Comic Book Reviews (Week January 21, 2026): Wiccan: Witches’ Road Issue 2, Exquisite Corpses Issue 9, and More!

Welcome to my comic book review roundup for the week of January 21, 2026. I ended up reading Wiccan: The Witches’ Road issue 2, Exquisite Corpses issue 9, Everything Dead and Dying issue 5, and more.

Of course, I will begin by talking about Wiccan: Witches’ Road issue 2 by writer Wyatt Kennedy with artist Andy Pereira on pencils and Bryan Valenza on color. The debut chapter had Wiccan and Hulkling walking into a mysterious cottage in the forest and being trapped by the iconic Baba Yaga. The second installment continued Wiccan’s interaction with Baba Yaga while Teddy remained encased in wax. Being a 5-issue long miniseries, I liked how Kennedy delivered a lot of information to set the stage for Wiccan vs Kid Demiurge Host.

From what I could understand, even though Billy was supposed to become the Demiurge and control the very power that created magic in the Marvel Comics Universe, he lost his place due to focusing too much on events occurring away from Earth and the magical cosmos. I mean, I can understand the Demiurge being petty and ignoring Billy in such a manner. Billy, as the future Demiurge, should be paying a lot more attention to the magical side of the Marvel Comic Universe instead of supporting his husband through space politics 24/7.

The narrative has stakes. I think it’s safe to assume that Billy will reinstate his destiny as the Demiurge by the end of this story. But, until then, I’m excited to see Billy battle Kid Demiurge Host and tap into his potential as an elemental wizard.

As for Wiccan’s dynamic with Baba Yaga, yeah, he shouldn’t trust her one bit. However, he didn’t have a choice right now. That’s why it made sense for Billy to go along with Baba Yaga’s plan of retrieving a bunch of ingredients necessary (according to her!) to reconnect the bond between Wiccan and the Demiurge. I can sense a betrayal coming soon. Fingers crossed that Billy has a counter ready. And for those wondering, yeah, I don’t trust that nameless fox either.

Teddy did accompany Billy on the mission to collect the ingredients. However, I’m not a fan of Teddy being turned into a little puppet for Billy to carry around. Teddy’s basically a Labubu. And while that’s funny to think about, I was expecting Teddy to do more, even though it’s a Billy-centric adventure.

With Billy having to face dangerous threats, including a kid who is supposed to be the new host for the Demiurge, I’m interested in seeing how Billy will come out victorious while having no access to his magical powers. Also, Storm will be showing up soon. The young elemental wizard-to-be can benefit from advice offered by a Weather Goddess.

Does it have obvious queer representation? Yes!

Recommendation: Pick it up!

Exquisite Corpses Issue 9

From co-writers Tyler Boss and James Tynion IV, Exquisite Corpses issue 9 continued to raise the stakes for the players as well as the civilians. While not a lot happened for me to talk about in review form, what did happen laid the groundwork for certain upsets coming very soon.

Most readers might have already caught up to the rule I’m going to mention. With how the game was set up, the fighter didn’t matter to the family. What mattered in the end was the weapon the sole surviving fighter held. The moment a fighter picked up the weapon of another player after killing them, that particular fighter could be chosen to represent the family the weapon belonged to.

It’s an interesting rule that allowed certain families to keep playing as long as their weapon was being used by a fighter who was still alive on the board. We know that Lady Carolina doesn’t have access to her family-given weapon anymore. Thus, making her unable to win for her family, even if she survived the entire game. However, if she could pick up the dead Lone Gunman’s weapon, she could have a chance at being selected as a killer for another family.

As the comic book put it, the final killer standing with the final weapon won the game.

I’m so here for Lady Carolina trying to retrieve the gun. I just have my fingers crossed that Laura, who presently has the gun, can make it out alive. She did find out how much money her beloved uncle was paid to run away from Oak Valley. So, I would like to see Laura grappling with that realization.

A tense situation arose with Mike trying to use a radio to broadcast on a frequency meant for community members who didn’t trust the government. Similar to Laura, I wanted Mike to stop talking because he was unaware that the people he was sharing his location with were part of the game. At least, Laura was able to share a location with Mike to meetup at. I really need the survivors to teamup already. However, things are only going to escalate due to their radio conversation being tapped.

In related news, there’s a live-action Exquisite Corpses movie in the works. As someone who has been enjoying reading this series, I can see it working as an engaging horror/action flick.

Does it have obvious queer representation? Yes!

Recommendation: Pick it up!

Everything Dead and Dying Issue 5

From writer Tate Brombal and art by Jacob Phillips, I knew that the finale of Everything Dead and Dying miniseries was going to be heartbreaking. And while Brombal and Phillips delivered on the expectations, I appreciated the narrative at least leaving readers with a bit of hope for troubled lead Jack.

Due to everything around him crashing down because of the group of human survivors not willing to understand the life he had created for himself, the final chapter had Jack trying to cling onto anything he could grasp. He thought that getting rid of the humans would be enough to bring his small town back in order. But wherever Jack turned, he was hit with the harsh reality that he had only been delaying the inevitable. Things were never going to be as they were. Jack’s house of cards had finally collapsed.

Even though I know that I’m not supposed to side with Jack, I have to say that Brombal has done an impressive job in only five issues to make readers empathize with Jack’s position. Heck, even Jack was aware that what he was doing wasn’t right. But I couldn’t blame him for clinging to his “perfect” life in a town secluded from the rest of the world.

The narrative seamlessly wove the present events with emotional flashbacks, with a major turn (which was bound to happen) forcing Jack to face the music when trying to reach out to Daisy. Ugh! My heart. I really want to see Everything Dead and Dying being adapted into a live-action miniseries or a movie. Give me something. The story’s so great, you would have to be very bad at your job to mess it up in live-action.

A primary narrative theme in Everything Dead and Dying is about valuing life. I mean, yeah, it has zombies in it, but if you think about it, we all start dying the moment we are born. Living is simply a death race. However, the memories we create while living do matter, and making the most of life involves finding the strength to accept reality and mustering the courage to keep going.

Does it have obvious queer representation? Yes!

Recommendation: PICK IT UP!

Disney ‘The Sword in the Stone: Arthur’s Magical Kingdom’ – Volume 1

I was provided with a free digital copy of Disney ‘The Sword in the Stone: Arthur’s Magical Kingdom’ – Volume 1 for review. The opinions I have shared are my own.

From co-writers Michael Snow and Gabriel Valentin, with the illustrator being Lorenzo Colangeli, Arthur’s Magic Kingdom served as an enjoyable sequel to the classic animated movie. It showed young Arthur having trouble getting used to being a King, with most of his day spent trying to meet demands and fulfill requests across his Kingdom. But fortunately for him, Merlin soon returned to offer yet another lesson. I liked how the narrative explored Arthur being unsure about his destiny. It wasn’t as if he wished to become King one day. It was all, understandably, too much for a kid.

Merlin’s lesson was about how great leaders prepare for the worst. Having said that, another quality of a great leader is learning from their mistakes and knowing how to do better when faced with yet another obstacle. The lesson also involved how Kings should have the ability to see both the perspective of being a royal and that of their subjects.

While Arthur’s busy with Merlin, we got to see Madam Mim trying to figure out a way to get revenge. Her duel with Merlin had messed up her powers. Whenever she tried to conjure something horrible, the spell would backfire and create something cute. That’s where Brea (a new character) entered the stage, being introduced as Madam Mim’s niece. Frankly, I could have done without a new character being added to the story, but I understood Brea’s existence in context. Brea was used to showcase Madam Mim’s self-centered nature, as well as how one’s family doesn’t dictate what a person decides to live their life.

Seeing Arthur defeat Madam Mim by using his brain instead of trying to attack her with a sword (especially because he’s not an experienced swordsman yet) was nice. He had learned from Merlin about anticipating changing patterns and using them to his advantage.

Was such a sequel story needed? Not necessarily. But it was still fun to return to the world, considering the original animated movie was released all the way back in 1963. And yeah, reading the graphic novel led me to rewatch Merlin vs Madam Mim from the movie.

Does it have obvious queer representation? No.

Recommendation: Pick it up.

Disney Mulan: Mulan’s Adventure Journal – Volume 1

I was provided with a free digital copy of Disney Mulan: Mulan’s Adventure Journal – Volume 1 for review. The opinions I have shared are my own.

By writer Rhona Cleary, with Agnese Innocente, Ilaria Urbinati, and Gaia Cardinali on the art, Mulan’s Adventure Journal picks up after the events of the original Mulan animated movie. With Mulan trying to settle back into her home setting, the Emperor requires her help again to unravel a group of people out to kill him. The threat is from within the castle walls and apparently Mulan’s the only one the Emperor could count on due to her skill at hiding her true identity and operating in spaces she’s not used to.

I understood the Emperor’s strategy, but come on, that’s a lot of pressure to put on my girl Mulan. There’s a difference between pretending to be a man while serving in the army and walking around the castle filled with political shenanigans. As expected, Mulan felt way more anxious when learning the proper etiquette of interacting with important individuals compared to her learning how to fight. We all know that Mulan isn’t the one to be constrained by women-centric societal norms.

The “journal” part of the title came in the form of Mulan’s journal entries that shared her thoughts and emotions as she tried to prove her worth as someone the Emperor could depend upon. The entries are accompanied by some beautiful watercolor drawings, which I assume are supposed to be by Mulan. My girl is a fighter and an artist.

There’s a lot of self-doubt in the entries. And they do make sense in context. However, if I’m being frank, the entries weren’t required because I feel that the scenes occurring in “real-life” were enough for the readers to understand Mulan’s emotional state and how things weren’t going the way she wanted them to. The entries just felt like they were simply repeating information.

I liked Mulan’s dynamic with Princess Lian Mei. Even though that storyline unfolded as expected, I’m here for more scenes with Mulan interacting with other women and understanding their perspectives while they lived in the metaphorical walls formed around them by a male-dominant society.

As someone who is a fan of Mulan (Fa Mulan is part of my name after all), I enjoyed seeing Mulan on another mission that brought up a whole other set of obstacles for her to overcome. It’s definitely a lot better than what the animated sequel Mulan II (2004) gave the fandom. I would like more such adventures.

Disney Mulan: Mulan’s Adventure Journal is currently available for preorder from comic shops (FOC: January 26, 2026), bookstores, and the Papercutz website. It will arrive in bookstores on February 17, 2026, and in comic shops on February 18, 2026.

Does it have obvious queer representation? No (considering Li Shang a bisexual icon is a whole other discussion.)

Recommendation: Pick it up.

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Did you read Wiccan: Witches’ Road issue 3? Which other comic books did you enjoy?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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