It's another banger of a comics week, with books of all kinds! At Marvel, the EMPYRE event wages on, leaving both excellence and stupidity in it's wake; plus X-books, some spiders, and a few unjustly digital-first released books finally getting their print release. DC has two doomed books, Mariko Tamaki's second issue of WONDER WOMAN, and more METAL! The indie stack is fairly well represented, with a new #1, Matt Fraction and the Dodsons' ADVENTUREMAN, and more Image books from Christopher Priest!
You may note I didn't do a "pick list" for last week. Usually I try to do them on Thursday, after binging the weekly comics by that afternoon. This week, however, I went on a road-trip Thursday instead! We went to the Bay Area for toy and comic book hunting, and I am pleased to report we found some INCREDIBLE collection pieces! I'll be writing somewhat about those eventually, but for now, onto the coming week's pulls! Continue Reading to see all the comics goodies I have picked out this week!
JUMP TO:
Spotlight on POC
Bryan Edward Hill and Dexter Soy's Batman and the Outsiders Another amazing series coming to an unjust ending. I have always been a proponent of representation in comics, but it's never really been possible in Batman books. He is, at his center, a straight, white, rich, man. He is the definition of white privilege. It doesn't help that most of the people who write Batman are also straight white men. And then there's Batman and the Outsiders. Written by a black man, drawn by a Filipino man, and colored by an Argentinian woman. But don't stop there, look at the cast: two black men and two Asian women. You really couldn't have asked DC for better representation if you tried. And yet, it is also meeting it's untimely end. Batman and the Outsiders is the only current comic where you can find the last black Bat-family member, the Signal. He was a fairly important part of Detective Comics around the beginning of Rebirth in 2016, but has more or less disappeared in recent years. The same can be said for Orphan, a former sidekick to Batman and daughter of Lady Shiva. Orphan was raised to be nothing but a killer, and didn't even learn to speak for many years past the norm. Black Lightning is more or less the leader of the Outsiders, filling the "boss man" shoes when Bruce can't be around. He in himself is a character often ignored in modern comics, and only just had a resurgence after the CW TV show about his character and his daughter. Katana is a Japanese hero who wields a samurai blade. It's no ordinary sword, though, as it is cursed to take the souls of any it kills. Her husband was one of those souls, long ago, and she wields the blade in his honor. Together, the group is easily the best segment of representation in all of DC comics, closely followed by the also-cancelled Justice League Odyssey. While I'm mad that the series is coming to an end, I can't stop telling people what a good comic it is. Truly, if you have any opportunity, pick up Batman and the Outsiders. I can talk all day about what a great and full cast of characters it has, but you have to read for yourself to witness the incredible art and storytelling. Batman and the Outsiders ends at issue #17 in just a few weeks.
Spotlight on LGBTQ+ in Comics
Vampirella #12 by Christopher Priest For anyone new here, I've been really digging this Vampirella series. For anyone new to Vampirella, she's super queer. While the history of her love life isn't as black and white (especially when it comes to consent) as some, she's made it pretty clear that she prefers women, if given the choice, but has definitely found pleasure with men as well. Her sexual identity is relevant in this series because she's been dating a black woman, Victory. She's a bit of a wild card, getting a little too close for comfort with Vampi's mythology. We even see her put on one of Vampirella's outfits and flaunt around the apartment, where she may have gotten into some demon-killing trouble. Vampirella also had a recent relationship with a woman in her demon-fighting troupe. To clarify, she was the scout for a group of nuns sworn to root out and kill demonic forces on Earth. When the other nuns found out about the illicit affair, they turned on their sister and left her for dead at the foot of Vampi's stairs. On top of all this, Vampirella still has her mother to deal with--the literal Queen of all evil, Lilith. This story of Vampirella, called Seduction of the Innocent, is a long, complicated story that really revolves around one thing: Lillith trying to break the will of her daughter. There is one final wound she delivers to Vampirella when she turns Victory into another of her vampire children. Now, Vampi is left alone against her mother and her former lover, after suffering losses too painful for many. I'm happy with how Christopher Priest is handling Vampirella's long and complicated history, and adding his own flavor to her story. Now that Victory is changed, and going by Drakulina, the plot is only going to get more twisted and I can't wait. Still, it's sad seeing Vampirella not able to have a joyful, consenting relationship without her past coming to haunt her. You can also see her ex-girlfriend Drakulina in the new Sacred Six series!
Spotlight on Women in Comics
Captain Marvel #19 by Kelly Thompson The history of Carol Danvers is long and complicated. Some day I'll write a long, drawn out explanation as to why I like her character and her story so much, so keep an eye out for that eventuality. What you really need to know, to understand the importance of what's going on in her book, is her beginnings, and how they've evolved. In her original 1977 origin, Carol Danvers was a star Air Force pilot who happened to be caught between Mar-Vell, who was the original Captain Marvel, and the mysterious psyche-magnitron, which imbued her with his Kree DNA and subsequent powers. The machine is said to give you your wildest dreams, and Carol supposedly wanted to be the ultimate woman. There were several half-assed explanations through the years, all revolving around Mar-Vell being the original source of her powers. In 2018, writer Margaret Stohl changed the way we think about Carol Danvers with her mini-series, The Life of Captain Marvel. At this point, Carol has being going by her former friend and mentor's hero name for at least eight years, always having an ongoing series, but none lasting as long as her fifty Ms Marvel issues from Brian Reed (another essay waiting to be written about unconscious bias and sexism in comics publishing). In Stohl's series, she flipped Carol's superhero origin on it's head by revealing her own mother was a full-blooded Kree. She'd come to Earth on a mission, fell in love, and abandoned her people in favor of her new family. As the cherry on top, Stohl wrote that since her mother is Kree, Carol's latent powers were merely triggered by the interaction with the psyche-magnitron, not gifted from Mar-Vell through it. What this means for Carol's origin story, of course, is it is longer reliant on a male figure. It was so pertinent to Carol's entire hero existence that Mar-Vell had ultimately bestowed upon her these heroic gifts, which was always treated a little like she owed him, or she wasn't able to stand on her own two feet without his support. Stohl ripped that sexist rug all the way out the door, and left Carol standing stronger than ever. I wrote a somewhat brief and largely unedited piece on this change, and a similar change for Jennifer Walters, last year, which you can find here. Moving on to the current Captain Marvel Series by Kelly Thompson, we've seen Carol taken to places of darkness, places of light, places of friendship and places of tentative hope for the future. The series isn't perfect by any means, but it has gotten remarkably better, and still gets better with each issue. Recently, we learned that Carol has a Kree half sister, bred by science without either "parent's" knowledge. While the situation she finds herself in is supremely complicated, she chooses to save her sister's life when instructed instead to kill. Carol is split between two worlds, now more than ever before. She's half Kree, and working under their banner, but still feels she owes allegiance to this stranger, which is incredibly human of her. While Carol Danvers' journey to this moment has been far from perfect, neither has any of ours. A new Captain Marvel story arc begins with the end of Empyre in issue #22, so I recommend getting filled in on the ever-changing history of Carol Danvers and hopping on then!
Seven Secrets #1
Seven Secrets is a project coming from Tom Taylor (DCeased, Wolverine) on writing, which is the only reason I'm trying it out, to be honest. The solicitation sounds like a pretty basic and often overused trope: a league of secret protectors have been guarding a secret for centuries, only to have an ancient evil return right when a new member joins their ranks. I could name half a dozen creative properties to fit that exact description. It makes me think a little of how male comics creators (see: Robert Kirkman, James Tynion IV, Donny Cates, etc.--they're not all bad, they just get way more credit for things than they deserve) have massive followings after doing one or two successful projects, so now despite what they put out, everything they put out is held on a pedestal, no matter how rehashed the story is. No female creator could ever get away with that, she'd get torn apart. But anyway. I'll be picking up Seven Secrets this week with the hope that it isn't some pat-yourself-on-the-back, man's-man, patriarchal drivel. As I said, it's a basic story that's been rehashed dozens of times through multiple forms of entertainment media, so I'm curious to see how Taylor expects to make his version original. Worst case scenario, I can always sell it a few years down the line for a few bucks.
Big Girls #1
Big Girls sounds like it could either be world-changing or absolute garbage. Coming from Image Comics and written and drawn by Jason Howard, who seems to mainly do indie series'. The basic plot is something between Attack on Titan and (according to the solicitation) John Wick: literal giant men are destroying the world, and it's up the equally giant girls to stop them. While this could be a ton of fun, I worry it won't have the effect the creator is no doubt looking for, because the plot is such an obvious metaphor. The series is being compared to HBO's Girls TV show, which I find to be an alarming red flag. I'll have to wait and see what actually happens in this first issue, though.
Dark Nights: Death Metal #3
Death Metal has been the balls-to-the-wall fun that it was expected to be, and I can't ask for much more than that. Still, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo seem to be knocking each book more out of the park than the last. The entire DC Universe has been rearranged by the Batman Who Laughs, with the help of Proxima. He and his alternate universe Batmen took control of the world, including getting all the heroes under their thumbs. While Diana brutally (and in genius way) killed the Batman Who Laughs, there's still a lot of work to be done, and someone is bound to take his place. This issue the heroes are headed to Apokalips to try and rescue Superman, but it looks like it might be too late for the Man of Steel. Which brings up another question. How will Death Metal leave the DC Universe? There was that whole theory for a long time that DC was doing another total reboot, like New 52 or Rebirth, much to the chagrin of the fans. While it seems that plan has been halted, there are still a lot of books getting cancelled when Death Metal ends. And while I'm sure they'll figure out a way to save Superman before it's really too late, these events are bound to have long-lasting effects. I can't be more thrilled that Snyder and Capullo are focusing on Diana for this one instead of the boys. We see enough Batman and Superman central comics, it's high time Wonder Woman lead an event. The solicitation teases even more darkness from the Evil Batmen camps, which will likely involve the forthcoming Robin King. I can't really get on board with the hype here, but I'm sure it'll end up being something cool and twisted like the rest.
Adventureman #3
While this is a fun and unique comic, it doesn't feel worthy of the MANY "Ten Years in the Making!" marketing lines. The last issue saw our main character, Claire, discover the Adventureman headquarters, so to say. She and her son have been reading this mysterious old book about the Adventureman superhero, and now the tale is coming to life, with her at the center. What's really cool about this series isn't even those main plot points. I really like the actual characters Matt Fraction and the Dodson's have come up with. Take the main character for example. Claire is one of many sisters, all adopted form different countries. They make a point right off to show each daughter has their place in the family, and each daughter is important and skilled in her own way. Already I can see that the sisters will become integral parts of the story and necessary team members for Claire and her son to call on for assistance. Claire is also deaf, which makes her interactions with spoke words different than in most comics. While it would be easy to just call her deaf and ignore it from there, Matt Fraction takes the time to design her character to include realistic traits brought on from her disability. In combination with her family's size and volume level, Claire often turns her hearing aids off at the weekly family gathering. As someone from a large family myself, I can completely relate to the desire for peace and quiet after a long day, but Claire gets caught in her attempts fairly often. Her family dynamic is by far the best part of this comic, and I really do look forward to seeing and learning more about the members with each issue. These first few issues of Adventureman are double-sized, so it's a lot to take in at one time. But with Terry and Rachel Dodson's fantastic art team, it makes the slightly drawn out read worth it.
Empyre: X-Men #3
The predecessor to this week's #3 was my favorite Marvel comic last week! This week's is written by three more writers currently working on Dawn of X books, Ed Brisson, Vita Ayala, and Zeb Wells. I really think Head of X Johnathon Hickman does an excellent job of picking his writers, and having them on these issues in chunks is pumping out the best Empyre event tie-in, easily. This will be the third of a four-issue mini series, where we've followed Magik, Angel, and Monet to a bit of a problem on Genosha. They've battled their own former people as zombies, the invading Cotati army, and now Hordeculture--the group of elderly female botanists intent on bringing down Krakoa! The last issue really shined for me in a lot of ways, but mostly for the usage of Magik, Illyana Rasputin. The beginning of Johnathon Hickman's X-Men saw Illyana officially named War Captain, meaning she's the boss in a fight. The current New Mutants series gave us some brilliant Magik moments that this issue gracefully called back to. They had her at her best, and transformed her through numerous forms, Magik and Darkchilde. It felt like a showcase of the best parts of Magik, and I adore that. Illyana has been through so much, it's so good to see her thriving in her element. I'm hoping the last two issues have as much Magik love, but I doubt they can top #2. This week's #3 will have a lot more of the X-Men, since Magik got Hordeculture to release their control over Krakoan gates (see what I mean? Such a boss). If the first two issues were any indication, this one should really capture each of the characters uniquely well, and give everyone a moment to love on their favorite X-Man.
Empyre #5
*Language warning* Uuuuggghhhh. I haven't been looking forward to this one, because I don't have much good to say about the last one. Not only did Empyre #4 feel clunky and poorly timed out, it refrigerated a gay man as well as Jennifer Walters' She-Hulk. How many times do we need to see our representative characters torn down, taken advantage of, and brought to shambles? For fuck's sake. I'm on the fence about the "big reveal" of #4's ending. Teddy and Wiccan have been engaged for some time--that's Marvel canon. Through this series, though, they've been referring to one another only as boyfriends, which was odd. The end of issue #4 had Carol and Johnny Storm speaking to Wiccan and discover the truth, that he and Teddy are married. Big reveal! Total Shocker! Man marries man! What scandal! Such unusual! I hope I made my point with that. We already know from Chip Zdarsky's Emperor Hulkling one-shot that Teddy and Wiccan faked their breakup for the sake of the Alliance, so we know Teddy was really himself at that point. Somehow, he's been replaced now with a version indistinguishable from the original. I wonder what dark hole have they no doubt thrown the most openly gay Marvel character down? Similarly, She-Hulk was recently given immense power levels, only to have them stripped from her in Empyre #4, along with her free will, consciousness, and personhood. They even mutilate her physical form, claiming it was their ability to imbue dead bodies with chlorophyll that enabled them to take over her green flesh. Come the fuck on. Are they serious with this? It's not even lazy writing at this point, it's full on ignoring the morally questionable parts of your plot and embracing the suck. If this event doesn't get any better or absolve it's numerous sins, I think I'll be sitting out the next big Marvel events.
Hawkeye: Freefall #5
There's a few Marvel titles that have massively faltered in fan reading due to delays after the Diamond shut down. Some of them, like Hawkeye, were continued digital only while print was paused, and are only just now getting their print release. I don't generally read digital comics, so this will be my first go at the issue. This is the second-to-last issue of Matthew Rosenburg's Hawkeye: Freefall, which has already been widely accepted as the second-best iteration of Clint Barton to ever grace comics ages (the first being Matt Fraction and David Aja's Hawkeye), a worthy compliment. Clint has figured out how to be in two places at once, but it's starting to cause problems he can't control. He's already being questioned, and it's clear the other heroes wouldnt be on his sided if they found out what he was up to. To top it off, it looks like Bullseye is coming back for him. Not just any Bullseye, this is Lady Bullseye. Things are getting out of hand faster than Clint can travel back in time. With two issues left, I'm excited to see how Rosenberg gets Clint out of this one.
Revenge of the Cosmic Ghost Rider #5
Here we have another comic put on a too-long hold due to the Diamond shutdown. Dennis Hallum's Revenge of the Cosmic Ghost Rider is a perfect follow-up to Donny Cates' Cosmic Ghost Rider and Guardians of the Galaxy series'. It's shown every facet of Frank Castle's character up until this point, showing how well Hallum knows the cast of characters and what drives them. It's allowed Castle to go all-out in his adventures, and be the authentically ridiculous guy we know him to be. Through this, we still get genuine heartfelt moments and satisfying witty dialogue. Frank has once again made the wrong person mad, but this time it's doomed an innocent in his name. His found friend, Cammi, is being dragged to hell, and only Frank can save her. I'm saddened by the reminder that this is only a five issue series, so this is the last issue. I wish quirky "side characters" like Cosmic Ghost Rider and Hawkeye could get more than half a dozen issues at a time, but I'll take what I can get.
Ghost Spider #9
If you don't remember what happened in the last Ghost Spider issue, don't worry. It HAS been five months seen #8 came out, so even I had to take a quick refresher. Gwen Stacy of Earth 65 is their Spider-Woman, or rather, Ghost Spider. She comes to the main Marvel Universe, 616, for college, because her identity is public on her world. She only just got through a terrible series of events with the 616's Jackal, who is notoriously obsessed with his universe's Gwen Stacey. When he learns of another, he tracks her to her own universe and (in a very creepy issue) tries to have his way with her. She is able to subdue him, but he's still out there somewhere. Meanwhile the 65's Sue and Johnny Storm have just reappeared after years of public belief they dies. In Gwen's world, they're social media influencers with millions of fans, and they returned from their trip with superpowers. Gwen tried to get advice from her local Reed Richards, but he wasn't much actual help. They did exchange a few words about other realities' Reed Richards, and how dangerous they can be. Cut to the Maker, Reed Richards of Earth 1610, plotting some no doubt dastardly attack involving the Richards siblings. I love the world of the Ghost Spider, and seeing all they can come up with in terms of slight reality changes. I'm looking forward to seeing how they handle the Fantastic Four team members of her world, and whatever the Maker has going on. Ghost Spider only has one more issue coming after this, unfortunately. I'm hoping to see more Gwen Stacy from Earth 65 during the oncoming event, The King in Black.
X-Force #11
Benjamin Percy's X-Force has been one of the most consistent Marvel books, let alone Dawn of X titles. He has a very clear and firm grasp of the characters' motivations, history, and relationships, which shows in every mutant interaction. In his own series, we've been following Wolverine as he tries to track down an apparent drug cartel, aiming to discredit the Krakoan medicines. It's been a brutal road, with mind control, murder, back stabbing, and dirty secrets, but the last issue finished with Logan and Jean finally falling into each other's arms in a peaceful lagoon. They had sex, okay? That's what I'm saying. It was a great scene, and Percy is definitely team Logan. We also learned that Russia seems to be plotting their own rival Mutant island nation, which is in itself an intriguing story idea. This issue of X-Force is bringing back a classic X-Men villain, Omega Red! This Russian mutant is teaming up with X-Force to help them out with the situation in Russia, along with fellow Russian, Colossus. I can't wait to see what kind of trouble the team gets into, and what portion of that is directly related to Omega Red. This also makes me think of two Mutant Brotherhood members, Mystique and Sabretooth, and where they are at this point in Dawn of X. Sabretooth was confirmed to be irredeemable, and taken into the center of the island of Krakoa. Mystique is somewhat redeemed, but she wants only one thing in her life: the resurrection of her wife, Destiny. The thing is, Destiny can see the future, and would therefore be privy to some VERY sensitive information that ensures the survival of Krakoa. In an X-Men issue a few books back, we learn of a warning given to Mystique from her late wife before her death: one day the mutants will create a heaven on Earth for their kind, but they won't allow Destiny there. She said on that day, raise hell. I can't wait to see what Raven does for her wife--I'm totally on her side in this one. It will likely be a while before that happens, but its possible this Omega Red situation will be the start of some kind of Brotherhood returning!
Marauders #11
At long last, we are going to learn the fate of Captain Kate Pryde. To be totally honest, I only picked up the Marauders series because I'd heard Kitty Pryde was the star. To make it better, she's now going by Kate, and is the Captain and Red Queen of the Marauders. but Marvel had other plans, apparently, and she was killed before half a dozen issues had gone on. There have been a number of Marauders books since her death, with only slight hints to the fact she might not get resurrected to way the other mutants would. The solicitation for this issue and the next both revolve around her apparent murder by Sebastian Shaw. I don't think, on this of all comics weeks, I need to explain (again) why killing female characters to progress the story of male ones is problematic. The one thing that leaves me clinging to a tiny thread of hope for Kate is the cover of issue #12, which features her dragon Lockheed whispering, "Shhh!" PUH-LEEZ let this be a sign that she IS coming back, secretly. Fingers crossed, true believers.
Vampirella #12
I've already written a lot about this book in my Spotlight on LGBTQ+ in Comics, so I'll try not to go on about it for too long. We're wrapping up the first massive storyline in Christopher Priest's Vampirella over a year in. As things come to a head, we'll see Vampirella's therapist kidnapped by her mother; we'll see her former lover Drakulina team up with said mother; we'll see Vampirella hit true rock bottom. Then, hopefully, we can watch her take it all back. Priest seems to be about elevating characters while he straightens out their continuity, and I see the signs of that here as well. With any luck, this plot thread will all end up in Vampi at her best she's ever been. That's the Vampirella book I want to read. If nothing else, check out this series for the ah-mazing Meghan Hetrick variant covers!
Batman and the Outsiders #15
As the Spotlight on People of Color in Comics this week, there's not a lot left to say about Batman and the Outsiders that I haven't already vented about. Currently in the story, Batman and his team of Outsiders have been up against the Demon, the legendary Ra's Al Ghul. At this point in the series, the conflict between Batman and Black Lightning is coming to a head. We all know Batman was in the wrong, he started this team with Black Lightning at the helm, he shouldn't be surprised when it works out well for them. Now, Black Lightning is likely gong to try and sacrifice himself to stop Ra's evil plan, but it's just as likely that he's falling right into the Demon's trap. With only a few more issues left before it's ending, I'm hoping we see this book finish off with a bang. All these characters deserve so much better, all I can do is shout from the rooftops what a series it was.
Captain Marvel #19
As I wrote about in my spotlight on Women in Comics, Carol Danvers' story has evolved a lot through the years. Most recently, she's learned that she's half-kree, which put the origin of her powers back in her own hands. Because of that discovery, she's been able to take the mantle of Kree Accuser during Marvel's current Empyre event. In her own series, however, writer Kelly Thomson adds more to Carol's Kree heritage: a half-sister. This sister wasn't born from their mutual mother, but rather bred in a lab without the knowledge of either parent to be an ultimate warrior. Carol only discovers her sister's existence after her Accuser all-weapon identifies their shared DNA--while Carol is on orders to execute her. It's no surprise she chooses to betray her friend and the Alliance by bringing her newfound sister home with her to Earth. What's confusing about all of this is it hasn't been referenced in the main Empyre books at all. You'd think that if they're making her betrayal a big deal in her book, they'd at least make a note of it in the main series. At least they haven't done it yet, but Captain Marvel just had issues #19 and #20 bumped up, so we'll see how that changes the timeline and events. Based on some Twitter previews, this issue is bound to be a ton of fun. It looks like Carol brings her big, blue sister to her apartment, where she meets Chewie, the cat/flerkin. Laughs are bound to be has as she explores the small spaces and the two get to know one another. Don't get too settled in to this comfort, though, because the solicitation warns of trouble due to Carol's offense. My theory right now is she'll end up fighting her sister publicly to make it look like she did the deed, but it will all be a trick. And to make matters worse, the upcoming issue #21 cover features a coffin bearing the star of Hala and the imprinted name, DANVERS. Since issue #22 has been officially solicited, it won't be Carol's end, at least. I would hate to see a newfound female figure killed off immediately after her arrival, but it wouldn't be the first time it's happened in a Carol Danvers series (it's just that last time was written by a man, so that's the excuse I gave the bad writing). With that being said, it could always be a fake-out cover, or a faked death. I'm hoping for the best but bracing for disappointment, as is thee case with everything in comics these days. If you're looking for a place to hop on this series, looks like #22 will be the one for you!
Justice League Odyssey #23
What a phenomenal trip this comic series has been. Written by Dan Abnett and Will Conrad, Justice League Odyssey will end in just a few issues at #25. It would have been fantastic to see the series and it's team go on for an extended time. At this point in the series, Jessica Cruz is heading to saave the day. One-time compatriot Epoch sent her to the past after she tried to destroy his reality-rewriting machine, because Darkseid is moments from using it for himself. While this means Jessica has more time than ever, there's no way this s going to be easy to finish. Through the series, Cyborg has been trying to communicate with Jessica through her Green Lantern ring. He was taken over by Darkseid's power some issues ago, and now fellow team members Azrael and Starfire are allegiant to him as well. I've been completely enamored with how well Jessica Cruz is being used for JLO. After her Green Lanterns series with Simon Baz ended, this has been the only place to find her in comics. While she was killed in one issue, her power ring absorbed Darkseid's murderous zeta-beams, super-powering itself and bringing Jessica back to life from dust. Since then, her ring's power has been clearly zeta-beam-like, offering her a whole new level of power to access as well. If you need a further sell on this series, it also stars the Red Lantern (and CAT) Dex-Starr, Orion of the New Gods, Starfire's sister Blackfire, and some fun new characters. It's been a total blast to keep up with, is all I have left to say. I'm both sad and excited for the forthcoming issues.
Venom #27
The last issue of Venom was the introduction of a new villain, Virus! While he looks pretty much like Punisher War Machine (but with a Venom symbol instead of a skull), writer Donny Cates insists he came up with this all on his lonesome. We haven't heard the true name of Virus, but the going theory (which agree with) is that it's Flash Thompson. Flash is a classic Spider-Man and Venom character who always fell somewhere between obsession and arch-nemesis with Spidey. Now that things have changed so much so recently with Eddie and his symbiote (and that entire world, really), it wouldn't surprise me if Flash wanted a piece of the Spider-Verse cake, too. And before you leap in and argue with me about Flash being long-since dead, that's never stopped anyone in comics before. Venom #26 ended with Eddie and his son, Dylan, being transported to some kind of futuristic or alternate timeline, where the city they land in is decorated tip to toe in Venom/Virus logos. While this feels like a rehash of overdone tropes (and Cates' own Cosmic Ghost Rider), I can't argue that they're almost always fun. Hopefully we'll get some answers on who Virus is and where they've ended up before too long. After this event, if I'm not mistake, we'll be getting into The King in Black, which is Cates' Venom event involving Knull's arrival on Earth!
Wonder Woman #760
In case you missed it, here's a link to my review of Mariko Tamaki's first issue on Wonder Woman, #759. I honestly don't think I could have been more happy with it. That being said, I am equally thrilled about her second issue, coming out this week! As I mentioned in my opener, I spent Thursday this week perusing comic shops and stores in the Bay Area, and one of my finds was a signed copy of Wonder Woman #759! What a deal! The last issue ended with Diana having just fought off all the prisoners seemingly under the mental control of one Maxwell Lord. The solicitation makes it seem like he's coming to Diana for help, so maybe his psychic attack was a way of calling her to him? I can't imagine what Max Lord might need help with, but it can't be good. One notable thing is that Diana's new neighbor, a young looking girl with a pet rabbit, is set up to be a new villain in a few issues. It also looks like this villain, going by the name Liar Liar, is either backed by or teamed up with Max Lord himself. It's also possible that Max Lord is being taken advantage of by her, and doesn't know that. My theory right now is that Max Lord thinks he's setting up a trap for Diana, but Liar Liar has plans for him that are just as nefarious. This issue is once again drawn by Mikel Janin, with colors by Jordie Bellaire. If you've been out off of Wonder Woman due to previous stories being "less than", I can't encourage you enough to go for Tamaki's run.
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