A Descent into Dullness

Man that is a big stack of comics.  And thats even with missing like four of them.  Starting with the next Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time.  With the boys ending up joining a crew of conditional pirates to fight some bad pirates.  Bad pirates who have anarchronistic speed boats and laser pistols...

Samurai Jack pays a return visit to his friend Soule the Seer, who has an idea for a mystic ritual centered on Jack's ancestral blade that could return him to his home time.  But first giant scorpions and devil dogs...

Marko and Alana's marriage hits some rocky shoals in Saga, Prince Robot has a meeting with King Robot and Dengo the Robot Revolutionary looks into making use of the illegitimate theater...

The Wicked & the Divine introduces the triple-Goddess of the Morrigan/Badb/Gentle Annie to go with Lord of Darkness, Baphomet...

Malcolm Dragon continues to be a mutated more Savage Dragon as he cleans house on the Vicious Circle.  Plus a back-up story of Vanguard and Friends in Spaaaaaaace...

Tomas and his fellow surviving anti-alien friends discover the secret to making their anti-alien gun work in the Saviors.  You just have to be high when you shoot an alien shapeshifter with it...

Brubaker & Phillips latest noir comic is the Fade Out, a late 40s decadent Hollywoodland story...

Two weeks and two issues of Knights of the Dinner Table.  They must have rushed one out so they wouldn't get knocked behind schedule by GenCon like normal.  Mostly still focusing on the Sword of Death & Destruction in-party conflict at the Knight's table.  But that looks to be spreading out and affecting the other groups.  Mostly because of the betting on the outcome and attempts to handicap said outcome...

Dark Horse Presents launches again with a new format and new #1 issue.  The price drops down to $4.99 but the page count drops to 56 pages as well.  Of course part of that launch is a new Big Guy & Rusty the Boy Robot short, as well as starting a new arc of Resident Alien...

And in addition to the regular Conan the Avenger where Conan hunts for a dangerous witch and has a falling out with his Princess boss/lover; there is also Groo vs. Conan where the pair meet for the first time and team-up to hunt the marauding swordsman known as Groo...

Adventure Time has Marceline and Bubblegum get driver's licenses and introduces the psychic danger of the Mnemonoid.  And Adventure Time: Banana Guard Academy has academy commandant Captain Banana Guard looking to force all those non-banana recruits to quit, since he can't just kick them out.  So its kind of like the first Police Academy movie but without a guy who makes funny sound fx just with his mouth...

And finally I didn't realize until just now that the Bee & Puppycat comic is an anthology featuring various writers and artists.  Don't know how I missed that for three issues...

New New Warriors with some Avengers attacking like jerks.  I don't like the current interpretation of Captain America as Commander Jerkass.  This is one case where I'd very much like to see the character move back towards the version in the film MCU...

Thanks to a friendly undead sorceror-king, King Conan gets the magic gemstone of McGuffin and heads back to his kingdom.  To gather a big ol' army for a royal ass-kicking..

Non-royal Conan the Avenger parts ways with his new witchfinder friend in order to take a job guarding a sexy arrogant princess.  Plus a nice speech from his dad in a flashback that a GM for old-school D&D can explain why barbarians won't adventure with wizards.  Because fuck wizards, thats why...

The Unwritten: Apocalypse has Tommy and his friends and family begin their quest for the Grail.  And Marionette lady and Ol' Man Killer make plans together...

Wonder Woman's eldest half-sibling, the Firstborn, continues to be a big violent, sulky baby even after conquering Olympus and Hades and I think the Ocean as well.  Next up, the Garden of Life.  Seriously, hes such an emo whiner...

Decided to get the singles for the new TMNT: Turtles in Time mini-series.  Mostly 'cause the first issue is done by Ross Campbell who draws an awesome Ninja Turtle and some great dinosaurs and brain aliens as well...

Aku's latest attack on Samurai Jack involves a gravity manipulating spherical robot.  You can guess how it works out...

In Adventure Time, PB explains to her people why they're all ghosts now.  And then Finn & Jake figure out how to defeat ghosts with ghosts thru the power of cooperation...

So it turns out the missing Prince Robot of Saga has been at the intergalatic whore house of Sextillion.  Which may be for the best as the social order in the Robot kingdom looks to be due for some shaking up...

Man, that is a lot of deaths in Invincible as Robot makes his play for global domination.  And I'm not talking nameless background people.  Like named, secondary characters.  Seriously when making plans, a sign they're stupid and wrong should be "How many of my closest friends will I have to murder?"

Malcolm Dragon continues in his father's footsteps of getting attacked by super-goons and then getting yelled at for the people caught in the spillover in Savage Dragon.  Plus his girlfriend's parents are still pushing her to date some nice Chinese boy...

Fatale closes in on its finale, with magic sex rituals and more revelations about Jo's past.  Awful, terrible revelations...

The Wicked & the Divine is a new series from Kieron GIllen and Jamie McKelvie.  The set-up here is that every 90 years, groups of "gods" reincarnate and hang around for several years, incarnated as teen-agers apparently...

And finally a new Alien Legion series from Chuck Dixon, Larry Stroman and Carl Potts.  Stroman's pencils look a lot tighter and more focused than the last thing I saw him do (probably a random issue of X-Factor).  Anyway, something Harkilon civil war something something refugees something.  All that matters as the Legionnaires of Nomad will be at the forefront wading hip-deep in the muck and blood before long.  I was dissapointed not to see the 'icks, who I'm pretty sure survived the last AL mini...

Samurai Jack finishes up its first arc and, given that its been renewed for at least another year's worth of issues, it does NOT end with Jack defeating Aku and traveling back to his home time...

So its some kind of Demon Possession racket going on in Dead Boy Detectives.  Plus two crap Headmasters for the price of one...

Oh hey look its that one dude who went into the Dreamtime back before the Unwritten got hijacked into helping Fables.  Bah!  Oh well at least I've got a mob of Libertine Rakes attempting to hang the main cast...

Ah family.  Meaning Wonder Woman, Hermes and Artemis vs. goons, Dionysious vs. Minotaur and explosively Firstborn vs. Apollo...

Adventure Time's 25th issue!  With dinosaurs!  Talking gemstones!  Marcy/Bubs bonding!  Robohouse!  Glimpses of Future Finn!

So I'm cautiously optimistic about the new volume of New Warriors.  Yes I was burned before following title over creators.  But Christopher Yost has been doing some good work on the recently ended Scarlet Spider.  And he's using parts of that to jump off for this.  Plus 1st Big Bad = The High Evolutionary.  Haven't seen him since "Annihilation: Conquest"...

Not too surprisingly Daredevil's outing himself on the stands leads to a disbarment.  Also a brawl.  And bonus disbarment for Foggy.  Luckily for the series relaunch a loophole means Matt could still practice law in California.  Thus explaining the move back to San Francisco...

Most everyone survives the giant orc/troll/goblin fight in Rat Queens.  Meaning time for celebratory drinking and debauchery.  Including dwarf/orc with beard full of birds make-outs.  I love you Rat Queens.  Love you like a confirmed critical hit during a boss fight...

Son of Savage Dragon Malcom Dragon transfers to a new high school and fights a dude named Tantrum.  Who has a conjoined baby in his chest.  Seriously, conjoined chest baby...

Two Conan comics!  First off, the actual final issue of Brian Wood's Conan the Barbarian and grieving Conan moving on from his loss.  And the return of the Timothy Truman King Conan.  With aged Conan continuing his flashback to the search for the Heart of Ahriman to regain the kingdom of Aquiliona...

And finally some Dark Horse Presents.  Some WW2 era space zombies.  And more Nexus.  And Mr. Monster.  And conclusions for St. George and City of Roses...

This most recent Prophet is less about any of the Prophet-brothers and more about the multi-millennial long life of one Diehard, WW2-era super soldier.  With lots of guest artists doing various snapshots of said life...

Savage Dragon has a jail break/riot to deal with, while Malcolm Dragon has past and current girlfriend problems.  And the new She-Dragon must face Virus Dragon in the depths of space...

I haven't paid a huge amount of attention to Daredevil until Waid took over.  So is the Jester actually an established Marvel bad guy?  'Cause they act like he is, but this is the first I can recall seeing of him...

I don't think Belit's plan of holding an artifact for ransom to the Black Stone Cult is a very good one.  I mean I'd think messing with a cult in the world of Conan the Barbarian is much more dangerous in a world where magic and the gods are actual real things and have no problems with throwing giant snakes and shit at people...

Adventure Time: Candy Capers has two team-ups this time around.  Peppermint Butler and Cinnamon Bun go to Hell to check with Death and see if Finn & Jake are dead.  And Lumpy Space Princess and Lemongrab go to "the Summit at Wolf Mountain".  Those poor, poor wolf monsters...

Regular Adventure Time is a 1st-person guest birthday Adventurer.  With Adventure Suits and rogue giants and book-reading...

Astro City does a one-shot looking at the super-powered types he aren't interested in joining in on either side of the capes & tights game.  Focusing mainly on Mattie the telekinetic f/x lady from that long past fake soap opera super-hero one-shot...

Knights of the Dinner Table returns the focus to the UT+1, with both their current campaign (which intersects in an unexpected way with one of their past ones) and the continuing retro strip with Dave running Hacknoia...

The second issue of the relaunched Astro City features the support crew for Honor Guard.  Essentially the 911 operators for the supers set...

Young Avengers picks up with the team a few months after the end of the first story arc.  With a recap of their crazy adventures we all missed.  And then Prodigy shows up to get their help in finding Speed...

Daredevil starts up a new storyline with Matt getting a visit from one of the people who bullied him as a kid.  Who is in need of some legal aid...

Invincible Universe spends an issue sort of focusing on Best Tiger.  Focusing mostly on how he'd go about killing everyone else on his team.  For reasons...

Savage Dragon is all about the Dragon.  Well original Dragon and Son of Dragon and Son of Dark Dragon.  Plus that loveable sociopath Dart II...

And then its ADVENTURE TIME!  Where just as Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake comes to a close, Adventure Time Candy Capers begins...

Last week's Dark Horse Presents didn't have any of my favorites.  No "Finder" or that pseudo-Pokemons one or "Resident Alien".  Does have some new "Nexus" which is nice.  And a couple supers variants that I like...

Though a Bunny doth reign in the Hell of the Unwritten still a quest shall be completed.  Er..lo or something...

So it seems that Invincible's dad is the long lost King of the not-Kryptonians.  Probably why he has one of the best moustaches...

You know what death you're probably not expecting in the Massive when your job is helicopter pilot?  Getting eaten by a shark.  I mean given the bizareness of the world enviroment you probably should.  But I think its safe to say dude did not see that coming...

The Young Avengers' Marvel Boy and Ms. America could have a contest over who's parents (who died for their mission) are the bigger undead jerks.  Probably Noh-var's, since the Kree are like space Elves when it comes to being giant buttheads...

So according to Invincible Universe's artist Phil Nauck, he's hoping to get to do every character in the Kirkman 'Verse piles on every 3rd or 4th issue.  Dude apparently really loves doing multi-page crowd scenes...

And Larsen does some experimenting with page layouts on Savage Dragon with an issue that basically checks in with numerous characters...

Starting off with the final (hopefully temporarily) issue of Saucer Country. With at least one of the ufo mysteries partly solved. Though in an way that opens up more investigations. And with a new POTUS...

Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake opens with flavor text further explaining the situation with Fire Prince. But then moves in focus to Lumpy Space Prince. Which is much like original gender LSP stories, not the best...

Glory also wraps up. With a bit more of Glory's backstory and then a visit to the afterlife...

Angel departs Chicago in Savage Dragon while Dragon's people are slaughtered in space, the Claw rampages and her dad awaits his fate in prison...

So the noble Prince Robot in Saga literally has blue blood. Also you can watch dream flashbacks on his head-screen. Thats got to have lead to awkward moments...

Guarding the Globe is over, only to be replaced by Invincible Universe. Same creative team and a story picking up right after GtG's...

More endings, this time for Godzilla: Half-Century War. And the finale has a three-way battle between big G, Mecha-Godzilla (piloted by Murakami) and space-monsters King Ghidorah and Gigan...

And finishing up with Knights of the Dinner Table where the majority of the focus is split between the Ladies of Hack and Crush's rookie game. Where he's running the rarely seen Crime Nation: RPG...

Only two books this week, balancing seven from last week. Oh and that 1st issue of Brian Wood's Mara that came out Christmas week. Which is a sort of distopian cyberpunk-y thing. With constant wars and professional athletes being groomed from childhood on to be superstars. And then I guess some kind of supers thing is getting mixed in? The end is kind of confusing. I'll probably try at least one more issue...

Then lots of Image, even with my shop running out of Clone's 3rd issue. But a new arc for Fatale, going even further into the past with Jo and creepy cult and another doomed writer and police man...

Prophet visits Earth again. With a lady John Prophet encountering a Prophet-brother who has gone all atavist with a pack of feral humans. Though I didn't even notice until just now that this issue wasn't written by Brandon Graham, but by some dude named Simon Roy...

Savage Dragon is back on Earth, but is being jailed awaiting trial for the crimes committed by Emperor Zur...

Invincible continues fighting Dinosaurus as the rest of the world's heroes deal with the rising ocean levels...

Over on the spin-off Guarding the Globe Outrun confronts some of the stuff done while her body was possessed. And Set, the dude who decimated Paris, gets in a fight with his brother Toth in India...

Glory, her allies and her crazy sister assault her father's home. Where things go in an unexpected direction. Waffles are involved...

Godzilla: the Half-Century War reaches the 80s. And the A.M.F. deploys its newest weapon, MechaGodzilla. Just in time for an even greater and more alien threat to arrive...

We've also got the latest Adventure Time comic spin-off, AdventureTime with Fionna & Cake. Expanding on the gender swapped episode and written and drawn by Natasha Allegri who was behind said episode. Plus a back-up story involving stolen sweaters by Noelle Stevenson of the webcomic Nimona...

And lastly a new Knights of the Dinner Table. Where we get to see how the culture of payback at all costs effects all the gaming groups and their ability to compete at GaryCon...

Two weeks worth of comics because..well because..um..because shut up thats why. Yeah, thats why...

Starting with some Courtney Crumrin, with Courtney and her teacher on the road and battling the hunters of the Council...

Then a one-shot return to Marvel's zombie Earth for Van Lente with Marvel Zombies Halloween. And a survivor story with a holiday appropriate guest spot...

Next Daredevil reveals the mastermind behind the whole Matt-is-crazypants plot. And while I can always appreciate a good D-level villain reinvents themselves tale I still am amazed that Daredevil figures out who it is without ever even thinking "vampire". 'Cause I totally would have gone with vampire...

the Dark Avengers face off against the returned full team of Thunderbolts. They don't come off so well. Especially as that includes a re-empowered Cain Marko...

Saucer Country is past the world/mythos building to get back to the focus on the joint presidential race/x-files investigation...

Decided to at least try out the new Sword of Sorcery title from DC, since Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld was always one of those off-genre bits of the DCU I've been curious about. Its a decent if somewhat stereotypical lost heir to the magical kingdom thing. Still its a hard sell at $4 for 20 pages with the "extra" value of a re-imagined Beowulf back-up story....

Wonder Woman begins its new big story arc with Diana and her allies, including a banished from Olympus Hera, looking for allies amidst Zeus other demi-divine children...

Glory and company set off from her base to begin searching for her little sister, Nanaja. Who is basically Glory with all the brakes taken off...

And then we've got Savage Dragon with more alien invasion aftermath for Malcom and Angel Dragon. Plus some more violent overreaction by the new Overlord...

Then its this week starting with the Unwritten. And Tommy goes on a walkabout back into the world's of fiction by after hearing the Australian whale origin myth of Kondili...

I also grabbed the A-Babies Vs. X-Babies one-shot. 'Cause Skottie Young and Gurihiru writing and drawing half the Marvel Universe as brawling babies is too adorable for words...

Over on Adventure Time Finn & Jake engage in multiple time trips and crazy Princess Bubblegum science-ings in order to get back to the status quo they started from...

The majority of the Knights of the Dinner Table cast is still at Garycon. Where we learn that Felicia Day is so magical she can even overcome Brian's near crippling shyness around women he's attracted too...

And then a doubleshot of Brandon Graham. First off with the scifi crazy awesomeness of Prophet. And then a different kind of scifi crazy with the return of his Multiple Warheads series. Which is totally crammed with visual puns and concepts, much like his King City. MW follows Sexica, former alien organ smuggler and her werewolf boyfriend Nikou as they go on a road trip in search of a new life and home...

After that Invincible wraps up the Flaxan/Robot/Monster Girl story. Relationships are rebuilt, secrets are revealed, secrets are kept, love is confessed and awkward sex is had. Not necessarily all by the same people...

And finally a new Dark Horse Presents. With "Finder" getting the main cover this time around. Plus a "Mr. Monster" story that features Munden's Bar...