Homage to E. C. Segar's Popeye by David Lapham

Art by: David Lapham

if I may have permission to engage in the time honoured tradition of bitching on the internet….what the fuck is the OG MW 2 Ghost Backstory comic. I would never expect excellence from *\that/* publishing house, but Holy Sweet Jesus Dude. I The most edgy, nonsensical artist’s nightmare I’ve ever had the displeasure of reading. I was suddenly reminded that Simon Riley was basically 14 year old Activision’s first OC. Visual identity of character designs? Nonexistent. Looks like a 70’s sketch artist’s LSD trip. Accurate characterization? Nope, who even is this guy. Bizzare SA against a male character that somehow loops back around to being titillating for 14 year old boys? CHECK, CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK, BABY!! It’s so cartoonishly evil and edgy that would almost loop back around to being funny if not how fucking odd it is. The problem with having a great amount of passion for media that is geared towards an audience that consumes at a surface level is you find yourself wanting to look the character’s creator dead in the eyes and scream “he would NOT fucking say that”. I was hardly surprised Garth Ennis had his slimy little fingers in the project. If you become curious about 009 Ghost’s backstory, genuinely do not bother with it, do yourself a favor and search AO3. The talented, awesome young freaks there can write better representation of PTSD, the effects of torture, and cycles of familial violence than an entire team of paid writers.

I know it's mostly manga here but sometimes I like to share some US comics and bande dessinée stuff too! And by the way if you don't know David Lapham, you should definitely try reading Stray Bullets!

Hank’s investigation into a deadly international crime syndicate gets hot when a longtime Big Caligula’s employee is murdered in cold blood. He’ll stop at nothing to bring the killers to justice, journeying cross-country to the crime-laden streets of Hollywood… California! There he’ll face off against the Australian mafia dodge fire-spitting flamethrowers, high-caliber shoot-outs, and a kangaroo on a choke chain in his most explosive adventure yet!

Ferals (Gore Variant Covers) Published by Avatar Press | Written by David Lapham | Illustrated by Gabriel Andrade

Superman #21 variant cover by David Lapham.

Superman #21 (DC, January 2025) variant cover by David Lapham