The third hardcover collection of Invincible introduces more action into the story compared to last volume’s slower pace. Collecting issues 25-35 and an issue of The Pact, Volume 3 has Omni-Man and Mark fighting off Viltrumites, Angstrom Levy making his return, and Robot going through some drastic changes. As always, Kirkman juggles a lot of characters. These issues features a lot of focus on Debbie, Amber, Eve, Oliver, DA Sinclair, the Mauler Twins, and Shapesmith among others. The art is great and you can feel the big events setting the stage for larger conflict down the line. This is the most we’ve seen of the Viltrumites so far and I’m eager to get more soon. There’s pivotal moments with Mark seeing Nolan again, fighting Angstrom Levy, and finding out more about himself. It’s another great volume, it just doesn’t quite compare to how epic the series gets down the line. #invincible #robertkirkman #ryanottley #invinciblecomics #skybound

Here were my favorite single issues from this week. Let me know what you’ve been reading! The Mortal Thor 10 - I’m not exactly sure where this series is headed but I like that Al Ewing has been using it recently to orchestrate awesome fight scenes with wild villains and kinetic Ferry art. Geiger 23 - Johns and Frank are one of the greatest teams in comics. This time travel arc has been increasingly intriguing and I can’t wait to see this series continue to cross paths with the rest of the universe. Bleeding Hearts 4 - I think this is Vertigo’s best ongoing visually for sure. Morian’s characters are so expressive and he makes such an interesting looking world for our protagonist to inhabit. Camp’s writing is smart as ever although I hope the narrative hastens soon. Destination Kill 1 - Joe Palmer does quadruple-duty in this debut issue and I’m impressed. The worldbuilding is fantastic and the art is even better. Absolute Batman 20 - Continues to be an excellent take on the titular character and his villains. Everything is ramping up and Snyder does a great job balancing the many plotlines. Absolute Martian Manhunter 11 - The penultimate issue of my favorite book on the shelves is endlessly creative and carefully constructed. Rodríguez’s art is some of the most imaginative and colorful shit I’ve ever seen. #newcomicbookday #weeklycomics #newcomics #comics #comicbooks

Kyle Starks knows exactly how to make the best use of genres and tropes in the comics medium. Karate Prom, one of his lesser-known graphic novels, is a coming-of-age sendup full of fisticuffs, high school romance, and ninjas. The cartooning is excellent as always and Starks’ signature creative characters are well-developed and endearing. Although this targets a younger audience, it doesn’t make it any less of an entertaining adventure as Don “TheDragonWilson” Jones vies for the heart of Sam Steadman. They encounter leagues of opponents, a notorious crime family, and teenage feelings. I love the witty one-liners Starks sprinkles throughout every comic. The colorful cast including my favorite Punchman also shines throughout. I’m glad that this project came out of a rough year and that many others can enjoy this action-packed tale. #karateprom #kylestarks #firstsecond #graphicnovel #comics

A third of the way through the year and there’s already been some fantastic movies. Here are my top 5 so far. The Christophers - I selfishly hope Steven Soderbergh comes out with movies at the rate he’s been operating for the rest of his life. The scripts are vastly different, but there’s a comfortable smallness to his recent features. This meditation on art and legacy is bolstered by two excellent performances from Michaela Coel and Ian McKellen. Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die - Gore Verbinski is back with a topical, balls-to-the-wall sci-fi action movie that’s full of humor and crazy concepts. It wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea but I loved this maximalist journey that felt like Black Mirror on acid: Project Hail Mary - This adaptation is 100% worthy of all the praise. Gosling carries a heartfelt space odyssey using science to save humanity. Phil Lord and Chris Miller are an all-time creative duo; they just don’t miss. Obsession - Saw this last night and it’s already one of my favorite horrors in recent memory. I’ve been a fan of Curry and Cooper since their videos together and it was awesome to see how thoughtfully constructed this is for a debut feature. The direction effectively plays with tension and balances tone so well. Inde Navarrette delivers a powerhouse performance. Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie - Seeing how far Matt and Jay have come from their web series and TV show was so cool. This is quite simply one of the funniest comedies of the decade. It’s smart, referential, and superbly touches on the power of filmmaking as a time-capturing medium. “If you’ve got a best friend, you won’t even notice getting older.” #thechristophers #goodluckhavefundontdie #projecthailmary #obsession #nirvannathebandtheshowthemovie

This wasn’t on my radar until a recommendation from @11oclockcomics but I was intrigued so I decided to pick it up online. Utzy & Dusty: The Crystal Pool is a 128 page saddle-stitched comic printed on newsprint and it’s not like anything I’ve read before. It follows a bald girl who works at Hooters and her dog as they avoid being tracked down by three government agents. The art is mostly black-and-white but occasionally features splashes of color. Bayer’s style is extremely loose and it took me a bit to vibe with it. The inks are free-flowing, sketchy, and muddled but contribute to the book’s atmosphere. He often dates the pages so you can follow his workflow over the month it took to draw it. There’s psychic experiments, severed phalluses, and fights to the death. If you’re already acquainted with Bayer, you’ll love this. If not, consider taking the dive. #utzyanddustythecrystalpool #joshbayer #dominobooks #indiecomics #comics

Time travel stories are some of my favorite forms of fiction although there’s not too many within the world of comics. Here’s a few that are worth checking out! Time & Vine - Thom Zahler’s comics have such a unique charm to them. Love and Capes was a delight and this story of an enchanted winery that lets drinkers travel back in time is light, touching, and well-paced. The Red Wing - This early Hickman indie is a mix of Top Gun and Sliders that features art from one of my favorites. Pitarra’s pencils are uniquely his own. The creative team pushes boundaries in four short issues, tackling family dynamics and speculative concepts with ease. Ant-Man: Ant-Iversary - Al Ewing travels through Ant-Man’s comic history in a creative four-parter with awesome early art from Tom Reilly. It pays tribute to every era of the character and features some of Ewing’s best multiversal concepts in a neat package. Chrononauts - This time-hopping Millar story is one of his most enjoyable and is bolstered by Murphy’s excellent sketchy art. The two leads are both assholes but their sci-fi antics are entertaining as hell. Paper Girls - Lots of people have read this series but a recent reread reminded me of how clever and thoughtfully constructed the 30 issues really are. Vaughan and Chiang are both fantastic! #timetravel #comics #comicbooks #indiecomics #timetravelcomics

I’ve been enjoying Tigress Island so when I saw EPHK’s indie graphic novel from last year at my LCS, I had to pick it up. It’s a 300 page hyperkinetic detective procedural that spans from South Africa to Hong Kong. This comic proves he is as good of a storyteller as he is a pinup artist. There’s dynamic action, interesting characters, and a final act that took me aback with how perfectly it tied everything together. I really appreciate how EPHK lets the scenes speak for themselves, sometimes leaving speech bubbles empty or employing different languages that are translated at the back of the book. He allows for you to follow the art while keeping a keen focus on the details in every scene, the cultures he’s depicting, and the inner feelings of the main character Gung. Harpy is a non-stop thrillride with gorgeous art and coloring from a brilliant, new talent. I can’t recommend it enough. #harpy #ephk #livingtheline #comics #comicbooks

Here were my favorite single issues of the week. Unfortunately didn’t snag a copy of If Destruction Be Our Lot but I’m sure I’ll enjoyed it. Let me know what you picked up! Daredevil 2 - Not as much happens in this second issue but I do appreciate the way Phillips is laying the groundwork for her story to expand. Garbett has some fantastic pages in her too. Dog Tag 1 - Mark Russell starts this wartime comic with a sorta satiric take on military service before pulling the carpet out on what’s sure to be a deeply somber meditation on war. Batman 9 - Fraction has been taking risks with this run and I think this is one of his most interesting yet. Characters are being moved like chess pieces to tee up a different status quo and it’s working, slowly but surely. The Muppets Noir 3 - Langridge continues this fun series with a penultimate issue that is full of humor and clever composition. It’s not reinventing the wheel but I admire his take on these characters. Marc Spector: Moon Knight 4 - The art in this is fantastic and it’s awesome to see the return of the Midnight Mission. I hadn’t read MacKay’s run before this but I’m loving its energy. Absolute Superman 19 - Jason Aaron has truly elevated this book in the last few issues to one of my favorite ongoings. Every creative decision is perfect and precise and doing a lot of heavy lifting developing this universe. #newcomicbookday #weeklycomics #comics #comicbooks #newcomics

Continuing my reread of Invincible with the beautiful Ultimate Collections. Volume 2 feels very much on the same level as the first, with issues 14-24 setting up many plotlines without having big impactful moments of its own. It doesn’t quite hit the narrative high of the Omniman twist but it has some solid moments building up characters like Angstrom Levy, Allen, and Titan. It’s mostly frustrating that there isn’t a lot of culmination, only laying the groundwork, not that the issues themselves are bad. There’s some fun episodic storytelling and character first appearances that’ll play a role later on. Didn’t love all the college stuff and there were parts that became a bit repetitive like Amber interactions that were rehashed in Issue 0. Overall, it’s a fine follow-up to the earth-shattering events of the previous volume and expertly introduces tons of moving parts that will get bigger and bigger in following arcs. This volume just doesn’t stand on its own that well. #Invincible #robertkirkman #ryanottley #skybound #imagecomics

Before Watchmen was an interesting experiment that’s often ridiculed for its needlessness. Reading them all recently, there is definitely some great creative talent involved and some worthwhile stories despite them aiming to add to a standalone masterpiece. Shorter books with less time to develop like the Crimson Corsair backup stories and the Dollar Bill one-shot didn’t do enough for me to engage much with them although I appreciated their artistry. Azzarello’s Rorschach and Comedian had some stellar art from Bermejo and Jones but I didn’t love where the stories went with both characters. Moloch was an awesome two-parter deep dive into a villain while tying together small plot points from the original. Ozymandias meanders a little but Wein can write a good story and Jae Lee’s art is stunning. I really enjoyed Straczynski’s protrayal of these characters too, especially Nite Owl and Rorschach’s clashing detective work and Dr. Manhattan traversing his past and existence. You can tell all the writers have such love for the source material and I think that’s most clear with the legendary Darwyn Cooke. His Silk Spectre with Amanda Conner is a groovy tale that purposefully employs Watchmen’s signature paneling. Minutemen is the standout of the bunch though, filling in rich character histories with masterful Cooke art, clean and confident. None of these comics were going to surpass the original but I think there’s plenty of passion and talent present to warrant a read. #beforewatchmen #watchmen #dc #dccomics #alanmoore

Joe Casey is probably most known for his work with Man of Action and as a cocreator of Ben 10, but he’s always been an interesting creator in the comics space. There’s plenty of indie projects of his that are unique standalone stories that always interest me when I find them in the wild. Charlatan Ball is six issues of wild chaos illustrated by Andy Suriano, another prominent creator of animated television. It follows Chuck Amok, a stage magician that’s drawn into a larger world of real-life magic, cosmic beings, and omniversal showdowns. Suriano is able to design tons of awesome aliens and creatures that inhabit this book’s many planes and planets. Just like in his Godland with Tom Scioli, Casey is able to evoke Kirby’s space settings with due reverence while adding some Morrisoneque out-there ideas here. It’s a book you’ve likely never read, but one to keep an eye out for. #charlatanball #joecasey #andysuriano #manofaction #imagecomics

I had a great time picking up comics this past Saturday. I got a good stack of free books although my most anticipated, Deicidium, wasn’t in stock at my shop. Here were five issues from FCBD that I really enjoyed. Minotaur - Always down for a new Spurrier indie book. This prelude chapter sets the stage for an X-Files-esque adventure full of uncontrolled technology and strange creatures. Avengers: Armageddon - Zdarsky has me genuinely excited for this upcoming event. General Ross has been up to no good and this opener escalates that tenfold. The art’s top-notch and Doomquest has me intrigued as well. Mind MGMT/Fort Psycho - Super excited that we’re getting more Mind MGMT with characters new and old. Fort Psycho seems promising so I’ll be checking that out in August. The Future is ****** Annual - This stand-alone issue was the most complete story of the bunch and showcased some fun art and interactive storytelling. I have the first trade of the main series waiting to be read so I’ll be bumping that up my list. Energon Universe 2026 Special - Every year, this special perfectly sets the tone for all the Energon titles. Can’t wait for Watters’ and Parr’s MASK while Kirkman and Williamson know exactly how to pull at the threads they’ve been weaving together month after month. #freecomicbookday #freecomicbookday2026 #freecomics #comics #comicbooks