Black Panther #1 Marvel Knights - CLASSIC COMIC OF THE WEEK

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By d. emerson eddy — Much of North America, much of the world, is a frayed nerve right now. People were already dealing with the existential threat of a pandemic and a lockdown during the further eruption of police brutality and injustice throughout our countries. Particularly as it comes to the murders of multiple black people across America this past week, sparking rightful protests of systemic oppression. It's not my place to give answers here or wax philosophical on it. Even if it was, I have no answers. Instead, if you're white, I suggest listening to the black people around you. Amplify their voices.

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Swamp Thing #140 - Classic Comic of the Week

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By d. emerson eddy — Last week, in mentioning landmark first issues of new creators coming on to an existing title, I mentioned Swamp Thing #140. It's undoubtedly lesser heralded than the others, so I wanted to talk a bit about it this week. Swamp Thing, as you should be able to tell from my bio blurb down there, is one of my favorite characters in comics. The mud-encrusted muck monster was one of the first characters I gravitated towards as a kid and is certainly the one that I've been following the longest. While Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette, John Totleben, & Rick Veitch may have been the instigators of my love for this series, the run to close out this volume of the series that began in Swamp Thing #140 with Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, Phil Hester, Kim DeMulder, Tatjana Wood, and Richard Starkings may well be my favorite.

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The Mighty Thor #337 - Classic Comic of the Week

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By d. emerson eddy — When a new creative team takes over a long running property, there are a number of ways they can approach it. Sometimes it's a seamless transition, carrying on some of the plot threads and characters of previous teams, other times it's a complete overhaul of what's come before. Of these latter, some of them live on in memory as near complete reinterpretations of the characters, new ways to think of them, that are absolutely mind-blowing. Among the most long-lived and beloved reinterpretations, we've got Saga of the Swamp Thing #21, Doom Patrol #19, Swamp Thing #140, and Daredevil #227. As well as another of my favorites, The Mighty Thor #337, from Walter Simonson, George Roussos, and John Workman.

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Isola #1 - Classic Comic of the Week

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By d. emerson eddy — “You can be addicted to a certain kind of sadness,” warbles Gotye in his own now modern classic, Somebody That I Used To Know. It's true, though. We often look to sad songs, sad stories, and such while we're feeling down. Part of it is undoubtedly a search for kinship, a familiarity with others in a similar situation, and a seek for cathartic release.

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X-Men Legacy #300 - Classic Comic of the Week

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X-Men Legacy #300 was the end of an era. The capstone to the second volume of X-Men that had begun back in 1991 with Chris Claremont and Jim Lee, though it was specifically a celebration of the series when it had the X-Men Legacy moniker. Through “Marvel Legacy math”, this anniversary issue included the 24 issues of the second volume of X-Men Legacy, but not any enumeration from volumes three (the vampires) or four (the all-woman team) of the adjectiveless X-Men series. So it stuck with creators most emblematic of the X-Men Legacy era itself to tell this jam issue.

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Sandman #18 - Classic Comic of the Week

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By d. emerson eddy — Like many of the fringe kids in the '80s and '90s, I was drawn to the haunting and beautiful quality of The Sandman. I gravitated more towards the horror and fantasy aspects than the philosophical questions at the time, but it served as a familiar base to later explore even further from different perspective. The series is incredible in that there are many layers that you can read, enjoy, and understand, unfolding new joys with each re-reading.

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Batman #520 - Classic Comic of the Week

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By d. emerson eddy — Batman #520 came out towards the beginning of one of the best runs on Batman, and probably my favorite, from Doug Moench and Kelley Jones, but it features guest artwork from the legendary Eduardo Barreto. He's probably best known in the United States for his work on The Shadow Strikes and The New Teen Titans, and is definitely an artist who probably flies under the radar for many readers. There's a beauty and economy of line to Barreto's work that's somewhat reminiscent of a pared down Joe Kubert or Jordi Bernet. Just perfect to portray the pulp sensibilities of Batman and to convey the more intricate emotions throughout what is largely a “quiet” issue.

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Batman The Adventures Continue #1 - COMIC OF THE WEEK

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By d. emerson eddy — No new comics were sent out physically this week, with Diamond essentially shutting down for the foreseeable future until things start getting back to normal. How long that may last, we don't know. To coincide with that, nearly all publishers have taken a similar approach to their digital releases. Even with the slim pickings, there was a selection of some great stuff in Finger Guns #2, Sera & The Royal Stars #7, Sabrina: Something Wicked #1, and Ash & Thorn #1. It was nice to at least see something new, even though it reinforced the idea that we live in uncertain times. Though I do suggest checking them out, it didn't quite feel right to me to focus on something that also has a print edition that isn't necessarily easy to get right now, so thankfully there was a digital first release that can be considered comfort food, Batman: The Adventures Continue #1.

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Comic of the Week: Transformers Vs. Terminator #1

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By d. emerson eddy — We live in interesting times. As I write this, I'm uncertain as to when my next choice for comic of the week is going to go up. Diamond Comics Distribution is no longer shipping new product for the time being, everything non-essential in my region is closed anyway, and it looks like many publishers are pushing back digital releases in order to help brick-and-mortar retailers as well to not give further undue hardship during this time. So, when new comics will resume a regular schedule is up in the air. I know that uncertainty can lead to anxiety, it certainly does for me, so I wanted potentially the last comic of the week for a while to be something of comfort food. For me, a mash up of two seminal '80s products representative of my childhood could have come at a better time.

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COMIC OF THE WEEK: Starship Down #1

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By d. emerson eddy — In recent years, Andrea Mutti has been doing some very good science fiction and horror stories including Fearscape, Infinite Dark, and Port of Earth. Mutti's style reminds me a bit of Stuart Immonen and Chris Sprouse, with figures full of open, clean lines, but there's a darkness and scratchiness within that's all his own. It gives an ominous feel to his artwork that is perfect for the horror of the unknown that tends to lurk around the corner of these stories and he's proven equally adept at designing some exquisite beasties. All of that is what led me to pick up Starship Down #1, as I kind of went into this one blind.

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Comic of the Week: Reaver #7 is

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The fantasy series Reaver returns with its second arc, The Grim After, here in Reaver #7 with a bit of a change in tone and approach. This world takes a low magic stance similar to something like Robert E. Howard's Conan, but the first arc was rife with intrigue and backstabbing as a band of pressed men were forced to save the world. More or less. It's definitely more involved than that, but I highly recommend that everyone check out the first volume, Hell's Half Dozen. Reaver #7 dials it back to a more personal level, following Essen Breaker.

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COMIC OF THE WEEK: Strange Academy #1 is a new high for Humberto Ramos

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By d. emerson eddy — This week saw the release of a new magical series, Strange Academy #1, from Skottie Young, Humberto Ramos, Edgar Delgado, and Clayton Cowles…which sits just ahead of another major superhero new book, Strange Adventures from the Distinguished Competition. Now, I’ve seen commenters online taking a cynical view (shocker!) of all of this, suggesting that Marvel fashioned the title and timed the release to muddy the waters here, which is a bit of a shame and a disservice to this series because on its own merits it's pretty damned good. I especially enjoyed the work here of Humberto Ramos, who may well be delivering some of the most beautiful artwork of his already historic career.

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COMIC OF THE WEEK: Black Stars Above #4

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By d. emerson eddy — I've been very impressed by the output from Vault for some time now. I said as much in a previous review of The Plot. There's just something about the creators and projects for the publisher that seem to push the boundaries of genre and comics storytelling. They're beautiful and lovingly crafted stories that are endlessly readable and enjoyable, that call you back to experience again to discover new little elements that you might have missed the first time, wonderfully rewarding reading a series again. And then there's Black Stars Above #4. I know I'm going to find more on a reread, but just a first experience of this issue has been revelatory. This comic is transcendent.

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COMIC OF THE WEEK: Plunge #1 is another winner for the fantastic Hill House imprint

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By d. emerson eddy — When I was five years old, I drowned. I was on a houseboat cruise and slipped going down the ladder that connected the top and lower decks. Luckily one of the other people saw it happen, as I hit my head on the deck as I went in the water. I don't know how long I was out, but I awoke coughing later on land, covered with a sheet, with astonished paramedics thinking that the resuscitation had failed. Suffice it to say, I have a strong aversion to boats and open water to this. Even in film and video games, I get uneasy in underwater settings. So for me, Plunge #1 from Joe Hill, Stuart Immonen, Dave Stewart, and Deron Bennett has an added hook to spook.

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COMIC OF THE WEEK: Rai #4 continues Valiant's tumultuous 41st Century

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By d. emerson eddy — The past few years have been interesting for readers of Valiant's characters in the far-flung future of the 41st century. The status quo has been upset, children have turned on their parents, and the sky has literally fallen. Rai #4 from Dan Abnett, Juan Jos Ryp, Andrew Dalhouse, and Dave Sharpe continues these developments.

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COMIC OF THE WEEK: Olympia #3 is 'something different entirely'

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By d. emerson eddy — Perhaps more than other forms of narrative fiction, comics has a penchant for reflexive meta storytelling. Comics that are built around a story of making comics, including portions of that comics-within-comics, but also integrating the fictional world of the comic within the comic as a kind of real place. The first two issues of Olympia from Tony Pires, Curt Pires, Alex Diotto, Dee Cunniffe, and Micah Myers do this beautifully by introducing us to a kid whose comic book hero, Olympian, unexpectedly crash lands in front of him. It plays with ideas of imagination, paying homage to Jack Kirby along the way, utilizing the old school comics framework as a second layer for storytelling. Olympia #3 is something different entirely.

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COMIC OF THE WEEK: Folklords #3 is a must-read for students of storytelling craft

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By d. emerson eddy — Fairy tales, myths, and legends tend to use allegory and fantastical settings in order to easily convey universal truths and moral lessons to children in entertaining and often educational ways. They cover everything from simple practical lessons of “don't got into the woods alone” to fanciful ideas of why the Sun will come up tomorrow. Those in the latter camp tend to fall apart under scrutiny, but those in the former often have some baring on modern life. Such that we have people analyze and deconstruct many of the fairy tales to further glean understanding, and retell them in modern parlance, giving us interesting works from everyone from Angela Carter to Catherynne Valente.

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COMIC OF THE WEEK: The Red Mother #2 is very solid horror storytelling

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By d. emerson eddy — One of my favorite things in horror is uncertainty. Horror often taps into one of the primal fears, fear of the unknown, fear of that unseen thing lurking on the threshold, but it can also often subvert it. You'll most often see it in the form of other characters disbelieving the weird and supernatural things that beset the protagonist, but sometimes the story goes beyond that. The way that the story is told you can be questioning everything that you see or are told by the author, by the characters, by the atmosphere of the tale. Particularly in a good psychodrama or surrealist horror, you're left wondering if anything is real, something like Carnival of Souls, The Lighthouse, or Jacob's Ladder.

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COMIC OF THE WEEK: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #101 is a wonderful start to a new era

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By d. emerson eddy — Throughout the last year, IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles title has been embroiled in the “City at War” story-arc, a massive arc from Tom Waltz, Dave Wachter, Michael Dialynas, Ronda Pattison, and Shawn Lee that took elements of the story right from the first issue. It was the culmination of eight years of storytelling in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #100, and it was epic. It set up a new status quo and delivered some deeply personal, intriguing ramifications for the Turtles and, really, the rest of the world.

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