THE NEWS:

1. DC Social Media Ad Accused of Endorsing Political Change in China - Report
2. Former MARVEL CCO Joe Quesada's New Title Confirmed
3. Dark Horse Feb 2020 solicits, Bang #1, Hidden Society #1, Tomorrow #1
4. New Mutants name drops upcoming X-men book 
5. Three Jokers artist says ending is the “gutsiest” thing DC has done with Batman in 80 years
6. Tom King makes a “controversial” statement about Batman on Twitter.
7. Black Mask Returns in Feb 2020 solicits

TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK:

1. Dave
   1. X-Force #2 (W: Benjamin Percy, A: Joshua Cassara)
   2. Venom #20 (W: Donny Cates, A: Iban Coello, Jose Carlos Silva)
2. Forrest
   1. John Constantine: Hellblazer #1 (W: Si Spurrier, A: Aaron Campbell)
   2. New Mutants #2 (W: Hickman, Brisson A: Rod Reis)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK:

1. Dave: Batman #84 (W: Tom King, A: Jorge Fornes) 
2. Forrest: Spider-Man & Venom: Double Trouble #2 (W: Mariko Tamaki, A: Gurihiru)
   
    

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.:

1. Dave: Annihilation: Scourge - Fantastic Four #1 (Josemaria Casanovas) 
2. Forrest: Buffy #10 (Rebelka)
   
    

Segment: Interview Dan Slott, writer of Tony Stark Iron Man, Fantastic Four, and coming soon Iron Man 2020 

• I recently got the chance to read the Spider-Man Magazine (Spider-Man Radioactive) collection and you have two stories in there, one featuring Mirage and another featuring Mesmero, were those characters you wanted to write or did they ask you to use them?
• How do you go about generating new ideas or angles for storied characters like Spider-Man or the Fantastic Four? 
• Do you have a strong memory of any particular story that made you think “I can’t believe nobody else has touched this?” 
• Dawn of X has taken the world by storm and I have to ask, if you had a choice in a title/team would you take the job and what would it be?
• Is the current story “Point of Origin” a story you’ve had in your cap for years?
• At Fan EXPO Boston you showed me a few of the superhero designs for characters that defend Spyre, and now they’re out there. What’s it like creating a character that may (or may not depending on your story) last for decades in the Marvel universe?
• You’re working with Christos Gage again on Iron Man 2020, I’m always curious how two writers collaborate whether they split up pages, or one does dialogue and another plot, what is your working relationship like?
• Spider-Geddon, last year’s sequel to Spider-Verse, was drafted by Christos Gage from an unfinished script of yours and his. How much of that event’s DNA would you say is your original vision and how much is new?
• As the writer of FF, do series like FF: Grimm Noir need to be approved by you?
• If you had the opportunity to do the inverse of a Superior Spider-Man style story where a hero becomes a villain, which would it be?
• What is your workspace like? What time of day do you typically do your writing? Is there something on your desk that inspires your writing?
• Has social media changed the way you write or think about comics?
  • Do you ever shift a story or idea after gauging feedback you might read on the internet
  • Last but not least, is there anything you can tell us about Iron Man 2020? 

Off topic top shelf: Dan Slott talks Mandalorian, The Crown, Ducktales and streaming services.

THE NEWS:

• Marvel Comics has struck a partnership with Japanese media company Tsuburaya Productions to create new Ultraman comic books for American markets.
• Batman #85 - it will now include a two-page "prelude" of incoming writer James Tynion IV's run
• AfterShock Comics offers new commitment to comic shops
• HARLEEN Finale Postponed 3 Weeks, LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #2 Pushed Back 2 Weeks, DC Cancels Third DAMAGE Collection, BATMAN: CURSE OF THE WHITE KNIGHT #5 Coming a Week Early
• Marvel produces first Braille Comic Inspired by Football Player with Blindness,
• DC Rush-Solicits New BIRDS OF PREY GIANT Title
• Marvel Quietly Cancels Loki series
• Marvel solicitations!

TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK:

Dave

1. Excalibur (W: Tini Howard, A: Marcus To)
2. Gwenpool Strikes Back! #4 (W: Leah Williams, A: David Baldeon)

Forrest

1. Olympia #1 (W: Curt Pires, A: Alex Diotto)
2. He-Man and the Masters of the Multiverse #1 (W: Tim Seely, A: Dan Fraga, Richard Friend)

Trending now - 2099 Debuts. What brought the series back and do we need it? 

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK:

1. Dave: Basketful of Heads #2 (W: Joe Hill, A: Leomacs) 
2. Forrest: New Mutants #2

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.:

1. Dave: X-Force #2 (Gerardo Zaffino)
2. Forrest: Supergirl Annual #2 (A: Jonathan Glapion Viktor Bogdanovic)

Segment: Interview Tim Seeley and Dan Fraga (pencils) about HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE MULTIVERSE #1

Superfight: Beast Man vs. Orko, beauty pageant

Off topic top shelf: Watchmen and Social Media Algorithims - Tim Seeley, Dan Fraga

THE NEWS:

1. Daredevil adds second artist to publish twice monthly
2. New series from AHOY
3. Lemire finishes new OGN
4. DCeased unkillables sequel coming
5. Task Force X
6. Christos Gage and Todd Nauck Debut New Gwen Stacy Origin
7. Bendis Compares Leviathan to Magneto

TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK:

1. Dave
   1. Gideon Falls #18 (W: Jeff Lemire, A: Andrea Sorrentino)
   2. Morbius #1 (W: Vita Ayala, Art: Marcelo Ferreira)
2. Forrest
   1. Family Tree #1 (W: Lemire, A: Phil Hester)
   2. The Dollhouse Family #1 (W: Mike Carey, A: Peter Gross, Vince Locke)

Comics Check-in - Dawn of X, the first 6 are here!

Ranking

1. Forrest
   1. New Mutants
   2. Excalibur
   3. Marauders
   4. X-Men
   5. X-Force
   6. Fallen Angels
2. Dave 
   1. Excalibur
   2. Marauders
   3. X-Force
   4. New Mutants
   5. Fallen Angels
   6. X-Men

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK:

1. Dave: Excalibur #2 (W: Tini Howard, A: Marcus To)
2. Forrest: Olympia #1 (W: Curt and Tony Pires, A: Alex Diotto)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.:

1. Dave: Gwenpool Strikes Back #4 (Terry Dodson)
2. Forrest: The Witcher Omnibus - Mike Mignola

Segment: Interview -  M.R. Carey and artist Peter Gross to talk about their upcoming Hill House Comics title, THE DOLLHOUSE FAMILY #1. 

Questions: 

1. There’s a rich tapestry of story and character as soon as you open the book. What is your process like creating this world of characters?
2. There’s a layering of the story here, from the cutting between time to the dollhouse itself, what went into building this world, where do you start?
3. Is there a lot of detail the reader will never see that helps you create? 
4. Peter, the different periods of time require you to draw very different clothing among other things. Is there any approach you take to differentiate the periods?
5. If you don’t mind my asking, what prompted you to address domestic abuse in this story?
6. Can you talk a bit about your workspaces?
7. There seems to be a source of ancient and maybe even alien evil at work here. I can’t help but think of the monster It, and its origin, is there any connection there?
8. Joe Hill was on the show 2 weeks ago and described The Dollhouse Family as “intelligent British horror” and said it was specifically like a kind of horror film from the early 70s that is scary but intelligently written like the Wicker Man. Would you liken it to Wicker Man, or any other horror be it movie or novel?

Superfight: The kid from the Omen vs. Carrie - who wins a marathon?

Off topic top shelf: Mike and Peter give us their go-to entertainment lately

1. THE NEWS:
   • DC shutters Vertigo early
   • DC War Giant and Teen Titans Go postponed indefinitely
   • Folklords #1 gets 3rd printing
   • Abrams’ Spider-Man significantly delayed
   • UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY #1 is Image's Second-Biggest Selling Launch in a Decade, Going Back for 2nd Printing
   • CHEW's John Layman Returns with 'Butterfly Effect Noir' Series
   • October Sales Report
   • McFarlane Partners with CGC for mail in signing of Spawn 300 - $89
2. TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK:
   • Dave
     • Swimming in Darkness (W/A: Lucas Harari, Translator David Homel)
     • Addams Family: The Bodies #1 (W: Zoe Quinn, A: Philip Murphy)
   • Forrest
     • Spider-Man and Venom: Double Trouble #1 (W: Tamaki, A: Gurihiru)
     • New Mutants #1 (W: Hickman, Brisson A: Rod Reis)
3. Trending Now - BOOM! Studios series keep getting third printings...before they even come out. HUH!? Something is Killing the Children, Once & Future, and now Folklords.
4. TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK:
   • Dave: Morbius #1 (W: Vita Ayala, A: Marcelo Ferreira)
   • Forrest: The Batman’s Grave #2 (W: Warren Ellis, A: Bryan Hitch)
5. JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.:
   • Dave: Morbius #1 (Kyle Hotz)
   • Forrest: War Children #1 Second Printing (Bill Sienkiewicz)
6. Segment: Interview - Matt Kindt and Eric Harburn about Folklords, a new series about a young village boy who's plagued by visions of a modern, tech-based world and on his 18th birthday, sets out on a forbidden quest to find the legendary Folklords for answers, starting a chain of events that will change the very fabric of his existence from BOOM! Studios.

Questions:

• When you turned 18, what was the quest you gave yourself?
• Fantasy can get however big or small depending on your take, can you talk about your process of coming up with the world we are introduced to in Folklords?
• Do you ever struggle with readers, or even yourself, comparing your work to what has come before, for instance, I ponder how Narnia may have influenced your narrative?
• There is a great moment where we hear all these quest ideas, and I have to ask, were there any that didn’t make the cut?
• I’ve heard said fantasy is largely about power be it monarchs, military might, or magic, would you agree and is that something you explore in this series?
• Information warfare seems to be a constant threat these days, and the themes like forbidden knowledge and finding your own journey or quest are aspects of Folklrods, what inspired this focus in the series?
• Of the five issues is any single issue your favorite?
• Does Folklords share some themes or DNA with your previous books like Ether, Dept. H, etc or did it feel entirely new to draft?

1. Superfight: Worst Boss: Gollum vs. Wicked Witch of the West
2. Off topic top shelf: Matt Kindt - boardgames - Wingspan

THE NEWS:

1. YONDU is 'NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN Meets THE NICE GUYS in Space'
2. JOE BENNETT No Longer Drawing IMMORTAL HULK #28...is doing Shazam...DRAMA
3. DC owning leaks, showing off Dan Didio’s Ultimate Timeline
4. Tom King Predicts anger and tears at final Batman issues
5. Final two issues of The Beauty pulled by Image, no resolicit

TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK:

Dave

1. Hellboy and The B.P.R.D.: Long Night at Goloski Station #1 (W: Mike Mignola, A: Matt Smith)
2. Joker: Killer Smile #1 (W: Jeff Lemire, A: Andrea Sorrentino)

Forrest

1. Excalibur #1 (W: Tini Howard, A: Marcus To)
2. Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Death of Superman #1 (W: Jeff Loveness, A: Brad Walker)

Trending Now - Marvel Comics keeps teasing covers and details of books a month or more beyond what we know from solicits!

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK:

1. Dave: The Infected: King Shazam #1 (W: Sina Grace, A: Joe Bennett)
   1. Undiscovered Country #1 (Snyder, Soule, Camuncoli)
2. Forrest: Strange Skies Over East Berlin #2 (W: Jeff Loveness, A: Lisandro Estherren)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.:

1. Dave: Grendel: Devil's Odyssey #2 (Gabriel Ba)
2. Forrest: New Mutants #1 (Bob McLeod Hidden Gem)
    

Segment: Dawn of X check-in?

1. Excalibur
2. Marauders
3. X-Men
4. November releases ($39):
   1. New Mutants #1 11/6/2019
   2. X-Force #1 11/6/2019
   3. X-men #2 11/13/2019
   4. Fallen Angels #1 11/13/2019
   5. Marauders #2 11/20/2019
   6. Excalibur #2 11/20/2019
   7. New Mutants #2 11/27/2019
   8. X-Force #2 11/27/2019
   9. Fallen Angels #2 11/27/2019

Off topic top shelf: Dave - Castle Rock season 2

THE NEWS:

1. London MCM Comic Con - X-Men February 2020 news, Wolverine pages on AIPT, Giant-Sized X-Men, Franklin Richards’ own book…
   1. Aphra relaunching in 2020
2. JORGE JIMENEZ Exiting JUSTICE LEAGUE With SCOTT SNYDER, Something 'Bigger' Coming
3. Tom King and Clay Mann’s Batman/Catwoman #1 delayed past January
4. 2019 RINGO AWARD Winners
5. Full Marvel solicitations revealed
6. Spider-Man Noir out in March
7. Doomsday Clock FINISHED

TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK:

1. Dave
   1. Amazing Mary Jane (2019) #1 (W: Leah Williams, A: Carlos Gomez)
   2. King Thor #2 (W: Jason Aaron, A: Asad Ribic)
      1. All in all this book feels incredibly important even though it takes place in the far future and there isn't a single Marvel hero outside Thor to be seen. That's saying something!
2. Forrest
   1. Marauders #1 (W: Gerry Dugan A: Matteo Lolli)
   2. Amazing Spider-Man: Full Circle (See Credits)
3. ComicBookRoundUp
   1. Critic: Martian Manhunter #9 (9.4)
   2. Fan: Batman: Curse of the White Knight #4 (9.2)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK:

Joker: Killer Smile #1 (W: Jeff Lemire, A: Andrea Sorrentino)
Forrest: Excalibur #1 (W: Tini Howard, A: Marcus To) 

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.:

1. Dave: Venom #19 (Kyle Hotz)
2. Forrest: Silver Surfer: Black #5 (Cian Tormey)

Segment: Interview with Joe Hill to talk Basketful of Heads and Hill House Comics Leomacs

• Basketful of Heads opens on September 1983, is that year and month significant to you or the story?
• The character acting in this story is exceptional as it tells us so much about every character. How much detail goes into detailing a facial expression, or body language in your script?
• There’s a good mix of wholesome summertime Americana against a seedy, gross underbelly in Basketful, how did you go about crafting the tone and do other books in the Hill House line explore similar balances?
• Reading the first issue I felt like there are details everywhere to pick on. It feels dense, like the American flag covering the heads in on the opening page and in the sampler, or information that is weaved into dialogue, is there an art to placing details to be picked up on later?
• How important are your surroundings when you write? Can you tell us about the music, movies, or other books that inspired the tone or visuals of Basketful and the line in general?
• I don’t want to spoil anything, but could one expect Hill House Comics to continue the shared universe theme we saw in NOS4A2?
• Do you think about which of your books will last in the public consciousness? 
• Word association (word that comes to mind when I read the title):
  • THE DOLLHOUSE FAMILY from Mike Carey (LUCIFER, HELLBLAZER, The Girl with All the Gifts) and Peter Gross (LUCIFER, THE BOOKS OF MAGIC, THE UNWRITTEN)
  • THE LOW, LOW WOODS by Carmen Maria Machado (Her Body and Other Parties) and Dani (2000 AD, Coffin Bound, Deep Roots)
  • DAPHNE BYRNE by Laura Marks (TV writer and producer, playwright of Bethany) and Kelley Jones (SWAMP THING, DEADMAN, THE SANDMAN)
  • PLUNGE by Hill and Stuart Immonen
  • Basketful of Heads and Leomacs

THE NEWS:

1. Kevin Feige named Marvel Chief Creative Officer
2. ROB LIEFELD Exits MARVEL After Tweeting About 'Shady Business Practices
3. New Dawn of X book announced in Captain Marvel letters
4. DC’s Jan. 2020 Solicitations
   1. Scott Snyder leaving Justice League with issue #39

TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK:

Dave

1. Tales From The Dark Multiverse: Batman: Knightfall #1 (W: Scott Snyder & Kyle Higgins, A: Javier Fernandez)
2. Gideon Falls #17 (W: Jeff Lemire, A: Andrea Sorrentino)

Forrest

1. X-Men #1 (W: Johnathan Hickman, Leinil Francis Yu)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK:

Dave: Immortal Hulk #25 (W: Al Ewing, A: Joe Bennett, German Garcia)
Forrest: The Amazing Mary Jane #1 (W: Leah Williams, A: Carlos E. Gomez)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.:

Dave: Immortal Hulk #25 (Alex Ross)
Forrest: Marvel Action: Spider-Man #10 (Meyers)

Segment: Interview with Scott Snyder and Kyle Higgins

• Great timing for this book gang, it has such great creepy horror vibes!
• What was your collaboration like working on Tales from the Dark Multiverse?
• There are a few great ideas at work here making the story feel layered, was there a starting point where you worked backwards or forward from?
• Was there a reason this needed to be the first story in the Tales from the Dark Multiverse line?
• Do you ever find yourself thinking up Elseworlds tales you could never tell in main continuity and save them for later?
• This book has a strong horror vibe. The body horror with Bruce Wayne, for instance, is intense. Do you feel horror elements like body horror, and nihilism, are
• Is there anything freeing about telling a one-shot story not necessarily connected to continuity? Follow up, is there anything harder about this format?
• This isn't your first foray writing Batman, of course, and I'm curious, when you've been able to write the character over so many years do you ever look back and think about which of your stories will last and linger with fans?
• AiPT! is celebrating 31 days of Halloween this month, anything you do in particular to celebrate Halloween?

Off topic top shelf: Scott Snyder and Kyle Higgins geek out over Sega Genesis

THE NEWS:

1. Everything we know about DC’s rumored 5G plan
2. X-Men Monday - Hickman answering questions and X-Men Week
   1. "Following the events of House of X and Powers of X, Marvel’s mutants have entered an all-new, all-different era. It is the Dawn of X. To celebrate, AiPT! Brings you X-Men Week--seven days of original interviews with past and present X-Creators. Pax Krakoa!"
3. New Jinxworld creator-owned on the way
4. BATMAN: LAST KNIGHT ON EARTH #3 Pushed Back 5 Weeks, Adds Pages
5. MARVEL Launches 2nd Prose Book Line Deal
6. Marcello Ferreira signs exclusive Marvel deal

TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK:

Dave

1. Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity #1: (W: Kami Garcia, A: Michael Mayhew, Mico Suayan)
2. Gwenpool Strikes Back! #3 (W: Leah Williams, A: David Baldeon)

Forrest

1. The Batman’s Grave #1 (W: Warren Ellis, A: Bryan Hitch)
2. Powers of X #6 (W: Johnathan Hickman, A: R.B. Silva)

SEGMENT: PoX and HoX Wrap up!

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK:

Dave: X-Men #1 (W: Jonathan Hickman, A: Leinil Francis Yu)
Forrest: Superman Smashes the Klan (W: Gene Luen Yang)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.:

Dave: Absolute Carnage #4 (Ryan Stegman)
Forrest: Something is Killing the Children #2 (Ian Bertram)

Off topic top shelf: Forrest - Nick Cave

THE NEWS:

1. Marvel Next Big Thing NYCC
   1. The end
   2. Guardians
   3. Thor
   4. Star Wars #1 drops in January featuring Charles Soule as writer set after Empire.
2. New mature Harley Quinn series coming in 2020 by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti
3. DC Is Creating an Ultimate Universe
4. Hill House Comics thingy

TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK:

1. Dave
   1. Fantastic Four #15 (W: Dan Slott, A: Paco Medina)
   2. Absolute Carnage: Immortal Hulk #1 (W: Al Ewing, A: Filipe Andrade)
2. Forrest
   1. House of X #6 (W: Johnathan Hickman, A: Pepe Larraz)
   2. Strange Skies Over East Berlin #1 (W: Jeff Loveness, A: Lisandro Estherren

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK:

Dave: Joker / Harley: Criminal Sanity #1 (W: Kami Garcia, A: Mike Mayhew and Mico Suayan)

Forrest: Ghosts: Classic Monster of Pre-Code Horror Comics (IDW)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.:

1. Dave: Detective Comics #1013 (Tyler Kirkham)
2. Forrest: Black Hammer / Justice League #4 (Gabriel Walta)

SEGMENT: Matt Singer - Marvel’s Spider-Man from Amazing to Spectacular

1. Can you give us the elevator pitch for your new Spider-Man book?
2. Can you tell us about your personal history with Spidey? Are you a lifelong fan or a more recent convert? How did the idea of the book come to you
3. what personal elements do you think you’ve introduced to the narrative?
4. What new fact or trivia did you find the most interesting?
5. Who is your favorite Spider-Man writer/artist?
6. Best on-screen spidey?
7. Best spidey villain?
8. MJ/Gwen/Felicia?
9. What underused or unvisited storyline, villain, item, etc. would you like to see brought back to the comics or movies?
10. Over at ScreenCrush, you frequently eat the entire promotional menu for various movies at Denny’s. What do you think a Spider-Man menu would entail?
11. Insight Editions Marvel's Spider-Man: From Amazing to Spectacular out October 15th, have you ever fantasized about being Spider-Man and was as recently as yesterday?

Off topic top shelf: Matt Singer - Uncut Gems starring Adam Sandler