My first exposure to Dr. Michael Morbius, the Living Vampire, was his arc during the “Neogenic Nightmare” storyline in season 2 of Spider-Man: The Animated Series. In that story, Morbius is a rival of Peter Parker’s in school and in romance who steals a vial containing a serum mixed with Peter’s blood in order to get a leg up on his own research. You see, he’s dedicated his life to curing a mysterious disease afflicting his unnamed home country. It doesn’t go well for him, however, thanks to an accident involving bats, lasers, and the stolen serum. Morbius gets transformed into a white-skinned vampiric creature with little suckers on his palms and an undeniable hunger for “plasma”. I thought he was kinda cool but very, very goofy.
While I learned later on that all that plasma talk was there to tone the character down for a younger audience, and that in the Marvel comics universe Morbius was a proper vampire with all the horror and biting (and no palm suckers!) that follows, I never could get the blue-haired, palm-suckered weirdo out of my head. But now, with the Morbius movie in theaters, I wanted to finally get a taste of the good doctor’s comics history. That exploration led me to the Living Vampire’s second go-round with the idiosyncratic Legion of Monsters in a couple of runs from 2010 to 2012. And much to my surprise, what I found there–a leader doing his best to best to help his people, all while combatting anxiety and hubris–positions Morbius in a much more heroic light than I was expecting. [Read more…] about Morbius and the Legion of Monsters Review!
, sending Bruce Wayne on a chilling journey into the blackened heart of Gotham City. Built on a masterful plot, breathtaking gothic visuals, and a terrifying new villain, Court of Owls is a story that cemented an entirely new era for the dark knight, as his mission to save his city gives way to a reality darker and more mysterious than he could ever imagine.
of the last few decades, follow up on the last guy’s ending, and chart your own path while keeping what came before; those are all difficult factors to juggle when you’re taking over someone else’s work. It’s even more pressing when 
established a new status quo for the hero. Attempting to atone for taking over the world on Khonshu’s orders, Moon Knight has declared a portion of New York City his “mission” and has dedicated himself to protecting all those who travel at night. I was sold on this gimmick within the first five pages. And I don’t say that to be dismissive. This is Moon Knight’s sixth ongoing series since 2006.If you’ve paid attention you’ll notice that every #1 comes with a new gimmick.