Greg's Comic Book Club #22 - The Final Issue: Participation Thread

Thank you as well! Absolutely, I have a great support system and we'll be alright. Just have to go through the motions. I'll be posting my social media stuffs to keeping in touch, whoever wants to once the final episode posts. I hope we can still recommend books or anything else to each other!

Kala Del Giorno

Thank you so much, Kala! You have my condolences as well! Yeah, definitely will come back, I know I will. What's most important to me here is the conversation we had with the BFs and you Kala definitely always engaged so many times and just did it right, so thank you for that!!! Will definitely miss it in the way we had it for such a long time. We have to continue this in the Gregway somehow! :) Edit: Oh and btw, I always have open channels, especially for people that go through tough times! :) I hope you're doing well and celebrate your grandmother's life and the things she left behind.

Jousef Waggad

I read through the first She Could Fly series and it was fantastic. I have the issues for The Lost Pilot...just have to get to reading them, but your review has me itching to do that more now than ever.

Kala Del Giorno

I'm very sorry for your loss, Jousef. I just lost my Grandmother to cancer on Saturday, it's such a horrible disease. Death takes a toll on your wellbeing sometimes, so it's always okay to stop, take a break and calibrate yourself. I hope you can get back to reading when you're ready.

Kala Del Giorno

What's up Greg and Barrett! For one last time, I wanted to post here and say this. Thank you for this show! Greg, you know how Kevin is a smell amplifier? You're a comic book amplifier to me! I was always interested in comics, with the comic book club on KFMS back then though, you gave me reason to be not only interested but really invested in comics. I freaking love them now!!! Again, thank you for that! You may have noticed that I haven't been active here that much or at all anymore. I stopped reading comics for a while now due to a death in the family (pun intended) because of cancer. It was hard and it's still hard to believe that this man that we loved and that loved us so much is not on Earth anymore. He was a superhero to me! We all know superheroes have their flaws too and we'll never forget those either but his heart was always at the right place. But I at least wanted to be here for one last time and say goodbye to this show! It was a great read! :) Until it comes back again (hopefully :P) and much love from Berlin as always! -JerriKoe PS: I downloaded the three issues of LKoE on my iPad, so I will get back to reading very soon! Sorry Barrett! :)

Jousef Waggad

Hey Greg and Friends! I'm really gonna miss this show but I honestly can't even put into words how much it's meant to me over the past year or so that I've been watching. I listen/read a lot of comic book reviews but Greg (and the best friends) always have interesting and unique takes that make me appreciate things about the books that I never would have noticed. Required Reading: I did it! I haven't done one in 6 months or more, but I did this one (Mainly because I'd read it as it was coming out lol). For me, Last Knight on Earth started off great but lost steam in every subsequent issue. I really liked the first issue and how it introduced the new world, but I felt the following issue was a lot of flash (no pun intended) with little substance and the last issue was way too much too fast. The Omega reveal was barely addressed and suddenly a bunch of characters are introduced (including Dick's kid) without addressing them at all. I was so confused that I ended up re-reading the end of issue 2 to see if I misremembered something. Maybe it's because I read this as it was coming out (and the last issue came out on the same day as Doomsday Clock) but I really didn't like this overall. What I've been reading: Doomsday Clock #12: I loved this. There's been a lot of talk about whether the show or this comic were better sequels to Watchmen but, while I liked the show, I don't think that's a very interesting conversation since they're such different mediums and stories. All I know is that I reread all of Doomsday Clock before reading this issue and it all works really well. The delays were a huge problem for the series and Geoff Johns' change in position means that this book barely matters anymore, but it's still a good story and I enjoyed the ride. Johns' take on Manhattan and how the DC Universe looks to outsiders was well done, and the examination of Superman's impact on the universe was cool (even though it's pretty much the same thing he did in Infinite Crisis lol). Suicide Squad #1 and #2: Greg, if I don't thank you for anything else, I HAVE to thank you for Tom Taylor. I'd already read Injustice and I was already reading All-New Wolverine when you mentioned Taylor, but I didn't really pay attention to writers back then so I didn't realize how much I liked his work. Once you mentioned it, I started following (and loving) everything he's done and Suicide Squad is no exception. I love the introduction of new characters and I really REALLY like that Taylor is introducing people of different nationalities, sexualities, and sizes. It's diverse in the best way and the story is spectacular. The new Squad leader is interesting and the dynamic that's created when half the squad hates the other half has already lent to some great team dynamics. X-Men #4: I just wanted to quickly say that Hickman is a genius and I love seeing the X-Men working on a global scale. Seeing Charles and Magneto meet with the world's leaders while Scott and friends took out a planned assassination attempt was amazing. Superman #15: While I'm not very excited to see Superman get outed again (since it just happened a few years ago), I am liking this story so far. I'm glad there were some repercussions for Clark (Even though they were almost immediately wiped away) and I like seeing how the DCU is handling it (The scene in the daily planet newsroom was particularly nice to read). Last ever question because Greg hates us (lol jk): Greg and Barret, what are your favorite Superman and Batman runs (if any) and why? I'm always interested in the different opinions people have based on their age so I think the different answers you both give could create an interesting discussion. Also, please don't pick the same runs since that defeats the purpose lol.

Before I talk about what I’ve been reading, I just want to say I’m really gonna miss this show. The last two years of this has been great but I’m excited for Gregway to continue as well. Required Reading: Batman: Last Knight on Earth It’s an interesting Batman book when I find Bruce Wayne to be the least interesting character and most interesting character. I love the idea of the Omega Batman and when I realized that’s what this comic book was doing I was enthralled. All in all it was an amazing book, but what I loved most was seeing the side characters and how they were surviving in this universe. And the payoff with Joker Robin was hilariously brilliant in all the right ways. What I’ve Been Reading The Unbelievable Gwenpool (2016-2018) & Gwenpool Strikes Back (2019) Probably once every couple months, I find myself going back to this series. It’s criminally underappreciated and Gwenpool has become one of my favorite comic book characters. She’d ridiculous, relatable and too good for this world. Gwenpool Strikes Back takes her character to new places and really plays with what it would be like for Gwen to realize she’s losing her place in the Marvel canon. All in all, please read this book. It won’t do you wrong. And if that doesn’t convince you, there’s a Batman v Superman reference in there somewhere. Ghost-Spider #6 More alternate universe versions of our favorite characters have entered the fray and this time it is Johnny and Sue Storm. Two influencers who disappeared on a trip to Latveria. And of course Gwen’s dad will have to deal with their reappearance. But this comic book does what I love most, gives us personal interactions with Gwen and her friends. This issue is a great jumping in point for Gwen Stacy and if anyone is interested, I say dive right in. Marvel Incoming #1 Changes are coming to the marvel universe… again. Do we really need more of these? While I couldn’t care less about most of the big changes coming soon, I do love seeing all of the Marvel comics heroes interacting with each other. Especially Miles and Peter. GOODBYE SHOW: I am really going to miss my show. I love comic books and this show and writing into it is the most I get to talk about comic books with people. But rather than be sad about that, I want to put the call out. To any best friends who want to talk about comic books, reach out. Hit me up (@GriffiDPad on Twitter). Hit others up. The best friend mantra is so true, so let’s use it talk comic books.

Griffin Thenell

Hey Best Friends, This is my favourite content from KF and I am very sad to see it go, I have no one in my life to bond over comics with and this was the one way I could talk about comics with like minded people so thanks for being awesome Greg and everyone else. Now to your irregularly scheduled programming: So for the last month or two I've been catching up with all the current X-men comics from Dawn of X and Power of X to X-force and Marauders. I'll start with the things I love, this series is surprisingly great when it comes to introducing people to the X-men and all their mutants. The setting that the series is based around also has some of the most interesting and fun ideas I've ever seen in a comic, Mutants deciding that humans will never treat them as they wished to be treated for so long. Then deciding to form a nation of their own on a living island is such a fresh idea to me that I'm subscribed to all the series (which never happens for me) just so I understand everything in Krokoa and surrounding it. Something else I love is the fact every issue tells you at the very ending what book is next and when they are released and from what I've seen in my short 6 years as a comic reader that isn't common practice. Now for the very small list of complaints, I feel that certain characters and stories haven't been particularly interesting or fun to read mostly everything going on with Psylocke so far which is unfortunate because Laura kinney should challenge her in interesting was as her moral support but so far it has been a rather by the numbers part of the X-men story. Required reading: I am yet to read the last issue of The Last Knight on Earth as I haven't finished the new 52 batman run and feel like a lot of what I have read so far makes much more sense when I have. So I plan on getting back to that run once I have caught up on that and that Black Widow comic from a month or two ago required reading. Good Bye Greg's Comic Book Club: Since this show has a special place in my heart I will proudly keep the playlist of every episode on my private Youtube for whenever I decide to reread some awesome comics. I would also like to thank everyone in the comments for helping me with inquires and for just being awesome. Last and definitely not least I have to thank Greg, Kevin, Barrett and every guest for providing me with entertainment and incite about one of my favourite mediums. Now I guess I'll go cry about everything I love ending, this, Bojack Horseman, the good place and to a lesser extent Arrow.

Riley O'Neil

I think during the entire run of the show, Tom King's Vision, The Boys, Kingdom Come and Paper Girls were among my favorite comics. The one that still haunts me... is still... UZUMAKI. Fucking Spirals...

Arvel Crynyd

Hi Greg and Barrett, I’m sad about this being the last comic book club. For me, I don’t have many friends that are into comic books, even worse, they think reading them is just a waste of time. Thanks to the OG comic book show in the old Morning Show and the Patreon exclusive comic show, I had the feeling of being part of a big community and where I could also from time to time add something to the discussions. It also led me to open up my interest for comics outside the usual DC or Marvel superhero genres, with stand-out comic books like We stand on guard, Paper Girls, The Boys, Murder Falcon or the still-frightening inducing Uzumaki (Still getting nightmares from that). I’m hoping that there will be some place left for comic book content in the upcoming Gregways or in other KF shows. Thank you for two years of great comic book content. Required reading: Batman - Last Knight on Earth For some reason I had to read this book twice, because I didn’t know exactly what was happening in the first issue. I didn’t read any plot descriptions in advance, so I dived in completely blind. While at first I thought it would be a detective story, Bruce gets shot and wakes up in Arkham with Joker and others running the asylum. For a brief moment, this reminded me of the Telltale Batman series, where Bruce was also became an in-mate for a short period of time. Then, when he eventually „escapes“ Arkham and enters the reality of this future, I was expecting more story elements that would explain what was happening. However it took up until somewhere in the second book, when we learn that this young Batman is basically a clone of the OG Batman that should correct everything that the old Batman couldn’t, it finally clicked for me. Thinking about it, the story reminded me more of Horizon: Zero Dawn with the cloned Batman being Aloy that has to figure out what has happened and what went wrong in the past. From that point on, I could enjoy the comic much more. The basic question that sets up this book appears in book two and is an interesting analogy to today’s politics and what is going on with our civilisation at the moment. What if we do vote on killing either Superman or Lex Luthor. Do we kill an evil genius that has done several crimes in the past or a person that stands for truth, justice, the American way and overall hope? And humanity somehow decides to kill the hope guy. When the Joker movie came out recently, the main pitch was: If Batman is someone who is just one step away of becoming a bad guy on a bad day, does Joker need only one good day in his life so that he does not become the evil Joker that he eventually becomes. This book is having a similar premise: Batman is losing his entire will to fight for humanity and becomes even more evil than the bad guys he had been fighting before by becoming Omega. In the end, he still wants to save humanity, by stripping away the humanity from humanity (yeah, english is a great language to do word plays) via the Anti-Life equation. On the other hand the body-less Futurama-Joker-head has basically become a good guy after Batman became a madman who even becomes a sort-of-Robin by the end of book 3. Overall, I liked the book once it clicked for me. It’s an interesting way to end Scott Snyder’s Batman run for now. So far I’ve only read Court of Owls and Batman Metal, but I like his sense for mystery detective plots. I hope his paths will cross with Arkham once again… soon. (Angry-Barrett-Voice) JUST ANNOUNCE THAT FRIGGING ARKHAM GAME, YOU COWARDS! What I’ve been reading Star Trek Picard - Countdown As a hardcore Trekkie, I had to have a look into this official prequel for the new Picard series. I was expecting some bigger explanation about what was happening to the Romulans, the evacuation of it, developments after Star Trek Nemesis and so on. Unfortunately those questions remained somewhat unanswered but at least we get some backstories for Picards new Romulan friends on his vineyard. And his former commander Raffi Musiker that just got introduced in episode 2. I hope the show itself will dive a little more in those backstories. So overall, this story is not as necessary to the show as I was initially expecting. Incoming Overall this book was designed similar as Marvel 1000 and 1001 that came out last year. Incoming was hyped up as the big set-up comic for the 2020 Marvel line-up. While Marvel 1000 showed small little vignettes and side-stories of nearly every Marvel hero, only a few were part of a over-arching storyline. Incoming has the same setup, but tells a complete over-arching storyline that starts with a murder of a D-list character that gets investigated by Jessica Jones first, who returns her evidence to Carol Danvers, who then asks Black Panther and the Avengers, and so on. The story feels more like passing the torch from each creative team to another while cramming in where everybody is at the moment within 4 pages each than one cohesive storyline. I guess, April’s crossover event is called Empyre. She could fly / She could fly: The Lost Pilot When I was in London for the Kinda Funny World Tour last November, I was walking through some comic book shops on my last day. I found this little shop called Mega City Comics that had several comics on display with personal recommendations written on them. One of them was She could fly by writer Christopher Cantwell (co-creator of Halt and Catch Fire) and artist Martín Morazzo. What should I say: This book is absolutely fantastic. It’s a comic that deals heavily with methal illnesses and psychological issues as OCDs, depression, suicidal tendencies, schizophrenia, violent hallucinations and so on. The story is about an unknown woman that is able to fly and every news station is reporting on this news item. This goes on for a couple of days until the woman suddenly explodes while flying mid-air. Several persons are then trying to find out on their own what has happened to this woman. Some ask themselves, how the woman was able to fly, while the main character Luna is more interested in the question why she was flying at all. Luna is having violent thoughts 24/7 which she tries to suppress. Violent thoughts that include seeing how she kills her own parents, dead cats and so on. Unfortunately she is also quite reclusive and tells nobody (not even her parents) about her issues, so her thoughts become more and more violent as she keeps everything for herself. As she’s not in a psychological therapy she has to deal with school counselors, support groups and barely has any friends. In general, most of the characters in the book have un-diagnosed mental health issues themselves and it takes some time until they eventually find someone they can open up to and tell them about their issues. As someone who suffered from psychological issues myself, I liked the aspect of talking therapy and dealing with those issues that happened in the past. Only then it got better. A valuable lesson, that Luna eventually has to learn herself throughout the course of the two available TPBs. (Spoilers: amc has already optioned the book for a development into a TV show and Aaron Paul liked it very much). If we had a required reading for an eventual follow-up, I’d suggest this book. So, as this would be my final large comic book club participation, I’d like to thank everyone at Kinda Funny, especially Greg, Barrett and Kevin that helped with the show many times as well as the many guest co-hosts that helped to keep the format fresh and entertaining. Sad to see it going away, but there are so many other shows that I don’t have much time in the future to miss those comic book clubs. Goodbye and Excelsior everyone! Kai (a.k.a. Arvel)

Arvel Crynyd

Hey everyone! Required Reading: Waiting for the collection on this one. Very excited to read the conclusion of the Batman powerhouse that is Snyder/Capullo. Recent Reads and Recommendations: Ode to Kirihito -Osama Tezuka (the Godfather of Manga) 1970-71 This manga is about a Doctor named Kirihito Osanai and his journey to cure a disease called Monmow. It deforms people, giving them a canine like appearance, and has some minor mental degradation. His research leads him to a small isolated town, where he contracts Monmow, and is caught up in a globe spanning conspiracy with the disease. Throughout the book it evolves from a medical drama, to small town body horror, to a globe spanning political drama, with romance, religion, and revenge adding fantastic texture to the story. Locke & Key (Full Series) I read the first two trades in 2010, and really liked it, this whole time it's been on my list of comics I need to get to. Very glad I did, because it quickly became one of my favorite contemporary comics. The characters and story are really fleshed out, and the art is fantastic. The Disney-esque eyes Rodriguez draws add so much to the characters. - Parker

Parker Luckenbach

Someone actually acknowledges my recommendations. *Soul piece reacquired*

I second your question :P Also, Harbinger etc (I have the reading order saved) is on my to-read list after you wrote about it last month, I just haven't got to it yet!

Katie Gallacher

Ollo Greg and the boss baby himself, Barrett. I had a feeling that the comic book club might be going away after the Greg-way announcement. It’s bittersweet as this is the show that made me become a Patreon. What can I say, I guess I just love comics. But hopefully, like all comic books, this show will on day get a reboot. QUESTION: Sike! I don’t have a question, I just wanted you to read this. I have one request for you Greg. Could you at least refer to me as a regular, please? I write in every time and all I hear is Kaite this and Kala that. I’m just bantering around of course. But I do lose a bit of my soul every time you ignore my regularness. Required Reading: LAST KNIGHT ON EARTH: I have only read the first issue, but I’ll give my thoughts on what I think so far. This first issue wasn’t really doing it for me. I do love Scott and Greg’s Batman run, but this just felt a little too out there for a batman story. I’m not against crazy stories but batman has always been more of a grounded character for me. I felt the stuff at the start was quite boring as well. We all know Batman’s not crazy and I have seen the cover. So why drag it out so long? I didn’t hate it though, and I will be picking up the trade when it comes out. I give it 3 “I know you hate these quote scores, but I’m going to do them. One last time” outta 5 What I Have Been Reading: My comic reading has been down as I’m moving more towards collected editions again, but I still read some cool stuff. BLACK BLOT (2017-2018); Black Bolt is similar to books like Vision and Mister Miracle. It takes a C tier-ish character and tells a very human story with them. Black Blot is the King of the Inhumans but has found himself in a prison across the galaxy. No one can die in this prison and the inmates are constantly being tortured to death and then revived. In this prison, Black Bolt learns how his privileged upbringing has taken away many hardships normal people have to face and how people different to you can help you grow and how not all family is blood. It’s truly the best book I have read all year. I know I have recommended a lot of stuff over comic book clubs, but if you only take one, make it this. I give it 5 “Just read to issue 4 at least” outta 5. DOOMSDAY CLOCK; It’s just great. I don’t have much more to say. It’s a great Superman story and I love how it “changes” the more dower message of Watchmen into one of hope. It’s no masterpiece of fiction, but it’s a dam good story. I give it 4 “With this and Thor #2, I think we might actually get a Marvel/ DC crossover” outta 5. DESCENDER (#17- #32); So the second and final deluxe hardcover for Descender came out and with it, the end of the story (Kind of). Jeff Lemire is just a writer I always enjoy. He dialogue just reads so smoothly. I feel like I breeze through any comic he has done. Descender is no different. It has a great set of characters that all have unique voices. The payoff to the mystery in these issues was great as well. It felt worth the year I waited for this book. It is a little bit of a bummer that It kind of ended with set up for “Ascender”, But I’m sure that will be good too. I look forward to it. I give it 4 “Can Tim-22 die already. He’s like the terminator” outta 5. And with that, it all comes to an end. It seems fitting that each of my books was from one of the big three. I couldn’t have planned it better. So I guess it’s time to sign off one last time. I give Gregs comic book club 5 “you won’t miss these” outta 5. Frank

For me, it was probably Issue 20 "The Immortal Hulk". Mainly because I have never cared about the Hulk at all, but this book made me a fan. Also just like Katie, without this show I never would have read Invincible. My favourite superhero story of all time (My hero Academia is on its heels though)! So I have to thank this show for that.

So many good ones! Issue 9 was the first time I wrote in. I really liked your insights each month and it's partly what inspired me to give it a go :) (but my comment got deleted by Patreon then I panicked that I’d offended everyone by asking a question about TWD too soon after Telltale closed). I’ve bought every required reading, although Murder Falcon was late because it wasn’t out in the UK in time. The only one I didn’t finish was Tokyo Ghost (personal stuff that month meant I wasn’t in the right headspace for it, but I want to try again soon) and the only run I didn’t continue with was Vagabond (I liked it but not enough to invest that much time and money in). My favourites were probably Descender, Black Hammer and Papergirls, and other highlights I’ve read only because I heard about them here include: Superman: American Alien, Maus, Swing, and I just bought all of Invincible.

Katie Gallacher

Happy birthday Barrett! Greg, how does it feel to break my heart? :’( But more seriously, thank you so much for the comicbook club the last two years and I can’t wait to see where Gregway goes next! (And while I personally loved how things were, I can see how this is a sensible change overall.) I’ll let you choose which question you want to answer, since I changed my mind once I knew this was the last issue: Question: I’m 30 and I got Maus for Christmas this year after I specifically asked for it. It was considered a weird joke that I got a children’s book with talking animals in but with a Swastika on the cover. How do you deal with people thinking comics are just ‘kids books’ and how do you go about actually explaining them? Question: If you had to rank your top 10 comic runs of all time, which would you choose? (Define how you want – could be your favourite, could be what you’d recommend, etc) Required reading The mystery in Issue 1 hooked me, and Issues 2 and 3 definitely paid off! I loved the intrigue and the darkness of this comic, and actually read it a second time once I knew how it ended, just so I could enjoy the hints throughout again. I think this is the perfect example of why it’s important to have some stories outside of a wider continuity; it was refreshing to see them free to do a different take without worrying about permanently changing characters in a way the next writer couldn’t come back from. Ms Marvel 2014 I decided to read this on a whim based on a brief comment Imran Khan made ages ago on KFGD about liking it, and boy was he right! If you haven’t tried this series yet I’d definitely recommend it. It’s a great origin story, and it’s both whimsical and heart-warming, the tone reminding me a bit of Papergirls. While it was lighter than most superhero stories I’ve read it didn’t feel like it became too silly, concentrating on the human struggles on a 16 year old with strict (but loving) Muslim parents. I think the first two volumes (10 issues) are on Comixology, and it has the bonus of being good background info for the character if, like me, you were otherwise going into Square’s Avengers blind! Can’t say enough good things about this. Maus I studied modern history (specialising in the rise of 20th century fascism) at university, and this is up there as one of the most emotional and brutally honest first-hand accounts I’ve read. It’s also brilliantly written and drawn. I’m not surprised it won the Pulitzer Prize and I think it should probably be a required reading in schools. But it’s probably not so great to read at the beginning of January if you weren’t looking to lose all faith in humanity before the year even has a chance to start. Heart Attack #2 and #3 (Shawn Kittelsen) I wrote about #1 last month, but issue 2 is just as good! It’s about a dystopian future with super-powered people being persecuted, and while issue 1 set up the world and clear parallels to real-life racism, issue 2 built up the characters involved. Issue 3 felt a bit slow and heavy-handed in its message, but I hope taking the time for those details will pay off later. I’m also loving the reports at the end of each issue, which really help flesh out the world. And all proceeds go to charity! Darth Vader 2017 (25 issues) With all the Star Wars comics around (both Canon and Legends) it’s a big task to try and keep up, but I think this contained run is a good place to start. It picks up right after the end of Episode 3 (literally, from the “Nooo!!!”), and starts with the new-to-the-world Darth Vader seeking his lightsabre in a world where he’s not yet recognisable. Later he interacts with the ninth sister as he finds his place in the new Empire. It’s much, much better than Episode 3, and helps fill in some gaps in his history. It’s not perfect but it feels like a run on Clone Wars, which is exactly what I wanted from Star Wars.

Katie Gallacher

Hey Greg and Barrett! Long time listener, and a fan since the Beyond days, but my first time writing in to this show. I started getting into comics during the New 52, and was first introduced to Snyder and Capullo during their incredible run on Batman at the start of the Death of the Family storyline. Snyder instantly became my favorite writer, and Capullo one of my favorite artists. I went back to read their acclaimed Court of Owls story, and have followed their work ever since. My question is, as The Last Knight on Earth is essentially the end of their run for Batman, do you have any favorite moments or issues from their many stories and comics that they did together for the character? Mine would be issue #40 from New 52 Batman, which was the culmination of the Endgame storyline between Bruce and Joker. Looking back Snyder has been a huge inspiration for me starting to write comics of my own, and I definitely owe my love of comics to my all-time favorite creative team. Gonna miss this show, but I'm excited to see where Kinda Funny and Kinda Funny Games goes in 2020 and Beyond! Thanks! P.s. - Sorry if this was a little too long of a question!

Matthew Clem

Required Reading: Last Knight on Earth by Scott Snyder, Pencills by Greg Capullo, Inks by Johnathan Glapion, Color by FCO Plascencia Damn it, Batman...you go to sleep for a moment and look what happens; the whole DAMN WORLD is on fire! This was a really quick read for the amount of pages that were in the first book. I do love a good Batman mystery, even if it suddenly ends up on an Apocalyptic earth. Synder writes Batman/Bruce just the way I like it (sorry, Tom); pairing it with Capullo's art, I now realized I've missed this duo. I really hope this book sticks the landing, since Black Label had been lacking on excellent books (not as late since the end of last year, luckily). This from just the first book has the potential to be a classic. Book Two really dives into the dystopian lands that Batman and Jar Joker drudge through. From Speed Force storms, Animal men fighting Unknown Soldiers to the Plains of Solitude, death and mystery seems to follow the duo everywhere. It's interesting how they dealt with Superman (the Kryptonite impaling page was shocking to say the least). There's some magical/mystical elements thrown in this book that remind me so much of Metal, but its definitely easier to comprehend. I liked how the Knock Knock motif moves throughout the book. Book three concludes in an interesting way, with Omega Batman v Clone Batman. Omega Batman was a cool character, because to me, this was just another version of what would happen to Batman if this and this happened to him, and what would he become (see The Batman Who Laughs, Flashpoint Batman etc). He saw his own son tortured and killed in front of him, while the same was happening to him---because he thought he was doing good by seeing the good in others by "holding the door". Some parts felt self-indulgent, but overall I feel this book on a whole was a great read. After 21 episodes and hundreds of recommendations of graphic novels and comics, we have arrived at the final issue of Greg's Comic Book Club. I don't think I need to elaborate on how much I enjoyed participating every month. It really helped me with expressing my opinions and emotions on comics. I'm not much a writer, and writing thoughts on the internet can be a dangerous game, but I felt like this was a safe place to talk about the books we loved (and sometimes books we did not love)...so I thank you for that. Hoping maybe one day you will be able to bring it back. SO, my question for Greg (and everyone else reading this in the Patreon thread); for the 22 books that were recommended by the various guests, which ones has stuck with you and was your favorites? And if you didn't read all the books, which issue of Comic Book Club was your favorite? Here's the list of the books and the corresponding issue: Issue 1-Kingdom Come (w/ Tim) Issue 2-A Second Chance at Sarah (w/ Benny the Comicstorian) Issue 3-Green Lantern: Earth One (w/ Anthony Carboni) Issue 4-The Vision (w/ Kevin) Issue 5-Descender Vol. 1(w/ Gene Luen Yang) Issue 6-Be Prepared (w/ Babs Tarr) Issue 7-Last Man (w/ Irene Koh) Issue 8-Vagabond (w/ Gary Whitta) Issue 9-Superman Vs. Muhammad Ali (w/ James Sime) Issue 10-Uzumaki (w/ Kris Anka) Issue 11-Murder Falcon (w/ djWHEAT) Issue 12-The Sword Vol. 1-4 (w/ Jonathon Dornbush) Issue 13-You Are Deadpool (No guest, playthrough) Issue 14-Black Hammer vol. 1 and 2 (w/ Joey McCormick) Issue 15-Tokyo Ghost (w/ Curtis Clow) Issue 16-Low (w/ Kevin) Issue 17-The Boys (Greg solo) Issue 18-Paper Girls entire run (Greg solo) Issue 19-We Stand on Guard (w/ Ryan Penagos) Issue 20-The Immortal Hulk (w/ Kris Anka) Issue 21-About Betty's Boob/ Black Widow: Name of the Rose (Greg solo) Issue 22-Batman: Last Knight on Earth (w/ Barrett) My favorite right off the bat was The Vision, and books I had to continue on with, like Murder Falcon and Black Hammer. You can't say that the books recommended on this show wasn't diverse. James Sime was my favorite of all the guests. His knowledge of comics is awesome and inspired me to read more out there books, and his hype of Uzumaki is the best description of a book I've ever heard, haha. Books that I read since last issue--- Doomsday Clock #12: I suppose it's quite fitting that the final issue lines up with this final episode. Doomsday Clock was a book discussed quite a bit among the various guests in the club, with varying degrees of "wow, this is amazing" to "nothing is happening". I've probably been the biggest supporter of the book not because it was supposedly a "Watchmen/DC" book, but that this would be the "rebirth" of characters that have essentially disappeared from the DC Universe. Fortunately, it was both of those things--but also, this was a celebration of the most important comic book character existing: Superman. Everything begins, and ends with him. And perhaps this is a love letter to the Justice Society of America as well. Dr. Manhattan moves Alan Scott's lantern inches away from him, which then alters history and he doesn't become the Green Lantern, which then leads to Clark Kent becoming a hero later in the timeline. The JSA is a HUGE part of this universe. The chain reaction of events like Ma and Pa Kent's deaths, never inspiring the Legion of Superheroes. The fact that even Superman's hope ultimately inspires Dr. Manhattan and the world of Watchmen is telling. So, I believe Doomsday Clock taking 2 years to finish was damaging to say the least and ultimately, it hurt the impact the story could have made in the DC Universe. But it is what it is, and like Superman says, "Better late than never". Geoff Johns killed it, per usual. Gary Frank and Brad Anderson really just excelled in illustrations and coloring. They truly are the best around. Also, the splash page of all the heroes charging might be one of the best splash pages i've ever seen. I legit shed a tear and stared at it for like 5 minutes, just looking at all the characters they included. Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir- Barrett, you might be interested in this! I did a little rewatching of The Clone Wars animated series, in preparation for the upcoming new episodes in February. I came across this 4 issue series that came out in 2014, a year or so after the last episode of Clone Wars aired. Son of Dathomir adapts scripts that would have been produced had the show continued on. It starts with the story of Darth Maul, after he is captured by Darth Sidious in the episode "The Lawless". If you want to fill in the blanks and want a little more story about Maul before the upcoming Siege of Mandalore happens in the new Clone Wars episodes, this is a must read. You can download this for free with Prime Reading, or Comixology.

Kala Del Giorno

Really like this reading, but I feel like the “last warrior on a dead earth” story is a trope we’re going to have to get for every single comic book character (Thor, hulk, wolverine, etc.), to the point of redundancy. Some are better than others, but they tend to blend together. Am I getting slightly jaded, or do you agree?

Andy

Hello Greg and Barrett, what I have been reading this month: Superman #19, the follow up issue to the reveal continued to be great with some really good moments, the meeting with Perry about not having Superman as a source anymore to when he walked out to the bull pen with his co-workers. Really curious to see where it goes. Justice League #39 ended this ongoing arc with the "mother" of the universe it left the core JL cast in a very interesting situation where it seems they don't "exist" there anymore but have been sent off by The Quintessence for what seems to be the next big event and it seems very interesting. Finally the latest The Amazing Spider-Man run continues to be very fun, with Teresa Parker in the mix, JJJ knowing his identity, and even Dr. Doom invading New York. I also want to say this show has been great and thank you for doing it as long as you did. Maybe one day we will see it reborn as something new. Thanks!

Stephen Allen