I was reading this series on Comixology and really enjoying it. Then it slowed way down due to Covid issues, no doubt, and I forgot to read the last two issues…until now.

What writer Matt Fraction and artist Steve Lieber have created in this 12-issue series is remarkable. It’s a return to the silly but fun Jimmy Olsen stories of the 1950s-60s in the character’s first series, it’s an intricate history of the Olsen and Luthor families and their continuing conflicts and impact on Metropolis, and it’s full of humor, appealing characters and surprises. Each issue is told in brief segments following different plot threads from one to several pages, each with an entertaining opening caption similar to those on the old comics, but with Fraction’s droll humor. There are plenty of Easter eggs thrown in by artist Steve Lieber. Jimmy himself fills a wide range of roles, and then there’s his siblings and friends, including Superman and Batman, Jimmy’s workmates at The Daily Planet and his reporting fiascos, and a major plot thread about someone trying to kill Jimmy that adds mystery and police drama. There’s science fiction (a wife from another world, robots, alien invaders), giant animals, microscopic adventures, and a wide variety of weirdness that will charm and delight readers, even jaded oldsters like myself.

I can’t think of a modern comic that entertained me more. The resolutions provided in the final issue were completely satisfying, too, something one rarely finds today. The collected edition of this series is out soon, link below, or check with your comics retailer. I highly recommend it!

This title from Ahoy Comics (which I designed the logo for) is social satire, and also science fiction in the “If this goes on…” tradition. Right now in America it’s hard to imagine how things could get much worse, but writer Mark Russell takes some trends in today’s world, particularly the domination of the rich over the poor and everything that entails, and imagines a future where that continues to much greater inequities. Billionaire Island is the haven for the disgustingly rich, a floating island in the Gulf of Mexico in international waters where all the perks of wealth can be enjoyed with none of the annoyances like taxes, laws, and accountability in the media. One reporter finds herself in captivity there after arriving for an interview with the head billionaire, Rick Canto. Elsewhere, another mogul is confronted with the horror of his crimes against the poor in a way he never expected.

It’s hard to laugh at this book’s satire only because it seems all too plausible. Despite that, I enjoyed the writing and the art, and recommend it.

Here’s a link to the upcoming trade paperback collection of the series.

If you can imagine a spacecraft like the Starship Enterprise having lost its entire human crew due to disease and being run by intelligent cats, you have the premise of this series…to a point. You must add to that the inherent nature of cats not being team players, leading to chaos on board, as well as the fact that the cats do not well understand the workings of the ship, leading to more chaos. The storyline has until now been a mix of science fiction, adventure and humor. This issue the humor is set aside for a crisis in progress: the ship is being attacked by a superior craft manned by aliens with no interest in taking prisoners. Captain Ginger can only do damage control and try to get his crew onto lifeboats for a descent to the surface of the world they’re orbiting…a world run by dogs.

I think that about sums it up! I liked the writing and art on this one the best of the series so far, and look forward to the next issue with interest.

Recommended.

Link to the issue on the Ahoy website.

This series continues to have fun with the concept introduced in THE WRONG EARTH, two versions of superhero adventures, one looking back to the 1960s in feel and one in today’s grim and gritty world. The two play off each other with very different results as this season ends.

On Earth Omega, Dragonfly’s young partner is fed up with the ill-treatment he feels he’s been given by his boss, and is trying to walk away, while a new potential partner surfaces. On Earth Alpha, Dragonflyman’s partner Stinger has found new ways to help his partner, and is about to be rewarded for it.

Clearly things are set for another season ahead. I look forward to it. This one is now collected in the book below. Recommended.

This humorous horror anthology has been a hoot through 12 issues. This time the first main story is by Carol Lay, a fine cartoonist with a long history in comics. Her take on Poe’s Purloined Letter is unusual and funny, and her treatment of Poe himself as the story host is possibly the best one yet.

For variety, the Robert Louis Stevenson’s story about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is adapted by Paul Cornell and Steve Yeowell. I don’t know if adapted is quite the right word. Perhaps “referenced in amusing ways” would be closer. The story is a funny look at British vs. Scottish customs and language.

Wrapping up the visuals is another brilliant episode of Poe Vs. the Black Cat by Hunt Emerson, this time four pages, making for an explosive finale reminiscent of the Mad feature Spy Vs. Spy.

Recommended, as is the entire series.