DC Comics has released exclusive preview images of WONDER WOMAN #761; available in comics shops on August 25th. Wonder Woman reluctantly teams up with Maxwell Lord to stop a threat that’s too big for the Amazonian Princess to handle solo.
Written by Mariko Tamaki and with art by Carlo Barberi and Matt Santorelli, DC says of this issue: “It’s the team-up no one saw coming: Wonder Woman and Maxwell Lord! This evil jerk has returned to Diana’s life, but is Max here to save the day?”
You can check out some sweet preview images and read the full DC press release below.
Does Lord’s return get you hyped for this upcoming Wonder Woman? Let us know what you think in the Comments section, and please share this post on social media using the links below.
DC PREVIEW — WONDER WOMAN #761, ON SALE TUESDAY, AUGUST 25!
Artists Carlo Barberi and Matt Santorelli enter the fray as Eisner award-winning writer continues Diana’s new adventures in Wonder Woman #761! The book hits comic book stores and digital retailers on Tuesday, August 25 and DC’s got your first look!
It’s the team-up no one saw coming: Wonder Woman and Maxwell Lord! This evil jerk has returned to Diana’s life, but is Max here to save the day? With a new psychic phenomenon affecting more and more people, Wonder Woman is going to need all the help she can get to contain this frightening new warping of the mind…
DC Comics has released an exclusive preview of DETECTIVE COMICS #1026, available for retailers on August 25th, which ties into The Joker War. Batman tries to save citizens trapped in Gotham’s underground as the Joker toxin spreads, but Killer Croc arrives to make sure Batman’s visit to the tunnels is a one-way trip.
Written by Peter J. Tomasi and drawn by Kenneth Rocafort, DC promises this issue will bring the deadly aftershocks of The Joker War home in a big way. You can check out a preview of Rocafort’s art and read the official DC press release below.
Is Killer Croc one of your favorite Batman villains? Let us know what you think in the Comments section, and please share this post on social media using the links below.
KILLER CROC TAKES THE JOKER WAR INTO THE SEWERS IN DETECTIVE COMICS #1026!
On August 25, writer Peter J. Tomasi and artist Kenneth Rocafort take “The Joker War” underground in Detective Comics #1026, a tie-in to the event that will change the lives of The Dark Knight, his allies and his enemies forever!
DC’s got your first look here, spotlighting Rocafort’s incredible art!
As “The Joker War” rages on, the casualties are mounting, and the underground residents of Gotham City must deal with the devastating effects of the Joker toxin that’s been pumped into the city’s old tunnel system. Batman must risk everything to guide them to safety, but a familiar face has mobilized these forgotten souls to rise up in anger…and Killer Croc takes no prisoners!
Welcome to Self-Published Spotlight, a regular interview column where I will be highlighting self-published comics and the creators and small print publishers who make them.
This week I’m chatting with Jamie Jones and Nick Cagnetti, whose crossover comic, THE BABOON AND PINK LEMONADE JAMBOREE, has been kicking butt on Kickstarter. Read on below and support the book!
Monkeys Fighting Robots: Jamie and Nick, can you give our readers a brief introduction of who the Baboon and Pink Lemonade are?
Nick Cagnetti:Sure, Pink Lemonade is a lone amnesiac wanderer with a positive mindset who drives around on her motorcycle and searches for enlightenment/cool new stuff. She likes making new friends along the way so she was pretty excited to meet the Baboon and Monkey Bones here.
Jamie Jones: The Baboon is an action-adventure hero in the style of 40s and 50s action adventure comics. A freelance agent for the government, he, aided by his top-notch crew, takes on missions that send him to wildly exotic places on world-saving adventures.
MFR: Awesome. So how did you guys discover each other’s work?
Jamie:A few years back I saw Nick’s work on Instagram. This was when he was working on Infinite Wonders, I think. I fell in love with his stuff and have been following him ever since. We met in person for the first time at Heroes con 2019 when Pink Lemonade and The Baboon both launched.
Nick:Yeah, we’ve been following each other for a few years now, I remember I sent Jamie an Infinite Wonders sketch back in 2018! It was great finally meeting Jamie at Heroes Con. The afterparty at the comic store was filled to the brim with creators and I was just standing in the back by some long boxes not really knowing anybody and Jamie came over to talk to me which was cool.
MFR: So, slight spoiler alert I guess (since I have read the book), you guys sort of had your characters meet the same way! That’s awesome.
Jamie:Hey, anything before page 5 is fair game! (laughs)
MFR:Heard that (laughs)! So when did you guys decide on doing a crossover, or jamboree as you so awesomely call it?
Jamie:It was either late last year or early this year. But once we got going it went pretty quick.
Nick:Jamie brought it up to me I think in December and I said LET’S DO IT! I don’t know how BUT LET’S DO IT!
MFR:How did you decide who did what? Both of you pretty much handle every aspect of your respective comics. So you both can pretty much do it all?
Nick:First we were just sorta spitballing ideas for the story back and forth on a shared document. My pitch had a bunch of pirates and stuff (laughs), Jamie’s was a comic convention and that connected to both of our hearts straight away. He spearheaded drawing the book pretty fast after that and I offered to color it. It was definitely a different feel for me just focusing on that one aspect more than usual.
Jamie:As Nick said, we set up a google doc and then pitched ideas. Then we kind of took bits and pieces of both ideas and formed a basic plot. We co-wrote it from there. It went kind of like this. I’d send a super loose thumbnail of what I thought the page would be and say PL and Babs talk about this plot thing. And then, in the Docs, Nick would write what PL would say and I’d respond in Babs’ voice. Or vice versa. Then I penciled and inked the book and Nick colored it.
MFR:That sounds like it was fun! You guys used Kickstarter so successfully. I keep seeing it work for so many creators. Jim Rugg did one, hell we did one here for MFRs magazine. Which full disclosure both of you are part of haha. Why do you guys think Kickstarter has worked so well for cartoonists.
Nick:I think especially right now with things being on a different operating level it offers a great resource for creators to just get books to fans pretty quick and easy. We were originally gonna have this book to debut at Heroes Con this year, so we sat on it for a bit but in retrospect, all those KickStarters were popping up waving like “Hey, come on over!”
MFR:Yeah, I agree. I think it’s such a great way for fans and creators to connect closely. It becomes a shared experience for everyone. I love knowing that I helped put something great out there.
Jamie:As entertainment gets further and further into insanely large budgeted products, with lots of moving pieces, creative teams that seem to change mid stories, and interference from “higher-ups” there has been a backlash from the consumer wanting projects made by a single creative team with as little interference as possible. Make the product you want to make and people will back it. Kickstarter allows the consumer to get the product directly from the creator and that makes the product a little more special.
Nick: Heck yeah! It also felt like it made a bit more sense to make a splash on Kickstarter drumming up the hype with everybody for a month instead of us just quietly dropping the book on our online shops one day out of the blue or something like that. There is that sense of community with everybody for sure, and it gives us stuff to talk about!
MFR:What do want readers to take away from the book? For me, it was just such pure comic boy joy.
Jamie:I think that’s the big thing. The joy and the wholesomeness of a team-up of this nature. I feel like I have a bit of a vendetta against the overtly serious and “adult” superhero comics that you see on the shelf today. So, here’s a fun comic with characters that love the adventure.
Nick: The joy of comix is a big thing! For me, it was a great joy to work on earlier this year when there wasn’t a whole lot of good stuff happening outside the windows in the real world. I think there’s something to be said for books that you can give anybody, anybody can pop in and have fun with it, I think we need stuff like this to help us especially right now.
MFR: For example, I love the conventions double spread pages. You got some cameos I spotted. I know I saw you guys in there. Anyone/Anything else you all snuck in. I know I caught a few things but it’s more fun coming from you guys. (laughs)
Jamie:Oh man. there’s so much on those 2 pages. Nick and I have a cameo. Our characters from past books and a ton of my favorite characters who inspired the Baboon.
Nick:There’s a lot of indie comics cameos and some mainstream guys, and maybe a couple of Kayfabers too… I dunno!
MFR: I thought I saw a Pittsburgh Pirates hat in there (laughs).
Nick:Jamie and I’s cameo characters have some pages of art in front of us at the table and the art is the art from that two-page spread. It’s like “Twopagespreadception”. Not very elegant, I know (laughs).
MFR:The spread in a spread (laughs). How Grant Morrison meta of you Nick!
Jamie: Nick I didn’t even notice you did that (laughs). I’m looking at it now!
MFR:Oh snap. You read it here first folks!
Nick:I’ve got the X-Files theme playing in my head now, oooh it’s been discovered!
MFR: That’s perfect! (laughs).So as of today, the Kickstarter has reached its goal. What’s left in the week or so leading to its end? What stretch goals do you have? And what can backers expect?
Jamie:Our first stretch goal was a couple of stickers. The Baboon and PL the next goal is at 5k and we will add some pages to the book with some pin-ups from other artists. Really the final week is all about more and more promo stuff. I would love to see this thing hit 200 backers!
Nick:Well, everybody can expect stickers for sure! Some nice stickers with their comic(s). Stickers are gonna be fun. I think we’re about 40 backers away from 200, I think we can do it! Scratch that, currently 31 away! Even better
MFR:I believe in you guys. You will do it. So when can people expect the book to be in their hands?
Jamie:So once the Kickstarter ends it can take up to 3 weeks to get the money. Right when that comes in we go to print. So it’s safe to say either late August or early September. We will, of course, be keeping everyone up to date on that process on the page.
Nick:We’ve also got a bunch of those backing board sketches to do for folks- those will be fun, though! I saw Jim Rugg was doing a ton for his Octobriana Kickstarter, he had like a whole production line of them all on a big giant board (laughs).
MFR: So think this is the end of Baboon and Pink Lemonade crossing paths?
Jamie:I sure hope not!
Nick:Well, they’re pals now! Heck, I told Jamie a while back that I want to have a Baboon cameo in PL#3, sort of flashing back to this big adventure in the crossover.
MFR: And aside from the Jamboree crossover, where can fans find your work?
Jamie:I’m @artofjamiejones on all the social media.
Nick:I’m @fudgy1nick on Instagram, @Ncags on Twitter, and my website is RadicalRealmComics.com– and that’s pretty much got links to everything
MFR: Awesome! Well, thanks again for chatting with me guys.
Australian horror continues to dominate with Relic, a movie that will make every viewer want to appreciate their family a bit more. Disguised as a ghostly tale, the film is a grim examination of what it is like to watch someone you love deteriorate after their mind has seemingly been taken over by an invisible enemy. Relic is a very heavy depiction of abandonment, familial duties, and generational guilt that will sit with you afterward for quite some time.
Similar to The Babadook and Hereditary, Relic doesn’t go for cheap scares that will make you jump out of your seat. Instead, we get a slow burn that spends time with its characters trying to navigate and understand what is after them. Directed and co-written by Natalie Erika James, the film stars Emily Mortimer, Robyn Nevin, and Bella Heathcote. Relic follows Edna (Nevin), an elderly woman who returns home after going missing for a few days to find her daughter Kay (Mortimer) and granddaughter Sam (Heathcote) waiting there to help her. After spending time pondering on the presence of something supernatural, Kay and Sam find evidence around the house that suggests Edna is rotting away mentally.
Emily Mortimer and Bella Heathcote in Relic
James is on record admitting she endured this with her own grandmother in pursuit of the career she has now. She had pondered for a long time whether or not to visit her grandmother. Finally, James did venture out to see her while she suffered from Alzheimer’s only to find that her grandmother didn’t recognize her anymore. Relic is James’ directional debut and she absolutely nails it. Many would argue that horror is at its best when there are no ghosts or demons and the terror comes from unfortunate life realities. The tension is always present, the film is well-paced and James understands the importance of creating an atmosphere.
Due to her personal experiences, James took her sad reality and turned it into a film that portrays dementia as a demonic force that ruins families. Her direction helps bring to life the visual representation of what it feels like to lose someone to dementia. The subject matter is uncomfortable and will undoubtedly be familiar territory for many viewers like it was for me. Writing Relic must have been a cathartic experience for James because the film’s final moments are horrifying and sad all at once. This was a special watch for me because I got to experience how dementia can slowly take a loved one from you early last year with my grandmother. When witnessing the slow decline of a loved one you can find yourself frustrated, sad and Relic effectively brings out all of those emotions.
James co-wrote the script alongside Christian White. Relic centers on three generations of women and it’s implied that dementia has long been an issue for this family. Throughout the film, Kay is haunted by nightmares of her great grandfather being left alone and rotting away from the same issue that is eating away at her mother now. It’s clear that this disease has been plaguing this family for many years and Edna is the latest victim. James and White have a script that addresses a plethora of tough decisions many family members juggle when dealing with this situation. Kay spends the film wondering if her mother should be put in a home, and Sam just wants to take Edna back home with them so they can be together. Kay is written to be very distant from her mom and she views her as a distraction or inconvenience to her life. There’s almost a sense of longing in her eyes throughout the movie as if she wants to see her mother, but she doesn’t recognize her anymore and wants nothing to do with her.
Robyn Nevin, Emily Mortimer, and Bella Heathcote in Relic
Each leading woman is developed enough to see the situation from their perspective and we learn what we need to know about their relationships with Edna to sympathize with them as the movie takes you on its slow-burn of a journey. Kay’s response to her mother’s declining health is very familiar to me because I felt the same way about my grandmother. Prior to her decline, I’d wake up at night and find her leaving the water running throughout the house and performing other acts that just weren’t like her. I believed she had already departed because I didn’t recognize her and I couldn’t bring myself to be around her sometimes. This wasn’t my grandmother, this was someone else entirely but I learned to accept her as she was so that I could help take care of her. One major aspect of life this script highlights is the inevitable role switches between parents and children. Parents take care of their children and the children should return to take care of their parents in the future if necessary.
The actresses involved deliver some memorable performances, but of course, Nevin steals the show with her gut-wrenching portrayal of Edna. Between the vacant expressions, sudden outbursts, and emotional mood swings, she makes Edna very sympathetic and sometimes hard to watch as her mind is stolen by the invisible enemy. Nevin’s delivery is surely going to make you uneasy, sad, confused, and want to show compassion all at once. Spoilers ahead for those wanting to watch the film, Edna’s dementia completely takes over at the end of Relic. James’ methodical direction brings us to a high-tension, unsettling, but an emotional conclusion. The presence of mold in the house begins to make all three ladies hallucinate. After running from an almost unrecognizable Edna, Kay and Sam decide to abandon her until Kay remembers her grandfather one last time. What happens afterward is one of the best scenes in a film this year. Kay accepts what’s left of her mother and the message of the film is brought home.
Bella Heathcote as Sam in Relic
James’ directional debut is an emotional rollercoaster with a lot to say about mental illness, generational guilt, and acceptance. Relic is a gripping story that will require multiple viewings in order to catch all of the hidden meanings because there is very little spoonfeeding to the audience. James and White wrote a screenplay that will remind viewers to appreciate their loved ones and to not abandon them when they are at their weakest. Also, it features some superb cinematography from Charlie Sarrof built up by a chilling score from Brian Reitzell.
Despite a few minor issues like lighting and an ending that could have been a bit better in terms of pacing and the end result. This film is surprisingly very heartfelt and it’s great to have a horror film that will remind me of my grandmother even if the subject matter is heavy because the ending is a reminder to me that I didn’t fail her. Relic is a beautiful allegory for what it means to live with dementia.
Doctor Tomorrow #4 by Valiant Entertainment releases this week for a climax. Alejandro Arbona gives some character development where the moment matters with illustrations from Jim Towe, colors by Kelly Fitzpatrick, and lettering by Clayton Cowles.
Recap
Doctor Tomorrow follows Bart Simms from different multiverses; the fifteen-year-old encounters his older superhero self Dr. Tomorrow to stop the supervillain, Hadrian. However, Dr. Tomorrow reveals that his desires are similar to his mentor Hadrian.
Doctor Tomorrow #4: The Atonement
Alejandro Arbona plays the Hero’s Journey formula at its atonement phase in Doctor Tomorrow #4. With the surprise ending of issue 3, it was time for some context. One where Bart ends up catching up with his friend Gretchen, or at least a version of her. All while confirming some suspicions about Hadrian and Doctor Tomorrow. It turns out the helper Gretchen was the mentor Bart actually needed. As the first issue displays, it’s the little mundane moments between Bart and Gretchen that hold the most weight. It all comes full circle just in time for the series finale. This issue unpacks a lot of personal time between these best friends to make up for issue #2. Yet it’s these personal moments that go by years for Bart to complete his metamorphosis into a true hero.
Art
Jim Towe’s artwork displays these emotional moments throughout Doctor Tomorrow #4, especially when it comes to the sudden changes of similar scenes. The small moments hold a lot of impact with the scenes that feature backgrounds fading away for moments of clarity and relief. With everything that goes on, they’re the points of the most significance. Even Bart redesigning his suit into a less flashy version of Doctor Tomorrow’s feels less significant in comparison. Not that it has no importance, it’s a display of Bart’s growth out of a power fantasy into something humble. The simplistic coloring by Kelly Fitzpatrick attests to that; no bright flashing lights, just a practical and memorable look.
The lettering by Clayton Cowles is equally as practical. Just about every panel is contained to one moment with none of the word balloons going out. Instead, they guide readers to the next page. As for the wordmarks, most of them are the reusable varieties Cowles uses throughout his career. The laughing sound effects, for example, are completely the same and are only different by their color, size, and an exclamation point. Because again, it’s the simple change of the moment that makes things more impactful.
Doctor Tomorrow #4: The Climax
Now Doctor Tomorrow #4 will definitely require some background knowledge to fully appreciate. It is the entire series’ consequences being compiled. Yet living in the moment is precisely what makes this issue stand out. After many hints and things that had to be removed, it’s this emotional core that brings about some missing character.
What do you all think? Is this what the Doctor Tomorrow series needed before the grand finale? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
Empyre: Savage Avengers #1 has Conan the Barbarian fighting in modern-day society thanks to Gerry Duggan, Greg Smallwood, and VC’s Travis Lantham. A character like Conan who is out of time finds a way to find his purpose by helping to repel an alien invasion. Which is amazing to watch unfold.
In South America, Conan finds himself enslaved – which is typically bad news for those attempting to do the enslaving! But these enslavers come from beyond the stars, and they’ve got a singular and grisly end in store for the Cimmerian.
Writing
The setup of Conan enjoying modern culture before shifting into combat was a great premise. Especially being in Mexico City (the description is wrong and it’s from the official site) where Conan is shown to be watching Lucha wrestling and calling the action fake. This is a small moment and shifts into what Conan does best (violence) as the aliens invade. From there the issue really picks up speed.
Greg Duggan finds a way to capitalize on Conan’s skill as a warrior. The Cotati are alien plant creatures who don’t bleed blood. This allows for a large amount of decapitation and dismemberment which comes off more as tame. Seeing Venom acting as a “Suck it up and get it together” character seems weird but appropriate given his new calling as an Avenger.
Artwork
The artwork by Greg Smallwood seems like the perfect style for this issue. The majority of the scenes are tight and focus on Conan as he fights through the streets. This allows attention to the movement of the combat and is entertaining to witness.
The coloring thanks to Smallwood helps with the setting and with showcasing how the Cotati are aliens. With the setting, though most of the issue happens at night, there is a shift to a dream sequence and the change in color helps the reader to tell the scene is different. With the Cotati the color allows the reader to see their blood is green and makes the fact Conan shreds through a large group of them without making the issue feel like it’s made for mature readers.
The Lettering by VC’s Travis Lanham, the narration boxes for Conan seems on point looking like the papyrus of a scroll. There also is an impressive use of the special effect lettering for adding to the action scenes. The lettering for the explosions and impact scenes are especially worth mentioning.
Conclusion
Empyre: Savage Avengers #1 isn’t a must-read comic but at the same time it’s a lot of fun. Seeing how Conan the Barbarian would deal with an alien invasion is a question I’m sure many have always wondered and now there is an answer. After reading the issue hopefully, fans will find themselves wanting to check out the regular Savage Avengers series to see what the future has Conan.
Iron Man 2020 #5 has Tony Stark return to stop his brother Arno thanks to Christos Gage, Dan Slott, Pete Woods and VC’s Joe Caramagna. After all of the carnage of the 2020 event, Tony Stark makes his appearance and intends to make it clear he is the real Iron Man. It’s a phenomenal issue, topped off by a cliffhanger which will leave the audience in suspense.
Tony Stark is back! But is this the REAL Tony? How is that possible?! Where did that all-new armor come from?! WHAT’S GOING ON?!
Writing
This issue feels like what Dan Slott and Christos Gage have been working towards since the beginning. After putting Tony through a journey of self-doubt, seeing him back and revealing a plan to take on Arno is beyond entertaining. Also, the showdown between the two brothers becomes the highlight of the entire issue.
After all the chaos of the 2020 event (and what has been happening in the real world), seeing Tony Stark back and eager to reclaim his title as the Invincible Iron Man is a welcomed sight. This issue brings together the side stories of Rescue 2020 and Machine Man 2020 making the event feel grander. With only one issue left, the team will hopefully wrap this story up and set up the next installment of Iron Man’s journey.
Artwork
The art by Pete Woods is on point. One of the biggest achievements comes in the attention to the different facial expressions and how impactful they are to each scene. Scenes like when Tony is creating in the virtual world on a forge and the happiness on his face or Sunset Bain’s expression as she decides to adopt an old persona is chilling.
The colorwork by Woods stands out as Tony unveils his new armor. Instead of a traditional suit of metal, the new suit uses a hard light/hologram system. It wraps around Tony’s body but shows the clothes underneath. Thanks to the coloring the effect is mind-blowing to observe.
The lettering work by VC’s Joe Caramagna helps the story to flow with the distinct placement of word bubbles. This helps a lot thanks to the way Woods likes to use a stylized flow to the issue across the two pages. Also, the specific format with the word bubbles for many characters helps with the audio aspect as you read the issue.
Conclusion
Iron Man 2020 #5 truly feels like where the event was leading to the entire time. The issue also features a tribute to the late Denny O’Neil. His run on Iron Man featured some of the best stories and moments in the character’s history. He will be missed.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #5 hits your local comic book store August 5th, but thanks to Marvel Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive five-page preview for you.
About the issue: Moondragon is a hero. With her wife at her side, she came to our reality from a dimension of heroes – to save us all from evil. But our reality already had a Moondragon, and she can’t be a hero all the time. The DRAGON OF THE MOON has returned — and it won’t leave until it’s fed on a soul. Didn’t we say it could always get worse?
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #5 is by writer Al Ewing and artist Juann Cabal, with colors by Federico Blee, and letters by Cory Petit. Ivan Shavrin illustrated the cover.
Cabal’s layouts in the preview below are exactly what you want in a cosmic comic like GUARDIANS. His work is trippy and other-worldly, and is an excellent visual display of telepath Moondragon’s inner turmoil.
Check out the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #5 preview below:
Who is your favorite Guardian of the Galaxy? Sound off in the comments below!
In The Amazing Spider-Man #45, published by Marvel Comics, the Sin-Eater returns and crosses path with the famous web-slinger in an unforgettable issue. Filled with beautifully drawn action scenes, deeply engaging story, and iconic characters, The Amazing Spider-Man #45 promises many things for the Sins Rising event.
About the book:
The writing of Nick Spencer, the pencils of Mark Bagley, the inks of John Dell and Andy Owens, and the lettering of VC’s Joe Caramagna come together to make a stunning issue. After the Sins Rising Prelude, which showed us how the Sin-Eater came back to life, the malicious villain is back to cause trouble for Spider-Man.
“Sins Rising: Part One” Story
In The Amazing Spider-Man #45, Peter Parker must deal with the villain Overdrive as he speeds through the city. We find he is running away from none other than the deceased Sin-Eater, a foe that Spider-Man must now confront. Spencer does a fantastic job of bringing back the old character in a brand new way, and seeing Spider-Man deal with a villain he has such conflicting emotions about is wonderfully portrayed.
An interesting aspect of this issue’s writing is how Spencer chooses to breathe new life into the Sin-Eater, who died in a 1988 story. The first incarnation of the Sin-Eater had him be a very realistic villain in a fantastical world. Rather than the incredibly colorful enemies that Spider-Man typically faces, the Sin-Eater is simply a man with a mental disorder and a gun. Without any powers, the violent actions he committed were bloody and incredibly horrific. Spencer takes this powerless character and upgrades him with the help of the demon Kindred. The Sin-Eater now has the ability to appear and vanish from places he needs to be, as well as a few strange other abilities regarding his weapon. At the end of the first issue, there is still much to be explored about how the Sin-Eater’s new abilities work, and the issue leaves you wanting more.
Another way that Spencer elevates the story of The Amazing Spider-Man #45 is by always leaving the reader in anticipation. The story is fast-paced, and the issue already had set up the story through the Sins Rising Prelude, leaving the reader interested to see how the confrontation between Spider-Man and the Sin-Eater would play out. On top of that, the issue ends on a cliffhanger. Every page keeps the reader interested.
Art
The pencils and inks are all very clean, and every page of The Amazing Spider-Man #45 is a pleasure to look at. Bagley’s pencils provide incredibly dynamic poses for the characters during action sequences, and the inks of Dell and Owens turn them into an astonishing finished product. The faces of characters in the issue are deeply expressive, and many motion lines are used during action scenes that provide a strong sense of fast-paced movement.
Characters often overlap the borders of panels, which either makes them seem to be reaching out or causes them to stand out in particular scenes. This is used very effectively in several dramatic scenes in the issue, and overall the framing of the issue stood out as particularly spectacular. Many panels are memorable simply due to the framing. One panel was even intentionally left black, and it was deeply effective.
The colors of The Amazing Spider-Man #45, done by Curiel, are very vibrant for most scenes, and it makes the issue very pleasant to the eye. The many colors used on most panels also provide a stark contrast to panels overloaded with a single color, allowing emphasis of one tone during certain scenes. It is a simple but instrumental technique and is executed flawlessly.
Caramagna does a splendid job with lettering The Amazing Spider-Man #45, and his work allows for the story to flow seamlessly. The widths of a few speech bubble borders are increased for emphasis, captions are large and stand out, and sometimes dialogue that is meant to be shouted has a different font and color to it. These techniques come together to deliver some outstanding lettering.
Conclusion
This first part of the Sins Rising event is filled with so much action, drama, and mystery that it is sure to entertain. The art is a visual spectacle and works so easily with the story that the issue feels less like you’re reading something, and more like you are experiencing it. The Amazing Spider-Man #45 set up Sins Rising to be a fantastic event and makes the reader excited for issues to follow.
Welcome to ‘I’d Buy That For A Dollar’ a column where I will be exploring the weird and wonderful world of dollar bin diving. The only rule is each and every comic is purchased for one dollar (or less!).
This Week’s Comic(s): DC Comics’ Who’s Who series!
So I am taking a different approach to this edition of I’d Buy That For A Dollar. Instead of focusing on a single issue, I’m going to showcase some highlights from DC’s Who’s Who books. For those young comic fans who weren’t around before Wikipedia and Google, guidebooks like Who’s Who were the only sources for deep-cut knowledge and statistics on continuity and characters. And as much fun as that is, the real pleasure was in all the fantastic artists that contributed to them (and DC was great about crediting the specific artists on the pages they did), You could even argue that they are more of a Who’s Who of artists than characters! Anyway, I will let the pages, images, and covers speak for themselves. Enjoy!
Here is an early cover by Todd McFarlane!McFarlane also did a few interiors. Check this one out. Love that Mr. Bones!David Mazzuchelli doing Commissioner Gordon! Perfect!The double-page spreads are classic. Just check out this Joe Kubert Easy Company entry!And here is another double-pager by the great Rick Veitch!Marshall Rogers!!!!!!Classic Superman artist Curt Swan does one of the most beloved Silver Age creations, Composite Superman!The always great and underused Tim Truman!Colleen Doran and Karl Kessel!The Racketeer’s Dave Stevens!Steve Rude!!!!
There you go, folks! And that’s just the tiniest of tastes! These books are so well worth it, so seek them out in those bins and deep dive!
You can find great dollar bins at almost every local comic shop. So find a shop, ask a comic clerk what they can do for you during this time and get some dollar comics! Pick them up curbside and have them delivered if you must!
Alejandro Arbona plays the 
