“If I could I wouldn’t want you/ but it’s getting late now and I can’t stop” -Winona Oak, “Break my Broken Heart” We can’t always control our emotions. Hell, I’m not sure I have many of those myself and even I know that. I’m sure emotions arrive and disappear in different ways for … [Read More...] about Break My Hollow Heart: The Emotional Complexity of Vault Comics’ Latest
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Marvel Fresh Start Reading Order!
Marvel Fresh Start Reading Order
Marvel Fresh Start is the 2018 summer rebranding of the Marvel Comics publishing line, following hot on the barely-walking-yet heels of late 2017’s Marvel Legacy. As the name suggests, Marvel is desperately positioning this rebrand as a great time to jump onboard with any number of comics getting … [See the Reading Order!] about Marvel Fresh Start Reading Order
Where To Start?
The Complete Marvel Reading Order Guide
Welcome to the Comic Book Herald Complete Marvel Reading Order Guide. Some quick words of explanation that should help answer the most frequent questions. In the years I've worked editing and updating this guide, I've focused primarily on the modern era of comics from the late 90's through the … [See the Reading Order!] about The Complete Marvel Reading Order Guide
Recommended Reading Order!
Jonathan Hickman X-Men Reading Order!
Marvel took C2e2 2019 by storm with the in-person announcement that writer Jonathan Hickman is returning to the publisher to write two congruent X-Men series. From 2008 to 2015, Hickman stood out as one of the best Marvel Universe writers, delivering impressive work across titles like Fantastic … [See the Reading Order!] about Jonathan Hickman X-Men Reading Order!
Featured Reading Order
DC Rebirth Reading Order
In May 2016, DC Comics launched a refreshed comic book universe, calling the initiative DC Rebirth. The publication of DC Universe Rebirth #1 marked the end of DC's New 52, which controversially rebooted the DCU from 2011 to 2016. The promise of DC Rebirth is a return to the long and rich … [See the Reading Order] about DC Rebirth Reading Order
Recent Posts
All That They Are, All That They Will Be: Grant Morrison’s Supermen in Retrospect
For their first DC publication – Superman Official 1986 Annual – Grant Morrison wrote Osgood Peabody’s Big Green Dream Machine, a prose story with illustrations by Barry Kitson and Jeff Anderson, where a gang of criminals attempt to discern Superman’s vulnerabilities by peering into his dreams. Seeing fields of bones and assuming they represent a […]
Creannotators #64: “Artie and the Wolf Moon” with creator Olivia Stephens
This week on Creannotators, I talk Artie and the Wolf Moon with creator Olivia Stephens. We talk defining culture for black werewolves, writing for a YA audience, lessons from a first graphic novel, and much more! On Comic Book Herald’s ‘Creannotators’ I’ll be interviewing some of my favorite creators in comics about specific runs, graphic novels or […]
“It’s All Up To Me!” Nova’s Journey From Annihilation to Guardians of the Galaxy
Guardians of the Galaxy concluded recently after well over a year of space empire madness, cosmic wars, and not even thinly veiled queer subtext. It brought a ton to the table on a number of levels from refining the Marvel Cosmic Universe into being able to support a veritable Space Age, to staffing the team […]
1993 Pt. 2: Deadpool & Cable’s 1st Solo Series!
Marvel comics of 1993. We talk the most famous issue of Peter David’s X-Factor, and then Deadpool and Cable’s first solo comics!
Rorschach by King & Fornes: The Independent Sequel
“‘In the end?’ Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends.” Least of all, Watchmen itself. For more than four decades, Alan Moore and Gibbon’s hit has endured as the genre-defining standard in comics. Not just a masterpiece, but the rare kind of cultural touchstone capable of transforming comic books themselves from a once disposable genre into […]
(Re)Read Hickman’s X-Men: All Too Worldly – Marauders #2-6
Really, the superficially cynical maneuverings of these worldly aristos are potentially as compelling as those happening in the mysteriously remade Otherworld. Yet while I’ve enjoyed Marauders, its overall execution is flawed in ways quite different from Excalibur’s challenges. Indeed, it’s been the least consistent ongoing, both in terms of direction and quality. But throughout, we’ve […]
Casual Krakoa: Trial of Magneto #3!
On my weekly livestream, Casual Krakoa Live, I review the week’s X-Men comics, and answer big questions about what’s going on with Marvel’s merry mutants! You can listen or watch below: This week’s Casual Krakoa will answer: + What’s new for X-Men in 2022 that we should look forward to? + Why we’re all just […]
Comic Book Reviews
Aliens: Dead Orbit – A Lost Horror Masterpiece
In the vast cold of space lurks a terrifying evil that knows no mercy. And soon, that evil will be inside you. In James Stokoe’s Aliens: Dead Orbit, a four-issue miniseries from 2017, the xenomorph, first brought to the screen in Ridley Scott’s … [Read the Review] about Aliens: Dead Orbit – A Lost Horror Masterpiece
The X-Men & Me: Reflections on a Metaphor
[Forewarning: This is purely a personal account and view of my own relationship to Marvel's Mutantdom. It is not by any means intended to be an end-all-be-all perspective or an all-encompassing thing nor a 'Here's Why It Bad' or any kind of harsh … [Read the Review] about The X-Men & Me: Reflections on a Metaphor
(Re)Read Hickman’s X-Men: Apocalypse, Now – Excalibur #1-6 Pt. 3
III. #3: “Three Covenants” You could say Apocalypse and Rictor forge a covenant in this issue, but I’m not sure what the other two are! Maybe another one is Betsy’s agreement with the Queen? Pretty silly to call that a covenant, especially given how … [Read the Review] about (Re)Read Hickman’s X-Men: Apocalypse, Now – Excalibur #1-6 Pt. 3
Ending To Grant Morrison’s Bat-Epic: The Hole In Things
There is a hole in things. The inexplicable absence. The piece that does not fit. The nothingness we cannot know. It is in you. It is in me. It is in all of us, all around us. The things we can't explain, the things we can't know, the things we … [Read the Review] about Ending To Grant Morrison’s Bat-Epic: The Hole In Things
(Re)Read Hickman’s X-Men: Otherworldly Machinations – Excalibur #1-6 Pt. 2
Excalibur will possibly end before it reaches issue #30—although that seems crazy with how much material Tini Howard and Marcus To have introduced, enough for a whole franchise! An entire comic company could be launched from all the elements of their … [Read the Review] about (Re)Read Hickman’s X-Men: Otherworldly Machinations – Excalibur #1-6 Pt. 2