Hello, hello Comic Shop Friends!

First, thank you to all of you who bought dollar books this month! Thanks for buying thousands and thousands of dollar books! We were just under 3000, so John added a shop donation to bring our total to donate to the 988 Lifeline to $3041! (The 41 being Ed Piskor’s age.) Through their raffle, Ed Piskor’s Legacy were able to raise $1176, and another $325 was collected by Pop Up Collectables, to bring their grand donation total to $4524!

John and I were at the inaugural Eddie P Comic Con this past Saturday. Here we are with the Piskor siblings, Bri, Justine, and Bobby.

The big news is that Ed Piskor’s last finished work, Switchblade Shorties, will be released! We didn’t get details yet, but this is the flyer. I’ll have one in the shop if you want to scan the QR code.

Bobby Piskor caught me in one of his photos of the Con!

I bought so many comics! And other great stuff, but spending money doesn’t count when it’s at a small local con and supports independent artists and creators!

It was an amazing, and emotional, day, and the Piskor family did such a great job putting together their first comic convention in the span of three months. It was such a warm celebration of Ed’s legacy and indie comics culture, and from my interactions with the vendors, it seemed like everyone had the same feelings. I was there for six hours, the crowd was steady all day, and I could see as vendors were selling out of books and watched their stacks clear out. It was invigorating!

Here’s your reminder that Genghis Con is coming up in a few months here in Cleveland, and that’s a great opportunity to support our local comic community!

The Cartoonist Kayfabe marching orders were always to, “read more comics!” So, on that note, onto this week’s comics!

MARVEL COMICS

We had Predator Versus Wolverine. We had Predator Versus Black Panther. Now it’s time for Aliens Versus Avengers! Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic have a four-part mini for fans of the Alien franchise and the Marvel Universe. The Shi’ar are experimenting with Xenomorphs, and one of the specimens is headed to Earth. Welcome to a bleak, fallen future. “By the time these things were a threat, there were already too many of them to fight. But that’s what we did – because that’s who we are.” One last ditch effort may save the only remaining city. This is a dark, solid start to a story about survival in a situation where there is no hope.

If you thought symbiotes liked eating brains before…. wait’ll you see the new Zombiotes! A new strain is slithering across New York, zombie symbiotes making symbiote zombies! And not even the superheroes are safe from the infection of mindless hunger! A Venom War tie-in from writer Cavan Scott, with goopy gory art by Juan Jose Ryp, but this first issue stands alone. Grab it if you’re a horror fan, or if you want to see what happens when She-Hulk, Shocker, Speed Demon, Hellcat, and Overdrive are forced to fight the Zombiotes! With maybe the best cover of the week by Juan Ferreyra.

Celebrate Marvel’s 50,000 the comic book release with tales of legends from the Marvel Age, half remembered and retold in the 85th Century! Ms. Marvel is the new herald of Galactus! (Written by Iman Vellani and Sabir Pirzada, with art by Stephen Byrne.) An untold tale of Excalibur in Captain Britain’s haunted lighthouse! (From writer and artist Alan Davis.) Spider-Man hits a traffic jam in the Spider-Car! (Written by Priest, with art by Carlo Pagulayan.) The Japan branch of Hydra has created the “God of War!” (From writer and artist Yuji Kaku.) The Contest of Champions turns into barbaric entertainment! (From writer and artist Steve Skroce.) And who else would survive until the year 50,000 to take us through the Museum of Heroism? It’s Wolverine and Deadpool! (Written by Ryan North with art by Joshua Cassara.)

DC COMICS

DC has three absolute Power tie-ins this week:

Absolute Power Origins #2, with the rise of the Suicide Squad as Waller forms Task Force X and sends them on their first mission!

Absolute Power Task Force VII #5, with the Flash against Waller’s Amazo, Velocity!

Green Arrow #15, the Arrow family can’t let Waller’s Task Force agents get Professor Ivo to Gamora! And what is Green Arrow up to? A double cross?

The showdown to end all showdowns! DC presents a full-size facsimile of Superman and Muhammad Ali’s fight to determine humanity’s champion for an intergalactic bout against the evil Rat’lar’s chosen fighter! Can you name all of the celebrities and comic book creators in attendance on the Neal Adams wraparound cover without peeking at the listing?

SMALL PRESS COMICS

Archie decides to finally decide! It’s the age-old question: Betty or Veronica? Who will Archie choose? How will Archie choose? Find out in the all-new full-length one-shot, The Decision! Written by Tom King, with art by Archie comics legend, Dan Parent, this issue features almost everyone in Riverdale! Jughead! Reggie! Josie & the Pussycats! Sabrina the Teenage Witch! Hot Dog! That Wilkin boy! No matter who you want Archie to choose, you should make the decision to pick up this comic!

Dstlry’s first flip book! Two intersecting stories, by writers Stephanie Phillips and Brian Azzarello, and artist Danijel Zezeli, one side is “Pros”, the other is “Cons.” The Pros side follows a group of thieves planning the biggest score of their careers, going to an abandoned prison planet to steal hidden diamonds mined by inmates. The Cons side follows the Casanova Killer, as he’s sentenced to 32 life sentences, in a future where he will be forced to live out the nearly 2,400 years through covert experiments. The two narratives collide at the end of each side, leading into a heist and a prison break. Reading either side first works, and like One Hand and Six Fingers, it’s an interesting way to bring different takes on connecting events together.

The newest Universal Monsters mini-series is alive! It’s alive! Writer and artist Michael Walsh pulls iconic moments from the Frankenstein film, and expands on the story behind the creation of the Monster. Each issue focuses on a different body part used in Dr. Frankenstein’s quest to create life from death. In chapter one, “The Hands of a Father,” a young boy mourning at his father’s grave becomes involved in a way that will change Frankenstein’s life.

It’s issue one! One! Ha ha ha ha! (Missed opportunity from Oni, they should have put the Count by the issue number!) Writer Joey Esposito and artist Austin Baechle take us around Sesame Street with Grover as he lends a hand, and helps his friends help each other! A great addition to our all-ages section, for Sesame Street fans of any age.