This week has been interesting. I finally let go of my Star Wars Legends omnibus collection as a practice in addition by subtraction. It's not that the material was bad. I couldn't know, since I never read it. But the more I looked at those 3 books, the more I felt the urge to buy 3 more in the series I had missed out on, despite the fact that I had no intention of reading any of them in the next year (FOMO at its worst). Ultimately, I decided to give someone on Facebook a great deal, and give myself some money to spend on comics I was actually excited about.

This month, I've been on a Black Comics kick. I mean, I'm always Black, and I always read comics. But I somehow had never picked up the perennially bestselling March trilogy, or the highest selling single issue of all time with Black heroes, Tribe #1. So I decided to rectify that, while also picking up a few lesser-known gems that will get a spotlight on the channel later this week. I'm also working on a Deep Dive behind the publication of America's first comic with a Black writer, artist and publisher. Make sure you're subscribed so you catch that.

Anyway, let's dive into some reviews from New Comic Book Day, 2/21/24.

​

• Ultimate Spider-Man #2 | Jonathan Hickman (w), Marco Checchetto (a) | If issue 1 was a bit to somber and static, issue 2 rachets up the action AND the quips. Really love the recurring gag with Ultimate Shocker, and I loved seeing how Peter interacts with his daughter. This may FINALLY kick Amazing Spider-Man off my Pull List for good, and I highly recommend the title if you're only going to pull one Spidey book. It's not the Peter Parker we need, but it's the Peter we deserve. Here's to hoping we get a more classic costume in issue 3.

​

• Batman #144 | Chip Zdarsky (w), Giuseppe Camuncoli, Andrea Sorrentino (a) | I wish I could explain this phenomenon. A story starts. I'm skeptical about it, but hooked after one issue (#142). The middle (#143) is still really good. And the end? Well, it didn't dip in quality, but I somehow don't feel satisfied by it. It was fine, I guess? Somehow the whole is less than the sum of its parts? I'm sure these 3 issues will serve the larger narrative in a way that pays off better at some point. But for now, it just feels like "Okay yeah, Joker is dangerous. Got it." It does get bonus points for giving us a reason to see Year One Jim Gordon kicking butt and taking names.

​

• The Six Fingers #1 | Dan Watters (w), Sumit Kumar (a) | A smart aleck scientist realizes he doesn't have full control of himself at all times, and it's great. The hardboiled Noir aspect of The One Hand isn't as present in The Six Fingers #1. But somehow, I think I like it even better. I can't wait to see how each of these titles crosses into the other.

On The Channel

This was a big week for me on YouTube, as Comics Are Dope finally crossed the 10,000 Subscriber milestone! To think that there are 10,000 people with even a remote interest in what I have to say is really sobering. But I'm proud of the community we're building, and that we're coming together to celebrate comics instead of tearing them down.

​

It's only fitting that the accomplishment is bookended by two people I've gotten to befriend through my work on the channel. First, the homie BunkmastaB gifted me my first piece of Original Comic art. Then breakout writer/artist Nikolas Draper-Ivey finally sat with me for an interview about his time on Static, his influences, and what's coming next. It's only been 4 days since the interview dropped, and it's already the most-downloaded episode of the podcast. Check it out below.

​

​

I've blabbed enough. Time for me to go film this week's edition of The Pull List. As we head into the last week of February, I'm really excited for a light week on the wallet and reading pile. There's plenty I still need to get caught up on, like Wolverine's Sabretooth War or last week's finale of Fire Power. What have you been reading lately? Let me know in a reply to this e-mail. Or better yet, join our Discord Server and keep the conversation going 24/7.

​

Read Something Dope Today,

BJ KICKS