The Three Most Interesting Things From NYCC 2026 (In My Opinion)

I followed the news as it trickled out from this year's New York Comic-Con. Three things stuck out to me the most. Let's discuss...

1. In terms of comics, DC looks like it keeps firing on all cylinders; Marvel appears to be struggling.

Marvel generally is doing fine in the comic-book sales market. However, it doesn't feel that way. With the insane success of its Absolute line, a vibe that DC is letting creators be creative with cool mini-series/one-shots, and there is an air of excitement with the publisher. Then, Marvel talked more about how it incorporated Miracleman into its main continuity, will be doing that Star Wars crossover that is getting lots of trepidation from fans, and has an anniversary issue planned for, "Daredevil," hitting 700-ish issues when you add them all up. There is an appearance that Marvel's comic division is aimless beyond going, "Let's reboot the Avengers comic again," and even if Chip Zdarsky is a great writer and will be doing that, Chip can only carry so much of the weight of Marvel on his shoulders. Would the upcoming, "Avengers: Doomsday," flick help fix some of the image problem the film division has and assist the comics a bit because a rising tide lifts all boats? Perhaps, but even if the MCU is, "Saved," this December by the latest Marvel movie, the comics might benefit from some kind of shot in the arm of creativity/energy/etc. At least Jed Mackay's work on, "Moon Knight," remains fantastic (as long as it doesn't get canceled). Perhaps if the, "Midnight Universe," does well, there's some hope to fix the optics?

2. "Something is Killing the Children," escapes development Hell.

"Something is Killing the Children," became a massive breakout hit over at BOOM! Studios. It got optioned, but seemed to be stuck in some kind of limbo. Was it going to be a Netflix show? A streaming movie? Go to theaters? Animated? Well, at NYCC the plan was finally made clear. Blumhouse is producing a theatrical (live-action) movie with Craig Zobel set to direct. SIKTC is probably one of the biggest non-Marvel or DC properties within comics in some time, so I am curious if its movie can cut through the, "Noise," of many other comic-book adaptations and strike a nerve that few comic-book flicks outside DC or Marvel have managed--there have been some, of course (Ron Pearlman's Hellboy remains beloved).

3. Grant Morrison is writing a, "James Bond," comic for IDW.

One of my favorite comic creators of all time, Grant Morrison, is no stranger to tackling epically popular franchises with their own unique take. "New X-Men," remains my favorite run on the team ever and, "All-Star Superman," ranks high on many, "Best Superman Stories," lists. Now, we'll be getting their version of, "James Bond," via publisher IDW. I've seen some great Bond stories in various forms, and some pretty messy takes too. I'm excited for Morrison to be at the writing helm of a Bond story, however. The Bond franchise can be grim or gritty as well as quite outlandish and wacky. Morrison is already promising we'll get something quite strange, and I'm totally here for it.

Presenting My Articles on, "The Filth," and Avatar Press/Boundless for, "Undie Comix," #3 & #4

A bit ago I shared how I had an article published in the third issue of, "Undie Comix." I encouraged folks to go buy a copy of that issue and back their Patreon. Then I was in the fourth issue as well. All copies of the third and fourth issues are sold out nowadays, so I'll post those pieces on my blog with some minimal tweaks to fit better online. Oh, and if I could hint that I might just have a post in the upcoming fifth issue, keep that in mind too! Now then...

Examining What, “The Filth,” Says About Identity and Personality

If you have not read, “The Filth,” I would encourage you to do so. Written by Grant Morrison with stellar art by Chris Weston, it is a mindtrip of a comic about a lot of stuff, but one main plot point is a secretive agency known as, “The Hand,” that maintains, “Status Quorum,” through acquiring (by convincing them to join) or eliminating people who pose a threat to the stability of society in one way or another. These people include everyone from a scientist who created a miniature, “Bonsai,” Earth with robotic creatures to a dangerous and hyper-fertile porn star with amnesia. As I said, it is a wild read, but the biggest element that has stuck with me in all the years since I first read, “The Filth,” and have kept re-reading it would be how it tackles the idea of our own identity and personality—the main things that make us, us.

In, “The Filth,” a big part of the story is how you can be injected with a new personality. This results in one character (Spartacus Hughes) who seems to be killed by The Hand constantly appearing to come back as different people but wearing the same clothes, same aftershave, and sporting the same snarky personality. When asked at one point what it takes to be Spartacus Hughes, he responds with a double entendre, “A little prick.” It is both interesting and terrifying to think that with said change, we can become a whole different person. We could vacation in a different mindset, going from liberal to conservative, hating cats to loving them, feeling comfortable in our skin to suffering severe body dysphoria, the list goes on.

Grant Morrison themselves came out as non-binary some years ago, making the idea of identity—and gender identity in particular—being something they would have previously had and continue to have interest in discussing. Within, “The Filth,” however, it isn’t just one’s gender identity that can change, it is their whole sense of self. Perhaps the ability to temporarily take on the mindset of someone else could do many of us a bit of good—literally walking in someone else’s shoes. The idea of being, “Stuck,” as someone else permanently is a scary proposition, however, and something many people feel, be it via their gender identity, a different form of body dysphoria (anorexia, bulimia, extensive plastic surgery), and so forth. I, personally, generally like who I am and would hesitate to feel like I’ve become someone else for too extended a period of time. Others, however, might jump at such a chance to be someone else, even if it means a little prick—pun intended.

Avatar Press, Boundless Comics, and Sneaking the Underground into the Mainstream

As you’re already reading this issue of, “Undie Comix,” I’ll assume you’re familiar with the concept of those old, “Underground Comix,” from decades ago that pushed boundaries and were quite edgy. That era kind of gave way to the rise of independent publishers who could release relatively mature or outright, “Adult,” comics via big distributors as the Comic Code Authority faded away into obscurity and was eventually outright dissolved. If we’re being honest, however, a lot of indie comic books in the 1990s, and early-to-mid 2000s/2010s lacked the willingness to, “Go there,” that many underground comix did—concepts of, “Good taste,” be damned. There was one company that didn’t hesitate to push the envelope at that time, though. Avatar Press and later its imprint Boundless Comics.

Avatar Press was founded in 1996 by William A. Christensen. It initially put out decently action-packed and somewhat sexy, “Bad Girl,” comics that featured original characters like Pandora or licensed characters such as Brian Pulido’s Lady Death (that specific partnership ended with lawsuits some years ago, however). Eventually, the company started making their comics a bit raunchier, with some stories outright bordering-on-just-porn, which was fun, but unremarkable. After a handful of years, Avatar Press started becoming quite interesting, however.

A bunch of well-known creators were told they could make basically whatever they wanted at Avatar if they had a story idea, and this drew the attention of such big names as Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis (pre-controversy), Kieron Gillen, and even Alan Moore (yes, *the* Alan Moore). Now, Avatar Press was putting out comics about a superhero murdering the President of the United States (”Black Summer,”) or a world where the Antichrist lived among us but just wanted to chill-out and be best friends with the reincarnation of Jesus (”Chronicles of Wormwood”). Avatar Press had a surreal mix of putting out a comic one month featuring a, “Jungle Girl,” being penetrated in various holes by her fellow rainforest-dwellers, while the next month releasing Alan Moore’s take on HP Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos through a fourth-wall-breaking meta lens. This all, in a way, made Avatar Press a bit like DC’s famous Vertigo imprint, but for people who liked a hefty dash of sleaze with their literary comics. “Vertigo for Perverts,” if you will.

Into the mid-2010s, as Avatar started to get a bit more, “Respectable,” with all the big names and some other licensed comics (they put out a number of horror-related series linked to, “Friday the 13th” and, “A Nightmare on Elm Street), they didn’t stop doing the raunchy comics, but spun them off to a separate imprint known as, “Boundless.” You might wager that even with a separate imprint for the edgier stuff that Avatar/Boundless would try to tone things down a bit lest it impact the respectability of the main brand. You’d, thankfully, be wrong. Many of the Boundless-published comics took past Avatar Press properties and gave them a sexy modern sheen. We were presented with elaborations on old clever ideas that resulted in legitimately good stories, and which *also* contained insanely detailed illustrations of sex. I swear, this was some of the most explicit stuff you’d find in mainstream comics (close-up sketches of penetration were the order of the day), but it was also smart!

One series was titled, “Lookers,” and it focused on lady detectives where one was also an internet camgirl (an early iteration of what we now call OnlyFans, ask your Generation X/Millenial friends) and the other was the, “Muscle,” who hunted down, “Men’s Rights Activists,” that harassed or doxxed other women. They also have to help a female superhero known as Ember from having a sex tape leak. It sounds a little silly and a bit political, and it is. It’s also ingenious with the literal first lines of the series containing some complex media criticism remarking, “The Male gaze. As the saying goes, it's as old as the hills. And like the hills, it hasn’t been ground down so much as paved over. Civilization, democracy, freedom of choice…new forms, same sentiment. It’s 2016, and the male gaze is a webcam.” That’s insightful text worthy of a collegiate paper, and right beside it are illustrations of a woman flashing her perky breasts to an internet camera—Boundless basically having its cake and eating it too, but *damn,* it eats good.

Avatar Press and Boundless started putting out a lot less stuff in the late 2010s. There was a cool anthology of various fun comics spearheaded by Alan Moore (Avatar Press was maybe the one publisher he left comics on good terms with) called, “Cinema Purgatorio,” and a series by Kieron Gillen that reimagined World War II as being fought with superpowered Nazis and Americans was a hit (”Uber,) before that just sort of stopped being published. Oh, *then* we had COVID, and Avatar/Boundless quit doing much of anything. The companies still *exist,* and you can buy back issues of their comics on their websites or such, but there are zero rumblings of any future comics. Avatar Press actually owns the incredibly popular online comic-book tabloid, “Bleeding Cool,” so its legacy lives on there, I suppose. Still, I miss the old Avatar (and later, Boundless) that would put out a comic like, “Threshold,” where on one page you’d have Warren Ellis imagining a drug-induced crime-ridden city with a cop who can’t stop a ghostly murderer (”Dark Blue,”) and the next page you’d have a demon chick getting double penetrated in a fiery hellscape (a number of random, “Hellina,” comics contain such scenes, trust me). At least we have our memories and back issues.

I Have an Article in, "Undie Comix," #3!

"Undie Comix," is a fanzine that combines a love of the old edgy underground, "Comix," as well as today's independent comics to be, well, Undie Comix! They post regularly on Instagram, have a Patreon you can support, and sell issues of the mini magazine on their website. Issues of, "Undie Comix," feature edgy comics as well as articles/reviews about comics. Now, in the third issue, there is a written piece by yours truly! Titled, "Examining What, 'The Filth,' Say About Identity and Personality,'" it features me discussing how one of my favorite comics ever, "The Filth," considers our sense of identity and how it can be tweaked via injectable personalities within the story (Morrison and Weston made an amazing read). Here is a glimpse at some of my article:

I am honored to have made a contribution to this issue of, "Undie Comix," and would encourage you to get a digital or physical copy to enjoy my piece and the hard work of everyone else within the pages!

"Deadpool/Batman," and, "Batman/Deadpool," Comics Are Officially On the Way!

It had been teased that Marvel and DC would be doing some crossovers, and I received a wild birthday present today with the official announcement of, "Deadpool/Batman," coming this September to be followed by, "Batman/Deadpool," in November. A lot of names are involved from big-time folks (Grant Morrison, Kevin Smith, Greg Capullo," to names that aren't as big but have talent (Zeb Wells, Chip Zdarsky, Kelly Thompson). These two big comics will be published in turn by Marvel and DC--with back-up features of other characters in the respective Universes' crossover. It's been over two decades since the last (new) intercompany crossover between DC and Marvel, so this is quite big news.

More crossovers are apparently planned into 2026, and I am quite curious who else from the two companies will be meeting up in future publications. In the meantime, I'm pretty excited for this crossover of a quite serious hero (Batman) with a decidedly sillier sometimes-baddie/sometimes-good guy (Deadpool). I'll be sure to check this out!

A New Printing of, "The Filth," Has Been Released, so Go Buy it!

"The Filth," is a creator-owned comic that was published over 13 issues by DC's Vertigo imprint (when it existed). Written by Grant Morrison with art by Chris Weston and colors provided by Gary Erskine, it is my absolute favorite thing Morrison ever wrote--and they've written a ton of stellar comics. Describing, "The Filth," is incredibly difficult as there is a lot going on within its pages. Basically, it focuses on a secret organization known as the Hand who serve the World by removing or recruiting those who could pose a danger to the stability and safety of society. This results in stories about a massive cruise ship that descends into violent chaos, a hyper-fertile porn star with amnesia, living inks being used to create comic-book-inspired weapons, a Russian chimp that claims to have killed JFK, and more! Now, thanks to DC, you can get a new 2024 edition of, "The Filth!"

I don't use the word, "Masterpiece," a lot, but, "The Filth," is one. I'm pleased that DC has re-released this amazing comic--now under their, "Black Label." This printing also includes some extra content including pieces of artwork that did not appear in the original comic due to it being a bit too risque but which was included in certain other printings as backmatter--so if you like bonus stuff, this publication has it! The only strange thing is multiple sections refer to Morrison with male pronouns and a chunk of years ago they came out as nonbinary--a bit of an editorial oversight. I understand old review quotes would use he/him terms, but the biographic section too? That note aside, go get yourself a copy of this newest printing of, "The Filth," and enmesh yourself in its amazing weirdness.

Flashback Friday: "Superman: The City of Tomorrow Volume 1," AKA I Suppose Superman Can Be Entertaining After All!

I made a Facebook post once where I don't remember exactly what I said, but it was along the lines of: Superman as a character generally bores me and I usually only like stories with him that are out-of-continuity and have a great writer ("All-Star Superman," by Grant Morrison) or involve him acting out-of-character ("Red Son," and, "Injustice," come to mind). My statement was how the DC comic Universe Superman generally just doesn't have yarns that interest me. One of my friends, Brian Lan (who also does great work with the Hero Initiative) saw this and didn't so much take offense as he wanted to school me on how, "Superman," can actually give us some good stories. He recommended a number of books to me and I made a request to my library so I could try them out.

One of the books Brian told me to try out was the collection, "Superman: The City of Tomorrow, Volume 1." It featured a number of Superman stories from the early 2000s that he told me didn't require too much knowledge of Supes to follow along with. Having read the collection, I will admit I was entertained. If one goes into stories keeping one big thing in mind, they can work well. the main thing to remember is that Superman is inextricably good and wants to help. If you hold onto that as a focal point you can enjoy many tales of Superman (or sometimes his civilian identity, Clark Kent). 

The concept with Superman is he faces an obstacle and finds a way to overcome it.  The obstacles can be big or small, but Superman's good heart and caring nature help him find a way. He has no ulterior motive, he just wants to help, and there is a kindness and purity to that which I mistook for boring at points but can see isn't boring so much as a starting point. It is a launchpad for stories about how someone who wants to be the best they can be towards others deals with a World where essentially nobody else thinks that way. Superman isn't cynical. Superman isn't spiteful. He's Superman, and the fellow has everyone's best interest at heart, against all odds.

Superman might try to help a man keep his house from being demolished by greedy building developers or he could end up having an epic fight in space with an interplanetary tyrant. He'll always try his and best and attempt to see the best in others. Garth Ennis, of all people (the man generally seems to hate superheroes and writes them as terrible people) wrote one of the best summaries of how Superman views, "Us," as Earth years ago in a comic that wasn't even about Superman--it was focused on a creation of Ennis named Hitman in a different comic than what I read but it bears sharing. Observe...

So yes, when you get some skilled writers (Joe Kelly plus Jeph Loeb and Mark Millar before those two went downhill in storytelling) and great artists (Doug Mahnke and Ed McGuinness to name a couple) you can create some solid Superman tales if you go into the tales knowing what to expect. I suppose my friend Brian had a good point and I thank him for turning me onto some solid Superman tales. I plan to pick up a book chronicling the recent, "Warworld," stuff as he told me that was excellent as well. I look forward to reading that too now!

The X-Men Are Entering a New Era...and It's a Lot Like the Old Era

The X-Men have spent the last 5 or so years on Krakoa with their own nation-state. Various plots from the past came together to take the X-Men to one logical conclusion they'd form their own country and tell the rest of Earth to put up with it because they're sick of being hated by a humankind they wanted to protect. Magneto tried it on a small scale with Genosha, but Krakoa was a massive undertaking and resulted in some cool comics thanks to a major change in the usual X-Men status quo. It was never going to be permanent.

This coming Summer the X-Men will be back to living amongst regular humans in various cities where they'll hide out in military bases or such. It feels like a major step backward into the 1990s--something others have observed. The brand has had so much growth the past two decades and now we're reverting to the old ways? Perhaps I'm just bitter as I didn't really, "Get into," the X-Men until the early 2000's when Grant Morrison delivered what I feel is the best run on the series ever (no shade at Claremont). Their run on, "New X-Men," was amazing and changed so much that Marvel then sprung, "House of M," on everyone and made mutants incredibly endangered. Eventually, mutants started gaining bigger numbers and were then put on the editorial backburner whilst Marvel tried in vain against all logic to make the Inhumans popular and a replacement for the X-Men. That was until Jonathan Hickman ushered us into the Krakoan age in 2019 with, "House of X," and, "Powers of X." That resulted in some stellar comics, but it is coming to an end...and we're going back to how the X-Men were in the 1990s when I had minimal interest in the brand as a wee lad and preferred to read about Spider-Man (he's been through some changes for sure too, but that is a whole different article).

I'm not surprised with the vaguely retro revert (say that three times fast) the X-Men are getting. After all, that, "X-Men '97," show is coming to Disney+ and enough time has passed from the 1990s that folks are now nostalgic for it. Still, I didn't really like the X-Men then and besides Wolverine (he was always cool) could have cared less about all the other characters. The creative teams on the three big books are great and the other series could be good, but I just can't muster any excitement to go back to the old ways. 

I got into the X-Men during a period of huge change and always enjoyed the X-titles the most when things besides the usual, "Mutants protecting humans who hate and fear them," motif was used. I adored the aforementioned, "New X-Men run." I had a ton of fun when for a good year or so a team of X-Men was in space, I had a great time with, "House of M," and enjoyed the fallout of that event. The Krakoan age was insanely creative even if way too many comics were released relating to it (there was a ton of stuff to read if you wanted to keep up to date). When the X-Men are simply hiding out in a mansion or in old military bases in between going on missions to save humans who curse them out for being, "Dirty Muties!" I just don't care. It was done from about 1963 to 2000 and done especially spectacularly for years by Chris Claremont in one of the longest uninterrupted runs in comics ever (1975-1991). Old fans who miss the 90s are probably excited and younger comic fans might be intrigued who didn't live through the past stories. As for me? I said the creative teams look great (Jed MacKay and Gail Simone are both amazing writers and Ryan Stegman is a stellar artist, to name some folks), but I may just skim the new main books and secondary titles unless one manages to really grab my attention. Time will tell.

Hey, DC, Beginning to Collect a Series Then Suddenly Canceling the Rest is Annoying!

Never to actually see release...

Readers of the blog may recall when I wrote about, "Authority: The Lost Year." It was a reboot of that, "The Authority," series that started out with Grant Morrison writing two issues and leaving the title. It suffered horrific delays until Keith Giffen (who sadly recently passed) came in and finished the series, with it gaining that "The Lost Year" tagline to explain where the Authority was in the Wildstorm Universe during the delays. The mini-series ended up having the first volume collected in a trade paperback..and that was it. A second volume was solicited but then DC simply didn't print it. DC felt there wasn't enough interest to merit collecting the whole thing in trade paperback, forcing folks to seek out back issues or read the remaining parts online. It is silly and downright ignorant to start collecting a series and then just stop, so surely DC wouldn't do that again, right? Right?

Anyway "Black Adam," recently had a 12-issue mini-series where the first volume was collected but a solicited release of, "Volume 2," of the series has now been canceled by DC. There are no plans to make a 12-issue deluxe hardcover or anything, it'll just be issues #1-#6 with fans S.O.L. for #7-#12 if they want the whole thing to display on their bookshelf in books. Goddamn it, DC. I understand when nothing is collected of a series that outright bombed, but this is just a bummer and I wonder if the fact this comic came out at the same time as the ,"Black Adam," movie which suffered in theaters results in DC thinking, "Let's cut our losses and cancel anything else relating to the character!" The series was good too, with it written by the immensely talented Christopher Priest so it is not like this is DC trying to bury a metaphorical turd in some sand. I don't know why half-collecting a series and then calling it quits is such a pet peeve of mine, but DC, Marvel, or whoever should do it all or do nothing, I'd argue. Don't start collecting a series/mini-series and then suddenly stop. It is irritating, simple as that.

"Heavy Metal," Magazine Seems to Have Ended

"Heavy Metal," magazine started being published in 1977 and as of 2023 seems to be dead. The long-running publication drew inspiration from a foreign publication, "Métal Hurlant," and contained all kinds of cool and edgy stories geared toward adults. It wasn't outright pornographic like underground comix could at times be, it was instead alternative, strange, and thoughtful...with some nudity thrown in for good measure. Issue 320 was going to be the final entry of volume 1 (it came out in April 2023) but then a relaunch was due to happen with Whatnot's publishing division. That plan fell apart and we've arrived at--as RM Rhodes' put it on Comicsbeat--"The Uncertain Death of Heavy Metal Magazine." It's been a strange road indeed.

"Heavy Metal," as a publication has had a lot of ups and downs. The last era one could consider, "Good," would probably be when Grant Morrison served as Editor-in-Chief for twelve glorious issues between 2016 and 2018. Things were rough at times before that, but after their reign, it all went downhill fast due to poor management and horrible business moves (NFTs, lack of order fulfillment, and more). The reason I and everyone else are pointing out this end isn't for sure would be that, "Heavy Metal," itself has not confirmed it is dead. Without a new publishing partner, it would appear the magazine has concluded, but the company remains silent. Barring some unforeseen rising from the ashes of failure like a mythical phoenix I would say, "Heavy Metal," is done.

Flashback Friday: "Final Crisis," Was Great, Even if it Was a Mess

D. Emerson Eddy has a new post on Comicsbeat in which they discuss how, "Final Crisis is a bit of a mess. It’s also one of the greatest events that DC has ever published." I honestly could not agree more. "Final Crisis," was a mixture of its own self-contained weirdness thanks to writer Grant Morrison, something that had been led into via other DC series by different writers, and the climax of a bunch of Morrison's own other DC that was seemingly unrelated to, "Final Crisis," but arguably more important than official tie-ins or lead-up series. You can both read it by itself and be confused, or read it with everything that relates to it and...still be pretty flabbergasted, but still in a good way.

As Eddy says, "It's a spectacular mess." The art is great, even as fill-in talents were needed due to delays, the story is at its most basic about ultimate evil (Darkseid) versus ultimate good (Superman and other versions of Superman from various realities too). However, that is extremely reductive to say as all kinds of other random stuff gets thrown into the story too, from sentient computers (OMAC) kids from the future (Kamandi), other random New Gods, there is intrigue from outer space via Green Lanterns, the, "Batman R.I.P.," storyline Morrison was doing heavily overlaps with everything, Martian Manhunter dies, Barry Allen comes back to life, Monitor-related characters return, an Obama-inspired Presidential Superman appears, and more, and more, and more, damn it! People have talked about how, "Crisis on Infinite Earths," or, "Infinite Crisis," felt a bit like DC was taking everything and the kitchen sink and combining it into an event. Well, "Final Crisis," does that and shatters the sink into a bunch of random asides and concepts that don't quite glue back together perfectly but still manage to make something functional and cool.

I was not very familiar with the DC Universe when I read, "Final Crisis." The only DC series I had been following closely at that point were, "Green Lantern," and, "Batman." I was incredibly overwhelmed, confused, and unsure of what the Hell was happening in the event. I still had a great time reading it, though. If that isn't the definition of a mess that is also somehow amazingly great, I am unable to say what is.

Flashback Friday: "Annihilator," Really Was a Snazzy Comic

When folks discuss the works of the great Grant Morrison there are a lot of works to consider. You've got their massively popular stuff such as, "All-Star Superman," "Animal Man," a run on, "Justice League," a bunch of, "Batman," "Invisibles," "Multiversity," a brief tenure at Marvel with the fantastic, "New X-Men," and plenty of other well-regarded projects. There are somewhat-known works that are also fantastic such as my all-time favorite comic, "The Filth." Then you've got deeper cuts that seem to get overlooked such as his mini-series with artist Frazer Irving, "Annihilator." Long since collected in hardcover and trade paperback, the comic follows the story of a screenwriter named Ray Spass as he deals with a terminal diagnosis at the same time as he attempts to finish writing a big blockbuster film starring fan-favorite character Max Nomax. Then Nomax suddenly appears in the real world and things only get stranger.

I quite enjoyed, "Annihilator," when it was coming out and rated the last issue (and basically the series overall) a solid 4 out of 5 stars. It was by no means the absolute best thing Morrison has written, but it was a damn fine comic. I was reminded about the series with a recent article by D. Emerson Eddy of Comicsbeat that had me dig out my old copy of the hardcover. Thinking back on it now I am intrigued it remains a lesser-known work by two fantastic creators. I'd definitely recommend seeking it out if you like when Morrison gets all trippy and weird or enjoy the artistic stylings of Irving.

"Jinx Freeze," is the Weirdest Comic I've Read Lately, and I Love That!

When the opportunity arose to read, "Jinx Freeze," by comic-maker Lord Hurk, I took it as the comic sounded just plain odd. At first blush, it's a heist story about a golden arm being stolen from a museum. However, a variety of seemingly unconnected vignettes full of weirdness slowly begin to connect in little ways that tell a surreal story encompassing a lucid-dreaming cyborg superhero, a poet riffing on the World, a comic-themed podcaster, private detectives, Youtube streamers, a sci-fi space priest, and more weirdness I haven't even mentioned yet.

One of my favorite comics ever is the most bizarre I ever read--"The Filth." By Grant Morrison with Chris Weston on art and Gary Frank on colors, it too was full of random little diatribes, side stories, and general madness that eventually all combined into a beautifully grotesque and freakish yarn. Hence, when I say a comic reminds me of, "The Filth," in any manner I am paying it one of the highest compliments possible. This is a long-winded way of me saying, "Jinx Freeze," reminded me of, "The Filth," and that is a very good thing. Lord Hurk injects so much outlandish storytelling into this comic (along with a healthy dose of humor that resulted in me laughing out loud a few times) that it goes from confusing, to overwhelming, to a weird place of over-the-top serendipity.

"Jinx Freeze," is as beautiful to look at as it is at times hideous to gaze upon. That sounds like a paradox, but I'm trying to say that Lord Hurk has mastered the comic form in a manner where a couple happily walking down the street into a mysterious exhibit turns into a complex and amazing illustrative work, but it isn't, "Beautiful," because so many characters are ugly, in an extremely detailed and impressively unpleasant way. A detective named Shitplank (I told you the comic was funny) is a large, sweaty, and blatantly unattractive man (and not the best detective either). Even if he's painful to gawk at, you still want to stare as Lord Hurk has drawn everything with the twisted glee of a madman who refuses to let up for one second of this comic.

"Jinx Freeze," does eventually start to make sense as you keep reading it, with almost all the random beats finally synchronizing in a manner that is most impressive (some lingering plot threads beg for a possible sequel). Lord Hurk has created something amazing with his first full-length original graphic novel. I thank Avery Hill Publishing for having me on their press list so that I was able to read a copy in advance of its release this 12th of October. I would strongly encourage you to preorder a copy so you can read it for yourself!

5 out of 5 stars.

"Proctor Valley Road #1," is an Odd Blend of Genres that Manages to Work Very Well

I love the works of Grant Morrison. They've created some of my favorite comics be it original works like, "The Filth," or established properties such as their run on, "New X-Men," "Batman," and more. They've got a new original creation in the form of, "Proctor Valley Road," they've co-written with Alex Child and its a little messy, but it works out in the end. The messiness comes from how much is going on. We've got a big cast of teenage girls and boys--so many people I had trouble remembering names. The comic takes place during the Vietnam war and features these teens going to explore the (apparently real) Proctor Valley Road. 

The opening of the comic is scary as we witness a man faced with a haunted being, then the comic gets a bit of a chill slice-of-life vibe until towards the end going full-tilt horror with some really scary and bloody imagery. It's a mish-mash of genres and a lot of credit needs to go to artist Naomi Franquiz for balancing the everyday banality with the mystical horror in a way that it all just manages to fit together.

The blend of being a bit of a period piece, a humorous tale of a bunch of friends, and something quite terrifying with monsters result in a careful balancing act for Morrison and Childs, but I was quite entertained. I came to the book because Morrison's name was attached, but while they and Childs do a great job telling the story I was most impressed by Franquiz, as I've made clear. Her artwork just wowed me, especially when the terror kicks-in.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into, "Proctor Valley Road," as I thought it was going to be more straight-up horror. The mixture of scary-with-funny-and-the-everyday was stellar though. Between Morrison and Childs' writing plus Franquiz's stellar art, I quite liked it.

4 out of 5 stars.

A Smattering of March 2021 Links and Goodness

 Spring Nears

We've made it to March. It's been a year since COVID-19 really started shutting things down and a surprisingly nasty Winter is hopefully wrapping-up. How about some news and links to read?

News and Interesting Stuff

People rarely remember Olympic mascots as often they are dull. The 1996 Olympics had Izzy, however, who was so terrible he kind of sticks out in your mind. The man who kinda-sorta created it shared how everything went wrong in a neat article.

I don't really follow heavy metal music at all, but apparently, sometimes bands can have questionable links to Nazi-ideology. This article breaks down how to avoid those kinds of bands.

Joe Jurado has been looking at, "The Rise of the Black Superhero," in a great series over at The Root.

In news that we all saw coming, Comic-Con International/San Diego Comic-Con is not going to happen as an in-person event. This is the responsible choice. There will be virtual events, so that's cool.

Transwomen are women, transmen are men. Trying to act like you're just dedicated to, "Fairness," when you try to ban them from sports is just a cover for being transphobic. This article by Esther Wang at Jezebel delves into that.

Lastly, the fact a big expensive omnibus collecting the Superman work of Grant Morrison couldn't even consistently spell their name right and has pages missing text is just embarrassing.

Enjoy the Warming Weather

It should keep getting warmer--barring any sudden snowstorms--so I hope you can relax on the nice Spring days that should be coming1

Grant Morrison Comes Out as Non-Binary

One of my favorite writers, Grant Morrison, has come out as non-binary and expressed their preference for they/them pronouns when being referred to from this point on. Morrison is behind my favorite comic ever, "The Filth," as well as their incredible run on, "New X-Men," and a bunch of other stellar works. I was a huge supporter of Morrison before, and continue to offer my accolades to them for being so damn talented and also all-around cool, regardless of gender. In an interview with CBR Morrision stated, "I've been non-binary, cross-dressing, 'gender queer' since I was 10 years old, but the available terms for what I was doing and how I felt were few and far between." I'm glad Morrison feels there are words to express who they are now and is comfortable sharing this with us.

Separating the Author From Their Work and J.K Rowling

Well, J.K. Rowling has really made a mess of things, hasn't she? Over the past number of months, Rowling has slowly revealed herself to be quite anti-Trans and basically a TERF. TERF stands for Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist. It is women who you would think of as quite liberal and pro-lady, but they absolutely are against Transmen and Transwomen, sounding a lot like alt-right conservatives when discussing them. It is a big ol' chunk of cognitive dissonance, I'd say. Well, Rowling has been tweeting and writing horribly vicious blog posts about Trans people. It is making fans of the, "Harry Potter," franchise feel pretty let-down by their hero. Herein lies where we debate the author, their work, and when to separate one from the other.

I am a big fan of Grant Morrison's writing. Morrison is a staunch vegetarian and opposed to animal testing under any circumstances. These are themes he's explored in a variety of his works and they've not come up in other creations as well. I disagree with him on these issues as I enjoy meat and feel animal testing can be necessary for life-saving drugs. There are times you can separate him from his work, and times you can't as easily. Overall I agreed with Morrison on a number of things, so our differences don't bug me as us. For a starker example, some folk love the works of Orson Scott Card. Card is horrendously homophobic, but it is not readily evident in his works. This results in some people being able to separate him from his works, and others struggling to do so and avoiding it.

These are recent examples, but just look at that past troubling master of terror, H.P. Lovecraft and how terribly racist, antisemitic, and generally hateful he was. There have been many works that actually address and reckon with Lovecraft's complex legacy such as the novel that will soon be a television series, "Lovecraft Country." It features intricate writings about terror and the impacts of racism Lovecraft would never be able to do. Back in the modern-day, we are clearly at the point with Rowling where a lot of the fans of her work will be discovering they are not a fan of Rowling, herself.

Millions of people are at a crossroads where they have to decide whether they can separate Rowling from her, "Harry Potter," creations, or can't. There is no right or wrong answer as it is a personal choice. I myself don't really have a dog in this fight--I only ever watched the first movie and could barely finish the fourth book due to it being dull, looked at how massive the fifth one was, and said, "Screw it." While I may not be as committed to Harry Potter and his wizarding World, many adore it, and they have my sympathies while they struggle to separate Rowling from her work. If they can, that's great, if they too just say, "Screw it," and quit being fans, that is alright as well. I've had some creators I follow who I agree with on almost everything and others where I at times need to separate them from their works (as well as ones that clearly was impossible to do so). Transwomen are Women and Transmen are Men. Rowling is just too ignorant to realize this. At least Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe, knows what's up--that's an encouraging note to end on.

You Don't Have to Read Every X-Men Book Coming Out Right Now

There are a lot of comics dealing with the X-Men coming out right now under this, "Dawn of X," line-wide relaunch. A lot are great, some are okay, none so far have been terrible (thankfully). It can feel a bit overwhelming as while the books can stand alone they are also one big interconnected tale (as upcoming collections of the comics reflect). It is okay if you don't want to read every book, however. Yes, seriously. Even the architect of all these X-titles (and writer of some key ones), Jonathan Hickman has said as much. Now, the books are pretty closely linked, so maybe that is easier said than done, others would point-out. This seems to happen whenever a particular character or line is especially popular.

There was a time Marvel was putting-out like 3 ongoing comics focused on Deadpool and at least two mini-series at a time with him too, the key was to prioritize the books you liked versus the ones you did not. Now, these, "Deadpool," comics did not really all tie together to tell a massive story, but you see my kinda-sorta shaky point. There is a massive all-encompassing story being told about the X-Men by Jonathan Hickman and all his collaborators, but these issues are like pieces to an absolutely massive puzzle. Should you be missing some pieces/issues here-and-there you'll still see the overall picture just fine. I'm not complaining yet, as I'm just happy comics with the X-Men have me this excited for the first time since Grant Morrison's work back in the early 2000s. Man, I am old.

Some Discussion of a Brief Thought I Had While Reading, "House of X," #1

Jonathan Hickman's big return to writing Marvel comics has begun with, "House of X," #1 which will be coming out every two weeks--"Powers of X," will be released in the alternating-weeks until the two intertwined mini-series finish and a bunch of new X-Men books re-launch in October ("Dawn of X,") using Hickman's groundwork as a foundation. Only a single issue has come out so far of Hickman's grand plan, so I am hesitant to offer any sort of review. I will say one brief thought however that occurred to me whilst reading, "Powers of X." It is as such: "This is the biggest re-imagining of the X-Men I've seen since Grant Morrison did his incredible run with, 'New X-Men,' and that makes me excited." Being able to say something, anything, involving the X-men excites me is a big deal.

The last huge X-Men story/run I can I definitively loved would be when Joss Whedon did, "Astonishing X-Men," which itself drew from Morrison's tenure. I liked, "House of M," as its own weird event, but that was more of a big thing that involved all of the Marvel Universe as opposed to being an X-Men-focused event. In other words, it has been awhile since I read an X-Men comic that I loved, and even longer since I was legitimately excited to see what the X-Men have in store for them. Jonathan Hickman is doing his usual weird thing of big ideas, complex graphs, and people with mysterious motives, and I'm down for it. Considering how dull the X-Men have been for years why not let Hickman just draw from a bunch of assorted stories while ignoring the plots or character deaths he chooses to make a new one about the X-men saying, "Screw it, we're making our own country and culture and going to offer humans incredible resources to leave us the Hell alone on an island," at this point when nothing else has been done with the characters of note for some time? The fact I'm excited about an X-Men comic means something to me, namely that Marvel and Hickman must be doing something right.

Side Note: I would feel bad if I did not mention Kireon Gillen was doing some interesting stuff a few years ago with, "Uncanny X-Men," but that petered-out before I could really get pumped for it.

Rant-Reviews: Checking in with the Mainstream Publishers

It Has Been a Bit
Hey, I haven't done some rant-reviews for a bit, and I ought to discuss some of those more mainstream titles out there, right? Let's do this.

Reading and Writing (My Thoughts)
Captain America #7
Ta-Nehisi Coates has been giving us a bit of a slow-burn comic with some solid artwork by Leinil Yu but things are starting to finally get a bit more to a boiling point, if I may mix my metaphors. Steve Rogers has been accused of murdering General, "Thunderbolt" Ross because he realizes some nefarious force is looking to slander the name of Captain America--in the end it is about the shield and what it stands for no matter what America is going through. Coates is building-up a fascinating political conspiracy full of twists and turns, even if the pace is a bit slow.
4 out of 5 stars.

Oliver #1
Apparently there have been a number of new takes on the classic Dicken's tale, "Oliver Twist," but this one is just downright weird and only vaguely reminiscent of that classic story. That is probably also why I quite liked it. Image has been putting out a ton of #1 issues lately, probably because enough end-up becoming big hits that a smattering of failures is acceptable. I hope that this book gets a lot of good buzz however, because we have a splendidly odd comic here. It is the future, a bunch of mutant-soldiers live isolated from society, but a young boy named Oliver they adopted once his mother came to the nuclear wasteland and gave birth to him before she died (and he strangely survived) goes around causing mischief. Clearly Oliver is special and will be journeying to parts of the world not destroyed yet, and I am curious to see how the old book will be riffed upon and also quite clearly differ. Another solid debut from Image.
4 out of 5 stars.

Deathstroke #40
Christopher Priest's masterful magnum-opus run on, "Deathstroke," hits issue #40 here, featuring his usual mixture of pathos, purposely-disjointed pacing and time-jumps, and a solid dose of humor. Slade Wilson AKA Deathstroke breaks out of Arkham Asylum finally in this issue but learns some of the hallucinations he suffered from Hugo Strange (who took over the Asylum and let the inmates make a mess within it) may have been all too real (killing his therapist) and others quite fake (thinking he killed Two-Face). Oh, and he fights some space aliens because why not? Just an amazing series, and one I hope isn't impacted by DC's recent announcement of cost-cutting measures which will include reducing their comic-line.
5 out of 5 stars.

Immortal Hulk #13
Speaking of amazing series, albeit one a lot earlier in its run than, "Deathstroke," but no less impressive, here is, "Immortal Hulk." Al Ewing has been making amazing comics for some time now but seemed to not get much recognition. Well, his horror-themed Hulk comic which has now literally taken the character to a form of Hell is getting a whole lot of love thanks to his phenomenal scripting and (usual) artist Joe Bennet's disgusting-yet-incredible illustrations. In this issue the Hulk finally breaks out of the strange Hell but still has a whole lot of questions about the nature of just who/what he is to address. This is arguably the best Marvel comic on stands latley, and the best Hulk comic possibly ever--although Peter David's run a good deal of years ago was extremely solid, and I liked Planet Hulk a good deal too. Still, this is just off-the-charts incredible stuff.
5 out of 5 stars.

Savage Dragon #242
Just thought I'd dip my toe into the long-running and surreal weirdness that is Erik Larsen's comic, "The Savage Dragon." This issue just came out yesterday and it still is a bizarre mixture of heroics, sexy-stuff, politics, and general strangeness, Larsen is doing what he likes all these issues later. That it is delightfully entertaining decades into the series is admirable.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Green Lantern #4
I previously had a big review of the first issue of this Grant Morrison-written and Liam Sharp-illustrated comic. We are now four issues in and the weirdness expressed via the story and artwork has continued without relenting in the slightest. One of my favorite comics ever was written by Morrison and was a very off-the-wall science-fiction mini-series known as, "The Filth," so I clearly like when Morrison ventures into sci-fi stories. That perhaps is why I'm so far really digging his, "Green Lantern," run with its weird mixture of wacky aliens, space-law, and a dash of super-heroics from Hal Jordan and his fellow Lanterns. Morrison and Sharp fill these pages with a lot--a whole bunch of story and mind-bending artwork--but it hasn't been overwhelming yet so much as enthralling in its strangeness. I'm not sure where exactly this book is heading with its countless strange creatures and plots, but I'm eager to see where it eventually ends-up.
4 out of 5 stars.

Check-In Complete
Well, that was a productive post discussing what is going on with some assorted bigger-name publishers. Clearly even if I often am discussing the difficulties and complexities going on Marvel and DC (Image usually ain't having much drama) they still can publish some stellar work when not dealing with big fiascoes or controversies.

I Had a Dream About a Comic I Wish Existed--"More Wednesday Comics."

Before I tell you about my dream, a history lesson. Some years ago DC had an amazing Summer event, one of my favorite events they ever did. For twelve weeks they released a big piece of newsprint that could be unfolded to reveal massive comics featuring an assortment of heroes. There were different tales all done by a cool team of writers and artists (and some writer-artists). Out-of-continuity yarns about Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Meatmorpho, Aquaman, Hawkman, and so forth were done by a who's-who of creators including such big names like Neil Gaimain, Kyle Baker, Amanda Conner, Walter Simonson, Joe Kubert, Dave Gibbons, and too many more to name, all who gave us lots of comic-book goodness. It was collected in a massive hardcover that matched the size of the newspaper when unfolded. I loved it, and DC hasn't done anything like it since 2009. Except in my dream.

Now then, a couple days ago I had a dream, you may know the kind. I refer to if you ever have a dream where you don't recall the majority of what occurred but a small detail stands-out in your mind? I had such a dream. I don't recall the general plot/focus, but at one point within this dream I'm in a Barnes and Noble and spot a massive hardcover collecting something called, "More Wednesday Comics." Within the dream I glanced at the front and back before my dream continued with whatever surreal story it was telling--I honestly can't recall the rest--I remember that book with a shocking clarity however. "More Wednesday Comics," on the back describes how it is the hardcover collecting the, "Sequel to the smash-hit series before it," with a focus on creators returning to characters they did beloved runs on for fresh takes along with new talent.

Interestingly enough, Quitely has drawn a version of The Question.
It was for the, "Pax Romana," one-shot as a part of, "The Multiversity."

The book discuses how it has stories such as a new strip on The Question written by Denny O'Neil (who did my favorite run on the character) with art by Frank Quietly. Also, none other than Alan Moore writing a horror-heavy story about Swamp Thing illustrated by Bernie Wrightson. Grant Morrison stops by to do a darker take on, "Superman," basically completely counter to, "All-Star Superman," with art by Eduardo Risso (who in real-life illustrated the Batman-story in the original, "Wednesday Comics," publication). Frank Miller writes and draws a story that involves weird time-travel resulting in his Batman from, "Year One," meeting-up with the one from, "Dark Knight Returns," and basically being disgusted and pledging he'll never end-up like his older-self, whilst the older-Batman mocks the younger one's naivete.  Jack Kirby and Tom King collaborating for a, "Fourth World," epic co-written together and illustrated by Kirby in the vein of the recent, "Mister Miracle," sounded cool, and for some reason Jim Balent writes and draws, "Wonder Woman," which within the dream confused me as he is of course known for his work on, "Catwoman," and never wrote or illustrated Wonder Woman as far as I know, but trying to make sense of a dream is a fool's errand. It was all very strange yet exciting.

A lot of these stories couldn't happen or won't happen (Alan Moore isn't exactly on speaking-terms with DC, Jack Kirby died before Tom King even started making comics, etc.) but within my dream this big hardcover book existed and was glorious. I told my wife how I had a dream about a comic that didn't exist and she asked if maybe it really did, at least in some form. She wondered if I didn't utterly imagine it, which I had to tell her I tragically did. This made me wonder what it would be like if something at least slightly like my dream could happen--I mean, if DC ever made a sequel to, "Wednesday Comics," I would for sure want to buy it as it came out and when it was collected. After all, even if my version I dreamed about is impossible to create (in this reality at least) I would enjoy any kind of, "More Wednesday Comics," DC could potentially give us. For now though, all I can do is literally dream.