This week on Panel Chewing, Jarrod and I start with the rising price of comics and concerns that tariffs and increasing production costs could push prices even higher. When many comics already cost $5 or more for 15–20 minutes of reading, at what point does the value proposition become a problem for the industry?

We also discuss why DC’s Absolute Universe has caught fire, whether Marvel needs to take a similar creative swing, and the apparent return of some very ’90s comic-book sensibilities.

This Week’s Comics

Our stack includes Honor and Curse: Eternal, The Last Driver, Terminal, Action Comics, Lazarus Order, American Caper, and a massive 80-page Savage Sword of Conan Reforged #6 carrying an equally massive $15 price tag. The good news? Jarrod thinks this particular comic is actually worth it.

For our Picks of the Week, Jarrod chooses Solomon Kane: The Lion Errant #2, while my pick is the wonderfully strange The Eye Collector #2—an eerie horror comic with an unusual watercolor aesthetic that I couldn’t stop thinking about after I finished it.

Lone Wolf and Cub Volume 13

We finish with Volume 13 of our ongoing Lone Wolf and Cub readalong.

This volume gives us some quieter character moments alongside some surprisingly disturbing ones, leading to a larger conversation about Ogami and Daigoro, fatherhood, honor, and the effect this violent journey is having on Daigoro.

Join us for the good comics, the bad comics, the surprisingly expensive comics, and another trip down the assassin’s road.