2019 Comics in Review - Part 2

I bought 120 new comics this year, the most since 2016 when I also bought 120 comics. It's the first time the total actually rose from one year to the next since 2011, when it went from 134 to 136 (which is the only other time it's gone up).

It's about half-and-half between stuff that was ongoing series and stuff from mini-series, plus 7 or 8 one-shot type things. I'm iffy on how it breaks down between ongoings and minis because I still haven't decided how to classify Infinity 8. 24 issues ongoing? 8 3-issue mini-series that are interconnected?

Domino - Hotshots #1-5: This started as soon as Domino ended, with mostly the same creative team of Gail Simone and David Baldeon, although Michael Shelfer drew the majority of the last two issues. Domino and her crew, plus some wild cards, run around the world trying to find a guy infected by something the Celestials dropped off on Earth.  A bunch of other interested parties show up, and Domino can't trust half the people she's working with not to look out for themselves.

High Point - I enjoyed the partially-Celestial designs Baldeon came up with for some of the characters. Domino having the weird linework on just the black patch over her eye was cool. My theory that everyone was fighting over the Celestial equivalent of a turd, and that poor Russian scientist really just had Space Hep C, while not correct, greatly amused me.

Low Point - I feel like it rehashes certain things too much. Domino worries she can't control Black Widow and the other wild cards. She tries to get them to agree to buy in to her plan. They agree, something happens, the whole thing starts again. Then it happens again. It's like every five minutes they're all pointing guns at each other. If they're all such dangerous ladies, shouldn't they be killing each other after the first betrayal?

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1-6, 11: Tom Taylor and mostly Juann Cabal as artist trying a series focus on Spider-Man interacting with mostly his neighbors, generally being a good and helpful person, while also dealing with typical Spider-Man stuff. Which involved people from a city deep beneath New York kidnapping a mother, or Spidey helping a kid who made the bad decision to steal a car.

High Point - I thought Taylor really got Peter Parker and Spider-Man in the small moments. The little helpful things he does, like giving people he saved directions, or helping that kid not get arrested for stealing a car, by helping the kid get away. Without breaking the speed limit, which was pretty funny. Issue #5 was definitely my favorite, even if it Peter dealing with them having Aunt May diagnosed with cancer. Is that a step up or down from her frequent heart problems? I liked the idea of another city deep beneath New York, that used to have some secret agreement with the surface world, in theory.

Low Point - In practice, having subterranean city be basically just New York was kind of dull. I didn't really care much for Marine, The Rumor, whatever you want to call her. Didn't dislike her, but she hadn't grown on me by the time I dropped the book. Like I said, the little parts were good, but the larger plots didn't interest me much.

Ghost Tree #1-4: Bobby Curnow and Simon Gane have Brandt take some time off from his failing marriage to visit his grandmother, and finds he can see his grandfather's ghost. And a lot of other ghosts, including his childhood sweetheart. So he's stuck between trying to go home and make things work, or stay here and revel in pleasant memories and help these ghosts maybe find peace. It's useful work, but also a way to escape his own problems.

High Point - I love Ian Herring's color work, especially when the "demon" appears and things shift so sharply to reds, and away from soft greens and blues. The ghost who would like to talk about his melted face cracks me up. I like Gane's design for Zero, the guardian spirit. It's simple, but memorable. Ragged cloaks and hoods are design elements that work for me, apparently.

Low Point - I'm not sure I like the ending, mostly because it's a bummer but also because I'm not sure what the point of it is. Making a point about how time doesn't stand still for anyone? That Brandt and the rest of us may be pawns n fate's hands? Sometimes there's no fixing things? I don't know.

Giant Days #46-54: John Allison writing, mostly Max Sarin and Whitney Cogar on art and colors, although Allison draws an issue and a half. Daisy and Esther graduate, which means preparing for what comes after graduation. Susan tries to help McGraw cope with the loss of his father. Plus a lot of small random things in and around that. Daisy's driving test, Susan finding who keeps stealing stuff from the comic store, Esther's issue with her parents.

High Point - Look, there are 70 things in every issue of Giant Days that I love. Just looking through #47, I was reminded Esther called McGraw for help finding Dean's dog rather than call Susan or Daisy because she did not need a 'coterie of flibbetigibbets,' which is a fantastic turn of phrase. Sarin and Cogar going for the black-and-white noir/Sin City look in issue 46 when Susan takes up private investigating again. If I'm going to pick a single favorite issue, it's #50, the cricket game issue. Can't resist a good underdog sports story.

Low Point - The low point is that it ended. I am bereft, cast adrift by the comic most capable of bringing a spark of laughter into my otherwise dreary and miserab-OK that's enough of that shit. But seriously, I'm sad the book has ended.

Giant Days - As Time Goes By: Allison, Sarin, and Cogar give the girls a sendoff by checking in one year after the series finale. Which shows Esther is miserable in her job with two controlling weirdos, and Susan has just about had it up to here with both Esther and McGraw's shit. Daisy's doing great, though. I'm a little surprised Esther has less resistance to being affected by other people than me. Of course, I'm so naturally solitary it's easy for me to just avoid people I don't like, even at work.

Gwenpool Strikes Back #1-5: Leah Williams and David Baldeon give us Gwenpool's quest to prove she's important enough to keep around the Marvel Universe, rather than being written into oblivion. Which means she spends a lot of time doing random disruptive shit to prove she's a big deal. At the end, she gets sorta retconned into being a mutant, so mission accomplished, I guess.

High Point - Gwen stealing Thor's severed arm from Malekith, so she can catch Mjolnir, then hit the Hulk in the junk with it. How could any other moment possibly be better than that? Although he scaring David Baldeon so he would spill coffee allover his panels of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, so they stop chasing her wasn't bad. So was Deadpool being mad enough about her unmasking Spidey he decides to stop helping her and try to kill her instead. Aw, Wade cares!

Low Point - Shouldn't Gwen know she's not going to pick up enough radioactivity from Spider-Man to not bother trying that? She's supposed to be a big honking comics nerd! Peter is only radioactive enough to kill Aunt May if he gives her a blood transfusion. Is her becoming a mutant - until the next writer - really an improvement?

Halfway there! Tomorrow is mostly a whole bunch of stuff I only bought one or two issues of. One-shots, series I didn't return to after the first issue, a couple of other things. Should go faster.