February 15th, 2022
Caroline's Picks:
Betty The Final Girl #1 - Betty and Veronica were supposed to be having a girl weekend at Veronica’s family ‘cozy cabin’ mansion in the woods. Instead Betty is stuck babysitting Veronica’s little cousin and watching scary movies while Veronica ‘picks up dinner’ for them all real quick. Nothing a little tv can’t help with to pass the time. The ‘movies’ are probably my favorite part of this issue, seeing them drawn like the reader is actually watching the movie with Betty was a great way to connect the reader more tangibly to the issue. But Valentine's day horror movies might not have been the best idea for them. While Leroy has knocked right out Betty is staying up late to continue the binge and wait for her best friend to return to finish their girls night. Unfortunately for Betty it seems like Veronica is taking her sweet time. The tropes and classic horror homages were done with just enough humor to get by. After all Betty isn’t your typical dumb blonde, she has some sarcastic humor and wits too. This issue does such a good job of keeping the reader guessing as to what’s really going on. We never really know if we’re watching a movie, Betty’s evening or something else entirely up until the very last panel.
Mosely #2 - This second issue does a really good job of expanding on the rules of the universe and giving the reader a better understanding over the overall reach of the technological ‘gods’ of this world. We know Marvin Mosely and his goal, save his daughter and the rest of the world from the gods and the insane tech and laws they’ve created. Now we get to learn just what these gods are, how they came to be, and a peek into the full extent of their powers. And though he’s just a man Mosely takes one of the gods head on, the God of the Ground who powers the entire metastream. He thinks if he can take it down at the source finally humanity will be free to make their own choices, no more upgrades and manipulation. But the people don’t seem to be so happy that their power fix has been taken from them with no choice, he might’ve saved them but they never asked for it. Things take a turn from looking up to downright deadly for Mosely in an instant. He’s got to get out and get help soon. After all, he still needs to save his daughter.
Marvel Voices Wakanda Forever #1 - Along with a slew of variant covers Marvel is also releasing this one shot comic to celebrate Black History month. With 5 short stories inside there’s a good bit of room for the creative teams to explore some of the history of Wakanda and the Black Panther legacy as well as highlighting the fan favorites from the MCU and comic series. This issue is a celebration of Wakanda, and all of its protectors who have worked tirelessly to keep the country moving forward but always safe. Much like in the movies there is a consistent point hit across most of the stories: does Wakanda move forward and open their world to share their knowledge or reject all outsiders and remain isolated? Regardless of who is in charge this is the most consistent battle the rulers of Wakanda face. And what Wakanda story would be complete without highlighting just how incredible the Dora Milaje are? Gaining a peek into their training process and the Ori Ceremony makes me incredibly excited for the rumors of a Dora Milaje series coming. All in all this issue was a fun read, the different art styles highlighted in each story were beautiful and at no point did I find myself skipping ahead.
Torrent #1 - Michelle Metcalf is the best of the best. Best mom, wife, mentor, and superhero. She spends her days kicking bad guy butt and her night at home with her insanely well adjusted family. They're all incredibly supportive of her job, and her son is always excited to hear about her latest adventures on the news, or Twitter. Today started off just like any other, Mr. Skeleton sent some goons out to rob an armored car. Well Crackerjack can't let that stand, it's her job to protect the citizens and keep evil from winning. But this time around her 'sidekick' tags along and winds up getting himself hurt. After the fight Michelle patched him up back at her secret base and send him off with a stern warning to wait 48 hours before pushing his limits again. But he's young and eager to impress his mentor and show her just what he can handle, so he goes on a nice little night sprint to check the healing. Definitely not his best idea, Michelle wasn't kidding when she said to wait. Now he's gotten himself into a rather unfortunate captive situation with only one way out: Betray Crackerjack. But she's his idol, he couldn't possibly turn on her. Right?
Diarra's Picks:
Icon vs Hardware #1 - What could be coming between these to defenders of justice? Hardware has ties to the evil corporation, Alva, that caused the Big Bang. He was working for the company when they set off experimental tear gas that killed many and gave others, like Static Shock, superpowers, and they framed him for the creation of the gas. He and Icon have both had their battles with Alva, but after picking up alien signatures in Alva’s latest products, Hardware has been researching Icon. Turns out, the spaceship Icon arrived in, centuries ago, has been in Alva’s possession and finally being used after years of study. Hardware steals it to get a closer look and finds years of research and a time machine! This was a mission to find means to destroy alien tech, but with access to a time machine Curtis Metcalf decides to do something more personal first. He travels back to his childhood for answers about his father, and after things get heavy and he thinks he has butterfly effected his past enough to fix his trauma, he finds his past self that worked at Alva. This gets bungled and he ends up killing the CEO. Well, that subtle trip to change the past should make everything a-ok…wrong. Hardware gets back and finds himself CEO of Alva, and has a curious Icon knocking on his door.
Rockstar and Softboy: Go to Space! - There is nothing I love more than everyday problems “In Space”, and this was definitely on my preorder list! Sina Grace makes you want to live in the worlds he creates in these jam-packed one shots, and while “exploring the complex beauties of queer friendship…” he shows you what two BFFs really look like. This issue the two friends get into relationships with The Venue Brothers, two red headed hotties who have quite a bit of pull in town. Things start off awesome, but when The Bros’ get upset by a joke Softboy makes on a red carpet, they black list the two across LA. With nothing to do and nowhere to go, they realize if they can’t make it on earth, they’d try space! These two don’t plan to tuck their tails and run and they will make their way back, but it’s the journey they take through worlds that is the true magic. Whether it’s their apartment, some expensive trip with new boyfriends, or a bar on the moon, there is nothing Rockstar and Softboy can’t do when they are together. Grace always dives deeper into the characters and himself at the end of every issue, and this personal tough adds so much more!
Swamp Thing: Green Hell #2 - This long awaited second issue does not disappoint! We know Swampy is not pumped Constantine resurrected him, and once you see the sweet set up he has, you’d totally understand. Swamp Thing threatens to kill John for ripping him from his family and demands his return, but he refuses and explains the dire situation Earth is facing. Swamp Thing wants to stay retired but after John informs him, the only way he’ll send him back was if he spoke to the council, he had no choice but to agree. The council, on the other hand, were not pleased to see him and when he said they were being dicks for killing off the human race they did not take it well and stripped him of his connection to The Green. Swamp Thing is double pissed and returns to Earth but finds Constantine is in the wind. Stuck on Earth, he knows he can’t just sit by while people are murdered plus he knows his family would want him to do the right thing so he suits up, but with his power to The Green severed how long can he keep this up? He at least hopes until John shows up again, but as it turns out John is off requesting some aid for this fight to save mankind from a woman that’s all animal!
K's Picks:
Nightcrawlers #1 - Things are getting wild in the new universe claimed by Sinister! Let's cut straight to the hard stuff first because this is something I think needs to be addressed - I love the idea of The Legion Of The Night! A group of mutated characters with cool Nightcrawler powers is really dope. It's the selling point of the issue but I'm bummed it's very short lived. Some of them stay around but I feel like the very idea was sidelined and underutilized. Sinister's Assassin team was created and destroyed in a matter of two pages flat, it sucks, but it is what it is. We have a goal in mind and a ally in Mother Righteous and Banshee, two individuals who resisted the tyrannical influence of Sinister. With all that in mind, there's a whole lot going on, especially with the insane fights all across the Marvel Universe against Sinister's genetic army. Righteous has a game plan to use the Remaining Crawlers to steal items wielded by gods, but I wonder what use they'd do with something like Mjonir or the Darkhold? I really liked it despite the lack of more Crawlers and I love the gimmick with the passage of time. It seems a little early for things to be turning around but we'll see next time!
Mary Jane and Black Cat #3 - Limbo has its grasp on MJ and Black Cat, and it doesn't seem like it's going to let go so easily. The Dark Web has finally come to a close, but the influence upon other heroes still persists. Usually when a event ends, it feels like it had little weight on the overarching story and it's interconnecting side bits. I'm more than happy to see this run is deeply rooted into the effects of Dark Web. The girls are partnered up with a demonic friend/enemy in S'YM, their guide in Limbo. His character is really cool! I love the banter among he group and it's a real treat see Mary Jane get snappy with a giant purple Devil. Everything seems pretty chill until you remember MJ and Black Cat got some issues. I mean, not just being trapped in a hellscape dimension issues. They've got Peter Parker issues that've been eating at Black Cat since this journey began, and it seems we might see some progression on that thread next issue? There's a lot going on but hopefully we get to see what in the hell is going on with MJs powers because I'm still lost and in need of an explanation! Confusion on powers aside, I really enjoyed the art style and dialogue this issue. I'm in need of a lot of answers, especially when it comes to what the hell this Peter thread is going to create for the future of MJ's and Cat's friendship. Definitely check this out I really enjoyed the writing and crazy demon designs this time around!
Rick and Morty V. Cthulhu #3 - A very strange and wild turn this week but I can't say I'm not interested. My fears about the writing have not been fully realized and I appreciate that it still feels like a fun ride, so far! We focus less on the Dagon and Morty side of things and more on Rick's interactions with the grander story. We get to finally see how Rick survived getting destroyed and I'm not really upset with the explanation and route they took. I feel like there are some writing choices that seem a little darker and kind of unfortunate, with recent light about behind the scenes franchise stuff. The creator and material of Lovecraft is already a wild thing to get into but it feels like the story is reflecting a bit. Hopefully, the final issue doesn't do a complete tone shift. Also...DAMN the next issue is the last and I'm really pumped to see what's in store for the conclusion!