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   than a "floppy" but not Manga, it goes here.   
      
        Cursed Princess Club vol 5: WebToon Unscrolled - While the series was   
   broken into four Books, each of the first two has taken up about two physical   
   volumes each (with some of the usual story expansion that happens to most   
   series, so I wouldn't be surprised of Book 4 takes three volumes).  This   
   volume mostly focuses on the dinner party Gwen is throwing as her capstone   
   project for homeschooling, and introduces the Plaid Queen to the cast.  It   
   also kicks off the actual Villain type conflict (as opposed to "Gwen versus   
   her own self-image," which does reach a bit of a climax as she tries to force   
   a happy ending as well).  Some of the unusual events and behaviors of   
   previous volumes are explained, and a plot device is introduced that will   
   help explain the rest.  As a bridge between what had seemed to be the main   
   plot and what will become the main plot, it isn't as strong on its own as   
   previous volumes, but still pretty good.  Recommended.  $18.99/$24.99Cn   
      
        Godzilla Monsterpiece Theater: IDW - Okay, so I saw this was coming a   
   few months ago, forgot to order it, missed it when it came out in July, saw   
   it on LibraryPass a few months later but found I really can't read Scioli at   
   anything but full size (manga digests are small enough to read easily on my   
   monitor, but American comics are a bit big even leaving out Scioli's tendency   
   to go for small panels), forgot about it for a while, then checked and found   
   it was in stock at the local B&N so I grabbed it.  I did totally miss the   
   individual issue releases, though.  It's always hard to describe Scioli work,   
   because while there's always a certain amount of Kirby homage involved, he   
   frequently goes into more obscure homages or just creates his own vibe.  Now,   
   I have never read the Great Gatsby, but I do suspect that some of the   
   narration in the first part of this comic is taken directly from the novel   
   with changed context (the hot times in New York involve atomic fire, for   
   instance), and Gatsby is saved from his original fate by a Godzilla attack   
   (the green light being Godzilla, I guess).  In a sort of League of   
   Extraordinary Gentlemen meets Godzilla story, various characters from larte   
   1800s and early 1900s literature join the G-Force (Gatsby-Force, of course),   
   plus a cyborg Jules Verne and some early backing from Thomas Edison.  No   
   Tesla, but Scioli might've felt that was a bit overdone.  By the halfway   
   point, though, Godzilla himself becomes more of a side character with the   
   real villain being Count Dracula, and the final fight goes over the top   
   lunatic in the usual Scioli style.  I suspect most of the people who are   
   drawn to Scioli works in the first place read this already, but if you're   
   into weird crossovers and weirder artists, you might like this.  Mildly   
   recommended.  $21.99/$28.99Cn   
      
        Expected next month: The Glass Scientists vol 3.  Punderworld vol 2 is   
   due December 30, so unless it hits shelves early (like Cursed Princess Club   
   did) I likely won't get it until January.   
      
      
   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.)   
      
        Fantastic Four #3-4: Marvel - #3 is another "Why the FF can't actually   
   beat Doom outside of the final issue of the event comic" story, but at least   
   it sets up the possibility of a defeat by anticipating and eliminating a plot   
   device.  I haven't been reading the event, so I don't know if the plot device   
   was even relevant in it, but that doesn't really matter.  The important thing   
   is that #3 is the last tie-in, and we can finally get back to stories that   
   aren't just explaining why Doom isn't being dealt with yet.  #4 is a done in   
   one story focusing on Alicia, something North has been doing fairly often in   
   his runs.  You don't hang around the FF for as long as she has without having   
   something to contribute, after all.  It's a sort of sci-fi horror story,   
   hearkening back to 50s Alien Menace stories and hinging on a bit of Clever   
   Science as those big idea stories tended to do.  #3 is mildly recommended, #4   
   is recommended.  $3.99 each.   
      
        The World To Come #3 (of 6): Marvel - The multiple levels of flashback   
   continue, split mostly between Ketema's ascension and a time in T'Challa's   
   youth, both of them having been trained and taught by a particularly cruel   
   religious fundamentalist named Odunayo.  Seeing T'Challa's openness to the   
   outside world as a failure in his teaching, Odunayo doubled down on Ketema,   
   which is the sort of thing we all know never blows up in your face.  (It blew   
   up in his face pretty badly, given what we've seen of "present day" in the   
   framing sequences.)  Along the way there's some attempts to retcon T'Chaka's   
   death a bit, dealing with the inconsistency between "super-advanced and savvy   
   Wakandans" and "rando South African mercenary manages to kill the king,"   
   suggesting Klaw was largely a pawn in factional power plays without knowing   
   it.  On the one hand, this is an alternate future timeline where Priest seems   
   have a pretty free hand in playing What If? style dark plotlines, but on the   
   other it keeps dipping into the canonical past and saying things about it   
   too.  So, even if you're inclined to dismiss alternate future stories, this   
   isn't JUST an alternate future story.  Recommended.  $4.99   
      
        Moon Knight Fist of Khonshu #12-13: Marvel - Well, we've already had two   
   anniversary big event issues this year, so MacKay is more than excused for   
   starting a new arc here instead of trying to make it yet another big event   
   climax sort of thing.   The precipitating event for this arc is Wrecker   
   coming to Moon Knight for help dealing with a problem...sure, he was paid to   
   help break Khonshu out of Asgardian prison, but that doesn't mean he doesn't   
   think Marc owes him.  Along the way, Marc runs into an old friend...who was   
   first mentioned in the comics two years ago.  The thing is, because MacKay   
   has been so thorough in scouring the backstory for obscure old Moon Knight   
   friends and foes to bring into the book, it feels just the same when he   
   brings in a retconned-in character borrowed from the backstory of the MCU   
   Moon Knight.  The interactions feel just like they're with someone from back   
   in the mid-80s comics, because MacKay has already established how he writes   
   that sort of legacy character, and he just does the same with "Haven't seen   
   you in 15 years, you could've written" implants.  It works well, it feels   
   like these are people who were very close through some very intense times,   
   and all the old scars get ripped open but they also just fall into   
   comfortable old habits (good and bad) with each other.  Recommended.  $3.99   
   each.   
      
        Gatchaman #12-13: Mad Cave - The A-plot of these two issues involves   
   Galactor unleashing a new kind of mecha-monster that the G-Force is   
   ill-equipped to fight, showing that they can be pretty clever.  The B-plot   
   focusing on the corrupted trainees shows that Galactor can be pretty stupid   
   and wasteful.  Like, some seriously stupid ticking off lines on the Evil   
   Overlord list, almost as if Berg Katse was actually trying to sabotage his   
   own side in the most destructive and cruel ways possible.  It's getting to   
   the point I think I'm going to drop the main series and just read the   
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)