1: Monster Fan Club #3 - Floating World

            The wait is over, Monster Fan Club #3 is here! The second issue of this series came out all the way back in March of 2024 and I was beginning to wonder if the third one would ever come out. MFC is the newest work from Shaky Kane, the artist from Weird Work and The Man From Maybe. 

These are oversized comics for weirdos and monster enthusiasts with work from various artists and I’m a bit sad that this is going to be the last one. The Daria Tessler pinup in the second issue was among my favorite pieces of artwork in a comic last year. Issue #3 is no different, with a plethora of interesting stories and artwork. For me, the highlight of #3 is the monster collages done by Jane Kane scattered throughout the book but the avant garde strangeness in Jesse McManus’s section scratches an itch in my brain that I can’t explain and takes a close second place.

 

If you think you’d like artwork by Jack Kirby if he was on copious amounts of psychedelic drugs, then

this is the book for you. While there is a continuous story between the three issues, you can easily pick this one up to start with since it isn’t the most coherent storytelling anyways, although the other two issues are absolutely worth seeking out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2: Endeavor #1 - DSTLRY

 

            Endeavor is the story of a replica of James Cooke’s ship of the same name that has been turned into a luxury vacation ship in an effort to recreate some of his travels in the modern day. It’s written by Stephanie Phillips (writer of  Grim and the newly finished Phoenix series) with interior artwork by Marc Laming.

 

My favorite part about this first issue is Phillips dialogue and the way that everything feels inner connected within the story. Every word holds some sort of weight within the issue and introduces some new bit of information. Phillips introduces digestible facts about Cooke’s original voyage without overloading the reader with knowledge, bogging them down and almost immediately shows the reason as to how those facts connect with the tale that she’s telling. As you can imagine, things go sideways on the Endeavor quickly and by the end of the issue, the plot is going in a completely different direction than it did at its start veering closer to Lord of the Flies than anything else I can think of.

 

My only critique of Endeavor is that the second issue isn’t coming out until December but that has more to do with my own lack of patience and excitement for the next one than it does with DSTLRY, Phillips or Laming. I should mention that this is a magazine size format that we didn’t order very many of, so if you’re interested, you should give Time Warp a call for us to set one in your file or come in on Wednesday.

 

3: Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #44 - DC

 

An undercover stealth mission featuring the Boy Wonder and the Woman of Tomorrow? If it sounds like a fun read, that’s probably because it is! Written by Mark Waid and Mark Russell with interior art by Lucas Meyer

 

I’m going on a road trip this weekend so I would be lying if I said that didn’t play a factor in World’s Finest being one of my picks this week. But it’s got a Dan Mora cover and it’s written by Mark Waid and Mark Russell. I feel like those factors alone would be convincing to read this issue. I haven’t been regularly reading this series but I didn’t feel confused whatsoever jumping in at #44, so definitely keep that in mind if you’re considering pulling it this week. 

 

I actually enjoyed this one so much that I’m probably going to go back and read the Bizarro storyline that came right before this that I missed. I knew this book was popular for a good reason but you can only read so much in a week, especially when you factor in unread back issues and trade paperbacks.