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“There came a time…” An Obituary of the Justice League

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– After Secret Wars (2015) #1 Pg. 39

Call it the gravitational attraction of a primal collection of archetypes, call it a quirk of capitalism realizing you can’t own all the most popular characters in a genre and establish they can meet and then not go all the way with that. It had to happen. They had to be.

So they fought trees and starfish and robots and men from the future out of “the modernistically outfitted headquarters which (was) their secret headquarters” before decamping to a satellite. They swelled their ranks, met their predecessor-twins in a crystal ball, and mapped the multiverse. They performed the labors of folktales while remaining, essentially, a group of affable coworkers gathered around the roundtable talking shop and going over meeting minutes.

With time however the obvious was acknowledged: they were giants living in the sky here to save us. The push and pull would come to define them – between stately grandeur and the individual passions driving the man-gods, the heights of legend and the muck of mortality. Even as they would see-saw between loving reminiscence over old times and teetering on the edge of war over old grudges, they would still scale higher and higher, from battles for Earth to abstract conflicts over the unfathomed reaches of metaverses and multiverses and omniverses beyond. [Read more…] about “There came a time…” An Obituary of the Justice League

Immortal X-Men #2 Review! – One Must Save the Day

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[cover by Mark Brooks]
Spoilers for Immortal X-Men Follow!

So, obviously Sinister, despite the shocking Immortal X-Men #1 reveal of his Moira clone farm, did not foresee Selene’s devastating attack against Krakoa for not being voted onto the Quiet Council. I guess from a certain angle, it was surprising since this petty, knee-jerk response not only guaranteed her forfeiture of all such future bids for power but possibly made her persona non grata, as well—either through non-resurrection or by being sent to the Pit after she returns to life. Then again, this ancient mother is 17,000 years old, so this whole Krakoan era will likely prove less than a blip in her lifespan. Still, she was getting a lot of love from fans lately, and while maybe we mayflies don’t rate much to her, you would think she might’ve enjoyed a brief period of adoration from young mutant nationalists. Of course, when framed that way, she still might!

After all, fervent nationalists have an astonishing capacity for the sort of glaring cognitive dissonance that induces debilitating migraines and panic attacks among rational beings. Still, what did Selene hope to gain from the Coven Akkaba? Tasty life-energy treats to eat? Aren’t there much more powerful magic wielders she could’ve allied with to continue proving her point against Krakoa? (Ah, well, she probably wouldn’t appreciate the potential competition!) [Read more…] about Immortal X-Men #2 Review! – One Must Save the Day

Shadow King Reading Order!

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Created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, Shadow King is a psychic entity that feeds on fear and rage. It needs hosts to survive outside the astral plane; the most well-known is Amahl Farouk, the first person it ever possessed, but a lot of other characters had their bodies used by it, like Psylocke, Karma, Moira, Legion, and even Black Panther.

It first met Professor X before the X-Men were even created. After that encounter, Shadow King swore revenge against him. While Professor’s dream is to live peacefully with others, the evil entity known as the Shadow King feeds on hatred and the shadows in people’s souls. Their confrontations are always interesting to see because of that. But the evil entity also has interesting face-offs with other characters, like Storm and the New Mutants.

Now, Farouk is living in Krakoa with most other mutants. Vita Ayala wrote a great arc centered around him in the current New Mutants run. His future isn’t certain yet, but I’m sure we can expect exciting things. [Read more…] about Shadow King Reading Order!

Sensational She-Hulk: Breaking the Fourth Wall Collection Review!

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The early days of the “Sensational” era of She-Hulk – originally debuting in 1989, the beginning of which is collected in She-Hulk Epic Collection: Breaking the Fourth Wall – are a case study in inconsistent tone. On one hand, you have The Sensational She-Hulk: Ceremony, an ultra-serious two-issue mini-series published at the beginning of 1989 that centers on She-Hulk’s relationship with Wyatt Wingfoot and her concerns about her biological clock. On the other hand is the eponymous Sensational She-Hulk series launched a few months later by writer/artist John Byrne, which is full to the brim with hijinks, the absolute Z-est-list villains and guest stars, and the aforementioned fourth-wall-breaking that is the hallmark of the run. Character reinterpretations go hand in hand with superhero comics of course, but I find myself hard-pressed to think of a more jarring shift in characterization in a similarly short amount of time. [Read more…] about Sensational She-Hulk: Breaking the Fourth Wall Collection Review!

Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Steve Phillips: Deluxe Edition Vol. 2 Review!

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Have you read Part One yet? Like Criminal, you don’t have to read anything earlier to enjoy what’s here. But, also like Criminal, you’ll be missing out if you don’t. All set? Because today we’re going over the second Criminal Deluxe Edition, with the continuing stories of Center City, and the people who live there.

Collected here, we have “Bad Night,” where we get to know Jake, an ex-counterfeiter and current cartoonist. In “The Sinners” we check in on Tracy Lawless who, against his wishes, has stuck around Center City. Finally, in “The Last of the Innocent” we meet Riley Richards, a character who is definitely and absolutely nothing like Archie Andrews, unhappily married to somebody that bears no resemblance whatsoever to Veronica Lodge. This second collection continues the quality that Ed Brubaker and Sean Philips showed in the first. Their first collection was notable for stylistic choices, and playing with the norms of the crime genre. Here they ratchet those choices up to eleven, managing to do so without any loss of story or effect.

[Read more…] about Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Steve Phillips: Deluxe Edition Vol. 2 Review!