With less than 10 days before the start of San Diego Comic-Con, buzz around the world of comics feels buzzier than it's ever been. Perhaps I'm more plugged in now than in years past, but it seems I can't scroll for 10 seconds without seeing rumors about DC's new Absolute Universe. Publishers are sharing their panel schedules, and creators are sharing all types of teaser images. Combine that with constant spy photos from the James Gunn Superman set, and I wouldn't blame you for avoiding comic 'news' altogether. My general posture is "call me when something actually happens," but I'd be lying if I said I was completely disinterested in what lies around the corner. Comics felt a bit stale heading into 2024 for me. But if January - June was any indication, I'm excited for the second half of this year for sure. Speaking of, I decided to run down the series debuts I'm most excited to read for the rest of the summer. In about a week, I'll have new exciting announcements to fawn over. But for now, I'm still waiting for some of the Free Comic Book Day 2024 teases to pay off. What are you still excited about picking up? Kickstarter Korner
I have quite a few friends running Kickstarter campaigns, so I figured I'd give them all a shoutout here.
Recent Reading Progress I've been slowly making my way through that stack of review books Marvel sent me last week. So far, Punisher by David Pepose & Dave Wachter, and Blade by Bryan Hill and Elena Casagrande are all I've gotten through. Both were really good. I'm mad we don't have more of Pepose's Punisher to explore, but I still have 5 issues of Hill's Blade to read before Blood Hunt, and I'm excited to see where it goes.
I'm taking a break from the trades to provide an advanced review of GODS by Jonathan Hickman and Valerio Schiti. It's an interesting take on the war between science and magic, with a really cool espionage/swashbuckling flare. Well, at least it is through 2 issues. I'll give you my final verdict when the full series review goes live on the channel next week. With that, it's time for me to take the same advice I'm about to give you. Read Something Dope Today, BJ KICKS P.S.: I hid a secret giveaway in the preview line of last week's email (proof below). Maybe that was TOO good of a hiding spot, as I only got one entry. Congrats to Brian G. for winning a copy of the Sins of Sinister trade paperback courtesy of Marvel Comics! |
Celebrating everything Dope about comics. Curated by BJ KICKS.
It’s 10pm on Wednesday night. I’m sitting in my car, periodically checking to make sure the battery charger I bought from Amazon isn’t frying anything. What better time to start tapping out this email? This week seems chock full of those little hiccups. All the car trouble has me a full day behind on my production schedule. The Marvel showcase that should’ve been out today? Not even filmed. I’m almost certainly not going to have tomorrow’s Podcast episode up on time. Lunar was late with their...
In high school, I had an unhealthy relationship with 90s R&B and early 2000s era Neo-Soul. Kids with unregulated hormones probably shouldn't be listening to back-to-back ballads about love, heartbreak, and well.. other things. But as I recover from missing yet another 'weekly' newsletter, Musiq Soulchild just keeps taunting me. It's busy season in the Kicks household. Church responsibilities are picking up. School is back in session, morning routines feel everything but, and I'm probably in...
It’s been a busy week! My cushy Work-From-Home job became a Work-From-the-Office job on Wednesday. But it wasn’t all bad news, as it meant I was in close proximity to an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet I’d never been to before. I ended up coming up on a mother load of action figures at a great price! Check out the video to see what I grabbed. My Latest Ollie’s Haul is Live on the Channel Now! Click the photo to watch. Speaking of things at a great price, did you catch the trailer DC put out for their...