If DC Direct was still in-house, I feel like this absolutely would've got a figure already.

Mildly surprised McFarlane hasn't hit that one, actually. But, I was a little sick the other day, so I had time to finally read this one: from 2024, Superman: Lost, reprinting 2023's Superman: Lost #1-10, written by Christopher Priest, art by Carlo Pagulayan, Lee Weeks, Dan Jurgens, Will Conrad, Jose Luis, and more. 

While Lois investigates a Congressional scandal, Superman joins the Justice League for what seems like an ordinary mission. Later, back home, Superman seems incredibly out of it, and also doesn't seem to be breathing regularly. Bruce Wayne shows up, with bad news for Lois, but he seems just as surprised to see Superman there; Lois tears into him, "what did you do?" But this wasn't on Batman: the Chinese government had been trying to salvage the drive from a crashed spaceship, but caused an implosion that could've destroyed the earth: Superman sacrifices himself to stop it, and is thrown something like 14 thousand or so light-years into space. Still in shock, Superman tells them, it had taken him twenty years to get back...!

On earth, the series alternates between Clark's pronounced PTSD, and Lois's probably ill-advised attempt to bring him out of it by going to Lex Luthor. Lex's 'help' involves giving Lois cancer: he figures, she would tell Superman, Superman would attack him, and Lex would kill him, but at least he wouldn't be all weird and mopey anymore, right? Lex did not take into account the idea that Lois might not tell him, instead passing her nausea off as a pregnancy! We also see Superman's space travel, which covered vast distances but didn't really get anywhere: with no points of reference, he's mostly stuck on a distant world--that doesn't seem to have a name, so Supes calls it 'Kansas'--inhabited by a culture Priest describes as libertarian at one point. It's sort of a democracy, but also cliquish: the general consensus seems to be, if people are dumb enough to vote to be idiots, it's not anyone else's responsibility to save them. In the same vein, so what if the sun's going to explode? That might not happen tomorrow, or in my lifetime, why do anything? Oh, and Superman couldn't get full power in the sun there, blocked by a nebula; the whole thing seems virtually designed to frustrate him. Even the arrival of a Green Lantern doesn't help much, as the ring wearer, Hope, had no idea what that was...in more ways than one. 

This kind of series was usually 12 issues, right? I almost feel like it could've used the extra two, even if there's some What If Elseworlds-like sidebars towards the end that don't add a ton. Likewise, Superman goes to therapy, which he probably needed after this, but he also borrows Supergirl's therapist and her appointment! (Clark is also, somewhat rightly, hard on himself for not understanding what Kara had been going through or supporting her enough.) The therapist later asks, how much does Superman hate Lex, which Supes tries to brush off; but there are several short fantasies of Superman murdering Lex in various ways: those might actually be Lex's annihilation fantasies. After all, if Superman killed him, he would be proven right, which is really all Lex ever wanted. 

Lois also has a conversation with Wonder Woman, that seems full of jealousy and resentment, that I had thought Lois had got out of her system long ago. Similarly, every time Bruce shows up it's with bad news, and Lois is taking none of his crap. 

 I got this at a buy two/get one free at EntertainMart: they haven't come through for me as often as the dearly departed Hastings, but here and there. Recommended!

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Again, feel like this is a reference to something, but can't quite place it.

We just picked up a random issue of this one, but the variant cover wasn't in the GCD, so maybe it was meant to be! From 2024, Army of Darkness: Forever #5, written by Tony Fleecs, art by Justin Greenwood. Variant cover by Arthur Suydam.

The premise for this mini-series is kind of a continuity patch: the theatrical and the director's cut of Army of Darkness have different endings. So, which is right? What if...they both happened? Sure, except the Ash in the more-fun S-Mart ending, was actually the returned Evil Ash, who has gone on to murder most of his co-workers. That'll suck the fun out of things; and Evil Ash allows himself to be arrested for the murder of Joxer uh, Theodore 'Ted' Howard; which is sure to bite Ash in the ass later.

Meanwhile, stuck in a wasteland apocalypse future, Ash has been collecting pages of the Necronomicon from evil robots, with the help of some little robot soldiers and the ghost of the Wise Man. Who Ash pretty much hates at this point, since he had "moved the goal posts" numerous times already, but now he had to return to the cabin in the woods: the Wise Man points out, if it makes him feel any better, there was neither woods nor cabin now; just the remnants of a cellar and a certain angry hand. Sadly, Ash loses his little robots here, as they get turned, like just about everybody else he ever meets.

Also meanwhile, in 1300 AD, Evil Ash--possibly not even the same one as in 1993!--was getting tired of the souls of peasants, and wanted someone with a bit more fire. He meant his queen, Sheila; who was still fighting the Deadites, but it may be down to just her: the Wise Man had been taken, and now Arthur was a Deadite as well! To be continued... 

I feel like I have Forever on digital, although I did buy a few issues, in particular lucky number #13, which was a jam issue send-off: I had thought that was going to be the end of Ash's long licensing run at Dynamite, since 2004: searching their website, 723 related items for Army of Darkness. But, he would return yet again, for Archie x the Army of Darkness! If his series had been numbered properly, Ash would be well over 100 issues in, and much more if the crossovers were included.

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"Unstable."

Kaine has face-melting powers--his wall-crawling abilities have expanded a bit; but he doesn't use web-shooters? Even as the Scarlet Spider? I suspect he does that to set himself apart from other Spider-Men; but he could if he wanted to. I also figure Kaine, like Ben, is probably more financially secure than Peter, if only because they aren't above taking shady money if they find it. Read more!

I feel like there were better issues of this series; darned if I've blogged any, though.

There's a stretch of the series, starting maybe around #20, with Jackson 'Butch' Guice covers, that are sharp and will really get your hopes up, since I don't think they were great issues either. Maybe a Butch cover would've helped here, but maybe not. From 1992, Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #37, "Who Killed the Changelings?" Written by Scott Lobdell, pencils by M.C. Wyman, inks by Don Hudson.

I thought this was maybe a fill-in, but it's basically killing time before next issue started "The Cold War of Nick Fury", which we've discussed before: oddly, Lobdell had written a few issues of this, would be out for a second, then back in. Fury is taking new Super-Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Psi-Borg to check out the Changelings, only to find they've all been murdered except for Woodgod. (Who we've also seen before here, I had to update the tag for him!) We see one die: the blue one with the fin on his head, and hey, wasn't he a centaur back in Incredible Hulk #252? Looked like he had people legs there.

The government forces of Trinity Base, had apparently had budget cuts and decided to phase out their animal-man monstrosity studies; and since Nick wasn't currently director of S.H.I.E.L.D. they don't recognize his authority. Fury tries to keep Woodgod from murdering the murderers; probably less out of any moral compunction, than the fear of political blowback on Woodgod. Fury 'kills' Woodgod, and with new director Dum Dum Dugan, swears to shut Trinity Base and its shifty commanders down. Then, Fury takes Woodgod out to the woods and lets him go: Fury knew he was smarter than anyone would've thought, and figured he'd get it together someday. Yeah, all his friends dead and alone in the woods? He'll be fine.

But, for good measure, "The Cold War of Nick Fury" starts here, with a prologue! (Written by Eliot Brown and Bob Sharp, pencils by M.C. Wyman, inks by Don Hudson.) Wrapping up a session in the gym, Fury gets a flash message, to go to Washington D.C. and debrief about O.S.S. and C.I.A. missions, which were years prior. Nick blows it off, not just because he doesn't think it's important, but the Amazing Colossal Man was on cable tonight! The MST3K version premiered just a year prior; there's a not-zero chance Fury was going to watch that! Unfortunately, he gets stopped by government agents, who had the foresight to clear several guns out of Nick's car first. No movie tonight... Read more!

We mentioned 1994's aborted Kirbyverse book Victory years and years ago, and that post mentions an upcoming possible revival for those characters. Some of whom appear here, but I don't think this is the same project, even with some of the same creators! From 2012, Kirby: Genesis #7, story and script by Kurt Busiek; story, layouts and paint by Alex Ross; pencils and inks by Jack Herbert.

This was the second-to-last issue, but I like the cover, and things are more than rolling by this point: in this world, instead of the boring old plaque that went out on the Pioneer 10, they sent the Kirby plaque. Almost forty years later, after Pioneer 10 had left the solar system, an alien force finds it, and comes to earth in the forms of the "Pioneer Two." Their arrival seems to blow open the doors, and dozens of super-powered heroes, villains, and creatures seem to appear; although the viewpoint character Kirby (not that one!) wonders if the Pioneer Two didn't somehow retroactively create them...? (I thought this was a bit relating to other superhero-universe launches like the White Event or the Jumpstart, where their universe was pretty much just ours until some momentous spark sets it off; except for all the stuff that had been there already and we just hadn't noticed, like the lost continent, so many aliens, several ancient civilizations, a friendly Yeti...) A couple of the more cosmic ones take a bit of offense at that, but also aren't a lot of help in Kirby's quest to get his girl back, after she had been taken over by Valkyrie-type Midnight Swan and forced to work for the bad guys. Who, as in Victory, seem to be working together because that's how it's done in these crossovers, nevermind the fact that none of them seem to have the same goals, and are all shifty as hell. (There's a space pirate/Han Solo type, pressganged into the job, that lets Kirby go at a crucial point: "...what? He's looking for his girl, it's relatable. 'Sides, maybe we can bail while they're murdering him.")

Silver Star and Captain Victory appear, but more to the sidelines, since they would take over the narrative overwise; and they both had their own mini-series to go with this. I don't think this was entirely repurposed from Victory, though: that book was using some other characters that I didn't see here, like Bombast or Nightglider. But, like most Kurt Busiek books, this reads like butter: it's very Astro City, with just a bit more Kirby love. Note to self: I don't think I grabbed Dragonsbane, maybe keep an eye out. Also, I know it wasn't intentional, but in the last issue they might have stolen a bit from the Jesus and Mary Chain's "Snakedriver." Read more!

Given enough time, I wonder if we'll get this whole series blogged.

Well, we've blogged like three out of 28 (and 3 annuals!) for Marvel's run, and I'm fairly sure they're out in the garage; so never say never. From 1978, John Carter, Warlord of Mars #12, "City of Skulls!" Written and edited by Marv Wolfman, pencils by Carmine Infantino, inks by Rudy Nebres.

Dejah Thoris and Tars Tarkas's daughter Sola are on their way home; but while Dejah makes it to Jangor, Sola doesn't make it to her dad: following music out into the desert, she is captured by skeletal hands reaching from beneath the sands. When Sola hadn't returned in a few days, Dejah asks John to go look for her. When Tars learns Sola was missing he was taken aback: the green Martians usually weren't that close to their kids, but he was. Searching in a flyer, John and Tars are taken down by a sandstorm, but find a massive, skull-shaped edifice in the desert.

Searching the structure, Tars is zapped from behind by a shaggy-looking thing, while John fights some skeletons. Grabbed by hands reaching from the walls, John turns to see Tars, obviously hypnotised, and intent on killing him...to be continued! Read more!

80-Page Thursdays: Infinite Frontier Secret Files #1!

Hmm, I had thought this was from more recently; but it's also our first 80-pager of the year! And it won't really fit in the scanner, but we'll see what we can do. From 2021, Infinite Frontier Secret Files #1, cover by Bryan Hitch.

This was a print collection of six digital-first stories, with the framing device of DEO director Mr. Bones going through various files and reports, since defending the country from the multiverse was also his problem now. Bones also later takes the lead in "Truly Two," as he has to contain a Captain Boomerang, who is also now a Doomsday? I don't love that for Boomerang, but it does have an amusing moment where Bones is distraught that Doomerang was tearing bone spikes from off his back and throwing them at him. (Written by Joshua Williamson and Stephanie Phillips, pencils by Phil Hester, inks by Ande Parks.)

"The Third Question" is a good one, as a man finally comes face to face, with the Psycho-Pirate. Allegedly, if you can put on his Medusa Mask and survive three questions, the Pirate will share his power: this guy makes it to the third, before getting his mind blown; but there may be something even beyond what the Pirate can see...(Written by Joshua Williamson and Dan Watters, art by Christopher Mitten.) 

 But, my favorite bit this issue, was in "The Two Totalities." Martian Manhunters from different realities test their teams, which admittedly weren't the most trustworthy lot; but I liked the meeting room in J'onn's mind, and the meeting table:

The sad thing is, I don't know if there's anybody on J'onn's little team that would appreciate that. (Story by Brandon Thomas and Joshua Williamson, art by Inaki Miranda.)

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