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Ven Adams, the guitarist, creative director, and co-founder of the musical band Fangbanger, is the guest this week in Episode #740! She's bringing an anthology, 120-page comic version of their album Superposition to fans around the world via her zoop.gg crowdfunding project.

Ven and the rest of the band blend music and visual storytelling into a singular, immersive aesthetic. The group's work has always drawn on comic and manga influences, shaping their visuals, stage design, and narrative-driven projects. Here's how the book is described: "Superposition was the band's first and only album, and this anthology gives its themes a second life through visual storytelling. Rather than focusing only on loss, the project is about growth, memory, and the strange, beautiful process of becoming someone new after everything changes. Supporting this campaign helps turn the music into something tangible and lasting—a book that carries those emotions forward." We talk about the band, including how it was formed, how the album was brought together, and what Ven is looking forward to doing in the months and years ahead. You can support Ven and this book by going to this link, and this crowdfunder will conclude on or around Thursday, April 30. Don't miss this fascinating conversation exploring the relationship between comic books and music!

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At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching require significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep Major Spoilers strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.

The team makes their way through Haunted Island as the citizens pick up the pieces following the attack.

Character sheets and battle map images for this episode are available at Patreon.com/MajorSpoilers.

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At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching require significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep Major Spoilers strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.

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Flash Gordon returns, Darth Maul lurks in the background, Bill Schweigart talks Dirty 20, and we head into Euro-comics territory with Blake and Mortimer: The Secret of the Swordfish—great airplanes, dated politics, and a lot of weekly-serial energy.

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REVIEWS STAR WARS: SHADOW OF MAUL #2

Writer: Benjamin Percy Artist: Derrick Chew Publisher: Marvel Comics Cover Price: $4.99 Release Date: April 8, 2026

THE UNDERWORLD EXPLODES WITH SCUM AND VILLAINY AS MAUL LOOMS IN THE SHADOWS! Ruthless mercenaries are looking to unload IMPERIAL treasure! Crime lord DEEMIS will stop at nothing to get it! Will CAPTAIN LAWSON be able to thwart the exchange of the smuggled fortune?

Rating: 4/5

You can purchase this issue via our Amazon affiliate link - https://amzn.to/4bXmIUI

FLASH GORDON #0

Writer: Dan Abnett Artist: Manuel Garcia Publisher: Mad Cave Studios Cover Price: $4.99 Release Date: April 8, 2026

A NEW ERA OF FLASH!

Bestselling writer Dan Abnett and veteran artist Manuel Garcia blast off into new worlds!

Flash Gordon has always been a maverick, on the football field and in the stars. But when he's offered a job training the next generation of explorers, he'll end up fighting for top gun! A "quick trip" around Neptune's moons with Flash's cadets turns into a deadly alien hunt – and one of the new recruits thinks they can save the day without the dusty instructor.

Introducing a new supporting cast – enemies and allies alike – and setting the stage for a swashbuckling new story, Flash Gordon #0 is a can't-miss!

Rating: 3/5

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DIRTY 20

Writer: Bill Schweigart Release Date: May 12, 2026

Tommy Fugue never cared for the family business. But when his father—aka Big Al, aka King of the Denver Streets—assigns him the "summer job" of laundering money online, Tommy figures he can list some fake projects on FunFunder, pledge them with zombie accounts, and clean a dirty $20,000 in time for college in the fall.

Unfortunately for Tommy, he's more creative than he thought. Just as he's about to give his father's capos a progress report, he sees that a roleplaying game he mocked up using his mom's old artwork has been funded to the tune of $650,000… and counting.

The only thing scarier than an angry Big Al is a Big Al that smells cash and family bonding time. Voluntold by their mercurial boss to assist, various criminals and killers help playtest and produce Tommy's 1,000 Blades of Tergivers RPG in the hopes they can truly turn a dirty twenty into legit millions.

At first Tommy sees game sessions with brothel owners, hit women, and a street captain with OCD as yet another example of why he needs to get out from under his father. But when Tommy realizes that being game master might help him uncover what these criminals know about his mother's disappearance, it's Game On.

Playing a game while making a game is tricky—especially when elements of the fantasy world keep blending into the players' real lives. And when the streets declare the Family Fugue slipping, Big Al starts playing a new game, with rules only he knows.

Support one of your own! Bill has been a Spoilerite since 2010, and Major Spoilers references are often found in his books (including this one)!

You can purchase Dirty 20 via our Amazon affiliate link - https://amzn.to/41laCi4

TRADE DISCUSSION THE ADVENTURES OF BLAKE AND MORTIMER

By Edgar P. Jacobs

At long last, a hardback collected edition of Blake & Mortimer is published in English! This first collection brings together the three episodes of our heroes' very first adventure, The Secret of the Swordfish, introducing their nemesis Olrik, their habit of saving the world … and Jacobs's love of airplanes!

You can purchase this issue via our Amazon affiliate link - https://amzn.to/4sVlf7k

At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching require significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep Major Spoilers strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.

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Luke McGarry is an illustrator, cartoonist, animator and designer from Manchester, UK, now based in Los Angeles. He created the minor internet phenomenon Sad Chewie, as well as a number of animations and music videos. Here's the book's description: "Featuring his takes on everything from pop culture to politics, spanning early gags to new, never-before-seen exclusives, Weird Hill to Die On showcases Luke at his funniest, most outrageous best." We discuss how this book came to be, explore the various stories, and talk about what else Luke has coming in the months ahead! You can support Luke and his book by going to this link, and this crowdfunder will conclude on or around Monday, April 27. Don't miss this fun conversation and what Luke has coming our way in the months ahead!

• Subscribe via Apple Podcasts

• Wayne's Comics Podcast Archive

• Show your thanks to Major Spoilers for this episode by becoming a Major Spoilers Patreon member. It will help ensure Wayne's Comics Podcast continues far into the future!

At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching require significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep Major Spoilers strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.

The Steel Thatch is attacking Haunted Island, and the heroes are caught in the crossfire.

Character sheets and battle map images for this episode are available at Patreon.com/MajorSpoilers.

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Show your thanks to Major Spoilers for this episode by becoming a Major Spoilers Patron at Patreon.com/MajorSpoilers. It will help ensure Critical Hit continues far into the future!

Join our Discord server and chat with fellow Spoilerites! (https://discord.gg/jWF9BbF)

Contact us at [email protected]

At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching require significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep Major Spoilers strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.

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Oh, the '80s… a great time to be a teen and young adult. Fond memories. Great adventures. But sometimes things from the '80s should stay in the '80s.

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At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching require significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep MajorSpoilers.com strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.

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Superman and Spider-Man finally team up again, Daredevil gets a fresh start as a law professor, and then we dive into Adventureman—a pulpy, magical, gorgeously drawn action comic that somehow slipped past too many readers the first time around.

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REVIEWS DAREDEVIL #1

Artist: Lee Garbett Publisher: Marvel Comics Cover Price: $5.99 Release Date: April 01, 2026

YOU CAN BURY THE BODIES, BUT NEVER THE GHOSTS! Hell's Kitchen is full of secrets - but no secret stays buried for long! As a fearsome new super villain named OMEN has targeted MATT MURDOCK, it will be his alter-ego DAREDEVIL who takes the hits! BUT BEWARE! This mysterious new player isn't all that they appear - a secret Daredevil will have to learn quickly as he scrambles to settle into a life and status-quo we've NEVER SEEN HIM IN BEFORE! Look alive, Marvelites, an all-new and unprecedented era of DAREDEVIL starts right here!

Rating: 3/5

You can purchase this issue via our Amazon affiliate link - https://amzn.to/47uPcCN

DC/MARVEL: SUPERMAN/SPIDER-MAN

Writer: VARIOUS Artist: EVEN MORE VARIOUS Publisher: DC Comics/Marvel Comics Cover Price: $7.99 Release Date: March 26, 2026

THWIP, THWIP AND AWAY! Fifty years ago, DC's Man of Steel met Marvel's friendly neighborhood wall-crawler, and the world of comics has never been the same! In celebration of that historic milestone, thrill to ALL-NEW tales of SPIDER-MAN and SUPERMAN and their friends and foes! Brad Meltzer and Pepe Larraz pit Spider-Man and Superman against LEX LUTHOR and NORMAN OSBORN as their greatest villains exploit some of their greatest weaknesses! In the shadow-laden 1930s, SPIDER-MAN NOIR encounters the original Golden Age SUPERMAN as told by Slott/Martin! A crisis ensues as Johns/Frank bring the Super- and Spider-families against each together at the summons of MYSTERIO...but is their true foe an ally out of control?! SYMBIOTE hordes invade METROPOLIS as a new War of the Realms ignites in Aaron/Dauterman's epic. Co-creator of STEEL Louise Simonson hammers out the tale of John Henry Irons' clash with the HOBGOBLIN, as drawn by Todd Nauck! Kelly/Ramos take us on a campus crossover between GWEN STACY and LANA LANG! MILES MORALES (SPIDER-MAN) teams with Superman, as Bendis and Pichelli re-team! All this, and more than a few super-surprises you'll be talking about for the next Fifty years! Featuring Brad Meltzer, Geoff Johns, Dan Slott, Louise Simonson, Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Aaron, Joe Kelly, Jeph Loeb, Stephanie Philips, Pepe Larraz, Gary Frank, Marcos Martin, Todd Nauck, Sara Pichelli, Russell Dauterman, Humberto Ramos, Jim Cheung, and Phil Noto!

Rating: 4/5

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TRADE DISCUSSION ADVENTURE MAN Volume 1: The End and Everything After

Writer: Matt Fraction Artist: Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson Publisher: Image Comics

WHERE HIS STORY ENDED... HER STORY BEGINS! Everyone knows the story of how ADVENTUREMAN, the greatest pulp hero of ended in a heartbreaking CLIFFHANGER with our hero facing execution an the eve of the MACABRAPOCALYPSE... now learn the startling truth about how, eighty years after his seeming demise, single mother Claire and her Adventurefan son Tommy seem to spark his RESURRECTION! Can these inheritors of the Adventureman legacy rise up to face down the evil that bested the original?

You can purchase this issue via our Amazon affiliate link - https://amzn.to/4uXnDvH

At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching require significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep Major Spoilers strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.

If you know someone who loves comics, share this post and episode with them!

Ben is a writer and editor of prose and comics, and he tells stories of finding hope and community in a harsh and challenging world. He has a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign underway for Scattered Futures, a 32-page comic with three full-color science-fiction stories of human connection in a harsh and fractured universe. This new comic book is described this way: "In a universe of dehumanizing systems, uncaring corporations, and ceaseless, unrewarded labor, these are tales of hope, found family, and shared humanity. The only better future is the one we build for ourselves." We talk about how this book came to be, explore the various stories, and how Ben hopes to shed a small ray of light and hope for his readers! You can support Ben and his one-shot by going to this link, and this Kickstarter will conclude on Saturday, April 5, at 12:00 a.m. ET. Don't miss this fun conversation and what Ben has coming our way in the months ahead!

• Subscribe via Apple Podcasts

• Wayne's Comics Podcast Archive

• Show your thanks to Major Spoilers for this episode by becoming a Major Spoilers Patreon member. It will help ensure Wayne's Comics Podcast continues far into the future!

At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching require significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep Major Spoilers strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.

The team continues to explore Haunted Island, take in the cuisine, see the sites, and have offers made to use their DNA for cloning purposes.... You know, the usual!

"SSC: You Only Need One."

Character sheets and battle map images for this episode are available at Patreon.com/MajorSpoilers.

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Show your thanks to Major Spoilers for this episode by becoming a Major Spoilers Patron at Patreon.com/MajorSpoilers. It will help ensure Critical Hit continues far into the future!

Join our Discord server and chat with fellow Spoilerites! (https://discord.gg/jWF9BbF)

Contact us at [email protected]

At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching require significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep Major Spoilers strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.

Thanks for listening to Critical Hit! This post is public, so feel free to share it.

In this issue of the Major Spoilers Podcast, we review Rafael Garcia: Henchman #1 and Estuary #1, then turn our attention to Absolute Wonder Woman Vol. 1 to ask a bigger question about DC's Absolute line—why does Wonder Woman's reimagining feel so much more natural than Batman's? Along the way, we talk about how readers choose comics today, what makes a first issue click, and why myth, magic, and giant anime swords might be exactly what Diana needed.

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REVIEWS RAFAEL GARCIA: HENCHMAN #1

Writer: David Schrader, Peter Murrietta Artist: Ben Herrera Publisher: Titan Comics Cover Price: $4.99 Release Date: March 25, 2026

What if life in a super-villain organization was less like a James Bond movie and more like working at Walmart Corporate? Rafael Garcia: Henchman brings the old familiar tropes of a dark workplace comedy by way of a brand-new cinematic superhero universe. From Emmy Award-winning writer Peter Murrieta (Mr. Iglesias) and writer/filmmaker David Schrader (Baby Badass), comes an action comedy that mixes the daily grind of The Office with the slacker absurdity of Stripes - if the General in charge was more like Lex Luthor.

3/5 Stars

You can purchase this issue via our Amazon affiliate link - https://amzn.to/4skP0ya

ESTUARY #1

Writer: Tim Daniel, D.B. Andry Artist: Maan House Publisher: Oni Press Cover Price: $4.99 Release Date: April 8, 2026

OUT OF THE BLOODSTAINED PAST OF OLD CALIFORNIA . . . A DIFFERENT KIND OF DEVIL IS RISING WITH THE TIDE! From rising stars Tim Daniel & David "D.B." Andry (Crush Depth, Morning Star) and modern horror virtuoso Maan House (Mine is a Long Lonesome Grave) comes a chilling tale of secrets buried deep beneath the surf of the idyllic California coast . . .

Atop a rocky cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean sits the Mission at Arbués Point, a 400-year-old Spanish mission made infamous as one of California's oldest and most haunted historical sites. But beneath its crumbling, tourist-trap facade, a reclusive nun has spent decades within the Mission's walls, honing her prayers and practice in pursuit of a secret long-buried beneath the majesty of the chapel, and under the dark waves of the tidal estuary below. When marine archaeologist Maris Cristobal accepts the nun's offer to begin excavating a fabled shipwreck lying in wait beneath the Mission's turbulent waters, she'll soon discover that the sins of past and present are about to wash together into a harrowing surge of vengeance that can no longer be contained .

3/5 Stars

You can purchase this issue via our Amazon affiliate link - https://amzn.to/3Ns4CRr

TRADE DISCUSSION ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN VOL 1: THE LAST AMAZON

Writer: Kelly Thompson Artist: Haydem Sherman Publisher: DC Comics Cover Price: $20.99

In a different, darker world, Diana of Themyscira was not raised in paradise, but instead was exiled to the underworld as a baby and raised by an enemy. Darkness and exile did not destroy her; instead, they made her all the stronger—honed into an even greater weapon by tragedy, danger, and magic. Long denied her Amazonian heritage, Diana has finally reached the time for her to rejoin the surface world. Armed with new weapons forged in Hell, and a mission that looks a bit more like justice than peace, Diana will not be stopped on her quest to save the world and discover her place in it, even if that means carving it herself!

You can purchase this issue via our Amazon affiliate link - https://amzn.to/4lKOOpl

At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching require significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep Major Spoilers strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.

If you know someone who loves comics, share this post and episode with them!