Update + comic journey recap

So it’s been how long since my last blog post, last summer? Yeah I think it’s time that you guys deserve an update. Especially since I don’t use Twitter as much as I used to. 

First and foremost, about that second dork diaries review I teased on Twitter a year ago, it’s still happening but I’ve been writing it at a snail’s pace. I can’t give an eta at the moment but I’m hoping to get it snail before Halloween, to better fit with the setting of the book.

Second, if you watched me on twitch last summer, I was watching a bunch of old episodes of professional wrestling like WWE. I’ve been watching to write a review/retrospective but I’ve been busy with college work, my day job, the aforementioned dork diaries review, and another thing that I’ll get into in a moment but the wrestling reviews are on the bottom of my list right now.

Third, social media use. If you’ve been following me on Twitter the past few months, you’ll notice that I barely post there anymore. Lots of reasons but primarily the place has become too much of a toxic cesspool even for me. I’ve since used Instagram as my primary social media but I still use Twitter to post updates about stuff like new videos or blog posts. Hell, you might be reading this from my Twitter. The main problem I have right now is that Instagram only posts pictures and videos but I would love to just post words and it is possible like I could just take a screenshot and upload it but it feels too much of a hassle. While I have little interest in getting a Mastodon or even Bluesky, I’m considering getting Threads as it’s an extension of Instagram. For now, I’ll use my blog here for text updates but stay tooned if I go through on Threads.

Fourth, and what I’ll be focusing on for the rest of this post is if you read my last post, Ben Potter aka Comicstorian was one of the major stepping stones into getting me into comics. I started regularly reading comics in 2021 with the Fear State event for Batman. It was alright but it wasn’t anything to write home about. I initially kept very up to date with the new comics coming out but freshman year of college got in the way and it got so out of control that I believe at one point, I was 18 months behind in my reading. I’ve improved a lot more since and now I’m 11 months behind but I’m catching up faster and faster. 

So now I’m gonna give my brief thoughts and opinions of the comics I’ve read up to April 2024. It’s not going to be every comic, especially since some I only read one issue so I’m only gonna cover the ones that I’ve posted on Goodreads which you can check here: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/177273337

Plants vs. Zombies by Paul Tobin (Dark Horse Comics)

While not the first comic I read, it was the first I read on GlobalComix (an online digital subscription service where you can read thousands of comics from different publishers like DC, Image, Dark Horse, and Dynamite. I’m not sponsored by GlobalComix, I’m just trying to spread the word of easy ways to read comics but I will promote my account here: https://globalcomix.com/u/lovecat). In fact, the main reason I got GlobalComix was because I couldn’t find a way to read these comics. Unlike the other comics I’ve read, the PvZ comics are usually released immediately in trade paperbacks, meaning there are no individual issues. The main exceptions were the first 2 or 3 volumes but I didn’t read those. The ones I did read though, I enjoyed. When I first saw these comics in ads, I wasn’t that invested despite me being really into PvZ at one point. I think it was because of the human characters, Nate Timely and Patrice Blazing. They weren’t in the games so I didn’t give a damn about them. I eventually caved in and the characters did grow on me and I'm glad they were there in the end. The two even managed to find their way into the games. I hope to read more when the new volumes come out.

Betty and Veronica by Archie Comics

When I first read these, I didn’t realize that each individual book would be around 200 pages so I had a lot to read. Despite the long length of all the books I read, you’d think these stories would be some heavy continuity epic adventure right? Well then you haven’t read a single Archie comic in your life. No, these stories are mostly self contained short strips with little continuity between each other. If you’re wondering why I read so much, it’s because I put so many of their books on my reading before I started reading even the first one and I usually want to finish them once I put them on the list. But like I said, very harmless material but nothing made me want to read more once I read all of the books on the list.

Poison Ivy by G. Willow Wilson (DC Comics)

This is an interesting one for me in that I kinda have a bit of a love hate relationship with this one. I kinda like it as a standalone original story devoid of anything Batman related but as a Batman story, I’m not really a fan of that. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Wilson is a bad writer. I think it’s more of a me problem as I haven’t read a story like this before. This one, I remember a bit more as it was one of the first stories I read on GlobalComix and apparently I read somewhere one of the characters in volume 2 was inspired by Gwyneth Paltrow. Outside of that, it was mostly Ivy running around, killing people that slightly pissed her off, banging random women, and moping about how much she misses Harley Quinn. Maybe someday I’ll come back to this and I’ll enjoy it a lot more.

Batman by Chip Zdarsky (DC)

Of course, one can’t read a comic without reading a Batman or Spider-Man comic and I've read plenty of Batman comics. As I already stated above, Fear State was not just my first Batman comic but my first comics overall. Despite that, I’ll be honest, it’s not that great. It’s not bad either, I liked seeing Scarecrow getting some spotlight but for me it was mostly seeing a bunch of teasers for the other Batfamily comics which to be fair, got me buying those comics. I’m still reading this one as of this writing. I’m currently up to issue 146, which is in the middle of the Dark Prisons arc. I’m trying to remember what exactly happened during what I read but to be honest, this one isn’t good enough for me to be clambering for more or bad that it pisses me off. It’s just ok, which is a shame as I heard good things about Zdarsky’s run on Daredevil. From what I read online, a lot of people don’t seem to be into Zdarsky’s Batman run. So from my research online, I only have 12 issues of Zdarsky’s run before he’s gone. In fact, his final issue was published earlier this month. Next month, Jeph Loeb is briefly coming back to write a sequel to his acclaimed Batman: Hush storyline and then in September, Matt Fraction is scheduled to be taking over full time as the head writer. Apparently it’s going to be a soft reboot as it’s being retitled to issue 1, first time since 2016. I plan to get to that eventually but I probably won’t be done with Zdarsky’s run by the next update. 

Catwoman by Tini Howard (DC)

It’s been a while since I read this one so I don’t remember much and you can probably guess that this one didn’t interest me enough. Most of what I can remember was that Catwoman slept with some guy I don’t remember and said that she hoped that Batman was sleeping with other women so she didn’t feel that bad and in another she goes roller skating with Harley Quinn. I don’t know if Howard is still writing Catwoman but I don’t care enough to check and I have little interest in returning anytime soon.

Nightwing by Tom Taylor (DC)

I heard a lot of good things about this one coming in, being in a lot of people’s best comics lists. I think Taylor even won an Eisner (it’s like the Oscars or Grammys of comics for those who don’t know). I can see in parts why people seem to like it. Notably in issue 100 has a heartwarming shot of Nightwing and Batman hugging with Nightwing even calling Batman “dad”. I like it and I think many people like it too. However, it hasn’t been my cup of tea. The only other thing I remember was an arc I read where Nightwing becomes a pirate I think and I only remember that because it sounds funny on paper. I’m planning on dropping this soon to make room for other comics but I have expressed interest in coming back. Two reasons: 1. I still hear good things about it and 2. I heard Taylor had recently left the series and there’s a new writer. Now I have nothing against Taylor, I think he’s a good writer but maybe this new guy might better click with me.

Superman by Joshua Williamson (DC)

Now I remember getting a bit excited for this one because I started looking for the newest Superman comics, I remember finding nothing, just Action Comics. So when I heard that Superman was getting a new number 1 in 2023 I couldn’t wait and so far, I like it. I enjoyed Superman flying around with his friends, running a new company while Lex Luthor is in prison. Apparently Jimmy Olsen managed to score with one of the villains. He’s just been scoring with a lot of metahumans recently as seen in My Adventure With Superman, a show I’ve never watched but I really should. Not a whole lot else to say other than it’s a fun superhero story and I can’t wait to read more. I think Williamson is still writing this and I’m hoping he still is and he’s slowly starting to become one of my favorite writers of this generation.

Wonder Woman by Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad, and Tom King (DC)

I actually started reading before Superman, primarily because there was still no Superman comic at that point and yeah, I have not much to say. It’s not bad, but just not memorable. Most of what I can remember is that Wonder Woman beats up a short guy, solves a murder mystery and then sometime later goes shopping with Superman for Batman’s birthday in an admittedly fun and cute story that in some aspects I can relate to. I’m still reading Wonder Woman and I still plan do to so for the foreseeable future but that might change depending on how things go.

Sonic the Hedgehog by Ian Flynn and Evan Stanley (IDW Publishing)

The Sonic comics were probably one of the first comics I’ve heard of outside of superheroes. It was primarily due to me watching a lot of Sonic Shorts on YouTube in the past and many of those shorts were parodies of the Sonic comics from Archie. Me, who had never read the comics, was naturally confused at a lot of the stuff there. Despite that, I never attempted to look up these elements primarily because I didn’t know they were from the comics so I had no source. I eventually read the crossover comics with mega man and then never read the rest of Archie’s run. In 2017, Sega and Archie cancelled their long running series after 25 years, and one year later, a new series from IDW debuted that’s still running to this day. The IDW comics are the ones that I’ve been reading and if you can tell from how much I’ve been talking about the backstory, it hasn’t been impressing me a lot. It’s harmless, but I only really remember one of the arcs of the characters fighting Surge and Kit. Honestly, I enjoyed listening to head writer Ian Flynn answering questions online. I still plan to read more but I’m not sure how much more.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers by Melissa Flores (Boom! Studios)

Like Sonic, I’ve heard a lot of the Power Rangers comics. I started reading in the middle of a period where the comics were split into two but are now back together. Last year, the series ended at 122 issues and was restarted with a new series titled Power Ranger Prime. I have a few issues of Mighty Morphin and I do plan to read Prime but to be honest, I think my mind zones out when I read these comics because I barely remember what happened. I really don’t know what else to say other than it looks cool and I can see why a lot of people like it.

Titans by Tom Taylor (DC)

I’ve plenty of praise for this series too. It seems that Tom Taylor is a favorite but still this hasn’t been that gripping for me. Now don’t me wrong, I think this is a good series, in fact, I think Taylor’s writing shines better here and I even prefer this over Nightwing but it still hasn’t given a memorable story besides Beast World but only because it’s the one where several superheroes become furries. I still plan to read this comic for the foreseeable future and I think I’ll like it more eventually.

Void Rivals by Robert Kirkman (Image Comics)

Now here’s something I really wanted to talk about. When this series was first announced, most people took this as any other Robert Kirkman comic in which it would gain a following and maybe someday it will be adapted into a show like the Walking Dead or Invincible. What me and everyone else wasn’t expecting was this was just one piece of a greater comic book universe, the Energon Universe. A spiritual successor to IDW’s Hasbro Universe, this universe is a big crossover between Transformers, GI Joe, original IPs, and potentially other Hasbro franchises (who knows, maybe My Little Pony will join). So naturally, me being a Transformers fan, went to go read the first volume and so far I like it. I will admit at times it feels like these are more teasers for Transformers but for what it’s worth, I think it’s a solid comic even when they’re not posting subliminal ads for the Transformers comic (and don’t worry, I will get to it in a bit).

Green Lantern by Jeremy Adams (DC)

I’ve mainly been reading this one as Green Lantern is an iconic DC character but in all honestly I barely remember much besides a major character dying in volume 1 of Adams’ run. It’s not bad but just not memorable to me. Still gonna read it for the time being.

The Flash by Simon Spurrier (DC)

Same reason as Green Lantern, Flash is an iconic character. I was surprised that this series focused on Wally West who, while an iconic character, was pushed aside in the 2010s for Barry Allen. From what I read, some of Wally’s personality even went into Barry in various adaptations like the DCEU. Outside of that, same problem as Green Lantern, I can’t remember much outside of Wally having a wife I never heard of before. Like Green Lantern, still gonna keep reading it for now.

Transformers by Daniel Warren Johnson (Image)

And now, the moment I’ve been waiting for. Transformers was one of my most anticipated comics ever. I had read some of the IDW and they were interesting but not something I was clambering for more. The announcement of a new universe plus positive word of mouth and me being a longtime Transformers fan, I couldn’t wait to read them. In fact, the reason I stopped in April 2024 was because that’s when the volume 1 of Transformers finished. And I’ll just say, I think it was worth the wait. It was fun to see all the twists and turns from franchise staples. I was on the edge of my seat and I was really clamoring for more after every issue was done. Issue 4 is probably my favorite right now. I really enjoyed the first volume and I can’t wait to read the rest. Daniel Warren Johnson was a great pick for writing alongside Robert Kirkman and a third guy, we’re about to run into again.

Duke by Joshua Williamson (Image)

Yeah, Joshua Williamson has really been popping up in my life recently. Unlike Transformers, I was never really much of a GI Joe fan. I did dress up as Snake Eyes for Halloween because I thought he looked cool but that’s all I knew about him. I did see some of the Rise of Cobra movie but I don’t remember anything as that was 15 years ago. I also watched some of the 80s cartoon because I was doing research for a project (it’s a long story, maybe I’ll talk about it in another post) but this comic was my serious introduction in GI Joe and I’ll say I actually like this. I was never a fan of having Transformers and GI Joe constantly crossing over as it always seems to me that Hasbro’s flexing their properties. I still hold that belief and when I heard that the Energon universe was going to be another Transformers GI Joe crossover I was skeptical, but from what I read so far, I think Skybound might have something but so far, there hasn’t been that many connections so we’ll have to see for when the two series actually meet. There’s only one issue left of this and I’m excited to see how Duke’s story ends.

Cobra Commander by Joshua Williamson (Image)

Another GI Joe story I like. I think this one has more connections to Transformers due to Energon being a macguffin in this story and the appearance of a key character. I’m not sure if I like this or Duke more as my opinion seems to change like every week. Everything else I have to say was already said in the Duke section. There’s two issues left and I’m definitely gonna read them. I think this universe is in good hands with Kirkman, Johnson, and Williamson.

Star Trek by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing (IDW)

On the complete other end of the spectrum, here’s a comic I’ve tried to read but I just can’t. I’ve been trying to get into Star Trek so rather than watch a show or a movie, I thought about the current comics from IDW and I think that was a big mistake. There’s so much crap going on that I don’t know what’s going on. I can’t remember anything that happened outside of I think some of the Next Generation characters are in here. I still plan to read this for the foreseeable future so maybe I might like this down the line.

Ultimate Spider-Man by Jonathan Hickman (Marvel Comics)

Last and certainly not least, Ultimate Spider-Man, the first installment of Marvel’s new ultimate universe. I’ve only read two issues (yeah I skipped one) but so far they’re pretty good. Can’t say much because I’ve read so little but from the little I’ve read, I have good faith in this new universe and I’m excited to read the other ultimate comics alongside DC's absolute universe.

And that’s everything. Thanks for reading if you stuck around and I hope to see you all again whenever I finish volume 2 of Transformers. Hopefully, these posts won’t be as big.