Welcome to another week of comics! This week has another great spread going on, with 3 books from DC, five indie titles, and eight from Marvel, two of which are X of Swords X-Men books. Of those, there are two new beginnings to comics, a one-shot, and the 100th Spider-Woman comic ever released, Karla Pacheco's fifth of her ongoing series.
Spotlights will be plentiful this week, again! I'm discussing Argentinian-American comic writer and legend Fabien Nicieza and his surprisingly heft history in the industry, then I'll be talking about Faith, from Faithless II, and her complicated sexual orientation. Last, I'm spotlighting Jessica Drew, Spider-Woman herself, on the occasion of her 100th solo comic! Continue Reading for all this and more!
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Spotlight on Creators of Color: Argentinian writer Fabian Nicieza (Juggernaut)
Like many comics fans, my first experience with a Fabien Nicieza comic was his creation of Deadpool. When you start to look closely at his career, though, you can't help but notice the incredible feats and footprints he's made in his wake. Nicieza was born in Argentina, and migrated to America with his family when he was four years old. His career in comics started in the mid-eighties, when he left his job as managing editor of Berkley Publishing Group to join Marvel Comics. His first published work wasn't until '87, when he wrote at least sixteen issues of the new Psi-Force team. It wouldn't be until early 1990 that he would start putting out issues of Marvel's New Warriors, which at the time was said to be a write-off team. Nicieza wrote them for fifty-three issues, some of which he still calls his best work. Before getting to his few issues on New Mutants, Nicieza had short stints on Alpha Flight, Avengers, and other Marvel comics. His New Mutants issues in 1991 saw him create the characters of both Deadpool and Shatterstar, still fan favorites today. With these, and others, he created the first X-Force team alongside Rob Liefeld, which he wrote for 43 issues. His X-Force was so well received, Marvel put Nicieza on X-Men, as well, writing that series for 33 issues. This era also saw him write the first Cable and Deadpool solo titled series'. Unfortunately, in 1995, and with little to no explanation, Nicieza was fired from the X-books altogether. Staying at Marvel for a time afterwards, Nicieza had stints writing Spider-Man and other series' before leaving the company altogether in 1996. Fabien had a hand in Mark Waid's DC reboot of the Justice League in 1996, then moved on to hold several positions of power at a few different publishing companies before returning to freelance in the late nineties. He wrote 24-issues of Gamibt, 41 of Thunderbolts, and had a number of short runs on a variety of comics for Marvel in the early 2000's. After 2006, Nicieza went back to DC comics, where he wrote a number of titles through about 2017. Through the years of his carer, Nicieza's name can be seen alongside comics legends such as Mark Waid, Mark Bagley, Andy Kubert, Patrick Zircher, Kurt Busiek, and countless others. More recently, he won the 2017 Independent Publisher Book Award for Independent Voice for adapting a Stan Lee poem into a graphic novel called Stan Lee's "God Woke." This week see's the second issue of Fabien's Juggernaut, an exploration of where Cain Marko is up to these days. The first issue shocked me with how he writes the former X-Men villain, tying up what happened after we last saw him, just before Dawn of X started. Illyana Rasputin sent him to Limbo, which we see him working his way through in flashbacks of Juggernaut. Now, the Cain we see in modern times is working as a demolition expert for buildings around New York. It's a surprisingly normal job for someone like him, but he seems to be adjusting superbly. We saw that trouble isn't far away, though, when a new superhuman who can slow down movement starts working against him. Cain is just trying to do what's right, but that isn't ever straight forward for super-types. Nicieza has set up a story that is intriguing and real, and I can't wait to read more.
Spotlight on LGBTQ+ Topics: Failthess II's Faith
One of the more complicated characters in terms of sexuality I've ever read is Faith, main character from Faithless II. The first series introduced Faith as a somewhat introverted, dorky art nerd, living with a pair of equally dorky roommates. The female roomie was Faith's best friend, and the male was an overgrown man-child who tended to overtly take advantage of both women's sympathies and kindness. When Faith meets Poppy, everything starts to change for her. Faith's sexuality is never mentioned before they meet, but the two quickly fall for one another and start sleeping together. Faith is attracted to Poppy as a "taboo" thing just as much as she is using her as a muse for her art. Something attracts everybody to Poppy, yet Faith was the one Poppy chose. While I believe Poppy tracked down Faith due to her ability to magically manipulate others, it's only really heavily suggested and never outright admitted. Faithless isn't afraid to show sex or sex topics, either. In the first issue of the original series, the story kicks off with Faith fingering herself unsuccessfully before giving up with a dissatisfied "Fuck." We're introduced to Faith as a sexual, artistic being with passionate, unfulfilled needs. It makes sense, then, that her art starts to kick off as soon as her romantic life with Poppy does. But there is another element added to Faith's life that complicates her sexuality as well as her relationship with Poppy. The older man known as Louis doesn't ever reveal what he does or even who he is, exactly, but everyone he meets seems to be immediately infatuated with. In short, Louis is the Devil, flitting about, dropping seeds of temptation everywhere he goes. People latch themselves on to Louis because of his power and his notoriety, and his ability to give you both of those yourself. When Faith first meets Louis, she's only just falling for Poppy. This makes it all the more shocking when Poppy announces that Louis is her father, and even more shocking when after learning this information, Faith continues to start an affair with him. On the surface, this might seem like Faith's sexuality is being taken advantage of by the Devil, which it is in a sense, but further occurrences in the series confirm Faith truly is the bisexual type of queer. Her relationship with Louis is never fully shown to Poppy, and it isn't communicated as of yet if Poppy is aware of her father's apparent betrayal. What we do know is both Poppy and Faith are fully open to "swinging," or including others in their romantic endeavors. When Faith has a one-night-stand with a mutual artist friend of theirs, she breaks down and tells Poppy of the transgression. Poppy's only response is to say she wishes she could have been there to join in. Even through all this, Poppy and Faith never openly discuss her relationship with Louis. As Faith continues to open up to Poppy and Louis sexually, her art career continues to blossom. My theory is still that Louis is tempting Faith with everything she's ever wanted--a love life, a sex life, to be adored by the public--but it will only end in flames. And what role does Poppy play in her downfall? Poppy has openly admitted several times to being in love with Faith, something even Louis witnessed and said she's never said to anyone before. While Poppy knows her father and Faith have a close relationship, I can't see her knowing just how close they are. While the intricacies of the Devil and his daughter are still being discovered, it's more than clear in Faithless and Faithless II that Faith is an openly queer woman, and very progressive in her sexual relationship ideals. It's refreshing to see comics treat female sexuality as accurately complex and worth exploring, similar to how Sex Criminals did with multiple characters. Whatever Faith's future holds, it's been an interesting journey watching herself discover more about her own identity.
Spotlight on Women in Comics: Jessica Drew and Spider-Woman #100!
It was tough deciding on who to write about for my Woman in Comics spotlight this week. We get Katana Collins and Sean Murphy's first issue of the Harley Quinn White Knight mini-series, which is exciting on multiple fronts. But when I saw this week marks the 100th solo issue of Spider-Woman, I new I could write about Collins another week, so I'm taking abut Jessica Drew! Jessica Drew first made an appearance in comics in 1977's Marvel Spotlight #32- the Spider-Woman. She was introduced in a red and black suit similar to her classic one, without letting her hair hang loose, like a skull cap. It was designed to make her appear villainous, as she was originally introduced as an agent of Hydra. Her mission: kill Nick Fury! The Spider-Woman believed that Fury was the killer of her lover, and she wanted revenge. By the time the issue is over, it's been revealed that the Spider-Woman was tricked by Hyrda for many years, and the truth is her lover faked his death to trigger her to kill Fury! He never loved Jessica, and this information drives her to leave Hydra for good. However, she appears as a Hydra agent for her next two appearances, with the explanation that they regained power over her mind. While she appears in issues #29 and #30 of the 1974 Marvel Two-in-One series, there isn't much in terms of resolution for her character in that arc, and she appears next in her first solo series--1978's Spider-Woman, written by Marv Wolfman. In the beginning, she's still sporting her skull-cap villain outfit, citing what a mess her life has become. This is also where we get the definitive origin of Jess' Spider-Woman. Through the issue, she decides to dye her light brown hair black to hide her identity, and change her suit enough to make it look like a different mask. With these changes, she starts acting out her life as a hero, instead of villain. The vibe of this first series is summed up beautifully in the series tagline, "To know her is to fear her!" The original series played up a lot how Jessica's super-human spider powers weren't necessarily detectable, but her presence would often put people on edge, like their subconscious knew she wasn't entirely human. Due to this, Jess struggles with making friends and maintaining positive relationships. By the time she meets Spider-Man in her twentieth issue, she loses her job and her apartment on the same day, forcing her to turn to crime to survive. She runs into Peter Parker and Spider-Man when she goes to return the stolen money, marking her as a criminal. A fun note from her original series is that the creators used to treat her under arm "wings" a lot heavier as gliders, and claimed they could basically make her fly. Nowadays, her little wings are used a lot less. Her first fights with Spider-Man back in the day show a lot of classic Jessica Drew traits: self-hatred, self-doubt, and blaming far too much on herself. In the end, Spider-Man lets her explain her actions, and then lets her go, saying she reminds him too much of himself. Another notable occurrences in the years of this first Spider-Woman series includes starting her friendship with Carol Danvers in 1981, when she saved her from falling to her death off the Golden Gate Bridge at the hands of Rogue (see: Avengers Annual #10). Unfortunately, the self-doubt would have plenty to feed on for years to come, and her series was cancelled in 1983 at fifty issues. Her first solo title came to end with the apparent death of Jessica Drew, due to a fight with Morgan Le Fay. The wizard Magnus lets her believe her body has died while she was spirit walking, so he wipes the memory of her from all who knew her. She ends it by waving goodbye, and walking off into the supposed afterlife. In 1984, however, Avengers #240 saw the Avengers discover her body and begin to remember their old friend Jessica. The following #241 sees Magnus's guilt get the best of him, and he uses the last of his powers to revive her spirit back into her body. However, when she comes back to life, properly, Jessica no longer has her powers, and after returning to San Francisco for a time to live with her old roommate Lindsay, both women lived with the X-Men on Madripoor for several years. After returning to America, Jessica's powers slowly started to return, and in 2005 she joined Brian Michael Bendis' New Avengers. Through a series of complicated events, Jessica ends up kidnapped by the Skrulls with other heroes for potentially two whole years, while the Skrull Queen impersonated her on Earth. Following the events of Secret Invasion, Jessica--like many others who were captured and impersonated--feels uncontrollable rage towards the Skrulls as a whole, and joins Abigail Brand's SWORD to hunt them down in Bendis's Spider-Woman mini-series. She re-joined the Avengers in the 2010 Heroic Age series, beginning a relationship with Hawkeye, which ends when he cheats on her in his much-loved, self-titled Matt Fraction series. They're split by the time the team fights in Avengers vs X-Men, and in 2014 Jessica embraces her Spider-lineage by joining the Spider-Verse event. By this time, she has her own series going, and isn't an Avenger anymore, as such, but quits officially after the Spider event. She gains more Spider-Friends, even across the multiverse, and starts a private detective agency to pay the bills. By this time, Jessica has matured a lot, and to be honest, the creative teams on board her series at this time seemed to want to changer her up, make her a lighter character. But going back and reading everything I just wrote about her life up until this point, a happy-go-lucky series about her and a newborn baby doesn't really fit. But it happened, and needless to say, I'm thrilled Pacheco is taking Jess on a traditionally darker route. Jessica Drew has been fighting her whole life. She's been through the wringer, much like her close friend Carol Danvers, but she always figures it out in the end. She was literally a war captive for at least two years on a Skrull ship, and she still has the strength to go about her heroing day after day. Her love life has always ended in tears, although I can't b sure what the status of that is right now. Pacheco hasn't ignored her son, Gerry, although he hasn't made a physical appearance. Much like the new, darker suit she gave Spider-Woman for her For-Pay gigs, it seems Pacheco is drawing a line with Gerry, and saving him for when Jess is off-duty and worry free. Which makes sense, for the baby of a woman who leads a dark life. While Pacheco has already given Jessica a mother and brother (and niece), I fee like there's still a lot to be changed about Jessica Drew's world. She just got off her kick on Strikeforce, where writer Tini Howard masterfully characterized Jess' almost crude humor and cocky personality. With the help of Kelly Thompson's features of Spider-Woman in Captain Marvel, her self-deprecation has turned fully in the other direction, and made her a woman who's had enough, so you better shut up and do what she says. In all seriousness, this is a sign of immense character growth. Of course Jess still has a dark personality, and darkness appears in her life all too often. But instead of wallowing in self pity and doubt, Jess has learned to look back on her life and see progress instead of failures. She knows her value, now, and isn't afraid to remind you of it. Karla Pacheco has done a marvelous job, already, of showing readers the multiple facets of Jessica's personality, and I look forward to where she takes her from here! Don't forget to check out the multiple amazing variants of this 100th Spider-Woman issue, namely from Peach Momoko, Artgerm, Alex Ross, Sana Takeda, Scottie Young, and more! Shop supply willing, I can guarantee I'll be getting more than one variant.
Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn #1
On a week of great released, this book easily swings in as one of my top picks! This six-issue Harley Quinn title takes place in the Murphyverse, the alternate universe built by writer and artists Sean Gordon Murphy. This will be the third Murphyverse series, starting with the original Batman: White Knight, which was followed by last year's Batman: Curse of the White Knight, and now the Harley series. This series will be co-written by Murphy alongside Katana Collins, who are actually married to one another! Art is taken over this time by the fabulous Matteo Scalera, who's ethereal designs fits the Murphyverse perfectly. I would describe Scalera's art as a cross between Murphy's own and that of Simone Di Meo. This series is, obviously, following this universe's Harley Quinn. Curse of the White Knight left us with the death of the Joker/Jack Napier, father of her twins. It also saw Batman/Bruce Wayne arrested on criminal charges, and the reveal that Jason Todd is alive, and part of some kind of special forces. While I don't necessarily expect to see much of Jason or Bruce in this series, I do expect to get a lot of insight into the mind and life of Harleen Quinzel as we go along. Collins is a well-known romance novelist usually, so I trust the story of Harley in her hands completely.
Scumbag #1
Scumbag is a new Rick Remender project, a well-known and well-trusted name in comics for a long time, now. This one is an indie title, same as all his recent work. It follows the story of a back-woods man with a fifth grade education who accidentally gets super powers. While I'm a little on the fence about the plot, Remender has a great legacy of excellence, so this should be pretty good. The artists on Scumbag will be changing with each issue, giving Remender time to showcase up and coming artists each month.
Dark Nights: Death Metal - Robin King #1
While this appears on the surface to be an optional tie-in one-shot issue for Dark Nights: Death Metal, I'm pretty sure it'll be imperative to the plot going forward that you read this one. Containing stories by Peter J Tomasi and Tony Patrick, with art by Daniel Sampere and Riley Rossmo, this issue will fill in some of the plot threads that have been left dangling from other Death Metal tie-ins. Rossmo's art is perfect for the subject of Robin King, in my opinion, with its almost juvenile, twisted style. I really am not sure what to expect with this issue, but I still don't doubt that it will be important to the Death Metal story going forward.
You Look Like Death: Tales From The Umbrella Academy #2
The first issue of You Look Like Death was a little surprising to me, because it was far more visually driven than I had expected. In the best way possible, the art of You Look Like Death was my favorite part of the first issue, and keeps me wanting more. I give much of the credit, in all honesty, to colorist Jordie Bellaire, who's stunning, vivid colors pop out of the page and pinch your eyeballs. The story follows a young Seance as he travels about, having been kicked out of his father's Umbrella Academy. He already has a clear drug abuse problem, in a world glittering with pills and magic feeling dusts. I'm highly interested to see what strange adventures Seance winds up going on! If you're a fan of writer Gerard Way, don't forget to check out the new Killjoys comic, National Anthem, which came out last week.
Stillwater #2
I'm not sure how writer Chip Zdarsky got two issues from two publishers to come out on the same release schedule. but Stillwater is one of his comics this week, alongside Daredevil. The first issue of Stillwater showed the main character who, up until that point, seems to have been living a pretty happy-go-lucky, carefree life. When he gets the news that a distant relative left him something, he heads to the town of Stillwater to deal with the proceedings. Problem is, as he and his friend travel, no one seems to know anything about Stillwater, or even that it exists. When the two friends arrive, they almost immediately witness a teenage boy committing apparent suicide by jumping off a building, only to get up and walk away afterwards. The main character and his friend are taken to the town limits by the local authorities, who make it clear that they don't want strangers snooping around. Up until this point in the issue, the lead seemed to almost live in a bubble, unaware that anything sinister could possibly be afoot. But when the sheriff executes his friend outside the city limits, the reality of his situation is suddenly shockingly clear. Zdarsky is a fantastic character writer, and I'm really looking forward to what he has planned for this supernatural series.
Juggernaut #2
I have to admit, I was shockingly into the first issue of Juggernaut. So much so, that I will likely end up doing an ongoing review of the 5-issue mini-series. Writer Fabian Nicieza does a stupendous job of making the character of Juggs relatable, in a way I never thought I would experience. It turns out, there is a lot that a Juggernaut solo series has to offer, with the right creative team in charge. Nicieza is joined by artist Ron Garney, who has a style I might compare to Mitch Gerads or Ivan Reis, and it's a great fit. The first issue had flashbacks, in-depth character exploration, new villains, old heroes, and a completely new era for Juggernaut. I'm likely going to write a lot more about this series going forward, so I don't want to overdo it. The most important thing to take away, if you're deciding if you want to read this series, is that I 100% did not think it would be any good, based on the character, but I have probably never been more wrong about a snap comic judgement.
Devil's Highway #4
Benjamin Percy's Devil's Highway continues to be an excellent horror comic. This will be the fourth of five issues, telling the story of a woman investigating a string of murders and disappearances with only one thing in common--truckers. Percy has done a great job of shedding a terrifying light on the real world stories of truckers working ultimately as their own personal human traffickers, with a twist of slight Satanism tucked in, as well. It's a series that will make you think differently about the truckers you see on long highways, and what goes on inside those long-haul cabins.
Faithless II #5
I couldn't be happier that I finally caught up with Faithless! This is a comic for lovers of the dark and mysterious, of symbolism and hidden agendas. The story follows Faith, a New York artist, as she tries to put out her next biggest show. She meets a girl her own age, and they start a relationship. But the girl's father is some nondescript celebrity with the power to make anyone a star, and she starts an affair with him as he brings her career into stardom. As soon as she "gets in bed" with the both of them, people in her life who disrespect or otherwise threaten Faith's skyrocketing career start to die randomly. Spoiler alert: her girlfriend's father is the Devil, hence his power over people and their fates. As the story has gone on, it's become more and more clear what Faith's situation is, and that the risk is growing all the time. There is only one more issue in Faithless II after this one, and I'm dying to see what writer Brian Azzarello is planning. Artist Maria Llovet has a unique style comparable to maybe Frank Miller or Rafael Grampa, which suit's Faith's dark and twisted world perfectly.
Spider-Woman #5
Karla Pacheco's run of Spider-Woman is already making its mark, having brought Jess back to her origins, revealed a secret brother and that their mother is still alive, and given her a new villain. This is also her 100th issue, and features guest artist Mattia de Iulis. De Iulis is a known Marvel artist, having done projects such as Jessica Jones: Blind Spot with Kelly Thompson, Road to Empyre with Robbie Thompson, and one of my personal favorite, Mark Waid's Invisible Woman mini-series. Needless to say, I'm excited and thrilled at the idea of seeing his art on Spider-Woman. This is also the 100th issue of solo Spider-Woman comics ever published! I've already written a lot about Jessica Drew in my Spotlight on Women this week, so I won't repeat myself here. In the last issue, the nefarious villain has trapped Spider-Woman and her family in a dangerous spot, and it'll take everything she's got to get out. I still find myself wondering if all this family is really who they say they are. Pacheco has stated numerous times this will be a darker series for Jessica, so it wouldn't surprise me to have her betrayed like that so early on.
Guardians of the Galaxy #7
The more I see the effect of Empyre fizzling out in to the distance, the more I am coming to realize that the entire Empyre event was probably just Dan Slott and Al Ewing getting their project books to a certain status quo, requiring certain things to change. Empyre was just their means to an end, for their own books. I guess that's acceptable, if a little lame of a reason to create an entire event, but I have a feeling Marvel pushed for it more than anything. This issue of Al Ewing's Guardians of the Galaxy will be following some more of that Empyre fallout, bringing Marvel Boy into a political fray. Ewing recently disclosed that Marvel Boy, Noh Var, is bisexual, but I don't think we'll be touching on that just yet, if we do at all. If this issue is supposed to address the new status quo in space, as well as start a murder investigation. It's only a few issues until the King in Black crossovers start, and after that, it's starting to look like we're due for another Marvel reboot. Unfortunate as that is, there's no sense fighting it.
Excalibur #13
Excalibur is chapter nine of X of Swords, following last week's Cable #5. Although the Cable issue went over what he and his parents were up to on a SWORD station, Excalibur looks a lot like it'll focus on the Captain Britains--Betsy Braddock and her brother, Brian. Betsy took up the mantle at the beginning of the series, when Brian was under the influence of Lady Morgan Le Fay. Le Fay has since then been removed from power, and replaced with their other brother, Jamie Braddock. The problem with Jamie in power is that like Betsy, and unlike Brian, he is a mutant--but a mutant mentally off the rails. While they can more or less rely on Jamie to be on their side, it isn't set in stone that he will side with his sister over his brother, or switch allegiances fluidly as it pleases him. As far as I know, Betsy is supposed to be one of the Swordbearers of Krakoa, fighting in the tournament against those from Arrako. This issue will no doubt address the fractured relationship of Betsy and her siblings, and put her on the path to be ready to fight for all mutantkind. Excalibur is followed by this week's X-Men #13, discussed below!
X-Men #13
X-Men is the tenth chapter of X of Swords, following this week's Excalibur #13. As the main X-Men title series, I expect this issue to tie a lot more into what the main characters in the event are up to. Namely, Apocalypse, his children on Arrako, and maybe some other key players on Krakoa. As far as I can tell, we have yet to witness a big reveal, but we know that it's coming--the news that Apocalypse's wife actually isn't dead, and is the one getting their children to do all of this warring. That reveal will no doubt cause great grief in the ancient mutant, and be a turning point of the event. Written by Head of X Johnathon Hickman himself, X-Men is easily one of my favorite ongoing Marvel books right now. Hickman plays the long game with his characters, and you have to be patient to get the payoff, but it's always worth it. X-Men will be followed in X of Swords order by next week's X of Swords: Stasis #1.
Daredevil #23
The second of Chip Zdarsky's comics this week, Daredevil is another sleeper series that will surprise a lot of readers. I would definitely say this could be a place to kick off your Daredevil readership, as Zdarsky has made the character and his story very clear, well defined, and intriguing. Currently, the series is going through the plot arc of Daredevil being on trial for murder. The death of one of his nightly street pickups has caused a massive rift throughout all of Matt Murdock's life, leading to some surprising, but fitting, changes in the Daredevil status quo. Although being tried as Daredevil anonymously, Matt had to show his face to the judge as part of the deal, and will never be a lawyer again, no matter the outcome of the trial. This alone is a massive change for Murdock, as being a lawyer has always been an integral part of his character. Last week saw Daredevil released on bail, pending the trial. In the end of the issue, Matt and life-long best friend Foggy Nelson are greeted by an old friend an colleague, Kirsten McDuffy. Her appearance is timely as anything, and will no doubt cause as many complications as it does solutions.
Fantastic Four #25
Like last week's Captain Marvel #22, this week's Fantastic Four promises a new era for the team! While Carol's adventure is definitely not going to be a long-term thing, this Fantastic Four reset may actually be a big change for a good while. The solicitation boasts a new villain, new alliances, and new uniforms! The issue is also worth checking out if you're into collecting various comic variant covers, as the plethora of guest artists on the cover include Alex Ross, Artgerm, Scottie Young, and the main cover by Mark Brooks. At the very least, it'll be worth the money for one of those covers! Social media over the past months and weeks have led me to believe that Dragonman is making a comeback, and Franklin Richards might be replacing his own father on the team lineup. We'll have to wait till December for details on that specific rumor, but I'm sure if there is any truth to it we'll see the signs in the coming issues.
Catwoman #26
At last, the first week of Jenny Frison as cardstock variant artist for Catwoman! I'm sad to say I haven't been a fan of what writer Ram V is going with Selina. The last issue had her coming back to Gotham after a long trip to start up a business as den mother to a group of underage thieves. While I almost want to think this is homage to Frank Miller having Selina running a brother in his future, it just doesn't fit her character. She's never been a motherly type, and the issue had no mention of her relationship with Bruce's Batman whatsoever, even though she was appearing in his comic the week after. In any case, I'm nothing if not stubborn, so I'll be getting this series to add to my Jenny Frison collection. I love the character of Catwoman, so of course I hope to see the series improve as Ram V spends more time writing her. This issue is meant to take place in Joker War aftermath, introducing a new religious-fanatic villain called Father Alley. While I still don't love the children portion of the plot, a priestly villain makes a ton of sense for Selina, as religion is so tied into her origin. Alleytown, a Gotham neighborhood, is supposedly under Selina's thumb, now, as she rules the crime industry. I just realized why this feels off--it feel like Dan Slott's rendition of Black Cat a few years ago, when he made her uncharacteristically the Kingpin of Crime. Similarly, this Queen of Alleytown role feels too visible for Catwoman, a character known for sticking to shadows, sleuthing through the dark, and getting in and out of places unseen. Queen of Alleytown is quite a sudden change for such a solitary and private character.
Venom #29
Heads up--if you see a new copy of Donny Cates' Venom, ever, buy it. I can almost guarantee people will be willing to spend lots of money to buy it off of you. That's how insane the industry has gotten around the Donny Cates hype. Every issue sells out, and as we get closer to the King in Black event, the rabid hunger from "Advocates" just gets more intense. The past few issues have seen Eddie Brock and his son, Dylan, in an alternate reality, where Dylan is a villain ruling the world (okay, it wasn't super clear on what his job was, just that he was evil). As soon as they get out of this world and back to Earth, they're just going to have more problems. Issue #30 is supposed to be the one where Eddie finally faces off with Knull, what we've all been waiting for. I'm sticking with my theory, that Thanos is gong to come back in 2021 and whoop Knull's ass, turn him into a gauntlet, and start his conquest of the universe again. Gotta love the Cates Marvel Universe, Thanos always wins.
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