Today, Superboy meets the first troll, learns the wrong lessons, and maybe enjoys taking a beating too much.

From 1981, The New Adventures of Superboy #17, "To Fight the Unbeatable Foe!" Written by Cary Bates, pencils by Kurt Schaffenberger, inks by Dave Hunt.

The story opens with Superboy opening a pocket of magma, to keep it from building up pressure and causing an earthquake. He then melts, since that wasn't Superboy, but rather one of his robots: the Superboy-robot had done a good job analyzing and handling the situation, but without Superboy's invulnerable skin was in bad shape, and Superboy has to heat-vision it "out of its 'misery'!" Changing back into Clark Kent, he attends his Speech 301 class, where Carl "Moosie" Draper delivers what he thinks will be a scathing rebuttal to the Boy of Steel: How do they know if he's a good hero? What do they have to compare him against? Had Superboy even faced a super-villain at that point in his career? If the answer is no, which it is, Superboy sucks and we should all hate him, thank you and good night.

Lana Lang rips Moosie a new one afterwards: another guy jealous of Superboy and trying to tear him down. But Clark wonders if maybe there wasn't a point in there somewhere, and has an idea. Step one: use his mind-prober ray to dig up some memories of his early childhood on Krypton. (Pre-Crisis, Superboy was what, a toddler before he was launched to earth? Which doesn't explain some of that Superbaby stuff.) Watching Jor-El work on a robot (the super-teacher Jor-El built for him!) Superboy is able to vastly increase his robot-building skills, and plans a new model that will be his equal...It occurs to me Superboy could use his mind-prober ray to bask in the time he had with his parents, but nah, let's watch dad build a robot jerkhole.

The next day, at one of Smallville's seemingly weekly Superboy Days, a new caped figure arrives instead: Kator. Confronting the Boy of Steel, while the Kents and Lana worry; Moosie hopes Kator will knock Superboy down a peg or three. In fact, I wonder if his class wasn't half-full of jealous guys (and maybe the occasional girl) who hated Superboy for blocking their chances with Lana. Their largely imaginary chances, I'm sure; but looking at this through today's eyes it's easy to picture that getting ugly.

Kator seems more than a match for Superboy, who isn't too bent out of shape about it: of course he built him. While his parents are understandably upset that he's unleashed a potential menace on Smallville, just to have something to prove himself against; Superboy has thought ahead and created a fail-safe to turn off Kator, which he gives to his dad. (And which I think Kator steals the next evening...) The next day, while Clark is on a walk with Lana, Kator delivers a message--two, in fact. One to Superboy, that he'll soon be replaced; the other to Moosie, a promise that his dreams will soon come true...!

I think a good percentage of Superboy comics have a panel like that one of Clark thinking; thinking "Hmmmm...did I just make a terrible mistake?" Also, out of context, that last panel would look a lot different. I don't know why exactly Moosie assumes, if Superboy gets his ass kicked, Lana will automatically dump him and fall into Moosie's arms. I also don't have the next issue, have to keep an eye out for that; although this issue has a better cover.
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They're together to get back at Daredevil. Both of them.

I just had to search for ten minutes, because I was positive I blogged the last issue of this run for "The End" week at some point, but no dice. Well, this one's got a great cover, let's go with it: from 2013, Thunderbolts #7, "Direct Action" Written by Daniel Way, art by Phil Noto, cover by Julian Totino Tedesco.

After some hiccups, the first mission of Red Hulk's new Thunderbolts was a success; there was now some fallout to deal with. The intelligence community is scrambling for an explanation of who wiped out a bunch of previously unknown terrorists who had a previously unsuspected new superweapon; and Captain America is approached to see if he would take credit for it. Cap declines.

Nice page there. Meanwhile, in the T-Bolts' stolen sub, tensions are mounting, among other things: the Punisher and Elektra are hooking up, although neither will admit to any kind of emotional involvement, because there may literally be no emotional involvement. A jealous Deadpool is considering killing Punisher, even though Elektra wants less than nothing to do with him. And Agent Venom has learned some of Red Hulk's lies, and proposes a mutiny. While the confused (and recently resurrected by Ross) Red Leader doesn't think he's been lied to, Deadpool proposes forcing the truth out of the Red Hulk. Elektra questions this plan.

After beating down the entire team, Red Hulk changes back into former-General Ross, to explain: they're on the trail of modified gamma bombs. Ross knows the middlemen who traffic in weapons, who coincidentally are being confronted with the gamma buyer, who has turned the g-bombs into power sources for modified Crimson Dynamo suits!

I'm sure I read and enjoyed this whole run on Marvel Unlimited, but like most Thunderbolts series, I still have random issues here and there. I don't think either Elektra or the Punisher would rub their, um, "relationship" in Daredevil's face; that's not like either of them. Regardless of how funny that might be...
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Backronyms, a naked ex-boyfriend, secret societies, a super-rapist's ghost, and closure.

We saw the last issue of Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion a couple of weeks back, and today we see another last chapter from another tie-in mini-series to the larger event: from 2014, Forever Evil: A.R.G.U.S. #6, "Trustfall" Written by Sterling Gates, pencils by Neil Edwards, inks by Jay Leisten and Jason Paz. As usual, it's not really fair to bag on this coming in only on the end, but we're going ahead anyway...

In a secret tesseract panic room called "the Green Room," President Obama and Etta Candy speak with the shadowed "Green Man," who claims to have been the first agent of A.R.G.U.S, and that the secret organization wasn't a recent addition to support superheroes, but in fact had existed for hundreds of years. The Green Man spins a yarn about its history as the "Armed Revolutionaries Governing Under Secrecy" and the "Anonymous Ranger Group of the United States" and their conflicts against the Hydra to their S.H.I.E.L.D, the Crimson and their Crimson Men. So named because of their goal to "bring on the red skies of the apocalypse." Although he badmouths superhumans a bit, the Green Man tells Candy she needs to unite them to stop the war, and she will know all of A.R.G.U.S.'s secrets...like why every secret organization now has to have been around for hundreds of years, maybe. (I swear I was just looking at what A.R.G.U.S. really stood for, and still don't remember.)

Meanwhile, a naked Steve Trevor awakens, not to the Dr. Light/Killer Frost fight he was expecting, but a confrontation with "the Weird Sisters of Moirai." Steve obviously promised them something, and they've come to collect, taking his potential, or fate. Steve says Diana had told him the Sisters "were full of it," but they take what they want and leave him to it; which is to rejoin the Light/Frost battle already in progress. To save him from Dr. Light, Frost had frozen Steve in a block of ice; now freed, Steve seems to take in stride the fact that last time he saw Dr. Light he was a decapitated corpse on an autopsy table. (The Crimson brought Light back, possibly just to test Steve.) In fact, using the Lasso of Truth, Steve is able to force Light to face that unpleasant truth. (While he appears to have something like the fin-head and goatee of his pre-52 incarnation, Steve also describes him as "a good man once," which the prior version definitely was not.)


Holding the Lasso of Truth--and as such unable to lie--Steve has a moment to recall when he asked Wonder Woman if she loved him, and likewise holding the Lasso, Diana told him:

With Killer Frost, Steve Trevor heads off, to do what he can to save the world, and rebuild A.R.G.U.S. Meanwhile, the Green Man puts on a Crimson skull mask, to tell a pair of costumed figures the pieces were on the board, with A.R.G.U.S. both their pawns, and evolving towards their own doom. Which may or may not have come up again in the last couple of years...This issue is actually less fun than the Rogues one. The cover features Superwoman and Cheetah, and Superwoman only appears as a Dr. Light-created hard-light construct, while Cheetah's unconscious the whole issue! The art is a little closer to DC's house style, but bland. Like Steve Trevor.


Man, Diana could so do better...
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Eventually, a blind-bag with Nightcrawler is going to get all my money...

I still haven't seen an episode of Justice League Action, but I saw some of the blind-bagged mini-figures half-off after-Christmas...that's too many hyphens, but let's go on. After buying ten bags, I only have five of the eight figures in the first series; and wouldn't mind trying a few more times for the Firestorm one. Then I'll hold out for the next series for Wonder Woman and a perfect sized Atom.

I like DC's "Mighty Mini" figures more than Marvel's 500 series. GameStop had the third series two for a buck, which is about what they should've been from the start. (Regular price was around three dollars.) The 500's are unarticulated, and the paint is minimal. There's also a lot of repaints, some different looks for the same character; others repainting a blank into a new character, like the Spot and the Blizzard here. Which is fine, I'm pretty sure Marvel Legends Blizzard and Eel are more or less the same figure. I think I have some more of these, that the wife got on a cake...

Blind-bags (or blind-boxes) seem to be the in-trend right-now (damnit, not again!) but aside from the occasional Lego mini-fig or what I randomly find on clearance, I don't sink too much into them. I am worried eventually Marvel will start pushing the X-Men license again, and I'll be gnawing open bags looking for a Nightcrawler whatever, and swearing like crazy every time I get someone else! I've also noticed I haven't been logging these for the year-end totals, but that's as much a laziness issue as anything.
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"Heralded."

So, I was thinking of a few different times Galactus picked a familiar face to serve as his herald, at least temporarily. First up, oddly enough, was Dazzler, around issues #10-#11, where she gets drafted by Big G to get his rebellious current herald Terrax out of a black hole and back to work. Why he picked her, I'm not sure, I haven't read those. I did read What If? #33 though, which spun off of that one: there Dazzler keeps the job so long, by the time she's able to return home, earth's a lifeless husk. Which doesn't narrow it down, but moving on.

Much, much later: Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo's last storyline on Fantastic Four was "Rising Storm," which I have in trade but not next to me, so going off memory: some aliens try to kill the Invisible Woman before Galactus gets her, since part of her powers was making invisible objects visible, which could show Galactus the aliens' hidden world. I think some powers are swapped, and Johnny ends up with Sue's powers and the herald spot. And Galactus gets turned back into the mortal Galen for a bit there...again, going off memory, but ooh, Quasar guest-stars! Reed calls him in, saying he can count it towards his back rent--which is intended as a callback to his series, when under his civilian identity Quasar had an office at Four Freedoms Plaza, but I have to call shenanigans on that. A straight arrow like Quasar wouldn't leave owing any money!

Another issue I don't think I picked up until much, much later: ROM #26: Galactus shows up to eat Galador, Rom's homeworld, and while the Spaceknights fight Terrax, Rom offers to trade his measly planet for a whole smorgasbord, namely the Dire Wraiths Dark Nebula. Which seems like a dick move, even if you've been at war with them for ever; but I think the Dark Nebula is so anti-life Galactus doesn't even want to eat it, and he gets back at Rom by moving his planet somewhere else. (He'd find it again eventually.)
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In fairness, that was a bit of a weird comic.

I don't buy a lot of Hot Wheels: I like the Batmobiles or oddball items like the Enterprise or the Jetsons car, stuff like that. I don't usually get the licensed vehicles, that are usually a regular car with some graphics; but I got the Captain America vs. the Red Skull 2-pack with comic, because it was marked down, and duh, the comic. Which features the cover for Captain America #300, which we actually checked out on the blog back in 2008!

(Aside: that link goes back when I was still with my first wife, and while it's nice to see Sam even if he's wearing a cone, I don't like to go back to those old posts sometimes. On the other hand, I can't edit them out, either. My new wife and an old friend of mine both noticed there was a certain point when I stopped talking about the old wife...)

It's mildly disappointing that the reprint has a different interior, though: I think it's Avengers Assemble #1, an adaptation from screen shots of the first episode of the cartoon of the same name. Which is probably easier for kids to get into then #300 would've been: after losing his youth and aging into a decrepit old man, the Red Skull makes a final attempt at breaking Cap by blackmailing one of Cap's friends into poisoning him and turning him into an old man as well, all so he can go out in battle against his old foe. A tough sell, but it would've been nice to have a little reprint of that one handy.

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The Eleventh Annual, Random Happenstance, Year in Toys!

Whether it was the best year ever, or an unyielding nightmare train-wreck dumpster fire of spite, bile and terror that no amount of hyperbole could describe; 2016 is over, which means it's time for the annual Year in Toys!

For new readers: For over ten years now, I have been keeping a running total of every action figure or toy I buy. Hopefully, each entry has the figure's name, the line, the price, and where I bought it; and possibly a link to a cartoon or strip that toy was used in. (Unless that figure's unloved or unphotogenic, I guess. Or I'm lazy...) Totals will usually include postage and tax. Usually. This is by no means a "Best of" list or anything, just what I bought.

Almost always, most of this list was kept up at OAFE.net, but this year I never got around to keeping a running total there! Which means a lot of typing now...and here's links for 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2006.


1-7 Marvel Avengers Hulk, Vision, Ultron, $15; Batman v. Superman Wonder Woman, $19.99, MiWorld AMC Theatre, $15.44; $54.82 total, Target.

1-22 Funko Evolve: Goliath, $13.58, Go Calendars.

1-27 Marvel Legends Venom, Spider-Gwen, Speed Demon, Morbius, 19.97 each, $86.79 total, Wal-Mart. DC Collectibles Talon, $5.40, TJ Maxx.

1-29 ML Beetle, Ben Reilly Spider-Man, Jack O'Lantern, $65.00, Wal-Mart.

2-1 WWE Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury, $21.61, Wal-Mart.

2-6 ML Taskmaster, Sharon Carter, Mockingbird, Scourge, $19.99 each, $86.92 total, Toys R Us.

2-13 ML Capwolf, Cottonmouth, Whirlwind, $19.99 each, $65.19 total, Toys R Us.

2-20 X-Files Scully (with pod), $5, junk shop.

2-26 DC Son of Batman, $21.56, Wal-Mart.

2-27 DC Arrow (Multiverse), $21.73, Toys R Us.

3-4 DC Flash, Joker, $13.69 each, $27.38 total, Wal-Mart online. (I did get the Earth-23 Superman at some point as well, but may have used a gift card for it, since it wasn't logged!)

3-24 Diamond Select iZombie, $19.99, Hastings. (With free Deadpool cup!)

Shadowrun Kyushi, $9.99+7.15 shipping, eBay.

4-4 DC Reverse Flash, $19.87; Star Wars Black Stormtrooper, $19.84; total $43.38, Wal-Mart.

Star Trek 9-inch accessories, $15.00+3.50 shipping, eBay.

4-15 Nightcrawler mini-figure from Argentina, $2.99+9.00 shipping, eBay.

Star Wars Hero Mashers Darth Maul with speeder, $2.16, Shopko.

4-19 DC Unmasked Batman (BvS) $21.61, Toys R Us.

4-29 NECA Alien vs. Predator Warrior Alien, $17.50, Hastings.

6-5 NECA Alien, $13.03, Toys R Us.

6-22 Not-Lego Nightcrawler, $1.60, eBay.

6-28 ML Black Panther, Nuke, Nick Fury (Dirk Anger), $19.98 each, $65.09 total, Wal-Mart.

6-29 ML Red Guardian, $21.69, Wal-Mart.

7-2 ML Namor, $21.69, Walgreens.

7-5 ML Iron Man Mk. 46, Captain America, $43.38 (-$15), total $28.38, Wal-Mart.

7-10 Magic: the Gathering Ajani Goldmane, $5.38, Ross.

7-23 Re:Action Star Trek Captain Kirk, $2.63, Toys R Us.

8-1 ML (blue and yellow) Deadpool, $13.82, eBay.

8-3 Spider-Man Web Armor Spidey, $10, Kalispell Comics.

8-6 SW: Black Ahsoka, Luke, $13.98 each, $30.28 total, Target.

8-8 X-Men Legends case: Kitty Pryde, Deadpool, Wolverine, Rogue, Phoenix, Cable, Havok, Iceman, BaF Juggernaut, $159.99 total, Entertainment Earth.

8-12 DC Multiverse Suicide Squad Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Rick Flagg, Batman; BvS Armored Batman, Aquaman, Knightmare Batman, $5.00 each, $37.91 total, Wal-Mart.

8-15 Funko Fallout Lone Wanderer, $5.38, Walgreens.

8-17 DC Collectibles JLA: Gods & Monsters Wonder Woman, $6.98, Forbidden Planet.

8-19 DC Multiverse Supergirl, $5.40, Wal-Mart.

8-25 ML Falcon, $21.48, Wal-Mart.

8-26 ML Punisher, $21.48, Walgreens.

8-30 DC Multiverse DKR Armored Batman, $5.40, Wal-Mart.

8-31 SW: Black Force Awakens Han Solo, $14.04, Fred Mayers.

9-10 Gotham Selina Kyle, Jim Gordon, $12.49 each, Batman: Arkham City Azrael, $12.49, $40.58 total, Hastings.

9-13 Diamond Select Star Trek Captain Kirk, $12.49, DC Icons Batman, $12.49; $27.05 total, Hastings.

9-14 ML Deadpool, $21.61, Wal-Mart.

9-23 DC Multiverse DKR Mutant Leader, $10.80, Wal-Mart (with gift card) Funko Skyrim Dovahkiin, $4.40, Walgreens.

9-24 Marvel Select Storm, Cyclops, Gambit, Colossus, $10 each, $43.32 total, Hastings.

9-26 Minimate Nightcrawler and Colossus, $12.32 shipped, Luke's Toy Store.

10-1 Heroes of the Storm Dominion Ghost Nova, $10.00, Gotham Alfred, $10.00; $21.66 total, Hastings.

10-4 DC Collectibles Batman: the Animated Series Roxy Rocket, $17.38, Hastings.

10-5 DC Multiverse Superdoom, Prison Lex, $9.00 each, $19.49 total, Wal-Mart.

10-7 DC Multiverse DKR Robin, $21.61, Toys R Us.

10-8 DC Icons Deadman, Capullo Designer Series Two-Face, $8.00 each, $17.32 total, Hastings. DC Multiverse Bat-Creature, $8.66, another Hastings.

10-13 ML Enchantress, $21.61 shipped, Toys R Us.

Gotham Bullock, $8.10, Regular Show Rigby, $3.90, $12.99 total, Hastings.

10-18 BvS Luthor, Ghostbusters Holtzman, Arrow Felicity, DC Collectibles Orion, $5.00 each; Breaking Bad Walt, $3.60, Evolve Markov, $4.00; $27.60 total (plus some gifts), Hastings.

10-19 Gotham Gordon, Selina, $6.50 each, $13.53 total, Hastings.

10-22 ML movie Dr. Strange, $21.51, Wal-Mart.

Last Hastings run! Breaking Bad Gus Fring, $1.80, Batman: Arkham Commissioner Gordon, $2.70, DC Collectibles JLA: Gods & Monsters Superman and Batman, Ghostbusters Abby, Erin, Patty, Diamond Select Mummy, DCC Black Adam, Gotham Oswald Cobblepot, $2.50 each, plus multiple gifts, $65.55 total.

11-10 SW Black C-3P0 (gold arm) $21.61, Walgreens.

12-3 ML Vision, Sam Wilson Captain America, Kate Bishop Hawkeye, $32.48, Toys R Us.

12-7 ML Baron Mordo, Brother Voodoo, $11.99 each, $25.97 total, Walgreens.

ML Captain Britain, $17.34 shipped, Amazon.

12-17 DC BvS Bat-Creature, $10.00, Target.

12-22 ML Iron Skull, $9.97, Secret Wars Captain America, $6.00, Eel, $9.06, Wonder Man, $10.97; total (with credit) $30.08 shipped.

12-28 ML Space Venom! Silk, Spider-B*, Electro, Hobgoblin, Miles, Peter; Civil War 3-pack (Spider-Man, Battle-damaged Cap and Iron Man) total $85.49 shipped, Wal-Mart.

Total: $1753.72. 2015: $1895.35. 2014: $1523.25. 2013: $1101.93. 2012: $706.32. 2011: $564.71. 2010: $966.10. 2009: $558.16. 2008: $555.16. 2007: $426.00. 2006: $620.00.

Down a little from last year! I would not have bet on that. Especially since Marvel Legends had a staggering number of releases this year, and were consistently solid. DC Multiverse, or whatever it's called today, somewhat less so. (The Batman v. Superman Wonder Woman might be the worst figure I paid full price for this year.) Also, I dropped a fair ton on clearance figures at Hastings, when they were going out of business: there was a number of figures that I certainly wouldn't have paid full price for, but that I got at varying degrees of cheap.

I'm a bit more scattered than usual from moving, but I did get a few build-a-figures completed as well: Red Onslaught (mine with the standard Onslaught head that came with Kitty Pryde!) Giant-Man, Absorbing Man, the Justice Buster, the Ghostbusters Rowan, Juggernaut, Doomsday, and Space Venom. And the multiple Diamond Select X-Men Danger Room pieces. I still have a few Killer Croc, Dormammu, and Bat-Grapnel pieces floating about; and couldn't say if they'll ever be completed.

In 2017, barring disaster, I'm figuring on staying the course with Marvel Legends, but think I'll keep an eye out for something special for next year, like a Mezco One:12 figure or some such. Stick around, we'll see what happens!
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"The End" Week: The Batman Strikes #50!

Back in 2013, we checked out the last issues of four Batman cartoon tie-ins: the Batman Adventures, Gotham Adventures, another Batman Adventures, all tying into Batman: the Animated Series; and Batman: the Brave and the Bold. Today, we've got the last issue of the comic tying into the series between those two, with the Batman Strikes! #50, "Night of the Demon" Written by James Peaty, pencils by Christopher Jones, inks by Terry Beatty.

This is a fun little done-in-one guest-starring Etrigan, the Demon: centuries ago, he betrayed his cohorts the Demons Three--Abnegazar, Rath, and Ghast, although they aren't named here--and they had been trapped in a puzzle box ever since. (Seems familiar somehow...) The box has fallen into the hands of the Riddler, who is compelled to open it and release the demons.

As often happens to the Batman animated titles, this was being phased out to make room for the new version. Shame to introduce Etrigan so late in the game! I had been re-watching the Batman on Netflix: if you're not sure about it, start with season four! Good grief, I think we mentioned an episode, "Artifacts," back in 2007!
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"The End" Week: Red Hood/Arsenal #13!

One of the problems I had with the Suicide Squad movie...and a lot of fiction this year...and most of Twitter in real life...is that I have a hard time becoming invested, when everyone's a dick. But at least one may have hidden depths, in today's book! From 2016, Red Hood/Arsenal #13, "Later" Written by Scott Lobdell, pencils by Joe Bennett, inks by Belardino Brabo and Juan Albarran.

There's a bit to unpack here, but here goes: between being Speedy and becoming Arsenal, Roy Harper did some mercenary work with a squad that would become known as the Iron Rule. The narrating Jason Todd points out while Roy did it to feel useful, the Rule weren't as public-minded, and have now become nuclear-powered monsters. With the Joker's Daughter, they've captured Arsenal, and plan on murdering him live on the internet, once enough people vote him down. (Shades of a Saw movie or Black Mirror, although they're bad guys and wouldn't be above swiping there!)

Jason, the Red Hood, goes to murdertown on the Iron Rule, using Arsenal's anti-nuclear meltdown arrows...presumably, cadmium arrows, a little gimmicky, but admittedly the sort of thing that would come in handy. Most of the Rule explode grotesquely, although Arsenal knocks out the female member, knowing the Hood wouldn't shoot an unconscious woman. In a standoff with the Hood, the Joker's Daughter wants it to end badly: "Our Dad would've wanted it this way." (EDIT: I'm not sure if JD was still wearing the Joker's old face here, or a somewhat more conventional mask, but there are some crazy eyebrows going there. And coming from me, that's saying something.) Arsenal mangages to tase her, but is a little dismayed how he and Jason might have come across to the viewing public. Jason doesn't care, or at least pretends not to, since he knows his friend Roy is going to stay a hero, even if he doesn't. "You have too much faith in people. I don't have any."

Also this issue: a flashback tale, "A Friendship Born!" Featuring the hero's first meeting as Robin and Speedy, in a charming retro style that's still Joe Bennett? Not bad.

Roy and Jason had only thirteen issues this time, coming after forty with Starfire as Red Hood and the Outlaws; and it's Red Hood and the Outlaws again now, with Bizarro and Artemis.

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"The End" Week: Fell #9!

We've seen any number of comics here that were cancelled and then relaunched, or the numbering transferred, or some other nonsense; but today we have a book that's either the end, or merely the last issue to date. From 2008, Fell #9, written by Warren Ellis, art by Ben Templesmith.

Running nine issues from 2005 to 2008, Fell was Ellis's experiment of a comic with a smaller page count, but a lower price, and hopefully offset by a more-packed storyline and whatever interesting "back matter" would fit. I'm not sure about financially, but it was a critical success and won a couple Eisner awards. Then between Ellis losing a number of files when his computer went down (including Doktor Sleepless, which I'd still like to see finished, Warren) and both Templesmith and Ellis moving on to other projects, Fell #9 remains the last issue to date. (Depending on who you ask, #10 could be at some level of completion, but Image may be unwilling to publish the series at the rate of an issue every decade or so...)

This issue, Detective Richard Fell continues his work in the disturbing "feral" city Snowtown. Having been transferred there under still sketchy circumstances, he seems to be adapting; although his superior officer wonders if maybe Fell isn't headed for trouble. Nonetheless, Fell convinces him to let him handle a hostage situation call, which he does, although he admits freely to making it all up as he goes, just like anyone else. This series was intended to be pretty readable in single installments, yet there's still more than a little foreshadowing this time...if it's still foreshadowing when the foreshadowed event never turns up.
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"The End" Week: Moon Knight #17!

Another year, another last issue for Moon Knight! Let's see: we saw Bendis's Moon Knight #12 last year, his original series wrap-up #38 in 2014, and Fist of Khonshu #6 back in 2011. Today his most recent last issue: from 2015, Moon Knight #17, "Duality" Written by Cullen Bunn, pencils by Ron Ackins, inks by Tom Palmer and Walden Wong.

This issue was the capper to the series began by Warren Ellis, with MK in a sharp white suit without the traditional cloak. And possibly less crazy than usual. Or differently crazy. Here we have another of the recent motifs of Moon Knight comics: his god Khonshu isn't just a figment of his imagination, he's totally real and rather a prick.

A new homeless shelter, managed by unsettling, always-smiling workers, brings in an old man, who notices the shelter is putting the homeless to work panhandling. Or mugging. But they have a different job in mind for anyone too observant: human sacrifice. Complete with guards that look like they're from a King Tut episode of Batman.

Luckily, the old man is a disguised Moon Knight, who manhandles the guards, but is then greeted warmly as "Father" by the smilers. They lead him to his "sister," the "mother," the priestess of Khonshu; who I thought was Nekra, but she isn't referred to by name anywhere here.

Nekra, if it is her, explains she does all this in Khonshu's name, at Khonshu's whim: as god of the moon, his aims may change like the phases. Moon Knight considers that pop-psychology mythology, but does have a bit of a hard time with her and the bizarre, armored monsters at her command. Drugged and hallucinating, MK still knows this was not Khonshu's will: he was.

Burning down the mission, Moon Knight limps away, with Khonshu by his side like the footprints in the sand parable, if Jesus was a violent nutjob. This isn't as good a done-in-one issue as Ellis's run, but at least it's not stretching two issues worth of plot into six-plus, which I kind of feel Lemire's current run is doing.

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"The End" Week: New Mutants #50!

I've been doing these "The End" posts long enough that I pretty much have to pick up any last issues I can when I find them. But I may have let this one drop in price a couple times before throwing down for it: from 2012, New Mutants #50, "House Party" Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, art by Felix Ruiz and Klebs.

This was the third volume of New Mutants, and was a return to more of the original roster: Dani Moonstar, Sunspot, Magma, Cypher, and Warlock; with new additions X-Man and Blink; and old members like Cannonball and Karma guesting here as the team throws a party. Not all of the team is ready to party, though: they had just returned from an alternate future where Cypher had gone bad, and while it had been reset, he was still weirded out about it.

Wolverine and Dr. Strange are among the party guests, and Wolvie tells Moonstar that she's doing all right with the team. Which is then attacked by Tyro, a Warlock-style techno-organic, who has fallen back under the control of his "Siredam." Before the earth can be converted to techno-organic, Cypher is able to use the knowledge from the alternate future to stop Siredam, and the team is able to get back to their party.

The New Mutants have been around since 1982...and honestly, I've never cared for them. At all. Ever. The last page of this issue mentions Cannonball and Sunspot were on their way to Hickman's New Avengers, and...meh.
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"The End" Week: Spider-Man 2099 #46!

We saw Doom 2099's last issue a couple years back, and now we finally catch up with the flagship 2099 title: from 1996, Spider-Man 2099 #46, "A House Divided" Story by Terry Kavanagh and Ben Raab, pencils by Mike McKone, inks by Harry Candelario, Matt Ryan, and Mike S. Miller.

Spider-Man 2099 #44 was Peter David's last issue, and the GCD notes some aspects were altered without his permission, like the reveal of the Goblin 2099. It was going to be the priest Father Jennifer, but instead here she's the hostage of the Vulture 2099. (They don't refer to each other with the 2099's!) Also, the latest Atlantean invasion continues, here claiming two casualties: Miguel's mom Conchata, and dad Tyler Stone. The latter had been one of the main villains the bulk of the series.

The Alchemax building is blown up, and as it collapses Miguel wonders what the next chapter of his life as Spider-Man will be like. Short: he would appear in the short-lived 2099: World of Tomorrow, then in the coda prestige one-shot 2099: Manifest Destiny. That also features Mike McKone art, and was a nice wrap-up/sendoff for the 2099 line: it's also squarebound so I can't scan any of it for you, but dig it up! Skip this one, though.

Since his costume was virtually tailor-made to be an alternate video game costume, Spidey 2099 managed to keep showing up here and there, and has actually had two first issues and a last one since this one: with Peter David, Miguel would return for 12 issues in 2014-2015, then start his current series late 2015 with a new costume. I'm not sure it's selling well, but he's getting an action figure soon, which I'm hoping will make me like the new costume more...

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"The End" Week: JLA Classified #54!

Sometimes, we find a last issue more by chance than design. Like this book! From 2008, JLA Classified #54, "Final Justice" Written by Roger Stern, pencils by John Byrne, inks by Mark Farmer. 

This was the conclusion of a five-parter, split between the classic, pre-satellite roster and the Watchtower team; both facing evangelical alien supergod Titus. Railing against earth's current religions, Titus offers himself as an alternative and in his initial visit, offers the JLA spots in the pantheon under him. On his return visit, he's mostly just out for revenge, and Wonder Woman worries his victory may be prophesied.  

Titus's "thou shalt have no gods before me" schtick could be tiresome, if these issues weren't straight punch-'em-up.  Design-wise, he resembles Kalibak a bit; and even has a big honking mace; but there's no New Gods tie-in here. Still, a perfectly fun wrap-up to this title.
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