Panel By Panel: Jan. 19, 2025 – Time To Join a Youth Group

Welcome to Panel By Panel, my ongoing exploration of comics and writing about them. Nary a review in sight; always impressions and squirrel moments. We have a smaller roster compared to last week for this go.

I’d also like to open up this week’s edition with a request for recs. I usually bank up a few issues of the regular titles I follow, so please suggest stuff for me to read in the coming week. Just do your recs in the comments. This includes webcomics, too!

Anyway, what did I read this week?

Youth Group

When I heard that Jordan Morris of Good Mythical Morning had written a graphic novel I was immediately intrigued. I did not know much about Youth Group, But, I knew that I liked Jordan Morris because of his appearances on YouTube. I threw it on my list of things to read down the line, only just now getting to it.

There is an element of the story that appears to be personal to Morris. it is recognizable in the way he treats the self-censorship and the dialogue of the kids in the youth group. I recognize a lot of the same things from my own limited time in the church and as I read the comic I remembered a lot of stuff I hadn’t in years. Granted, I never got to fight demons, but I remember the mid-to-late 90s and early 2000s in various kid-centric ministries. I wasn’t a believer, but if I spent extended time with my grandmother it meant church on Wednesdays and Sundays.

I also recall one church, I do not recall the name now, but the vibe there reflected much of the youth group in the comic. There is a certain fondness for how goofy it was. I ended up smiling a lot and recognizing a lot of these little moments. Everything from “Fudge” instead of “fuck” and repurposing pop culture to reflect the church.

I ended up leaving that sort of world and putting my foot down with my grandmother when I was around 13. However, this comic did introduce a strange sort of nostalgia. The comic made me feel things, basically.

Remember feelings?

Oh right, Youth Group (the comic)…

The comic is hilarious and I am positive we’re due for a film adaptation within the next five years or so. All the elements of a complete film are there. I do think the comic does drop some elements and could use a look at the pacing in the middle, however. In an effort to tell the story in one book some things are dropped or left undeveloped. The finale works, but some of the threads could be strengthened leading up to it. Overall though, Morris’ writing is charming.

The art, by Bowen McCurdy, has a solid YA style that suits the material. It lies in the middle of a diagram of manga tropes and cartooning in the way you’d see in a lot of Webtoons. The comic definitely leans heavily on character art and expressions. The background and action work is a little rougher, but this is also a very conversation-heavy comic, so it works overall. I have no complaints.

Ultimate Wolverine #1

Youth Group was a nice, hefty read. But I also found time to catch the latest story in the Ultimate Marvel universe with Ultimate Wolverine #1. This book is written by Chris Condon and illustrated by Alessandro Cappuccio. Bryan Valenza is the colorist.

I think it is too early to tell how to assess it amongst the nearly year-long head start of the other titles in the imprint. Yet, it does have some interesting things going for it. The art is solid. The first issue also features some pretty brutal violence, as would be expected from a Wolverine book. I also like the Rasputins as villains quite a bit. It is a good look for them.

The tying together of the Weapon X and Winter Soldier programs is a rather efficient use of two very similar evil schemes. It is also interesting to see what the hell is going on with some of the more classic mutants in this setting. Most of the mutants we’ve seen have been in Japan. Now we’re getting the larger Eurasian continent. Having a maybe Logan hunting down allies is painful but makes sense for this book. As for the identity of this Wolverine, I have a sneaking suspicion we’re not looking at Logan at all. My guess? Some twist on Wade Wilson.

We’ll see. I am at least going to give it a few issues.

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And with that, the reading log for this week is down. Let me know what you think about this format and share your thoughts if you’re reading these books, too. If you are after these comics, be sure to check out your local comic book shop.

Also, I am still down to write traditional reviews, so if you have key issues you want me to tackle, or create your own comics and want feedback, please contact me about it.