Man, it's been a long week. A week ago, we found out Akira Toriyama found his way to Otherworld. It's hard to imagine growing up to be the confident nerd I am today without all those afternoons watching Dragon Ball Z on Toonami. I filled so many notebooks with Fan Art and fanfic stories in middle school, before abandoning it all to become an underground Hip Hop snob after my parents divorce. I've been binging DBZ since I got the news, and it's crazy how so many core memories have been unlocked. Thanks for your contributions, Sensei.

On the home front, I've been busy helping my eighth grader with her Science Fair project, a working model of a Water Mill. Today is the due date, which means last night was "stay up until it's finished" night. I hope I get a good grade on it, or these bags under my eyes are all for naught. Somehow, I still managed to read a few comics this week, too! Check out my thoughts below.

New Comic Reviews: 3/13/24

Ultimate Black Panther #2 | Bryan Hill (w), Stefano Caselli (a) | The book I was most looking forward to this week. We didn't quite get the action I expected to see. Most of the issue is exposition and building of the stakes. But the last page reveal, and how it ties into a prophecy in the first few pages? Very well done, and now I can't wait for issue 3.

Thundercats #2 | Declan Shalvey (w), Drew Moss (a) | My journey with Thundercats is still mostly fueled by nostalgia for that theme song. But Shalvey & Moss are crafting a pretty fun story. Lion-O is overconfident just because he has an adult body, and he's dropping all common sense because a pretty girl walked into the room. Wait, did I just describe all of us during puberty?

Amazing Spider-Man #45 | Zeb Wells (w), Carmen Carnero (a) | I went into this week determined to finally drop ASM, but not before getting this beautiful JRJR cover for issue #45. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the issue. But kind of in the same way you're frustrated with your eighth grader getting an B+ on a project after procrastinating for months and never truly putting her all into the research process. This could have been GREAT. You're CLEARLY capable. Wait. What are we talking about again?

On The Channel

This year, I pledged to read one issue of Watchmen per month, so that by December, I can stop getting dirty looks amid a loud exclamation of "You haven't read WATCHMEN?!!!" I'm reviewing the issues one-by-one, and you can finally see the first installment on YouTube now. Spoiler Alert: I found it incredibly grim, and it only gets darker in issue 2.

On The Podcast

This week, I'm hosting the creators behind Bequest Studios, a new indie publisher that calls itself a perfect mix of Milestone Media and the Wu-Tang Clan. I've known each of them individually for a while now, and I'm really excited to see what they can accomplish now that they've joined forces. There's just about a week left to back their debut Kickstarter project, an Oversized Hardcover collection of their first stories, with a preview of what's to come. Check out our conversation, then secure a copy for yourself today!

I'm gonna go catch up on some sleep. But please, Read Something Dope Today.

BJ KICKS