Original Graphic Novel, "THE WRATH OF KARAPACE," is Now Available at Amazon

Hi, It's Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You" (Patreon).  My first original graphic novel, THE WRATH OF KARAPACE: A BIG SPIRITS EPIC, which is published by Candle Light Press.  Co-created by Carter J. Allen, (Warning Comics), The Wrath of Karapace is now on sale at Amazon and Barnes and Noble online.  Also, have some milk and cookies while reading this wonderful graphic novel.

Other online shops that are selling "The Wrath of Karapace" include the following:

- AmazonUK;

- Bookshop.org;

- ElmStreetBooks;

- the German book shop, OrrellFussli;

- Powells.com;

- Russell Books.com;

- SuperBookDeals.com;

- Walmart online.

Of note, The Wrath of Karapace is also available on eBay from a few different sellers.

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"The Wrath of Karapace" also a "Google Books" listing.

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Amazon wants me to inform/remind you that any affiliate links found on this page are PAID ADS, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on affiliate links like these, BOOKS PAGE, GRAPHIC NOVELS, or MANGA PAGE and BUY something(s).

I Reads You Juniors: September 2026 - UPDATE #26

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon.

Amazon wants me to inform/remind you that any affiliate links found on this page are PAID ADS, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on affiliate links to join Amazon Prime, or to shop at my BOOKS PAGE, GRAPHIC NOVELS, or MANGA PAGE and BUY something(s).

TREATS - From AnotherCookie:  There is a new online cookie retailer. It is called "AnotherCookie?" and the cookies are delicious.

NEWS:

MARVEL - From BleedingCool:  The character, "Miracleman," will make his debut as a member of the Avengers in "Avengers: Armageddon #4."  Writer Chip Zdarsky will make his 21st-century century Captain America, "David Colton," will assume the mantle of Miracleman.

OBIT - From BleedingCool:  Comic book creator, artist, and art educator, Andy Fish, has died at the age of 60, Saturday, September 5, 2026.  Fish was best known for the comic book miniseries, "Blackwood" (Dark Horse Comics, 2028), and its sequel, "Blackwood: The Mourning After" (Dark Horse, 2020), with his wife, Veronica Fish and writer Evan Dorkin.  Andy and Veronica Fish also helped launch Archie Comics' 2020 "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" series as part of "Archie Forever."

SONY SPIDER-MAN U - From Variety:  Amazon Prime has cancelled its Spider-Man universe-related series, "Spider-Noir," after one season... despite a 92% Rotten Tomatoes score and 11 Emmy nominations.

DC COMICS - From DCBlog:  Writer G. Willow Wilson, one of the "showrunners" (with Matt Fraction) for DC's "Bad Seeds" event, talks about the event.

MARVEL - From ComicBook:  Writer David Harth looks back at Marvel Comics' mostly forgotten mature comics line, the late, great "Epic Comics."

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AUGUST 2026 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:

From BleedingCool:  Ablaze for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  American Mythology for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  AMP for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Antarctic Press for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Archie Comics for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Asylum Press for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Bad Idea Comics for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Dstlry for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Dynamite Entertainment for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Fantagraphics Books for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Harper Alley for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Heavy Metal for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Ignition Press for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Invader Comics for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Keenspot Entertainment for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Mad Cave for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics' "Armageddon" titles for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics' "X-Men DNX" titles for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics' "Queen in Black" titles for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics' "What If" titles for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Massive for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Midnight Factory for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Oni Press for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Reckah for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Rae Media for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  SHP Comics for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Titan Publishing for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Udon Entertainment for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Valiant Comics for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Vault Comics for August 2026

From BleedingCool:  Z2 for August 2026

SEPTEMBER 2026 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:

From BleedingCool:  Ablaze for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Abrams for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  American Mythology for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  AMP Comics for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Antartic Press for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Archie Comics for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  AWA Studios for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Bad Idea for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Battle Quest Comics for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  BOOM! Studios for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Dark Horse Comics for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics "Wonder Woman Wonder War" titles for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Devil's Due Studios for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Dynamite Entertainment for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Fantagraphics Books for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  HarperAlley for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Ignition Press for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Keenspot Entertainment for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Mad Cave Studios for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics "Avengers Armageddon" titles for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics "Doctor Strange" related titles for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics "Queen in Black" titles for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics' "X-Men DNX" titles for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Oni Press for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Rebellion Comics for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Red 23 for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Rekcah Comics for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Titan Comics for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Udon Entertainment for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Valiant Comics for September 2026

From BleedingCool:  Vault Comics for September 2026

OCTOBER 2026 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:

From BleedingCool:  Ahoy Comics for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  American Mythology for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  AMP Comics for October 206

From BleedingCool:  Archie Comics for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  Bad Idea for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  BOOM! Studios for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  Dark Horse Comics for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  Dynamite Entertainment for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  Hexagon for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  Ignition Press for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  Image Comics "Energon Universe" titles for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  Image Comics' "Spawn" titles for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  Keenspot for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  Mad Cave Studios for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics "DNX X-Men/Fantastic Four" titles for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  Mythos Comics for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  Oni Press for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  Penthouse Comics for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  Titan Comics for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  2000AD / Rebellion for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  Udon Entertainment for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  Valiant Comics for October 2026

From BleedingCool:  Vault Comics for October 2026

NOVEMBER 2026 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:

From BleedingCool:  Ablaze for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Ahoy Comics for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  American Mythology for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  AMP Comics for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Antarctic Press for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Archie Comics for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Bad Idea for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  BOOM! Studios for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Church Ghost for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Dark Horse Comics for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Drawn & Quarterly for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Dstlry for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Dynamite Entertainment for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Fantagraphics for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Ignition Press for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Keenspot for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Mad Cave Studios for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics "DNX" titles for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics "Midnight" titles for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Oni Press for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Panick Entertainment for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Rebellion / 2000 AD for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Red 5 Comics for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Third Contact Comics for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Titan Comics for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Udon Studios for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Vault Comics for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Z2 for November 2026

From BleedingCool:  Zenescope for November 2026

DECEMBER 2026 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics for December 2026

From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing for December 2026

From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for December 2026

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics "Midnight" titles for December 2026

From BleedingCool:  Titan Comics for December 2026

APRIL 2027 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics omnibus, deluxe, and other big book editions for April 2027

MAY 2027 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics omnibus, deluxe, and other big book editions for May 2027

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#IReadsYou Review: ELVIRA IN MONSTERLAND #3

ELVIRA IN MONSTERLAND VOLUME 1 #3

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: David Avallone

ART: Kewber Baal

COLORS: Walter Pereya

LETTERS: Taylor Esposito

EDITOR: Joseph Rybandt

COVER: Dave Acosta with Walter Pereya

32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (July 2023)

Rated Teen+

Chapter Three: “Howl”

In 1981, actress and model Cassandra Peterson created the “horror hostess character,” known as “Elvira.”  Elvira gradually grew in popularity and eventually became a brand name.  As Elvira, Peterson endorsed many products and became a pitch-woman, appearing in numerous television commercials throughout the 1980s.

Elvira also appeared in comic books, beginning in 1986 with the short-lived series from DC Comics, Elvira's House of Mystery.  In 2018, Elvira returned to comic books via Dynamite Entertainment.  Elvira's latest comic book series is Elvira in Monsterland Volume 1.  The series is written by David Avallone; drawn by Kewber Baal; colored by Walter Pereyra; and lettered by Taylor Esposito.  The series finds Elvira returning to the Multiverse of Movies (a bunch of “pocket dimensions” created by the existence of movies) in order to stop Vlad the Impaler and the creation of a monster army.

Elvira in Monsterland Volume 1 #3 (“Howl”) opens in that pivotal moment in the 1981 film, An American Werewolf in London, when two young American backpackers experience a life-changing event with a werewolf.  However, Elvira has been inserted into the scenario, and the werewolf is just the latest recruit of Vlad the Impaler.

Having cleaned up on vampires and Frankenstein monsters, it's time to gather the lycanthropy unit of Vlad's monster army.  Now, it's a race through kooky werewolf and wolf man movie history, but Elvira is still wondering if Vlad is the true mastermind behind this hairy recruitment drive.

THE LOWDOWN:  Since July 2021, Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department has been providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  One of them is Elvira in Monsterland Volume 1 #3, one of many Dynamite/David Avallone Elvira comic books that I have read and enjoyed.

I am a huge fan of werewolf movies.  Add that genre to David Avallone's Elvira comic books, and you have a horror porn – at least for me.  I have seen many werewolf movies, and I have even reviewed some of them.  Classics of the genre that Avallone references in this issue are The Wolf Man (1941), An American Werewolf in London (1981), The Howling (1981), and Teen Wolf (1985).  Avallone even throws in some indirect, for-fun references to other movies, for instance, the based-on-a-true-story, The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), and the faux-documentary, 2000 Mules (2022).

Artist Kewber Baal's art perfectly captures the were-fun in Avallone's script.  Just as Avallone does in his script writing, Baal has a knack for finding the spoof-a-panel gold in some well known films.  With Walter Pereya's colors, Baal makes his parody of An American Werewolf in London look like that pivotal moment in the actual film.

Elvira in Monsterland is perfectly designed to be a romp through monster movie history.  Fans of monster fiction will like this, and werewolf movie fans need this third issue.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Elvira and of David Avallone's Elvira comic books will want to read Elvira in Monsterland Volume 1.

A

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

This issue is part of the trade collection, "ELVIRA IN MONSTERLAND," is available at Amazon.

https://twitter.com/DAvallone

https://twitter.com/DynamiteComics

https://www.dynamite.com/htmlfiles/

https://www.facebook.com/DynamiteComics/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNOH4PEsl8dyZ2Tj7XUlY7w

https://www.linkedin.com/company/dynamite-entertainment

The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Amazon wants me to inform/remind you that any affiliate links found on this page are PAID ADS, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on affiliate links to join Amazon Prime, or to shop at my BOOKS PAGE, GRAPHIC NOVELS, or MANGA PAGE and BUY something(s).

#IReadsYou Review: RED SONJA NOIR: The Princess and the Plunder

RED SONJA NOIR: THE PRINCESS AND THE PLUNDER

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: David Avallone

ARTIST: Edson Enn

COLORS: Adriano Augusto

LETTERS: Jeff Eckleberry

EDITOR: Joseph Rybandt

COVER: Lesley “Leirix” Li

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Robert Hack; Lesley “Leirix” Li; Molly Stewart cosplay

40pp, Color, $5.99 U.S. (July 2026)

Rated: Teen+

Red Sonja created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith, from the character created by Robert E. Howard

Red Sonja Noir: “The Princess & the Plunder”

Red Sonja is female high fantasy and sword and sorcery heroine.  She first appeared in Marvel Comics' Conan the Barbarian #23 (cover dated February 1973) and was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith.  Red Sonja is loosely based on “Red Sonya of Rogatino,” a female character that appeared in the 1934 short story, “The Shadow of the Vulture,” written by Conan the Cimmerian's creator, Robert E. Howard.

In 2005, Dynamite Entertainment began publishing comic books featuring the character.  One of the recent titles is the one-shot title, Red Sonja Noir: The Princess & the Plunder.  It is written by David Avallone; drawn by Edson ENN; colored by Adriano Augusto; and lettered by Jeff Eckleberry.  The one-shot finds Red Sonja plying her mercenary trade at an enclave for the rich and wealthy merchant class where a wedding turns nefarious thanks to thieves, dark magic, and monsters.

Red Sonja Noir: The Princess & the Plunder opens on the island of Zaralina.  Red Sonja has been hired by Elder Zaralin, the island's patriarch, as extra security for the wedding of his daughter.  Sonja is mainly at the Elder's estate to protect the extravagant wedding gifts.

Events soon take a turn for the dark and nefarious as Sonja finds herself in the middle of ill-natured  wedding guests, a bevy of thieves, dark magic, and a monstrous plot that could leave the local town and most of the island in ashes.

THE LOWDOWN:  In July 2021, Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department began providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  One of them is Red Sonja Noir: The Princess & the Plunder, which is not the first David Avallone Red Sonja comic book that I have read.

Red Sonja Noir: The Princess & the Plunder is the second long-form Red Sonja story written by David Avallone that I have read.  The first was 2025's Red Sonja Noir One-Shot (“The Crimson Calypso”).  Thus far, this new story is Avallone's crowning Red Sonja achievement.  Pure sword-and-sorcery adventure, slick action set pieces, sparkling dialogue, skanky villains deserving of their fates, and magic that falls on the story like a shower of golden sugar on my favorite deserve.  This story made me say “Uhh! Na nah na nah!”

The art and storytelling by Edson ENN (Edson Novaes Neves) makes the story move in ways that keep the readers guessing.  ENN brings this story to life with passion; this isn't another swing of the sword.  It's a thriller offering energetic sword thrusts with a sense of mystery worth engaging.

In order to praise colorist Adriano Augusto's work, I have to reveal that there is a dragon in this story, beautifully and amazingly drawn by ENN.  Augusto lights the story on fire in several pages.  However, there is a page with the dragon that Augusto makes so bright and vivid that I could almost feel the heat n my face.  Jeff Eckeberry's lettering has a classic style that recalls the best old school  Red Sonja comic books.

Red Sonja Noir: The Princess & the Plunder is worthy because the creative team brought the gifts to this wedding.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Red Sonja comic books will want to read Red Sonja Noir: The Princess & the Plunder.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux aka "I Reads You"

A Kindle edition of "Red Sonja Noir: The Princess & the Plunder" is available at Amazon.

https://www.deviantart.com/edsonenn/gallery

https://x.com/DynamiteComics

https://www.dynamite.com/htmlfiles/

https://www.facebook.com/DynamiteComics/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNOH4PEsl8dyZ2Tj7XUlY7w

https://www.linkedin.com/company/dynamite-entertainment

The text is copyright © 2026 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Amazon wants me to inform/remind you that any affiliate links found on this page are PAID ADS, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on affiliate links like these, BOOKS PAGE, GRAPHIC NOVELS, or MANGA PAGE and BUY something(s).

#IReadsYou Review: THE MAGIC ORDER 5 #4

THE MAGIC ORDER 5 #4 (OF 6)

DARK HORSE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar

ART: Matteo Buffagni

COLORS: Giovanna Niro with Laura Ciondolini

LETTERS: Clem Robins

EDITOR: Daniel Chabon

EDITORIAL: Sarah Unwin

COVER: Matteo Buffagni with Giovanna Niro

VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Matteo Buffagni

32pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (January 2025)

Rating: 18+

The Magic Order created by Mark Millar at Netflix

“The Death of Cordelia Moonstone”

The Magic Order 5 is a six-issue miniseries from writer Mark Millar and artist Matteo Buffagni.  This is the fifth installment of The Magic Order series, which began with the 2018-19 miniseries written by Millar and drawn by Olivier Coipel.  The Magic Order is a band of sorcerers, magicians, and wizards – with a focus on the Moonstone family and its leader, Cordelia Moonstone – that live ordinary lives by day, but protect humanity from darkness and monsters of impossible sizes by night.  Colorist Giovanna Niro and letterer Clem Robins complete the series creative team.

The Magic Order 5 finds Cordelia preparing for her death – the punishment for using black magic (back in Volume 1).  However, a new case has dropped itself in front of her, but it all may be a front for some really bad people trying to collect the price on Cordelia's head.  Cordelia Moonstone is going to die soon... and there's nothing she can do about it.  The end is coming in a matter of days.

The Magic Order 5 #4 opens on a lonely, rural Texas road in 1978.  This is the story of how Clyde Bailey ended up with three demons inside him.  He eventually tamed the demons and tried to make up for the wrong he did because they controlled him.  Now, doing good means saving Cordelia.  But there are so many magical denizens after her – from “Skin-Walker Sam” the magical hit-man to the magical world's most attractive bounty hunter, who has been sent by Sister Moon.

Meanwhile, after kidnapping and killing boys for years, Grandmaster Samuel Mott and his splinter group, “the Fellowship of the Bell,” believe that they have finally found the boy with the “bell” inside his small body.  It is the bell that will summon the Fellowship's ancient gods.

THE LOWDOWN:  This is the second time that I have been on any kind of list that provides PDF copies of titles published by Dark Horse Comics.  The latest received is The Magic Order 5 #4.

It is possible for each issue of The Magic Order 5 to be crazier than the previous issue, and I know that because issue #4 is nuttier than issue #3.  And that's a good thing.  However, The Magic Order has always been slickly produced, no matter how dark the narrative became, but now, the darkness seems paramount to drama, which scares me as much as it attracts me.

Millar certainly benefits from an artist who uses his favorite drawing implements to transform his scripts into glorious graphical storytelling (comic book storytelling).  Line by line, artist Matteo Buffagni creates a world of such fearsome darkness, treacherous magic, and magical treachery that mesmerizes the reader.  In the end, Buffagni makes The Magic Order 5 one of the best comic book series about magic ever published in North America.

The glorious hues of Giovanna Niro are a symphony of colors of light that accentuate the spellbinding aura of this narrative.  Finally, there is Clem Robins – reliable Clem Robins, and his lettering is the soundtrack of this deadly game of thrones and bones.

The Magic Order 5 is plotting something mind-bending; that I know, dear readers.  Don't miss the twenty-first century's best American comic book about wizards and sorcerers.  It's a shame that this is supposedly the final entry in the series.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar and of The Magic Order will want to read The Magic Order 5.

A+

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

This series is collected in the trade paperback, "THE MAGIC ORDER VOLUME 5," is available in a Kindle edition at Amazon.

https://www.mrmarkmillar.com/

https://twitter.com/mrmarkmillar

https://twitter.com/netflix

https://twitter.com/themagicorder

http://www.millarworld.tv/

https://www.darkhorse.com/

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

-------------------------

Amazon wants me to inform/remind you that any affiliate links found on this page are PAID ADS, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on affiliate links like these, BOOKS PAGE, GRAPHIC NOVELS, or MANGA PAGE and BUY something(s).

#IReadsYou Review: HARLEY QUINN X ELVIRA #1

HARLEY QUINN X ELVIRA VOLUME 1 #1 (OF 6)

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti

ART: Amanda Conner; Juan Samu

COLORS: Amanda Conner; Walter Pereya

LETTERS: Dave Lanphear

EDITORS: Joseph Rybandt and Chris Conroy

EDITORIAL CONSULTANT: David Avallone

COVER: Amanda Conner

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Chad Hardin; Joseph Michael Linsner; Ben Caldwell; Mark Spears;

32pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (October 2025)

Rated Teen+

Harley Quinn created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm

Chapter One: “Stage Spite”

In 1981, actress and model Cassandra Peterson created the “horror hostess character” known as “Elvira.”  Elvira gradually grew in popularity and eventually became a brand name.  As Elvira, Peterson endorsed many products and became a pitch-woman, appearing in numerous television commercials throughout the 1980s.  Elvira first starred in her own comic book back in the mid-1980s.  Beginning with 2018's Elvira Mistress of the Dark #1, Elvira has been the star of numerous comic book series that were written by David Avallone and published by Dynamite Entertainment.

DC Comics villain, Harley Quinn, originated as a character on the animated television series, “Batman: The Animated Series” (FOX Network, 1992).  Created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, Harley debuted in the episode “Joker’s Favor” (September 11, 1992), as a female sidekick of The Joker and his eventual accomplice.  Harley made her first comic book appearance in The Batman Adventures #12 (cover dated: September 1993), DC Comics’ comic book spin-off of the animated series.  Harley Quinn became the star of her own DC Comics' ongoing series, beginning in 2000.

Now, Elvira and Harley Quinn unite in the new six-issue miniseries, Harley Quinn x Elvira Volume 1.  It is written by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti; drawn by Conner and Juan Samu; colored by Conner and Walter Pereya; and lettered by Dave Lanphear.  Official Elvira comic book writer David Avallone is acting as an editorial consultant.  In this new series, Harley Quinn convinces Elvira to unite in throwing the greatest Halloween party Brooklyn has ever seen.

Harley Quinn x Elvira Volume 1 #1 (“Stage Spite”) opens in another one of Harley Quinn's funky dreams.  These dreams are apparently a sign that the “Clown Princess of Crime” is frustrated and needs to do something to get her groove back, according to her partner, “Big Tony.”  But what to do?  When Harley spots a billboard promoting the television program of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark on Station 51Z, Harley has an idea.  All she needs to do is find Elvira.

Meanwhile, Elvira's boss at 51Z, Sidney Spellman, is cleaning house and Elvira loses everything.  Well, Elvira's new friend Harley Quinn has an idea that's just crazy enough to make things better for both of them.  Together, they are going to throw the greatest Halloween party the borough of Brooklyn has ever seen – whether the borough likes it or not.

THE LOWDOWN:  Since July 2021, Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department has been providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  One of them is Harley Quinn x Elvira Volume 1: Issue 1.

I knew what to expect from Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti as writers of Harley Quinn comic books.  They are among the best Harley Quinn storytellers and have been doing their damn thing with more consistency and longevity than any others.  However, I was not sure how they would be at writing Elvira as a comic book character, especially because David Avallone, the writer of modern Elvira comic books, is so damn good at it.  I must say that I'm pleasantly surprised at Conner and Palmiotti's turn on the character, with their Elvira being a bit more subdued and also droll instead of sporting her usual sterling acerbic and screwball comic book interpretation.

This series' main artist is Elvira comics regular, Juan Samu, although Amanda Conner does draw and color several pages here.  Samu brings life to Conner and Palmiotti's script, creating a candy-coated confection of madness with a slight touch of the macabre.  Colorist Walter Pereya drops a castle's worth of Neapolitan ice cream over Samu's art that turns this story into a dessert bar for the eyes.  Dave Lanphear's lettering is the final flourish that makes this story feel like static electricity dancing across the pages.

Honestly, I didn't expect much from Harley Quinn x Elvira Volume 1, mainly because I have been underwhelmed by previous Harley Quinn team-ups.  But it was time for me to get to this debut issue as the second issue approaches.  So should you, dear readers.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Elvira and of Harley Quinn comic books will want to read Harley Quinn x Elvira Volume 1.

A-

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

A Kindle edition of HARLEY QUINN X ELVIRA #1 is available at Amazon. The trade paperback and hardcover editions of this entire series are also available at Amazon.

https://x.com/DynamiteComics

https://www.dynamite.com/htmlfiles/

https://www.facebook.com/DynamiteComics/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNOH4PEsl8dyZ2Tj7XUlY7w

https://www.linkedin.com/company/dynamite-entertainment

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