Good afternoon and happy holidays, comic fans! Welcome back to yet another issue of your favorite biweekly go to spot for comic and pop culture talk. If you’re like me you used Sunday’s Snowmageddon to hole up and catch up on the latest and greatest out there right now (and honestly, to rewatch the new Avengers trailer ad nauseum, which we will also go into. Stay tuned). Now that the snow is melting, we’re ready to warm up to some new soon-to-be favorites.

Luckily for us, this week we have local comic writer and VCU adjunct professor Francesca Lyn to tell us what she has been digging lately. Lyn is the author and co-creator, along with artist Sally Cantirino, of Flower Girls, which explores what happens to magical girls after they grow up. While Lyn got a lot of her favorite comics from this year’s Small Press Expo in Bethesda, MD, Richmond’s Velocity Comics is her home store.

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden

“It’s a space story but mostly set in a boarding school,” said Lyn. “Her artwork reminds me a bit of Sam Alden but she is definitely doing something that is completely hers.”

BattleArc 2088 by Danny Djeljosevic and Brett Marcus Cook

A 40 page Cyberpunk one shot inspired by series such as Blade Runner and Bubblegum Crisis.

Girl Town by Carolyn Nowak

“It’s already been on a lot of best of 2018 but it deserves it. It is incredible.” said Lyn.

That Box We Sit On by Richie Pope

Two friends decide to uncover the mystery behind the titular box they sit on every day.

Woman World by Aminder Dhaliwal

“I started reading it when it was a webcomic on Instagram,” said Lyn. “It is so funny and good.”

“Nancy” by Olivia Jaimes

The daily comic strip, which dates back to the 30s, was recently taken over by a young female cartoonist, Olivia Jaimes. She has injected modern touchstones and absurdist humor into the strip, making it suddenly relevant again. “A lot of fans of Nancy are super divided, but I really like this fresh take.” said Lyn.

My own recommendation to you is something you have undeniably already seen. Marvel decided to stop toying with us and not only finally released the Avengers 4 trailer, but gave us an official name to go with it.

Avengers: Endgame.

I have been calling it forever and everyone rolled their eyes at me, so to see it official made me do a Looney Tunes-esque style cackle before my phone fell on my face. There is so much to unpack though with this trailer, and honestly, I have never wanted a film to come out right now more. At least, since probably every other Avengers film.

Tony Stark is officially just giving up and accepting his destiny to drift along through space. Thanos is enjoying the peace and calm after he totaled half of the planet; his armor hangs like a creepy scarecrow. Captain America has shaved the beard.

But is Shuri even still alive, though? How did Ant-Man escape the Quantum Realm? Does John Watson ever make an appearance and ask Sherlock why he is wearing a towel around his neck and talking in a weird American accent?

So many questions!

As we sit here in as little patience as possible until April 26th, at least we can be sure of one thing — NASA is finally doing what we pay them to do, and is trying to help Marvel figure out how to bring Tony Stark back home. 

Until next week, comic fans!