On a gorgeous summer day in Boulder, Colorado, Honeysuckle nervously awaits the arrival of her girlfriend Yolanda who is moving in. Their relationship is filled with romance and rife with opportunity.  They are surrounded by those who accept their relationship wholeheartedly, like Yolanda’s mother, and those who aren’t quite sure what to make of it, like their neighbor, Mr. Waldman. Even the kid next door, Blake, is cute and charming in all the right ways. It would be a happy time if the death of everything that Honeysuckle has ever known and loved wasn’t right around the corner.

Kidnapped and with his liver removed, Matt fights for survival, but just when he thinks all is lost, the most unlikely person saves him—Robert. Matt’s former mentor insists the real culprit is Frances, but Matt refuses to believe him. Matt’s mental health is challenged as he keeps having hallucinations of Pamela Wilton and his family, or are they something else? Spirits? His conscience? Added to his anxiety is Matt’s relationship with Robert. Though they once shared a deep friendship, it isn’t enough to convince Matt that Robert is telling the truth. Meanwhile, Ava struggles with her feelings for Matt as Robert re-evaluates his relationship with God. But the real question is, what does all this mean for Matt now that he has a Regenerist liver?

You could almost begin the story of Paleocene with the words, “Once upon a time,” but that would give you the impression this was a fairy tale, and it is not. It is a tale of those animals who survived the end of the world. Not the present world as we know it, but far into the past, when a massive asteroid slammed into the Yucatán peninsula over sixty-six million years ago.

Matt not only has to deal with the knowledge his technology might be killing people but learns from Pamela Wilton’s mother that her daughter had been raped by her employer. Upset over the news, both he and his bodyguard, Sean, are distracted when they are set upon by thugs and Matt is kidnapped. Sean returns to Regenerist and assembles a security team to find him. It’s a cat-and-mouse game as to whether they will be able to find him. Ava comes under scrutiny and resents it. Not surprising as she may be in love with him. With Regenerist in turmoil and Matt missing, will the company survive? And who took Matt and why? All good questions waiting to be answered.

As I dive into my pile of Kickstarter comics once again, I was particularly interested in checking out this one, as Gwynn Tavares is the artist. (Full disclosure: Gwynn is the artist for my own graphic novels, and I adore her work. So yes, I’m biased.) Dead End Moon, a supernatural western, follows the story of Maggie Dean, a bounty hunter who hunts paranormal creatures and doesn’t much care who gets in her way - even going as far as using a wanted criminal as bait; however, Maggie suffers from a spectral infection which allows her to see ghosts and other supernatural beings, but the affliction is slowly killing her. Nevertheless, that doesn’t stop her from searching for the illusive Seventh City of Gold, where the one called The Dead Man is holed up. Why she wants to find him remains a mystery in this issue.

I decided to catch up on my Kickstarter reading this week. I had supported and read the first issue of Duplicant a while ago and really enjoyed it, but I hadn’t had the chance to get to the other four. Lucky for me, Karla Nappi’s current Kickstarter for issue #5 reminded me to go read it. But let’s start with issue #2.

In this middle-grade graphic novel biography of famed scientist Marie Curie, her family background and scientific details take center stage. This authorized account of her life by two esteemed Danish scientists, Frances Andreasen Østerfelt and Anja Cetti Andersen, walks us through the tumultuous times of living under Czarist rule in 1870s Poland, Marie’s first love, the grit and determination to do well at the Sorbonne, her marriage, and her scientific achievements.  It’s also a primer on how a gifted family survived under oppressive conditions. It is a wonder any of them were able to escape and succeed in their professions, especially the women.  

I had wanted to back this project on Kickstarter, but it got past me somehow. Fortunately, Caleb Palmquist was tabling at Rose City Comic Con, and I was able to pick up issue one.  A middle-grade fantasy with vampires, magic, and unicorns, I found it to be rather charming and heartwarming.

After Sarah and Miss LaFleur find Arlen Quincy hiding in the walls of his own house, it becomes apparent that he faked his own death. But why?

As we head into the last issue of the series, I have to say that it’s been a terrific ride, and I’ll miss this band of misfits who came together to save the universe. But as they say, all good things must come to an end.