Welcome back, Donist World Denizens! For those of you new to our site, I’m Donist, and I am joined by Donist World CFO the Reverse Obie* (my friends’ Boston terrier whose fur recently swapped colors) and by our marketing director/administrative assistant/party planner/Queen of the Heavy Tulip (my dog, Reverse Obie’s sister). Okay, here’s the deal: the reason why I missed a couple of posts this year, after more than nine years of uninterrupted Donist World heavenliness, is because Amy the Intern (my wife), Tulip, and I are going to be moving at the end of this month. We’re not moving too far, just closer in town, which is something we meant to do 10 years ago but couldn’t at the time. In order to do this, we’ve had to jump through all sorts of hoops to find a realtor, to get our place ready for sale, to secure the sale, to find a new home, to have our offer accepted, and to prepare for the actual move. It’s all been pretty relentless and there were times Tulip, Reverse Obie, and I just could not find the time to let y’all know about what comics have been flipping our wigs. That said, I suspect we’re going to miss a few more posts in the coming weeks, but now that things are looking to be nearing completion, I wanted to keep you all in the loop as to the why. So, take a breath, repeat “every little thing gonna be alright,” grab a tasty beer and some pizza, run out to see
Avengers: Endgame, sit back, relax, and afterward read some great comics. Thank you for reading!
*Obie, through his dabbling in arcane magics mixed with ancient corrupt business practices, has had not just the colors of his fur switched, but a complete overhaul of his work ethic as well…I think I’m kinda okay with the mishap.
***Possible Spoilers Below***
Friday Slice of Heaven
(Everythinged by Daniel Warren Johnson, colored by Mike Spicer, lettered by Rus Wooton, edits by
Sean Mackiewicz and Arielle Basich (associate editor), published by Image Comics)
This is the moment I have been both ecstatic for and dreading since I found out the phenomenal
Murder Falcon was ending with issue #8. This series finale is exciting, kick ass, scary, triumphant, and devastating all at the same time. Even just flipping through the comic today, after reading it a few days ago, I started getting choked up; I don’t even want to get into how rough it was finishing the book for the first time. Few comics, novels, or movies have affected me this way. Very few. But
Murder Falcon hit me pretty hard and I freaking love it for that. It’s almost impossible to convey to someone who has not experienced this book that this comic about an ex-heavy metal guitarist who gains a magical guitar, and whose shredding riffs give great power and abilities to a beefy, falcon-headed warrior to fight monsters, will ultimately leave them sobbing upon reaching the end. The premise of the book is admittedly ridiculous, but Warren Johnson instills so much humanity, so much realism, into his characters that you fall in love with them from the moment you meet them. I cheered as each of Jake’s band members found their magical instrument and subsequent good-guy, monster champion. I was thrilled with each musician ally they met along their journey to combat the demonic forces of evil. I felt the loss when one fell all too soon. But, dang if I wasn’t cheering along through every single gorgeously rendered fight sequence. I was initially going to end with something along the lines of “This book is so much better than it has any right to be,” but that is not f_ing true.
Murder Falcon is exactly as great—if not more so—than you can expect from one of my favorite comic creators; I cannot wait to see what Warren Johnson comes up with next. You can read the entire collection with the
trade coming out in July, and I still hope to see this tremendous series get the oversized hardcover treatment it so rightfully deserves.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
(Written by Jason Aaron, illustrated by Mahmud Asrar, colored by Matthew Wilson, lettered by VC’s Travis Lanham, published by Marvel Comics)
When Conan is discovered as the sole survivor of a decimated party of Turanian invaders, the Turan horde reluctantly realizes that this filthy barbarian might be their only hope of surviving against the deadly Stygians who have no intention of submitting. Aaron and Asrar continue some of the best Conan comics since the barbarian’s glory days of the ’70s. This is despite seeing very little of the Crimson Witch and her awful brood in each issue, but this is fine. Thus far, we are treated to exceptional done-in-one tales of Conan’s exploits across the world on his journey to attaining his own kingdom. That said, we do see snippets of the death god Razazel's minions as they creep ever closer to sacrificing Conan for their own evil ends. Both the focal story of each issue and the slowly unfolding grander tale have me completely sucked in. If you are not reading the great
Conan the Barbarian then, by Crom, you best do something to remedy that situation. The first
trade of issues 1–6 releases in July.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
(Written by Rick Remender, illustrated by Wes Craig, colored by Jordan Boyd, lettered by Rus Wooton, edited by Briah Skelly, production by Erika Schnatz, published by Image Comics)
I have to admit to being a little confused as to how Marcus and Maria managed to make their way back into the Kings Dominion Atelier of the Deadly Arts school after everything that has happened in the series thus far. But that’s cool. I have no problem with just going with the flow and seeing the protagonists of the series once again meet their enemies face to face on their old stomping grounds. Now, all we need is for Saya to return and we’ll have the band back together…or at least the few members of the original band that happen to still be alive. Craig’s art continues to be exciting and unique and his use of high/low panel-counts per page succeeds in driving the intensity of a scene every bit as much as his solid storytelling. Now, I need to finally check out the television show. You can catch up with either the two hardcover Deluxe Editions that collect issues 1–31, or through the seven trades that collect issues 1–36.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
That’s it for this installment, Denizes. As I mentioned in the intro, no telling what the next few weeks hold in store for me, but Tulip, Reverse Obie, and I hope to get back on schedule in the next month or two once the move is all sorted out. Thank you for reading.
Friday Slice of Heaven, Slice into the Woods 5/10/2019
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