Look, there are a lot of comics out there. Too many. We can never hope to have in-depth conversations about all of them. But, we sure can round up some of the more noteworthy titles we didn’t get around to from the week. Today, Spencer, Drew, and Shane discuss The Woods 7, Batman Eternal 31, Spider-Verse Team-Up 1, The Legendary Star-Lord 5, Swamp Thing 36, and Tooth and Claw 1.

Spencer: The last few issues of James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas’ The Woods have been character studies, combining flashbacks with the kids’ adventures on the distant moon in order to further flesh out its cast, and while this method has had much success, the story was starting to lose some of its forward momentum in the process. Fortunately, issue 7 fixes that by combining another successful character study with some pretty massive revelations, and it may just be the best issue yet.

So, first thing first: the moon is a weapon, and somebody who only Adrian can hear wants him to use it. Dialynas and colorist Josan Gonzalez absolutely knock this sequence out of the park, but I’m most impressed by the new context it provides; the citizens of the woods are no longer as “evil” as they initially seemed, while Adrian is suddenly much more dangerous. The sudden swapping of alignments, set off by one new piece of information, has opened the door to all kinds of thrilling new possibilities.

Still, the star of the issue is without a doubt Ben Stone. Flashbacks provide some fascinating insight into his life, particularly in regards to Ben’s father, who is liberal and enthusiastically accepting with his lesbian daughter, yet unwittingly burdens his closeted son with the expectation of grandchildren. It goes a long way towards explaining how shy and hesitant Ben is, and leads to the thoroughly satisfying moment where Ben finally proclaims his love for Isaac, but I’ve gotta say, the most interesting part of this issue to me is still the exploration of how even the most well-meaning and progressive of parents can harm their children by making assumptions and expressing unnecessary expectations.

After a string of weak issues, Batman Eternal 31 finally puts out the exciting and satisfying installment we’ve all been waiting for. Alfred and Julia Pennyworth take center stage, with Alfred yet again proving how skilled he is by outwitting Bane, while hallucinating, in the midst of a colossal cave-in — wow. Julia’s got her own challenges to overcome, and she’s learning how to work Batman’s equipment and prioritize their missions on the fly in a thoroughly compelling manner. Meanwhile, Hush, Spoiler, and Batman are on a collision course that seems to be promising even more excitement to come next week. With thrilling action, consistent and interesting characterization and clear stakes, this was just the issue I needed to get excited about this title again.

So hey, remember all those cool Spider-Men milling about in the background over in Amazing Spider-Man 9 that the issue just didn’t have time to explore? Well, if you wanna see more of them, then be sure to check out Spider-Verse Team-Up 1. Christos Gage and Robert Stern spin two tales featuring some of the more bizarre Spider-Men out there, and much to my delight, both stories explore the optimism and humor that define the best of the Spider-Men, showing why it’s such an important part of the formula.

That message, combined with about forty pork puns per page, makes for a fun and surprisingly insightful companion to the Spider-Verse crossover.

Drew: Ah, pork puns, will I ever tire of thee? I think I’m still most charmed by how specific everyone is in noting that Spider-Ham is a “cartoon” pig, a detail that they have to say out loud because it’s obviously difficult to express through comic art that only one of the characters in play is supposed to be a cartoon. It’s undoubtedly an important distinction — Spider-Ham notes how common anvil accidents are on his Earth — but one that’s adorably awkward to make.

But I also loved the other story, which followed Six-Arm Spider-Man and Spider-Man Noir in a kind of classic Peter Parker story (albeit through a series of funhouse mirrors). Ultimately, story is about Peter’s morals, but it also gives writer Roger Stern the opportunity to tell a story about the Parker family with a happy ending. All in all, this upbeat issue was a welcome (and unexpected) salve against all of the woefully grim build-up Spider-Verse has gotten in the backups of Amazing Spider-Man, recasting the event as a fun exploration of the themes that make Spider-Man such an enduring character.

Do you ever think about how the twist at the end The Usual Suspects is kind of self-defeating? Like, the reveal that [Spoliers] Verbal was Keyser Söze all along — indeed, the very idea of Keyser Söze — only means anything if we believe Verbal’s story. BUT, all the evidence suggests that he was lying the whole time, which maybe robs the movie of any actual purpose. Sam Humphries and Paco Medina run a similar gambit in The Legendary Star-Lord 5, which focuses on a story that we later learn is being told by someone who has every reason to lie (or, at least, no real reason to tell the truth). Cleverly, Humphries keeps the focus squarely on the telling of the story, rather than the story itself, interrupting the narrative every few pages to keep us aware of its status as a story-within-a-story. It pays off, distracting us from the double-blind that Quill was running all along, lulling us into a rhythm that only feels predictable.

Alec’s battle with the machines intensifies in Swamp Thing 36, and while Alec is able to keep their agents at bay, he may just have forced them into a much more dangerous strategy. The real focus, though, is on how Alec recovers from the attack, sealing off the Green before heading out to reconcile/warn Abby. It’s an emotional reunion, rendered beautifully by Jesus Saiz, but weighing in at only three pages, it feels a little thin. Or maybe I’m missing the forrest for the trees (GREEN PUNS) — Shane, did that reunion leave you feeling satisfied? Between the twist ending and the gorgeous art, does it even matter?

Shane: To be entirely honest, I didn’t notice that the reunion was so short until you mentioned it: despite its lack of length, the sheer weight of that moment allowed that scene to really stick. I was pleased to see very brief allusions to the Future’s End issue of Swamp Thing, and continued acknowledgement of Swamp Thing’s history as a White Lantern. I’m still not entirely sure how that could fix the problems that he and Abby have, but it fascinates me nonethless.

I was excited to read this issue as we build to Soule’s conclusion on the book, and when he teased a stunning last page reveal on his Twitter, I was even more intrigued, but I can’t tell you just how big of a blow it felt when I realized, moments before I flipped to the last page, what was about to happen. I can’t help but wonder if Soule had any of these plans for this character when he introduced her early in his run, or if it was just a happy accident — but I guess, finally, we know why the arc will be called “The Machine Queen.”

A lot of my excitement for that last page reveal came from history established over the past few years, but over in Tooth and Claw 1, Kurt Busiek and Benjamin Dewey are starting an entire world from scratch. We’re treated to an incredibly fascinating world with a status quo I could eagerly read about for ages, but comfortably stable societies aren’t exactly conducive to big adventure, and it’s not long before plans go awry and everything has changed, setting a young canine protagonist in the middle of a magical revolution. There are few writers I’d trust to create such an expansive universe and yet still make a new reader feel firmly at home, and Busiek is pretty much at the absolute top of the list. But he’s definitely not the only powerhouse creative on this title: Dewey proves that he belongs in the big leagues with incredible depictions of just about everything in these forty-something pages, with his art aptly perfected by Jordie Bellaire’s colors. Even the lettering, which I often appreciate but don’t spend much time thinking about, is fundamentally important in setting the tone in this issue, giving Tooth and Claw a bit of the European comics feel.

Drew: It doesn’t hurt that the issue is also 48 pages, giving the team plenty of space to build this world, while also getting an opportunity to characterize Dunstan AND give us the inciting incident for this whole series. Too many other series would be willing to break this issue into a two- or three-issue arc, Busiek knows exactly what’s needed to hook us with a first issue. He doesn’t waste any time (and at only $2.99 for a double-sized book, he doesn’t ask us to waste any money), giving the series a refreshingly energized feel. I can’t wait to see where this goes.

The conversation doesn’t stop there, because you certainly read something that we didn’t. What do you wanna talk about from this week?