Terrifics #20
Wonder Twins #7
Batman Universe #3
Superman Up in the Sky #3

House of X 4&5
Powers of X 4&5
King Thor #1
Immortal Hulk 23 &24
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #12
Superior Spider-Man #11
Valkyrie: Jane Foster #3
Magnificent Ms Marvel #7

East of West #43
Postal: Deliverance #3
Usagi Yojimbo #4

Of the 18 DC titles up there, 11 are directly or indirectly due to Brian Bendis. Weird.

October 2019

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES: MILLENNIUM #2
SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN #1
ACTION COMICS #1016
EVENT LEVIATHAN #5
THE GREEN LANTERN #12
HAWKMAN #17
INFERIOR FIVE #2
LOIS LANE #4
MARTIAN MANHUNTER #9
SHAZAM! #11
SUPERGIRL #35
SUPERMAN #16
SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #4
THE TERRIFICS #21
COLLAPSER #4
DOOM PATROL: WEIGHT OF THE WORLDS #4
DIAL H FOR HERO #8
WONDER TWINS #8
YOUNG JUSTICE #9
BATMAN: UNIVERSE #4
SUPERMAN: UP IN THE SKY #4

Usagi Yojimbo #5

COPRA #1
ASCENDER #6
EAST OF WEST #44 (RES)
POSTAL: DELIVERANCE #4

X-MEN #1
EXCALIBUR #1
MARAUDERS #1
HOUSE OF X #6 (of 6)
POWERS OF X #6 (of 6)
SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #12
IMMORTAL HULK #25
KING THOR #2 (OF 4)
LOKI #4
VALKYRIE: JANE FOSTER #4
MAGNIFICENT MS. MARVEL #8

Legion #1 - My reviews on here somewhere.

The Goon #5 - There was a weird thing where #5 was available a month before #4. Both had plenty of laughs of a morally ambiguous nature.

Edgar Allan Poe's Snifter of Terror #2 - This is the second volume, and my father, who I get it for, considers it not to be quite as good so far as volume 1, but still worth me trotting off to the shop to get.

Copra #2 - Now at Image! Issue 1 gives you a breakdown on what had happened in previous volumes (also available from Image as TPB). Ostrander's Suicide Squad had to keep reinventing itself to avoid the axe. DC would sell their relatives now for the core fanbase it had. This is as close as you can get to that cast without Super Lawyers dropping by. Sketch art takes a few pages, and then you get used to it and enjoy it. Marvel's not-quite-Reavers turn up as opponents as the writer has fun with his favourites.

Invisible Kingdom #6 - I was hoping that the mysteries of the initiate and the smuggling/ irregularities plots would be slow burners. I was a little disappointed to see the plot push past them. It's still capturing enough interest to pick up.

Five Years #5 - This is Terry Moore combining all of his other titles into an apocalyptic finale (I guess it must be) where everyone on Earth could have five years left. So the sales pitch of Slash Maraud from DC, but with the strong central relationships of a Strangers in Paradise comic. I've dipped into a few of the titles combined here, and a bit more could have been done to provide some context to newer readers. I've never been that taken with Moore's thriller main plot (which is all on me as I know that's the point of it), as I really turn up for the fun parts. Fortunately there's usually a panel/ page or two per issue that more than reminds me why I get it.

Try Outs
Strange Skies over East Berlin #1 - Not read yet.
Strayed #1 - Not read yet, but it has a Space Cat on the cover!

So hanging in there. It turns out the shop had been stocking a film mag that I've started getting. So, that's been added to the pile too.

Legion #11 (DC) - Excellent art, nice futuristic buzz that slowly dissipates with a plot that has taken 11 issues to get moving. (3.75)

Usagi Yojimbo #14/252 (IDW) - I pick up occasional issues of this and think about, but rarely do, pick up the trades. This issue is the last of a four-parter, as the cavalry arrive to help our trapped hero. Aside form the cinematic rabbit samurai action, there are darker clouds concerning the society the characters live in. There are lovely family moments, but also divided loyalties with opportunities having led to conflict. This appears to be Tom Luth's last job colouring the book. It will be odd not to see his name on it. The tight team on Yojimbo has always delivered a quality book, for decades. (4.25)

John Carpenter's Tales of Science Fiction Vortex 2.0 (Storm King) - #4 - A space pilot returns to base after a terrible encounter. Due to the physics around the travel, he arrives back a lot later than a couple of his comrades. He discovers that, in that time, the thing they fought has become an integral part of society. That's the starter and so far, the scope has expanded steadily each issue, as the mystery deepens. (4.5)

Colonel Weird: Cosmagog (Dark Horse) I had been underwhelmed by the Black Hammer/JLA crossover. I nearly didn't bother with this one. But it's a treat. It has several touching moments as Colonel Weird moves in between the fragments of his life. He touches on plots we've seen. But with space to focus on a single character, it expands to his life, super origins and the pattern he's trying to find again. Lots of lovely segues in this one, both visual and written. (5.0)

The Union (Marvel) - I'm a big fan of Grist's Jack Staff. There's a trend in UK super-books to align them with current events. It's why Mark Millar's Ultimates had a PR offensive. It focuses on a single character here, in order to work with the issue's pay-off. It's a character I wasn't familiar with, so there's only so much Grist can do to make it effective. The downside is that it leaves the rest of the cast (most of whom might have stepped from the RPG campaigns of many UK kids) under developed, and a little overly aggressive. At least Grist gives us a reason for the antipathy. The people they are training with are important to the pay-off, so it's good that Grist has them constantly in the background. Familiarity is a double edged Excalibur, with a few bits of Britishness being too on the nose. (3.25)

Miskatonic #1 (Aftershock) - Two agents are assigned to investigate a Lovecraftian murder by Hoover in the 1930s. Knowing the source material impacts the sense of pacing and there's a bit that a retread of a HPL story. But there's good opening pacing, engaging protagonists and solid art. Bonehead error by one of the protagonists to give us the cliffhanger, though. (3.75)

Spy Island #1 (Dark Horse) - Our lead has a background in warzones and as a super spy. She's on an island in the Bermuda triangle. She's surrounded by other spies and tourists, and is colossaly bored waiting for something to happen. Good set up, and introduciton to the cast, with sci-spy/horror hinted at to come. (4.0)

Alien: The Original Screenplay (Dark Horse) #5 - It's been interesting to see an adaptation of Dan O'Bannon's earlier draft of the film. It's been faithfully done with revisions of the visuals based on the earlier script, yet not taking it too far away from what ended up on the screen. If, anything I'd have liked to have seen this one stretched across more issues, to really give the feeling of tension in some of the scenes. It's something that could possibly have happened if this had been a graphic novel project. As it is, the ending seems perfunctory and a little rushed. Familiarity does mean that in space, no one can surprise you with plot twists. (3.75)


The Goon (Albatross) - Haven't picked one up in the last few months.

Copra (Image) - Haven't seen an issue for a while

Edgar Allen Poe's Snifter of Blood (Ahoy) - I get this for my dad. I'm not actually reading it.

I've enjoyed the various Usagi Yojimbo stories I have read but they have all been in trades borrowed from the library - black & white trades - so I have no idea what the colouring looks like or how it might change with Tom Luth's departure.

I can't think of it without the colour. Luth and Sakai are part of the Groo team. So, I'm very used to seeing Luth's work in lovely, well produced books. There's more upcoming Groo (Yipee! now don't tell my dad, who is going to be thrilled). Luth's absence will ne noticeable, if he's not on those. Yojimbo is that quietly, always solid book, that I should own a lot more of.

I skipped Colonel Weird although I enjoyed the other Black Hammer books (the JLA crossover was rather thin), figured it would be trying too hard to be trippy, like the Black Label Silver Surfer - but if you give it a strong vote of confidence, I'll check it out.

January 2021

Legion of Super Heroes v8 # 12 DC 3.5 - review on another thread.

Future State : Legion #1 DC 3.75 - review on another thread.


Miskatonic # 2 Aftershock
It didn?t look good for our protagonists at the end of #1, and their escape past their opponents was a bit unlikely here. There are lots of HPL stories and characters revolving around the main investigators. We have West, Whately, Waite and Gilman all in here. These characters, as well as Armitage from Miskatonic University, become part of the plot in some central ways. There's always a fear that they'll rush through the Easter eggs, losing site of a plot. There was a sense of that in #1 as they reprised the Shadow Out of Innsmouth. But it's well paced here, finding it's own feet, even as a central part of The Dunwich Horror is played out. Good dialogue and little character subtleties are also present. 4.5

Spy Island #2 Dark Horse
Our spies work on an island in the Bermuda triangle, with a call of the kraken ceremony (every Monday, even on a week after 52 people were killed) and mermaid attacks. It's witty, blending odd Forteana within an offbeat spies as tourists story. Form the fun of the German speaking child at the start through to the revelations of our central character, this is a bit of a treat. Visually it's excellent, with cocktail menus, purse contents and a collection of rare treasures showing up on the beach among other examples of the team going that extra mile. The art is also capable of handling our laconic spies as well as any action that they're likely to get into. 5

Colonel Weird: Cosmagog #2 Dark Horse
It's a story that is haunting itself. Col Weird's life intersects across his time as a child, as a space pilot and in his time as a hero. There are recurring symbols, thoughts and actions throughout and the definite feeling that there are other levels to this that he searches for in vain. There's a UK play for today called Red Shift (suitably named for a space connection) where youths across 3 eras connect with place and with actions. This has that same feeling of the protagonist being trapped in ways they can't quite comprehend, influenced by other times. 5.75

Usagi Yojimbo #253 IDW
I enjoyed this. Usagi offers his hand to help a friend, and troll like being, as a war between that creatures races begins. They are the Tengu and their earth bound wolfen clan seeks control over the mountains where the others live. There's some depth in the struggles between the parties. The wolves are vicious antagonists, but there's a little sympathy for them. 4.25

The Union # 2 Marvel
A stronger second issue, even if it's part of some marvel crossover. Grist uses it to give some hints about why the team got together. It was for the Britannia character killed off last issue, more than anything else. Without her, and despite the team pulling together (except the possessed ones) they have no reason to stay together. That's going to give us a lead into the next issue where Union Jack has to presumably pick up the pieces. There's some of those nice background nods to current affairs in the background. Britannia's call for a team happily coincided with the UK leaving the European Union's super hero European directive (SHED). Those little touches go a long way, and help ground the world around the book in a way that events in Metropolis or Gotham don't do. There's not much known about our cast yet, or a feeling for their place in things, but there's enough interest to continue. It was odd for Union Jack to shout that the possessed weren't to be hurt, while still being drawn carrying his sword. Get a scabbard for the thing, so it doesn't look so silly. Having said that, the sword was key to the plot in the issue, so... 3.5

Right now? Anything Flash, GL, Secret Society of Super-villains, freedom force...basically, anything silver age til future schlock is over, then we'll see.