Monday Morning Grind Archive

Monday Morning Grind 1-22-2024

No Comments

 

Pile to the left, pile to the right, I guess we’ll start with this one. Ended up falling behind through the move and the holidays but here we go.

Sacrificers… I feel like I was reading The Lottery by Shirley Jackson for a second when I started this, so I stopped and started again. The story is different but it just called out the same emotional response from me. The writing by Rick Remender is solid and the color pallet is pleasing and I will continue this one but I hope for a little more detail and a more drawn out plot.

Deviant. I think this is a very well put together idea and one issue at a time just does not cut it. I think James Tynion IV has taken the comic world by storm these past two years but I think this one is the smartest of his efforts. I’m going to scrounge up an issue #2 on the open market and keep this one ordered going forward.

Action Comics #1061. Jason Aaron. I give him 3 issues without reservation as he just earned it over the years. Given the terrible storylines these past years put out by DC, my reading this is solely on his efforts. One problem, I just can not get into Bizarro. The inverse emotions and text just make the stories difficult for me. That being said, I liked the make up of the issue. Good world building, long term reader connection, and enough dialog to make feel like the $5.00 was worth it.

A special mention for people who enjoy animated style art. Silent Tales has some very nice panel work on sequential art without text. I will be looking at the artist’s other work.

  • Ghostlore #1
  • A Haunted Girl #3
  • Ribbon Queen #1
  • Cull #1
  • Antarctica #2
  • Skull & Bones #1
  • Skull & Bones #2
  • Sacrificers #1
  • Franklin & Ghost #1
  • Trident of Aurelia #1
  • The Deviant #1
  • Silent Tales
  • Action Comics #1061

Monday Morning Grind 05-24-2023

No Comments

With everything that has happened the past month or so I have slacked off on getting my reading done. I thought it would be good to get Devil’s Reign out of the way so I can finish the first volume of Daredevil from Chip Zdarsky and get into the second before it gets away from me.

Not sure why but I feel this was more of a Defenders book than a Daredevil book. Hell’s Kitchen got left behind in the middle of this and it seemed to grow more and more into a New York Marvel event rather than just a Daredevil story. The tail end even seemed like a subconscious discussion on government overreach, but it could just be the writer not pulling in on the scope of the Kingpin’s plan.
The Omega issue left me a little in need of a Defenders book to help wrap up what was started. The Luke Cage, Purple Children and the looming law enforcement status all seemed important at the end but were just left there without telling me where to read next. The negative side of this event is that DD and Elektra left the story before it ended. They were there physically, but you can tell the writer moved them to another story before finishing this.

Not a bad event overall but we will see how it, the characters and the plots move into the future.

  • Devil’s Reign #1
  • Devil’s Reign #2
  • Devil’s Reign #3
  • Devil’s Reign #4
  • Devil’s Reign #5
  • Devil’s Reign #6
  • Devil’s Reign Omega

Next up is a few independents.

Monday Morning Grind 04-17-2023

No Comments

Just burning through some piles.

  • Black Cat 2020 #1
  • Black Cat 2020 #2
  • Black Cat 2020 #3
  • Black Cat 2020 #4
  • Black Cat 2020 #5
  • Black Cat 2020 #6
  • Black Cat 2020 #7
  • Black Cat 2020 #8
  • Black Cat 2020 #9
  • Black Cat 2020 #10
  • Black Cat 2020 Annual #1
  • Fantastic Four #39
  • Fantastic Four: Reckoning War Alpha #1
  • Fantastic Four #40
  • Reckoning War: Trial of the Watcher #1
  • Fantastic Four #41
  • Fantastic Four #42
  • Firefly #21
  • Firefly #22
  • Firefly #23
  • Firefly #24

Monday Morning Grind 02-06-2023

No Comments

This week was more clean up (Captain Marvel) along with some of the more densely written items in my box. Some of you have heard me talk about Sara Lone, which takes place in the early 1960s. The story is about a strong spirited young woman with a rough past trying to save her deceased father’s shrimp fishery. She is arrested for murder, pursued by Mafia killers, and eventually ends up in the hands of the Secret Service. They intend to leverage her past in order to use her marksman skills in service of the government. Meanwhile, the local union leader makes a move on her late father’s shrimp business. This comic is really good if you are familiar with the domestic status of the country in 1962 when we faced extremist plots, drug cartels, union corruption and a looming cold war.

Animal Castle has been around for a year already. I read the first two issues this past May and left it be so I could read the next few issues as a group. Again, this title is a dialogue intensive read. You do not want to skip panels or just plow through them because of fatigue. The title is often compared to George Orwell’s Animal Farm, so it has to be detailed and emotional, which it is. The sociological behavior of the characters is well done, the pencils are distinct and each character is drawn consistent in form and size. I think if there is a shortcoming, the ink work could use a broader color palette. Some of the panels get a little monotone where some bold color would give the eyes a rest. The plot has held through issue five so I would say if you are a literature focused reader, this one is for you.

  • Captain Marvel #31
  • Captain Marvel #32
  • Captain Marvel #33
  • Captain Marvel #34
  • Captain Marvel #35
  • Captain Marvel #36
  • Catwoman #39
  • Star Trek #400
  • Dark Spaces Wildfire #1
  • Sara Lone #2
  • Sara Lone #3
  • Twig #2
  • Animal Castle #3
  • Animal Castle #4
  • Animal Castle #5

 

 

 

 

Monday Morning Grind 01-30-2023

No Comments

Loading Previews this week cut down on my catch up but I did get through a few. Like many of you, I am still trying to burn down a pile while still keeping in the know on new ones. To help a little I will complain less about rushed completions to Star, Not All Robots and the end of the first Autumnal arc. All three displeased me but easy to say watching from the seats rather than being in the ring.

The new ones all have potential. Black Panther Legends has pre-teen TChalla, his adopted Caucasian brother Hunter and Shuri witnessing the entrance of Wakanda onto the global scene. The tone of the MCU Wakanda is obvious in the story but page six actually is what caught my attention. When the family arrives in Johannesburg they are separated into two lines,  one for Europeans and one for Non Europeans. The artwork shows the actual separation, white and not white. This reminded me of Trevor Noah’s memoir and his explanation of his real family and the fact that his parents’ marriage was not legal in South Africa. He has stated that often the family would walk on separate sides of the street to avoid attention. We often miss social commentary in comics but it’s nice to see a single page show so much about the environment the characters are in and would have faced in the actual world at the time the story is told.

Trojan took a minute, and a few pages, to get into. The secretive nature of the characters meant having to lend patience until the actual point of their meeting is finally revealed. The last page make you immediately want to purchase issue two. That image compared to the image on cover A, is a nice representation of the content of the book. The down sides are the tone of the story and the biology of the primary character. I will not ruin the reveal but am happy to talk with you about it should you wish.

Kroma was interesting but also a little wonky. I find a story about a religious order controlling young boys, and what appears to be repressing/punishing a female just for being one, very off-putting. The use, and absence, of color is the one attractive thing that kept my attention. The artwork for cover A was well chosen. After reading the issue it was proven a splendid choice, just not sure the visual is worth the journey yet. I will give them another issue to sway me with the story but the potential has a short window on this one.

  • Black Panther Legends #1
  • Trojan #1 of 4
  • Not All Robots #5
  • Star #2
  • Star #3
  • Star #4
  • Star #5
  • Autumnal #8
  • Kroma #1
  • Grim #2

Monday Morning Grind 01-16-2023

No Comments

Knocked off a few older titles again this week and seasoned the stack with a few new ones. This particular pile was about things you want to finish but the direction of their stories twisted away from what you originally wanted the plot to be. I run into this from time to time.

Take for example that I enjoyed the first part of Catwoman: Lonely City some months ago. In the third issue the story left the theme of the aging ex-con reconnecting with her city and focused on Catwoman breaking into somewhere and saving the day as usual. Granted it did connect the Orpheus story, and included most of the players in the wrap up, but that was not what I cared about.

The Me You Love In The Dark suffered from a similar problem but here they changed the emotion they were addressing rather than the main plot device. Creative blocks, scary house and painting were replaced with possession, fear and forced effort in the painting. The house seemed like it would address her issues but what did it need her for? You could assume loneliness as a reason but that’s hardly a parallel to the artist’s issues.

Some of the other titles I read  share the same issues but I want to address a new one here. Gangster Ass Barista was sort of fun. Coffee addiction aside, the issue was pure escapism which was nice after the rest of the pile. The flashback panels are good fill in and help explain why the character is working in a coffee shop. It will be interesting to see if the creative team can keep the story in the shop rather than taking it out into the outside world.

  • Parker Girls #2
  • The Me You Love In The Dark #5
  • Samurai Sonja #2
  • Skybound Presents After School #3
  • GCPD:The Blue Wall #1
  • Gangster Ass Barista #1
  • Disaster Inc. #3
  • Disaster Inc. #4
  • Disaster Inc. #5
  • Catwoman Lonely City #3
  • Catwoman Lonely City #4
  • Captain Marvel #28
  • Captain Marvel #29
  • Captain Marvel #30
  • Marvel Snapshot: Captain Marvel
  • Flash 2022 Annual

Monday Morning Grind 01-09-2023

No Comments

Trying to get back on course here. Mostly bulk reading to clean up the comic area. I did add in three new ones just to get things started.

Fans of Terry Moore will most likely enjoy Parker Girls but I was hoping for some sort of style change this time. The characters are all reminiscent of his previous titles and the tone is fairly identical as well. Still worth the read but I’m hoping for a little more change in the next few.

Eve: Children of the Moon is a follow-up to EVE, the climate crisis story from May of 2021. The original arc is continued here as the girls have begun rebuilding plant life, and even civilization, as they keep in touch with the other settlements from the first story. Well, except one… I realize many of you did not read the first trade, but if you are in your public library, give this a go, you might enjoy it.

Briar is an interesting take on the the Sleeping Beauty story. I am not going to pretend it didn’t have a little Shrek feel to it but the story is interesting enough to continue. Dark fairy tales are always a good draw and this one has the right approach. All of the details about the main character, limbs weakened from being asleep for so long, no knowledge of the cultural shifts she’s missed, and her complete irrelevance to others, are put together well.  This could end up a good companion for I Hate Fairyland if it continues the way it is.

  • Parker Girls #1
  • Eve: Children of the Moon #1
  • Geiger #4
  • Geiger #5
  • Geiger #6
  • Briar #1
  • Daredevil #26
  • Daredevil #27
  • Daredevil #28
  • Daredevil #29
  • Daredevil #30
  • Daredevil #31
  • Daredevil #32
  • Daredevil #33
  • Daredevil #34
  • Black Widow #11
  • Black Widow #12
  • Black Widow #13
  • Black Widow #14
  • Black Widow #15

Monday Morning Grind 10-03-2022

No Comments

This week is a little more catch up but also a few I have avoided. The best of them is Daredevil #25, the continuing story of Elektra and Matt Murdock as it roles in and out of love and reality. Matt is in prison, Daredevil is not. The lead in to Daredevil Woman Without Fear was worth the 22 pages.

Not All Robots #4 actually made me concerned about the future in the comic. Robots going obsolete and dealing with being replaced hits a little too close to home. This added to the human uprising and the scary nature of the new version of robots. The parallel to our current political environment of rallies and name calling (both sides) made this a little uncomfortable, good but uncomfortable.

Beta Ray Bill #5 was a let down. I enjoyed the first few but they fell right back to Asgardian wins against Asgardian devil. I hate that. The five issues were not wasted, I just hoped for an original conclusion and a little less orange color as the page count dwindled.

  • Grim #1
  • The Me You Love In The Dark #4
  • Beta Ray Bill #5
  • Not All Robots #4
  • Joy Operations #1
  • Captain America & Iron Man #1
  • Daredevil #25
  • Shang Chi and the Ten Rings #1
  • Skybound Presents After School #2

 

Monday Morning Grind 9-19-2022

No Comments

Sorry for the late publishing on this one. I forgot to push the button.

I decided to wrap up a few older titles I read to just catch up the piles. Spider Woman and Captain Marvel both are favorites of mine and rather than pick two or three issues, I will cover these and one new one.

Spider-Women wraps up the “Mother” story that began with this runs issue #1. Long term readers will get why this took so long but new readers should pass on this one. Family history is never easy and the 70’s base story is just too much to invest in.  That being said, I appreciated the mental state of the issues. Fear combined with long term family problems and anger at a close friend all bubble together. Jess will never be the same after this, but that might be a good thing.

Captain Marvel is a time travel arc. We all know how I love the title but time travel, again? The Marvel characters do show the endearment held for Carol Danvers and what her absence does to the timeline, but we knew this already. Knew “children” of heroes, some X-Men and I just want to scream about Kang for a year.

Minor Threats is a Patten Oswalt creation which I did find interest in. A criminal reform book, you should give this a chance if you want something out of the norm. Forgive the minor transition issues and focus on the larger point, a villain trying to get out.

 

  • Spider-Woman #9
  • Spider-Woman #10
  • Spider-Woman #11
  • Spider-Woman #12
  • Spider-Woman #13
  • Redshift #2
  • Captain Marvel #24
  • Captain Marvel #25
  • Captain Marvel #26
  • Captain Marvel #27
  • Minor Threats #1
  • Damage Control #1
  • X-Men Legends #1

 

Monday Morning Grind 7-18-2022

No Comments

Having taken a mental beating over a rejection letter from the Washington Post, I sat in my tent the last few weeks and drank coffee with Achilles. Today I am back to work and put forth the below.

The two picks for this week are a similar genre in that they both are crime/criminal based and it is hard to decide who the good guy really is. Both reads left a feeling that the criminals have somehow placed a slight amount of accomplice guilt or sympathy in the reader at the end. It could also be that I read to many crime stories … The last pages of Reckless however contains a letter at the end about the creative teams reason for going away from the traditional comic form and cutting loose the story in a series of graphic novels. I really would like that letter done as a podcast by Ed Brubaker with a little further discussion about the pulp industry.

A special mention on Beta Ray Bill. Readers who want to know more about this character should check out the series. There is a healthy bit of character building and historical reference in the characters timeline. The art is a painful style for me but the story continues to get me to read the next issue because of the sympathy built as the story progresses.

  • Break Out #2
  • Spider-Man #3 (JJ Abrams)
  • The Fourth Man #4
  • Twig #1
  • Black Cat #12
  • Strange Academy #7
  • Autumnal #7
  • Dark Knights of Steel #3
  • Stillwater #7
  • Spider Woman #8
  • Black Widow #10
  • Me You Love In The Dark #3
  • Beta Ray Bill #4
  • Mouse Guard: The Owlhen Caregiver & Other Tales One Shot
  • Reckless Volume One HC

I realize these posts have spread out a little but the book store requirements have taken additional time from the schedule and this is one of the things that suffered. I will catch up soon though.