By the time this hits I'm already in my 5 HOURS train to Berlin for the 5th Year Anniversary event!
So you better say hi to me if you see me there. I TOOK A FIVE HOUR TRAIN.
Wait, you don't know what I'm talking about? WCS is celebrating its birthday with what you might call a mini Comic Con, with the illustrious presence of Christian Ward, Jonas Scharf, Filipe Andrade and Omar from Near Mint Condition.
The last batch of tickets are still available (hopefully, if not this warning this section will self-destruct in 5..4..).
You have 24h to get yourself up to speed and join us there. If Jack Bauer can do it, so can you! What else is going on on Saturday? You know it. FOC. (3…)
(I'm spitting out early 2000s peak-tv references so you know this millennial woke up ready to rumble today. You're lucky I can't fit a The O.C. reference in this. Yet!)
(2 ... 1..) LET'S GO!
Ultimate Spider-Man #22
The description for this reads THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF [REDACTED]!
What are you going to do to my precious little family Hickman? If I had a nickel for every time Peter Parker died in an alternative universe line called Ultimate.. I had two nickels but it's weird it happened twice (This joke might be old, this joke might be cringe but you know what else this joke is? No, this two things cover it very well).
Well, we have confirmation the Ultimate titles are mostly all ending with the forthcoming Ultimate Endgame - and we don't know exactly how or if they are continuing or most importantly, what the creative teams will be.
But what is clear is how we're approaching the finish line for Hickman's take on Ultimate Spidey, or dare I say, his take on the whole Spider-Man line. The book has been a slowburn puzzle unboxing disguised as a family portrait - and that's why I don't think he's going to do the same thing that was already done before nor do I think he's going for shock value. I think whatever this redacted spoiler ends up being, it will make sense for his now 2-year-old thesis on the character.
Or I could be wrong. Let's find out together.
I wrote more about my thoughts and trips on this new Ultimate experience on Beyond The Panels if you fancy that kinda of thing (please do).
Batman / Superman: World's Finest #44
Mark Waid's World's Finest is simply the most endearing love-letter available anywhere right now. The title is a fresh yet recognizable ensemble piece of the early days of our favorite straight bromance. Waid nails the tone for both the characters in a way that only people who have been reading DC all their lives can do.
And Dan Mora pretty much solidified how DC looks in the 2020s in this book. And the fun thing for me is how the title is easily accessible for people picking up for the first time as seasonal readers, a thing a lot of books tend to claim to be on their cover but this actually being the case. It's throwback but also influences the current-line and pays homage to things from the past, and in all this salad, makes you understand the love for the DC as a publishing house and makes you want to pick up more titles while also being totally confident in being the only title you pick up. It even let Waid play around with Kingdom Come again.
All that babbling to say that it aloud of my favorite newish relationships to have a spotlight, and that's Dick Grayson Robin and Supergirl. They did a first date kind of one-shot earlier in the run and it was probably the best issue DC published this decade. It's just such a pleasure to read. So nice to see how characters so core to the lead guys' lines intersect. It works all the way back into being essential information about Bats and Sups dynamics and why they are such a dynamic duo (well, one of them).
Endearing, endearing and endearing is the word I can't keep out of my mouth. So they know they struck gold and we have them back in this issue. It looks like a perfect one-time pick up so you can test out if this book is for you. I promise you, you will fall in love with these two.
The trick is you might find yourself in love with DC in the process. (don't blame me if it doubles your pulls in 1 year).
Alien vs. Captain America #1
I used to write these company-IP salads off but Avengers vs. Avengers fliped my opinion.
I've been kinda obsessed with this (as evident by the Harley Quinn and Elvira thing I told about a few weeks ago). Frank Tieri and Stefano Raffaele are bringing the fun to Steve Rogers. There's something about the whole WWII Howling Commandos imagery and Alien that screams perfection to me. Alien has always been the best when it sticks to the slasher last one to survive, and Steve books love giving him despicable things to punch. You know Steve is gonna give these mother-fuckers a run for their money (do aliens use any currency? if they accept cards they are miles ahead of Germany already).
1776 #1 and Synthetics Volume One #1
It's a Straczynski week! And no, that's not one of the covid vaccines. (The bad jokes are pilling up!). J. Michael Straczynski (the famous writer of Spider-Man, Thor and Babylon 5 (I warned you the tv nerd was up today) has two new series on FOC this week and they for sure show a range.
If you like his Marvel work, check out 1776! And you guessed, Marvel heroes are going back to the past to protect the founding father of America. Wait.. are they doing this? Yep. Man, that sounds to me, as I'm sure to many non-Americans and even most Americans, like a tough sell.
But it intrigues me, because the latest Captain America by Straczynski was very good, continuing to explore pertinent questions while carrying the trademark of a seasoned comics writer .So while most of the reactions to this are “oh boy”, maybe, just maybe there's something cooking here.
What I'm 100% backing though is his new indie work with Tony Parker from Dark Horse, Synthetics Volume One #1 (I love when titles give me extra numbering. If it says “season 1” I go nuts yelling around with fireworks).
It's about a future world full of “dead zones” where we either form gangs to vent about what we lost or go on cyberspace to distract. So, 2025. But we're blade running this with a new form of human Synthetics. Look, it sounds like you've seen that but I love Babylon 5 so getting J.M.Stra back to sci-fi will catch my attention and if you ask me the entertainment world does not have enough Blade Runner knockoffs these days like we had in the past. And again, a seasoned writer that has proven himself more than enough, we take a look.
→ Pre-order Synthetics Volume One #1 here
The Beauty #1
This series by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley was kind of an underrated gem when it was being published by Image Comics the last decade.
It's about a S.T.D (sexually transmissible disease) outbreak, but instead of giving you a trip to look in the mirror to contemplate your life, it gives you a trip to the mirror to just be stunned at your beauty. Yeah, a STD that makes people a more conventionally attractive version of themselves. Of course there's a small print about having this fever and dying horribly. But that's a price a lot of people might pay. It's one of those “different facets of a society” story spinning off a sci-fi concept. And with The Substance being the talk of the town on last year's Oscars, it's back with a new volume by the same creators.
It's also getting adapted as a series by Ryan Murphy for FX this year. And if there's anything Ryan Murphy nails it, it's getting pretty people to suffer on scream for our delights. That and the relaunch is the center pin around of the release of Ignition Press, a new comic publisher that launched last week with Murder Podcast (kinda self explanatory, available in the store!) and had tons of creator line-up for new indie series, like Tim Seeley and Stefano Simeone's No Place, Roy and Inaki Miranda's Arcadia, Cullen Bun and Marika Cresta's Deluge, Leah Williams and David Baldeón's Voyeur and Stephanie Williams and Letizia Cadonici's Roots of Madness.
I love some of the creators here and I love getting myself into new publishers. So, perfect chance.
That's it for this week. Remember that we accept pre-orders up until 4pm on Saturday. So if you find me at the event, I will be yelling “HEAR YE, HEAR YE, 1 HOUR TILL FOC, 1 HOUR TILL FOC!” like a British twink soldier announcing the king's procession.
If you have any doubts, send Heiko (our single issue's main dude) an email and he will answer all your doubts. I'll probably meet Heiko that day too and I hope he doesn't yell “YOU ARE THE GUY SENDING ALL THESE PEOPLE INTO MY DMS??” at me.
See ya,
Math.
