86. VALERIAN AND LAURELINE VOLUME 4: WELCOME TO ALFOLOL (Libby app)
The art by Jean-Claude Mezieres is, of course, incredible.
Usually, an artist as influential as Mezieres can look dated when looking back at their work. Cinebook has done an excellent job in translation and digital transfer making this series look fresh.
87. ASGARD BOOK 1 (Libby app)
This short album duology by the team behind the long-running UNDERTAKER series is so much fun. Xavier Dorison includes a lot of historical and mythological elements, and Ralph Meyer draws everything well no matter how realistic or far out.
88. ASGARD BOOK 2 (Libby app)
This is one of those stories where there aren't that many characters alive by the end of the story! Pretty good action scenes in some harsh conditions, and some excellent storytelling by artist Ralph Meyer...
I've been searching for this comic since the 80s. Just the concept of a comic about something as unusual (and utterly mundane, at the same time) as mental health always fascinated me. The Gemstone reprints in the 90s were accessible, but did no favors to Jack Kamen's art. This digital version is high quality and showcases the dense story and art. Worth the wait to finally get the chance to read this series straight through.
This is the first in a trilogy of Groo vs. God's miniseries. If you don't like Groo I feel a little sad for you, but it's completely understandable. This story is complete anarchy bouncing from one battle or village to another. Groo aids two brothers, who are heirs to the throne, at one time or another and sometimes at the same time. It's hilarious. Sergio Aragones seems to be aging in reverse as his art gets more detailed and intricate in his seventh (or eighth, I lost count) decade of drawing comics. He seems to delight in drawing the bickering deities. Don't take Mark Evanier and Sergio for granted, they're still putting out brilliant comics.
91. HELLBOY: THE COMPLETE SHORT STORIES #1 (Hoopla app)
I have to admit to not being the biggest Hellboy fan, although I've enjoyed everything I've managed to read by Mignola & Company. This book caught my eye because of Richard Corben's name. "The Crooked Man" series reprinted here, I think, best brings Corben's horror sensibilities into a small corner of the Hellboy universe. It definitely creeped me the fuck out! My highest recommendation, even if you just get the individual THE CROOKED MAN series. Here's a chilling page from darkhorse.com with the character...
And now for something completely different. This debut collection of strips from Steenz, take over from creator Mark Tatulli. Things start out a little slowly, but once Steenz builds up the cast things start clicking. A nice example of a reboot that works.
93. THE ETERNAUT 1969 (Comixology Unlimited)
Before reading anything by Alberto Breccia? Meh. After reading this book: Breccia takes comics storytelling to the limit, while keeping the narrative clear and easy to follow. My expectations were completely blown away reading this book. The art and story lean very close to abstraction throughout. Hector German Oesterheld's story is very stark, given even more power after the pandemic lockdowns. Breccia's art is so otherworldly my brain had trouble processing it. I read this digitally one panel at a time, frequently stopping and zooming in on the art. Here is a small example of Breccia at his most abstract...
94. DUCKS (Libby app)
When I first saw this book announced I was not sure what to expect, other than it being something I wanted to check out. I'd seen Hark, A Vagrant online but wasn't really all that impressed. Beaton's art seems limited at first glance, when paired with such a complex and serious story. However, her art is perfect for this kind of harsh story, distancing the reader and author enough to allow both to experience and relate (respectively) this very harsh environment. I love how she handles facial expressions so subtly. I guess, in the end, I just really love this book!
95. SQUA TRONT #13 (Comixology Unlimited)
This is the second to last issue of John Benson's seminal ongoing history of all things EC and EC-adjacent. It's a little Howard Nostrand heavy, which is probably why I don't own a physical copy. However, I love the incredible minutiae of Roger Hill's piece on Basil Wolverton, some early Jack Davis art, and a really nice selection of letters from the late, very underrated John Garcia. This picture of Gary Arlington is my favorite part of the book...
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