Lunar Distribution to Begin Distributing Archie Comics Beginning May 2025

ARCHIE COMICS SIGNS WITH LUNAR DISTRIBUTION

New partnership gives retailers an additional option for stocking Archie's line of comic books, digests, and graphic novels 

Archie Comics has signed a deal with Lunar Distribution to distribute its publications to the comic book Direct Market. The new partnership is in addition to Archie's existing relationship with Diamond Comic Distributors. Archie titles will go live with Lunar on March 21, 2025 for product shipping in May 2025.

The move is a response to Diamond's declaration of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January. In a letter to retailers sent this week, Archie said, "While we value our decades-long partnership with Diamond, and sincerely hope that they pull through this in time, we've also been fielding questions, and requests for an alternate distribution channel."  

While comic shops can continue ordering Archie products from Diamond, all Archie single issues, digests, and graphic novels will be available from Lunar, as well. Retailers who have questions about stocking Archie Comics titles can reach out at info@archiecomics.com.

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ABOUT ARCHIE COMICS:

Archie Comics is one of the most influential, successful, and longest-running brands in the comics industry. With over two billion comics sold and books published in dozens of languages, Archie characters are immediately recognizable worldwide. It is home to an extensive roster of characters—including The Archies, Little Archie, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Josie and the Pussycats, and Katy Keene—and the critically acclaimed Archie Horror imprint. The CW series Riverdale and the hit Netflix series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina have captivated the hearts and minds of countless fans, a trend that continues with The Archies, the first comics-based Hindi language feature film, now streaming on Netflix. Archie characters have been featured in animation, television, film, and music throughout its more than 85-year history. Follow Archie Comics on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and online at archiecomics.com.

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#IReadsYou Review: SCOOBY-DOO, Where Are You #130

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? (2010) #130

DC COMICS

STORY: Sholly Fisch; Scotty Beatty

PENCILS: Valerio Chiola; Robert Pope

INKS: Valerio Chiola; Scott McRae

COLORS: Valerio Chiola; Heroic Age

LETTERS: Saida Temofonte; Dezi Sienty

EDITORS: Courtney Jordan; Kwanza Johnson (reprint)

COVER: Valerio Chiola

32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (December 2024)

Ages 8+

“Mayor May Not!”

Welcome, dear readers, to my continuing journey through the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? comic book series, which began publication in 2010.  I continue to renew my subscription so that I can continue to review this series for you, dear readers.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #130 opens with “Mayor May Not!,” which is written by Sholly Fisch and drawn by Valerio Chiola.  The story finds Mystery Inc.:  Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma attending a costume ball thrown by Mayor Flowers.  The party is also a campaign event for the mayor's reelection campaign.  It seems as if the mayor has invited the whole city to this event, but did he also unknowingly invite a werewolf?

As usual, the second story, “Paranoidal Activity,” is a reprint story.  It is written by Scott Beatty and drawn by Robert Pope and Scott McRae.  [This story was originally published in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You #19 (cover date: May 2012).]  The story opens as the Mystery Machine drives up to “the Spectral Silk Mill.”  Mystery Inc. has been called to this old silk mill by its current owners, Mr. Stanislaus and Mr. Oliveri, to discover if the place really is haunted.  For their latest case, the gang has decided to test their new high tech equipment in the detection of ghosts.  Will that work, or will it just get in the way of the ghost-busting?

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #130 doesn't really have a theme so much as it finds its ghostly instigators in suspects that manage to be both surprising and expected.  This isn't a particularly good issue, but like #129, the lead story is drawn by Valerio Chiola.  I really dig Chiola's quirky and funky illustrative style which brings some needed freshness to the pages of this series that is well into its second decade.  Chiola's squashed and stretched art reminds me of legendary cartoonist and Plastic Man creator, Jack Cole, and it looks like some of the graphical storytelling frequently found in kids' comics and graphic novels.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #130 may not be top of the line, but it is still a Scooby-Doo comic book.  So grab your “Scooby Snacks” and read this issue, and maybe watch a Scooby-Doo movie, later.  And until next time, Scooby-Dooby-Doo!

C

[This comic book includes a seven-page preview of the DC Comics original graphic novel, “Deadman Tells the Spooky Tales” by Franco and Sara Richard, Isaac Goodhart, and others.]

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a."I Reads You"

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The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Movie Review: VENOM: THE LAST DANCE

Venom: The Last Dance (2024)

Running time:  110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, bloody images and strong language

DIRECTOR:  Kelly Marcel

WRITERS:  Kelly Marcel; from a story by Kelly Marcel and Tom Hardy (based on the Marvel Comics)

PRODUCERS:  Avi Arad, Amy Pascal, Matt Tolmach, Tom Hardy, Kelly Marcel, and Hutch Parker

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Fabian Wagner (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Mark Sanger

COMPOSER:  Dan Deacon

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/ACTION

Starring:  Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Stephen Graham, Peggy Lu, Clark Backo, Alanna Ubach, Hala Finley, Dash McCloud, Cristo Fernandez, Jared Abrahamson, Jack Brady, Reid Scott, and Andy Serkis

Venom: The Last Dance is a 2024 superhero fantasy-action film directed by Kelly Marcel.  The film is based on the Marvel Comics super-villain/anti-hero characters, Eddie Brock/Venom.  Several comic book writers, artists, and editors contributed in the development of this duo, and artist Todd McFarlane and writer David Michelinie are the creators of Venom.  This is also the third entry in the Venom film series.  In Venom: The Last Dance, Eddie Brock and Venom are on the run from both an alien monster and a mysterious military officer, and they may be forced to break up their symbiotic partnership.

Venom: The Last Dance opens on Klyntar, the home world of the symbiotes.  Knull (Andy Serkis), the creator of the symbiotes, seeks a way to escape the prison made for him by his rebellious creations.  To that end, he has discovered a key – some thing called a “Codex” – that will free him.  What and where is the codex?

Well, it is on Earth, and the Codex exists because of the relationship between the symbiote, Venom, and his human host, the former investigative reporter, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy).  They have just returned to Earth after their short stay in the multiverse (as seen in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home) and has landed in the Mexico of their own Earth.  While there, Eddie and Venom learn that Eddie is being blamed for the death of Detective Patrick Mulligan (Stephen Graham).

Mulligan is not dead.  He was infected by a symbiote (as seen in 2021's Venom: Let There Be Carnage).  He has been imprisoned in an underground facility at “Area 55” (which is beneath “Area 51”), and is being held in captivity by the “Imperium Program.”  There, Mulligan and his symbiote are under the watchful gazes of Imperium scientist, Dr. Teddy Paine (Juno Temple), and the Imperium's military commander, General Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor).

Eddie and Venom are headed for New York City in a bid to clear Eddie's name, unaware that General Strickland is hunting them.  The duo, however, is soon made aware of an even more dangerous hunter.  Knull has sent a creature known as a “Xenophage” to capture the Codex within Eddie and Venom.  Now, a year into their symbiotic relationship, Eddie Brock and Venom may have to make a most devastating and heart-wrenching decision in order to save the Earth and at least one of their lives.

Venom: The Last Dance is the fifth film in “Sony's Spider-Man Universe” line of films.  It follows Venom (2018), Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), Morbius (2022), and Madame Web (2024).  The Last Dance arrived in movie theaters a little more than a month before the series' sixth film, Kraven the Hunter (2024).  This film series stars characters and properties commonly associated with Marvel Comics' character, Spider-Man.  Sadly, media reports indicate that Kraven the Hunter will be the last entry in Sony's Spider-Man Universe.

Anyway, just before the halfway mark in Venom: The Last Dance, the Venom symbiote enters a horse, and “venomizes” it, creating a “Venom horse.”  The sequence featuring Venom as a horse, which becomes a wild ride across the desert with Eddie on its back, is probably the liveliest moment in this movie.  Venom does not venomize any more animals the rest of the way, but strangely, the beginning of the film's end-credits is a montage of venomized animals, everything from insects and birds to mammals and amphibians.  A Venom movie featuring the Venom symbiote venomizing countless different insects and animals?! – now, that would be a Venom movie I'd love and a lot of people would watch.  Sadly, that is what we get in Venom: The Last Dance.

Yes, there are some genuine character moments – such as Eddie/Venom's relationship with the Moon family – but even that is overwhelmed by Venom: The Last Dance's need to end.  Yes, this isn't so much a movie as it is an execution or suicide pact.  Venom is a trilogy and Venom: The Last Dance must be the end of it:  that's what this movie feels like – a race to the end.

I found myself unable to really enjoy this movie.  I really didn't connect with the film's best action scenes, and there were a few really good ones.  Also, I feel like the Knull subplot was woefully underutilized.  There are some good moments here, and by the end of the film, I thought the good things had been downplayed in favor of this movie's fatalistic mood.  Ultimately, I think Venom: The Last Dance is only for fans of the series who will want to see it through to the end.

C+

★★½ out of 4 stars

[This film has one mid-credits scene and one scene that occurs at the end of the credits.]

The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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BOOM! Studios from Diamond Distributors for February 19, 2025

BOOM! STUDIOS

DEC240079 HOUSE OF SLAUGHTER #30 CVR A FORNES $3.99

DEC240080 HOUSE OF SLAUGHTER #30 CVR B DELL EDERA $3.99

DEC240081 HOUSE OF SLAUGHTER #30 CVR C CARDSTOCK VAR LEE $5.99

DEC240082 HOUSE OF SLAUGHTER #30 CVR D GATEFOLD VAR LUCKERT $5.99

DEC240083 HOUSE OF SLAUGHTER #30 CVR E ANNIVERSARY VAR MORA $3.99

DEC240108 IN BLOOM #3 (OF 5) CVR A PEARSON $4.99

DEC240109 IN BLOOM #3 (OF 5) CVR B STENBECK $4.99

OCT240069 JONESY COMPLETE COLLECTION TP (C: 0-1-2) $19.99

NOV247563 POWER RANGERS PRIME #3 2ND PTG LINDSAY (C: 1-0-0) $4.99

DEC240089 POWER RANGERS PRIME #4 CVR A MORA (C: 1-0-0) $4.99

DEC240090 POWER RANGERS PRIME #4 CVR B TAYLOR (C: 1-0-0) $4.99

DEC240091 POWER RANGERS PRIME #4 CVR C ANNIVERSARY VAR MORA (C: 1-0-0) $4.99

DEC240092 POWER RANGERS PRIME #4 CVR D FOIL VAR BERNARDO (C: 1-0-0) $6.99

DEC240098 POWER RANGERS PRIME #4 CVR J FOC REVEAL (C: 1-0-0) $4.99

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DC Comics from Lunar Distributors for February 19, 2025

DC COMICS:

Batman #611 (Facsimile Edition)(Cover A Jim Lee & Scott Williams), $3.99

Batman #611 (Facsimile Edition)(Cover B Jim Lee & Scott Williams Foil Variant), $6.99

Batman And Robin Year One #5 (Of 12)(Cover A Chris Samnee), $3.99

Batman And Robin Year One #5 (Of 12)(Cover B Yanick Paquette Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Batman And Robin Year One #5 (Of 12)(Cover C Bruno Redondo Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Batman And Robin Year One #5 (Of 12)(Cover D Jacob Edgar Card Stock Variant), AR

Batman Dark Patterns #1 (Of 12)(2nd Printing Cover A Hayden Sherman), $4.99

Batman Knightfall Omnibus Volume 2 Knightquest HC (2025 Edition), $125.00

Batman Superman World's Finest #36 (Cover A Dan Mora), $3.99

Batman Superman World's Finest #36 (Cover B Tom Reilly Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Batman Superman World's Finest #36 (Cover C Adrian Gutierrez Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Batman Superman World's Finest #36 (Cover D Tyler Kirkham Hush Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Batman Superman World's Finest #36 (Cover E Fernando Pasarin & Oclair Albert Card Stock Variant), AR

Brave And The Bold Volume 2 The Book Of Destiny TP (2025 Edition), $17.99

Catwoman #73 (Cover A Sebastian Fiumara), $3.99

Catwoman #73 (Cover B Frank Cho Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Catwoman #73 (Cover C Dan Panosian Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Catwoman #73 (Cover D Lesley Leirix Li Hush Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Catwoman #73 (Cover E Noobovich Card Stock Variant), AR

Catwoman #73 (Cover F Frank Cho Virgin Card Stock Variant), AR

Challengers Of The Unknown #3 (Of 6)(Cover A Sean Izaakse), $3.99

Challengers Of The Unknown #3 (Of 6)(Cover B Christian Ward Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Crisis On Infinite Earths #11 (Facsimile Edition)(Cover A George Perez), $3.99

Crisis On Infinite Earths #11 (Facsimile Edition)(Cover B George Perez Foil Variant), $5.99

Crisis On Infinite Earths #11 (Facsimile Edition)(Cover C Blank Card Stock Variant), $4.99

DC Finest Harley Quinn Birth Of The Mirth TP, $39.99

DC Horror Presents Creature Commandos #5 (Of 6)(Cover A Tirso), $4.99

DC Horror Presents Creature Commandos #5 (Of 6)(Cover B Sebastian Fiumara Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Jenny Sparks #7 (Of 7)(Cover A Jeff Spokes), $4.99

Jenny Sparks #7 (Of 7)(Cover B Gene Ha Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Justice Society Of America 2022 Volume 2 Long Live The JSA HC, $24.99

MAD Magazine #42, $5.99

Milestone Universe The Shadow Cabinet #4 (Of 4)(Cover A Denys Cowan), $4.99

Milestone Universe The Shadow Cabinet #4 (Of 4)(Cover B Nikolas Draper-Ivey Card Stock Variant), $5.99

New Gods #2 (Of 12)(2nd Printing Cover A Evan Cagle), $3.99

New Gods #3 (Of 12)(Cover A Nimit Malavia), $3.99

New Gods #3 (Of 12)(Cover B Mike Huddleston Card Stock Variant), $4.99

New Gods #3 (Of 12)(Cover C Riccardo Federici Card Stock Variant), $4.99

New Gods #3 (Of 12)(Cover D Evan Cagle Birth Of A New God Acetate Variant), $9.99

Nightwing #123 (Cover A Dexter Soy), $4.99

Nightwing #123 (Cover B Dan Panosian Card Stock Variant), $5.99

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Nightwing #123 (Cover D Giuseppe Camuncoli Hush Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Nightwing #123 (Cover E Dexter Soy Card Stock Variant), AR

Prez By Mark Russell And Ben Caldwell The Deluxe Edition HC, $34.99

Question All Along The Watchtower #4 (Of 6)(Cover A Cian Tormey), $3.99

Question All Along The Watchtower #4 (Of 6)(Cover B Jorge Fornes Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Question All Along The Watchtower #4 (Of 6)(Cover C Lucio Parrillo Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Red Hood The Hill TP, $17.99

Shazam (2023) Volume 2 Moving Day TP, $19.99

Titans #20 (Cover A Pete Woods), $3.99

Titans #20 (Cover B Cully Hamner Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Titans #20 (Cover C Rob Guillory Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Wonder Woman #18 (Cover A Daniel Sampere), $4.99

Wonder Woman #18 (Cover B David Nakayama Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Wonder Woman #18 (Cover C David Talaski Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Wonder Woman #18 (Cover D Ryan Benjamin Black History Month Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Wonder Woman #18 (Cover E Nicola Scott Card Stock Variant), AR

Wonder Woman The Golden Age Omnibus Volume 6 HC, $150.00

Zatanna #1 (Of 6)(Cover A Jamal Campbell), $3.99

Zatanna #1 (Of 6)(Cover B Chris Bachalo Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Zatanna #1 (Of 6)(Cover C Sozomaika Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Zatanna #1 (Of 6)(Cover D David Talaski Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Zatanna #1 (Of 6)(Cover E Blank Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Zatanna #1 (Of 6)(Cover F Sozomaika Foil Variant), $6.99

Zatanna #1 (Of 6)(Cover G Fico Ossio DC All In Foil Variant), $6.99

Zatanna #1 (Of 6)(Cover H Derrick Chew DC Showcase Foil Variant), AR

Zatanna #1 (Of 6)(Cover I Saowee Card Stock Variant), AR

Zatanna #1 (Of 6)(Cover J Jamal Campbell Card Stock Variant), AR

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Dynamite Entertainment from Diamond Distributors for February 19, 2025

DYNAMITE

NOV240308 THUNDERCATS #12 CVR L PARRILLO LTD VIRGIN (C: 1-1-2) $50.00

DEC240216 ZOOTOPIA #2 CVR I FORSTNER LTD VIRGIN (C: 1-0-0) $50.00

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Image Comics from Lunar Distributors for February 19, 2025

IMAGE COMICS:

Criminal Volume 3 The Dead And The Dying TP (New Printing), $16.99

Deadly Tales Of The Gunslinger Spawn #3 (Cover A Marcial Toledano Vargas), $2.99

Deadly Tales Of The Gunslinger Spawn #3 (Cover B Marco Failla), $2.99

Doll Parts A Lovesick Tale #3 (Of 4)(Cover A Luana Vecchio), $3.99

Doll Parts A Lovesick Tale #3 (Of 4)(Cover B Luana Vecchio Knife Variant), $3.99

Doll Parts A Lovesick Tale #3 (Of 4)(Cover C Luana Vecchio Stuffed Animal Connecting Variant), $3.99

Doll Parts A Lovesick Tale #3 (Of 4)(Cover D Jessica Cioffi), $3.99

Doll Parts A Lovesick Tale #3 (Of 4)(Cover E Luana Vecchio Virgin Variant), AR

Free Agents #7 (Cover A Stephen Mooney), $3.99

Free Agents #7 (Cover B Kevin Maguire), $3.99

Free Agents #7 (Cover C James W. Fry & Wade Von Grawbadger), $3.99

G.I. Joe #4 (Cover A Tom Reilly), $3.99

G.I. Joe #4 (Cover B David Finch & Adriano Lucas), $3.99

G.I. Joe #4 (Cover C Derrick Chew), $3.99

G.I. Joe #4 (Cover D David Nakayama Connecting Variant), AR

G.I. Joe #4 (Cover E Travis Moore & Adriano Lucas), AR

G.I. Joe #4 (Cover F E.J. Su), AR

Holy Roller #9 (Of 9)(Cover A Roland Boschi & Moreno Dinisio), $3.99

Holy Roller #9 (Of 9)(Cover B Harper Jaten), AR

King Spawn #42 (Cover A Francesco Tomaselli), $2.99

King Spawn #42 (Cover B Thaddeus Robeck), $2.99

Nullhunter #5 (Of 12)(Cover A Michael Walsh), $3.99

Nullhunter #5 (Of 12)(Cover B Gustaffo Vargas), $3.99

Nullhunter #5 (Of 12)(Cover C Vlad Legostaev), $3.99

Nullhunter #5 (Of 12)(Cover D Gustaffo Vargas White Variant), AR

Patchwork Girl Of Oz #2 (Cover A Otis Frampton), $3.99

Power Fantasy #6 (Cover A Caspar Wijngaard), $3.99

Power Fantasy #6 (Cover B Abigail Jill Harding), $3.99

Power Fantasy #6 (Cover C Rian Hughes Pantone Color PMS 806 Variant), AR

Rat City #11 (Cover A Bjorn Barends), $2.99

Rat City #11 (Cover B Marco Failla), $2.99

Remote Space TP, $16.99

Rocketfellers #1 (Cover E Francis Manapul Original Art Convention Sketch Variant)(per Lunar Distribution), AR

Rogue Sun Volume 4 Divinity TP, $17.99

Scorched Volume 5 TP, $16.99

Seasons #1 (Cover E Paul Azaceta Drawn On Variant)(per Lunar Distribution), AR

Spawn Origins Volume 30 TP, $16.99

Spawn Sinn's War TP , $16.99

Strange Girl 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Hardcover Bookplate, AR

Strange Girl 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition HC, $59.99

w0rldtr33 #13 (Cover A Fernando Blanco), $3.99

w0rldtr33 #13 (Cover B Michael Avon Oeming), $3.99

w0rldtr33 #13 (Cover C Michael Gaydos), AR

w0rldtr33 #13 (Cover D Anwita Citriya), AR

Walking Dead Deluxe #107 (Cover A David Finch & McCaig), $3.99

Walking Dead Deluxe #107 (Cover B Charlie Adlard & Dave McCaig), $3.99

Walking Dead Deluxe #107 (Cover C Nate Bellegarde & Olli Hihnala Connecting Variant), $3.99

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