Kenneth Laster

SWORD Volume 1 Review!

September 4, 2021 by Kenneth Laster Leave a Comment

After the fervor of the Hellfire Gala and the Twitter shattering announcement that Jonathan Hickman is leaving the X-Men following Inferno later this year, many fans of Marvel’s Merry Mutants are left in a panic. The playground of Krakoa is still open with no shortage of titles exploring this new status quo. From exploring culture in Way of X to corporate strategy in X–Corp, the very reason for Hickman’s departure is that there’s just so much to explore.

While the conceptual diversity of the Krakoan era is excellent and offers a variety of talents to tell compelling stories with a number of characters, I do feel for the loss of focus. The themes and conflicts Hickman proposed in House of X and Powers of X were incredibly compelling to me and I was hoping to see them built on for longer towards a larger conclusion (some of which may come from Inferno). And while it’s true, the momentum of the line is not solely propelled by Hickman but by the X-Writers as a whole–it’s difficult to see what the next driving goal of the line will be. [Read more…] about SWORD Volume 1 Review!

The Marvel Cinematic Universe Enters The Legacy Phase: What Should We Expect?

July 23, 2021 by Kenneth Laster Leave a Comment

The “illusion of change” has been the driving force behind the cyclical drama of superhero comics since the very beginning. Of the big two, Marvel’s relationship with change has been the most fascinating. Priding itself as the “world outside your window” and eschewing the massive continuity reboots that plague their Distinguished Competition, Marvel long set themselves apart from DC by eschewing the concept of sidekicks and by extension, legacy characters until very recently in their long history.

However, despite this aversion to the concept, the juggernaut of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is forced to contend with its source material’s shallow pool of legacy characters as it reaches its greatest threat yet: time. [Read more…] about The Marvel Cinematic Universe Enters The Legacy Phase: What Should We Expect?

Generation X Epic Collection: Back To School Review!

July 3, 2021 by Kenneth Laster 2 Comments

Generation X is a strange spot in the larger X-Universe in such a unique way. Whereas Simonson’s X-Factor was a bit of an odd duck with so many elements that would become such important staples for the mutant corner of the Marvel Universe, Generation X starts out with such a specific voice and strong characters, but for the longest time felt forgotten in the larger scheme of the X-Men line.

Arguably the most popular character from the book is Jubilee who had a head start by being a member of the X-Men proper and made even more popular by being a mainstay on the iconic cartoon. Following Jubilee in popularity would be Monet, who outside of this series, was a mainstay of Peter David’s X-Factor amid other scattered appearances. As for the rest, there didn’t seem to be much love for Chamber, Synch, Husk, Skin, and their time at the Massachusetts campus of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.

X-Men Inferno Omnibus Review!

March 22, 2021 by Kenneth Laster Leave a Comment

Oh Inferno, you big beast of a crossover.

Inferno is the culmination of a plethora of story seeds in the X-Men line of comics over the course of just…so many issues. The event runs through New Mutants, X-Terminators, Uncanny X-Men, and X-Factor. Not to mention, titles like Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Cloak and Dagger, and various Spider-Manses all get in on the tie-in game! And this Omnibus collects it all. It’s honestly a bit overwhelming, or at least it was for me when I first approached reading it in my 80s X-Read through sometime last year. However returning for this coverage, it’s much more simple to parse when you realize there are really two stories under one event. The first story is about Illyana Rasputin being tricked into opening the gate to limbo and reckoning with her role as the Darkchilde, and the second is the tragedy of Madelyne Pryor and her turn as the Goblin Queen.

This is a big event for two big stories. It can’t be overstated just how many things were leading directly towards this event and how many elements can be tied right back to it. But honestly, enough prologue. Like I said there’s a lot here.

X-Factor Epic Collection: Angel Of Death Review!

February 20, 2021 by Kenneth Laster Leave a Comment

X-Factor exists in a really strange memory limbo. Most people think of the team as the Peter David run with Multiple Man or the government-run era with Havok and Polaris. But if you’re really tuned in you remember the original hook of the team being the Original Five X-Men reunited, and if you’re really really tuned in you remember the additional hook of them masquerading as Mutant Hunters to take and train the mutants they “captured” as the “X-Terminators”. This Original Five era may not be necessarily the most well-remembered era in the concept of the X-Factor team, but it can’t be denied that it gave some incredibly influential building blocks into the X-Universe – including Apocalypse, Archangel, and of course…Nanny and Orphanmaker.

While Bob Layton was the author of the beginnings of this series, it really started bringing these ideas to life when the great Louise Simonson, primarily joined by her husband Walt Simonson, took the reins. X-Factor Epic Collection: Angel Of Death collects this Simonson era in its full swing. This collection really pushes the scope for what X-Factor as a concept can be by stripping it down and rebuilding what works, what doesn’t, and making it look like it was meant to be there from the beginning. From Archangel to “Inferno”, this collection really captures some of the heights of the Simonsons’ X-Factor run while keeping up the serialized soap opera so at home in this era of X-Books.

Kenneth Laster

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