As the Grab-Bag subtitle suggests, this is not an issue themed by title. Rather, it was a mix of characters and stories. In addition to the Nick Fury adventure, the stories came from Amazing Spider-Man #24, Hero for Hire #7, Incredible Hulk #147, and Doctor Strange #180. This gave the reader a diverse line-up of top and secondary characters.

Following on the previous issue’s Hate Monger story, we get a smoldering, bluesy Christmas story that sees Fury try to spend the holiday with the beautiful Laura Brown. All that’s missing is a swanky jazz soundtrack. The quiet, romantic moment suddenly turns into an action adventure, and a great Christmas comic. It’s Christmas wrapping around a quiet epic spy vs. terrorist tale.

During the winter solstice, aka the longest night of the year, Sabrina and her coven must save their friend Ali who was kidnapped by a frightening beast and taken into another realm. The second story delivers a flashback to when teenage Zelda and Hilda Spellman break the solstice tradition, and a ghost from their past causes mischief on the special night.

Whether they’ve been outright scary like The Chenoo, over-the-top danger and action like Alien Alamo, smoldering horror-crime-suspense like The Ghosts of Matecumbe Key, or action-horror such as Joe Frankenstein, writer-artist Graham Nolan, the co-creator of Batman foe Bane, has delivered consistently entertaining comics through his Compass Comics imprint.

This issue picks up after Harley and her crew had a chaotic battle with Boffa and his minions, and Elvira was overwhelmed by people desperate for ice cream (naturally, the Gang of Harleys use an ice cream truck). Boffa has sworn to retaliate by hiring someone with superpowers to take them out, which leads Harley to call her old pal, Power Girl, for some backup.

It’s just two issues in, and writer Stephanie Phillips has already put She-Hulk in a very complicated situation. Any feeble attempts at peaceful negotiations quickly went out the window with overt acts of aggression. But, there’s also the possibility of covert actions that could mean that someone is trying to orchestrate a war.

Written by Roy and Dann Thomas, Infinity, Inc. #30 is illustrated by Todd McFarlane and inked by Tony DeZuniga. Roy Thomas, of course, created the series (and in that era had the run of DC’s Golden Age heroes) and McFarlane was well on his way to becoming the Todd McFarlane we know today. Veteran artist DeZuniga was a good match for him on inks.

In 2016, Wonder Woman reached her 75th year in comics and DC commemorated the event with this special 300-page hardcover. Starting with her debut in All Star Comics #8, the book is segmented into topics of “The Amazon,” “The Princess,” “The Ambassador,” and “The Warrior” with issues from each decade.

The Crownsville comic is a ghost story based on the real Crownsville Hospital, an all-Black psychiatric facility that opened early in the 20th century. For years, the hospital was known for overcrowding and neglecting patients, and there were rumors that patients were abused and put through illegal experiments.

Geiger #19 puts a spotlight on one of the recurring characters, The Glowing Woman, Ashley Arden, another person seemingly afflicted in a similar fashion to Tariq Geiger. As we’ve seen in her appearances to date, she has a very different demeanor than Geiger, and she definitely has her own agenda. This story demonstrates that and offers insight as to how she got that way. 

This volume collects Weird Science #12-15, and #5-6, though if you can follow the numbering sequence on this title you’ll want to consider joining our Overstreet Advisors group. The series had previously been known as Happy Houlihans, Saddle Justice, and Saddle Romances, and after #23 would be known as Weird Science-Fantasy, again ostensibly continuing the numbering. These sorts of changes were generally done to avoid the cost of purchasing another mailing permit, which were a premium expense against the thin margins of publishing comics in those days.

Locke & Key creator Joe Hill has this to say about writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips’ recent collaboration: “Reckless is an absolute rush: on the same level as golden age Travis McGee novels and the hardest-hitting Richard Stark stories. This one comes at you as fast as Steve McQueen in a souped-up Mustang and as hard as Charles Bronson with a baseball bat. You gotta have it.”