End of July 2026 News and Links

It is the last day of July. We've had quite a month for popular culture-related announcements thanks to Comic-Con International/San Diego Comic-Con being a hot spot to let folks know about your upcoming comics, movies, and so forth. A variety of interesting things were discussed or occurred, however, so let's spotlight some interesting tidbits from as of late!

To begin with, my favorite PSP (an underrated portable console) game series of all time was Lumines. In a bit of a surprise, it has finally been ported to iOS and Android, meaning your smartphone can now experience the joy of this strange music-puzzle-matching experience! "Lumines Remastered," can be bought now!

"Wonder Man," is cancelled and won't have a second season on Disney+. This is despite being a really fun show, getting rave reviews for a Marvel streaming show (a bit rare), and having a second season announced a matter of a few months ago! That said, Yahya Abdul Mateen II and Ben Kingsley were a hoot in the show as Simon Williams/Wonder Man and Trevor Slattery/the former Mandarin actor. Perhaps this is a stealthy way to fold them into a movie, one can hope? At least the star was able to not seem too sad.

A number of fly-by-night companies have those hideous AI-generated books these days where you type in some details about a child, and it spits out a, "Personalized," story you can then purchase in book form. A number of Baby Boomers apparently love these and won't stop buying them for their grandkids.

 

I wasn't particularly smitten with the first issue of the new comic, "Terminal," by Robert Kirkman, Joe Casey, and Andy Kubert. I thought it looked great, and the story had potential, but I wasn't immediately hooked. I'm in the minority for now, however, as the debut has sold 300,000 or so copies, with a second printing on the way. Kirkman might have another hit on his hands!

Speaking of Skybound/Robert Kirkman, Netflix has paid for the rights to, "The Walking Dead," franchise starting in 2027, sharing the past shows and new stuff with AMC for a cool 500 million dollars. I'd argue that while the comic and show ended with the spin-offs past their peak of popularity, there always are new fans discovering it, kind of like when Netflix scooped up, "Seinfeld," or any other popular franchise. I guess someone crunched the numbers and decided it was a wise investment.

Finally, fantastic writer John Arcudi is teaming up with Mark Buckingham on art and Dave Steward on colors for Titan Comics' "Kull," relaunch. The literary predecessory/blueprint for Conan the Barbarian, it could be interesting to see what this creative team does with the material!

"Terminal," #1 Advance Review

The debut issue of "Terminal," arrives in comic shops in two days. Skybound (an imprint of Image), putting out this new series, was kind enough to send digital copies out for the purpose of review more than a month before the book was set to hit stands (with the request that all reviewers wait until the Monday before its release to share their thoughts). Written by Robert Kirkman and Joe Casey, those two names have a lot of skill and a number of hits under their belt. This first issue is illustrated by the also extremely talented Andy Kubert. That makes it interesting that I wasn't disappointed in this first issue, but perhaps one could say slightly underwhelmed with a hint of optimism?

"Terminal," features two secret groups fighting to seemingly either save or doom Earth. The people involved have powers, there are long-lost siblings, weird otherworldly beings, and other concepts you've seen in many other stories. Kubert's art is fantastic, but I found myself waiting the whole time I was reading for the story to really hook me in. Outside of a bit of a twist regarding who I thought would be the main character for the book, there wasn't much meat here. Still, "Invincible," didn't really get going with its reveal about Omni-Man until around the seventh issue and, "The Walking Dead," needed a chunk of issues before really picking up steam. This goes to say that I somewhat expect there is more to, "Terminal," than the first issue indicates. Kirkman is known for his slow-burn style with some stories and Casey is excellent as spinning a yarn full of twists and quirks as well (his, "Uncanny X-Men," run remains underrated and his, "Codeflesh," is a grim and surreal masterpiece). It wouldn't surprise me if, "Terminal," manages to, well, surprise me! For now, it has a good-but-not-great first issue and has me at least a bit curious where things could go next.

3 out of 5 Stars.

Robert Kirman and Friends Announce, "Terminal," from Skybound

Robert Kirkman is a notable name at Image and the head of its imprint, Skybound. When he announces a new comic it tends to be a big deal because while some have gotten barely any buzz ("Firepower"), others have been huge hits that spawned multimedia empires ("The Walking Dead," "Invincible," and such). Therefore, it is newsworthy that Kirkman and a number of talents are bringing us, "Terminal," this Summer. It involves, "There is a secret war being waged across the world by two violent forces with superhuman abilities who blur the lines between good and evil. When Marilyn Howe’s search for her missing sister Alessandra puts her in the center of this conflict, she’ll learn that the power to save the world comes from unlocking your genetic code and giving up everything you thought you knew about yourself…if you survive the experience." Sounds fun!

Kirman and Joe Casey will be co-writing this new series with Andy Kubert, David Finch, and Arthur Adams on art, plus colorist Dave McCaig, and letterer Rus Wooten.  That's an impressive lineup, and the first issue is set to hit shops this July with this mash-up of ideas evoking, "Invincible," and, "X-Men," in a new Universe. Oh, and yes, there will be blind bag variant covers because you know that trend has turned into a metaphorical dead horse the industry can't stop beating. Kirkman knows how to write a good comic, blind bag or not, and Joe Casey does too. Plus, with such artistic talent involved, I imagine whether this becomes a hit or is, "Just," a lovely read, it'll be fun.

BOOM! Studios Acquires the Rights to "My Little Pony," Comics/IDW Loses Another License

Popular comic-book publisher BOOM! Studios has acquired the rights to publish, "My Little Pony," comics in partnership with Hasbro. This is interesting to read as the rights used to be with IDW (who have had financial troubles at points over the years), and they also got the rights to, "Jem and the Holograms," recently, which was also, you guessed it, with IDW for years. IDW seems to be doing okay as of late, with some new hit series and such. That said, they have lost a number of licenses to various publishers (Skybound swept up Transformers and G.I. Joe rights a while ago). For some time, IDW had a ton of licensed properties, but things have clearly changed--they seem to be holding onto, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," for dear life still, however. 

I'm quite happy for BOOM! Studios as they put out a ton of great comics. I am also curious if how IDW has pivoted more towards original works (including a lot of horror series) will pay off in a profitable manner. I know it is normal for licensed properties to bounce around publishers, it just is interesting how many over the last five years, "Bounced," away from IDW. I also know that BOOM! makes good stuff, however, so I know any future comics with the ponies are bound to be great. Basically, I just want all the publishers to succeed, I suppose!

The History of the, "G.I. Joe," Comic is Fascinating

G.I. Joe existed as toys and cartoons, but when the comic launched with Larry Hama at the helm, it became a huge hit. This wasn't expected, as an excerpt from, "A Brief History of G.I. Joe," discusses on Comicsbeat. Albert Fuzailof explains how a tie-in comic to go with the cartoon helped avoid running afoul of rules about advertising toy products. He also discusses the way Larry Hama ended up on the comic--namely, a lot of other creators passed on it before it was offered to Hama--then it became massively popular.

Hama's work on, "G.I. Joe," has spanned decades and multiple publishers; he is still currently working on a, "G.I. Joe," series now over at Skybound (an imprint of Image)! The franchise has gone on to have live-action movies, plenty of other comics, and toys (so many toys). "G.I. Joe," would still have a degree of popularity without its comic, but the work of Larry Hama and his collaborators made all the difference for, "G.I. Joe," to be what we know it today.

Oh, More Blind Bags/Mystery Polybags. Okay?

Readers may recall that when the blind bag/mystery polybags comics for the Image/Skybound comic, “Battle Beast,” were a hit that I made a prediction/bet. I said there would be at least six different blind bag promotions from comic publishers (even multiple ones from the same company), and if that did not happen, I’d gladly buy someone a dollar coffee at Scooters (or they’d owe me one). Well, nobody took my bet, and it’s a good thing for them because the market is getting absolutely flooded with mystery Polybag variants. Some are overpriced and don’t sound exciting (the, “Batman,” relaunch comes to mind), others are the same price as a regular issue and look fun (Mark Spears has one promotion due before Halloween and announced a Christmas-themed batch). Marvel is doing, “True Believers,” blind bags for, “Ultimate Endgame,” and DC just announced they’re doing even more of these for, “D.C. K.O.,” as well.

Publishers big and small are into the trend, and some fans love it while others appear to hate this, passionately. Some people say it is an exciting and fun little idea. Others say it is like comics trying to imitate trading cards with their packs and odds of pulling a, “Common,” one, “Rare,” version and so forth. I see multiple sides and have lived through a number of eras of comic gimmicks that came and went pretty quickly—remember lenticular covers? I don’t think this is going to destroy the comic industry or change it too much either. It’s a method to promote your comic, and right now it’s the hottest thing around. It’ll fade away mostly and be replaced by another gimmick before too long, most likely, and the one thing that will stand out when the hype fades is the quality of the comic itself.

Ah, yes, the actual comic. You see, I get the idea that it is fun to buy a comic and have a chance of a rare variant cover, but I only care as long as the comic is good. When the comic sucks and the only selling point is a cool variant cover stuffed into a blind bag, that is a problem, my friends. That’s the crux of this too: It is a gamble. Pay $6 for your comic, and if you’re lucky, maybe pull a rare $100 cover! Plus, if you get a regular/common cover, you still have a comic to enjoy, so it’s a bit better than buying a lottery ticket, kind of. It just worries me to see folks speculating on these blind bags like a guy buying a bunch of bulk of aforementioned scratchers with the idea to resell them. At the end of the day, at least the (winning) scratchers can be redeemed for money no matter waht, who is to say even the rarest of these mystery polybag comics will hold their value in a year or two from now? 

Comics are already a volatile market where a book worth thousands one day could suddenly lose popularity and be worth a tenth of what it was going for a mere week later. Comic speculation can be fun—I’m an active member of the Comics Heating Up Forum where we talk about popular comics and what could get hot next—but with comic-books you’re best off buying what you love and wanna read, then selling it if the book happens to become sought-after. Chasing trends and dropping a mortgage’s worth of money on blind bags is only going to get you burnt, I’d imagine. My overdrawn point is that these blind bags are a gimmick that marries gambling with comics.

The folks over at CHU and its forum are great!

Should you like to play the slots or a hand of blackjack sometimes and think these blind bags are a fun gamble, then have at it and buy some mystery polybags! Just remember, as with any gamble, you should only play what you can afford to lose, and the House (in this case, the comic publishers) always wins in the long run/overall. That’s why I previously have just bought one Polybag comic if it’s priced reasonably and it is a series I want to read. I get the comic I wanted to enjoy and whatever cover I get, I can happy with. In conclusion: Tread carefully if you’re into these blind bags, plenty of gimmicks before have been a massive success right before suddenly flopping into dollar bins.

The, "Battle Beast," Comic Blind Bags Were a Hit--Now Will Everyone Poorly Imitate Them?

Battle Beast is a character in the, "Invincible," comic universe. He just got a spin-off comic set in that World, and folks are going wild for it--but not due to the art or story (although it's a fun comic). You see, they did a blind bag promotion for this comic, and it has sold like hotcakes. There were multiple covers that were solicited, including cover C which was a polybag with a mystery cover inside. It could be almost any of the other covers, from a ratio to some kind of surprise. Folks bought these up and have enjoyed seeing some cool rare sketch covers, reprints of other fun comics (including a, "Marvel Team Up," with Invincible and Spider-Man that Marvel approved a new printing of), and these blind bags were only $3.99--making it seem like a pretty cheap buy-in to potentially get a cool and rare cover for less than a Mega Millions Quick Pick (ever since the price went up). I bought one to read and got...the standard cover B. Still, it was fun, but I have a big concern now: Everyone else is going to run this into the ground.

When a gimmick does well, everyone who can copy it will do so as long as there isn't some kind of trademark/copyright/legal issue to stop them. Glow-in-the-dark covers, lenticular covers, die-cut covers, they all became a big thing--it isn't just comics, either. When crafting weapons or food in video-games became popular, suddenly every game had some kind of hunting mechanic. When Marvel made a successful cinematic universe, all these other studios tried (and mostly failed) to do the same. If one idea does well, everybody who can attempt to replicate it will usually do so in some fashion--and most of the time not as well. 

An unexpected surprise option of the blind bags.

The, "Battle Beast," blind bag was a hit for Skybound (an imprint of Image) thanks to a number of factors all happening together. It is a comic featuring a popular character with the, "Invincible," show on Amazon Prime fresh in everyone's mind. This blind bag was cheap (for a comic), as well. Plus, it had some surprise comics nobody expected like the, "Marvel Team-Up," reprinting legit surprising folks.I don't look forward to DC or Marvel trying to do a blind bag variant themselves for a character nobody cares about and asking $9.99 for it, only to be surprised when it flops. 

You all may think I'm overworrying, but if somebody wants to bet me a dollar coffee from Scooters that within the next six months we will have at least six different blind bag promotions solicited (possibly from six different publishers, and maybe even from a single publisher that just goes all-in) I'll take at least one of those bets--where I'm the guy saying six-or-more and I'll feel pretty comfy with that wager. Let's see where the rest of 2025 takes us, I suppose, but I'm pretty sure my George Washington will be safe in my wallet.

A New, "The Invisible Man," Comic is on the Way

I've been enjoying the Universal Monsters-themed comics from Image's Skybound imprint. Their sequels/retellings/etc. have been superb among the issues I have had the chance to read. That is why I'm excited for a new, "The Invisible Man," comic written by  James Tynion IV with art by DaNi and colors by Brad Simpson. There are old tales about an invisible man, more modern retellings and takes, and I have been a fan of many iterations. 

This version of the story goes with the solicitation of, "Jack Griffin has always been invisible to the people around him — at least in his own mind. But when an experimental breakthrough presents a path to make his dreams of invisibility a reality, no one — not even the woman he loves — will stand in his way. Witness Griffin’s legendary descent into madness as his humanity fades away and the monster inside is revealed, leaving only… THE INVISIBLE MAN!" Sounds like some scary fun to me; I look forward to the debut issue on August 27th!

New Printings of, "Transformers," and, "Void Rivals," Will Come With Sound Chips, an Interesting Promotion

I enjoy a good gimmick cover with my comic-books. From holofoil to die-cut, and everything in-between it can seem silly, but a little fun doesn't hurt either (when gimmick covers become the whole selling point and the comic is lame that can be unfortunate, however). One interesting new promotion is that Skybound (an imprint of Image) will have some comics with little sound chips that, "Talk." This fall there will be reprints of, "Void Rivals," #1 and, "Transformers," #1, featuring "...the iconic Transformers Signature Sound of the bots shifting from robot to alt mode – or vice versa," with different sounds for each comic.

This kind of thing has been done before--one humorous example is the low-budget horror movie, "Frankenhooker," with a button that plays the audio, "Want a date?" from the flick on the VHS box. In regards to comics, there was the recent, "Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong," which had, "Roar," variants as well. Even if this isn't exactly a brand-new novelty, I like seeing it!

An Assortment of Free Comic Book Day Titles Have Been Announced for 2025

Free Comic Book Day occurs the first Saturday of May ever since its inception (some COVID-era wonkiness aside). The day features a special comics publisher release for the event and the next one will be on May 3rd of 2025. As of today, some of the comics that will be on offer have been announced!

In regards to Marvel, they'll be spotlighting the Fantastic Four (which makes sense with an MCU movie on the way) and have a combination comic featuring some Amazing Spider-Man goodness and a tease of an upcoming Ultimate Universe event. Since it began I would say Marvel has shown shocking levels of restraint in regards to the latest Ultimate Universe, not putting out a ton of titles or immediately forcing it to do an event. As the series has been moving in real-time somewhat (each month of a comic is treated as an actual month) and counting down to The Maker escaping a prison in a manner of months, it makes sense that would lead into an event--my hypothesis would be that is what's approaching.

Out of some other announced comics, one thing I would not have predicted was a crossover between the Thundercats and Powerpuff Girls, but that's what we're getting! There will also be an issue set in the Energon Universe for Skybound (which has been popular with its original content, G.I. Joe and Transformers). Other interesting releases include a Conan comic from Titan, a Minecraft comic, Archie-themed goodness, and more! These are just some of the comics to expect for FCBD and plenty more will be declared, so I look forward to the next Free Comic Book Day for sure!

IDW Shifting Its Focus, Hopefully to Survive!

IDW as a company has been through a lot (I've made posts covering that news). Now, it seems there is at least a plan to keep them chugging along. That plan as it were is a shift towards a horror-heavy focus via new imprints with creator-owned series as well as non-licensed content such as superhero, mafia, serial killer, and (interestingly enough) biblical stories--as opposed to mostly relying on the licensed stuff to keep the lights on as they've done for some time such as with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (which they still hold) and other brands they lost such as G.I. Joe or Transformers (over at Skybound in the Energon Universe now). I generally enjoy a good spooky comic and letting creators own the rights can attract some notable talent (look at Image over the years or Vertigo when they let creators own the rights versus when they stopped doing that). Plus, unique takes on everything from heroes to the mob to even the bible could be fun. I mean, why not try to fill the hole left with when Vertigo died that other publishers have attempted to get into as well (but with nobody truly succeeding yet)? More will apparently be revealed in October at New York Comic-Con. I look forward to hearing further details then.

"Universal Monsters: Frankenstein" #1 is off to a Spooky Start

I really was into Image/Skybound's recent take on The Creature From the Black Lagoon as a part of their retelling/remixing of classic horror monsters with Universal. This got me interested in checking out the latest creature to get the comic treatment from the classic Universal flicks, Frankenstein (or Frankenstein's Monster if you want to be pedantic). In the pages of of, "Universal Monsters: Frankenstein," #1 Michael Walsh writes and illustrates a comic that seems to lean heavily into the 1931 film but shows major events from that movie via a new character's point of view. How this tweak to the mythology will impact the overall story will remain to be seen, but it is a clever addition of someone who would have mixed feelings about their deceased loved one being used for spare parts.

Walsh is an amazing writer and artist, giving the story a suitably grim and creepy vibe. Once we entered the Professor's castle, I was impressed by how you can practically see the strange technology he utilizes glowing and hear it whirring--it's all quite visceral. Our short glimpses of the titular reanimated creation are intense as well, imparting both a sense of horror and giving us a feeling of pity towards Frankenstein. It's a gorgeous comic, in other words.

"Universal Monsters: Frankenstein," #1 is another stellar result of Skybound and Universals' collaboration. It will be four total issues and I am eager to see how the story of Dr. Frankenstein and his monster will be tweaked and twisted in clever ways. A stupendous debut issue for sure.

5 out of 5 Stars.

The Hot Comics Revue 18--These Comics May One Per Store, But There is No Limit to My Love

We've got two comics getting a lot of attention these past couple of weeks, with them both being surprise, "One-Per-Store," variant covers that retailers get with minimal warning from distributors. A surprise bonus comic is always fun and the fact these covers are (ostensibly) limited to one per store means they are limited in quantity--a bit like ratio variants. When a comic store gets these limited issues some will just throw them out on the salesfloor for regular cover price and some shops will mark the price up due to the rarity (again, a bit like ratio variants). There are one-per-store covers that barely get noticed and then there are ones that get a lot of heat. These past couple of weeks two titles have caught the attention of collectors/speculators/etc. Let's discuss...

The Power Fantasy #1

I recently discussed how this was a really fun first issue. Apparently, there are two versions of the A cover, which is fascinating, but there was also a one-per-store cover (it is by the series' artist, Caspar Wijngaar)  that basically nobody anticipated or realized was limited to one-per-store at first. Once that became apparent this thing started selling quite well, with copies going for $90-$110 with ease. The success of this one-per-store variant probably can be attributed to how this is the debut of the series an it has been getting good buzz.

Transformers #11

The, "Energon Universe," has been pretty popular over at Skybound (an imprint of Image), with one entity in that Universe being, "Transformers." For the 11th issue, a one-per-store cover appeared by James Harren. On this cover he homages his popular series, 'Ultramega," which is due to return from a hiatus soon, I recall. Between people who love the work of Harren and those who adore the Transformers, it has lit a fire under this book with it going online for anywhere from $75 up to $120. As this and, "The Power Fantasy," above go to show, sometimes a limited cover really gets folks excited!

Skybound to Publish Transformers and G.I. Joe Comics Within a Shared Universe Introduced in the, "Void Rivals," Comic

 6/15/23 Update: It was announced today that Larry Hama will indeed be launching, "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero," at Skybound with the numbering starting at issue #301, in some ways picking up right where he left off. That's really cool!

Okay, bear with me here. Image Comics has it where creators own the rights to their own comics and they don't do licensed stuff per se. That said, there are imprints within Image that have done licensed works (for example, Top Cow, I believe). Skybound is an Image imprint Robert Kirkman owns. Kirkman is known for, "The Walking Dead," and, "Invincible," which he owns with his co-creators. In interesting news, however, a new comic titled, "Void Rivals," which had its first issue come out today has introduced a new Universe--the Energon Universe--which features original characters Kirkman and artist Lorenzo De Felici have made along with licensed properties from Hasbro. Namely, Transformers and G.I. Joe. 

IDW lost the license to both of those properties and I'd heard of Skybound as being a possible home as well as Marvel, and so forth. It seems Skybound, "Secured the bag," however, as the end of the first issue of, 'Void Rivals," reveals that, "Void Rivals," will continue as a series and there will be G.I. Joe and Transformers-centric comics. This will all take place within the new, "Energon Universe." Image kinda sorta now has some big-name licensed properties thanks to Skybound. We live in interesting times.

I've read some G.I. Joe comics in the past and dabbled in Transformers ones as well. I'm intrigued by this shared Universe and hearing that Daniel Warren Johnson will be writing and drawing a new, "Transformers," series definitely gets my attention as he's a talented fellow. I am bummed that longtime G.I. Joe talent Larry Hama (he did a bunch of work on the series at Marvel and IDW) appears to not be involved to any degree, but one can hope that will change! In the meantime, it will be interesting to witness if this new Energon Universe works out with its mix of new and old. Kirkman seems confident about it, and the man has engineered some massive hits, so we shall see!

Image's Skybound Imprint Will be Making Lego Comics

Lego is a big property. It's toys, theme parks, video-games, movies, and more. As far as an IP it has a lot to offer. Therefore, I am intrigued to hear that the Image imprint Skybound will be publishing a Lego comic in the near future. It will be an original Lego property that the company owns outright (not a brand they license from someone else), Ninjago. I am not that familiar with Ninjago but from what I understand the kids these days love it. The thing that interests me the most about this is if it goes well what else Lego might have Skybound publish for them. I'll be keeping my eye on all this for sure.

Ashley Wood and Chris Ryall Have Launched a New Imprint at Image

I know I just wrote about another Image comic earlier today ("The Black Monday Murders," to be exact), but I have even more interesting news from Image to share. Two creators who previously did a lot of work at IDW are launching a new imprint at Image (in the same way there is the Skybound imprint) which will be known as Syzygy Publishing. This caught my attention as I love a lot of the old comics Ashley Wood was involved in (from his work on, "Uncanny X-Men," with Joe Casey to his solo IDW work like, "Popbot,") and Chris Ryall has created good stuff too ("Zombies VS Robots," with Ashely Wood). Neither of them is directly making the first comic from their new imprint, although Ashley Wood is contributing a gorgeous variant cover as can be seen a bit further below in this post.

The debut comic from Syzgy Publishing is, "Joe Hill's Rain." It is a five-issue mini-series that adapts a short story by the talented writer Joe Hill (as the title indicates). As for the actual creative team, the PR release says how, "The award-winning creative team consisting of writer David M. Booher (Killer Queens), artist Zoe Thorogood (The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott), colorist Chris O’Halloran (Ha Ha), and letterer Shawn Lee (Madman Artist’s Select) will come together to bring Joe Hill's Rain to sequential form. Ryall and Wood contribute editorial and logo/production design, respectively." Basically, this imprint allows Wood and Ryall to curate some talent to make cool comics, much in the same way Robert Kirkman uses Skybound to make comics he likes/wants to get adapted as most of his stuff is now.

Ashley Wood makes great art.

As a big fan of Ashely Wood, I am intrigued by all this. Plus, if it means we get some cool variant covers by Wood along with quality comics then I'm all for this. Bleedingcool claims Image has plans for even more imprints with big names, so I wonder what else might be coming down the pipeline. It sounds absurd, but it just occurred to me how I'd be quite amused if something crazy like former DC bigwig Dan Didio launching an imprint with Image happened. If that ever does occur I'm gonna claim I called it first.

January 2018 Links for the Middle of the Cold, Cold Month

So Cold, So Very Cold

It is the middle of January, and therefore many of us toward the North of the globe are cold and surrounded by anywhere from a dusting to foot-upon-foot of snow. Let's try and distract ourselves from icicles forming on our face with some links, shall we?

Stuff to Read

I'm always intrigued by stuff that is super-popular regionally but unheard of or basically ignored outside of the place where said thing is super popular. Like, how Football is huge in the United States and of almost zero interest to the rest of the world. With that in mind, I was fascinated by this article about an iconic anime that never gained popularity outside Japan known as, "Sazae-san," but still is huge there.

I loved this article about diversity in comics which features interviews with cool publishers like Saint Louis' own Lion Forge.

I adored the video-game, "Theme Hospital," so much back in the day and now there are two different developers working on spiritual sequels! I most likely will want to try both Project Hospital as well as Two Point Hospital.

John Ridley is a stellar creator--be it comic-books or film--so I'm eager for his, "Other history of the DC Universe," which will focus on minority characters and not shy away from less admirable moments of history.

Due to not having a bottomless amount of free time I've missed out on all of the generally well-reviewed DC superhero television shows. I've heard so much positive buzz about the new, "Black Lightning," show however I made sure to DVR it and plan to carve out an hour to give it a viewing. I mean, even The AV Club loved it, and pleasing them can be a hard feat to pull-off.

Image's Skybound sent retailers a preview copy of the upcoming comic, "Oblivion Song," but it is actually the entire first six issues in a trade paperback form--so like 8 months before that would normally hit market. This is either an ingenious way to show retailers what kind of comic they are in for so they can recommend it to readers, or could really back-fire.

C.B. Cebulski

Marvel's new Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski raised a lot of ire when he admitted that while working at Marvel in one position he also submitted work under an alias of Akira Yoshida. So he lied, and basically used an Asian name to sound more, "Exotic." Folk were upset but it seems to have mostly blown-over much to Marvel's delight. However, he recently tweeted out advice for artists who want to get noticed by publishers and advised them to always use their real name. That's some irony right there.

I do not like Taylor Swift, at all, having stated she is in fact a bully. Therefore, I appreciate this article about 10 female artists you can like instead of Taylor Swift with the bonus element that they are not terrible people!

Lastly, I just wanted to remind everyone that in the past two weeks it has come-out our President paid a porn star hush-money and called other nations made-up of black people a, "Shit-hole." One of these two things alone would have taken down any other President, but we clearly live in an alternate reality now where this is just a normal month in an America, "Led," by Donald Trump.

Nice and Toasty

Hopefully my assortment of interesting things from around the internet helped you no longer feel so chilly. If not, go sit by a space heater so that you can keep your thermostat at a reasonable level but make whatever room you are currently in feel warm. It both saves energy and money, plus you won't freeze to death!

The Hot Comics Revue: Fourth Edition Fun

Fourth Time May Very Well be a Charm

This is the fourth entry in the potentially never-ending series of, "The Hot Comics Revue." This is where we discuss books that currently out and getting some buzz, immensely popular, or have steamy potential. As always, I thank my friends at Comics Heating Up for the idea to do this, as they discuss upcoming books that might get hot and this bit talks about ones that are already out. I encourage you to visit them for all your comic speculation needs.

A Book That is Warming-Up

This variant for the third issue shows potential to get hot.

Batman: White Knight (the series in general)
Written and illustrated by the immensely talented Sean Murphy, "Batman: White Knight," has presented an interesting take on what things could be like if the Joker were to become a good guy and in the process points out how Batman is kind of a violent monster when his more-awful enemies aren't present to cast him in a better light. It also had the clever idea to explain the changes in Harley Quinn over the years by making her in fact be two people, with the new third issue resulting in one of the Harley's becoming a new Joker. The book has been slowly heating up and I wouldn't be surprised if we saw this idea of Harley being a Neo Joker appearing in other books as well, making the latest third issue where this happens potentially a sought-after item. The whole series could get pretty hot and I'll be keeping my eye on it. For now you can get the assorted issues for about 10 bucks each on eBay and I could picture prices going up for the first and third issue easily. DC has a possibly huge hit on their hands here.

A Red-Hot Comic

Teen Titans #12
There has been some debate over what qualifies as the first in-comic appearance of, "The Batman Who Laughs," a character in DC's, "Metal," event who is an alternate-universe version of Batman meshed with the Joker. The general consensus has been his first full appearance is in this issue however. As for who he is, its a version of Batman from an alternate reality who is really evil. His visage arguably infringes on the look of Judge Death from 2000AD, but if you're gonna rip-off a creepy face why not take from the best? As, "Metal," has been quite the successful series and ,"The Batman Who Laughs," is arguably the breakout character, his one-shot comic has been very popular and what most have agreed to be his first full appearance-- this, "Teen Titans #12," has become quite the hot book. It is currently going for between $25-$40 on eBay and may very well get even hotter if this Batman makes any other future appearances.

Two Titles with Steamy Potential

Kill the Minotaur #1 Regular Cover, Skybound Megabox Variant, or Ashcan
A mini-series from the Image imprint Skybound (the same imprint behind the massively successful, "The Walking Dead," comic), "Kill the Minotaur," went six issues and was recently optioned. It has a standard first issue cover, a Skybound Megabox (a popular subscription box from the company) exclusive variant of the first issue, and had a promotional ashcan. These versions of the first issue and the ashcan seem to show a lot of potentail and assuming that the option comes to fruition this could go from steamy potential to blazing hot.

Reactor #1
Donny Cates is a writer who has been on fire lately with hits like, "God Country," and, "Redneck," at Image and has recently started writing for Marvel. He still has some random titles coming out at other publishers however, such as this new book, "Reactor," from the publisher Vault. A sequel of sorts to his book, "Interceptor," that was published by Heavy Metal, if Cates in general keeps getting heat almost anything he does could go up in value. For now it is just hovering around cover-price on eBay, so we shall see.