… will be returning to Marvel Comics.
When I first heard that they were going to be releasing Marvel Comics Presents, I thought, “Great! We might get some stories of characters who aren’t in a series regularly! Spotlight some obscure characters!”
However, it looks like the first story will star Wolverine back in 1940… another one will feature Captain America fighting in World War II… and another one will feature Namor and the impact of the Atom Bomb.
I guess Namor is not an obscure character, but he’s one that’s not appearing in his own book and a team book, and multiple other books – but he did recently get a very big push in the X-Men books. Here’s hoping if this continues, that they will feature a big character in a story (to draw the sale) and lesser known characters as a back up story.
The Invaders, get this – will feature Namor as the villain. The Invaders, formed as Captain America, Winter Soldier, and Jim Hammond going up against Namor who has decided to be a threat to society again.
(So much for Namor not appearing in multiple books…)
They also announced a Marvel Legends Night Thrasher figure that’s coming out.
– Tawmis
First, a very special thanks to Sam Johnson, the creator of Geek Girl for reaching out to us to review this! Second, extreme apologies to Sam Johnson, who got this to us back in July to review! But hold! It might just work out, because Sam Johnson is launching a Kickstarter for Geek Girl in less than a week – on October 1st, 2018! So head over to the 
Now I was really into reading it, but the scene shift, pretty early on (right after we see Geek Girl’s debut), switches to a hospital scene – which I felt like broke the action pacing from Geek Girl, herself.
The arrival of several other girls, who clearly don’t seem to be friends with the young lady in the coma crack some pretty crass jokes and laugh about how she’s a vegetable. So it’s clear that there’s not a strong friendship here between the mysterious girl in the coma (Ruby) and the rest of these girls. Because these hospital scenes happen between action segments, I would have (personally) started the comic with this. So that there’s this mystery, then allow the rest of the action to flow naturally, rather than interrupt the action with cuts back to the hospital. But then, Sam is the writer, and I’ve got no published writing under my belt, so there’s that!
It isn’t long into the first issue, you discover that indeed, the glasses Geek Girl wears once belonged to Ruby, further deepening the mystery, as to what happened to Ruby (and it’s also revealed that, it seems she went by the name Geek Girl previously… or maybe, Neon Girl – it wasn’t very clear when I read it – when she was wearing the super powered glasses).
The scene shifts and we see what appears to be some normal bank robbers hitting a bank; but as they get away, they use a portal of some kind to make good of their escape!
However, the second issue seems to be hinting at a name for this criminal organization… The League of Larcenists. The issue opens with Terry talking to (I assume) his wife, and explaining how a woman named Lightning Storm took down Neon Girl, and took down this new Geek Girl and put her in a coma (which I assume is Ruby, and not Summer, that got a little confusing).
coma is confirmed in the next panel, as we see Geek-Girl (Summer) flying through the sky and talking on the phone to Ruby, and asking if she’s still at the hospital (to which she says she’s not, that she’s now at her parent’s home). This was a bit of a shame I thought, because I felt like there was going to be a mystery building up to what had happened to Ruby (if she was like Summer, it would have seemed she would have been invulnerable), but with her awake, it seems to 
take the “Urmph” out of the mystery. This is further evidenced that not only did she go from tubes in her nose to walking and answering the door when Geek Girl shows up at her parent’s house.
So today is officially National Comic Book Day. I’ve probably voiced it a thousand times what got me into comics. It was two titles specifically, that my best friend had given to me, way back in the day – it was Uncanny X-Men #121 and Avengers #159.
being able to counter and fight the X-Men, while Avengers gave us Graviton; a villain who was single-handedly fighting powerful characters like Thor (who, I was not familiar with yet – in Marvel but knew of the character from my days of play Dungeons & Dragons, which initially got me into Norse mythology).
It was no long after this, my sister, knowing I was into comic books had come across a copy of a beat up Avengers #66 – and this was even more amazing! And yet another powerful villain – Ultron 6 – made out of the indestructible adamantium! The writing in Avengers #66 was a little more light hearted, but considering the era it was written in – it wasn’t surprising, and to my young brain at the time, it didn’t even matter. What mattered was that I had another book with these Avengers characters in it.
One thing that was shocking to me, was when my father took me to a store called The Book Rack. This store, not only had a ton of used books; but it had shelves of comics; and also (for it’s time), a nice assortment of back issues. I was too young to have a job, and so most of the Uncanny X-Men and Avengers back issues were outside of my price range. But there was a comic that was bigger than the rest – and it was in black and white, and it was called ElfQuest. This appealed to my aforementioned love of Dungeons & Dragons. On a whim, I decided to pick up the first two issues that were out… and was hooked. The art and details of ElfQuest were beyond anything I had seen in my super hero comics. I discovered then, painfully, so that ElfQuest only came out every few months back then, unlike normal comics. But in a way, it worked out – since getting to the Book Rack was a small drive, and my father would only go when he finished a book. So I’d occasionally go with him so I could pick up the next issue of ElfQuest.
up Thor #325 and Thor #326 for me, from there, knowing how much I was enjoying Thor. Imagine my surprise to discover Thor had his own solo series?!
Certain new titles, that eventually launched, really captured my attention, such as The New Warriors and The New Mutants. It was nice to be a part of a book, from the very first issue and going forward.
The New Warriors, on the other hand, were composed of a team of existing characters (except Night Thrasher), who all had their own series (Nova), or appeared elsewhere (Speedball in an annual of Spider-Man, Marvel Boy had a few appearances in Avengers, Namorita in the pages of Namor, and Firestar from the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends cartoon; as well as her brief appearance as a Hellion in Uncanny X-Men). What appealed to be about the New Warriors is how they all seemed to be misfits banded together; for a single purpose and they were not your typical heroes. They made mistakes; personal mistakes that created so much character development in these characters that had so little actual history in the comic book universe.
By this time, I was all in – I was collecting pretty much anything Marvel Comics produced. When Image Comics came along, I was head over heels for Image Comics as well, with Cyberforce and WildCATS probably being my top books from Image.
ElfQuest #7 really starts the true nature of he Quest of the original series.
Inside the stump of the Father Tree, Cutter finds the now melted remains of his father, Bearclaw’s, necklace. Cutter notes that even when his children, Ember and Sunspot, grown will never see the forest in the former glory; and that not even the eldest of trees will be able to support their weight, because the trees would still be saplings.
It turns out to be none other than Picknose and Old Maggoty, of the trolls – and they make note that Cutter has New Moon (his sword). Again, the significance is revealed this issue, but the story doesn’t fully unfold until nearly the end of the series.
When Cutter and Skywise regain consciousness, they’re shackled and Picknose is seen with New Moon. Cutter lunges at him, with less than spectacular results; and a bit of humor. Old Maggoty mentions to Oddbit, Picknose’s love interest, that Picknose will finally amount to something now that he has New Moon.
Cutter and Skywise are made to be servants to the three trolls, while they celebrate Picknose’s apparently change of fortune – while this hasn’t been made clear yet, why the sword is so important – the first piece (literally) is about to be revealed.
That’s when Picknose decides to reveal the secret – that in the base of the hilt is a key! And when Cutter exclaims that Bearclaw never told him about the key; Picknose explains that’s because Bearclaw never knew about the key himself!
After sharing some drinks and some thoughts, Skywise finally decides to ask Picknose what had happened to the other trolls in the cave – and that’s when he shares the grim tale of other trolls – which he calls Frozen Trolls from the North – had come – and that they were vicious and cruel and killed and enslaved all that they found. Cutter and Skywise are shocked to discover that there’s other trolls out there – much like how they had discovered other elves at the Sun Village – and spurred on the idea that there might be even more elves out there.
Picknose goes on to explain how Greymung, the King of Trolls that Cutter and Skywise were aware of; and how he had apparently driven back another troll called Gutterkraw, and drove them back and sealed them off, long ago – when Greymung was still young. (You can see where this is headed, right?)
e it, and Oddbit adds, “Rumor has it she wasn’t as ugly as most elves; and may have even had a wart or two!”
Cutter and Skywise do eventually make their escape; but Cutter doesn’t have the key, as Picknose had put it in his pocket. But in the struggle with Skywise, he had managed to take the pummel and end up with the key – much to the dismay of Picknose and the others!
The bar had some He-Man themed drinks, just like they did last year, which I think is always pretty cool! I don’t drink these days – but it’s still cool to see the hotel and the bar completely embrace the whole He-Man thing while it’s dominating the establishment, and people dressed as Hordak, He-Man, She-Ra, and even Stinkor are walking around, talking to patrons and taking photos with even people – who are clearly not there for the PowerCon but love what they’re seeing.
Oh – I failed to mention the awesome Power Con 2018 booklet! I saved my 2017 one as well, just because I loved the cover! It’s also got some cool stuff inside. But this was also a nice little “to have.” The folks at Power Con know just what to do to make you save these things and clutter up your house with the Power of awesome!
My wife really loves when I wear the fanny pack and look as excited as I do…
And naturally a special thanks to my wife, who puts up with me…
ElfQuest #6 is where the book truly takes a turn. It fast forwards time, considerably, and we see that not only have Cutter and Leetah remained together; but they have had two “cubs” (children) named Ember (female) and Suntop (male). Both children are still young, but vastly different. Ember seems closer to Cutter (more of the wild nature to her), while Suntop is far more reserved, and has potential for magic – much like his mother, Leetah.
– and this time, in the darkness encounters something – noting that something had touched her, gently, like a fluttering of a butterfly wing. (That will come into play in the very near future!) But as a reader, at the time ElfQuest came out – readers were chomping at the bit as to what it could have been – and what would shake up an elf, so powerful in magic, like Savah?
You will find that nothing in the original ElfQuest is said just as fluff – almost everything is foreshadowing something else. Such as the scene when Ember jumps on Cutter’s back while he’s on his wolf, Nightrunner. Cutter remarks that she needs to get off because Nightrunner can’t carry them all like he used to – and take a good, close look at Nightrunner’s face in that panel. That little bit, added to the fact that Cutter explains that Nightrunner no longer leads, nor runs with his pack, because he’s too old – and that if he goes back, the wolves would kill him.
Make no mistake, Nightrunner’s age is about to come into play in a not so distant story – and if you do not have a box of tissue with you when you read that story – you’re going to be reading it with the most bleary eyes in the world – that, I can promise you. ElfQuest excels at yanking on your emotional chain throughout the entire original quest.
Anyway, back to the comic – we learn that Moonshade and Strongbow’s son, Dart, has grown up to be a young man as well. And while out practicing his hunting skills with Strongbow, Dart spots something out in the desert that’s about to change everything for the Wolfriders and Sun Folk – and by Strongbow’s reaction, it’s not hard to guess just what it is!
The Wolfriders gather and it seems that the humans are about to be executed, but the ever gentle Redlance is the one who asks Cutter to wait – so that the humans can explain themselves. The humans explain that the fire that they had started raged uncontrollably, forcing them to linger in the center of the lake, waiting for days, until rains came and put the fires out. But by then, all had been lost – there was no possessions, no game, no food. They were forced to walk in the direction where the sun goes down – before they encountered another tribe of humans who took them in. But the elder brother of the human explaining this had fallen mentally ill and they would not leave him, so they were exiled – and they wandered through the sands until finding them. The leader explains that his brother, Dro, will soon be dead, as he no longer even sees or acknowledges those around him, in his madness.
Woodstock demands justice, and Redlance tells Woodstock that if he can kill the young, human boy, then the others can be killed too. But Woodstock can not – he lets loose an arrow but intentionally misses by a centimeter. In that moment, however, death comes for Dro, and the older human clasps his chest and falls off the starved horse. Cutter 
tells the humans to leave the dead one there as a warning to any other humans; and that the rest are free to go – but if he sees them or any other humans, ever again – he will kill them. Strongbow is furious that Cutter let them go and the two engage in a silent battle of sending; but it’s Cutter who wins.
Something that the humans said, sits heavy with Cutter. They had encountered other humans on their escape from the dead woods. And the Wolfriders had encountered the Sun Folk. What if… there were even more elves out there? Cutter tells his tribe of fellow Wolfriders that he will give himself one year to go out and find other Elves – and if he can, unite them all. He tells everyone that he is to go alone and none came come with him – that way everyone is in one place. However, Cutter’s best friend, Skywise, will have none of that and insists on going – citing that he’d rather face Cutter’s wrath than Leetah’s wrath, after he had already made the promise of keeping an eye on Cutter.
They retrace their steps through the desert, and even through the now abandoned troll caves, and see nothing but ash of their former home – unaware that several figures are watching them!
Honestly, if you’re not watching Cloak & Dagger on Freeform… you’re truly missing out. While they’ve made a few small changes (for example, how they got their powers), the show has been fantastic.
I’m not going to lie. We’re way too backed up with potential interviews due to our scheduling of the podcast becoming very erratic. So what I am going to do is just list them, where to find them, so folks can check them out.
So first one I wanted to mention is Vengeance, Nevada by 
Next on the list is Skip To The End. 
They’re also responsible for another book called Dead Horse, which I would recommend. I’ve only read Book One: Dead Birds, but it starts off with an interesting hook, that leaves you turning the pages, wanting to know what’s going to happen next. Dead Horse was a part of a 
Next on our list is the colorful, post apocalyptic, sci-fi, mixture of chaos! This is The Fist, who – now, follow me here – has a spaceship (because we all need a space ship if we’re doing the scifi thing!) – but there’s something special about this space ship. It’s… his wife! And if someone talks poorly about his ship – well, they get punched! And punched hard! From the writer, Jordan Kroeger:
We’re not done! Next is a comic from the folks at Darkhorse, who reached out to us working on a book called Gregory Suicide.
Next on our list, coming from Iron Age is a book called Jaded. This was recently launched – and funded – through their 
We’re not done yet! (I told you we had a lot backed up, and now you can see my anxiety of why I felt guilty not being able to accommodate all these wonderful projects!) James Emmett reached out to me about their book I Am Hexed. Here’s what James had to say:
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