Saturday, September 7, 2019

Friday Slice of Heaven, Slice into the Woods 9/7/2019

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/friend of the four-day weekend Tulip (my dog, Reverse Obie’s sister). For a three-day workweek, this past week was pretty darn hectic, so we’re going to keep the intro short as we need to get some grub for the corporate office (aka…Mom’s basement). Anyhow, take a breath, let your shoulders relax, grab a refreshing water (or a beer or two) and some kale chips (or delicious tortilla chips and salsa), sit back, and afterward check out 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

House of X #4

(Written by Jonathan Hickman, illustrated by Pepe Larraz, colored by Marte Gracia, lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles, design by Tom Muller, published by Marvel Comics)

I am still immensely captivated by this 12-issue Marvel Comics “Event” series. We have moved into the second half of the story with no drop in quality, no expansion into dozens of other—and oftentimes unrelated—titles, no ever-changing artist lineups, and not a single delayed issue. Yeah, I’m as confused as you are, but why question a good thing? And what a good thing this event is. Now, at the back of each issue is a “Reading Order” page that also highlights three key issues in red: House of X #2 (and boy howdy did this one rock our socks off), House of X #5, and the final issue in the event Powers of X #6. What is shocking to me is that after reading this issue, it kind of seems like it should have been one of the red-highlighted issues, as some unexpected and brutal things happen. There’s no way I’m going to spoil it for you—it’s only the seventh issue in the event, after all—but if Hickman doesn’t count this as a major occurrence, then I’m positively terrified of what HoX #5 and PoX #6 have in store for us. Anyhow, you need to be reading this event and I can’t wait to binge read the entire series again once it concludes on October 9th. I’m really hoping the hardcover collection is oversized so I can slide it onto my favorite bookshelf come December.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Doomsday Clock #11

(Written by Geoff Johns, illustrated by Gary Frank, colored by Brad Anderson, lettered by Rob Leigh, published by DC Comics)

After what happened in the previous issue, I…wait a minute…what did exactly happen in issue #10? I honestly don’t really remember. Sure, I know I absolutely dug it, but the particulars completely escape me. Something happened to Superman in that issue, but for the life of me, I have no idea what that was. It was almost three months between issues and we had just moved to our new home, so it’s all a big blank. I could go back and read the issue, but I’m going to hold off on a big reread until after the final issue drops…hopefully before the end of 2019. As for the story, Ozymandias reveals quite a bit of what he has been up to, Lex Luthor is figuring out what has gone wrong, Mime and Marionette finally reappear, as does Rorschach, Black Adam arrives at the White House, and Superman and Dr. Manhattan meet. I’m still loving every bit of this series and this issue does not disappoint in either Johns’s story or Frank’s lovely art, and even with the lengthy delays between issues and my memory gaps regarding what has happened from issue to issue, the revelations, intensity of the situations, and my need to see how it all ends has me eagerly awaiting the final issue.

VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Absolute Carnage #2

(Written by Donny Cates, illustrated by Ryan Stegman, inked by JP Mayer, colored by Frank Martin, published by Marvel Comics)
Phew! That wasn’t that long of a wait. I think my LCS was shorted most of the copies of Marvel’s other “Event” comic that I am totally enjoying—although, this one does branch out into a bunch of other series and one-shots that I am not reading. Stegman’s art is off-the-charts gorgeous especially when things get downright scary for Venom, Spider-Man, and especially for Mac Gargan the Scorpion. I love the vying for control between Carnage and Norman Osborn and this much-touted event leaves me desperate to see what happens next as Carnage continues to claim Codex after Codex.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

The Immortal Hulk #22

(Written by Al Ewing; illustrated by Joe Bennett, inked by Ruy José with Belardino Brabo, colored by Paul Mounts with Matt Milla, lettered by VC’s Cory Petit; published by Marvel Comics)

General Fortean has become the new, new Abomination and although it’s only him and some of his highly trained forces against the Hulk, his crew of Gamma “friends,” and some of the members of Alpha Flight, the scales are very much tipped in favor of the bad guys. The Hulk is a f_ing monster that is certain to give you nightmares—dang, that final full-page splash—and this series continues to get better and better. Plus, what the hell is the deal with this ghastly version of Rick Jones that is floating around and melting things with his gamma-irradiated hands? Even if you’ve never been a fan of the Hulk, you need to be reading this thrilling horror comic and you can do that with the soon-to-be four available trades.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!