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The 10 Best Wolverine Comics!

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As Marvel Comics kicks off the 10 issue weekly event X Lives / X Deaths of Wolverine, the CBH staff is looking back at some of our favorite Wolverine comics of all time! X Lives / X Deaths promises to explore Wolverine’s full history, so it’s a great time to dig through the long catalog of Wolverine comics in Marvel’s history, and enjoy some all-time greats and some off-the-beaten-path favorites.

It’s worth noting up front that these selections largely eschew the well-worn recommendations you can find on any ol’ site (what’s up Claremont/Miller Wolverine, Old Man Logan, and that time Wolverine swallowed a cigar whole like a dumb manly python because Moira asked him to put it out indoors). These are the deep cut, personal Wolverine stories and eras that most effectively resonate with us, and this complex, simultaneously easy and hard to love Canucklehead. [Read more…] about The 10 Best Wolverine Comics!

I Have Awoken in a World that is Upside Down: Mystique & Destiny in Inferno

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Inferno #1, Peach Momoko cover

Wrapping with Inferno #4, Hickman’s X-Men has drawn to a close, yet the Krakoa era has only just begun. New stories are kicking off and away from the central premise introduced in HoXPox, ushering in another chapter of X-History. There are many important elements of this run to discuss, which is a major reason why it has been widely reviewed and commented on by critics both within comics and in the larger entertainment sphere. From the resurrection protocols to Moira X to Nimrod and the Omega Sentinels, Dawn of X and then Reign of X hit the ground running and the X-Titles are showing no signs of slowing down.

One monumentally important element of the era has been bringing the villain Destiny back and reinstating her importance in both the franchise and Mystique’s life. While decades of subtext, film franchises, editorial mandates, and death have kept them apart, this run effectively brought the pair to the forefront as a couple for the first time in ways that could never have happened before. Among the many things this era has given its readers, perhaps no gift has been so sweet as the reunion between these two murder wives and the long-awaited continuation of their beautiful love story, all while pitting them against Moira X, Xavier, Magneto, and others.

Discussing elements of House of X/Powers of X, X-Men Vol. 5 #1-21, and Inferno #1-4 [Read more…] about I Have Awoken in a World that is Upside Down: Mystique & Destiny in Inferno

Omnibussin: Mapping The Next X-Men Omnibus (Vol. 5)

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Mapping Next X-Men Omnibus Feature Image Trial of Magneto Uncanny X-Men 200

As an omnibus collector (and as someone with a bit of an obsessive streak, but let’s ignore that for now), there are few things more frustrating than a conspicuous gap between volumes of a collected line of comics. This is particularly vexing when it’s a matter of “orphaned” issues; that is, stories that were missed between existing compilations, which means they’ll likely never be collected in this oversized hardcover format. Other times, it’s just a matter of a line that’s yet to be finished, which isn’t so bad if one is patient. Unfortunately, “one” —that’s me— isn’t patient (see aforementioned “obsessive streak”), so I decided to inaugurate this column about mapping hypothetical omnibus volumes with The Big One: the next Uncanny X-Men omnibus… which I wouldn’t title Uncanny X-Men Vol. 5, for reasons that will soon become clear.

Uncanny X-Men Vol. 4 was released in 2021, taking us up to Uncanny X-Men #193 in the middle of Chris Claremont’s excellent run with John Romita Jr. This was, for me, when it became clear Claremont’s long run was something truly special: Rachel Summers; the Morlocks; Rogue; Selene and the Hellfire Club; and much more. This numbered volume almost took the X-Men from the Bronze Age to the first Dark Age self-titled collection in the line: X-Men: Mutant Massacre, which kicks off with Uncanny X-Men #210. There is, however, a gap to bridge between these two eras. [Read more…] about Omnibussin: Mapping The Next X-Men Omnibus (Vol. 5)

For The Man Who Has Everything – How Alan Moore Breaks Superman

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What do you get for the man who has everything?

A simple question that speaks to preconceived notions of Superman. That he’s perfect. That he has no human needs. That he’s elevated to a degree both morally and physically as to be completely unrelatable to the common reader.

That’s all, of course, not true. But it’s a question that lies at the center of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ 1985 story, “For the Man Who Has Everything,” originally published in Superman Annual #11. And while it’s a standalone story that doesn’t work to set up a bigger narrative or forever alter the character of Superman, it’s impact and legacy are enormous. [Read more…] about For The Man Who Has Everything – How Alan Moore Breaks Superman

Hickmania #1: The Nightly News (W/ Zack Quaintance)

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Hello and welcome to Comic Book Herald’s Hickmania, a series running through 2022 where we’ll be reading and analyzing the creator-owned works of writer Jonathan Hickman, from his debut The Nightly News through to his most recent output. We’ll be reading one creator-owned work a month through 2022, and each month I’ll release a new analysis with a new guest discussing the comic!

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