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Always Additive: A Retrospective of Hickman’s Tenure as Architect of Krakoa

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With the oversized concluding chapter of the four-part Inferno out Wednesday January 5, the Hickman era of X-Men has now ended—and what a stunning conclusion it was, with Hickman and a stellar team of artists managing to shock and satisfy in equal measure. Here we’ll look back at Hickman’s tenure as a whole, both as storyteller and as architect, to assess the revitalized line’s achievements—and its flaws—and above all, to recap the three radical changes inaugurated with the 2019 paradigm shift and how those big swings themselves have developed or even changed course since.

After a brief intro, I’ll run through: Hickman’s three core innovations to the franchise and then, having heaped much justified praise upon the man, we’ll look at the many things we didn’t get to see, and the very few that didn’t really work. The last stop is a brief look at what the end of Inferno #4 has promised us in no uncertain terms, as well as the architect’s own promise to all who have come to call Krakoa home—fan and creator alike.

Here at the start, though, I’ll include one of my favorite moments from Inferno #4, Emma’s moment—this is just so brilliantly earned:

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Choosing Violence: The Complexity of Loving Wolverine

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I often say I don’t care about Wolverine, but that’s not really true.

There are Wolverines that I love. This includes the one named Laura, the James Howlett one who loves Hercules, and the ones in fanfiction and fanart who are various kinds of queer. Sometimes, I also love ones named Logan who appear in licensed comics, cartoons, and films. The Wolverines that I love challenge stereotypes related to masculinity and violence and the supposed inseparability of the two. These Wolverines struggle, heroically, against what a bad world wants them to be or else don’t give a fuck about stereotypes, because they’ve seen it all and know who they are.

Then there are Wolverines I don’t love. This includes the ones mired in white savior tropes and cultural appropriation and especially the ones who uncritically glorify violence, graphically murdering untold scores of people who are usually bad people but still, nonetheless, people. These Wolverines never change yet always demand forgiveness through their enduring popularity and the seemingly boundless acceptance of their less-murderous friends.

But despite knowing which Wolverines I love and don’t love, I frequently struggle to decide how I feel about specific stories starring Wolverine. Take the first four issues of the recent X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic, written by outgoing X-Men franchise impresario Jonathan Hickman with art by Declan Shalvey. [Read more…] about Choosing Violence: The Complexity of Loving Wolverine

Casual Krakoa: Inferno #4 Post-Game Live!

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On my weekly livestream, Casual Krakoa Live, I review the week’s X-Men comics, and answer big questions about what’s going on with Marvel’s merry mutants! You can listen or watch below:

* Spoilers Follow *

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Best of 2021 – Nubia and the Amazons

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Written by Vita Ayala and Stephanie Williams, Art by Alitha Martinez, Mark Morales, and Emilio Lopez, Lettering by Becca Carey

In the Prelude to Trial of the Amazons, Stephanie Williams and Vita Ayala create a new chapter for Nubia that expands her canonical story even further. Gone are the days when she was only considered to be the “Black Wonder Woman” – Nubia now has the chance to stand in her own glory and story. The series has a stacked and diverse crew behind it – all are Black and/or Latinx, a standard that is still relatively new in the comics world. To ensure that this story is crafted by the people with lived experiences and identities that mirror the character, Nubia is given the chance at an authentic perspective in her world. Because let’s face it – even Themyscira has its sociological issues. [Read more…] about Best of 2021 – Nubia and the Amazons

What Comics Best Match The 3 Live-Action Cinematic Spider-Men?

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Thanks to the box office success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, the cinematic history of Spider-Man is a hot topic around the water cooler for about a billion reasons, and with almost two decades worth of Peter Parker on the big screen, there is a lot to discuss. In those twenty-odd years, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland have each given a take on the live-action wall-crawler that captures fundamental aspects of the character we love, all while telling vastly different types of stories about who Spider-Man is and how he fits into the world around him.

Believe it or not, dear reader, there are even debates on this here Internet about which big-screen version of Spidey is the best! And it’s true that while all three performances are undeniably Peter and his alter ego, they’re not quite the same Peter. So where should you start if you want to read the stories that best represent your favorite on-screen Spidey? [Read more…] about What Comics Best Match The 3 Live-Action Cinematic Spider-Men?