Join Bob and Mike as they chat about current Pop Culture events. Comic writer Eric Palicki makes his return to the SquadCast to talk about his comics work and his upcoming Kickstarter Campaign for Dragonproof. It is sure to be a great conversation. Be there.
We hope you enjoy the conversation.
If you don’t catch it live, you can watch later.
Here is a link to the Kickstarter:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/epalicki/ahoy-comics-presents-dragonproof
Last week I tooted my own horn about all the things I have going on at San Diego Comic-Con, but this week, let me shine the spotlight on some other cool panels & booths that deserve your attention.
Friday 7:15 pm Room 6 A
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: Organic Intelligence more than 40 years, the Killer Tomatoes are coming home. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: Organic Intelligence, the fifth film in the cult horror-comedy franchise, is headed to San Diego Comic-Con ahead of its theatrical release this August. Fittingly, the original installment was largely filmed and produced in San Diego, bringing the series back to the city where it all began in 1978. More here.
Friday 5:00 in room 28 DE
AHOY! Comics’ 2026 panel is all about THE FORGOTTEN DIVINE, TOXIC AVENGER COMICS, TOXIE VS. NOXIE, and what else to expect next from AHOY and will showcase top notch creators like Matt Bors, Mark Russell and Stuart Moore.
Continue reading “With Further Ado #405: A few more cool things in San Diego”
Lots to cover this week. Let’s jump in!
I’ve been enjoying Dan Slott’s Superman Unlimited quite a bit. Superman appears in several ongoing titles these days, and each has its own vibe. Superman Unlimited isn’t a total reboot, but it is re-imagining some aspects of the mythology a little bit differently. It makes me feel like a kid in the early ‘70s, when Clark started working in broadcasting and there was no more kryptonite.
Fans have been trained that when writers come up with new bold new ideas, they will probably get undone at some point. That’s the price you pay working on a corporations IP, I guess. Continue reading “With Further Ado #399: Comics Spotlight”
Join Bob and Mike as they chat about current Pop Culture events. Russ Braun, renowned comic artist and animator will join the SquadCast. We will talk about his career as an illustrator and The Forgotten Divine, his new Kickstarter project with writer Mark Russell from Ahoy comics, plus whatever else we can think of.
We hope you enjoy the conversation.
If you don’t catch it live, you can watch later.
“Mama told you never to eat your friends with your fingers and hands. But I say you ought to eat what you will. Shove it in your mouth any way that you can.” From Silver Spoon, written by Grace Slick.
As you may have inferred from all the annual hubbub, this Thursday is Thanksgiving. At least I think it still is; perhaps our gravy-besotted president repealed the holiday because of its inherent pro-Native American wokity-wokeness.
I just got back from Grace Slick’s open market and I was a bit surprised at how uncrowded the joint had been. I expect Sundays at the supermarket to be busier because a lot of people actually have jobs, and, of course, logic dictates chefs and gourmands would be using weekends to fill their pantries for the family feast. Prices have skyrocketed and/or portion sizes have decreased, and that can have a dissuasive effect on one’s appetite, particularly if you can’t afford to pay the toll.
That did not lessen the overwhelming presence of Pumpkin Spice. You’d think Halloween would be enough but, no, we’ve got another five weeks of this crap. Pumpkin Spice donuts. Pumpkin Spice coffee. Pumpkin Spice potato chips. Pumpkin Spice Oreos. Pumpkin Spice Pampers. I doubt those at the first Thanksgiving feast had ever seen or heard of pumpkins, not even in its unprocessed cucurbitaceae form.
Maybe that’s why Thanksgiving doesn’t get the same degree of respect as many other holidays. Every October we spend a small fortune on Kit Kat bars, and every December we blow out minds out on peppermint bark. If I’m not mistaken (calendars stopped working for me during Covid), retailers start putting out their Christmas products the Monday after Mother’s Day. The damn turkeys are crowded out of the spotlight from Day One.
For example, let’s take comic books. Lots and lots of Christmas-themed comics are published each year, most of them, seemingly, by Archie. They’ve been doing that longer than most Pop Culture Squad members have been alive. Thanksgiving? Nada. Well, almost nada. There used to be a few really good turkey covers each year, but that was back when children could buy comics at their neighborhood drugstore or newsstand. Turkey comics didn’t generate that extra profit that publishers need, back then and right now.
I suspect some publishers get a bit hinky about how they should depict native Americans. I get that, but am moved to suggest “gee, why don’t you ask a few Native Americans?” That’s not being woke; it is simply being polite. Then again, some think politeness is woke.
However, there is one Christmas comic I will recommend, and it comes out Wednesday, a.k.a. Thanksgiving Eve. DC is doing another one of its wacky anthologies that feature underexposed (mostly) characters written and/or drawn by some of its better underexposed (mostly) writers and artists. It’s called I Saw Ma Hunkel Kissing Santa Claus. Her story is the first of eight features, and if you don’t know or are uncertain who Ma Hunkel is, you just got my point. This is the lead story, the title story in the anthology. Ma was created by the overwhelmingly talented Shelly Mayer in 1939; she became the Red Tornado about a year and a half later. She’s a member of the Justice Society, more or less, and she is a hoot.
She’s the one wearing the pot on her head. No, I did not say she was on pot.
But, lo and behold this year there is a really great Thanksgiving comic book. It’s called “Thanksgiving” and its written by Mark Russell and drawn by Mauricet. Ahoy Comics calls it a gory horror-comedy, and I’ll stand behind that…
… but I won’t tell you why. Not yet. Over on our Pop Culture Squadcast Live! podcast, I’m gonna tell you all about it… in three weeks. Yep, I’m gonna talk about the Thanksgiving comic book right before Christmas.
Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Mike!
Welcome to the New Number Ones!
Each week we bring you the list of new series and special editions coming this Wednesday. We are highlighting what you need to put in your cart at the comic shop or digital marketplace.
November is here. Daylight Savings Time is over in America. Grab some of these comics, make some hot apple cider, and settle down for a nice read. Along with some intriguing new series, there are some important pieces of comics history in the Special Editions section this week.
We have an alphabetical list with cover art and the official solicitation text from the publishers of some of the cool new comics that are coming out this week. Check below for our PCS NOTES to find out what we just have to tell you about the new comics in question.
We have books on this week’s list from: DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Mad Cave Studios, Fantagraphics Books, Oni Press, Ignition Press, Dynamite Entertainment, Ahoy Comics, Mariner Books, Titan Books, and Image Comics.
We will bring you reviews of these debut issues as they come out, and don’t forget to use the comments section to let us know what you think of this list.
New Series
New One-Shots and Special Editions
Alien vs. Captain America #1THE RED SKULL’S NEWEST RECRUITS!
It’s World War II, and Hydra seeks a new weapon to defeat the Allies and win the war. To that end, the Red Skull has sent Baron Strucker on an expedition to the Himalayas to find the fabled city of Attilan. But instead of finding the Inhumans, Strucker uncovers something much more deadly. Much more… Alien. Can Captain America and the Howling Commandos stop the Skull and his newfound Xenomorph weapons…or will the First Avenger learn that in war-torn Europe… no one can hear you scream?
Release Date: November 5, 2025
PCS NOTES: I do like the concept for the conflict in this series. I am confident that this creative team can pull it off with excellence.
Circus Maximus #1Rome. 64 AD. The most daring heist in history is being planned by an unlikely crew – a former slave, a Vestal Virgin, a charioteer and a disgraced architect – each with their own personal motives. While Rome is distracted by the chariot racing and gladiatorial games of the Circus Maximus, the crew plans to rob the Imperial treasury under the Temple of Saturn. But when Emperor Nero sets fire to the city, they’ll be lucky to escape his wrath with their lives, let alone the loot.
From Mark Sable (Graveyard of Empires, Miskatonic) and Giorgio Pontrelli (Miskatonic) CIRCUS Maximus is GLADIATOR meets HEAT – a blood-soaked historical thriller.
Release Date: November 5, 2025
PCS NOTES: Yeah. This sounds like a fun ride.
Crownsville #1SINS OF THE PAST DON’T STAY BURIED . . . THEY ALWAYS FIND A WAY OF RISING FROM THE GRAVE! From Eisner Award–nominated writer and master storyteller Rodney Barnes (Batman: Full Moon, Killadelphia) and phenomenal artist Elia Bonetti (Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy), enter a century-spanning tale of suspense and sorrow as true crime meets shocking terror inside an infamous asylum with a tortured past in this double-sized, 48-page debut…
Founded at the turn of the 20th century outside of Annapolis, Maryland, the Crownsville Hospital was a notoriously segregated, all-Black psychiatric institute. After decades of overcrowding and neglect—alongside darker, more-persistent rumors of patient abuse and illegal medical experiments—it was finally closed. Today, it stands condemned—a crumbling testament to a legacy of all-too-real terror inflicted on a marginalized and vulnerable community. But even as a ruin of its former self, Crownsville still casts a long shadow…
When an unexplained death inside the abandoned hospital is ruled a suicide, Annapolis police detective Mike Simms and journalist Paul Blairare are compelled to dig deeper, only to discover the reality of the horrors that once took place there… and the powerful connection they share to the anguished spirits of the dead that are still locked within its walls.
Release Date: November 5, 2025
PCS NOTES: I simply cannot wait to read this book!!! Continue reading “New Number Ones: New Comics Series and Specials Coming for the Week of 11/5/2025”
Here at Pop Culture Squad, we have been unabashed fans of the little comic publishing company headquartered in upstate New York called Ahoy Comics. Founded in 2018, Ahoy started strong with a banging first slate of books that included Wrong Earth, Captain Ginger, and the criminally underrated High Heaven. They have continued to deliver interesting and humorous comics adding the controversial and excellent Second Coming to their roster in 2019. More recently, they have published Black’s Myth, Project Cryptid, and added the licensed property Toxic Avenger.
The Toxic Avenger line of comics at Ahoy is a strong presence. There are currently three series in that universe hitting the stands monthly. The main Toxic Avenger Comics series is supplemented by a series of spotlight crossovers called Toxie Team-Up, and Matt Bors, the TA showrunner at Ahoy, has resurrected the Toxic Crusaders cartoon from the ’90s and turned it into a fantastic comic. We caught up with Bors on the Pop Culture SquadCast over the summer to talk about his work on Toxie. You can check that here.
The reason for this column is that not enough people are talking about the original comic goodness that Ahoy continues to publish, year after year. We are going to talk about a few of the things that you should be reading. There are a few spectacular comics that I want to highlight from Ahoy Comics over the last several months. As we mention frequently on Pop Culture Squad, this it a booming time for comic books, and sometimes, things fall through the cracks. Let’s fix that now. If you haven’t read these books, you should consider correcting that error as soon as possible.
Written by Melissa F. Olson
Art by Sally Cantirino
From Ahoy:
Meet Tess Halliday, a broke single mom desperate to protect her kids from vicious criminals trying to collect on her ex-husband’s debts. Following a mysterious message, Tess flees to the island of Demonde—a place of demons, legendary creatures, and a family secret that just might cost Tess her life. Written by acclaimed novelist Melissa F. Olson, with evocative art by Sally Cantirino.
PCS Notes:
Archaic is a great story about family and the struggle to protect the ones you love at any cost. The partnership of Olson and Cantirino is spectacular. The character development in this story is top notch. I absolutely love this book. It is now out in collected form, and if you haven’t read it yet, well, you can find it right here.
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Jacen Burrows
From Ahoy:
A savage sword-and-sorcery parody from the co-creators of Preacher, The Boys, and The Punisher: Soviet!
A hilarious sword-and-sorcery parody from the acclaimed creative team behind Crossed and Marvel’s Get Fury! Meet Babs, a barbarian thief, and Barry, the world’s worst enchanted sword. Together they travel a fantastic landscape of wizards, dragons, demons, and castles, looking to steal treasure. Their plans are interrupted by the arrival of a band of VERY white knights who exploit and divide the townsfolk. Babs wasn’t looking for a fight…but she’s never found a bad situation she couldn’t make 100 times worse!
PCS Notes:
The biting satire mixed with beautiful imagery makes this series a big hit in my book. I could not wait for each next issue to come out. The depiction of the titular character in both personality and look is terrific. The reluctant hero narrative in this first arc is perfectly developed. Readers will relate to Babs’ disgust with the “villains” and pitiful disdain she has for the towns people that she is challenged to help. The jokes flow freely in this one, and we recommend not putting one and one together too seriously as you compare the fictional world in the book to the one we are living, or it might just depress you even more. Enjoy the raucous comedy and beautiful art in this book. The collected first arc can be found here, and get ready for more Babs in January 2026. Continue reading “Continued After the Next Page: Ahoy There! The Hits Keep on Coming!”
Welcome to the New Number Ones!
Each week we bring you the list of new series and special editions coming this Wednesday. We are highlighting what you need to put in your cart at the comic shop or digital marketplace.
This list has a lot of high quality new stories, and as Marvel continues to roll out its “Age of Revelation” releases, Halloween themed books are finding there way to your LCS this week.
We have an alphabetical list with cover art and the official solicitation text from the publishers of some of the cool new comics that are coming out this week. Check below for our PCS NOTES to find out what we just have to tell you about the new comics in question.
We have books on this week’s list from: DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Mad Cave Studios, Ahoy Comics, Oni Press, Boom! Studios, Dynamite Entertainment, and Image Comics.
We will bring you reviews of these debut issues as they come out, and don’t forget to use the comments section to let us know what you think of this list.
New Series
New One-Shots and Special Editions
Captain Henry and the Graveyard of Time #1An intrepid time traveler voyages to a new dimension, but the monsters he finds there may be less of a danger than time itself.
Mike Mignola and Bruce Zick cowrite and Zick (Thor, The Atomic Legion) draws this new series that explores an uncharted corner of the Hellboy universe!
Release Date: October 22, 2025
PCS NOTES: We are always interested in exploring uncharted corners of the Hellboy universe.
The Last Wolverine #1WHAT HAPPENED TO WOLVERINE?
X YEARS LATER, the people of Vancouver cheer a new hero: the WONDERFUL WOLVERINE, A.K.A. the WENDIGO, Logan’s last student. But what happened to LOGAN? A secret from Wolverine’s past will set the Last Wolverine on a mission to uphold his mentor’s legacy… unless a dire threat burns it all down first!
Release Date: October 22, 2025
PCS NOTES: This has an interesting idea.
Omega Kids #1KID OMEGA’S ALL GROWN UP!
X YEARS LATER, Quentin Quire protects the dream of mutant supremacy and independence as head of the Revelation Territories’ spy network. But when a conspiracy threatens the mutant utopia, Quire and his psychic students will have to distinguish friend from foe. Has Quentin got what it takes to carry the dream forward, or will the next generation replace the former revolutionary?
Release Date: October 22, 2025
PCS NOTES: Quentin Quire in a quandary? Sounds fun. Continue reading “New Number Ones: New Comics Series and Specials Coming for the Week of 10/22/2025”
Welcome to the New Number Ones!
Each week we bring you the list of new series and special editions coming this Wednesday. We are highlighting what you need to put in your cart at the comic shop or digital marketplace.
Now that NYCC is over, it’s time to check out the new releases this week. Marvel continues to roll out Age of Revelation tie-ins, and we want to point you to the special editions section this week for some very interesting graphic novels.
We have an alphabetical list with cover art and the official solicitation text from the publishers of some of the cool new comics that are coming out this week. Check below for our PCS NOTES to find out what we just have to tell you about the new comics in question.
We have books on this week’s list from: DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Mad Cave Studios, Fantagraphics Books, Ahoy Comics, Oni Press, IDW Publishing, Dynamite Entertainment, DSTLRY Media, and Image Comics.
We will bring you reviews of these debut issues as they come out, and don’t forget to use the comments section to let us know what you think of this list.
New Series
New One-Shots and Special Editions
30 Days of Night: Falling Son #1IDW’s hit horror franchise returns with a terrifying new tale! The town of Barrow has moved on. Those who remember the vampiric terror of two decades past would rather not talk about it. Those who don’t remember don’t believe the stories. Ignorance will be their downfall, because a dark memory is stirring in the heart of Romania and it has set its sights on Barrow, the death place of Vicente. While vampires seek revenge for their fallen leader in Alaska, troubled teen Jalen James seeks sanctuary. After fleeing gang violence in Los Angeles, Jalen needs a fresh start. But he’s unlikely to find it as the sun falls…
Writer Rodney Barnes (Killadelphia, Batman: Full Moon) and artist Chris Shehan (House of Slaughter, The Autumnal) welcome you back to Barrow in the oversize first issue of this revival.
Release Date: October 15, 2025
Die!Namite: Blood Red #1TIME TO DIE ANOTHER DAY! The ravening undead return to resume their feasting upon the living in the newest bloodcurdling chapter of Dynamite’s all-star supergroup adventures in the dystopic future!
Outside the crazily fortified gates of Sunset City, the zombie hordes search ceaselessly for their prey — and that means women, because the gender-targeting Deadman virus is strictly a boys’ club. Inside the walls, rival factions jockey for power under the iron thumb of Purgatori and her enforcers, the Furies — including Vampirella, who’s stuck on Earth under Drakulonian quarantine to keep the male plague at bay. But it turns out that Vampi’s not the only alien in the skies — and when someone from a certain red planet arrives on the scene, everyone’s plans will get scrambled like a Deadman on a busy highway!
The newly infected creative team of writer FRED VAN LENTE and artist MARCO FINNEGAN unleash all of your favorite femmes fatales in the epic sci-fi grand guignol that is Die!namite: Blood Red #1 — featuring skull-cracking covers from EJ SU, GODTAIL, DAVID COUSENS, and WILL ROBSON!
Release Date: October 15, 2025
PCS NOTES: When the solicitation calls it at “grand guignol”, your horror senses perk up.
Dungeons & Dragons: The Fallbacks #1In a time of fickle gods and feckless governors, the world yearns for heroes! What it gets are the Fallbacks — a party of daring, dubious, and dysfunctional adventurers who arrive in the city of Loudwater in search of gold and glory. But an encounter with kobold thieves puts the Fallbacks in the crosshairs of a rival team of deeply annoying local heroes. Will the Fallbacks pull off a heist for the ages? Or will they sacrifice it all to put these “heroes” in their place?
Release Date: October 15, 2025
PCS NOTES: This looks the the makings of a good time. Continue reading “New Number Ones: New Comics Series and Specials Coming for the Week of 10/15/2025”
Welcome to the New Number Ones!
Each week we bring you the list of new series and special editions coming this Wednesday. We are highlighting what you need to put in your cart at the comic shop or digital marketplace.
This is a big list of new releases this week, and there is a super special big deal at the end of it.
We have an alphabetical list with cover art and the official solicitation text from the publishers of some of the cool new comics that are coming out this week. Check below for our PCS NOTES to find out what we just have to tell you about the new comics in question.
We have books on this week’s list from: DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Ahoy Comics, Mad Cave Studios, Ignition Press, First Second Books, Titan Comics, Penguin Random House, Boom! Studios, Abrams ComicArts, and Image Comics.
We will bring you reviews of these debut issues as they come out, and don’t forget to use the comments section to let us know what you think of this list.
New Series
New One-Shots and Special Editions
The Bat-Man: Second Knight #1The year is 1940. Most of the Western world is embroiled in a war against a fascist regime whose march across Europe shows no sign of defeat. With the specter of global war looming, it’s a time of fear and paranoia for those living in Gotham. It’s only been a few months since the city was rescued from undead monsters by the masked vigilante known as The Bat-Man, but a vicious killer has been on a murder spree that’s taking the city to its breaking point. Bodies are turning up in theatrically gruesome ways… all staged with the killer’s calling card: a hangman’s noose. While The Bat-Man endeavors to solve the spate of murders, a young reporter from the Daily Star named Lois Lane arrives in Gotham. Meant to cover a movie premiere, it doesn’t take long for Lane to find herself caught in the grips of a new villain in Gotham. One whose mastery of fear will plunge the city into chaos!
Release Date: September 17, 2025
PCS NOTES: We were big fans of the first series in this line by this team of excellent comic creators
Blade Runner: Black Lotus – Las Vegas #1This all-new series sees the deadly Replicant combat model Elle — aka The Black Lotus Killer — continue searching for answers about her mysterious past. Elle’s quest takes her to the irradiated city of Las Vegas (later seen in Blade Runner 2049), a sand-choked ghost-town of forgotten memories following the detonation of a dirty bomb. There she finds a community of role-playing Replicants, abandoned hospitality models from the old casinos now living as embodiments of ancient Egyptian and Roman royalty. Meanwhile, Niander Wallace, smarting from his last encounter with Elle, has dispatched a seasoned kill team to bring back her head.
Release Date: September 17, 2025
PCS NOTES: Another reentry into a property that we love by someone who has done it well before.
Creepshow #1In the debut issue of the fourth volume, writer Jeremy Adams and artist Eduardo Risso brings you a tale as old as time — a younger woman, an older man, and a million-dollar estate! Then, writer Rosie Knight and artist Oliver Ono’s sinister story follows an aspiring writer getting a remote rental to focus on his work with only a single caveat from the owner — don’t enter the little house on the left!
Release Date: September 17, 2025
PCS NOTES: Great cast for this new number on in the Creepshow line. Continue reading “New Number Ones: New Comics Series and Specials Coming for the Week of 9/17/2025”
