Crème brûlée. Jeff felt like a human crème brûlée. Hot and crusty on the outside and full of a gelatinous goo on the inside. As much as Jeff enjoyed deserts, this was a feeling he wasn’t much of a fan of. He had spent the last few days tossing and turning in a sweat saturated bed as some new tortuous plague ravaged his body.
The Girl in the Bay #1 (Berger Books)
J.M. DeMatteis (W) Corin Howell (A)
I was about to pass up on this but I find it incredibly hard to miss a chance to support Berger Books, and look at this team up. I think this will be another home run for the press.
Red Sonja #1 (Dynamite)
Mark Russell (W) Mirko Colak (A)
Well, Marvel got Conan, but I guess that didn’t include the Red Sonja rights, so guess what? Amazing new series from some talented gents. Honestly, with as similar the characters of Sonja and Conan are, I am interested to see how each writer tackles the characters in their own wildly different ways. I mean Aaron and Russell have insanely different tones. I’m just excited.
Daredevil #1 (Marvel)
Chip Zdarsky (W) Marco Checchetto (A)
IT HAS BEEN DEEMED THE YEAR OF ZDARSKY! Honestly, you know I was down with this series the moment that they announced it. I have absolutely been loving the stuff Zdarsky has been putting out recently, and now he gets to fondle my little red-boi. I am fucking pumped.
Curse Words #20 (Image)
Charles Soule (W) Ryan Browne (A)
I am not looking forward to this book. It will probably be my last issue of this series. I’m sure a lot of people are still enjoying this book and they’re valid in their enjoyment, but man, this book lost something for me I’m sad about it.
Archie 1941 #5 (of 5) (Archie Comics)
Mark Waid/Brian Augustyn (W) Peter Krause (A)
This book has been really good, but honestly, I wonder if the fact that it’s an “Archie” book held it back or helped drive home the story. I think it could have stood as a miniseries on its own, but I also feel like some of the character building was held up by our previous knowledge of the characters and their relationships. Anyway, read this book.
Avengers #14 (Marvel)
Jason Aaron (W) David Marquez (A)
Uh, Vampire war! Cause you know, Blade and stuff. I feel like this book is accomplishing the balls to the wall fun that Jason Aaron always wants to produce. I dig it.
Justice League #17 (DC)
Scott Snyder (W) Jim Cheung (A)
The annual for this book was fucking intense. It was a whole lot more than I was expecting and honestly, it may have changed my mind about this book.
Sword Daughter #6 (Dark Horse)
Brian Wood (W) Mack Chater (A)
I really love how this book is shaping up. The change in tone and storytelling from the first arc to the second is impressive and definitely keeps me holding on. I wonder how long this series will last because if they continue with the time jumps, it could have a really honest, fulfilling three act structure.
Cemetery Beach #6 (of 7) (Image)
Warren Ellis (W) Jason Howard (A)
This book is a Warren Ellis fever dream, I’m pretty sure. He woke up in a panic, drenched in sweat, mumbling about a colony on the moon and wrote this book.
Tony Stark: Iron Man #8 (Marvel)
Dan Slott (W) Valerio Schiti (A)
The age old question. If I get hammered in virtual reality, am I like, actually drunk? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to ask myself that.
Batman #64 (DC)
Joshua Williamson (W) Guillem March (A)
This marks the first issue of a four issue crossover with The Flash. After the incredible crossover that was The Button, I cannot wait to see what this one is all about.
Snap Flash Hustle #2 (of 4) (Black Mask)
Pat Shand (W) Emily Pearson (A)
The first issue of this book was recommended to me by my local comic shop guru. He has yet to fail me. This book is incredible and you should really give it a chance.
The Dreaming #6 (Vertigo)
Simon Spurrier (W) Bilquis Evely (A)
This book is wonderful and heartbreaking like the song of a caged bird. It really holds up to the complex and lovely standard of the Sandman books. That’s massive praise.
The Wrong Earth #6 (Ahoy)
Tom Peyer (W) Jamal Ingle (A)
The first “season” is ending and I can breath a sigh of relief because I was pretty sure this book was ending when I didn’t see any solicitations for it. Yay.
The Green Lantern #4 (DC)
Grant Morrison (W) Liam Sharpe (A)
This book has the strangest tone of any of the superhero comics out right now. I know, surprising. It’s like a tongue in cheek look at policing, campy sci-fi, and space operas all in one. It’s solid and strange and kinda goofy.
The Immortal Hulk #13 (Marvel)
Al Ewing (W) Joe Bennett (A)
Fucking read this book, Goddammit. What is wrong with you?
Conan the Barbarian #3 (Marvel)
Jason Aaron (W) Mahmud Asrar (A)
I fucking love Conan, and this book brings back all those little warm fuzzies I get when I read the Robert E. Howard stuff. Sure, nothing will hold a candle to the originals, but this does a solid job of showing it’s appreciation for it.
Die #3 (Image)
Kieron Gillen (W) Stephanie Hans (A)
Not only do you get an amazing comic with this book, but you get some extremely insightful meditation on tabletop gaming if you read the back-matter. One of my favorite things about reading this book is reading what Gillen has to say about developing his own game system. Fucking shocker, the dude who writes a weekly article about comics is a big fucking dork.
With one wet, snorting grunt, Jeff rolled over and reached for the water on his bedside table. An impossible pain wracked his left side. Convulsions tore through his body and soon he was choking on his tongue. As quickly as it had come on, the shaking had ended, leaving Jeff disoriented and in a panic. It was then his arm slid off. It landed on the floor with a sick plop. In shock Jeff reached for the stump where the arm had been, only to feel teeth. That was impossible, this was a hallucination. There was no…. His eyes caught a glimpse of a warped face protruding from his shoulder blade. Jeff passed out immediately.
