so, yes, would you like to read 4K words about my family’s roots in figure skating, including a bit about my grandmother? built around a rousing discussion of the 2026 Women’s Singles contest? yes, we’re talking about SPORTS, poindexter.
we’re also talking about the motherfucking New Pornographers!
such a beautiful performance!
Rodger looks at you. He’s got an eye booger, I took care of it just after I took this.
good morning.
they liked crunchy guitars with a dance beat. Orgy would do, in a pinch. that was around the time of the first Rob Zombie solo album as well, which I quite liked but was still in all candor a conscious attempt at pop hard rock. NIN had Ideas: turned out those were the least important ingredients.
what radicalized me? going to see NIN in 2000 and seeing a significant chunk of the crowd leave after A Perfect Circle’s frankly tepid opening act.
Manson had a free hand with that demographic for five long years, leavened only by the release of The Perfect Drug & Lost Highway soundtrack. and when The Fragile arrived it was frankly too fancy for a lot of the mid-90s crowd who really just wanted more of the Family Values tour lineup.
absolute banger after absolute banger, from back in the day when that meant something, dammit. there’s really not a weak link on the running time, if you can handle some late 80s STD humor. 🤷🏻♀️ there’s also one about about a dude failing a breathalyzer that sounds like a real anti drunk-driving PSA?
The Twilight Zone #5, cover by Francesco Francavilla. A dude in a diving suit sitting at a desk and typing. Spooky!
The Twilight Zone #5, by L Marlow Francavilla and Francesco Francavilla. Our heroine arrives at the research facility. I don’t know the plot here, I’ll read the word balloons if I review it.
The Twilight Zone #5, by L Marlow Francavilla and Francesco Francavilla. A tense discussion. Such remarkably gorgeous melodrama. Pulpy. Every artist involved seems to have really leapt at the opportunity to play around with the greyscale.
The Twilight Zone #5, by L Marlow Francavilla and Francesco Francavilla. The diving men approach … something! Look at this shizz.
so, apparently The Twilight Zone book has been such a rousing success they’re making more of them. can you blame them? suddenly the market is supporting multiple black & white anthologies. can we celebrate the achievement? what a damn fine looking run of comics. Francesco Francavilla, folks.
Narco #1, variant cover by Daniel Hillyard. I wouldn’t necessarily have picked the Hitchcock variant but they sold out of the A cover. Still a nice piece of work.
Narco #1, by Doug Wagner and Daniel Hillyard. Dude in the park encounters a possum.
Narco #1, by Doug Wagner and Daniel Hillyard. The gang meet at a diner and we meet the protagonist’s love interest.
Narco #1, by Doug Wagner and Daniel Hillyard. Our hero’s house, in overhead. Nice draftsmanship. Ambitious use of flat color.
light week, was inspired to give a new book a chance based on interesting art. some visual ambition - a little bit of (Tradd) Moore, a little bit of Quitely. the premise is, I think, a guy with narcolepsy investigates a serial killer.
Batgirl #17, cover by Kyuyong Eom. not my favorite, texture’s a bit porny but that seems endemic in 2026. kind of marvel at the decision to frame that image with mustard. fascination choices made in the construction of this image.
Batgirl #17, cover by David Talaski. Cassie holding the magic blood sword she finds this issue. actually not a terrible visual. distinctive!
Batgirl #17, by Tate Brombal, Takeshi Miyazawa, and Juan Castro. Cassie fights … her own blood? alright, that’s really kind of boss actually. that’s like a JoJo’s fight, someone’s Stand is a blood parasite and Jotaro has to fight his own blood.
Batgirl #17, by Tate Brombal, Takeshi Miyazawa, and Juan Castro. A page Batgirl fighting a bunch of >sigh< ninjas. It’s a nice page, at least. but jeez - how about an arc where she fights the Flash’s Rogues? or gets marooned on Apokalips? or goes to the 30th century for a while? at this point I’d settle for just random old Batman villains. just … no … more … ninjas.
you well know, if there be a Batgirl, I shall read her. so glad to be moving on from family ninja stuff, now we’re on magic sword ninjas. admittedly Cassie fighting with her own blood is a great shonen premise, love it. Miyazawa remains a delightful technician. let’s maybe work towards fewer ninjas?
there were many, many people who thought NIN was too obtuse and appreciated the direct line to the sewage spigot.
Two things can be true about Mike Richardson:
-He was responsible for some major genre hits
AND
-He did not protect staff if they were not a white man and is responsible for a generation of queer and female editors leaving comics rather than continue in a toxic environment
sometimes it hits you afresh that our president is not a smart man
Without reading context this could fit so many conversations. This is evergreen.
these men all appear to think they’re the last generation who will ever walk the earth. 😕
that would imply they care more about making money tomorrow than cashing out today, and that’s not a strength of character anyone can count on in 2026.
I fear the question is whether the firm will exist in six months or be shuttered for a write-off.
honestly can only respect this. strictly analogous to singling out the fourth issue of Infinity Gauntlet as the real banger of the run, and for the same precise reason.
Rodger looks at you. He’s got an eye booger, I took care of it just after I took this.
good morning.
less painfully, perhaps.
Robotech the New Generation #9, cover by Ken Steacy.
ladies and germs, Ken Steacy:
why do I insist on buying the Extra Hot salsa when the result is invariably me stumbling around the apartment clutching my chest and muttering “oh my god” as a miniature star begins life
I still think about this thread all the time, perhaps one of my greatest achievements as a writer:
OTHELLO
IDW!
absolute banger after absolute banger, from back in the day when that meant something, dammit. there’s really not a weak link on the running time, if you can handle some late 80s STD humor. 🤷🏻♀️ there’s also one about about a dude failing a breathalyzer that sounds like a real anti drunk-driving PSA?
sure did!
when I hit my 40s I made the conscious decision to be less of a wuss about hot foods but now we’ve reached the point of hard biological limitations
