WE INTERRUPT THIS GENTLE WEDNESDAY IN ORDER TO BRING YOU A LIST OF NEW COMICS! You may notice that this is significantly briefer and lighter on the details than my previous lists, and that’s because instead of cramming mini-reviews of related comics into these, I’ve started doing mini-reviews of my monthly books-read lists! This is a terrible idea that will be way more work than I realize and is unlikely to be worth it, but for you, my public, this is a burden I am willing to ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ. At least until I convince my wife to undo what she did in my autocorrect settings that makes it say ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ every time I type ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ.

“Collects Avengers Forever (2021) #1-5.
The legend of the Avengers spreads across the infinite worlds of the Multiverse! On a quest for cosmic vengeance, Ghost Rider finds himself roaring through the wasteland on a ruined Earth where the great Age of Heroes never came to be. “Hope” is a four-letter word, and his only ally in the coming battle against the greatest villains any universe has ever known is the world’s most wanted archaeologist: Tony Stark, the Invincible Ant-Man! Spinning out of the cataclysmic events of AVENGERS comes the next great Avengers saga as the mightiest heroes of every Earth assemble! Featuring a Deathlok who refuses to die, a brutal Wonder Man, a half-built Vision, the Infinity Thing, the villainy of the Black Skull and the return of the Goddesses of Thunder from the far future!“
Bagelbites Beforehand:
All I know is that Jason Aaron writes a mighty fine…everything, as far as I can tell? Also given the ridiculous backlog of any and all mainline Avengers titles, I was intrigued by the fresh-start premise that I don’t need to be up on 40 years of history for, because no matter how many I catch up on (I’ve got my eye on that Hickman-run omnibus) there will always be three more coming out at once and trying to keep up is a fool’s errand. Also I am very into feral, Wendigo-from-B.P.R.D Beast up there, I wanna know what that guy’s deal is.

“From the acclaimed creative team behind GIDEON FALLS and PRIMORDIAL comes the first book in a bold and ambitious new shared horror universe! When a geologist is sent to a remote lighthouse to investigate strange phenomena, he finds a seemingly endless pit in the rocks. What lurks within—and how will he escape its pull?
THE PASSAGEWAY is the first book in the new BONE ORCHARD MYTHOS from LEMIRE & SORRENTINO! This universe will feature self-contained graphic novels and limited series about the horrors lurking within the Bone Orchard, just waiting to be discovered.”
Bagelbites Beforehand:
Full disclosure, the only reason I even know about this is because I was looking for an entirely different book called The Bone Orchard that I think I heard about in a podcast or saw on one of those lists of hot new genre reads that Tor puts out, and for a time I was POWERFULLY confused about whether this was that (no) or related to that (no). But I am a man whose faith is simple, and who is guided by one clear principle: See the Jeff Lemire, hit ‘preorder’ on the Jeff Lemire. Does this always work out? No. But that is the MYSTERY OF FAITH, my friends, and to that temple I will ever return.
Another mystery? How The Bone Orchard can present itself as a shared-mythology space for multiple creators to collaborate in, but The Passageway and by implication its nascent siblings are supposed to be stand-alone stories. What’s that about? I’m excited to find out!

“Mitchell Moss is about as regular as it gets. He’s married with two children and co-owns a successful chain of Memphis Hot Chicken restaurants. It’s not the life that screams hero/vigilante…until he discovers that his business partner is in bed with the mob and owes them $2 million. Unfortunately, Mitch is ill-equipped to be a badass – he’s just a guy who makes really good chicken. Can he protect his family from cold-blooded gangsters? Absolutely not.
But maybe the CHICKEN DEVIL can…
Writer Brian Buccellato (Detective Comics, The Flash, Witchblade) and artist Hayden Sherman (COLD WAR, MARY SHELLEY MONSTER HUNTER) serve up a darkly comedic crime drama that’s juicy, tender and finger-lickin’ hilarious.
This 120-page volume collects issues #1-4.”
Bagelbites Beforehand:
Honestly I just miss Chew, and that guy reminds me of Poyo.
No, this looks bonkers, and who among us doesn’t love a good “decent man pushed too far” story? Although one has to wonder how decent he can be if it would even occur to him that he could murder people if he convinced himself he was a murderer most fowl.

“Discover the inner workings of the House of Slaughter in this new horror series exploring the secret history of the Order that forged Erica Slaughter into the monster hunter she is today. You know Aaron Slaughter as Erica’s handler and rival. But before he donned the black mask, Aaron was a teenager training within the House of Slaughter. Surviving within the school is tough enough, but it gets even more complicated when Aaron falls for a mysterious boy destined to be his competition.”
Dive deeper into the world of Something is Killing the Children in this first story arc by co-creator James Tynion IV (The Department of Truth, The Nice House on the Lake) and co-writer Tate Brombal (Barbalien), with art by rising star Chris Shehan (The Autumnal) and co-creator Werther Dell’Edera (Razorblades).
Collecting HOUSE OF SLAUGHTER #1-5
Bagelbites Beforehand:
Something Is Killing The Children is a consistently, horrifyingly great comic, and I’d be interested in a world-building spinoff even if the author of the main series wasn’t returning for it, and ESPECIALLY since the author in question is James Tynion IVth, who seems incapable of missing. I’m cautiously optimistic; part of the appeal of the House of Slaughter as an in-world institution is the fact that its workings are glimpsed only briefly and incompletely in SIKTC, for to tantalize us, and I can only hope that what we only got peeks of through the curtain holds up when we see the whole thing.

“Shin faces off with a strange assassin who’s targeting Mr. Sakamoto, but how will he manage against a foe whose thoughts are unreadable? Then, the Sakamoto gang does their best to enjoy a peaceful family outing at the amusement park, only to be rudely interrupted by a pair of menacing assassins. Can Mr. Sakamoto and his buddies take care of them without his family noticing?“
Bagelbites Beforehand:
SAKAMOTO DAYS IS SO MUCH GODDAMN FUN. I was very impressed by the first volume for a number of reasons, and I hope Vol. 2 holds up to that level of quality. One of the ways it stands out against The Way Of The Househusband is that his employees, Shin and Lu, are main-cast characters and give the stories more perspectives and more angles to play with, and I hope that dynamic is explored and fleshed out rather than overburdened with more series-regulars, because they’re both very strong characters as-is and I wanna know more about them, dammit.

“When Beth Wills comes to Silk Hills, a quirky Appalachian town that’s seen better days since the mines were abandoned, she expected a bit of culture shock… But not like this! Beth is someone who has a talent for finding people who don’t want to be found, and when she’s called to Silk Hills by a local titan of industry, she can tell that something’s not right. Little does she know…
Silk Hills was once booming, but the only reason people tend to come through town anymore is to buy Mothman merchandise. Before long, Beth finds out just how wrong things can get in the woods, as her search for a missing troubled youth finds her running afoul of the local drug trade, too-friendly creepers, a very sinister deer, and psychoactive moth dust.“
I dunno shit about this one, but I’m a big, BIG fan of Ryan Ferrier’s work on Rat Queens, and I’m intrigued by the combination of Weird Appalachia, corporations succumbing to the lure of dark powers and getting what’s coming to them, and this Mothed-Man I’ve heard so much about; he’s supposed to be pleasant, up to a point.
So that’s what I snagged! What about you all, shout out and lemme know what you got and whether you’re as low-key worried about The House Of Slaughter as I am! It’s a light hand that seasons best with murderous anti-monster organizations!
–The Bageler
so friday night, holy ghost
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