There was a time when this would have excited me. But Marvel has made anniversary issues feel far less special than they were. Everything is an anniversary. ASM is especially bad because it shamelessly switches between new and legacy numbering to squeeze out as many anniversary issues as it can.

52 Weeks, 20 Years Later - Week 2 Does Renee Montoya dig herself out of her own dark hole a little too easily? Plus, 52 necessitated an art by committee approach. Does any of it stay nearly as consistent without Keith Giffen's breakdowns? theronreadscomics.substack.com/p/52-week-2?...

ICYMI: Torment gets a nicely thought out backstory in this Death Spiral epilogue. But it would have been very helpful to learn some of this during the event. theronreadscomics.substack.com/p/webhead-we...

ICYMI: Camp and Rodríguez take the deepest dive yet into John's psyche. Is the Green Martian trustworthy or has he manipulated from the start? This penultimate issue goes hard. theronreadscomics.substack.com/p/review-abs...

ICYMI: Barbara Gordon Breakout #1 is surprisingly effective for coming in the middle of a major Batman story arc. It features very strong content for Barbara. A must have for current Batman fans and a good entry point for curious readers. open.substack.com/pub/theronre...

You made my day, Theron. Thank you for the kind words. Folks, if you haven’t checked TERRORBYTES, don’t sleep on it. Every issue will knock your socks off. @madcavestudios.com @manruss.bsky.social @juandoe.bsky.social @mikemarts.bsky.social

Webhead Wednesday (on a Thursday) THROWBACK! Spider-Man is trapped in ice. New York is paralyzed by a blizzard. Quasar is...directing traffic? All this and more as the Avant Guard do artsy villainous things in the "Art Attack" finale! theronreadscomics.substack.com/p/webhead-we...

Absolutely deserved. If you have not at least checked out Absolute Martian Manhunter, you're missing out on something unique.

Technology runs horribly amok yet again. But this time @marklondon.bsky.social touches on a theme of why humanity has this problem in the first place. Terrorbytes #6 may be the smartest issue yet. Great art by @juandoe.bsky.social. @madcavestudios.com theronreadscomics.substack.com/p/review-ter...

Torment's backstory was largely absent from Death Spiral. Between that and inconsistencies, it begs the question whether the backstory was created by the event writers or envisioned by Soule who's comic is vastly superior. This and other thoughts... theronreadscomics.substack.com/p/webhead-we...

Fantastic in all its 80s-ness!

The extraordinarily rare non-comics post... Now seated in IMAX

I'm sure it would have been logistically impossible, but I feel like the best way to tell the fixed 2 year Ultimate Universe story would have been a weekly series augmented by a very limited number of monthly mini-series. Maybe then the end wouldn't feel so abrupt.

I see a lot Ultimate Endgame criticisms (I'm not commenting on it either way) linked to complaints that Marvel rushed an ending just to get rid of the fan favorite Ultimate Universe (especially USM). It's worth remembering that this was always a 2 year deal.

Space Ghost #11 continues the epic struggle between Space Ghost and the Time Master. @peposed.bsky.social ’s story doesn’t let up for a second, and the art team delivers another absolute winner. @dynamitecomicshq.bsky.social comic-watch.com/comic-book-r...

You're telling me the Ultimate Universe was more than these 24 issues? Nonsense!

Absolute Martian Manhunter #11 sets up the final issue as @denizcamp.bsky.social and Javier Rodríguez deliver the most intense, deepest dive yet into John’s breaking psyche! theronreadscomics.substack.com/p/review-abs...

Barbara Gordon Breakout #1 is a great new Gotham-centric book. Required reading for those reading the current Batman story arc. Incredibly accessible for those that aren't Tamaki and Nahuelpan knock this one out of the park. theronreadscomics.substack.com/p/review-bar...

This makes me far less interested. I was hoping for something akin to the 90s Midnight Sons group. This just sounds like, "Let's make horror versions of our best-selling titles and call it a publishing line." I don't need yet another re-imagined Spider-Man.

Full thoughts coming in my Webhead Wednesday (on a Thursday) blog tomorrow, but for now... I'm actually fine with Amazing Spider-Man/Venom Death Spiral Body Count. The issue's biggest flaw was that this background much sooner. Torment would have been much more interesting.

Space Ghost's biggest story ever continues in Space Ghost #11 from @peposed.bsky.social and Jonathan Lau. theronreadscomics.substack.com/p/review-spa...

1990 DC house ad BATMAN: DARK KNIGHT, DARK CITY This three-part Riddler centric story filled space between the end of Marv Wolfman's run and the beginning of Alan Grant's. Grant Morrison would later retcon several elements of it to fit in with their Batman run. #HouseAds

What is good, everybody? Tigra and Hank Pym go to (a) hell! But the story almost doesn't matter when the all-around friendly and upstanding Hawkeye is winking at you from a 25th anniversary cover. #ShakeYourCLZ

"A year long weekly series…who could resist such a thing? Especially since it seemed impossible in 2006 that it could happen without delays. But it did. And boy did it kick ass." Looking back at 52 20 years later, one week at a time. theronreadscomics.substack.com/p/52-week-on...

20 years ago DC kicked off 52, a weekly series that I contend is still one of the company's greatest modern accomplishments. Let's take a look back at every issue, one a week, for the whole year. theronreadscomics.substack.com/p/52-week-on...

"Mary Jane’s appearance is a nice moment. She’s not super-heroing, but she’s taking charge in a crisis. It’s a nice way to emphasize her being a strong character in her own right. Additionally, not every support character needs to have super powers." theronreadscomics.substack.com/p/webhead-we...

It's hard to be optimistic when the new cosmic series pretty much ended before they began. Still, this will be fun if it both matters to the larger Marvel landscape and lasts for any length of time. But this is a pretty awesome lineup.

"I have to say that I’m glad Amazing Spider-Man #28 closes this time loop. Kelly probably could have ignored the help from Peter’s future self during Eight Deaths and no one would have given it any thought. So it’s nice that this was revisited." theronreadscomics.substack.com/p/webhead-we...

Tony and Bishop travel to the future and see what could happen if the SRA fails. Christos Gage delivers a story that helps redeem Tony's actions 20 years later in Civil War Unmasked #1. theronreadscomics.substack.com/p/review-civ...

For the night crowd: "It’s disappointing, but frankly not unusual for Kelly’s run, that the emotional fallout for [Torment's murder] happens off panel in an unseen conversation between Mary Jane and Flash." theronreadscomics.substack.com/p/webhead-we...

"This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper.” -- T.S. Elliot Such is Amazing Spider-Man #27 and Death Spiral--an event that goes out on the hollowest of spectacles. For all the shock and awe, Kelly has nothing of substance to say. theronreadscomics.substack.com/p/webhead-we...

Getting into Ann Nocenti's Daredevil run.

Despite Doomsday being nothing more than a plot device and Funeral for a Friend dragging a bit, this is still my favorite Superman saga. #SupermanDay

I finally, finally, FINALLY finished my first read through of Batman: No Man's Land. It is definitely not without its flaws, and I don't think I'd call it an event given its length and very free-flowing nature. But on balance, it was pretty good.

Every now and then I have to give The Thanos Quest a #TopShelfFriday mention. Two books that show off how amazing the medium can be. They can be a little difficult to come by but the solid writing and gorgeous art make it worthwhile.

Scud: The Whole Shebang. Easiest choice I ever made.

Alex Paknadel is a great writer when it comes to telling complex character oriented stories that are still fun and exciting. This is actually the only X book I am pulling at the moment, and it's great. I definitely encourage everyone to check out any series Paknadel writes.

I would love to know what the sales drop-off is between a first issue with blind bag variants and a second issue without them. Like, Daredevil #1 did the gimmick, and I'm sure it sold like crazy. But what are 2, 3, and 4 gonna do? Or are we headed for blind bags on every issue?

The gimmicks just keep getting more ridiculous. A million variant covers aren't enough. Now it's time to lean not just into speculators but also influencers and people who love the lottery. Sometimes, it really feels like Marvel is doing their damnedest to recreate the 90s crash.

CYCLOPS #4 variant by the wonderful @nethodiaz.bsky.social Please believe me when I tell you the issue itself goes as ridiculously hard as this cover. Mr. Summers is... unamused.

With the end of the Ultimate Universe, my Marvel pulls are down to 3 (and one of those is a mini). No one is more surprised than me.

And somewhere, a million Fonzies jumped a million sharks...🤦‍♂️

Meanwhile, in Amazing Spider-Man #26... 🤦‍♂️

Green Lantern Corps #15 takes a deep dive into John Stewart's head as he struggles against Parallax's influence. The character exploration elevates this big action issue. open.substack.com/pub/theronre...

The Time Master finally makes his move in the very successful Space Ghost #10. @peposed.bsky.social, Lau, and Dalhouse deliver their biggest action issue yet. open.substack.com/pub/theronre...

Flash Gordon #0 is a kind of reset issue as the series' new creative team (Abnett, Garcia, and de la Cruz) charts a new course for the space adventurer. This the perfect jumping on point for everyone interested in the classic hero. @madcavestudios.com theronreadscomics.substack.com/p/review-fla...

The Nuclear Man is back! Lemire, De Latorre, and Maiolo knock The Fury of Firestorm #1 out of the park. Fans of any of these creators should definitely give it a look. theronreadscomics.substack.com/p/review-the...

Marvel house ad for the ambitious lineup of NEW UNIVERSE Eight series in a new initiative with new rules. New Universe ran 1986 to 1989. Four series survived to the end when, despite being profitable, Marvel canceled the whole line. #HouseAds

Have you checked out this series yet? The correct answer is yes.

My Saturday is pretty boring atm...