Comics Discourse 114

It’s another Top of the Stack episode featuring our recent comic book reads. Or is it?

First, we cover the good, the bad, and the ugly of comic book events as we discuss Spider-Man: Death Spiral, Superman: Kingdom of Zod, and Batman: Bad Seed.

Then it’s back to our usual Top of the Stack as we dive into a whole bunch of books from DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Oni Press, Archie Comics, Image Comics, IDW Publishing, and Abrams.2

Our reads include Emperor Aquaman, Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees Halloween Special, Sabrina the Teenage Witch Compact Edition, Bug Wars, Corpse Knight, The Last Driver, Doctor Strange: Endless Nightmare, Daredevil, and Clayface: Celebrity Dirt.

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In Marvel Fanfare 13, we reach the action-packed conclusion of the Black Widow storyline!

Natasha finally discovers who has been pulling the strings, and you’ll never believe it! Trust us, you won't.

The Black Widow story is brought to us by Ralph Macchio and George Pérez, with Pérez on pencils and John Beatty and Brett Breeding on inks.

In the backup, we travel to Asgard for “Ballad of the Warriors Three.” Idunn sends Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg on a quest to find her missing husband, Bragi, the god of poetry. What follows is a very different kind of Marvel story, with absolutely gorgeous artwork by Charles Vess.

The backup is written by Alan Zelenetz with art by Charles Vess.

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We continue our celebration of spooky season with one of DC Comics' most powerful and vengeful spirits, The Spectre!

We dive into issues #1–7 of the legendary The Spectre series by John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake.

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In Marvel Fanfare 12, the web tightens around the Black Widow!

Natasha has six assassins trying to kill her, including Iron Maiden, and she’s going to have to fight her way through all of them! With a little help from S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jimmy Woo, the Widow turns the tables on her attackers, but another assassin is waiting in the wings.

The Black Widow story is brought to us by Ralph Macchio and George Pérez, with Pérez on pencils and Al Milgrom on inks.

Then it’s Assistant Editors’ Month! Ann Nocenti and Roger Stern take over Marvel Fanfare and somehow Captain America gets dragged into the insanity. “Marvel Annfare” is written by Stern from an idea by Nocenti, with art by Al Milgrom.

And finally, this issue features a portfolio from Rick Leonardi!

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Halloween season is here, and we’re diving into some new horror comics from Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and Ignition Press! Find out which books we loved, which ones we liked, and which ones didn’t quite win us over.

We kick things off with Marvel’s new Midnight line, featuring Midnight Fantastic Four by Benjamin Percy and Kev Walker, Midnight Spider-Man by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and ScieTronc, and Midnight X-Men by Jonathan Hickman and Matteo Della Fonte.

From DC Comics’ Next Level initiative, we discuss The Demon, written and illustrated by James Harren, and Jonah Hex and the Shadow of Death, written and illustrated by Michael Walsh.

Finally, we turn to Ignition Press for Dinner Date by Joanne Starer and Khary Randolph, and 12-Foot Skeleton by Aaron Campbell, Tim Seeley, and Ben Templesmith.

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In Marvel Fanfare 11, the Black Widow is back in the U.S.S.R.!

Natasha goes undercover in Russia searching for Ivan, but this is the Black Widow, so things don’t exactly go according to plan. Before long she’s on the run from the KGB, heading to Hong Kong, and facing a colorful collection of assassins hired to take her out.

The story is brought to us by Ralph Macchio and George Pérez, with Pérez on pencils and Joe Sinnott and Jack Abel on inks.

In the backup, we reach the end of our journey through The Jungle Book. Jo Duffy adapts Rudyard Kipling, with Gil Kane on pencils and P. Craig Russell on inks.

And finally, we get a collection of pin-ups featuring Cloak and Dagger, Hulk, Man-Thing, and Doctor Strange from Terry Austin, Jim Shooter, Bob Wiacek, and P. Craig Russell.

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Sometimes a comic book character gets an extreme makeover and it works. Other times, it fails completely. And then there were the ’90s!

Brian and Hassan look back at some of their favorite extreme makeovers from Marvel and DC Comics, along with some of the changes they would rather forget.

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Marvel Fanfare 10 kicks off a classic four-part Black Widow story!

While Nick Fury and the leadership of S.H.I.E.L.D. discuss the Black Widow’s complicated past and argue over whether to send her on a dangerous new mission, Natasha has problems of her own. She’s attacked in her own home, leading to an action-packed fight and one hell of a way to start this story!

The Black Widow story is written by Ralph Macchio and co-plotted by George Pérez, with art by Pérez, Bob Layton, Luke McDonnell, and Brett Breeding.

Then we head back into the jungle for “How Fear Came,” the third installment of The Jungle Book. Jo Duffy adapts Rudyard Kipling’s story, with Gil Kane on pencils and P. Craig Russell on inks.

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The stacks are full, and it’s time for another Top of the Stack, with a special focus on new #1s! We dive into our recent comic book reads from publishers including DC, Marvel, Abrams, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW, and many more. Plus, Hassan shares stories from Baltimore Comic-Con.

We bring plenty of books to the stack, with The Muppets Take the Marvel Universe, Doom Patrol, Teen Titans, Alex Ross’s Marvel Dimensions, Spawn ’77, Bug Wars, Superman: The Stranger, Six of Us, Hammerfist, Absolute Cassandra Cain, and more. Plus, Hassan brings two very different manga to the stack with Stop!! Hibari-kun! and Chiisakobee.

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Marvel Fanfare 9 has a giant sized Man-Thing, and Brian and Ants are exactly as mature as you would expect.

In “Rock ’n’ Soul,” a struggling rock band decides summoning a demon might be their ticket to success. Surprisingly, this turns out to be a bad idea. Luckily, Man-Thing is there to lend a…hand.

The backup takes us back to the jungle for the next chapter of Gil Kane and P. Craig Russell’s gorgeous adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book.

And Butch Guice provides this issue’s portfolio, featuring Wolverine, Kitty Pryde, Power Man and Iron Fist, Gorgon, and Howard the Duck.

The Man-Thing story is brought to us by J. M. DeMatteis, Joe Brozowski, and Gray Morrow. The Jungle Book is adapted and penciled by Gil Kane with inks by P. Craig Russell.

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What would have happened to the DC Universe if Superman had never been adopted by the Kents?

We explore that question with special guest Shane from Comic Geek Speak, our resident Justice League expert, as we dive into the DC Comics Elseworlds classic Justice League of America: The Nail by the legendary Alan Davis.

#GreenLantern #Batman #WonderWoman #Flash #Aquaman

In Marvel Fanfare 8, an amateur occult ritual goes horribly wrong and unleashes the Slitherer in Shadow! Luckily, Doctor Strange is around to deal with the mess. The story is brought to us by Peter Gillis, with Carmine Infantino on pencils and P. Craig Russell on inks.

Then things take a very different turn as Gil Kane and P. Craig Russell bring us the first chapter of an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. Yes, The Jungle Book. In Marvel Fanfare.

And finally, we get the first Marvel Fanfare artist portfolio, with five gorgeous pieces by Bill Sienkiewicz featuring Dazzler, Doctor Strange, Hulk, Moon Knight, Shanna the She-Devil, and Thor. We may have found the real reason to buy this issue.

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Ignition Press Publisher Filip Sablik joins us to talk about the launch of Ignition Press, reflecting on their first anniversary, the current lineup of books, and what the publisher has planned for the future.

We discuss how Ignition Press came together, the approach behind building a new comic book publisher, and some of the books that have defined its first year, before looking ahead at Ignition’s new and upcoming books, including Prima Apparata, Dinner Date, 12-Foot Skeleton, Mad Science Division, and Rampant Swine.

In Marvel Fanfare 7, the Hulk stumbles across Blob and Unus the Untouchable at a circus. Unus’ powers have gone haywire, making him so untouchable he can’t even eat! Luckily, the Blob is the one person who can get close enough to help. Then the Hulk shows up. What could go wrong?

The backup takes a much darker turn as Daredevil promises a blind boy he will find his missing seeing-eye dog. Let’s just say this one does not end the way you expect a superhero story to end.

The Hulk story is brought to us by Steven Grant, Joe Barney, and George Freeman. The Daredevil backup is by Bill Mantlo and George Freeman.

And starting with this episode, you can watch Side Stack on YouTube! See our smiling faces as we share pages and art from the issue while we discuss it!

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The hosts are not lost, but deep into DC Comics’ Legion of Super-Heroes! Special guest Raj returns as we discuss the classic Legion Lost by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, with art primarily by Olivier Coipel.

In addition, we talk about the brand-new Legion of Super-Heroes #1 from DC Comics’ Next Level line by writer Joshua Williamson and artist Hayden Sherman. Long Live the Legion!

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Marvel Fanfare #6 is full of magic and amazing art packed inside one of the best covers ever!

The main story pits Spider-Man against the Scarlet Witch in a fantasy dimension. What has caused these two heroes to fight each other? Or maybe that should be who?

The magic continues in the backup story as a new magician challenges Doctor Strange for the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme.

The main story was written by Mike W. Barr and Sandy Plunkett, who did the pencils with inks by P. Craig Russell.

The backup was written by Roger Stern with art by Charles Vess.

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With Spider-Man: Brand New Day bringing Spider-Man and the Punisher together on the big screen, we take a look back at Peter and Frank’s relationship through the decades in Marvel Comics.

We start where it all began with Amazing Spider-Man #129 by Gerry Conway and Ross Andru, featuring the first appearance of the Punisher and the Jackal. Then we jump to Punisher War Journal #14–15 by Carl Potts and David Ross, Punisher #2 by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, and Amazing Spider-Man #577 by Zeb Wells and Paolo Rivera. Four stories across four decades featuring two of Marvel Comics’ most popular characters.

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In Marvel Fanfare Issue 5, Clea’s nemesis, Nicodemus breaks into the Sanctum to steal the power of the Sorcerer Supreme! Since you’ve probably never heard of him, I bet you know how that works out.

In the far fetched backup, Captain America fights Nazis in modern day America.

The main story is brought to you by Chris Claremont, Marshall Rogers, and Craig Russel. The back up was by the recently departed Roger McKenzie and Luke McDonnell.

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We spotlight rising comic book publisher Ignition Press, exploring its growing lineup of creator-owned comics.

We discuss Arcadia, Murder Podcast, The Patron, The Other/Half, Everyone Loves a Jewel Thief, Dispatched, Just Brutal, The Dogsitter, Bad Thoughts, Deluge, Voyeur, Minotaur, and more as we take a look at what Ignition Press has been building and which books have caught our attention.

Featuring work from creators including Roy Miranda, Inaki Miranda, Jeremy Haun, Mike Tisserand, Christian Ward, John J. Pearson, Jim McCann, Joe Eisma, Tim Seeley, Aaron Campbell, B. Clay Moore, Daniel Gete, Dennis Hopeless, Brahm Revel, Ande Parks, Dave Wachter, Cullen Bunn, Marika Cresta, Leah Williams, David Baldeón, Si Spurrier, Mike Dowling, Jamie S. Rich, Megan Levens, and more.

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In this episode of Side Stack, we cover Marvel Fanfare 4 and wrap up the Savage Land adventure with Paul Smith going all out on the art with Chris Claremont writing. Abs and glutes galore! Can Ka-Zar and Angel save the X-Men from the clutches of Sauron? Of course they can. Do they look amazing while doing it? Hell yes!

The backup has scientists playing twisted mind games on a Deathlock, by David Kraft and Michael Golden.

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