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August 2023 Independent Comics I Love

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Introduction

I scheduled this article for yesterday. Then, yesterday required me to pick up Aiden from soccer, make dinner (I thought for two days), and record Episode 1 of the reboot of the reboot of 2 Guys Gaming podcast. Then, Quinn and I planned to camp tonight and tomorrow night. But, I screwed that up and apparently never booked the site. So, we are home and I am writing the August 2023 independent comics article.

I mean, this week already went through a few iterations. The end of the summer always messes with me and my timing. Finally, I settled on making it the comics week and moving some other things around. With DC Comics on a “Knight Terrors” break, I luckily received a DC Manga Sampler and that gave me plenty to discuss. This article continues the trend of Spawn Universe and TMNT.

Gunslinger Spawn #23

Writer: Uncle Todd. Artist: Brett Booth. A coupel of issues ago when I picked this book up and started reading it, I infered (or outright said), “Violator fighting a T-Rex? What more do you want?” Well, a couple of issues later, I can’t exactly answer that question other than with, well, “More.” This story thudded back to the ground in this issue. The pacing felt off, I noticed at least one typo, and the writing just comes off as rushed. My Verdict: Decent

King Spawn #25

Writer: Uncle Todd. Artist: Javi Fernandez. Up until now, this one topped my list of the Spawniverse titles. Granted, it still does, but with Scorched oddly not showing up in my box this month, that list reads as much shorter. And, this one suffers from the same rushed feeling as Gunslinger this month. I noticed a typo in this one, too, and the Spawn/Clown routine leaves me wondering what the heck is happening right now. Perhaps they bit off more than they can chew. I’ll chalk it up to growing pains right now. My verdict: Decent.

Spawn #344

Writer: Rory McConville. Artist: Carlo Barberi. This one actually anchored the Spawniverse this month. I think it’s been quite a while since we could say that. Sure, it insists on dragging the Heaven/Hell war out. Some people might be into that. I am not. Other than that, though, it explains Spawn’s actions in King Spawn and sets up for his intervention to hopefully end Heaven’s and Hell’s machination for the forseeable future. Maybe Scorched fills in some of the details, too, and that’s what I’m missing this month. My verdict: Good.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #142

Writer: Sophie Campbell (with Story Consulting by Kevin Eastman. Artist: Gavin Smith. I wrote that the book took a bit of a dip after Armageddon Game. It was to be expected. That story ramped things up to 11 (or maybe even 12 or 13) and anything after, by comparison, seems tame. Well, it didn’t take long for them to start ratcheting things up again. I blew through this book because the pacing felt so urgent. The turtles deal with the after effects of Armageddon Game and feel the family fracturing a bit as a result. Sophie Campbell just knows how to write this book. I can’t wait for next month. My verdict: Good, bordering on Great.

The Verdict

August 2023 Independent Comics fell off a bit from previous months. The Spawn books, other than the main title, felt rushed and up against a deadline. But, TMNT more than made up for the drop in quality. That book alone makes me excited for what’s coming in September.

Spawn covers taken from Image comics website.

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June 2023 Independent Comics I Love

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Introduction

As mentioned several times in articles and podcast episodes, my wife, Liam, and I went to Germany for Liam’s high school graduation. I got the idea from talking to a student who went to Disney for theirs. I thought, why not give our kids a chance at a trip of their choice when they graduate. Well, he immediately knew that he wanted to go to Germany. In spite of the length of the trip, I kept the page going with the “From the Vault” series in which I reposted a few articles from our past. And, now, I return live with June 2023 independent comics I love.

But, before that, I enjoyed the trip very much. We traveled to three countries, saw countless historical and natural wonders, and already started to plan the next trip. We either intend to travel to other countries in central Europe or finally cross the UK off our list. I think it will be the UK and then the other countries in five or so years. We plan to go domestic and then overseas for about 5-9 years until we can work for the Department of Defense and live over there for a bit. But, none of that has to do with comics. So, on with the reviews.

Just one of the many post card quality photos I took during our time there.

“Spawniverse”

These indpendent articles usually only contain Spawn and, on occasion, a random independent comic that accidentally got sent to me or one that I ordered on a whim. Every now and then, I remember one of Chris’s recommendations and order that. Well, this (and future) articles are only different in that I put all four of the Spawn’s Universe comics on my pull list. I also added TMNT after Armageddon game. Hey, I’m branching out!

Note: Spawn pictures taken from Image Comics.

Gunslinger Spawn #21

Writer: Uncle Todd, Artist: Brett Booth

I think when I mentioned to Chris that after I learned about the new Spawn related titles, he said something about enjoying Gunslinger. If so, then I 100% agree. I broke my X-Men rule for these books and just dove right in without any backstory. This issue captured me from the first page. Gunslinger and his accomplice ride dinosaurs into battle against Maelbolgia and Vindicator. Hell yes. The rest of the book tells the story of how they arrived at that battle. I’m looking forward to this one next month. My verdict: Great.

King Spawn #23

Writer: Sean Lewis with Uncle Todd as additional script, Artist: Kevin Keane

I recognized immediately that this book’s story follwed the “Dark Horror” arc from the main title. That’s my favorite Spawn arc of the last decade and is in my top 10 for comics arcs since I started collecting again. I might even say top 5. Quick analysis and I can’t think of many more that I enjoyed as much as that one. While this arc only peripherally contains story elements from that arc, it still gave me enough of that story to push it into the top tier for these books. My verdict: Great.

Scorched #19

Writer: Sean Lewis with Uncle Todd as additional script, Artist: Stephen Segovia

She-Spawn is dead. What the hell? We’re only 19 issues into this thing and one of the cover characters is already dead? Well, okay, let’s see what it’s about anyway. The book is fine. I like the characters on the team and look forward to seeing how they interact when they’re not stressed out because one of them is “dead”. I figured that out pretty quickly. Also, the story felt kind of lukewarm and a bit to obvious for me. Overall, a decent introduction and I’ll read the other issues to see how we got here and if it changes my mind at all. My verdict: Good.

Spawn #342

Writer: Rory McConville with Uncle Todd as additional script, Artist: Carlo Barberi

I think I mentioned in a previous article that the new focus on the war between Heaven and Hell leaves me underwhelmed. I get that’s the main theme behind the book. That doesn’t mean I have to like it. I’ll admit that this issue added a wrinkle that made it more interesting. Having bought nearly an entire run of the book 3 times, I intend to keep collecting and reading. I just hope they give us a different arc soon. My verdict: Good.

TMNT #140 (After Armageddon)

Writer: Sophia Campbell with Kevin Eastman as story consultant, Artist: Gavin Smith, Image from Previews World.

I thought the book might suffer from a bit of a let down after such a long an ambitious even. While there is some of that, the book sets us up nicely for the next arc. I can’t think of a reason I never collected the Turtles before this, but I think it had to do with the book being called “gritty” or some such nonsense. I do remember Chris wanting to go off on the podcast when they teased “killing” one of the turtles several years ago. But, I’m glad they hooked me with the event and I plan to keep collecting and fill in the back issues that I can. My verdict: Good.

The Verdict

Those are the June 2023 independent comics I love. Overall, the future of all of these series looks bright to me and I look forward to filling in some of the back stories. When I said earlier that I fell into a Spawn rabbit hole, that means that I tried to track down all of the back issues of those books. I succeeded in finding all but maybe 3 or 4 of them. Now, as I say, my focus becomes The Turtles. Tell me about some of the June 2023 independent comics you love in th ecomments.

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Independent Comics I Love April 2023

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Introduction

I last wrote a comics review just over 2 years ago. According to the headline of that one, March of 2021. What bring them back, suddenly, almost two years to the day? Why does anything happen around here? I get an idea, bake it about half way, then unleash it on an unsuspecting public. And, so, Independent Comics I Love April 2023.

When I started writing (remember the half baked part), I wondered if April 2023 represented the actual release date of these comics. I receive an automatically pulled list of comics from Discount Comic Book Service every month. So, while these comics arrived on my doorstep at the end of April, they very well could have been released as long ago as January or February and I’d never know the difference.

Note: Some research led me to the conclusion that all of these comics have April release dates. So, score one for the good guys.

Code Name Ric Flair Magic Eightball (Scout Comics)

(James Haick III – Writer, Raphael Loureiro – Artist) I noticed this comic in my news feed, perhaps, a couple of months ago. I remember that I texted Chris about it in some form or fashion. He showed no interest if I remember correctly. Me, on the other hand, as a wrestling geek from a young age, I knew that I had to have the book. After reading it, what can I say? Ric Flair, noted womanizer, alcoholic, and drug addict is given a pass by the book. All of the man’s very human flaws are written off as necessary to his secret life as a double agent. I never expected great literature out of this book, but it could have been handled so differently and much better. I think the book is supposed to be read as satire. Maybe that’s me giving it too much credit. Because, if so, the satire is clumsy.

Spawn #340 (Image Comics)

(Rory McConville – Writer with Uncle Todd given “additional script” credit, Carlo Barberi – Artist) I never read Spawn for the story. Sure, I enjoyed the story, but I never read the book because of the story. Todd McFarlane, and later Greg Capullo, Philip Tan, and Angel Medina, draw such a detailed and rich universe that I can’t help but be drawn into it. The story, while very good in parts, rarely was the driving force behind the book for me. That changed a few years ago when I started collecting again. I loved the Dark Horror story and then slogged through some of the stories after that where Spawn becomes a terrorist agent because the US government was infiltrated by demons or something. I

loved issue 300 and the promised “reboot” of Spawn’s powers. Then things went up and down. Finally, I stopped writing reviews for some reason or another. The point of this all is that I don’t know how I feel about this story. Again, I love the art. But, this story of Spawn and Haunt infiltrating heaven feels a little too much like the Enemy of the State story. Who knows? Maybe if I read some of the back issues I neglected, it makes more sense. Stay tuned.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #139 (IDW Publishing)

(Sophie Campbell – Writer with additional credit to Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz, Fero Pe – Artist) I need to come clean and admit I haven’t read this on yet. I texted Chris a couple of months ago. While perusing the comics at That’s Entertainment, I found the TMNT Armageddon Game imprint and started flipping through the issues. They hooked me with the story, but not having had time until now to sit down and read the books, I don’t want to spoil the story for me. But, consider this a success that instead of simply one book on my independent reading list (Spawn), I now have three for this month.

The Verdict

Admittedly, my return to review writing with independent comics I love April 2023 is a bit rocky. Two books that didn’t live up to expectation and one that I haven’t even read yet. But, I plan to catch up on Spawn to try to get hyped for the next couple of issues. I also need to read the Armageddon Game to see if that one lives up to the hype I created in my head. Until Wednesday, fellow comic fans!