Trusty Henchman Rant: 8/13/25

This past week's assorted news highlights, Kickstarters to check out, and more

Reviews:

‘Cruel Universe 2’ #1 is socially conscious and entertaining

David Mazzucchelli’s Batman: Year One Artist’s Edition

BLINK AND YOU’LL MISS IT #1, and other comics worth a glance

‘The Stoneshore Register’ deals with the mythologizing of small towns

The Players, The Fool and a Few Fish – Madzillus Calls Upon Timeless Theatrical Tropes in this Queer Melodramatic Debut Graphic Novel

‘Ancestral Recall’ #1 is daring enough to stand out, earnest enough to truly shine

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Crowdfunding worth your time & money:

TOKYO GHOST 10th Anniversary Artist Proof HC

The Magical: Book One

STARWARD LOVERS

The Unknown Road

Unsounded: Books One and Two

Care Bears: Unlock The Magic - The Deckbuilding Game

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News, Previews, & Misc Links:

Robert Crumb returns with TALES OF PARANOIA

Tariffs are affecting comic book stores, but not in ways you might expect

The Transformers 1984 CBS Network Pitch Documents Now Online

Sony Is Developing A Spider-Punk Spinoff Feature

Dan Slott reveals the toy line that inspired Superman’s new gold form

Disney, Universal ‘Cannot Have It Both Ways’: Midjourney Slams Studios For Suing While Using GenAI

Unbound successor Boundless hits the wall

‘I’ve got one speed’: Cullen Bunn on writing, legacy, and ‘Deluge’

A Celebration of 25 Years: An Interview with Manga Creators PEACH-PIT

David F. Walker on translating an American literary classic in BIG JIM AND THE WHITE BOY

An Interview with Italian Comics Artist Vittorio Giardino

Kelly Sue DeConnick on the emotional truths of FML

How a cartoon skull became a symbol of defiance in Indonesia

Mary Eastey descendant Ben Wickey on his Salem Witch Trials OGN, MORE WEIGHT

Peek inside The Avengers’ most mind-bending, metafictional adventure yet

Dark Horse to release LAVENDER JACK in print

Bechdel Beyond Bechdel

Michael Kobre considers the Fantastic Four superhero “The Thing” and Jack Kirby’s relationship to his own Judaism.

Raging Against the Machine: Comics and Generative AI “Art” Part 1 – “Nothing it Offers Has Any Tangible Value or Originality”

Forgotten Gems : "Letitia Lerner, Superman's Babysitter !" from Elseworlds 80-page giant Vol.1 #1 (1999)

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That's it for this Rant, take care and stay safe!

-Chris