X-Men: Hellfire Gala
The true test of a great party is who’s there. Are the conversations worth having, can you gossip about the elbows you rubbed, who hooked up with who? The X-Men have just had their most ambitious party yet, a night to remember now collected in X-Men: Hellfire Gala, courtesy of the entire X-line. Rather than serving a single story, this trade is a sampling of the various series in the line – a snapshot of the Krakoan era in the summer of 2021, and a hint of things to come. Let’s look at the guest list to see how it stacks up, and if this is really my scene. [Read more…] about X-Men Hellfire Gala: “Should I Stay or Should I Go?”
is a story about love, like all the best X-Men stories. This is why it excels so beautifully, because it honors the emotional core of its characters and themes of found family and protecting the weak. The newly-collected crossover event is about what our heroes will sacrifice to recover lost love – in a contest of swords, the sharpest are the ones that pierce the heart. Tini Howard, Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz, and Marte Gracia lead the entire X-Men creative team in a coordinated effort to create a sprawling epic. It may wobble at times but never loses sight of its true purpose, sticking the landing with Olympic flair. The story introduces years’ worth of new material and vibrant characters into the canon while giving fans hit after hit for their long-time favorites. X of Swords draws on the past, present, and future of the franchise to pull just about every heart string. 
