Derf's Picks of the Week (April 16, 2025)

 

It's the 3rd week of April and we have a lot of catching up to do.

Before I start making picks, what are your thoughts

 on the 1st season of Daredevil: Born Again?

It did not disappoint in my opinion.

I cannot wait until Season 2.

With that said, let's look at the comics I picked this week.

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DARK HORSE

Shadow of the Golden Crane #3

Usagi Yojimbo: Ten Thousand Plums #2

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DC COMICS

Absolute Flash #2

Batman / Superman: World's Finest #38

DC x Sonic the Hedgehog #2

Detective Comics #1096

Nightwing #125

Summer of Superman Special #1

Titans #22

Wonder Woman #20

Zatanna #3

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IDW

Mothra: Queen of the Monsters #2

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #8

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IMAGE

Deadly Tales of the Gunslinger Spawn #5

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero – Spirit #1

King Spawn #44

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MARVEL

Cable: Love and Chrome #4

Daredevil: Unleash Hell – Red Band #4

Exceptional X-Men #8

Godzilla vs. Hulk #1

Power Man: Timeless #3

Sam Wilson: Captain America #4

The Spectacular Spider-Men #14

Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #3

Superior Avengers #1

Ultimate Wolverine #4

Web of Venomverse: Fresh Brains #1

Wolverine #8

X-Factor #9

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Well, that is all for this week.

I hope you found something you will enjoy!

Until next time, get your READ on.

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Comic Cover of the Week

Cable: Love and Chrome #4 (Variant)

MARVEL

Cover Art by Gerardo Sandoval 

Daredevil: Reborn (Official Trailer)

 

I cannot wait until March!

MUSE by Dan Mora

                                                                    

Derf's Picks of the Week (November 22, 2023)

What are you thankful for this year?

As always,  I'm thankful for new comics!

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DARK HORSE

Lunar Lodge #1

Mortal Terror #1

Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories #11

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DC COMICS

Batman: Off-World #1

Batman / Superman: World's Finest #21

Catwoman #59

Green Lantern: War Journal #3

Harley Quinn: Black + White + Redder #5

Hawkgirl #5

Jay Garrick: The Flash #2

Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #2

Justice Society of America #7

Superman #8

Wonder Woman #3

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IDW

Brynmore #5

Star Trek #14

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin (Reissue) #3

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IMAGE

Gunslinger Spawn #26

Hack / Slash: Back to School #2

The Holy Roller #1

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MARVEL

The Amazing Spider-Man #38

Avengers Inc. #3

Captain Marvel #2

Carnage #1

Daredevil: Black Armor #1

The Incredible Hulk #6

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars: Battleworld #1

Moon Knight: City of the Dead #5

Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #40

Star Wars: Dark Droids - D-Squad #3

Uncanny Spider-Man #4

Wolverine #39

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Until next time, get your READ on!

&

Happy Thanksgiving!

Derf's Picks of the Week (September 13, 2023)

 

Something tells me  that the the 2nd Week of September

 is going to be a great week for COMICS.

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BOOM!

Coda #1

Damn Them All #8

Mech Cadets #2

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DARK HORSE

The Alternates #1

Saint John #1

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DC COMICS

Batman and Robin #1

Batman / Catwoman: Prelude to Gotham War #1

Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham #1

Batman Incorporated #12

Green Lantern #3

Superman: Lost #6

Waller vs. Wildstorm #3

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IDW

Star Trek: Picard's Academy #1

Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Echoes #5

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IMAGE

Something Epic #5

Undiscovered Country #25

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MARVEL

Avengers Inc. #1

Daredevil #1

Ghost Rider #18

The Incredible Hulk #4

Star Wars: Darth Vader #38

Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi #1

Venom #25

Venom Annual #1

Werewolf By Night #1

X-Force #44

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Until next time, get your READ on!

Derf's Picks of the Week (2/8/23)

 

There are some really good issues hitting the shelves this week.

Let's see if you agree on my picks for this week.

BOOM!

Harrower #1

DARK HORSE

Space Job #1

Stranger Things: Tales From Hawkins #1

DC COMICS

Lazarus Planet: Next Evolution #1

IDW

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Armageddon Game - The Alliance #4

TMNT: Best of - Krang #1

IMAGE

Blood Stained Teeth #9

Little Monsters #10

Monarch #1

Spawn #338

MARVEL

The Amazing Spider-Man #19

The Avengers: War Across Time #2

Black Panther #14

Captain America: Symbol of Truth #10

Daredevil #8

Ghost Rider #11

Joe Fixit #2

Storm & The Brotherhood of Mutants #1

Until next time, get your READ on!

Derf's Picks of the Week (September 14, 2022)

 

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DC COMICS

Batman: Urban Legends #19

Batman vs. Robin #1

I Am Batman #13

Jurassic League #5

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IMAGE

King Spawn #14

The Bone Orchard Mythos: Ten Thousand Black Feathers #1

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MARVEL

The Amazing Spider-Man #9

Daredevil #3

Edge of Spider-Verse #3

Midnight Suns #1

Ms. Marvel & Venom #1

Predator #2

Spider-Punk #5

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Until next time, get your READ on!!!

Saturday Showcase: Silvermane

 

My Saturday Showcases are continuing to feature the characters announced for the Amazon Exclusive Marvel Legends Spider-Man Five Pack.  Today's showcase is on the mobster known as Silvermane.  

Silvio Manfredi, nicknamed "Silvermane" for his near-white hair, is a professional criminal originally from Corleone, Sicily that started his criminal career as a racketeer in the Maggia, eventually forming his own crime family and becoming a powerful Maggia Don.

In his first appearance, an elderly Silvermane forced Dr. Curt Connors to make a potion from an ancient clay tablet in order to grant himself immortality. He first crossed paths with Conners's alter-ego, the Lizard, and Spider-Man during this scheme. Drinking the serum made Silvermane younger, but its effects caused him to de-age further and further until he was a infant before completely disappearing.

 

Silvermane eventually reappeared, as allvillains do, revealing that he had mystically aged to his forties. He started a new career and again quickly rose through the Maggia's ranks until he regained control of his family, then sought to form an alliance with Hydra, determined to take over the world as their leader, the Supreme Hydra. He was defeated by Daredevil, Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.  

Silvermane reappeared in New York in an attempt to unite all of New York's gangs under his leadership and take over the criminal underworld, but his plans were complicated by the Green Goblin, who opposed him. During a confrontation between the Goblin, Silvermane and Spider-Man, Silvermane fell from a great height but survived.

In his old age, Silvermane's injuries caused his youth serum to wear off, rendering him an invalid. Though bedridden, he continued to run his criminal empire until Dagger nearly killed him. Silvermane attempted to prolong his life by transforming himself into a cyborg.  Kingpin gained control of his cyborg body until Dagger restored his life energy to him. His cyborg body was badly damaged by the first Jack O'Lantern during a gang war between Hammerhead and the Kingpin. 

Silvermane used a remote-controlled android doppelganger to battle Spider-Man. This was part of an attempt to boost the power of his remaining organic parts by harvesting new ones from Spider-Man's body. He attempted to drain his nemesis's radioactive blood to power a new, much stronger cyborg body.   

Silvermane has also had conflicts with Deathrock, the Punisher (on several occasions), and many rival "kingpins" of crime.  He has met death more than once but he always seems to find a way back.

Publication Information

Publisher: Marvel Comics

First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #73 (June 1969)

Created by Stan Lee (writer) & John Buscema (artist)

Alter Ego: Silvio Manfredi

Team Affiliations:

• The Maggia

• HYDRA

Notable Aliases: Supreme Hydra

Abilities

• Superb hand to hand combatant

• Excellent marksman

• Brilliant strategist and organizer

• Superhuman strength and senses via cyborg body

• Use of various handguns

Until next time, get your READ on!!!

Derf's Picks of the Week (July 13, 2022)

IDW

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #295

 The Kill Lock: The Artisan Wraith #5

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Armageddon Game - Opening Moves #1

Transformers: Best of the Beasts #1

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IMAGE

A Town Called Terror #4

Impact Winter #1

King Spawn #12

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MARVEL

Daredevil #1

Moon Knight #13

Punisher #4

Spider-Man 2099: Exodus #4

Spider-Punk #3

Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #25

Star Wars: The Mandalorian #1

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Until next time, get your READ on!

Sunday Showcase: Leap-Frog

 

With my new work schedule known, I can no longer do a Saturday Showcase.  So, with that said, I am now going to do a Sunday Showcase instead.  For my first Sunday Showcase, I am posting about a character I saw in the trailer for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.  Now, some comic fanes are arguing if the character is Leap-Frog or the Frog Man.  Well, by his build in the trailer and the synopsis for the show, I believe it is the villain known as Leap-Frog.  

Leap-Frog aka Vincent Patilio was created to be a Daredevil Villain by Stan "the Man" Lee & Gene Colan back in the '60s.  A former toy inventor, Vincent Patilio set out to make some money by embarking on a criminal career after he created a pair of electrically-powered jumping coils. He was not the best career criminal, but he was a force to be reckoned with.  He first appeared in Daredevil #25 back in '66.  He was honored that such a note-worthy hero was on his tail, but the honor would soon be replaced with regret when Daredevil captured him and had him arrested.

Daredevil was not the only hero that he would face,  He teamed himself up with some Iron Man villains under the employment of Justin Hammer who wanted Iron Man and Tony Stark dead so that his company could take over Stark Industries.  However, Iron Man had other plans.

Powers & Abilities

• Enhanced Strength
• Enhanced Agility
• Ability to jump very high as well as great distances 
• Hand to Hand Combat
• Creative Inventor

Aliases

• Croaky
• Froggy
• Vinnie
• the Mighty Leap-Frog

First Appearance

Daredevil #25 (December 1966)

Until next time, get your READ on!

Derf's Picks of the Week

Daredevil 2099

    It's the return of Derf's Picks of the Week right here on Derf's Domain.  The site Somewhatnerdy that I used to write for is calling it quits and will start purging in January.  So, if you want to catch some of my old interviews, you might want to head over there soon.  With that said, let's see what comics I picked for this week shall we?

DARK HORSE

CRONE #1 (OF 5)

GRENDEL DEVILS ODYSSEY #2 (MR)

DC COMICS

BATMAN #82

BATMAN UNIVERSE #5 (OF 6)

DEATHSTROKE #49

GREEN LANTERN BLACKSTARS #1 (OF 3)

INFECTED KING SHAZAM #1

JUSTICE LEAGUE #35

WONDER TWINS #9 (OF 12)

DYNAMITE

KISS ZOMBIES #1

IDW

TRANSFORMERS #14 

IMAGE

SPAWN #302

MARVEL

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #33 

DOCTOR DOOM #2

FANTASTIC FOUR #16

GHOST RIDER #2

NEW MUTANTS #1 

SPIDER-MAN & VENOM DOUBLE TROUBLE #1 (OF 4)

X-FORCE #1

YONDU #1 (OF 5)

Not a bad list if I do say so myself.  I hope you saw something you will enjoy.

Until next time, get your READ on!

Saturday Showcase: Ikari

    Ikari is one of those characters who had potential to be a major player in the Marvel Universe.  I understand, he was created to challenge and possibly assassinate Daredevil, but he had so much more to offer.  I mean Bullseye started as villain for Daredevil but has since had fights with New York's finest heroes like the Punisher as well as Spider-Man.  So to limit Ikari to just Daredevil was a mistake in my opinion.  That is why he is the focus of today's Saturday Showcase.

Ikari

    Ikari was first introduced in 2013.  He was created by the team of Mark Waid and Chris Samnee.  His first appearance was Daredevil Vol. 3, #25 and he was the assassin hired by Bullseye to help Lady Bullseye kill the Daredevil once and for all.  Ikari was also paid by the Kingpin to kidnap Foggy Nelson and Kirsten McDuffie , friends of Matt Murdock, to serve as an insurance policy that the Daredevil would have to fight Ikari.  This was no ordinary fight, it was a fight to the death.

    Matt and Ikari fought for hours and Ikari almost got the job done until someone interrupted the battle.  Who was that someone?  Well, it was none other than the Shroud.  You see, the Shroud's girlfriend was taken by the Kingpin and he wanted revenge.  I believe Fisk thought the Shroud was broken down and would have helped him, but in the end he ruined Fisk's plans and killed Ikari with a Darkforce construct (Daredevil Vol. 4, #17).  Ikari's body disappeared from the ambulance, but his severed head was later seen hanging on the wall of Kraven's trophy room (Captain America #697).

Death at the hands of the Shroud

    Here is what I feel should have happened.  I feel, Ikari could have been stopped without the Shroud killing him.  I think Ikari would have been a good villain to introduce to Moon Knight, the Punisher, Spider-Man or even Iron Fist.  His name means fury in Japanese for Pete's sake!  It wouldn't be the first time a villain was introduced in one title and then become a mainstay in another.  For example, Sabretooth was introduced as an Iron Fist villain way before he took on Wolverine or the X-men.  

  All I am saying is, they had a kick ass villain and they just kill him off after 2 years. Sure, it's the world of comics and it wouldn't be unheard of for Ikari to come back but that would mean a back story to explain what happened.  Unless of course they bring him back in the next Secret or Infinity War, LoL.  I really hope we see him again but until then, get your READ on!

Everybody was Kung-Fu fighting...

Saturday Showcase: Typhoid Mary

    Today's Showcase revolves around a popular villain who has ties to the Kingpin and who has battled Spider-Man, Daredevil, the Iron Fist, as well as the Punisher and has lived to talk about it.  Her name is Mary Alice Walker but you may know her as Typhoid Mary.

    Mary first hit the shelves in Daredevil issue #254 back in May of '88.  Little was known about Mary besides the fact that she was insane and the Kingpin's deadliest assassin.  I guess that is why the first hero she tangled with was Daredevil, a constant thorn in the Kingpin's side.

First Appearance: Daredevil #254 May '88

    Earlier, I mentioned that Mary was insane.  That is because she has three personalities.  "Mary" is quiet and timid, "Typhoid Mary" is adventurous, lustful, and dangerous, and "Bloody Mary" is a brutal, sadistic killing machine.  In her origin, we see that Mary was once a lover of Matt Murdock and he "hurt" her to the point she would not let anyone hurt her again. This is why she teams with Fisk and becomes his deadliest assassin only to be foiled by her ex, Daredevil.  

    Like I said earlier, she has had some run ins with some of New York's best and has lived to tell about it.  She has also battled Wolverine and walked away (as seen in Typhoid Kiss). She has been in many Marvel games as well as cartoon appearances, but nothing compares to what Mary has in store for 2018.  First, she has a new kick ass figure from the Marvel Legends line, the Venom series.  Second, there is a major story arc that sees her return to Marvel comics in October, but Third and most importantly, she will appear on the 2nd season of Iron Fist.  It is still secretive on exactly home much Mary will play a part in Season 2, but I hope she is the bad ass on screen as she is in the comics.

Typhoid Mary Marvel Legends, Venom series

    If you want to know more about Mary, I would suggest going to the Marvel site and do some reading, especially since she is making a comeback.  Until next time unleash your inner NERD.

Typhoid Mary Marvel Page

Comics You Should Read: the Defenders (2017)

     I am here once again to tell you about comics that I think you should be reading. The topic today is the 2017 line-up of the Defenders.  First of all, let me just say I have been a Defenders fan since back in the day.  My favorite line-up took place in the 70's but that is a different story.  Today we are talking about the team that consists of Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, the Iron Fist, and finally the Daredevil.

     As many of you already know, Netflix is producing a series about this very team after the success of each character's series already on Netflix.  So, I am sure this what made MARVEL decide to create another run of the Defenders to give the fans a little taste of what's going on and what possibly could happen in the series.

     Well, issue #1 starts with the team being targeted, in fact Jessica is in the hospital after being shot. (Free Comic Book Day Edition of Defenders)  The team scramble to find out who was the shooter only to find out that Diamondback is back from the dead and whats vengeance.  So, now they know the who but still don't know the how (is he alive) or the what to do.  As usual Cage goes after him on his own, only to fall into a trap. 

     In issue #2, we find Luke at the Night Nurse's infirmary after Black Cat dropped him off.  While Jessica is caught up to date on what happened, Blade comes by with a little something that will help Cage recover quickly.  Once the team is ready to regroup, they go out looking for answers only to find more trouble in their way in the form of the Punisher.  God, I cannot wait until issue #3 is released!

    I tried not to ruin the stories too much because I want you to read them for yourself, hence the title of this segment.  I give this series a strong 9 out of 10.  It would have been a perfect 10, but I was not one who had the FCBD edition of the Defenders, so I was kind of lost at first.  However, in hindsight, the book does explain things out so you really do not need the issue.  Start with #1 and move on.  I love how the issues have tied into each Netflix series in so many ways and I cannot wait to see what other crossovers that the writers have in store.

Until next time, get your READ on!

Classic Cover of the Day ~ THORsday Edition

Classic Cover of the Day ~ THORSday Edition

the Mighty Thor#392

Vol. 1

Marvel Comics

Derf's Comic Picks of the Week

http://somewhatnerdy.com/home/derfs-comic-picks-of-the-week-27/

Stay Warm, Stay Safe, and get your READ on!

My follow-up interview with David Mack

Here is the link to my follow-up interview with the great David Mack.

 

http://somewhatnerdy.com/home/a-follow-up-interview-with-david-mack/

 

 

Daredevil: Dark Nights #1

 

Daredevil; Dark Knights is a collection of stories about Daredevil that we have not seen or heard yet. The first storyline is called Angels Unaware and issue #1 is titled Whiteout.  It is written and drawn by Lee Weeks and colored by Lee Loughridge.  I know this series is only supposed to be an eight issue run, but if all the writing is as good as this first issue, I would hope they make more than eight.

Issue #1 starts with Daredevil passed out in the snow, hence the title "Whiteout".  Anyway, the next pages tells us how Matt ended up face-up in the snow. It turns out that Matt was found unconscious in the snow and was brought to a hospital.  There we realize he has amnesia and doesn't know who he is.

While he is sedated, a nurse on duty is determined to find out who he is and recruits another nurse to open the briefcase that was by his body.  What they find next shocks them.  They now know that their John Doe is none other than the Daredevil.  At this moment, Matt awakens and remembers why he was there.  What was Daredevil doing out in a blizzard?  Well, true believers, you need to get the issue to figure that out.

I give this issue a perfect rating of 10 out of 10.  Until next time, Happy Reading!

 

 

Daredevil vs Johnny Punk

Daredevil by Neal Adams

Great DD art done by none other than the great Neal Adams.

Happy Holidays

Another favorite from the blog Kirby Vision.