iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Super Size Me but it’s about a guy who exclusively consumes the QuikTrip five dollar chicken tender and Monster Energy combo until he spontaneously combusts

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

i can’t imagine saying “Get Him To The Greek style” in any context that would make what I was trying to explain clearer to anyone in the known universe

screenshot of a Variety article where the author describes a situation as “Get Him to The Greek” style

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

also this month, Stan Lee tells us how much he and his buddies love Troma. I wish I had been at this alleged Toxic Avenger screening. sweet dreams. /end

Bullpen Bulletins section where Stan Lee talks about Troma and The Toxic Avenger

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

this is a good one from a cool run. the guest appearance carousel is endearing and it all looks cool and dynamic. also, Juggernaut says he is going to turn Thor into Gumby. imagine someone saying that to you? i would be impressed and also worried

panel where Juggernaut says he is going to turn Thor into Gumby

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Juggernaut ends up stranded on an asteroid, which is weirdly where Thor left him the previous time they fought. in space, no one cares. I like these panels though. a minor setback!

panels where Juggernaut is stranded on an asteroid

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Thor and Juggernaut do fight, by the way. it is fun, varied, and convoluted. like any good monthly serial entertainment. we were sold a fine bill of goods here. people get smashed and it’s got professional wrestler rhythms and production

page where Thor and Juggernaut face down and get ready to rumble

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

honestly this image might be fun to borrow and claim from the mouse house for other, cooler purposes. i would wear that t-shirt bbs

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Thor is also sounding a little…unappealing to the conservative ears in the room with us

panel where Eric Masterston is explaining to aliens why rebellion is important

panel where Thor is telling people to transform their reality

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

the Republican Party of 2026 would be horrified by these remarks coming from a so-called Evil mutant. Juggernaut? more like RINO!

panel where The Juggernaut explains that he likes sticking it to rich folks

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

oh yeah, Thor. He and Excalibur have run into Juggernaut on a planet where he is now lord and master. the heroes wonder aloud about how terrible the last lord and master must have been. the inane plot of Quantumnmania did not emerge from a vacuum

panel where Juggernaut is lording over some captured superheroes in prison bubbles, including Thor

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I enjoyed this NYC Marvel moment. Ghost Rider is based in Cypress Hills and you kind of do need to invent a reason for these characters to drive this route lol. i used to work at Cypress Hills Cemetery so I unfortunately speak from experience lol

panel where two comic characters complain about driving to JFK airport via Cypress Hills, a correct take

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Ron Frenz is clearly having a blast doing this Kirby homage stuff. but it does also have its own feel and aesthetic over time. I like Frenz’s stuff more every time I revisit these issues. I love the layout and perspectives in this page, especially that top panel and the final closeup on The Wrecker

Thor #429 page featuring The Wrecking Crew wander New York and plot their next scheme

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Ghost Rider does show up for a few pages to tangle with The Wrecking Crew in Cypress Hills. DeFalco and Frenz seem…uncertain about this guy’s whole deal. He’s like an unlockable character in a fighting game, a dude in hand to hand combat despite his vibe not being that at all

page from a Thor comic featuring Ghost Rider karste fighting The Wrecking Crew in a cemetery across several panels

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

actually let’s start with that Ghost Rider cover text. The 1990s hot character cameo era was unsubtle and self-aware. the voice of this text is amusingly campy, sounding like someone described this spooky character moments before the issue saw print. i love it

closeup of Thor #429 cover announcing “In these pages stalks Ghost Rider!”

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

The Mighty Thor #429 (February 1991). An installment by early 90s Thor Corpsmen Ron Frenz and Tom DeFalco. an underappreciated run, then and now. also Ghost Rider is in this. #JimsGotIssues

cover to The Mighty Thor #429 featuring Thor in battle with The Juggernaut and a promise that Ghost Rider is in this issue

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

this Sandy Plunkett Marvel Comics Presents cover rules. Streets of Fire!

cover to Marvel Comics Presents #69 featuring Wolverine and a giant Ghost Rider towering over a neighborhood on fire

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

all right, enough ideas have been speculated upon. I’ll leave you with a house ad in this issue promoting Ennis’ upcoming run on The Demon with the mighty John McCrea. If I don’t tackle a Demon book or six in a future #JimsGotIssues this fall, please remind me to do that! /end

house ad for The Demon by Garth Ennis and John McCrea

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

This David Lloyd Constantine piece is interesting too; it’s riffing on a classic fifteenth-century image of “Saint AnthonyTormented by Demons” that resides in The Met: www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...

David Lloyd Hellblazer artwork, “After Schongaeur.”

Schongaeur’s “Saint Anthony Tormented by Demons”

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The Hellblazer Special ends with a mixed bag of an art gallery. It does start off extremely strong with another Glenn Fabry gem, this one not in his traditional painterly Vertigo mode

Glenn Fabry artwork featuring John Constantine shirtless in front of some demons and a woman

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Ennis does seem particularly annoyed by Tim Vigil and Clive Barker here. I understand the Faust hate but Hellraiser seems right up his alley! maybe it got old when people mixed up Hellraiser and Hellblazer. or maybe he hated that title (understandable as well; John Constantine is a cooler name!)

excerpt of a Garth Ennis editorial where he has less than favorable things to say about Faust and Nightbreed

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

It’s not my top tale from the Ennis and Dillon Hellblazer era, but it’s definitely worth a read if you enjoy those two or our man Constantine. I think Ennis delivered on what he describes in his “On The Ledge” pitch for it: horror driven by adrenaline, suspense, enjoyment.

portion of the August 1993 “On The Ledge” letter by Garth Ennis advertising his Hellblazer Special

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I am very curious about the design of this particularly deviant character. The wardrobe and hair initially had me thinking of Michael Hutchence, or a yuppie who listened to INXS. but i defer to UK and Irish folks more familiar with this moment in time. I was 12 and in New York in 1993.

image of a long haired man in a colorful shirt standing in front of a priest

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I won’t dig too far into the details of the story for folks who haven’t read this one yet. It is not a beach read, in 1993 or today. There are some classic sequences where tension builds across panels, as we get a sense of what some characters know and some don’t from the shifting perspectives.

scene in a car from Hellblazer Special #1

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Steve Dillon draws a great older Constantine. I think most folks know that one of the cool elements of the original Hellblazer series was that John got noticeably older over the years. In a medium of changing sameness, this was a great narrative tool used by creative teams like Ennis and Dillon

closeup image of an older present-day John Constantine smoking

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Ennis and Dillon love a monologue or a recollection accompanying flashback images, and we get both here. before things take a dark turn for young John, we get a brief moment of lightness and a less seasoned and more vulnerable Constantine.

images of a young John Constantine in the 1960s hitchhiking and sleeping with American tourists

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Revelations about clerical abuse were on the rise globally in the 1980s and 1990s, so it’s not shocking that Ennis centers this story on a particularly awful priest lashing out at parishioners. This Catholic priest’s descent begins in the 1960s but there’s a more contemporary sheen and context here

image of a disgruntled priest reflecting on his flock in Hellblazer Special #1

reflections on the Catholic obsession with sin in scenes around a confessional booth

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. love these two together. lots of words in this issue but Ennis smartly selects just one to make the initial impression here. Dillon’s facial expressions and staging are fantastic here. also love the contrast in the rainbow of stained glass and the darkness of the rest.

opening page featuring John Constantine smoking in a church next to a bloody corpse

title page of Hellblazer Special, introducing “Confessional” with an image of John Constantine in front of an altar and crucifix

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Vertigo had launched early in 1993. the house ads in this issue are clearly delineating the tone and aesthetic of the nascent line. hard to imagine an imprint in 2026 marketing itself with the tagline “collect experiences. speculate on ideas.” i love the cheeky “suggested for readers” line here

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Ghoul Hall James @poolhalljames.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Hellblazer Special #1 (August 1993). Cover by the amazing Glenn Fabry. Especially love John’s placement and incidental halo in the bottom left, the broken arm of the crucifix offering no relief, the pained faces on the stained glass. #JimsGotIssues