[continued from previous message]   
      
   thread, with the previous volume's extended flashbacks providing the start of   
   an overall plot beyond "Cthu is too romantically oblivious to realize he's in   
   a harem manga."  There's more of the generation-ago Savior of the Northlands   
   plot here and there throughout this volume, but to the extent it has a main   
   focus it's the combination of Rowan's origin story (she's the current main   
   claimant on being the tsundere love interest for Cthu) and the injection of a   
   more cosmic plotline set in motion by this volume's cover girl, the cosmic   
   shipper Nyar (as in, Nyarlahotep, sort of...lots of characters in this series   
   are basically Lovecraftian characters with a twist).  She claims to want to   
   help Cthu make more friends, but the reader is repeatedly reminded that her   
   real goal is likely not going to be healthy for anyone involved.  As in   
   previous volumes, it's not just a collection of the webcomic, it includes   
   full-page illustration with text on the facing page that flesh out some of   
   the things implied by or briefly mentioned in the comic (most if not all of   
   these went out to Patreon subscribers at the time, but did not go on the   
   WebToons site).  Recommended.  No printed price.   
      
        Expected next month: Nefarious Nights of Willowweep Manor.   
      
      
   Floppies:   
      
        No, I don't have any particular disdain for the monthlies, but they   
   *are* floppy, yes?  (And not all of them come out monthly, or on a regular   
   schedule in general, so I can't just call this section "Monthlies" or even   
   "Periodicals" as that implies a regular period.)   
      
        Marvel Knights: the World to Come #1 (of 6): Marvel - Marvel's really on   
   an Alternate Futures kick.  This one, written by Priest and drawn by Quesada,   
   jumps around in a future timeline, anywhere from a few years in the future to   
   more than a generation, in a world where (as far as I can tell, not   
   everything has been revealed yet) Wakanda is forced to conquer the world For   
   Its Own Good.  At least it seems to be self-contained rather than anchoring   
   an Event.  In short, while I personally have faith Priest is going somewhere   
   interesting with this, there's not yet enough support for me to want to make   
   a recommendation one way or another.  This might be a "wait for the trade"   
   series.  $5.99, rated Teen+.   
      
        Fantastic Four #32-33: Marvel - Going with the more traditional   
   Alternate Present idea, #32 looks at what might have happened in a world   
   without the Fantastic Four, but where the Richards kids managed to laterally   
   reincarnate into their alternate selves.  Just as each previous issue has   
   been from the POV of one of the family, #32 is Valeria's turn...and #33 is   
   HERBIE's turn, since Valeria obviously found a way to prevent the disastrous   
   decision of #31 from being made (given that the Marvel Universe still exists,   
   so not a spoiler).  At the end of #33, the FF is back and ready to continue   
   to be a side note to the Doom event.  Mildly recommended.  $3.99 each, rated   
   Teen.   
      
        Fantastic Four #1: Marvel - Time for new numbering, but plot-wise it's   
   kinda a repeat of the last four issues of the previous numbering...FF go up   
   against Emperor Doom, he swats them aside trivially, because he can only be   
   beaten in an Event Comic, not in a tie-in.  Most of the issue involves the   
   Four putting into action a contingency plan that they came up with off-panel   
   some time back, North playing to his strengths of fantastical situations and   
   scientific solutions, but of course the plan has a snag to it.  I kinda   
   expect a Backup Plan That Was Devised Off-Panel to solve things...I'm kinda   
   tired of the FF's book having to spend months explaining why they're not   
   dealing with Doom, it's making me a lot more critical of the flaws in the   
   resulting stories, and I don't enjoy the good parts as much.  Mildly   
   recommended.  $4.99, rated Teen.   
      
        Moon Knight Fist of Khonshu #8-9: Marvel - A nice pair of stories to   
   read back to back, with the threat in #9 explicitly not something that Marc   
   can beat using his usual methods (something he does in #8).  #8 explains the   
   origin of Carver, Fairchild's enforcer with the magic sword that could kill a   
   haunted building, and it ties into the Roxxon invasion of Vanaheim that I   
   only barely remember from issues of Thor I was loaned with the instructions,   
   "These are so bad, read them and agree with me."  Of course, hardly the most   
   obscure or questionable bit of continuity that MacKay has mined for his Moon   
   Knight stories.  Oh, and it's not just old and kinda-new stuff, apparently   
   fairly recently Pym Particles were retconned to be really called Kirbons (of   
   course), something Pym brings up while explaining his cure for Fairchild's   
   magic drug.  On the one hand, of late I peer into the Marvel Universe through   
   some fairly narrow windows...but on the other, I think I prefer it that way.   
   Anyway, these issues are recommended.  $3.99 each, rated Teen+.   
      
        Vampirella #2 (Legacy #677): Dynamite - So, we now get to the reason   
   grown up Cicero came back in time to try to get his mother to surrender baby   
   Cicero to Draculina.  Proximally, it's a sort of Gruenwald's Squadron Supreme   
   deal, where in the future Vampirella wipes out evil and becomes absolute   
   ruler of the world, but that's not even the bad part.  Most of this issue is   
   adult Cicero explaining things to an increasingly "why is this my life?" Doc   
   Chary, and in part making sure Chary and the reader know he's not exactly a   
   good guy either...just the guy who got stuck trying to prevent the really bad   
   timeline.  Recommended.  $4.99, rated Teen+ (CW: sexual assault)   
      
        Gatchaman: Only One Earth #4 (of 4): Mad Cave - So, giant robots are   
   pretty standard for Gatchaman, but it's rare that the good guys have one on   
   their side too.  Of course, the Galactor giant robot is much bigger, so it's   
   still basically the usual "hero vehicles dwarfed by villain robot monster"   
   deal.  And because this is Gatchaman and not Battle of the Planets, the   
   victory is bittersweet.  The Galactor plot was a bit on the Captain Planet   
   side of things, unfortunately, feeling more like they've given up on conquest   
   and are just trying to destroy all life instead, which feels like a big   
   shift.  Mildly recommended.   $4.99, rated Teen+.   
      
        Gatchaman #9-10: Mad Cave - Eh, the main title continues to be the   
   weakest of the Gatchaman offerings, IMO.  I've complained before about the   
   "Beta Flight" subplot not really doing anything interesting, and now that   
   it's the main plot it picked a fairly obvious direction (the two main paths   
   forwards from this are likewise well-trod, it's gonna be a heavy lift to make   
   it interesting to me after this).  The canonical "dark Gatchaman" teams have   
   already shown up in the comics several times, and it was more effective in   
   the Galactor miniseries.  Mildly recommended.  $4.99 each, rated Teen.   
      
        Star Trek Lower Decks #7-9: IDW - North is off the book, with Tim   
   Sheridan taking over at #7.  #7-8 is a tale of Captain Freeman's younger   
   days, the pretty much obligatory "mother was just as much of a free spirit as   
   daughter before she had that stick rammed up her backside" kinda story.  The   
   second arc manages to find a way to bring student loan debt into a story   
   about the largely cash-less Federation.  It kinda works, but there's a lot of   
   moving parts in the setup.  They're all mildly recommended, not sure I'm   
   going to keep up with the book unless Sheridan gets better or gets replaced.   
   $4.99 each.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)