u/Aware-Nothing575

Daredevil #150 was released on this date in 1977, written by Jim Shooter with interiors by Carmine Infantino and cover by Gil Kane this key issue marks the first appearance of the mercenary Paladin. Daredevil battles Paladin while both are on the hunt for Purple Man. This issue is also special as this is the one where Matt Murdock reveals his identity to Heather Glenn, his one time girlfriend and heiress to the Glenn Industries corporation. The Price Charting website currently lists near-mint editions at $870.

To celebrate Mike Mignola's 66th birthday, lets look at the top 5 covers he's drawn in his career. No surprise we're starting out with Mignola's most popular character, Hellboy. 'Hellboy: The Corpse and the Iron Shoes' from 1996 comes in 5th place. This stark, folkloric cover is regularly singled out as an excellent example of his mature use of huge black shapes, limited color and negative space. Among the Hellboy-only contenders, its combination of critical affection, recognizable imagery and resale value gets it into the list. Coming in 4th place is 1988's 'Cosmic Odyssey #1', this is one of Mignola's most celebrated pre-Hellboy DC images, its enormous cosmic scale and strange Kirby-esque planets already show the design instincts that would define his later work; fans specifically cite Cosmic Odyssey as the book where they fell in love with his art. Its collector value isn't elite, but its importance in Mignola's artistic evolution pushes the cover above most of his Marvel and DC work from the period. In 3rd place is his 1989 work on 'Batman: Gotham by Gaslight', Mignola and P. Craig Russell's silhouetted Victorian Batman cover has become inseparable from one of DC's most influential alternate-universe stories, generally recognized as the work that led to the Elseworlds concept. As a pure piece of graphic design, the looming black Batman against Victorian Gotham is one of the clearest bridges between Mignola's superhero work and the visual language of Hellboy. Number 2 is a no-brainer, its 'Batman' #428 from 1988, Mignola's devastating image of the bloodied Jason Todd is attached to one of the most famous and controversial Batman issues ever published, the chapter of 'A Death in the Family' in which readers' telephone vote resulted in Robin's death. But the number 1, all time best cover by Mike Mignola has got to be 'Hellboy: Seed of Destruction' #1 from 1994. This is the definitive Mignola cover: Hellboy emerging from a near-black composition against explosive yellow, introducing the character's first dedicated series and effectively launching the entire Hellboy universe. When you combine the cover's visual reputation, the importance and popularity of the issue, long-term collector demand and the fact that this imagery essentially became Mignola's artistic calling card, this cover no doubt earns it's number 1 status.

To celebrate what would be Jack Kirby's 109th Birthday - let’s look at the top 5 characters he had a hand in creating.

Number 5 would be the T'Challa Black Panther, Kirby and Stan Lee’s 1966 creation has surged into the top tier through cultural importance, strong fan rankings, a 300,000+ copy launch for Black Panther #1 in 2016, and two solo films totaling roughly $2.19 billion worldwide, plus enormous modern licensing and merchandise exposure. Marvel itself included T’Challa among its ten greatest Kirby creations.

Coming in 4th is Thor, Thor has more than six decades of continuous comics prominence and routinely places among Marvel’s most popular heroes; his four solo MCU films have grossed approximately $2.71 billion worldwide, while his hammer, helmet and costume have become instantly recognizable merchandising symbols. Kirby’s visual reinvention of Norse mythology was so extensive that Marvel ranks Thor among his signature creations.

In 3rd place is The Hulk, Hulk edges Thor because he became a genuine household name decades before the MCU, through comics, television, cartoons, toys and merchandise, while ranking #9 on IGN’s all-time heroes list and #2 on Marvel’s own Kirby-character ranking. His original comic struggled, but the character ultimately sustained one of Marvel’s longest-running solo publishing histories and remains one of the company’s most recognizable visual brands.

In second place is Tony Stark's Iron Man, Kirby co-created and designed the original armored Iron Man, and although Tony was historically a mid-tier comic seller, the MCU transformed him into one of the world's biggest superhero brands: his three solo films generated about $2.42 billion, and modern fan rankings routinely place him among Marvel’s top characters. His enormous movie, toy, game and licensed-merchandising footprint pushes him ahead of Hulk in the overall commercial calculation.

But the number, and clear overall winner of Kirby creations has got to be Captain America, Kirby and Joe Simon’s creation, which sold nearly one million copies of 'Captain America Comics' #1, has endured for more than 85 years, ranks #6 on IGN’s all-time superhero list, and headlines a film franchise that has grossed roughly $2.65 billion before even counting his Avengers appearances and merchandising. Marvel’s own ranking of Kirby creations also puts Captain America at #1, making him the strongest combination of historical sales, longevity, popularity, media exposure and commercial value.

King Kirby, indeed.

Trauma, Alters and The Underground...This is your 90 second character deep dive into Crazy Jane. As a child, the Doom Patrol hero known as ‘Crazy Jane,’ real name Kay Challis, was severely abused by her family. The abuse occurred so frequently that she eventually withdrew inward and began to manifest different personalities (or alters) as a coping mechanism. When the alien Dominators invaded Earth and activated a gene bomb, Jane and all of her alters are affected and each gain a different power. As a young adult, these alters begin to make appearances whenever Jane is under stress or emotional trauma. Unable to control her alters and their powers, Jane is committed to an institution for a while before being recruited by Niles Caulder and the Doom Patrol.

Among some of the 64 personalities who reside in her mental headspace called 'The Underground' are; Baby Doll, a telekinetic child-like alter who believes everything is lovely. Hammerhead, who is highly aggressive and possesses superhuman strength and durability. Lucy Fugue, who has radioactive bones and see-through skin. The Snow Queen who has the power to create and shape ice & The Wall Crawler, who is able to scale walls and ceilings. Created by Grant Morrison and first seen in Doom Patrol vol. 2 #19 from February 1989. The character was based on Truddi Chase's autobiography, 'When Rabbit Howls', which Morrison had been reading while creating the series. Jane is portrayed by Diane Guerrero in the TV series Doom Patrol on Max which ran for 4 seasons, great show. Crazy Jane was most recently seen in 2025’s Titans #26, following a major role as the Doom Patrol’s new Chief in the 2023 'Unstoppable Doom Patrol' series.

So, who decided that The Transformers Autobots would be mostly cars while Decepticons would be planes and weapons? Bob Budiansky, who named and created the personalities for most of the original Transformers, has said that Hasbro gave him a box of Japanese toys and told him which figures were Autobots and which were Decepticons. In other words, Budiansky created characters such as Megatron, Starscream and Soundwave around their assigned toys, but he did not decide that the cars would be heroes and the jets would be villains. George Dunsay, Hasbro’s senior vice president of research and development during the creation of Transformers, also said that the central good-versus-evil conflict came from Hasbro’s marketing department and was developed with the Griffin-Bacal advertising agency. The closest thing to an official explanation comes from Jim Shooter’s original 1983 Transformers story treatment for Marvel. Shooter characterized the Autobots as peaceful beings devoted to commerce, travel and transportation, while the Decepticons had redesigned themselves for warfare—becoming weapons, military aircraft and surveillance or communications devices. When they copied Earth machinery, the Autobots therefore became vehicles, while the Decepticons became weapons, aircraft and electronic devices. So, who decided The Transformers' forms? That's a mix of Budiansky & the Griffin-Bacal advertising agency, but the reason why was created by Marvel's Jim Shooter.

Here are the top 5 comics for July 2026, out this month is 'Avengers Armageddon', it's second issue dropped 3rd to 10th place this month, once again proving Marvel is having a hard time reaching its core audience. Also dropping from 5th to 14th is Batman #11, this one is a bit of shocker since the title has been very strong since its debut.

Cracking the 5th spot is a Marvel title, 'Queen in Black' #1 is Al Ewing's latest featuring an all out battle Hela of Asgard and Knull God of the Void, no doubt pushing the sales figures was the 'True Believers Blind Bags' which coincided with the new release, these bags contain exclusive variant comic book covers featuring a cosmic clash between Hela and Knull that cannot be bought through standard open-to-order listings.

Coming in 4th place is Image Comics' high-profile, violent superhero series 'Terminal' written by Robert Kirkman and Joe Casey with art by Andy Kubert, the story follows Marilyn Howe as she searches for her missing sister Alessandra, landing right in the middle of a secret, brutal global war between two superhuman factions.

Dropping 2 spots from last month is 'Absolute Catwoman' #2, this issue sees Selina Kyle attempting to recover after a run-in with mystery assailants.

Moving up 3 spots from last month is Absolute Green Arrow #3, where Dinah must capture the Green Arrow Killer as she finally finds Oliver Queen’s protégé.

The number one comic from July and up one spot from last month is Absolute Batman #22 featuring the Robins, Harley Quinn's origins and her connection to Ark M. Those are the top 5 for July 2026, what did you pick up?

To celebrate Mark Bagley's 69th birthday lets look at the top five greatest comics ever drawn the artist. Coming in fifth is 'Venom: Lethal Protector' #1 from 1993. Reviews of the story itself have always been mixed, but it gave Venom his first solo title and helped complete his transformation from Spider-Man villain into one of Marvel’s biggest antiheroes. Regular copies currently sell around $20, while rare gold and black editions can reach hundreds—or considerably more in high grade.

Number four is 'Spider-Man: Life Story' from 2019. Chip Zdarsky and Bagley allowed Peter Parker to age in real time from the 1960s into old age. The series holds an 8.3 critic rating and 8.7 reader score on Comic Book Roundup, and its success inspired Marvel’s later 'Fantastic Four: Life Story'.

Number three is 'Thunderbolts' #1 from 1997. Kurt Busiek and Bagley introduced an apparently new superhero team, before revealing they were actually Baron Zemo’s Masters of Evil in disguise. It remains widely regarded as one of the greatest surprise endings in superhero-comic history and created a franchise that lasted for decades.

Number two is 'Ultimate Spider-Man' #1 2000. Its early orders were modest, but extraordinary reorders turned it into a genuine word-of-mouth success. The series helped launch Marvel’s entire Ultimate Universe, modernized Spider-Man for a new generation and established Bagley and Brian Michael Bendis as one of comics’ defining creative partnerships.

But number one is 'Amazing Spider-Man' #361 from 1992, featuring the first full appearance of Carnage, with ordinary high-grade copies regularly selling for roughly $75 to $100. Carnage became a permanent part of Spider-Man mythology—and Bagley’s design became instantly iconic.

In my continuing series on musical artists and genres that reference comic books in their lyrics, I want to focus on Rock & Alternative, here we have some pretty big mainstream artists singing about some of the biggest heroes in comics.

First is the Canadian Alternative band 'Crash Test Dummies' and their song simply titled 'Superman’s Song', this song is in the form of a eulogy for the titular hero with lyrics including Clark Kent, and Solomon Grundy. Lead singer Brad Roberts stated that the song celebrates the ideals embodied by the superhero: "One of the things that impressed me was this distinction between the idea of doing something for a reason versus doing something for one’s own sake...One of the things that the song gets at is this kind of decaying sense of civic responsibility, where characters like Superman are no longer valued."

The 1960's Sunshine pop band 'The Clique' also have a song featuring the DC hero; their song, simply titled 'Superman', and surprisingly, they admitted they did not particularly like the song when they recorded it. Keyboardist Oscar Houchins told the Houston Chronicle that the band saw itself as a rock group, while “Superman” sounded like bubblegum pop. Producer and co-writer Gary Zekley brought the song to them immediately after they signed with White Whale Records. Houchins recalled: “It was a little embarrassing for us. We liked rock stuff, and it was really a bubblegum song.”

R.E.M. loved obscure 1960s garage, psychedelic and sunshine-pop records, and “Superman” fit the kind of forgotten cover they had played since their early club days. Their early repertoire was full of similar 1960s material. They recorded their version of the song for the 'Lifes Rich Pagent' album in 1986.

Meanwhile in 1975 'Paul McCarney & Wings' recorded a song called 'Magneto and Titanium Man' for their Venus and Mars album. McCartney said he discovered the characters while reading Marvel comics during a holiday in Jamaica. He became fascinated by the dramatic names Magneto, Titanium Man and Crimson Dynamo, and built a playful bank-robbery story around them. Wings also performed the song live during their 1975 tour while enormous images of the Marvel characters were projected behind the band. During the Los Angeles shows, Jack Kirby met Paul and Linda McCartney backstage and gave them an original drawing featuring the couple with Magneto.

On this day in 2015 'Ms. Marvel #17' hit comic-shops, featuring the team up between Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel for the first time, written by G. Willow Wilson with interiors and inks by Adrian Alphona and a hilarious cover by Kris Anka. This issue holds an 8.6 critic score from 10 reviews and an 8.3 reader score on Comic Book RoundUp. Critics especially praised Kamala Khan’s long-awaited meeting with Carol Danvers and the emotional balance of the story. Price Charting currently lists near mint issues at $30.

This is my copy of 'The X-Files: Season 10' #19 from December 2014, written by Joe Harris with a cover by Francesco Francavilla and interiors by Tom Mandrake. This issue kicks off the two-part "G-23" storyline where a new conspiracy forces Fox Mulder to look back at his early history as a cadet at Quantico. Chris Carter, who created the television series, is the Executive Producer of the comic book series and also contributed to several elements to the comics' stories. This issue is currently listed at $10.25 on the Price Charting website.

Morbius is back—and he's not just biting necks, he's biting off more than he can chew! In this issue, we dive into a bloody turf war in Brownsville, explosive gang politics, and a vampire anti-hero who just can’t stop making everything worse. But this isn't just another plot breakdown—oh no! We’re unpacking the real-life history behind North Brother Island, spotlighting the Eisner-winning talent behind the scenes, and connecting the dots between Morbius, The Rose, and Marvel’s ambitious 2013 relaunch. Want to know why this issue matters and what made it one of the grittiest turns for the Living Vampire? Then stick around, because this is more than a comic—it’s a full-blown Marvel autopsy. Let’s get into it.

Continuing the story from previous issues, which sees Morbius on the run after his escape from the prison known as The Raft. He makes his way to Brownsville, just outside of New York, in an attempt to lay low. His plans go awry almost immediately when he crosses paths with Noah St. Germain, the ‘godfather’ of Brownsville.  After taking a shotgun to the chest and being left for dead, Morbius confronts St. Germain at his compound, complete with gun-tooting gangsters and St. Germain’s very young nephew. Morbius’ blood lust gets the better of him and he kills St. Germain, leaving a power vacuum in Brownsville but, more importantly, leaving Morbius locked in a warehouse full of people trying to kill him. He manages to escape only to be caught again and returned to the warehouse, where he is tasked with saving St. Germain’s life, but fails to do so.

As issue 4 begins we see a flashback of St. Germain, known then as David Bril, a small-time thug with zero fighting skills or muscle mass, a very far cry from the Noah St. Germain who would take over Brownsville. He is taken to North Brother Island where a mysterious benefactor wishes to discuss his future. 

Back in the present, Morbius is confronted by angry gangsters who no longer have a use for him now that St. Germain is dead. The angriest of the bunch is Rochelle, St. Germain’s former girlfriend. Morbius tries to plead his way out of the situation but it's too late, Rochelle wants him dead and is also willing to kill anyone he cares about, namely St. Germain’s nephew, Henry. Rochelle lets Morbius know that she’s got a man watching him at an all night diner, and all she needs to do is give the word.

As Rochelle and Morbius argue the warehouse is raided by mysterious masked men with a helicopter and heavy weapons, they only seem interested in snatching up St. Germin’s lifeless body. Meanwhile back at the diner Henry’s mother arrives and lets it be known that she is not afraid of the armed gangster or anyone else who wants to harm her son.

At the warehouse Rochelle and Morbius, temporary allies, fight off the masked intruders but fail to stop them from grabbing Noah. One of these masked men fries Morbius with electricity from his fingers, and they quickly vanish into the night. Rochelle tells Morbius about the true impact of his actions; Noah may have been a gangster but he was the only thing keeping people with even worse intentions from taking over Brownsville.

Back on North Brother island our mystery man takes ownership of Noah’s body, happy that it did not get into the ‘wrong’ hands. He bemoans the appearance of Morbius on the scene but doesn’t seem too worried. The final panel reveals that our mysterious man is none other than ‘The Rose’.

The story continues in issue 5

This issue was written by Joe Keatinge. Keatinge is best known for his writing work with Marvel & Image, and as the co-editor of Popgun with Mark Andrew Smith. He began his career working with Erik Larsen on Image Comic’s Savage Dragon. He has contributed to anthology titles such as Negative Burn with artist Evan Bryce and Fantastic Comics #24 with artists Michael Allred and Laura Allred, which was part of The Next Issue Project. He won a Harvey Award for his work on PopGun Volume 1 in 2008 and an Eisner Awards for PopGun Volume 3 in 2010.

This issue was penciled and inked by Richard Elson. Elson has worked on other Marvel titles like Thor and Journey Into Mystery during Kieron Gillen's run writing the titles. He ended up working on almost the entirety of this short Morbius run. 

Colorist Antonio Fabela has collaborated with major publishers like Marvel and DC Comics, contributing to titles such as "The Amazing Spider-Man," "Superior Spider-Man," "Lucifer," and "Thanos." Fabela's distinctive coloring style has significantly enhanced the visual storytelling of numerous series. Beyond his coloring work, he engages with fans on social media platforms, sharing insights into his creative process and showcasing his latest projects. His contributions continue to influence the comic book industry, inspiring both readers and aspiring artists.

This issue’s striking cover art was created by David López. López started his comics career in his native Spain before moving to the American market in 2002. He is best known for co-creating and illustrating the first volume of Fallen Angel, co-created by writer Peter David, and published by DC. López is also known for his lengthy run on DC's Catwoman and his work on All-New Wolverine.

Eisner award winning letterer Clayton Cowles worked on this issue. Cowles graduated from the Joe Kubert School just four years prior and immediately began working on big names titles like Daredevil, Star Wars, and Batman. He has worked with Marvel, DC and Image Comics

Editor Sana Amanat has worked on comics such as Captain Marvel, Hawkeye, and Ms. Marvel. Amanat is known for co-creating Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel, the first Muslim-American superhero with a solo Marvel Comics series. Amanat runs the annual Women of Marvel panel at Comic Con and does work to make Marvel characters more diverse. Since 2014, Amanat has also co-hosted the Women of Marvel podcast, the podcast has released over 300 episodes.

Editor in Chief at that time was Axel Alonso. Alonso would be Marvel’s EIC until November 2017. In the late 90’s he worked at DC, under their Vertigo line, on titles like Doom Patrol, Animal Man, Hellblazer, and Preacher. In 2000 he went to work for Marvel Comics as a senior editor. In 2011 he was promoted to Editor in Chief, replacing Joe Quesada. 

So who exactly is Morbius? Created by Roy Thomas and designed by Gil Kane Morbius, made his debut in Amazing Spider-Man #101 in October of 1971. Prior to 1971 the Comics Code Authority, the comic industry’s self-censorship board, banned the use of creatures like Vampires or Werewolves in comics. However loosened regulations now gave Marvel an opportunity to introduce more supernatural-type characters into their stable.  Roy Thomas had wanted Spider-Man to fight the actual Dracula, which he eventually does, but Stan Lee wanted a costumed hero instead. So the concept of Michael Morbius was created. 

Michael Morbius is a biochemist who contracts a rare blood disease. He tries to cure himself by using a combination of experimental chemicals, electroshock therapy, and genetic samples of vampire bats. An experiment gone wrong mutates him into a "living vampire", a life form with abilities and traits resembling actual vampires.

The Rose’s base of operations is on North Brother Island, which is a very real place. The North and South Brother islands are a pair of small islands located in New York City's East River between the mainland Bronx and Rikers Island. North Brother Island was once the site of the Riverside Hospital for quarantinable diseases but is now uninhabited. The Island has about 20 acres of land. In 2007 it was designated as a sanctuary for water birds. Public access is prohibited but permission is occasionally given to researchers and journalists.

In 1915 Mary Mallon, known as Typhoid Mary, was confined to the island hospital for over two decades until she died there in November 1938. Researchers estimate that Mallon had contaminated "at least one hundred and twenty two people, including five who died".

Speaking of The Rose, who is this character? Simply put, The Rose is an alias of several villains in the Marvel Comic Universe, the first rose was Richard Fisk the son of Wilson Fisk AKA The Kingpin. The second Rose was a rogue police officer named Sergeant Blume, who was looking for revenge on The Kingpin after the death of his brother, another policeman. 

Jacob Conover was a reporter at The Daily Bugle who was under the control of crime lord Don Fortunado. Adopting the persona of The Rose he was able to rule the streets of New York for a time while The Kingpin was not in the picture. 

The Rose from this run of Morbius is Dr. Phillip Hayes, a former gene-therapy researcher at Phelcorps labs who is fired after an accident. He utilizes a synthesized drug called Ebony to enhance his test subjects. 

In 2022 Screen Rant included The Rose in their “Top 10 Spider-Man Villains who are smarter than they seem” list. 

The action in this issue takes place in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Brownsville is predominately a residential neighborhood in eastern Brooklyn in New York City. The area that would become Brownsville was first used by the Dutch for farming, as well as manufacturing stone slabs and other things used to construct buildings. Since the late 20th century, Brownsville has consistently held one of the highest poverty and crime rates of any neighborhood in New York City.

This issue features the “Marvel NOW!’ Branding on the cover, this was Marvel’s name for the relaunch of several comics that debuted in October the year prior. Several new #1’s were relaunched including this title. Marvel NOW was described as a shifting of the Marvel Universe following the conclusion of the "Avengers vs. X-Men" storyline, it entailed changes to both the publishing format and the universe to attract new readers. Marvel NOW went through several waves before coming to an end in May 2015. A second Marvel Now!, Marvel Now! 2.0, debuted in 2016 following the "Civil War II" storyline, it was then followed up in 2017 by Marvel Legacy.

Despite the serialized format of this new run of Morbius, I liked this issue, even if I was missing quite a bit of context at first. I am a big fan of Fabela’s work and I find his pairing with Richard Elson art works really well for the style and tone they were going for. Joe Keatinge’s writing is realistic and grounded in reality, which helps when your protagonist is a living vampire who is also a famous biochemist . We need a little bit of reality when working with this version of Michael Morbius. 

The two main story beats in this issue are the action at the warehouse and the drama at the 24 hour diner, they are both tied together as a result of Michael’s bad decisions and impulsive actions. Which is going to be a recurring theme in this series. 

As I mentioned this short run of Morbius is highly serialized, telling the entire story of his time in Brownsville and was most likely a worldbuilding effort to give Michael a base of operations. Unfortunately this title was cancelled after 9 issues so we never got to see the outcome of this storyline. Morbius would continue to pop up in other series for a while, usually as a sometimes friend or foe to Spider-Man. In 2019 a new series was announced simply called Morbius, this run only lasted 5 issues and was cancelled due to the COVID Pandemic.

I’ve seen issues for sale on Ebay ranging from $3.99 to $24.99, MyComicShop.com has issues for sale at $3.00 and Price Charting is listing mint or near mint issues selling for as much as $23.  

2013 was a year of continuing reinvention for Marvel Comics. The year earlier they announced the Marvel ReEvolution initiative that included Marvel NOW! launches and a line of digital comics and Marvel AR, an application that provides an augmented reality experience to readers. By April of 2013 Marvel and parent company Disney began announcing massive joint projects that covered all manner of Disney-owned IPs. 

2013 was a strong year for comic sales as a whole, both Marvel and DC continued to see year over year increases in sales. In fact the entire year saw some months perform so well they beat records from the 1990s. Of the 4 big publishers in 2013, Marvel, DC, Image and Dark Horse, Marvel dominated with over 50% of all units sold. 

The top selling Marvel titles were Superior Spider-Man, Avengers, All New X-Men, Uncanny X-Men and Age of Ultron. The top 5 Marvel comics sold that year were all number ones from Marvel’s ReEvolution Initiative: Guardians of the Galaxy #1, Superior Spider-Man #1, Infinity #1, X-Men #1 and Age of Ultron #1 with a combined 1 Million units sold or 4% of all comics sold that year.

Ads were still popular in comics in 2013, although severely limited and most had comic themed tie ins. The Iron Man 3 MCU film was promoted on the cover, there was also a full page advertisement inside. Dr. Pepper also ran 2 ads, on the inside cover they featured Dr. Pepper TEN, a diet version of their drink. The back cover featured a Captain America themed ad for the drink. 

Continuing the Iron Man theme, Marvel was promoting the Blu-Ray & Ultraviolet release of Iron Man: Rise of the Technovore animated movie. Meanwhile Iron Man is featured front and center in an ad for Jonathan Hickman’s New Avengers #6. 

Esurance and Star Trek into Darkness were running an ad to win tickets to see the film. Meanwhile the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo or C2E2 was selling tickets for the April 2013 event. C2E2 is still going strong and is planning their next event for March 2026.

Marvel was promoting Scarlet Spider #17, the start of the ‘Wrath’ storyline, featuring Wolverine. Finally a new series of Trading Cards called ‘Marvel’s Greatest Battles’ illustrated by Pablo Marcos, Anthony Tan, Andy Price, Cezar Razek, Charles Hall, Matias Streb, and others.

This week I wanted to feature a comic shop in Brownsville, I found one nearby in Brooklyn called Anyone Comics, if you are in the area I recommend checking them out on 831 Nostrand Ave, Brooklyn or visit anyonecomics.com.

So there you have it—Morbius: The Living Vampire #4. A gritty, blood-soaked slice of Marvel NOW! storytelling with gang wars, vampire ethics, and a crime boss mystery straight off a forgotten island. This issue may have flown under the radar, but now you know why it deserves a second look.

To celebrate the release of 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' lets take a look at the possible comics that may have influenced the story. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and starring Jacob Batalon, Zendaya, Sadie Sink and Tom Holland as Spider-Man the official synopsis reads "A forgotten Peter Parker lives alone as a full-time Spider-Man until mounting pressure triggers a dangerous change and a powerful new enemy emerges." The production team have discussed several comic influences, although they have not described the movie as a direct adaptation of the 2008 “Brand New Day” storyline. Director Destin Daniel Cretton and Tom Holland appeared in an official promotional featurette explaining that several action shots were designed to reproduce famous comic covers as seen in the trailer, these include Amazing Fantasy #15, Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #1, The Amazing Spider-Man #345, Spider-Man Adventures #2 & The Amazing Spider-Man #221. He explained that Peter no longer has Tony Stark, advanced technology or a mentor to depend upon. Peter makes his own costume, lives alone, struggles personally and handles street-level crime in New York. Producer Amy Pascal said the ending of 'No Way Home' deliberately returned Peter to a situation resembling his traditional comic status quo: “We decided to…take him back to a place where nobody knew who he was because that is always Spider-Man’s dilemma.” SPOILERS consistent rumors persist regarding the true plot and characters of the film, these include:

- Sadie Sink is playing Jean Grey or Gwen Stacy or Rachel Summers
- Peter is becoming Man-Spider
- Mister Negative is the hidden main villain
- The real villain is Mister Sinister
- Marvel is quietly beginning the Clone Saga
- Hulk is being mentally controlled
- Miles Morales receives his first proper MCU introduction
- MJ or Ned begins remembering Peter

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is out now.

Did you know there are roughly 250 distinct Spider-Men/Women or others within the Marvel multiverse? And potentially hundreds more once you include every unnamed cameos, game and promotional universes. This includes alternate Peter Parkers, spider-powered heroes, animal, robotic, prehistoric and supernatural Spider-variants and variants introduced specifically for 'Spider-Verse', 'Spider-Geddon' and later multiversal stories. The reason this is only an estimate is due to the fact that Marvel has never published a definitive census. Its own Spider-Verse reading guide says its featured characters are only a “select few,” rather than a complete catalogue. Marvel’s original 'Spider-Verse' event alone assembled an enormous roster drawn from comics, animation, games, newspaper strips, manga and parody realities. Later events kept adding new characters.

Three of the oddest versions includes 'Spider-Man', from Earth-11580 and first spotted in 'Spider-Geddon' #3, from 2018, this character is actually thousands of radioactive spiders carrying Peter Parker’s collective consciousness. We also have Spider-Ma’am from Earth-3123, who made her debut in 'Spider-Verse Team-Up' #3 from 2015, on this Earth Aunt May was bitten instead of Peter, as she was at the science demonstration to give Peter his forgotten lunch. Finally my favorite, is Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham, hailing from Earth-8311 and first seen all the way back in 1983's 'Marvel Tails Starring Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham' #1. Contrary to popular belief, Peter Porker was NOT a pig imbued with spider powers, he began as an ordinary spider named Peter who lived in the basement laboratory of May Porker. May, an anthropomorphic pig scientist, accidentally irradiated herself and bit Peter. The bite transformed the spider into an anthropomorphic pig while apparently retaining his spider abilities. Marvel describes Earth-8311 as a world populated by talking-animal versions of Marvel characters.

Honourable mentions to Arachnosaur; A Spider-Man who is quite literally a dinosaur, the Sentient Spider-Mobile; Spider-Man’s Spider-Mobile became a living, heroic machine & 'Web-Slinger and Widow'; A Wild West Spider-Man whose horse is also spider-powered.

So, who decided that Peter Parker AKA Spider-Man would be a teen? That boils down a purposeful choice by Stan Lee to go against the grain of having adult superheroes working with teen sidekicks, he decided to make the teen the hero. In a 1979 interview with Martin Kent, Lee explained: “I had always wanted to do a strip about a superhero as a kid...I decided to make Spider-Man like a real teenager.” Lee often told a story that than Marvel publisher Martin Goodman objected to the idea, reportedly telling Lee that “Teenagers can only be sidekicks.” Artist Steve Ditko, who designed the look of the character, purposefully gave him a full face mask, he said “I did it because it hid an obviously boyish face.”  He added that the concealed face allowed readers to imagine themselves behind the mask. So who decided that Spider-Man was a teenager? This one sits squarely at the feet of Stan Lee.

The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, were first presented in 1988, based on works published in 1987. The awards ceremony has been held at San Diego Comic-Con every year since 1991. The awards are named in honor of pioneering cartoonist and writer Will Eisner, who was a regular participant in the ceremony until his death in 2005. The nominations in each category are generated by a five- to six-member jury, then voted on by comic book professionals. The jury often consists of at least one comics retailer, one librarian, and one academic researcher, among other comic experts. The Eisners are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the comic industry and often referred to as the industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards.

This is Amazing Spider-Man Vol 2 #548, released on this date in 2008. Written by Dan Slott with cover and interiors by Steve McNiven, this issue wrapped up the first month of the "Brand New Day" storyline and features the fallout of the deadly "Blood Ties" conflict, this issue is also wraps up the first story featuring villain Mister Negative. In this issue, Spider-Man discovers he is immune to the red poison gas killing local mobsters, and a deadly trap is resolved. The finale ends with a shocking twist revelation regarding the villainous mob boss and sets up major ongoing threats for Peter Parker's life. Price Charting currently lists mint editions of this comic at $79

This is 'Captain America: The First Avenger', released on this date in 2011 starring Hugo Weaving, Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Evans as Steve Rogers AKA Captain America. While not based on one specific comic, the creative team used various elements from many eras of Captain America comics. Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely stated in an interview with 'Slash Film' that their primary vision was the original version of Captain America created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. “In a way, this movie is the Kirby-Simon Captain America”, meanwhile Christopher Markus named writer Ed Brubaker and his run as the film’s strongest tonal model, telling JoBlo "Tonally Brubaker was the most influential because he is certainly the most grounded in reality. The least ‘man in tights’ treatment.” Director Joe Johnston admitted to 'Slash Film' that he was not initially a major Captain America reader: “I was mildly familiar with the comic book, but I wasn’t a fan of the comic…” Once he accepted the film, however, he undertook extensive research “I read every Captain America comic that I could get and I sort of researched where he came from and where he started and the various iterations of him over the decades.”

This is my issue of 'The Energon Universe Special' the Free Comic Book Day 2024 edition. Featuring a cover by Ryan Ottley & Annalisa Leoni this issue is a 32-page one-shot featuring three interconnected stories. The issue includes three key narratives: Transformers: Answers major questions like Where Is Megatron and sets the stage for new battles. G.I. Joe: Provides narrative context following events in Duke and Cobra Commander. Void Rivals: Teases new directions and deepens the shared lore. It was written by Robert Kirkman, Joshua Williamson, and Daniel Warren Johnson. It is currently listed at $44 dollars on Price Charting off it’s highs of $187 in May of 2024.