The Comic Source Podcast

New Comic Wednesday January 26, 2022

The Comic Source Podcast

Jace talks about some of the books hitting comic shops the week of January 26, 2022. Iron Man #16, Clear #4 and Mary Jane & Black Cat Beyond #1 are some of our favorites. Plus we give a run down on some other books you might want to be on the lookout for.

Jace chats with writer Varian Johnson about his recently released Young Adult Graphic Novel, Mister Miracle: The Great Escape. Varian talks about his collaboration with artist Daniel Isles and what Daniel's design sense brought to the project. There is also a lot of discussion about the relatability of the characters in the book as they go through the very formative years of early adolescence. Plus Varian talks about putting his own spin on the classic Jack Kirby creation, Scott Free.

Varian Johnson is the author of several novels for children and young adults, including The Parker Inheritance, which won both Coretta Scott King Author Honor and Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor awards; The Great Greene Heist, an ALA Notable Book for Children and Kirkus Reviews Best Book; and the graphic novel Twins, illustrated by Shannon Wright, which won a BCALA Children & Youth Literary Award for best graphic novel and was named an Eisner Award nominee. Originally from Florence, South Carolina, he received an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is honored to now be a member of the faculty. Varian currently lives outside of Austin, Texas, with his family.

Daniel Isles is a professional artist committed to artistic practice, observation, themes, and expression to create entire worlds of his own. His unique illustration style has been used within many industries including fashion, music, authorship, and technology. He has worked and collaborated with Apple, DC Comics, Sega, Mighty Jaxx, Kidrobot, Timberland, and Owsla.

Jace and Rocky talk about all the DC Comics titles being released for the week of January 25, 2022. We get some fantastic gladiatorial action & cultural context for the slaves of War World in Action Comics #1039, a wonderful take in a no-nonsense Peacemaker from Garth Ennis, Superman '79 #6 concludes a series worthy of the world Donner and Reeve brought to life and we get GREAT cliffhangers in Detective #1050 and DC vs Vampires #4. Human Target #4 continues the transcendent artwork & charming story that we simply cannot get enough of while the Batman-Catwoman special is a worth tribute to John Paul Leon.

Spawn #36 - Story - Todd McFarlane, Pencils - Greg Capullo, Inks - Todd McFarlane, Letters - Tom Orzechowski, Colors - Steve Oliff

Spawn feels betrayed by Terry Fitzgerald seemingly coming to the aid of the man who had Al Simmons killed. Later he is rejected by Wanda again to make things even worse and further push Spawn away from any hope of finding comfort from those he loved in life. Meanwhile, just when it seems this attack by Spawn may weaken Winn's power, the Violater shows up with promises of making all the doubt about Winn's capabilities go away and leave Winn more powerful that ever.

Spawn #35 - Story - Todd McFarlane, Pencils - Greg Capullo, Inks - Todd McFarlane, Letters - Tom Orzechowski, Colors - Steve Oliff

Chief Banks misdeeds are out in the open now as is the fact that Sam & Twitch know about them. Meanwhile, Spawn is confronting Jason Wynn in what he things may be a final confrontation before he delivers what he believes will be well earned judgement to the man who ordered his death. However, the man who comes to save Wynn may be the harshest blow of all to Al Simmons and the ultimate betrayal.

Jace and Rocky discuss they current state of DC. How is the quality of the books overall, what can DC do to improve and where are the sales at right now from what they can tell. Plus a rundown for a ton of upcoming events, Trial of the Amazons, Aquamen, Death of the Justice League, Flashpoint Beyond, the new Birds of Prey, the three issue mini-series, Flash: The Fastest Man Alive, that is a prelude to the upcoming Ezra Miller Flash movie and the CW Show Tie-ins. There's so much DC News that the guys barely scratch the surface.

Jace chats with Christopher Priest about his career in comics which is now entering it's sixth decade. They talk about he old days in the Marvel offices, how he developed his signature style and of course his classic runs on Black Panther and Deathstroke.

Spawn #34 - Story - Todd McFarlane, Art - Greg Capullo & McFarlane, Letters - Tom Orzechowski, Colors - Steve Oliff

Two of Spawn's worst enemies come together and it looks to be a partnership that will cause Spawn big trouble down the line. Meanwhile, Al Simmons has plenty of trouble of his own as he gives into some of his baser instincts and takes out a drug dealer he thinks is strong-arming a kid, but according to Cagliostro, all is not what it seems.

Supermassive #1 - Writers - Kyle Higgins, Ryan Parrott & Mat Groom, Artist - Francesco Manna, Color Artist - Igor Monti, Letterer - Becca Carey, Designer - Michael Busuttil

Jace chats with the writers for the highly anticipate Image Comics superhero crossover SUPERMASSIVE This story features the debut of heroes, Inferno Girl Red & Rogue Sun, as they team up with Radiant Black to take on a new threat. Mat and Ryan talk about their excitement for fans to see their heroes for the first time as well as the anticipation the Massive Universe community has already shown for their characters. Also Kyle talks about the fun and freedom of creating stories with friends for characters that they own. Theirs a lot to unpack in this one. Don't forget to pre-order Supermassive as final Order Cut-off is January 24th with the issue hitting comic stores February 16th.

Spawn #33 - Story - Todd McFarlane, Art - Greg Capullo & McFarlane, Letters - Tom Orzechowski, Colors - Steve Oliff

Spawn is worried his continuing presence amongst the homeless of the alleys he calls home is a threat to his friends. A perfect example of this danger is the Violater returning, but telling Spawn the can't go anywhere because by leaving the Violater will attack Spawn's friends and cause the very thign Spawn is trying to avoid. What will our hero do to get out of this one? Meanwhile Terry completes his transfer to Wynn's department as both men make plans to surveille one another.