What I Bought 7/22/2026

What they told us a few months ago at work, if we didn't sign the agreement, we wouldn't have to use the AI, was not entirely true. We seem to have the option not to use it (for now), but still had to sign the agreement. And watch training videos, which were funny for how much they try to tap dance around the worthlessness of AI without actually saying so.

Use it for research, but make sure to verify what the answers it gives you. Why not just do the research myself then? Have it summarize e-mails or presentations, but double-check it didn't add anything just plain untrue. Don't put any proprietary or restricted information in there, because it could then share that information with anyone. If you use it, whatever you produced has to state that. So it's really just extra hassle across the board.

The video did end with a survey asking how often I expected to use AI for certain tasks. As, "when Hell is both empirically proven to exist, and then freezes over into a rainbow Popsicle," was not an option, I put "rarely, if ever" for each question. And the video responded, "That's OK. It's not for everyone!" No shit, tell that to the fools cramming it down our throats.

Moonstar #5, by Ashley Allen (writer), Edoardo Audino (artist), Arthur Hesli (color artist), Clayton Cowles (letterer) - Every time I look at this cover, I feel like Dani's head is not centered on her body. Is it the sword, the shoulder plate? Something makes it look like it's off-kilter. 

Final battle for all life on Earth. Though Kian's burning up what life he's got on spells strong enough to make some sort of difference, while Kyrion keeps trying to goad Dani into taking the sword from him. It's the only way to stop him, but then she'll have to feed it two souls. His and, well, there's only one other person around.

Dani keeps refusing, firing off her psychic arrows and using spells. Which are very colorful, so that's nice. Hesli uses them to break up the depressing, deep-red that drenches everything else. Dani insists evil's always part of life, and so is chaos, you just have to learn to embrace the opportunities it holds. Chaos that is, not evil. Although it's not like evil doesn't have opportunities, too. Then she picks up the cursed sword, determined to be the one at the wheel

Dani doesn't want the sword's power, so she won't give it but one soul, the one trapped inside. Which is what sustains the sword, so it'll break. And Dani figures that's OK, because she can guide all the other souls to wherever they're supposed to go, being a valkyrie an all. I'm not clear on if that's back to their bodies, or to the other side. Maybe both. Her parents are back up and living, but I assume some of those souls no longer have bodies to go back to. Also, the part of the sword that was speaking gets ejected as well, which doesn't entirely make sense to me. I need to go back and re-read how the sword works.

Day is saved, parents saved, Dani's going to help Kian and Yansa with some of their society's work for at least a little while, and then Beta Ray Bill shows up to say thanks for handling the whole, evil Norse sword thing. Too busy off snogging with Sif or something, Bill? Not Cyborg-Horse-Thor's best moment. Also, he's carrying a big sword instead of a hammer. It just looks wrong. Do not approve.

Marc Spector: Moon Knight #6, by Jed MacKay (writer), Devmalya Pramanik (artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (color artist), Cory Petit (letterer) - Marc likes to give himself a handicap, so he's going to try staking vampires with blunt instruments.

This is a "get the team together" issue. Clea does the old Secret Defenders bit where the cards tell you who you need, and Moonie goes out to get them. Blade's easy. All Marc has to do is mention "Midnight Suns" and Blade's in. Well, he also had to kill some vampires to get Blade's attention. Couple of nice bits by the Pramanik/Rosenberg team here. One panel from inside a vamp's mouth before Moon Knight decapitates it, and the page where Blade agrees to help is three panels where the frames of the windows in the skyscraper act as the panel borders, with a full moon reflected off them. And the last panel is Blade stepping out through the window as he says, "Now let's go."

I'm also trying to figure out why Rosenberg colors the interior of Blade's coat as just solid red. No shading, shadows, or gradation. Just a solid red wall, every time. Feels significant, but heck if I can figure out what it would mean.  

That was the easy pitch, sandwiched between two harder sells. Although Robbie Reyes really just needs a chance to vent about, I guess, how badly he got treated in Jason Aaron's Avengers' run? Saving everything and getting left behind? I don't know, I didn't read any of the comics mentioned in the editor's notes. Nice intro for Moon Knight, though, reflected in one of the side mirrors of Robbie's car as he approaches. Robbie's not interested in doing any more world saving, but Marc just wants to save the people who pass for family with him, and that's enough to get Robbie on board.

And then there's Daredevil. Really?! Matt's being his usual holier-than-thou self. "Oh, I feel so bad about that one person I killed, and you don't feel bad about anyone you killed, blah blah." Yeah Matt, but as someone's who's read plenty of your history can attest, feeling guilty has never stopped you from doing another similarly dumbshit thing later. Just ask all your exes. The ones that are still alive, at least. Still, Moon Knight sells DD on demonstrating good choices, since Matt says he's one bad choice away from becoming Moon Knight. Pramanik uses Moon Knight's heartbeat as the top panel border a few times, showing it spiking as Matt keeps talking shit.

Of course, as they go charging in, it appears Moon Knight and Clea aren't being upfront with their new partners. Surely that won't come back to bite them (literally, with Blade around.)