Recommended Listening for 3/4: The Matt Signal Podcast Picks

So, I'll be up front with you: I've had a really busy week, and thus haven't been able to settle down and do the extensive reading and/or research required for a recommended reading this week. But I want to put up a post every Friday this year, so I went and sat back and tried to think of something to write about or recommend. And then it hit me: Podcasts! I spend much of my day listening to podcasts, and while I don't listen to a lot of directly comics related podcasts, I listen to a lot of great ones that I think you, the reader, might enjoy, and so I'm going to write about a few of them, and since most aren't directly comics related, I'll toss in a comic that shares something with each podcast, so if you're already a fan of that show, you might check out the comic.


The Thrilling Adventure Hour- The Thrilling Adventure Hour (TAH for short) is the show that got me into podcasts aside from listening to NPR that way. I've written about it before, both the recommended reading that is linked there and reviews of the tie-in comics, but if you haven't read those, TAH is, "a new style podcast done in the style of old time radio." A live show, recorded in front of an audience, most episodes are one short segment, featuring a comedic mash-up of classic radio drama tropes. The two regular features were, "Sparks Nevada, Marshal on Mars," a cowboy in space yarn, and the other, my personal favorite, was "Beyond Belief," featuring Frank and Sadie Doyle, a pair of drunken high society mediums, sort of The Thin Man meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Various other segments recurred throughout the show's run, and they were all witty, hilarious, and clever. The show also featured a wildly talented cast of regulars, and amazing guest stars. Read the recommended reading for way for detail. Thrilling Adventure Hour stopped regularly releasing episodes over the summer, but there are over 200 available in the shows archives. If you like TAH, you can check out the TAH graphic novel, the Sparks Nevada and Beyond Belief series from Image, and the upcoming Deadpool Vs. Gambit mini-series from TAH creators Ben Acker and Ben Blacker.

Welcome to Night Vale- I was introduced to Welcome to Night Vale through a crossover with TAH, and while it shares a tongue in cheek sense of humor with TAH at times, it is a completely different animal. Welcome to Night Vale, created and written by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, is a community radio show from the odd little desert town of Night Vale, a town that has everything you'd expect from a small town: a bowling alley, an old lady, a store, a five-headed dragon, a faceless old woman who lives in your house. You know, the usual. OK, so Night Vale isn't a normal town. One description I read of the show described it as "Garrison Keillor's News from Lake Wobegon by way of Stephen King," and that's a decent, if a bit narrow, elevator pitch for the show. Each episode is narrated by local radio host Cecil Palmer (played by Cecil Baldwin), and while many episodes feature guests, the series really is Cecil's story, about his relationship with his boyfriend Carlos, the scientist, his brother-in-law Steve Carlsberg (don't get him started on Steve), his friend Dana, and all the other people on Night Vale. Cecil's a good guy, and the show develops a deep emotional life for him. But aside from the funny and weird townsfolk and Cecil's day to day life, Night Vale can be honestly very scary, and the horror is used sparingly and to good effect. Welcome to Night Vale is released biweekly on Mondays. If you enjoy Night Vale, check out the Welcome to Night Vale novel, and while I can't think of any comic with the same mix of horror, small town life, and humor, if you want a great small town horror, check out Dark Horse's Harrow County.

You Must Remember This- I love the movies, and I love knowing more about the people who make them. You Must Remember This is the story of, "the secret and forgotten history of Hollywood's first century." Loving researched, written, and narrated by Karina Longworth,You Must Remember This features themed seasons, some of which include stories of stars at war in World War II, Charles Manson's relationship with Hollywood, and the current season, long anticipated by me, about the Hollywood Communist Black List, which has certain terrifying echoes of America as it is now. The history is fascinating, and Longworth's writing and narration are sharp, crisp, and a pleasure to listen to. There are certain episodes that have very direct ties to comic books and Hollywood, such as episodes about Bruce and Brandon Lee, both of whom played comics and pulp characters, Warren Beatty and Madonna's relationship while making the (in my opinion anyway) under-rated comic strip adaptation, Dick Tracy, and Eddie Mannix, MGM's "fixer" who may or may not have been involved in the death of TV's Superman, George Reeves. New You Must Remember This episodes are released weekly on Mondays. One of my favorite comics of the past year has been Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips's The Fade Out, a Hollywood noir set in the late '40s, and if you enjoyed that, you should definitely check out the current season of You Must Remember This, and vice versa.

Rachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men- This is the only purely comic podcast on this list, and there's a reason for that. Jay Rachel Edidin and Miles Stokes are lifelong comics fans, specifically X-Fans, and their whole goal with their podcast is to untie the seemingly impossible knot of X-Men continuity. They have a great rapport, great authorial voice to their writing, and know their stuff. They clearly do a lot of research to keep up with the X-Titles. They started at the beginning, with the early Stan Lee stuff, but quickly moved froward into the Claremont era, and are now cycling between three titles, Uncanny X-Men, X-Factor, and New Mutants, in the run up to the mid-80s X-crossover "Inferno." Their excitement about the material is so contagious, listening has gotten me to go out and purchase a complete run of New Mutants (up to the Liefeld stuff. I already have all that in trade) and I plan to start reading it soon. New episodes come out weekly on Sunday. Important note if you're about to start listening: as of this Sunday's new episode, the series name will change to Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men, but all existing links should probably redirect. It's harder to pick a particular comic to say to read to get into this show, but a fourth comic is about to enter the rotation, the original run of Excalibur, and both Jay and Miles seem pretty excited about it, so you might want to track that down.

Talkin' Toons with Rob Paulsen- You might not know the name Rob Paulsen, but if you're a fan of animation, you know his voice. Rob Paulsen is one of those great voice actors who has a tremendous catalog of work, from Pinky in Pinky and the Brain, Yakko Warner in Animaniacs, and specifically comics related Raphael in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, and Donatello in the current one. And because he's been in the voice actor for the better part of thirty years, he has a lot of friends who do the same work. So, what Rob likes to do is sit down with his friends (some at their home, some in front of a live audience) and talk about their experience as voice actors, their process, and their favorite voices. Some of my favorite episodes include one with the creators of Rick and Morty, one with the cast of Adventure Time, and ones with various members of the classic DC animated universe cast members, including Clancy Brown (Lex Luthor), Jeffrey Combs (The Question), and Mark Hamill (The Joker). Talkin' Toons has had a less regular release schedule recently, but there are plenty of episodes on the archive and new episodes appear when Rob can fit them into his busy schedule.  If you love cartoons of any kind, Talkin' Toons is a must listen, and many of the guests have comics that tie into their work, so just check out that list and pick a comic.


These are just five of the numerous podcasts I listen to regularly, and it's an amazing time where there's such a variety of different options to listen to. So I ask you readers: Do you have a favorite podcast? I'd love some new recommendations. Comment here, on Facebook, or Twitter, where I'm @mattlaz1013.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 2/10

Batman #49
Story: Scott Snyder & James Tynion IV
Art: Yanick Paquette & Nathan Fairbairn

Damn, I promised myself I wouldn't cry...  So, the one true Batman is back, and my heart is as broken as I expected it to be by the choices Bruce Wayne had to make, and even moreso by the choices the people who love him had to make. Snyder uses the mind download device from his short in Detective Comics #27 as the way that Bruce can reclaim his past, which makes a fun Elseworlds-type story into a very cool bit of foreshadowing. And as the attempts to download the old memories into the new Bruce's mind fail, we see visions of possible Batmen in Bruce's mind die with each failed download. These different realities all show different, unusual Batmen, some with hints of classic other versions of Batman, some completely new, and it's a credit to both Snyder and Tynion for the ideas, and artist Yanick Paquette for their execution; the centerpiece visions of Batman as Gotham's white knight is gorgeous, but a post-apocalyptic desert Batman with a similarly garbed Robin is the one that grabbed my attention the most. But as cool as the science fiction of the issue is, and all the alternate Batmen are, the thing that grounds the issue and that makes it one of the best Batman stories of Snyder's run on Batman is the interaction between Bruce and Alfred. This Bruce, the one without the trauma, is possibly an even grater hero than his old self, because he willingly makes the sacrifice of everything that makes him happy to save Gotham. And this isn't a "For the Man Who Has Everything" situation, where he's rejecting a fantasy. No, he's rejecting a better life and a better self. And Alfred, loyal Alfred, is pleading with him to not do it. Everything Alfred says, whether before he is forced to use the machine that might return Bruce's memories or might just kill him or after, are the words of someone who loves this man he is talking to like his son. And between those words and the absolute, heart-rending pain that Paquette draws on his face, you can't help but feeling your heart break too. And when Julie Madison enters the Batcave and... I don't want to spoil exactly what she has to do, but her backstory with Bruce has been really well seeded throughout the series, and her choice is just as heroic as Bruce's. The original Golden Age Julie Madison was never that memorable compared to other Batman love interests, and while Matt Wagner did some great stuff with her in Batman & The Mad Monk and Batman and the Monster Men, it's these stories that have earned her a place in my heart alongside Selina Kyle and Talia as one of the great loves of Batman and a great character in her own right. The final panel of the issue shows a Bruce Wayne, shorn of the beard he has worn in his recent life by the heat and lightning of the machine that has given birth to Batman once more, wearing a look that is pure Batman, and with two lines, "Save it for the car. Let's go to work," you know he's back, and that the evil Mr. Bloom's day in Gotham are numbered.

Harrow County #9
Story: Cullen Bunn
Art: Carla Speed McNeil & Jenn Manley Lee

After taking a couple months off, Dark Horse Comics' southern Gothic, Harrow County, returns with an issue focusing on one the series' principal supporting characters: the Skinless Boy, one of the "haints" that serves Emmy, the series protagonist. The issue takes place over one night, and starts out with a mysterious new character jumping from a train and entering Harrow County, catching a sparrow from the air and fashioning it into a flute, and with the music of the flute he summons the Skinless Boy. This new character is clearly a witch (wizard? sorcerer? monster?) in his own right, as he spends the night leading the Skinless Boy through a journey of discovery. What makes this story chilling is the way this new character gets into the head of the Skinless Boy, the way he taunts him about what his life was like before he became what he is, and how he leads him along this path, through the woods, to the brier patch where Emmy found his empty skin, which he carries with him, and to the house where there are answers to the question of who he was and what his name was. And when he enters the house, what he finds shows readers a new secret of Harrow County, a secret about how Hester, the witch who is both Emmy's mother and possibly Emmy herself, created all the creatures that she populated her little corner of the world with. And even as the man offers the Skinless Boy a chance to maybe reclaim something, a name and a life, we see that what appears to be a monster may be much less one. The Skinless Boy remains loyal to Emmy, but this new man, who addresses himself as, "The Boogeyman's Boogeyman," is out there, and it's clear he knows more about Emmy and Harrow County than maybe she does. This issue is a great jumping on point for this series, because even if it doesn't feature the series lead in a leading role, it gives the reader a sense of the atmosphere that Harrow County provides, and that atmosphere, of dark dread, is part of what makes this comic outstanding. Guest artist Carla Speed McNeil does a great job blending her own style with that or series regular artist Tyler Crook to make the issue feel like a seamless part of the same world that readers are familiar with. If the weather outside isn't chilly enough for you, pick up this new issue of Harrow County to get a good chill up your spine.

King's Road #1
Story: Peter Hogan
Art: Phil Winslade and Staz Johnson & Douglas Sirios

It's a testament to how much I enjoyed the King's Road serial in Dark Horse Presents that ran from April through June of 2013 that I remembered it clearly when this mini-series was solicited and was excited to see where the story went. And for those of you not reading Dark Horse Presents, this first issue reprints the three part prequel, so you're getting twice as much story for the price of one comic! King's Road is the story of Don, a man who left his home world, a fantasy type one, and through magic traveled to Earth, where he set up a normal life. But now, his brother the king is dead, and his sister the general has been transformed into a dog, and so he's now king. So Don and his wife Sophie, along with his kids, Ashley and Tyler, have to go back to his homeworld and stop the evil sorceress Malicia. Only the kids have no idea that their dad is from a fantasy world; they think he's just a boring regular dad. This first issue spends time with each member of the family, as well as Aunt Amerine, who is now a talking dog, so it feels like an ensemble book. There are monsters, sorcerers, a creepy amusement park, guardians disguised as friends, and a traitor in their midst. The charm of this issue is that it takes so many fantasy tropes and plays them straight. There's no deconstruction of the genre, just high fantasy mixed with a touch if family drama. There's something abut a well trod tale told well, and Peter Hogan knows his fantasy well enough to keep it interesting, and knows how to build likable characters. The opening chapter is by the inestimable Phil Winslade, one of those artists who has the chops to do great superhero comics, great horror, and great fantasy, all with a distinct style all his own. Staz Johnson comes in with the new material, and he's able to capture the same sense of motion and excitement as Winslade, but not lose his own work in Winslade's style; Johnson is one of those artists who did a lot of Batman adjacent work in the 90s-00s, and I have fond remembrances of his work their, and he's only gotten better. King's Road is a great comic if you're looking for a light, exciting action and fantasy comic that has touches of the best of heroic fantasy.

The Manhattan Projects: The Sun Beyond the Stars #4
Story: Jonathan Hickman
Art: Nick Pitarra & Michael Garland

After a considerable delay, the new Manhattan Projects arc/mini-series, The Sun Beyond the Stars wraps up, and it's quite an ending. When last we left Yuri Gagarin and Laika, they were on a space ship with a group of criminals, surrounded by a fleet of Sionnu Science Union ships ready to board them, and with Justice Ryleth, the insane judge whose been chasing them, waiting to board the ship as well. And things don't get better, Like, not one bit. Jonathan Hickman's creator owned books from Image don't really have much of a sentimental streak, and this is an issue that ends like a Shakespearean tragedy: there are bodies everywhere. Hickman gets to run rampant with the action, with a big fight between most of the crew and Ryleth, while Primor, the escaped Sionnu slave that has led an entire race of vile super scientists down upon their heads, prepares for his endgame. And boy it's quite an endgame. Nick Pitarra gets to really go to town this issue, drawing fighting aliens and robots, as well as giant tentacle monsters. Chekhov's (ray)gun goes off, with the spores that were the cause of much of this hunt going off at the end of the series, and leaving us with a pretty barren playing field. And with just our Manhattan Projects alums left, Laika and Yuri floating in space, you think you might get a final sweet reunion between a spaceman and his dog right? Hah, you don't know The Manhattan Projects do you? While many issues of The Manhattan Projects are full of mad science and lots of talking, it's nice to get this climax that's full of action and humor. Well humor as long as your sense of humor is warped enough, and I recommend a particularly warped one if you're going in to this comic. Now with this arc over, and Hickman's contract with Marvel complete (mostly anyway, C'mon, let's get the end of SHIELD please!), I'm hoping we'll get a new arc set back on Earth of Manhattan Projects soon, but as send offs go, this is a very good one for our astronauts.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 12/10

Batman #47
Story: Scott Snyder
Art: Greg Capullo, Danny Miki, & FCO Plascencia

Jim Gordon's fight with Mr. Bloom continues as the countdown to Bruce Wayne's memory returning kicks into high gear. The end of last issues looked pretty grim for Gordon, as Mr. Bloom has taken over Gordon's Bat-armor and set it against him. Jim once again proves that he's more clever than people have given him credit for, by not only having the blocker that he was prepared to use on Bloom, but another handy device or two. And when thrown through the roof by his now villain-possessed armor, Jim uses his Bat tools and his smarts to avoid a particularly gory death in an action beat that Capullo handles beautifully; it's only two pages, but it shows exactly how talented Capullo is when it comes to motion and to faces, as the smile on Gordon's is priceless. Meanwhile, the two other character plots for the previous couple issues intersect, as Duke Thomas, still trying to make his way out of the Penguin's Iceberg Casino with Penguin and his fellow freak mobsters on his tail. But when it looks like two of Penguin's men have the drop on him, it turns out that it's Bruce Wayne who has the drop on them, having figured out where Duke was going. And it's Duke who is finally the person who pushes Bruce, who tells him who he is without flat out saying it. He points out that Bruce is the best in the world at deduction, and gives him the clues he needs. And standing in front of an oncoming subway train, as Bruce sees the lights bearing down on them, just before he pushes Duke out of the way, he sees the shape of what he was. If I haven't said it before, between here, We Are Robin, and his appearances in this week's "Robin War" issues, sign me up for the official Duke Thomas should be Batman's new partner club. He is my favorite new character launching out of the Bat books in years (Sorry, Harper Row. I like you too, but Duke is awesome). Meanwhile, things aren't quite as easy for Jim as it would seem, as we learn the one thing that is more creepy than one flower masked, gangly monster villain.And I don't want to say anything about the last page, even though it's been spoiled by various articles on-line, but it FINALLY begins answering a question I've been asking since we saw Bruce up and about again in issue forty-two, one that I'm surprised no one on the context of the comic has been asking, Whether we get payoff on it next issue, or it's going to be a long term plot, well, we'll have to see, but I'm excited to see where it goes.

Harrow County #8
Story: Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook
Art: Tyler Crook and Simon Roy

The second arc of Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook's exemplary horror coming, Harrow County, comes to an end with a war of ghosts and witches. The war between the series protagonist, Emmy, and her twin sister, the wicked witch Kammi, allows both of the series creators to show their strengths. Emmy's fight through the woods from the army of "haints" that have allied with her sister is full of some of Crook's painstakingly designed monsters, with things like harpies, swamp monsters, mud monsters, along with the ghost bears and flaming skeletons that remain loyal to Emmy. The woods themselves have an air of creepiness that Crook brings out in the long shadowed dark corners and the scrubby grass, and when you add in the monsters, it is a place you would not want to go in day or night. It's also impressive to see how, with an identical protagonist and antagonist, it's never hard to tell the two apart, even when Kammi is glamoured to have the same hair and clothes as Emmy. Expressions and body language are perfectly suited to each. The final confrontation between the sisters is Bunn's shining moment, letting everything the two have been feeling for the past arc come to the surface. And the final twist, as Emmy is able to dispose of Kammi, is a terrifying moment, one that makes perfect sense in the world, and ends in a heartbreaking splash of Emmy, once again alone. And while the end of the story seems a country idyll, as the narration points out, the things are still out there, waiting, which is the cornerstone of good horror. Throw in the one page back-up written by Crook and drawn by Simon Roy, a horror tied to something any homeowner knows and fears for mundane reasons, and you have a top notch issue. Two arcs in and Harrow County is one of the best horror comics on the racks right now.

Star Wars Annual #1
Story: Kieron Gillen
Art: Angel Unzueto & Paul Mounts

After Friday's post about Star Wars comics I'd like to see featured two espionage titles, I found it oddly fitting that this week's Star Wars Annual would be a story of the Rebel spy embedded in the Empire. Eneb Ray is a new character, working as a tax collector under the name Tharius Demo. I like the idea that the Rebellion is exploiting the colossal bureaucracy of the Empire to get its people in places where they can effect change, and that through taxes and tariffs they are able to impact change. But Ray isn't just a number cruncher, and he receives a mission more fitting a comic book, as he must go and liberate a group of senators who have spoken against the Empire from prison before they are executed. Ray's entrance to the prison, drawn beautifully by Angel Unzueto, is right out of Mission: Impossible or the James Bond series, with Ray diving off a pseeding transport, using magnetic gloves to stick to the side of the prison, and enter through the vents with the aid of a magnetic grapple gun. But the mission changes when Ray finds out that the Emperor himself is coming to have one last interview with the senators, and Ray decides it's time to make a play at assassinating Palpatine. Calling in all of the Rebellion's assets on Coruscant, Ray mounts what seems to be a very successful assassination of the Emperor. Too successful if you know anything about Star Wars, and I can't resist quoting everyone's favorite Mon Cal by simply pointing out, "It's a trap!" In the end, as good a spy as Ray is, he's nothing compared to the master of manipulation that is Palpatine, and things don't turn out too well for the Rebels. The issue is narrated by Ray, who thinks of himself as a man who makes the hard choices and not a hero. The journey that he makes throughout the issue is well written and is a great character arc. This is a new character who I hope gets to come back in future issues of this title, or in Darth Vader, which is written by this annual's writer, Kieron Gillen,


And Dan Grote is coming at you with two reviews this week...

Deadpool #3

Story: Gerry Duggan

Art: Mike Hawthorne, Terry Pallot, & Guru eFX.

It’s payday at Deadpool’s Mercs for Money ... or it would be if their checks hadn’t all bounced.

That means Solo can't pay alimony to his ex-wife, Terror can’t afford organ transplants from Morbius the Living Vampire, Slapstick can’t afford the prostitutes he pays to pretend to be his family, and Foolkiller can’t afford more guns.

Meanwhile, original-recipe Deadpool is being interrogated by the police about the killing of the zoning commissioner in issue 1. Turns out the cops don’t think he did it, even though whoever did left loud evidence to the contrary. As part of a crazy-like-a-fox plan, Wade has the cops formally arrest him. While being transported to jail, his bus is attacked by the fake DP who’s been causing all the trouble. The two fight, and we get a brief glimpse under the mask. Whoever’s under there has jaundiced, scaly skin and black eyes.

(Hey, you guys remember Slayback? Just a thought.)

Fake DP gets away, but he leaves Wade a present – a well-beaten, possibly actually still alive Scott Adsit, last seen stabbed in issue 2.

Now for the two Deadpools we haven’t talked about yet. Turns out Stingray has been working as a mole for Steve Rogers, Wade’s Uncanny Avengers boss. Stingray has some concerns about fellow faux-Pool Madcap, who apparently wasn’t so much invited to join DP’s M4M as he just showed up one day. And so the two go to confront him.

Madcap’s hotel room, in a word, is great. A bubble machine blows nonstop, and there are lava lamps and welcome mats everywhere. Told to straighten up and fly right, Madcap boops Stingray on the nose and tried to do the same to Old Man Rogers, who grabs his finger and threatens to do World War II things to him. In response, Madcap cuts off his own finger and jumps out a window. “He needs to go,” Rogers declares. I disagree.

Last week I declared Doctor Strange my favorite of the All-New, All-Different Marvel titles so far. That ranking holds, but Deadpool is a close second. The book has taken such a sharp turn from the previous volume, with a nearly entirely new supporting cast, yet still feels solid. The creative team clearly has a plan for each of the Mercs for Money and refuses to allow them to become one bland mass of red-and-black-clad lunatic killers. A-game stuff.

Gwenpool Holiday Special

Stories: Charles Soule (She-Hulk), Margaret Stohl (Ms. Marvel), Gerry Duggan (Hawkeye & Deadpool), and Christopher Hastings (Gwenpool)

Art: Langdon Foss (She-Hulk), Juan Gedeon (Ms. Marvel), Danilo S. Beyruth (Hawkeye & Deadpool), and Gurihiru (Gwenpool)

What if I told you there was a place where all your favorite canceled but beloved Marvel series characters gathered in one place to warm your heart and make you smile?

What if I told you Deadpool was there, too? And his alternate-Earth Gwen Stacy counterpart that started life as a variant-cover gimmick?

Welcome to Marvel’s 2015 holiday special, billed as a Gwenpool one-shot but actually mostly a She-Hulk story reuniting the Atomic Age attorney with writer Charles Soule.

A holiday happening at the Brooklyn building that houses Shulkie’s law office (and Howard the Duck’s PI agency) acts as the framing device for the book, as Jen and the gang party the night away to ward off insectlike Realtors who use magic to convince people to give up on their dreams and turn over their property so it can be flipped at higher values. In other words, Charles Soule wrote a Charles Soule She-Hulk story, you guys!

A series of interludes shows other heroes making their way to Jen’s party, stopping only to bust a skull or two.

In the first one, Ms. Marvel battles her conflicted feelings about the holidays as a practicing Muslim, a Secret Santa exchange with her platonic-but-not-really bestie Bruno and a store-robbing Santa. Though not handled by her normal creative team, Kamala is as delightful as ever, even when she’s being a Christmas crank. (Even her brother, the most devout Muslim in her family, can find the joy in Rudolph.) After toppling bad Santa, K exchanges gifts with her mentor, Captain Marvel, and the two head off to She-Hulk’s place.

Next up, fellow Avengers Deadpool and Hawkeye (Clint Barton) team up to catch a pickpocket who stole money from Simone, one of the residents of Clint’s apartment building from the Fraction/Aja series. Hawkeye (Kate Bishop) catches the crook, who says he was just trying to get money to buy presents for his son. Wade opens his heart and his wallet, and the three deliver the boy gifts before whisking his dad off to the police. Then it’s off to Jen’s party … and just as quickly away from it, as she has a strict no-Deadpool policy.

Finally, we come to Gwenpool, who combines all the cutesiness of a superconfident fictional teenage girl with the murderiness and colored speech balloons of Deadpool. Gwen is hired to take out a sword-swinging snake-man who looks like the genie from Aladdin, requiring her to watch hours of sword-training videos on YouTube till she gives up and decides to just blow him up with a bomb. Because she’s been a supporting player in Howard the Duck, she too ends up at She-Hulk’s party, where she bonds with Ms. Marvel over karaoke, but not so much over murdering dudes.

Quick shoutout to Langdon Foss, who drew the She-Hulk bits. His splash pages are like a superhero Where’s Waldo, with many more Marvel characters drawn into them than I’ve mentioned.

October Horrors Week 1: Best on the Racks Right Now

It's October again, my favorite month of the year, and not just because my birthday and wedding anniversary fall in it. It's because October is the spookiest of all months, where ghosts, goblins, and other things that go bump in the night are everywhere. I've usually tried to focus October recommended readings and some other posts on horror comics in the past, and hope to do some more of those over the next few weeks, but this week I'm in a time crunch thanks to real life, so I'm going to do a spotlight on the best horror comics I'm reading right now in single issues. I'm not making this a blanket statement, as there are plenty of horror comic I don't read, but if you're in the mood for something spooky, these are a great place to start. So, in no particular order, here we go, and you might want to read this with the lights on.

Afterlife With Archie

If you had said a couple years ago that two of the best horror comics currently being published (if published infrequently) would be coming from modern bastion of wholesome comics Archie Publishing, I would have laughed and laughed and laughed. But now, in 2015? Wow, but Archie knows how to do a scary comic. Afterlife With Archie is a zombie comic, where a failed attempt to resurrect Hot Dog, Jughead's dog, leads to a zombie plague ravaging Riverdale and possibly the world. I started reading it for the amazingly gorgeous art from Francesco Francavilla, and while that is as great as I would have expected, it's Robert Aguirre-Sacasa's  story that really keeps you coming back. After an initial heart rending arc where Archie and the gang watch many of their friends turned into flesh eating monsters, the series current second arc is much quieter in some respects. It's a very character focused story, where we see Betty's history through her journals, where Archie talks his problems out with the ghost of Jughead in a hotel suspiciously similar to the Overlook Hotel from The Shining, where Cheryl Blossom has secrets that are way more terrifying than whatever plan she might have had to steal Archie away from Betty and Veronica. There is still some of the classic Archie soap opera, as Veronica is angry a the fact that Archie has chosen Betty, and Mr. Lodge is still the imperious jerk he ever was, and I love that; the comic is still an Archie comic, even with the zombies tearing up Riverdale. I also love the various ties to folklore and literature that Aguirre-Sacasa works in, from the aforementioned Shining scenes, to pacts with the devil, and great Cthulhu himself. Zombies may be the monster du jour right now, in the same way that vampires were in the '90s, but it's the best zombie stories hat are about the people who are trying to survive, who thy really are and how they interact, and not just he people looking to kill the zombies (this is why The Walking Dead has become such a cross media sensation, and is still a title deserving of a look, although I'm not spotlighting it here because it's The Walking Dead and it doesn't need my recommendation). When you add in the fact that you're not only dealing with those themes and using characters like Archie, who have such a rich history, you get a scary comic that really has you invested in who these characters are from page one.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

The companion title to Afterlife With Archie, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is also written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and exists in its own continuity and takes the classic Sabrina the Teenage Witch character and her supporting cast and sets them in a world where witches are far closer to the classic horror icons they are, and he devil is right around the corner. Set in the 1960's, the comic has the feel of some of the classic horror movies of the time, Rosemary's Baby coming particularly to mind. Sabina is coming in to her own as a witch as the story begins, and has to choose between life as a mortal and life as a witch. There's a lot of the classic metaphor of teen angst/life as horror intrinsic in setting the book as a character is coming of age. Sabrina herself is a nice girl who just happens to worship Satan, and has no problem using witchcraft to make the boy she likes like her back. Her aunts, usually played for laughs, are here powerful witches in their own right who we see flashes behind their mortal guises to their true forms which are monstrous in their own right. And while Sabrina is navigating high school and trying to be a normal girl while deciding if she wants to be a normal girl, Madame Satan is looking to destroy her. Madame Satan is Sabrina's dad's old flame who recently escaped imprisonment in hell and finding the man she blames for her fate dead, she decides to take the revenge on the daughter. We get an elaborate plan from Madame Satan, as she makes her way into Sabrina's life as a teacher, and does everything she can to mess with Sabrina's life from behind the scenes. The most recent issue dealt with Harvey, Sabrina's boyfriend, wandering into the black mass in the woods where Sabrina was being confirmed as a bride of Satan, his death, and the ramifications of it all. It's slow burn horror, with moments of truly monstrous terror spaced out between the events that fallout from it, or are simply quiet, making those horror moments all the darker. Robert Hack, artist on the title, has a great style, at times very realistic, at times truly horrific, and that juxtaposition works very well. I don't know how much research he has done, but the book looks and feels authentically '60s. If you've tried Afterlife and haven't given Sabrina a shot, it's well worth your time, and if you are a fan of classic horror, Sabrina is a book that will work for you.

Colder: Toss the Bones

I wrote a full recommended reading on the original Colder in October a couple years ago, and as the final mini-series in the trilogy debuted this past Wednesday, I thought I'd toss it in here, even though I haven't read the first issue of Toss the Bones yet, on the strength of the original and its sequel, Bad Seed. Colder is the story of Declan and Rese, a couple with a most unusual met cute. You see Reese is a nurse, and Declan was a patient in a waking coma of sorts that she took care of, whose body temperature was unusually cold. Only eventually, Declan woke up, pursued by various evil entities hat feed on or grow or embrace madness, and Declan has to escape them, often by going into a supernatural world parallel our own called the Hungry World, where the things that people afflicted with mental illness's delusions are made real, or possible the world where what they see really exists. The main monsters of Colder, Nimble Jack from he first mini-series and Swivel from the second, aren't traditional monsters of any sort, unless you can view them as vampires of a kind, feeding on something that people produce. Jack is a vicious and cruel trickster figure, with a mad laugh, while Swivel looks like a farmer, and views the madness he sows in a similar way. There is a real hear o the series, as Declan and Reese have a wonderful relationship. But I ill say, as great as Paul Tobin's scripts are, it's Juan Ferreyra who steals the show over and over. While he can absolutely draw people looking like people and doing normal people things, he's a master of creatures and at things being just a bit off. Nimble Jack looks human, but the way he rests his body is a times just a bit off, making him look unsettling. The Hungry World is full of terrifying creatures, all of which I would call beautiful in design and execution if they weren't so hideous. The mythology and world building has been phenomenal, creating this fascinating world of madness unlike anything I've ever seen, and with the final mini-series having just started, it's a great time to catch up and be there for the finale.

Harrow County

The quiet country town is often the site of a murder mystery, where the town keeps its secrets. While urban horror is now more prevalent than country horror (except for the cabin in the woods kind, which is an old chestnut that never goes away), Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook's Harrow County is a country horror story in the grand tradition. Emmy is a girl who lives out on a remote farm with her father. But shortly after she reaches he age she is considered an adult (there's growing up and horror linked again), Emmy begins to display powers, and the local townsfolk start showing up with pitchforks and torches, and I'm not talking metaphorically. Soon, Emmy learns secrets of Harrow County, secrets involving witches, artificial people made real, all the "haints" that occupy the town and its surroundings, and her own origins, which are nothing like she expected. Cullen Bunn, who became a favorite writer of mine with his weird Western The Sixth Gun and Tyler Crook, whose work on B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth is some of the best Mignolaverse art not by Mignola himself, craft a moody story of skeletons, skinless bodies whose skin is still psychically connected to it, a good witch, and with the new arc, another witch who I have a feeling is not so good. When you add in some fun backmatter, like Bunn's tales of supernatural experiences in early letter columns, and a one page back up in most issues that tells another scary story of the supernatural in Harrow County, Harrow County is one of he best looking and best written new series of 2015.

Gotham by Midinght

A lot of comics mash up two genres: the weird Western is a good example, and a lot of times, superhero comics take on aspects of some other genre. But Gotham by Midnight finds a way to mash up three genres, superhero, horror, and police procedural, in a way that not only works, but works really well. Headlined by Jim Corrigan, better known as the human host for he wrathful angel called The Spectre, Gotham by Midnight follows the Midnight Shift, a group of police officers and related professionals brought together by Jim Gordon when he was commissioner to deal with Gotham's supernatural elements. The rest of the squad include Det. Lisa Drake, who is part fairy and has the abilities of a banshee to know when death is near, Dr. Szandor Tarr, forensics and a bit of a mad scientist, Sister Justine, who encountered rue demonic evil and now does her best to help stop it, and their commanding officer, Lt. Weaver. The cases the Midnight Shift have encountered have led them into Slaughter Swamp, to a pair of news pundits who made a deal with the devil, a haunting at Powers Coporation, and a powerful demon that has been working its claws into Gotham for a long time. The police aspect comes into play as Sgt. Rook from Internal Affairs arrives. Rook starts out in issue one as  the way in for the readers, meeting the different members of the Midnight Shift, and encountering the weird. But instead of becoming an ally, as this sort of thing usually goes in fiction, Internal Affairs comes down harder on he Midnight Shift after Rook's investigation, meaning another player is brought in, a lawyer to help the Shift, Kate Spencer, who was the final hero to bar the name Manhunter before Flashpoint, a favorite character of mine, who I'm excited to see back. The most recent issue, issue nine, has cast some doubts on what the Spectre is, and was a great jumping on point, filling you in on what you might not know while also setting up the series final issues, as it has sadly been caught in DC's most recent purge. The art has been great, starting out with Ben Templesmith and his utterly surreal, expressionistic style, and then followed up by Juan Ferreyra, whose work here is as impressive as his work on Colder is. Gotham City has always had a spooky side, and Gotham by Midnight shines a spotlight on those darker corners.

Outcast

Now, I mentioned The Walking Dead before, and everyone out there has at least hard of it. What fewer people have heard of, at least for the moment, is Outcast, Robert Kirkman's other horror comic, this one with artist Paul Azaceta. Outcast is he story of Kyle Barnes, a man plagued by demons. Literally plagued by demons. His mother was possessed, his wife was possessed, and he demons have destroyed his life. At the beginning of the series he's living by himself as a virtual shut in when Reverend Anderson, the pastor who once tried to help Kyle's mother, comes to him for help. Because Anderson believes that Kyle has the power to cast out demons. And once Kyle starts, things begin to spin. Whether demons have been as prevalent in the world up til now, or if Kyle's presence is drawing them out, and exactly why they call him Outcast remain some of the series' mysteries. And then there's Sidney, better known as, well, the Devil. Sidney has entered Kyle's orbit, saving his niece, killing his neighbor and moving into the neighbor's house, and marking the Reverend with an inverted pentagram to scare him off, or at least slow him down. Again, Sidney's motivations are vague, but that's OK. One of the keys of Outcast is that mystery, something that Kirkman is slooooowly paying out. Twelve issues in, we know considerably more than what we did in issue one, but there's a lot left to learn. Kyle is a very sympathetic main character, someone who you feel for. He's a guy who not only can't see his daughter or ex-wife (she got a restraining order against him, since she can't remember being possessed and all she knows is she woke up bruised and beaten), and who fears for the people around him since most of the people he loves have been possessed. Kirkman has also spent time fleshing out the supporting cast, like Kyle's foster-sister, Megan, her husband, Mark, and their daughter, Holly, so you care about them too, and dread what you know is going to be the horrors coming their way. There are two kinds of horror, the kind where you root for the killer or monster and the kind where you fear for the victims. Outcast falls firmly in the latter, and I have a feeling there's only more dread to come.

Nailbiter

OK, I'm going to be up front. I really enjoy all the comics on this list. But if I had to choose a favorite horror comic currently being published, it would be Nailbiter, from Joshua Williamson and Mike Henderson. Nailbiter isn't supernatural horror like the other books on this list, but is in the model of the slasher film, although I wouldn't be surprised if something supernatural appears by the end. I've reviewed a bunch of issues of Nailbiter, so you can go check out those reviews, but here's the series in broad strokes. Buckaroo, Oregon has a particularly dubious claim to fame: over a dozen of is residents have become serial killers. And one of them, Edward Charles Warren, called the Nailbiter for his choice of victims being people who bite their nails, is found not guilty and returns home. But while Warren's return serves as the inciting incident of the series, it's when Agent Carroll of the FBI, the man who brought in Warren, calls his old friend Finch of army intelligence to tell him that he's fond the secret to Buckaroo's propensity for spawning murderers that he series begins. Finch arrives to find Carroll missing, and strikes up an alliance with local sheriff, Shannon Crane, to find his friend and maybe the secret of Buckaroo along the way. The entire cast are well written and varied, from Alice, an outsider girl who feels she's destined to be the next Buckaroo Butcher, to Reverend Fairgold, the local man of God who has his own set of issues, to Warren himself, who is one of those slick, charismatic killers. The characters and the story are phenomenal, and it's paced to perfection. Williamson and Henderson know how to lay out a sequence to absolutely ramp up the tension. Issue nine has a sequence in Crane's house that is so absolutely perfect, so perfectly laid out, that I can think of few scenes in a comic that sent more chills up my spine. The third arc of Nailbiter wrapped up a couple months ago, an arc that answered some questions about Buckaroo while opening up a bunch of others, and the new one starts this month, so there are three trades waiting to be read just in time or Halloween.


Oh, and before I go, something truly scary... This week is Banned Books Week. I'm a supporter of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and any other organization that champions free speech. Every idea may not be right for everyone, but everyone should have the right to share their ideas, and books, be they novels, comics, or anything else, are still my favorite way to dive into an idea. Comics are being banned constantly, partially because people don't understand that comics are for everyone, and partially because people generally like to ban things they themselves don't understandthis link over the CBLDF website. and come back here next week for more horror comics that I'm sure have been banned somewhere.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 6/10

(All Star) Section 8 #1

Story: Garth Ennis

Art: John McCrea

Garth Ennis hates superheroes. If you've ever read his Marvel Knight Punisher, Hitman, and especially The Boys, this shouldn't surprise you. So it was surprising to see DC give him a shot to resurrect his team, Section 8, from the pages of Hitman. These are superheroes so bad and creepy they make the Inferior Five and the Great Lakes Avengers look like the JLA or the Avengers. And it's not a comic for everyone. If last week's Bizarro and Bat-Mite were all ages, comic, this one is the opposite. It's dark, biting, and it's sense of humor runs to, well, the kind of humor Garth Ennis comic usually have, with bodily fluids flying. But if you like Garth Ennis deconstructing super heroes, this is right in line with what you expect. We see what happened to Six Pack, the drunkest hero ever, after the end of Hitman (Ennis seems to be ignoring any and all reboots so that the events of Hitman still occurred). And after an accident returns his memories, he goes about reassembling his team, despite six of the remaining seven members being dead. The new Section 8 might even be weirder than the previous, with new members like Guts, who seems to be just guts, and Powertool, as well as a new version of Dogwelder (his name says it all), and Bueno Excellente, the less said about on a family friendly blog the better. With seven members in place, Six Pack needs to find an eighth, and so when the Batmobile stops outside, he decides to recruit Batman. And as you might imagine, Batman isn't even noticing. What does happen, in a montage featuring art homages from Batman through the ages, is Batman gets a parking ticket, and winds up saying something that makes him look like a pretty big racist. Whether this is a specific shot at Batman as the ultimate example of the white man as superhero, or just something Ennis thought would be funny, I'm not sure, but it works. All Star Section 8 isn't going to be for everyone, but it's definitely right in line with the wackier issues of Hitman, with Garth Ennis writing at his broadest, and is enjoyable for that if nothing else.

Batman #41
Story: Scott Snyder
Art: Greg Capullo

The new era of Batman begins, and if this issue is any indication, it will be a good era for as long as it lasts (anyone really think Bruce won't be back?). I'm going to be be pretty open about the new Batman's identity, since it's been common knowledge since Free Comic Book Day. Jim Gordon makes his debut as Batman this issue (well, this issue or this week's issue of Detective Comics or Batman/Superman, depending on which order you read them, though I'd suggest reading this one first), and the issue moves back and forth through time, watching Gordon both in action as Batman and seeing how he came to the decision to become the new Batman. We see both Geri Powers, CEO of Powers Industries (an ominous name if you're at all familiar with Batman Beyond), working to convince Gordon, while Harvey Bullock tries to talk him out of it. Snyder has a great feel for Gordon, and has since "The Black Mirror," his run on Detective Comics, and so if anyone is going to really hit it out of the park with Gordon as Batman, it's going to be Snyder. The issue serves to really set the status quo, about how Batman now relates to the GCPD, and exactly what Gordon's support structure is. We meet his two tech and tactical helpers, Daryl Gutierrez on tech and Julia "Perry" on tactical, If you read Batman: Eternal or "Endgame," you know that last name is a pseudonym, and it's smart that the old Bat allies now have an inside woman. The actual case involves a giant energy being wreaking havoc on Gotham's Little Cuba. It not only allows Gordon to show off the power of his new robo suit, but it also allows him to use his cop brain to figure out exactly what's going on. It was a good choice of case, allowing the reader to really see everything that Jim can do. Aside from all that, there are a couple nice fan moments in the issue. A demonstration of the Bat armor's ability to shift color is a great moment for anyone who knows his Batman history, seeing different eras represented in those color schemes. There is an acknowledgement of how bunny-like the armor looks, and I wonder if that was written when the armor was created, or since there was so much time, if ti was inserted to point out to fans that they are heard. I also rather liked Gordon's under armor costume; it looks like one of the better action figure Batman variants we get in all sorts of toy lines. The first and last page each give hints at upcoming stories in the book, the first discussing new elements discovered that exist under Gotham for only moments, and the last that may feature the return of a character thought dead. Snyder knows how to structure a story, and so I'm counting on these hints paying out over the next few issues in exciting ways. Batman might be dead for now, but this new Batman is worth watching.

Gotham Academy #7
Story: Becky Cloonan & Brenden Fletcher
Art: Mingjue Helen Chen

On the other end of the Bat title spectrum form the much changed Batman is Gotham Academy, which picks up right where it left off and doesn't miss a beat. This issue is a fun one-off, narrated by the super excited Maps Mizoguchi. Maps has been the sidekick/best friend of series lead Olive Silverlock, but Olive is away this issue, so it's Maps's time to shine, hanging out with new student Damian Wayne. But this is Gotham Academy, so it's not like it's going to be a simple event. No, Maps finds out the quill pen she took from the headmaster's office in issue five has magical properties (I love how such a little moment comes back around to pay off). And of course, by writing her name next to Damian's in her journal, she has bound them together. Literally. Maps and Damian spend most of the issue holding hands and unable to let go. It's adorable, especially when you contrast the hyper-bubbly Maps with the hyper-grumpy Damian. It's a great odd couple dynamic, and I wish we could have gotten more of it. It's unsurprising, since Damian's new title has him travelling the world, that he wasn't going to be sticking around, but I wish we could have seen more. The plot of the issue revolves around Damian and Maps attempting to get the quill back from a raven that stole it to undo the curse, all the while being attacked by Maps's friends who seem to be possessed. Along the way they encounter Professor MacPherson, the friendly history teacher, who recounts a story of Batman in Scotland that I thought was a summary of Alan Grant and Frank Quitely's one-shot The Scottish Connection, although I wasn't able to dig up my copy to confirm, and is in fact World's Finest #225, which I now have to track down (thanks to Brendan Fletcher for the correction). I love Cloonan and Fletcher's handle on Batman history, using things like that one shot and cameos from different eras to make this book feel like a natural fit to the universe. Another of those cameo characters, Bookworm, pops up again as the English teacher, and he clearly knows more about what's going on than a normal teacher would. I also absolutely love how Maps swoons over every gadget Damian happens to have, from his grappling gun to a Batarang; she has quickly become my favorite character in the book. In the end., Damian leaves, but only after doing something noble to help Maps, which is in character for the evolved Damian. Oh, and on a sidenote, how has there never been a Batman villain themed around The Raven?  It seems such a natural fit. Food for thought, creators.

Harrow County #2
Story: Cullen Bunn
Art: Tyler Crook

Harow County #1 came out on one of those weeks I wasn't able to get reviews up, which is a shame, since it was a great first issue, but I'm looking to remedy that omission with this review of issue two. A downhome horror comic, Harrow County stars Emmy, a young girl who just turned eighteen, and lives out on a farm with her father. But there are spooky things in the woods around her house, as evidenced in this issue by Emmy walking out of the woods with a human skin with no body. She realizes that it's a "haint" an object that is possessed by a spirit, one that might have lived, might be alive, or never lived in any way we understand. Emmy is curious about the haint, so folds it and hides it in her bedroom. The haint is possibly the thing that saves her as it awakens her as the locals, including her father, gather at the withered hanging tree near her house to discuss things in the dead of night, and Emmy gets a vision of what was in the tree, and knows to flee before the townsfolk come for her. As she runs into the woods, she encounters her friend Bernice, who had come to try to save Emmy, and they wind up wandering into an ancient potter's field, where things only get worse. This is far from Cullen Bunn's first touch of horror, as his weird Western, The Sixth Gun, and his viking monster comic, Helheim, both are more than tinged with horror and monsters. But this is deep dive into atmosphere, which is the thing that makes for really good horror in my opinion. The dialogue and narration is ominous, and contrasts nicely with how innocent and sheltered Emmy is. And this atmosphere could not be better fostered by Tyler Crook, who has officially ascended into the elite list of artists I will follow wherever they go. From the high concept, bigger than life horror of B.P.R.D. to this more domestic horror, Crook knows how to lay out of panel and page that ratchets up the tension in a horror comic. Add in a couple text pages about a ghost story Bunn's father told him as a kid and a one page story of another horror in Harrow County, and you have my favorite horror ongoing of the year hands down. I try not to compliment a comic be referencing another, but if you're missing Scott Snyder and Jock's Wytches while it's on hiatus, Harrow County is the perfect comic to keep you up at night.

Starfire #1
Story: Amanda Conner & Jimmy Palmiotti
Art: Emanuela Lupacchino

Starfire is a hard character to write, I think. Otherwise, we wouldn't get so many wildly divergent versions of the character. This new ongoing takes Starfire and drops her in a new setting with a new cast, and writers Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti set about using the same whimsical style they used on Harley Quinn in her title to give us a different Starfire than the one in the early New 52 books, and it's one I have already fallen in love with. It's actually similar to the Teen Titans animated version, this naive alien princess on a strange world, with a bit of a temper and a big heart. Deciding to live in Key West, Kori is shown around by local sheriff Stella Gomez, who serves as a reader proxy in getting to know her. We get commentary on Kori's... unique fashion sense, we see that she doesn't exactly get human language, in the sense that nuance and sarcasm are lost on her. We also see just how much Kori empathizes with others, as she cries when Stella mentions her beloved grandmother who had died. I'm sure this Starfire has the same warrior's heart she always has, but it's nice that she also has such warmth within. The issue also introduces Stella's brother, Sol, in mourning for the love of his life who he lost in a storm two years prior, Boone, the handyman of the trailer park where Kori is renting a trailer as temporary lodging, Boone's grandmother, who runs the trailer park, and Burtie, grandma's pet parakeet. One of the standout aspects of Harley Quinn is it's unusual and well developed supporting cast, and it's nice to see a similar cast, if not one as actively bizarre, being built here. Another charming aspect of the issue is the thought bubbles that Kori has. They're little images that pop up, usually demonstrating a literal interpretation of human slang; three big ones is three elephant, horny as an alley cat is a literal horned cat. It reminds me of early issues of Impulse from the 90s, where a similar trope was used, and it still works today. Other than breaking up a bar fight that broke out between two jerks who were both coming on to her, there's no violence or action in the issue, which is a good choice, allowing the story to stay character focused. I was also very happy to see that, while Conner and Palmiotti are up front about Kori's nature as a physical being who enjoys touching and being touched, they do it without making her either overly-promiscuous or slut-shaming her, which isn't unexpected if you've read Harley's title (the new issue of which, by the way, came out this week as well and was also excellent). Add in stunning art from Emanuela Lupacchino that finds a way to make Kori look gorgeous but not oversexed, and you have a fun book that is great for fans of Starfire and the Teen Titans in any of their incarnations.