It’s a busy week that has taken place before a busy weekend, one soon to be dominated by a comic book garage sale I’ll be hosting. So, with that — and my sanity — in mind, my goal is for this edition of Comics Disassembled to be a bit more of a speed run. Will I live up to that goal? We’ll find out as I write about ten things I liked or didn’t like from the past week of comics, led by my favorite witch.

1. Head Lopper, Kickstarting

Andrew MacLean’s Head Lopper is a pretty dang spectacular series, as this fantasy title has been one of the most enjoyable reads in comics since it first launched. While MacLean is the main draw, arguably his best creation in the series has been Agatha, the witch who is just a head and series lead Norgal’s eternal companion. She’s an absolute blast, a character that literally cannot move and yet endlessly impacts the story in the very best of ways (most of which is just being hilarious).

Clearly MacLean recognizes Agatha’s greatness, because he launched a Kickstarter this week for a 36-page comic starring everyone’s favorite witch — now with a body to go with that head! It’s a tale that takes place before Head Lopper’s story, one that finds her operating as a complete being and presumably one who is capable of even more nonsense when given the ability to ambulate. It’s called Agatha: A Tale of Three Witches, and it’s being positioned as a standalone comics that also acts as a great introduction to Head Lopper as a whole. The comic itself sounds wonderful, but the rewards are impressive across the board. Best of all, it even involved an Agatha hand puppet as a reward, although that was something that went very quick. I’m thrilled it exists at all, though, because it’s a fantastic idea.

If you’re interested in Head Lopper as a whole or simply want to read a great comic from a great creator, I highly recommend checking this one out. MacLean rocks, and it’s always a thrill to see what he’s cooking up. Hopefully this leads to more Head Lopper, though, because I miss that series. It’s a good one!

2. ShortBox Comics Fair, Cometh

With it now somehow being September, we’re now in sight of one of the best comic months of the year: the ShortBox Comics Fair is coming! It’s about to take over October with its near endless waves of glory. So much so that Zainab Akhtar, the head honcho of that enterprise, sent out the first email about the Fair and its slate this week. All it included was a look at some of the covers, titles, and creators of the 100+ comics that will be in the fair, but for those who anticipate this event as much as I do, it was a welcome arrival in the ol’ inbox.

That little teaser did make me wonder: Was there a creator lineup available yet for the 2024 ShortBox Comics Fair? To the event’s website I went, and sure enough, you can find the entire list of participating exhibitors on the site. And what a list! There are plenty of folks who will be new to readers, but I was delighted to find an eclectic mix that included talents like Deb JJ Lee, Blue Delliquanti, VER, winchestermeg, Matt Rockefeller, Xulia Vicente, and Tan Juan Gee on the list. I for one am most excited to see new work from winchestermeg and Vicente, as well as a solo effort by Rockefeller, but the best part about the Fair is discovering comics you love that you never could have anticipated. I can’t wait to dig in, and you should get excited too. October’s coming soon, so prepare thyself!