StarTopic The (Fami)Comic Book |ST|

[tim1138]

Thanks, I'll try to check that one out then!

I've definitely heard of creator runs as a term before, but I'm not really familiar with any specific authors. Are runs usually (somewhat) self-contained? Or do you have to read previous issues/runs for full context?

A little bit of both?

For long running ongoing titles, since the characters have been around for so long at this point that call backs are bound to happen, but for the most part when a new creator takes over they're trying to make the book their own for however long they're on it, but then put the toys back in the box so to speak for whoever follows. But when something is a limited series (like the Hellblazer book I recommended), then those are typically standalone things that just kinda do their own thing. Obviously there's exceptions to both.

And then of course you can throw that all out the window for independent creator owned books.
Those all exist as standalone things that end when the creative team has told their intended story.

 

[someday]

There are so many comics on my pull list I always struggle to give rec's because it just spirals out of control. Like, ok I'll limit my recs to 5, and suddenly I'm thinking "oh, I can't leave this out" and I have a list of 50 ongoings.

 

[Deleted member 1020]

I must admit I used to have around 40-50 monthly pulls back in my day. I went into a comic store the other day to see if there was something I could pick up and I just felt a bit lost. I think it's one of those hobbies where you have to know what you're looking for and keep tabs on it somewhat. Anyway, Far Sector is waiting in my amazon cart. Looking forward to reading it.

 

[enempi]

I took the suggestions from everyone and made a Manga ST. I hope any Manga readers will join us over there! Happy reading to everyone, whatever your chosen medium

 

[bmfrosty]

I must admit I used to have around 40-50 monthly pulls back in my day. I went into a comic store the other day to see if there was something I could pick up and I just felt a bit lost. I think it's one of those hobbies where you have to know what you're looking for and keep tabs on it somewhat. Anyway, Far Sector is waiting in my amazon cart. Looking forward to reading it.

My biggest problem with comic books. I come in and out of the hobby and have given up on staying current. Any more I just look for good runs or series and read them when they're done.

 

[Donnie]

Is anyone planning on picking up or revisiting anything spooky for Halloween? Very excited for the release of a new #1 from Vault next week called The Rush (aka This Hungry Earth Reddens Under Snowclad Hills) by Si Spurrier , who is very much one of my favorites alongside Nathan Gooden who I'm not familiar with but who's work looks great for a dark horror western.

. A frozen frontier, bloodied and bruised by the last great Gold Rush. But in the lawless wastes to the North, something whispers in the hindbrains of men, drawing them to a blighted valley, where giant spidertracks mark the snow and impossible guns roar in the night.

To Brokehoof, where gold and blood are mined alike. Now, stumbling towards its haunted forests comes a woman gripped not by greed -- but the snarling rage of a mother in search of her child...

I really enjoy getting in the mood for Halloween by reading weird creepy monster books with interesting imagery (doesn't have to be overt scary horror) like Hellboy or Harrow County!

 

[someday]

Is anyone planning on picking up or revisiting anything spooky for Halloween? Very excited for the release of a new #1 from Vault next week called The Rush (aka This Hungry Earth Reddens Under Snowclad Hills) next week by Si Spurrier , who is very much one of my favorites alongside Nathan Gooden who I'm not familiar with but who's work looks great for a dark horror western.

I really enjoy getting in the mood for Halloween by reading weird creepy monster books with interesting imagery (doesn't have to be overt scary horror) like Hellboy or Harrow County!

Have you read Gideon Falls?

 

[Donnie]

Have you read Gideon Falls?

Oh you know, I read volume 1 back when it originally released and just never got around to checking out more, but I see it's on sale on comixology

 

[someday]

Oh you know, I read volume 1 back when it originally released and just never got around to checking out more, but I see it's on sale on comixology

Check it out. It's brilliant.

Give me 30 mins and I'll post a few horror/horror-adjacent recs that I like.

 

[someday]

So here's a list of my favourite horror / horror-adjacent / good ole spooky halloween fun comics from the last few years that I enjoy:

Coffin Bound
- Cars! Guns! Entropy! Chased by an unstoppable killer, Izzy Tyburn has decided that if the world won't have her in it, it can have nothing of her at all. She's re-treading her life, leaving nothing but burned rubber, ash, and the sun-scorched bones of those who get in her way.

Ice Cream Man
- Chocolate, vanilla, existential horror, drug addiction, musical fantasy...there's a flavor for everyone's misery. ICE CREAM MAN is a genre-defying comic book series featuring disparate "one-shot" tales of sorrow, wonder, and redemption. Each installment features its own cast of strange characters, dealing with their own special sundae of suffering. And on the periphery of all of them, like the twinkly music of his colorful truck, is the Ice Cream Man—a weaver of stories, a purveyor of sweet treats. Friend. Foe. God. Demon. The man who, with a snap of his fingers—lickety split!—can change the course of your life forever.

HaHa
- ICE CREAM MAN writer W. MAXWELL PRINCE brings his signature style of one-shot storytelling to the world of clowns—and he’s invited SOME OF THE BEST ARTISTS IN COMICS to join him for the ride. HAHA is a genre-jumping, throat-lumping look at the sad, scary, hilarious life of those who get paid to play the fool—but these ain’t your typical jokers.

Hotell
- You won't find it on any map, but if you happen to be driving down Route 66 late at night and you're truly desperate for shelter, sanctuary or secrecy, you might see a battered sign on the side of the road: The Pierrot Courts Hotel – where many check in but few check out.

Home Sick Pilots
- In the summer of 1994, a haunted house walks across California. Inside is Ami, lead singer of a high school punk band—who's been missing for weeks. How did she get there? What do these ghosts want? And does this mean the band has to break up? Expect three-chord songs and big bloody action as Power Rangers meets The Shining (yes really), and as writer DAN WATTERS (Lucifer, COFFIN BOUND) and artist CASPAR WIJNGAARD (LIMBO, Star Wars, Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt) delve into the horrors of misspent youth.

Killadelphia
- When a small-town beat cop comes home to bury his murdered father—the revered Philadelphia detective James Sangster Sr.—he begins to unravel a mystery that leads him down a path of horrors that will shake his beliefs to their core. The city that was once the symbol of liberty and freedom has fallen prey to corruption, poverty, unemployment, brutality... and vampires. Welcome to KILLADELPHIA.

Plastic
- Retired serial killer Edwyn Stoffgruppen is in love with Virginia, a girl he “met online.” Her affection quiets his vile urges. Together, they tour the back roads of America in their LTD Crown Vic, eating doughnuts and enjoying their insatiable appetites for each other. Life is good…until a Louisiana billionaire kidnaps Virginia, forcing Edwyn to kill again in exchange for her freedom. And the twist to all of this? Virginia is a sex doll.

Sabrina the Teenage Witch
- Sabrina is a teen witch who's struggling with balancing the double life of high school and her burgeoning powers. Newly relocated to Greendale with her aunts Hilda and Zelda (also witches), Sabrina is trying to make the best of being the new girl in town which so far includes two intriguing love interests, an instant rivalry, a couple of misfits that could turn into BFFs, and trying to save the high school (and maybe the world) from crazy supernatural events. NBD!

Something is Killing the Children
- When the children of Archer's Peak begin to go missing, everything seems hopeless. Most children never return, but the ones that do have terrible stories -- impossible stories of terrifying creatures that live in the shadows. Their only hope of finding and eliminating the threat is the arrival of a mysterious stranger, one who believes the children and claims to see what they can see. Her name is Erica Slaughter. She kills monsters. That is all she does, and she bears the cost because it MUST be done.

Vinyl
- PLASTIC creators DOUG WAGNER and DANIEL HILLYARD return with Eisner Award winner DAVE STEWART for an unsettling tale of psychopaths, sweet love, and a serial killer named Walter. When Walter’s best friend, the FBI agent charged with his capture, is kidnapped by a death cult of all-female sunflower farmers, Walter finds himself deep within an underground labyrinth filled with secrets and monsters...but are their monsters more horrific than his?

Gideon Falls
- The lives of a reclusive young man obsessed with a conspiracy in the city's trash, and a washed-up Catholic priest arriving in a small town full of dark secrets, become intertwined around the mysterious legend of The Black Barn, an otherworldly building that is alleged to have appeared in both the city and the small town, throughout history, bringing death and madness in its wake. Rural mystery and urban horror collide in this character-driven meditation on obsession, mental illness, and faith.

and here's one that I just started reading, it's only on issue 2 but I might as well mention it because it seems fun.
Deadbox
- Welcome to the town of Lost Turkey, where the main source of entertainment is a cursed DVD machine that seems to know more about the fate of its citizens than they do.

As mentioned at the top of the post, most of these are from the last few years and they're mostly creator owned comics. All very good though.

Edit:

God I forgot two of the best ongoings at the moment. They're horror adjacent moreso than horror but The Department of Truth is terrifying either way
The Department of Truth
- COLE TURNER has studied conspiracy theories all his life, but he isn’t prepared for what happens when he discovers that all of them are true, from the JFK Assassination to Flat Earth Theory and Reptilian Shapeshifters. One organization has been covering them up for generations. What is the deep, dark secret behind the Department of Truth?

The Nice House on the Lake
- Everyone who was invited to the house knows Walter-well, they know him a little, anyway. Some met him in childhood; some met him months ago. And Walter's always been a little...off. But after the hardest year of their lives, nobody was going to turn down Walter's invitation to an astonishingly beautiful house in the woods, overlooking an enormous sylvan lake. It's beautiful, it's opulent, it's private-so a week of putting up with Walter's weird little schemes and nicknames in exchange for the vacation of a lifetime? Why not? All of them were at that moment in their lives when they could feel themselves pulling away from their other friends; wouldn't a chance to reconnect be...nice?

 

[Deleted member 1020]

Ice Cream Man looks wonderfully twisted.

 

[tim1138]

I don't gravitate to a lot of horror outside of the Mignola books, Harrow County, and Swamp Thing, but I can confirm that Home Sick Pilots completely rules.

 

[randomengine]

Marvel Solicitations are out:

Marvel Comics January 2022 Solicitations

 

[Launchpad]

I've been less into comics than I have been into manga and books lately, but I grabbed that DC Infinite sub late last month, and read Basketful of Heads and The Low Low Woods. I loved Basketful of Heads and would strongly recommend it to anyone who has easy access to it and is looking for a horror comic. I liked the vibe of The Low Low Woods, but I felt the story was less interesting; it had some great concepts and characters, though.

Other than that, I read Superman Smashes the Klan, Spurrier's Hellblazer, and Shadow of the Batgirl recently, and loved all of those. I also read Blue in Green, but didn't enjoy that very much.

 

[Deleted member 2670]

I'm bringing this back to life..... In this golden age of graphic novels, no response.... Jeez.

Anyhow

I'm going to comment less on the accuracy of the history depicted, (as this is my first exposure to the the nitty gritty details of hip hops birth) but just comment on what a compelling page turner this is. Lighthearted but never too lighthearted, never too depressing but doesn't shy away from the tough stuff, doesn't pass judgement on people, just lays things out (with a bend toward humor).

Read it.

Also I can't be the only one who has read like 500+ graphic novels....... And I started at 22, not as a kid!!!!

 

[merp]

I'm bringing this back to life..... In this golden age of graphic novels, no response.... Jeez.

Anyhow

I'm going to comment less on the accuracy of the history depicted, (as this is my first exposure to the the nitty gritty details of hip hops birth) but just comment on what a compelling page turner this is. Lighthearted but never too lighthearted, never too depressing but doesn't shy away from the tough stuff, doesn't pass judgement on people, just lays things out (with a bend toward humor).

Read it.

Also I can't be the only one who has read like 500+ graphic novels....... And I started at 22, not as a kid!!!!

Wonder if there's any "funny" comics out there.

BTW, that looks good.

 

[Phosphorescent Skeleton]

 

[Dizzle]

I'm close to owning everything Michael Kupperman has done. He's one of the rare artists I can just sit down and read over and over again. Moon 69 still makes me laugh until I can't breathe, 1000 reads later.

Also, reading No. 5 by Taiyo Matsumoto for the first time. I can't believe how good he is. I've only read Ping Pong before this, but I feel like i have to Kupperman this guy.

I bought Roaming by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki but haven't touched it yet. Which is a shame, because it looks amazing.

 

[Clov]

The 5th issue of Skybound's Transformers comic was, like the last four, great! Only one more issue left in this story arc and the final confrontation has been set up... really excited to see how it ends!

A LOT of characters showing up in this one, including...

Spoiler

Arcee! She's finally back! She was SO cool too...

 

[Donnie]

The 5th issue of Skybound's Transformers comic was, like the last four, great! Only one more issue left in this story arc and the final confrontation has been set up... really excited to see how it ends!

A LOT of characters showing up in this one, including...

Spoiler

Arcee! She's finally back! She was SO cool too...

I can't wait to read this book, DWJ is so good and Transformers is chefkiss level of perfect match, glad you're enjoying it! I'll check it out when the arc is done. I did read the first arc of Void Rivals last week and that was great, it's set in the same little universe thing they're doing there I believe?

 

[Clov]

I can't wait to read this book, DWJ is so good and Transformers is chefkiss level of perfect match, glad you're enjoying it! I'll check it out when the arc is done. I did read the first arc of Void Rivals last week and that was great, it's set in the same little universe thing they're doing there I believe?

Yeah, Void Rivals is in the same universe, as well as Duke and Cobra Commander. I thought Void Rivals was alright, but I LOVED the Cobra Commander comic, and I really wasn't expecting to. Issue 2 of that comes out next week!

 

[Donnie]

Yeah, Void Rivals is in the same universe, as well as Duke and Cobra Commander. I thought Void Rivals was alright, but I LOVED the Cobra Commander comic, and I really wasn't expecting to. Issue 2 of that comes out next week!

oh cool! I somehow entirely navigated around GI Joe as a kid lol so I have a nostalgia blackhole there, I hadn't really looked at it closed than noticing the art in previews is really nice, but I'll check it out!

I need to come back in here with some proper time and write up some stuff I've read, it's been ages but since we're on comics based on cartoons anyway, I'll shout out Sophie Campbell's TMNT coming to a close soon with #150. She picked the ball up after #100 after [big 100 spoiler]

Spoiler

the death of splinter

at the beginning of 2020 and transformed the book into a thoughtful slice of life ensemble about the turtles stepping out of the shadows in a world that no longer rejects them (well, as much, it's still the turtles) and finding their place as people, as partners, as family and learning how to live with their trauma and loss and inspire a new generation. There's still plenty of ninja action and the kind of stuff you expect but I think she did something really special with the book and managed to meaningfully expand the cast and move beyond the typical boundaries set for this type of book. Big recommend!

 

[Clov]

Read a bunch of stuff recently! Gonna just comment them quickly...

The Life and Death of Captain Marvel: Everything Jim Starlin did with this character is GREAT. Really cool, psychedelic art and extremely fun writing. The Death of Captain Marvel was honestly kinda shocking to me. It's not at all what I would have expected out of a superhero comic of the time. Really well done, had me crying by the end of it! I still prefer Starlin's Warlock, but this was some incredible stuff too. My TPB of The Death of Captain Marvel also included some early 60s Captain Marvel stuff that was so dull it felt like eating cardboard.

Conan: Serpent War: This was the first modern Conan the Barbarian stuff I've ever read! I did not like it. It needed way more than 4 issues to tell this story.

Spider-Gwen: Gwenverse and Shadow Clones: These were a lot of fun! They're the first Spider-Gwen comics I've ever read, and they made a great impression on me. Gwen's a fun protagonist, but I love the alternate versions of her even more, Thorgwen from Gwenverse and Gwen Ock from Shadow Clones being my favs. I liked Shadow Clones a bit more than Gwenverse. The story feels a little tighter, and I like the art a lot more, being a big fan of Kei Zama ever since their work on IDW's Optimus Prime comic. Also I love that one of the alternate universe Gwen's is explicitly a trans-masculine version! That's neat.

The Godzilla Valentine's Day Special: This is pretty much a comic made for me. It's got all sorts of things that I love! Giant monsters and gay people, namely. So this comic is about a girl who starts chasing Godzilla and other monsters around the globe to make into online content! But she falls in love with a nonbinary person working for the Earth Defense Force... It's a really fun story! And also the first Godzilla comic I've ever read. A great way to start, for sure!

Cobra Commander (Issue 2): This series continues to be a lot of fun. Cobra Commander finds himself in Florida, and even he can't stand it! He's such a hilariously evil protagonist, as we can see when...

Spoiler

he nearly kills a kid for sticking his tongue out at him. Also next issue is teasing Cobra fighting a bunch of alligators, which I'm extremely excited about!

Transformers (2019) 1-15 and Transformers Galaxies 1-6: I finally got around to reading IDW's reboot, and I'm really enjoying it so far. The pacing in the main series is slow, but it's really interesting. I love the way it's been building up the world and characters, the stakes and conflict gradually ramping up. Also I love Flamewar, she's such a gremlin! A little less impressive is Transformers Galaxies. This was a sort of anthology series. The first 4 issues are about the Constructicons, who aren't very compelling characters. These issues also have art by maybe my least favorite artist to work on Transformers, the guy who did Autocracy and Primacy and all that. Clunky writing and boring stuff. Thankfully issues 5 and 6 are much better, featuring a really fun story by Alex Milne about Cliffjumper (the guy who looks like red Bumblebee).


Anyways, I'm pretty Marvel-ed out, so I'm gonna stick to mostly reading the 2019 Transformers for now. That's the stuff that really reminds me of why I love comics so much in the first place; cool gay robots!

 

[Donnie]

Read a bunch of stuff recently! Gonna just comment them quickly...

Conan: Serpent War: This was the first modern Conan the Barbarian stuff I've ever read! I did not like it. It needed way more than 4 issues to tell this story.

Offt, yeah, never read this one but I had heard it was rough. Since I specifically enjoy reading conan-esque comics but not actually conan, I thought I might write a few recommendations lol if this isn't helpful apologies haha I'll start with my favourite, Head Lopper by Andrew Maclean. It's very Conan inspired but has much more of a cartoonist art-driven storytelling vibe oppose to Conan comics which always seem quite wordy/heavy on narrative to try and channel the novels. Head Lopper is cursed to carry around the head of the witch Agatha who's really fun and sassy and makes a good counter part to his gruffness. There's a general ongoing story thread between each volume that has been getting stronger book to book but each one is generally written as a kind of "continuing adventures of" so you would be fine checking out any available to you. There's currently 4 of em.

BIRDKING by Daniel Freedman & CROM is another great one about an apprentice blacksmith who accidently calls upon an ancient king like deity called the birdking who is in the mould of a conan-esque figure while fleeing her homeland and becomes her guadian spirit as she travels the land. The second volume just released recently! I love the art in these. Not very story heavy/focused but completely nails the fights and the world vibes!

This one is a little bit older now and has completed it's run but last one I'll shout out right now is Rumble by John Arcudi (who wrote a lot of hellboy/BPRD stuff), which is "what if Conan was brought into the modern era and bound to a scarecrow body, and was a bit of an arse". Tons of action in this one but a bit more thoughtful than the two I mentioned above, it's as concerned with grappling with ideas about how myth is interpreted differently between cultures towards different meanings, victors writing history in a way that suits and figures like Conan being the hero of their stories at the expense of everyone around them. This has been done for awhile but really enjoyed this series. It does have a bit of a shift in feel half way through the run because the book to change artist from James Harren to David rubin but I thought both were great either way. There's 6 volumes of these i think.

I'll stop there but I love these kind of books lmao give me a book about punching or slicing skeletons or snake folks any day. As far as actual Conan goes, the Jason Aaron written books that came out before Serpent War were much more well regarded, Marvel were throwing stronger creators and focus on the book because the license was still fresh. Those are technically delisted now since the license changed hands but if you can find them, they're pretty decent. I think the series is just called Conan The Barbarian for two volumes and then King Conan for a volume after that.

--------

Reading your recs, I am definitely going to read Transformers and Cobra Commander when they wrap up their first arcs and that Godzilla book sounds great, i'll need to hunt that down. I'm not familiar with Zoe Tunnell but looking at her twitter, the web comic she's been working on, Blade Maidens, looks real cool!

 

[Sadist]

Reading Image’s Transformers series has been fantastic.

- I love how the comic gives Optimus that uncle Optimus vibe from the show, without being to corny. The way he responds to stepping on a deer by accident feeling all remorseful and how he uses the Matrix to save a hospital from losing power gives me wholesome vibes.

- Starscream is absolutely unhinged and cutthroat, fantastic. Dismantling cons, kicking fellow Decepticons when they are down.

- Issue five is fire. Especially the ending is hype.

 

[Phosphorescent Skeleton]

Reading Image’s Transformers series has been fantastic.

- I love how the comic gives Optimus that uncle Optimus vibe from the show, without being to corny. The way he responds to stepping on a deer by accident feeling all remorseful and how he uses the Matrix to save a hospital from losing power gives me wholesome vibes.

- Starscream is absolutely unhinged and cutthroat, fantastic. Dismantling cons, kicking fellow Decepticons when they are down.

- Issue five is fire. Especially the ending is hype.

As much as I miss the IDW stuff, the new series has been great and really brings a new flavor to Transformers comics.

 

[Sadist]

Agreed!

Its the little things like Frenzy being shocked that Optimus blows Reflector to smithereens and he yells “Reflector, Buddy!!!” which is just cool.

Plus I like the Cliffjumper and Carly dynamic. (And not Bumblebee this time around being front and center)

 

[Donnie]

Image adding another book to the Energon line, must be doing well for them! Watters is a great pick, loved his book Homesick Pilots a year or two back.

Edit:

Oh and another one by Kelly Thompson

 

[Clov]

On the topic of Hasbro comics, I finished the second IDW Transformers series! Just a quick write-up of what I've read since my last big post here...

Transformers (2019) Issues 15-43+2021 Annual: So this is the rest of the mainline comic... sort of! I'll explain later. But anyway, it's great! Plenty of robot politics. Plenty of that lovable goof Flamewar!

Pictured above in order: Shadow Striker, Slipstream, and that lovable goof Flamewar

But also, appearances from some of my favorite obscure toy robots, like Trickdiamond, Crasher, and Sunstorm! It was great to see them get fun supporting roles. The comic itself mostly has good art, and plenty of exciting moments that made me cheer. It was neat seeing the Autobots so on the defensive, being at a huge disadvantage. The cast all get a lot of great moments; espeically Javelin, a new character to this continuity. It was really cool seeing her grow as a supporting character. Makes me glad she got a toy!

Transformers Galaxies issues 7-12: There's two more stories within this series. The first is by far the best one; a story about Arcee, her wife Greenlight, and their adopted daughter Gauge escaping an evil cult. This was one of my favorite stories in the whole continuity!

Pictured above: lesbians

The second story was far less impressive sadly. Ultra Magnus goes looking for Alpha Trion... Soundblaster shows up I guess. Ultra Magnus is simply NOT interesting here. A far cry from how fun he was in More Than Meets the Eye. But I guess it's kinda hard to compete when the last story was about a big gay and trans robot family.

Transformers: Escape issues 1-5: This one takes place during part of the mainline series. Hound, Nautica, and others try to evacuate some of the organic beings living on Cybertron with the outbreak of the Autobot and Decepticon war. Also the Insecticons start cloning themselves to eat everything, making things worse. I really enjoyed this one! Really exciting, and I loved seeing how the Cybertronians got along and worked together with the aliens.

The Transformers Valentine's Day Special: This was cute and okay! Nothing that special. I kinda liked the back-up story about Cosmos and Blast-Off a little more than the main feature.

The Transformers Halloween Special: This ruled! Starscream, that total jerk, investigates an urban legend, only to find himself trapped inside the body of a big monkey. Extremely entertaining, and great use of narration throughout!

Wreckers: Tread and Circuits issues 1-4: So this is a spin-off taking place on Velocitron, a planet where whoever wins a big race gets to be the new leader. The Wreckers, a special ops group, shows up to stop the race from being sabotaged by Mayhem, a terrorist group lead by some sort of octopus Transformer. Tonally it's completely different from the previous Wreckers stuff from the first IDW continuity, being much goofier. While I loved seeing Aileron and Minerva show up, the pacing was a bit weird at times. Some stuff at the end felt pretty abrupt. Unlike all the other side series, nothing that happens here is referenced in the mainline comic, and it ends on a cliffhanger. I'll just have to imagine that everything worked out!

Pictured above: a "gamer", having partaken in the shameful activity known as "gaming"

Transformers: War's End issues 1-4: This is literally just extra issues of the mainline comic. The collected edition even alternates issues of the original comic with it.

Transformers: Fate of Cybertron: This is the one-shot that concludes the entire continuity! Though it was brought short because of IDW's loss of the liscense, this does a decent job of wrapping things up. Though the main Autobot/Decepticon war is not concluded, leaving room open for more, it does manage to resolve a lot of the drama between characters, and end things on a good note. What's weird and neat about this one shot is that every handful of pages, the artist switches! Weird stuff, but I liked it.

Overall, great comics! Definitely recommend reading this series if you can, especially if you like robot politics and Slipstream.

Outside of those, I read two other things! ...yep, more Transformers. ...it's good!

Transformers: Last Bot Standing issues 1-4: This is a standalone story not set in any particular continuity, so you can imagine it being in any of them! It's really IDW's grand send-off to their amazing 17 year run on the series. The Autobot/Decepticon war has raged for ages, consuming many planets throughout the galaxy. But now, it's all over; all the possible Energon they could find has run out. Almost all the Transformers have long died out, except for... Rodimus! Rodimus has accepted his fate, staying on a distant planet, old and weary and starving. But when a group of Transformers arrive with sinister intentions for the planet's organic population, Rodimus has to step forward one last time to defend them. Really great stuff; very exciting action with wonderful art. Also Lunaclub is there!!

Pictured on the left side of the page: A blorbo so obscure I had to take a picture myself because there were no decent ones

Today, I ended up reading a new comic...

Void Rivals issue 7: This was alright! Good art, but pretty much all set-up for the next issue. Still, I'm interested! I'm still not 100% a fan of this one, but I at least like it enough to want to see where this story arc goes.

That took a lot longer than I thought! Anyway, that's most of what I've been up to in terms of my comic reading. Next I'll probably read American Barbarian. ...or Jem and the Holograms...

 

[Phosphorescent Skeleton]

Speaking of Engergon universe, read Void Rivals 7 and thought, art aside, it was total dog shit. Nothing happened. One thing got set up, and that one thing was a honk shoo cliche. Been reading a lot of 70s marvel, and less things happened in this entire issue than would happen on say, a single page of Tomb of Dracula.

 

[Clov]

So I read... yes, more Transformers.

Transformers (2023) #6: This is the finale to the first story arc, and WOW it's a great one! It's got some of the best art in this series so far... which makes me a bit sad that we're getting a new artist starting from next month's issue! As much as I loved both of IDW's takes on the series, nobody quite does action as thrilling and dynamic as DWJ! The letters page here teases a bit about where the story's going to be going next issue, and I'm really excited to see how it turns out.

 

[Donnie]

Speaking of Engergon universe, read Void Rivals 7 and thought, art aside, it was total dog shit. Nothing happened. One thing got set up, and that one thing was a honk shoo cliche. Been reading a lot of 70s marvel, and less things happened in this entire issue than would happen on say, a single page of Tomb of Dracula.

Yeah, I had fun with the first arc of this book (I think particularly because the art and the coloring is quite nice) but this is very much something I associate with Kirkman as a writer and probably why it's been a long time since I last checked in on his books. I prefer to read in chunks anyway but I especially would not try to read this one by single issue lol even the full first arc didn't have lots going on.

Going to try and catch up on some stuff so hopefully can post some thoughts soon!

 

[Donnie]

I gave Tom King's new book at dark horse a read, Helen of Wyndhorn. I'm not much of a King fan but absolutely love Bilquis Evely so I wanted to give it a shot, her art carried a lot of their superwoman book for me a few years back. It's a very solid and intriguing start, the book is about a journalist interviewing a older lady in the present day about her experiences in the 1940s after she was hired to retrieve an unruly teen (the titular Helen) who was raised on the road by her father, a travelling writer who has passed away, and bring to her grandfather's lavish manor to educate her in proper ways and etiquette. There, Helen discovers her father might have spent his life running away from weirder darker things than just a rich family and restrictive lifestyle.

The broad overview is it's a pulp tale being presented as straighter historical fiction. It's quite a wordy book but it works well with the period setting and the matron recounting experiences from one perspective within a set of events she can't fully explain or understand. I quite liked this for a first issue, lots of setting the stage but interesting as a tale. Might be worth checking out for folks that think historical drama meets supernatural fantasy sounds appealling?

 

[Clov]

I've been reading more great stuff lately!

Cobra Commander #3: Still loving this!

Spoiler: Cobra Commander Issue 3 Spoilers

Cobra is completely outmatched physically here, and his weapons are taken away. There's no way he can beat the Dreadnoks in a fight. This is where we get to see some of his manipulative side come in. Was great to see him prey on the different insecurities of the Dreadnoks to turn them against each other. My main disappointment is... there's only two pages of Cobra fighting gators! I was hoping it would be like, half the issue...

Jem and the Holograms #1-12 (plus Annual 2015 and Holiday Special): I'm love, love, loving this comic! It's got basically everything I love to find in a comic book. Great art, fun melodrama, cool girls, gay girls, trans girls...

So for anyone who doesn't know Jem and the Holograms, this is based off the 80s TV show, about a girl named Jerrica who uses advanced hologram technology to turn into her alter ego, Jem, to lead her band. This causes her to run afoul of The Misfits, a rival band of awfully rude (and more than occasionally murderous) girls. The characters here are much better rounded, so you get to know both Jem's band and The Misfits really well! They're not entirely on bad terms either; Kimber, one of the girls from Jem's band, starts dating Stormer, one of the Misfits! What's really great about this is how casually queer love in this series is handled! None of the drama around Kimber and Stormer's relationship is because they're both girls; it's because they're in rival bands. Kimber being gay comes up very casually and naturally early on too!

Another well handled character is Blaze, who in issue 12 becomes another vocalist for the Misfits. In that issue we find out she's a trans woman, but she's really worried about coming out to the other members of The Misfits. Though her friend Clash seems angry that Blaze got the part over her, the moment she realizes that Blaze is worried, she immediately comforts her and offers to support her. Blaze comes out to the band and... they're all just super cool with it! Never even crossed their mind as being an issue. I really liked seeing this. It feels natural for Blaze to be anxious coming out, and seeing her accepted for who she is by everyone unconditionally was really heartwarming! I can't wait to see more of Clash and Blaze, and I wonder if their relationship is going to go any further...?

The series isn't perfect so far; I didn't like the 2015 Annual at all, and the art in the Holiday Special wasn't great. The art has been mostly amazing so far. Basically everything drawn by Sophie Campbell has been perfect! I love her art, I love how colorful and dynamic it is, I love the big splash pages when the bands are performing! She did issues 1-6 and 11-16. The artist who did the issues in between those is good, but I just love Sophie's work too much! Kelly Thompson is the writer on this, and I love the way it captures the melodrama of the original show while making it a bit easier to take seriously. Makes me want to check out that upcoming Scarlet comic she'll be writing!

So yeah! Love this comic, looking forward to reading more and seeing more of Blaze!

Transformers Timelines #6, 8: ...so as you can see, I'm on a bit of a Hasbro bend. And I just can't stop reading Transformers comics. These are really unusual comics though! So Transformers Timelines was a comic by Fun Publications. They had a special comic license with Hasbro; they could specifically make comics to be sold at their official Transformers convention, BotCon. Somehow two random issues of this ended up in a used book store in Tokyo, so I bought them! They're a bit of a mixed bag. Issue 6 takes place in the Transformers Animated universe. I really loved how the issue was written, loved seeing Toxitron act as basically a Bizzaro Optimus Prime (complete with driving backwards in vehicle mode!), but I just don't like the art style of Transformers Animated. On the flip side, issue 8 takes place in the obscure toyline Machine Wars. The art is great! I think the artist did some stuff for IDW later, it looks a lot like the 2021 Beast Wars comic they did. I didn't like how it was written at all though! It felt really confusing. Maybe issue 7 would have clued me in. Still great to see Strika, one of my favs, though!

And in non-Hasbro reads...

Sunflowers: This is a great short comic by Keezy Young about living with bipolar disorder. It's very personal, and very insightful. I really have to compliment their art; it's seriously incredible. There's so many great details that illustrate their feelings in a really powerful way. This wouldn't work as an essay, the visuals here are really essential to the way their message is delivered. The physical edition by Silver Sprocket is printed on some VERY nice paper as well. A must read!

On one last note, Cam Marshall, one of my all time favorite comic artists, started posting new pages from the third chapter of their newest comic, Ethernet Cable Girlfriend! This comic's about a human girl who dates a robot girl. You'll have to subscribe to their Patreon to see, but it's well worth it! It's a really fun comic with amazing art. They do character expressions so well!

I think that's about it for now! Gonna keep reading more Jem next...

 

[Donnie]

Woo, Jem was a great book, Sophie Campbell absolutely rocks in general. I liked Black Cloak by Kelly Thompson a lot too

 

[Clov]

More stuff I've been reading lately!

Void Rivals #8: Really just feels like more set-up. Some cool action at least, but I'm just waiting for Springer's debut. Yes, that's how much I want more Transformers comics; I'm dying to see SPRINGER of all characters.

Transformers (2023) #7: HELL YES HELL YES HELL YES

Cobra Commander #4: Loved it! Cobra's such a jerk, but you just love to see him get out of a jam. And he ends up in a pretty big one here. Only 1 issue left! Can't wait to see how it'll finish!

Jem and the Holograms #13-26 (plus Valentines Day Special, Annual 2017, and The Misfits): I adored this. While I missed Sophie Campbell's artwork dearly, the rest of the main series really holds up. The introduction of The Stingers really adds a lot of flavor to the character dynamics, which really forces Jem to confront the double-life she's been living. The conclusion is surprising, but really well handled. My favorite bits of course was everything with Kimber and Stormer, and all the antics the Misfits got up to. The stunt they pulled to get back at Jem and The Stingers made me laugh a lot!

Speaking of the Misfits, their solo comic was amazing! The idea of having The Misfits star in a reality TV program is a great one, and it's nice to see each member get a bit of focus. Blaze gets a lovely issue about how no matter what, she'll always have a place with the band, but Stormer's issue might be the best, highlighting both fatphobia and homophobia within media. This side-series definitely has some of the best writing in the entire series.

I can't say as much for the Valentines Day Special, which is ill-concieved. But the 2017 Annual was a LOT of fun! Does the anthology approach a lot better than the 2015 annual.


Now, if you can believe, I actually read a few comics that WEREN'T Hasbro related. Shocking, right???

Bad Dream: A Dreamer Story: This quickly became one of my favorite DC releases! This is the origin story of Nia Nal, a superhero named Dreamer, who's one of DC's first and most prominent trans superheroes! Nia's family is an alien race hiding on Earth. Nia's sister is suppossed to inherent prophetic Seer powers from their mother, and has trained her whole life to recieve them. After all, she's the family's daughter, and only a daughter can recieve them. But they end up going to Nia instead! Drama ensues.

There's a lot I love about this comic! The art is great, the dream visions that Nia gets are so well illustrated and laid out. There's some really breathtaking pages here. But what makes this comic so special is the way it openly tackles many of the issues trans people face. Not just transphobia and misgendering, but also fear and doubt; the fear of being rejected by your family, the doubt of "is it okay for me to be myself?" There's also the subtle bits of transphobia that the narrative addresses; Nia's mother hadn't even considered her as someone who could recieve her Seer powers, and that's despite the fact that she's very accepting of her being trans! When Nia's sister learns the truth, she reacts VERY badly to it, and says something very hurtful to her. The comic doesn't shy away from reality; some people are shitty to trans people, and in large part that's derived from the jealousy they feel towards us. Some of that jealousy is, as the comic points out, jealousy of living as who we really are, not having to repress ourselves. And some of that is because they feel we don't deserve what we have, that our happiness and our gifts somehow take away from their own. To see Nia embrace her abilities as her own, and not "stolen" from her sister by the end of the story made me truly happy to see.

But another reason I love this comic isn't just its honest portrayal of struggle, but of the joy that being trans brings into ones life! Seeing Nia find a new queer friend group (including Galaxy, another great trans hero and star of her own graphic novel!) was heartwarming. Nia meets all sorts of queer people, and stays in a queer community during one part of the story. I loved seeing how accepting they were of her, how they welcomed her openly and did everything they could to help her. I'm a real mark for queer found families, what can I say? It rules!

Overall I'm completely in love with this comic and I really hope I see Dreamer show up in more stuff soon!

Last up, I read...

Wine Ghost Goes to Hell: This graphic novel by Sage Coffey is about Wine Ghost, a character who, if you can believe it, is a ghost who loves wine! A lot of this book is about Wine Ghost going from place to place with an old, recently deceased friend, and running into all sorts of wonderful creatures (some she knows, some she doesn't). It ends up being a moment where she has to sit back and think about who she is.

The story here is great, and Wine Ghost is a really fun character who I became attached to very quickly, and not just because I love wine! The art is honestly incredible; so colorful, so full of imaginative designs! I'm going to be on the lookout for anything else Sage Coffey works on!

And that's all! For now...