Welcome back, Donist World Denizens! For those of you new to our site, I’m Donist, and I am joined by Donist World CFO the Reverse Obie* (my friends’ Boston terrier whose fur recently swapped colors) and by our marketing director/administrative assistant/party planner/Yes-we-saw-it Tulip (my dog, Reverse Obie’s sister). Good morning/afternoon/evening and welcome back. Yup. We saw
Avengers: Endgame, after a spicy chicken and bacon melt and a couple of beers at Hollister Brewing Company, of course. We loved it and that's all we're going to say about it. The crazy thing is that I make these Marvel Studios releases somewhat of a personal holiday, my own personal tradition. Here’s how it plays out: I take the Friday of release off of work, watch the previous movie in the morning, take my puppy executive team for a walk, sneak out after distracting them because dogs are not allowed in the movie theater, hit up Hollister Brewing, see the movie, and come home pretending I didn’t see the movie so Tulip and Reverse Obie don’t get their feelings hurt. After that, it’s business as usual until the next movie drops. So, grab a tasty beer and some pizza, run out to see
Avengers: Endgame, sit back, relax, and afterward read some great comics. Thank you for reading!
*Obie, through his dabbling in arcane magics mixed with ancient corrupt business practices, has had not just the colors of his fur switched, but a complete overhaul of his work ethic as well…I think I’m kinda okay with the mishap.
***Possible Spoilers Below***
Friday Slice of Heaven
(Written by Jeff Lemire, illustrated by Dustin Nguyen, lettered and designed by Steve Wands, edited by Will Dennis, published by Image Comics)
When I first heard that
Descender was ending, I felt disbelief, then a little panicky, then I got angry, then I settled into sadness, and finally acceptance; I hit almost all of the stages. My favorite comic on the shelves was ending and I did not know what I’d do without it. So, I read and continued to be thrilled with each remaining issue as it dropped and was blown away by the ending, but was left with many questions…until I saw the solicit for
Ascender. Praise be.
Where
Descender was a sprawling, sci-fi space opera centered around robots and technology,
Ascender switches gears with a universe now void of tech as magic rises to take its place and new—and some old—characters become the focal point of the story.
Ascender is a semi-change in genre to a fantasy world where “ships” are actually living creatures (dragon-like monsters that require feeding) and the sorcerous might of the witch known as “Mother” holds the universes in her sway. Mila, the protagonist of the series, is the daughter of Andy (once a feared Scrapper) and Effie (the half human, half robotic Queen Between) and is very much bored with her father’s isolationist mentality and his refusal to make their lives easier by bending slightly to Mother’s will. But, Mila’s boredom looks to end with the mysterious arrival of one of my favorite characters from
Descender.
I fell in love with the first half of this epic adventure with but a few pages of the first issue, a love that carried all the way through to
Descender’s end. That same love is repeated with the second half,
Ascender, as well. Lemire and Nguyen’s tale promises conflict and tragedy and glory and adventure all rolled in a new, positively gorgeous, watercolored fantasy package that I can’t wait to explore. All of that said, although you can probably dive into this issue without having read what came before, I STRONGLY encourage that you experience the wondrous
Descender first, which you can do with the
six readily available trades.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
(Written by Cullen Bunn, illustrated by Iban Coello, colored by Andres Mossa, lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles, published by Marvel Comics)
I know some of you are thinking, wait, where’s Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman? Well, apparently, their working on something else for two or three issues, while this “War of the Realms” event is going on. Granted, I am not reading this event, but knowing that Bunn is involved (I LOVE his
The Sixth Gun) told me that everything would be fine. And it is. There are ice giants and dark elves and fire monsters running around, and Eddie Brock is without the aid of his symbiote’s great power to even the odds. Unfortunately, Brock can’t let the forces of evil’s injustices go unpunished. Thankfully, a mystical crystal might even the odds a bit, but the same might be true for someone with a particular score to settle against Brock. Coello is a strong standin for Stegman, and Bunn’s story made what could have otherwise been your typical “Event” filler issue into something that was quite exciting indeed.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
(Written by Ed Brubaker, illustrated by Sean Phillips, colored by Jacob Phillips, published by Image Comics)
This iteration of
Criminal looks to tell a complete story in every one or two issues. At times, characters we have met throughout the comic’s thirteen-year span come in and out while introducing new characters along the way. Here we join Ricky Lawless after a five-day crystal bender and planning to hit a check cashing operation when a local tough guy interrupts Ricky’s sleep-deprived hallucinations. Let’s just say…things go bad. If you’ve read any of the
seven delightful noir Criminal trades, then you know you’re about to embark on one of the best crime comics of all time.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
(Written by Gene Luen Yang, illustrated by Stephen Segovia, colored by Photobunker, lettered by Tom Napolitano, published by DC Comics)
Confession time: I had resolved to drop
The Terrifics once Jeff Lemire had left the book. Fortunately, I had forgotten to inform my LCS of this decision and this issue appeared in my pull. I decided to be nice and bought it anyway; I’m glad I did. I was unaware that Yang, creator of American Born Chinese, was the writer and that The Terrifics were in good hands. This story is fun and ridiculous in the best of ways with Yang nailing the characters’ voices and personalities while Segovia and Photobunker keep the mood light and fun. So, yeah, my plans to bounce on
The Terrifics are to be delayed. You can definitely use this issue as a jumping on point and will be just fine.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
That’s it, Denizens. Now, go on, scoot! Get out there and check out Avengers: Endgame before some fool spoils it for you. See you next time.
Friday Slice of Heaven, Slice into the Woods 4/26/2019
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