Welcome to a special edition of Parlay Points, the comic book review blog for the ODPH podcast!

Logo credit: New York Comic Con (Reed Pop)

For this entry, we’re recapping Day 1 of the biggest weekend of 2023 for Pop Culture : New York Comic Con! With a very excited crowd inside the Javits, there have been some headlines making some noise on Thursday, October 12th. The ODPH podcast is attending as press and here are the stories that caught our attention:

DC Comics announced the return of the “Elseworlds” imprint. If readers are not familiar with the line, it is an imprint that allows creators to tell imaginative tales involving the great DC heroes outside of the current timeline. “Kingdom Come: and “JLA: the Nail” are some classic examples of stories that fit this line. “Batman: Nightfire” and ”Green Lantern: Dusk” are two of six new titles that are goign to be on fans radars when they debut in early 2024.
GHOST MACHINE is a brand new company that made a BIG splash at NYCC. Led by Jason Fabok, the new company looks win over fans with titles like Rook: Exodus leading the way. I had the chance to catch up with Jason at the Ghost Machine booth and trust me, we will be hearing much about this imprint heading into the new year. Stay Tuned.
For fans of The Walking Dead, there was much news to be excited about. It was announced at the panel that #TheOnesWhoLives, The LONG awaited project featuring Rick and Michonne is FINALLY set to air at February 2024. Fans caught a glimpse of what to expect during the panel. It was also announced that Melissa McBride is set to join the “Daryl Dixon” series which wraps up season one on October 15th.
There’s more stories to discuss so keep your eyes on ODPH social media along with Nerd Initiative and don’t miss all the breaking news from the big event in the Big Apple…..Till next time

Welcome to an all new edition of Parlay Points, the complementary comic book blog to the ODPH podcast! For this entry, We’re checking out a brand new series by Boom Studios that has a great deal of hype behind it! DAMN THEM ALL #1 by Simon Spurrier, Charlie Adlard, Sofie Dodgson, Shayne Hannah Cui, and Jim Campbell welcomes comic readers to the world of Ellie "Bloody El" Hawthorne. What is all the hype about this issue you ask? Considering Adlard was the longtime artist on a book you might have heard of called “The Walking Dead”, that’s gonna make some noise. Factor in the rest of the creative team & there’s something big happening here. Let’s take a deeper dive into the debut and see, shall we?

DAMN THEM ALL #1 - On Sale October 26th
Creative: Simon Spurrier, Charlie Adlard, Sofie Dodgson, Shayne Hannah Cui, and Jim Campbell
Credit: Boom Studios

*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***

The book opens up with a moment between Ellie and her uncle Alfie. The scenes (from Ellie’s point of view) shows how she is being taught magic. Obviously, this never comes easy and readers see how her early supernatural struggles play out. It closes on a fun scene as something is conjured up. However, that’s when the good times appear to end.

After a stop in the book, readers are taken into present day as they are now witnessing Alfie’s Funeral. An eclectic group of characters show up to pay their respects. It’s not exactly who you would think would attend but it gives the readers some insight into how respected and powerful Alfie really was. There is an exchange between a mobster (“Frankie Wax”) and a mysterious female during the ceremony. This transfers over to the post gathering. The female in question shifts from Frankie to look for Ellie. When they finally meet, their time is interrupted by thugs looking for Frankie.

At this stage, the situation goes completely off the rails. Readers won’t expect what comes next. The events take Ellie on a crazy path where she will have to fill in for her Uncle and become a problem solver. Can she step up to the task? What was unleashed in the results of her uncle’s passing? There’s a lot happening within these pages and is capped off by a solid final parting shot to raise more questions.

Very good first issue.In case anyone isn’t familiar with Spurrier’s work, he’s done Hellblazer in the past. That is a big plus when you have to write involving the supernatural. Ellie Hawthorne hits the ground running being an interesting character to watch. Spurrier writes her as someone finding the way out of her uncle’s shadow and into her own path. There’s many new characters that just scratched the surface of this story. That said, it will take another issue or two to see who plays a serious role in this tale. Nothing bad with that as this issue primarily focused on Ellie, Frankie Wax and a mysterious officer from New Orleans. Pacing was fine and the story covered a lot of ground. Cliffhanger ending will keep many readers engaged for next issue

Adlard brings a unique style to this book. Balancing the supernatural to the normal life can be difficult but with these pages, it works well. There’s no bigger moment of this than the Wake after the burial of Alfie. The events mesh well. The actions scenes jump out and the effects of the “supernatural party crashers” stand out with the difference in coloring (credit to Dodgson and Cui). Even with the book grounded in normacy, Adlard and company present Hawthorne’s daily life with a symmetry all its own.

Final Point: Damn Them All #1 welcomes readers into the crossroads of the supernatural and routine life. Ellie Hawthrone brings readers along for her entry into the family business as Spurrier, Adlard and the team set her up for quite the journey moving forward. Don’t miss this book when it drops at the local comic shop this week.

Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what you thought of Damn Them All #1. Thanks for reading.

NYCC 2023 - DAY 1 RECAP

DAMN THEM ALL #1 (BOOM STUDIOS)