The Geeky Brummie Pull List with Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors – All Hail The King
It’s a monster of a Pull List for you this week with Comic Of The Week, Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors – All Hail The King from IDW Publishing . Also on the Pull List this week are the latest issues of Legion of X and The Amazing Spider-Man from Marvel Comics and Skybound Presents: Afterschool from Image/Skybound. In our On The Radar selection, we have 6 new comics from Marvel, Image and Ahoy Comics. And in MEANWHILE… we say farewell to the great Kevin O’Neill.
If you want to send any comics or comic related events we should feature, feel free to reach out to me at keith@geekybrummie.com.
Now on with the comics…
Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors – All Hail The King
Issue 2
IDW Publishing
Writer – Erik Burnham
Artist – Dan Schoening
Buy from Comixology – Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors – All Hail The KIng #2 (Link)
Cedric and his friends are having terrible dreams thanks to the Xiliens, who are using psychic technology to probe the minds of every living creature on Earth. That’s the bad news. The worse news is it has pinpointed the den of King Ghidorah. The good news is the probe makes the Shobijin aware of danger on the horizon and allows them to warn our kaiju-connected heroes to be on the lookout-Cedric, Emily, Anderson…and Karen Higa, too!
Just a tad late for Godzilla Day, but after the first issue was popped into my Pull by my local comic shop, how could I resist giving the COTW title to the Big G. This fabulously fun, all ages title, is the prefect way to introduce younger readers to the delights of Kaiju monster mayhem.
Legion of X
Issue 7
Marvel Comics
Writer – Simon Spurrier
Artist – Netho Diaz
Colourist – Federico Blee
Letterer – Clayton Cowles
Buy on Comixology – Legion of X #7 (Link)
MONSTROUS TERROR HITS MUTANTKIND! Something monstrous is afoot! Nightcrawler has developed some very uncanny physical features—and he’s not the only one. Meanwhile, Cypher and Warlock have made a startling discovery about the seemingly innocuous blooms floating out of the Astral Plane. Will the Legionnaires be able to untangle this web of threats before it envelops mutantkind?
Moving on from Judgement Day, the merry Marvel mutants still have a lot to deal with. This is a great X book with a great roster of characters.
The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue 13
Marvel Comics
Writer – Zeb Wells
Artists – John Romita Jr. and Scott Hanna
Colourist – Marcio Menyz
Letterer – Joe Caramagna
Buy on Comixology – The Amazing Spider-Man #13 (Link)
Hobgoblin’s story comes to a chilling end, and no one is going to be rocked harder by it than Norman Osborn! Witness the birth of the Gold Goblin! What does this mean for our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man?!
LEGACY #907
How will Spidey deal with the threat of multiple Hobgoblins? And once he has, he’ll have Dark Web crossover to content with. Poor old Peter.
Skybound Presents: Afterschool
Issue 4
Skybound/ImageComics
Writer – Leon Hendrix III
Artist – Eric Zawadzki
Buy on Comixology – Skybound Presents: Afterschool #4 (Link)
Skybound’s acclaimed new horror anthology concludes with another chilling standalone story. In this issue, LEON HENDRIX (Two Sentence Horror Stories, GEIGER 80-PAGE GIANT #1) and ERIC ZAWADZKI (HEART ATTACK, House of El) present an extracurricular you’d die to have on your high school transcript. Mr. Kelly wanted to shake up the traditions at his private boarding school, so he started a new club. But what happens when a history teacher’s grand experiment in free thinking takes on a life of its own?
Skybound and Image have done a great job with the anthology horror book. Each issue has been hugely rewarding and I hope they bring the book back for another round.
On the radar this week some other comics not on the Pull List but well worth checking out:
Fantastic Four #1
Marvel Comics
Writer – Ryan North
Artist – Iban Coello
Colourist – Jesus Aburtov
Letterer – Joe Caramagna
Buy from Forbidden Planet – Fantastic Four #1 (Link)
THE LAST TOWN ON THE LEFT
“WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE FANTASTIC FOUR?” It’s the start of a new era for the Fantastic Four…and they’re already in a ton of trouble. Something has gone terribly wrong in New York, and the Thing and Alicia are traveling across America to escape it! But when they stop in a small town for the night and wake up the morning before they arrived, they find themselves caught in a time loop that’s been going on since before they were born… That’s been going on since before they were born… That’s been going on since before they were born…
LEGACY #694
Do A Powerbomb #6
Image Comics
Writer and Artist – Daniel Warren Johnson
Colourist – Mike Spicer
Buy on Comixology – Do A Powerbomb #6 (Link)
Lona Steelrose and Cobrasun must face a hard truth as FYSO wrestles with their own life or death situation!
Love Everlasting #4
Image Comics
Writer – Tom King
Artist – Elsa Charretier
Buy on Comixology – Love Everlasting #4 (Link)
“NOTHING LEFT BUT LOVE”
France, 1915. War wages. Joan sings at a club near the front, watching soldiers march to the trenches. Some return, most don’t. One of them falls in love. To save him from hs inevitable fate, Joan discovers how the trap of love can be turned into an opportunity for power.
Dark Ride #2
Image Comics
Writer – Joshua Williamson
Artists – Andrei Bressan and Adriano Lucas
Buy on Comixology – Dark Ride #2 (Link)
After the unbelievable final page of the last issue, you aren’t prepared to learn more about The Scariest Place on Earth! Sam Dante and his sister Halloween will do anything to bring Danny D. Evil and Devil Land to audiences around the world…but is there any line they won’t cross to ensure their family’s legacy?
Starhenge, Book One: The Dragon and The Boar #5
Image Comics
Writer and Artist – Liam Sharp
Buy on Comixology – Starhenge, Book One: The Dragon and The Boar #5 (Link)
MOR-DREADNAUGHTS invade the palace and attack the UR-QUEEN. Meanwhile, MERLIN instructs KING ARTHUR as the SAXON threat grows, but is Arthur’s ambition causing him to lose sight of the true objective—to protect MAGIC at all cost?
Billionaire Island: Cult of Dogs #1
Ahoy Comics
Writer – Mark Russell
Artist – Steve Pugh
Buy from Forbidden Planet – Billionaire Island: Cult of Dogs #1 (Link)
The long-awaited return of the “series that’s simultaneously infuriating and hysterically funny in its indictment of not just the 1%, but of the people-and the economic system-that enable them” (Comics Beat). The year is 2046, two years after Billionaire Island fell-taking the world’s economy with it. Only one man-er, dog-can save us now. But where is Business Dog?
Farewell Brother Kevin
At the beginning of the week, news broke that artist Kevin O’Neill had passed away. It’s been amazing to see the outpouring of love for him across social media and 2000AD published a wonderful piece about Kevin that can be found here – Kevin O’Neill 1953-2022 (Link).
I first discovered Kevin, like many my age, within the pages of 2000AD as the artist on several Future Shocks and then Ro-busters, a strip that had transferred over from the pages of Starlord. This lead to A.B.C. Warriors, which I copied and redrew in my own sketchbooks, and eventually Nemesis The Warlock. Kevin’s work truly was the punk rock of British Comics.
His was a unique style, his drawings looked like nothing else and those images leap from the pages of the comics and lodged themselves in my brain. They were exciting, strange, grotesque and yet always beautiful. The power of those illustrations are what made 2000AD so raw and fascinating. It’s something that really felt like lightning in a bottle.
Kevin was also instrumental in the introduction of the 2000AD Credit Card, acknowledgment of the creators who made my favourite strips, this meant I knew who wrote, illustrated and lettered the stories that fired my imagination. This meant I could follow their work elsewhere, not that Kevin needed it, his work was always unmistakable.
Taking Over America
Like many artists at the time, Kevin ending up working for one of the US big two, in his case DC, initially on The Omega Men and then with Alan Moore on a Green Lantern Corps story, which resulted in the Comic Code Authority calling his whole style “objectionable”. Now that is quite the accomplishment. Kevin then teamed with Pat Mills to create Metalzoic, one of the first creator owned titles. I bought this in its graphic novel form but also loved the black and white reprint in 2000AD which really showed off the art.
Pat and Kevin would shake up the comic industry again with their next creation, Marshal Law, the government-sanctioned “super hero hunter” (aka law enforcement officer, or “cape killer”) for Epic Comics, an off-shoot of Marvel. This was Kevin off the hook, with its depictions of violence and nudity. It was unsurprisingly a massive hit. The Marshal, would moved from Epic to Dark Horse Comics and Toxic! and teamed up with several unlikely characters including The Savage Dragon, The Mask and Pinhead.
Then Kevin moved on to the work that really brought him to the attention of a wider audience, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Working once again with Alan Moore, this was everything you could want from a Kevin O’Neill illustrated story. Drawing on the vast history of literature, Kevin warped it all in his unique style. Kevin and Alan finished the story in 2019 with Volume IV: Tempest, and at the time declared it their final work in the comic book medium.
And Finally,
Of course, this turned out not to be the case, and we will see Kevin’s final work this Christmas when Bonjo From Beyond the Stars: Solids in the Bile Tube returns in a 13-page one-off story in 2000AD Prog 2312, on sale 14th December 2022 here in the UK.
There had never been an artist like Kevin O’Neill before and there will never be one like him again. His passing is a huge lose to the comics community and we send heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. Thank you Kevin for the joy you gave me in all those wonder pages you drew, we will miss you. Farewell Brother Kevin. Credo!
Your Local Comics Shops
Your local comic shops are now open and you can pop in for your geek fix. Listed below are some of the best shops across the county with links to check the very latest information including opening time and covid safety measures. Therefore, when visiting these shops please be patient and respectful to all the staff who are doing an incredible job.
FORBIDDEN PLANET INTERNATIONAL (VARIOUS) – includes Worlds Apart Birmingham
Please check with stores for any changes to opening times and services.
Follow the stores social media pages for updates!
FORBIDDEN PLANET (VARIOUS) – includes Birmingham Megastore
Check their website for more information –
https://forbiddenplanet.com/stores/
GOSH! COMICS (LONDON)
Check their website for more information –
https://goshlondon.com/the-gosh-blog/the-gosh-authority-130620-reopening-news/ and https://twitter.com/GoshComics
OK COMICS (LEEDS)
Follow the stores social media pages and website for updates!
http://www.okcomics.co.uk/ and https://twitter.com/OKComics
PAGE 45 (NOTTINGHAM)
Check their website for more information –
http://www.page45.com/ and https://twitter.com/PageFortyFive
TRAVELLING MAN (VARIOUS)
Check their website and social media for more information –
https://travellingman.com/ and https://twitter.com/TravellingManUK
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