(W) Chip Zdarsky (A) Ario Anindito (C) Jesus Aburtov (L) Cory Petit (CA) Dike Ruan and Moreno DiNisio (VCA) Ario Anindito, Phil Noto, Taurin Clarke, Stefano Caselli and Jesus Aburtov, Marvel Games
CIVILIANS RIOT, VILLAINS RISE AND HEROES FALL! The entire globe is thrown into chaos as the Armageddon rages on!!! With the rest of the world turning against the Avengers, what will they choose? Stand down or fight against Red Hulk, even as he seems more and more unbeatable? And when an unstable new power takes center stage… the Avengers — and the world — will need all the help they can get! Wolverine sends out the call: AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!
(W) Chip Zdarsky (A) Valerio Schiti (C) Romulo Fajardo Jr. (L) Joe Caramagna (CA) Valerio Schiti and Romulo Fajardo Jr. (VCA) Baldemar Rivas, Chip Zdarsky, E.M. Gist, Leinil Francis Yu and Romulo Fajardo Jr., Dike Ruan and Moreno Dinisio
DOOM’S ULTIMATE WEAPON REVEALED ON THE ROAD TO ARMAGEDDON! Steve puts aside his mission to protect Victor Von Doom’s ultimate weapon from both the U.S. and Latveria, which puts him on a dangerous collision course with Red Hulk’s ALL-NEW, ALL-HULK strike team! But there are some wars not even Captain America can win… Witness the spark that starts the fire of ARMAGEDDON in this can’t-miss issue!
(W) Paul Jenkins (A) Christian Rosado (C) Matt Milla (L) Joe Caramagna (CA) Alex Maleev (VCA) Cafu and Frank D’Armata, Francesco Mobili and Moreno Dinisio, Jae Lee and June Lee
HE’S BEEN AN AVENGER, A DARK AVENGER AND A THUNDERBOLT!
THE SENTRY IS BACK — BUT SO IS THE VOID!
From creator Paul Jenkins comes a bold, high-stakes epic about MARVEL’S most dangerous hero — the SENTRY, a man with the power of a million exploding suns– and the dark entity born from his own psyche: the VOID. When the Void resurfaces, threatening to unravel reality itself, the Sentry must battle not only cosmic forces and criminal empires, but the monster within.
Guest-starring REED RICHARDS, SPIDER-MAN and the KINGPIN in a tale of impossible choices and devastating consequences. Can the Sentry save everything when the cost might be everything he loves?
The crossover you’ve pined for but never thought possible: DEADPOOL and BATMAN cross swords and batarangs as MARVEL and DC unite for the first time in decades! WADE WILSON has been hired for a job in GOTHAM CITY, but will the WORLD’S GREATEST DETECTIVE help him or destroy him? After decades of waiting, Marvel and DC have once again teamed for Deadpool/Batman #1 and it is not worth the wait.
I’ll admit, I was very excited to see Marvel and DC once again bringing their characters together for what feels like a once in a lifetime event (really it’s been like 3 or 4 times in mine). Batman and Deadpool, the rather serious and the not so serious characters teaming up for whatever mission. Written by Zeb Wells, would the comic fall into the usual tropes of heroes battling it out before teaming up? Would it deliver something new and different?
Generally, Wells delivers something different and the comic doesn’t fall into the usual patterns we’ve seen far too many times. Deadpool is hired to take on Batman. Not knowing who Bruce Wayne really is, he crashes through his window wondering if Wayne would like to hire him while he’s in town. It makes absolutely no sense at all and that might be the highlight of this particular story. The overarching issue is that the Joker has stolen materials to dump Joker Venom into the city and Batman has to stop him.
The dialogue is painful, the setup is meh, the resolution is ok. Overall, the comic offers no fun, no excitement and leans far to heavy into Batman being the serious one while Deadpool rants on and on. The comic takes itself too seriously forgetting Batman has shown a comedic side at times and cracked jokes and instead feels like a tour of Gotham from the perspective of Deadpool where he points things out and makes fun of them. There’s completely bizarre choices by Batman and Deadpool feels like a more annoying version of himself. Let’s forget it’s different universes which opens up how Deadpool would even get paid, there’s just an odd interaction between every character. The only one that feels like it makes sense is the Joker being irritated at Deadpool that Deadpool is stealing his crazy character bit.
Greg Capullo‘s art, along with ink from Tim Townsend, color by Alex Sinclair, and lettering by Clayton Cowles looks just ok. Capullo can do some amazing art but here it ranges from forgettable to just nice. There’s little that gets you to linger and stay on the page. Entire sequences feel like they have no life to them and that’s from the start where Deadpool crashes into Wayne Manor and beyond one panel, Bruce Wayne just stands there… and talks… Visually there’s some odd choices and little that really feels like the level this high profile comic should have.
Where the comic has some life is the numerous other stories packed within. Some are truly great. The Captain America and Wonder Woman story by Chip Zdarsky, Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson, and Joe Caramagna, the Jeff! and Krypto story by Kelly Thompson, Gurihiru, and Caramagna, Daredevil and Green Arrow story by Kevin Smith, Adam Kubert, Frank Martin, and Caramagna, and Rocket Raccoon and Green Lantern story by Al Ewing, Dike Ruan, Moreno Dinisio, and Caramagna all stand out. All of those I’d love to have seen more of or been one-shots on their own. Old Man Logan and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns from Frank Miller, Alex Sinclair, and Caramagna, and Logo by Ryan North, Ryan Stegman, Martin, and Caramagna are both clunky in different ways.
For all of the hype, all of the build up, all of the excitement, Deadpool/Batman #1 is a bit of a letdown. It missed the fun of the opportunity of it all, which the back-up stories seem to have gotten. If anything, it could have been a greater success focusing on a series of shorts, forgoing a main story and instead just let creators cut loose with what they’ve had. It’s an odd release overall that’s more for the nostalgia of the concept than the final product to read.
Story: Zeb Wells, Chip Zdarsky, Kelly Thompson, Kevin Smith, Al Ewing, Frank Miller, Ryan North Art: Greg Capullo, Terry Dodson, Gurihiru, Adam Kubert, Dike Ruan, Ryan Stegman Ink: Tim Townsend, Rachel Dodson Color: Alex Sinclair, Frank Martin, Moreno Dinisio Letterer: Clayton Cowles, Joe Caramagna Story: 6.0 Art: 7.5 Overall: 6.0 Recommendation: Pass
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
(W) Jonathan Hickman, Victor LaValle (A) CAFU (C) David Curiel (L) Ariana Maher (CA) Francesco Mortarino, Raúl Angulo (VCA) Leinil Francis Yu, Mark Bagley and Rachelle Rosenberg, Francesco Mobili and Moreno Dinisio
Blamed for the assassinations that have started an all-out galactic war, T’Challa will first need to survive a brutal assault from the World-Breaker Hulk and Amadeus Cho before he can even think about hunting down the true culprit! And all while his spacecraft spirals towards certain doom! Sounds like another day at the office for the Black Panther!
Grommets concludes in a bittersweet manner as Rick must sadly leave his punk skater buddies and potential interest Samra behind in Sacramento while his dad moves his family to Phoenix quicker than he anticipated. Writers Rick Remender and Brian Posehn and artists Brett Parson and Moreno Dinisio capture the happy/sad feeling of one last epic time with good friends before moving far away, and it’s cool to see the leaps and bounds that Rick and Brian have taken in improving their skating abilities although they are treated as town pariahs after the unfortunate events of the previous issue’s party. Grommets #7 nails what made this series so relatable and engaging with commentary on punk culture, a healthy sense of ACAB, and lots of messy teenage feelings.
Brett Parson’s art that is full of detail without sacrificing motion or storytelling is pure chef’s kiss in Grommets #7. Each panel is like a story in miniature. For example, I love seeing Rick’s friends’ reaction to him fumbling Samra, and there’s a real fluidity to the skating scenes in this issue compared to the unsteady bursts of pain and blood earlier in the series. The speed lines and letterer Russ Wooton’s sound effects add to the authenticity of the story, and you can almost smell the sweat coming down Rick and family’s faces when they move to the “dry heat” of Phoenix towards the end of the story. Also, as a comics/classic punk geek, Brett Parson gets all the band logos correct, and it’s interesting to see the correlation between the band’s image and sound and the characters’ personality. Of course, the Misfits fan pulls the jock’s still-beating heart out of his chest in an early fantasy sequence. To top things off, Dinisio keeps his color palette at a happy medium between photorealism and a Saturday morning cartoon while throwing in some fun flourishes like pink for Rick’s first kiss and a fade to black to finish things off.
In addition to the usual fun banter between Rick and Brian, Grommets #7 explores some interesting themes like police corruption and gatekeeping in subcultures. After the aforementioned fantasy sequence, the Sacramento County PD gaslight and blame the violent actions at the party on Rick, Brian, and their friends instead of the violent, rapey football players. Remender and Posehn’s dialogue for the cops is infuriating and all-too realistic even with Rick’s straight-laced father appearing with the boys and arguing their case, especially the bullet holes on his vehicle. The interaction shows the need for alternative spaces for folks to be and express themselves without fear of reprisal from authorities or the “majority”. However, in Grommets #7’s coda, they turn this dynamic on its head when the skaters in Phoenix don’t accept Rick and Brian (Oh yeah, he ends up moving to Phoenix too aka can you say possible sequel hook?) even though Rick is wearing a Black Flag T-shirt while Black Flag is playing. It wasn’t as big in the 1980s as it is today, but there are definitely folks in punk spaces who want to capitalize monetarily on the music and aesthetic for fame and fortune. However, these are just a couple of kids trying to fit in and looking for connections even if that involves a “skate or die” type of situation.
Grommets #7 is a beautifully rendered conclusion to Rick Remender, Brian Posehn, and Brett Parson’s scrappy coming of age story about being a skate punk in the 1980s. I could spend 70 more issues watching these crazy kids grow up, find new bands, learn new skate tricks, and getting into wild, retro-tinged shenanigans together. The letterhack who compared this book to Freaks and Geeks is absolutely true, and this is a comic whose collected edition I’ll definitely recommend to my fellow Jorts Fest attendees.
Story: Rick Remender and Brian PosehnArt: Brett Parson Colors: Moreno Dinisio Letters: Rus Wooton Story: 8.5 Art: 9.2 Overall: 8.9 Recommendation: Buy
Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Grommetsby Eisner Award nominated and The New York Times bestselling writer Rick Remender, Emmy award nominated comedian and writer Brian Posehn, artistic powerhouse Brett Parson, and colorist extraordinaire Moreno Dinisio will be collected in its entirety into trade paperback and available this July from Image Comics.
Since the series first launched in 2024, Grommets has gone on to sell out at the distributor level and gone back to print multiple times. Sales for the series have increased from issue-to-issue as the story has gained momentum.
In Grommets, two outcast best friends navigate the Sacramento suburbs of 1984, where they find a home in skateboard culture and punk rock. The perfect read for fans of John Hughes’ Brat Pack teen movies, Freaks & Geeks, and Dazed & Confused.
Grommets is both an authentic look at ’80s skate culture—a snapshot of the generation that turned skating into a worldwide phenomenon—as well as a heartfelt coming-of-age story following two friends from troubled homes navigating their damage in an era when no one cared.
The series’ title springs from skater slang, a “grommet” is a commonly used term for a young up-and-coming skater or surfer. Since the ’60s it’s been used to describe the next generation of kids who, with youthful exuberance, love the sport but want to put their spin on it.
Grommets trade paperback (ISBN: 9781534366480, Lunar Code 0125IM460) will collect Grommets issues #1-7, the complete series, and be available at local comic book shops on Wednesday, June 25 and independent bookstores, Bookshop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indigo, and Waterstones on Tuesday, July 8.
After whatever the hell 2023 was, I got back into comics in 2024. The Absolute and Ultimate lines helped me get back into Marvel and DC’s output, and I also finally read some stone cold classics, both old and new, like Starman, GenderQueer, 20th Century Men, and Something is Killing the Children. I really love that I can get Silver Sprocket’s books from Comics Plus and Hoopla from my public library, and even though I’m not a New Year’s Resolution person, I definitely plan on reading more of their catalog in 2025 (Caroline Cash’s Peepee Poopoo calls my name!) as well as the back half of Starman, Planetary, finally finding out what actually happened to Krakoa in the X-Books, and keeping up with new titles. (Metamorpho and New Gods were two year end bangers!)
Without further ado, here are my favorite ten comics of 2024
One of the happiest surprises of 2024 was the release of one last issue of Joe Matt’s Peepshow a year after his untimely passing. This comic deals with Matt moving to Los Angeles to pitch a TV version of Peepshow to HBO and deals with similar subject matter as the previous decades of the book like his frugality, personal feelings of inadequacies, and yes, obsession with Asian women. However, occasional distasteful subject matter aside, Peepshow #15 shows a cartoonist’s cartoonist at the height of his craft with impeccably placed sweat beads and speed lines as Joe Matt has another existential crisis. It’s also a love letter to a comics medium with one of Matt’s friends entreating both him and the reader to pore over some of the comics taking up space in his apartment.
In the launch title for DC’s new Absolute line, Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta, and Frank Martin rebuild and revise the Caped Crusader from the ground up. Absolute Batmantakes elements from Frank Miller’s works, various Bat-films, and Snyder’s previous work with the character to create a beefy, working class Batman, who is currently bestie with what might later become his Rogue’s gallery. Scott Snyder and Dragotta take aim at school shootings, the prison industrial complex, and cryptocurrency while having entertaining action and chase sequences. They’re three issues into building a universe, and I’m excited to see where this book goes in 2025.
Rick Remender, Brian Posehn, Brett Parson, and Moreno Dinisio’s Grommets is a semi-autobiographical love letter to 1980s skate and punk culture set in the Sacramento suburbs. Remender and Posehn draw on their own experiences as teenagers while Parson and Dinisio turn them up to eleven with detailed and period-accurate visuals that are something out of Mad Magazine. It’s fun to watch Rick and Brian’s misadventures and the ups and downs of their friendship, especially once a timer is put on it when Rick’s parents tell him they’re moving to Phoenix. The past few issues of the series have been literal bloodbaths as punks and jocks clash, and of course, the cops don’t take the jocks’ side. Grommets really captures how epic, hilarious, and occasionally sad growing up was.
I read Sami Alwani’s Ignatz-winning “The Happy Art” on his Instagram, but it’s also available in the Pulping “Comics on Comics” anthology. “The Happy Art” is a quite meta comic about how hard it is to appeal to different audiences in comics and also about collective thinking, cancel culture, and all that jazz. Alwani portrays himself as a dog, and the story reaches new heights of absurdity with each page. I love the juxtaposition of Gen Z lingo with a fanatical love for comics as a medium, and how it changes styles and POV with each panel. Saehmeh is indeed based, and so is this very accessible comic.
Zoe Tunnell, Sebastian Piriz, and Rebecca Nalty tell a cute queer love story against the backdrop of kaiju attacks in Godzilla Valentine’s Day Special. Kaiju romcom is kind of the perfect subgenre, and Tunnell gives the full progression of the relationship between unemployed burnout-turned-monster chaser Piper and Earth Defense Force soldier Tam from loathing to sweet loving. On the art side, Piriz gets to dig deep into Toho’s library of critters, including a battle royale between Godzilla and MechaGodzilla that shows that building bigger bombs and weapons doesn’t lead to peace, but just more war. It’s also interesting to see the portrayal of the King of Monsters change as the book progresses from something jarring and life-changing to just a reality of life. This could also be a metaphor for the progression of a romantic relationship as well.
5. Belly Full of Heart (Silver Sprocket)
Madeline Mouse’s Belly Full of Heart is queer softness, love, and desire in fluid comic book short story format. Mouse uses pomegranates, starfish, cars, Adidas slides, and more as visual metaphors for love. Their vignettes flow from page to page and color palette to palette in a way that feels like a warm hug multiplied by eleven. Belly Full of Heart throws plot out of the window and focuses on feelings and vibes instead. It’s also full of silly humor with “Kissin’ at the beach/Pissin’ at the beach” getting inducted into the kind of rhyming couplet hall of fame. Belly Full of Heart captures the feeling of being 100% yourself around another person as Madeline Mouse rejects rigid panel boundaries and embraces hand lettering to craft one of the most beautiful and gender euphoric comics of 2024.
I know that Midnight Radio technically came out in 2019, but it got a special edition remaster from writer/artist Iolanda Zanfardino so it’s eligible for my “Favorite Comics of 2024” list. Using a distinct color palette for each protagonist, Midnight Radio follows the lives of a diverse cast of characters brough together by a mysterious radio message urging them to be their own authentic selves. There’s a plotline with a healthcare company being responsible for the deaths of many people that was painfully relevant last year, and Zanfardino explores even more social issues like racism, xenophobia, social media addiction, and violence against queer people throughout her story. However, the main draw of Midnight Radio for me was the characters breaking off the shackles of corporate jobs, corrupt cops, unwelcoming families, and societal pressure and finding fulfillment through a variety of types of art, including indie games, music, and more!
Deniz Camp, Juan Frigeri, and Phil Noto’s Ultimates is anti-imperialist team superhero comic published by the world’s largest entertainment corporation that is also an ode to the single issue. As a collective unit, Ultimates builds to the assembling of Earth-6160’s mightiest heroes and the return of the Maker. However, Camp does the opposite of writing for the trade and gives each single issue its own flair. For example, Ultimates #4 is about Dr. Doom trying to bring the Fantastic Four back and can be read in five distinct ways to tell his tragic story with Noto channeling his inner Dave Gibbons and creating gorgeous symmetry. Deniz Camp and Frigeri connect new takes on She-Hulk and Hawkeye to the violence done towards the indigenous people of the Pacific islands and North America and breathe new life into old school anti-fascists Captain America and Jim Hammond’s Human Torch. Ultimates feels a lot like if Angela Davis wrote the Avengers, and that is a high compliment.
Influenced by comic book history as well as his own experiences as a cartoonist, Chip Zdarsky’s Public Domainis part love/hate letter to the medium and dysfunctional family drama. Public Domain #6-10 shows how the sausage is made with Dallas Comics trying to beat the clock and their new take on iconic superhero, The Domain. Along the way, there are old men arguing at bars, thinly veiled analogues for “star” comic book creators, and a look back at a love affair. Public Domain shows the difficulty of being creative under corporate constraints and also having a personal life while being caught up in the wringer of the comic book industry. It comes across as a real passion project for Zdarsky who crams each issue with visual gags, parodies, and of course, heartfelt moments.
Jonathan Hickman, Marco Checchetto, and David Messina’sUltimate Spider-Man was twelve issues of comic book comfort food as Peter Parker gets his powers as a thirty-something and must learn how to use them in a world undergirded by evil and corruption. In opposition to certain other writers and editors, Ultimate Spider-Man shows that a married with children Spider-Man comic can be compelling. There’s nothing like struggling fighting the Shocker while one kid knows your secret identity, and the other doesn’t and is kind of besties with J. Jonah Jameson. Speaking of Jameson, the story that showcased him and Uncle Ben digging into the Kingpin and Oscorp might have been the single issue of the year as the two old school newspapermen show their work and speak truth to power. On the art side, Checchetto brings a sleek high tech sheen to the suits and fights while not losing that classic Spider-Man charm, and Messina does a good job of holding down the fort in his fill-in issues. All in all, Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) is the Spider-Man comic I needed at 31 like Ultimate Spider-Man (2000) was the Spider-Man comic I needed at 13, and I love that it wrapped up its first year with a dark, Empire Strikes Back type ending.
Issue #1 and #4 of the breakout bestseller Grommets by The New York Times bestselling writer Rick Remender, fan-favorite comedian and writer Brian Posehn, artistic powerhouse Brett Parson, and colorist extraordinaire Moreno Dinisio are both being rushed back to print this week in order to keep up with demand.
Both reprints will feature new cover art by Parson—but hawk-eyed fans will spot that the art on Grommets #1, fifth printing will connect back to the Grommets #1, second printing artwork.
In Grommets #4, Rick’s dad bestows adolescent world-ending news that ignites a fight with Brian, leaving him feeling angry, alone, and unheard—just as their movie night with friends and girls begins, but party-crashing high school animals BYOB and blow their plans to bits.
Grommets takes readers on the ’80s-infused journey of a young Rick who starts a new school and tries desperately to find his place amongst the cliques of foul-mouthed high schoolers of the Sacramento suburbs. Skateboarding provides him with an opportunity to make some ‘cool’ new friends—but he soon finds out that they may not be as ‘cool’ as he (or they!) first thought.
Perfect for fans of Freaks & Geeks and Dazed and Confused, Grommets is at once an authentic look at punk rock and skater culture and a snapshot of the generation that turned skating into a worldwide phenomenon. It’s a heartfelt story that follows two friends from troubled homes as they navigate their damage in an era when no one cared.
Grommets #1, fifth printing (Lunar Code 0524IM987) will be available in comic book shops on Wednesday, October 16.
Available at comic book shops on Wednesday, October 2:
Grommets #2, third printing – Lunar Code 0824IM907
Grommets #3, second printing – Lunar Code 0824IM908
Grommets #4, second printing (Lunar Code 0524IM988) will be available in comic book shops on Wednesday, October 16.
Grommets #5 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, October 23:
Cover A by Brett Parson – Lunar Code 0824IM385
Cover B 1:10 copy incentive by Brett Parson – Lunar Code 0824IM386
Grommets #6 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, November 27:
Cover A by Brett Parson – Lunar Code 0924IM357
Cover B 1:10 copy incentive by Kevin Cross – Lunar Code 0924IM358
Grommets #7 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, December 26:
Cover A by Brett Parson – Lunar Code 1024IM360
Cover B 1:10 copy incentive by Robert Quinn – Lunar Code 1024IM361
Cover C 1:20 copy incentive by James Callahan – Lunar Code 1024IM362
The first three issues of breakout hit series Grommets by The New York Times bestselling writer Rick Remender, fan-favorite comedian and writer Brian Posehn, artistic powerhouse Brett Parson, and colorist extraordinaire Moreno Dinisio have been wiped out completely at the distributor level. Image Comics has fast-tracked all three issues back to print this week in order to keep up with the flurry of reorder activity.
Grommets takes readers on the ’80s-infused journey of a young Rick who starts a new school and tries desperately to find his place amongst the cliques of foul-mouthed high schoolers of the Sacramento suburbs. Skateboarding provides him with an opportunity to make some ‘cool’ new friends—but he soon finds out that they may not be as ‘cool’ as he (or they!) first thought.
Perfect for fans of Freaks & Geeks and Dazed and Confused, Grommets is at once an authentic look at punk rock and skater culture and a snapshot of the generation that turned skating into a worldwide phenomenon. It’s a heartfelt story that follows two friends from troubled homes as they navigate their damage in an era when no one cared.
Available at comic book shops on Wednesday, October 2:
