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The Leader Reading Order!

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When it comes to Hulk villains, there is no greater match for the Jade Giant than the Leader. Like Bruce Banner, Sam Sterns got his powers after being bombarded with gamma rays, but instead of his muscles growing like the Hulk’s, Sterns gained incredible intelligence and a brain the size of a soccer ball.

As The Leader, Sterns matches the Hulk brains-for-brawn, but it doesn’t stop there. In many ways, Bruce Banner and Samuel Sterns are two faces of the same coin; one is a self-loathing and guilt-ridden man who wants to be left, while the other is a would-be Ruler of the World, reveling in the strength of his own grey (green?) matter. One man seeks isolation to protect the world from what his strength and rage might do; the other puts himself above other people because they’re not as smart as him. And while other the Hulk villains — from General Thunderbolt Ross to the Abomination — might have come to blows with the emerald enforcer more frequently, the Leader is the one who feels like his true nemesis.

With The Leader featuring in both the end phase of Al Ewing’s Immortal Hulk and promotional material for the upcoming M.O.D.O.K. show (and perhaps in Disney+’s She-Hulk?), now is the perfect time to catch up on Samuel Sterns’ comic book history, from 1964 to today. [Read more…] about The Leader Reading Order!

All-New Wolverine Omnibus Review!

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Tom Taylor’s a big deal in 2021. He spent years writing the Injustice and Injustice 2 comics, he monopolized DC’s 2000s zombie-era nostalgia comics with DCeased, and has just recently taken over the Nightwing book to great excitement from a lot of people. And that’s not even half of his career. It’s safe to say he’s a big deal. But I’ve never been convinced.

Taylor’s style always felt to me that it was prioritizing characterization and “canon” over exploring themes and ideas with the characters. And while that’s enough for a lot of fans, it’s not what I look for in my comics. It feels like all fluff with little real substance.

But I didn’t always feel like this. In fact, when I was first getting into ongoing comics, Taylor’s All-New Wolverine was one of my favorite books to read from month to month. Laura was a phenomenal character, and the perfect successor to Wolverine. As a fan of the characters and someone whose tastes hadn’t solidified yet, I loved it. So with the All-New Wolverine omnibus coming, I figured now was as good a time as ever to revisit this run, and see how it held up outside of its zeitgeist. [Read more…] about All-New Wolverine Omnibus Review!

Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Black Panther Retrospective

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Black Panther, Avengers of the New World

T’Challa and and the legacy of Wakanda is continued by Ta-Nehisi Coates in his recent Black Panther series. Being his first shot at writing a comic book, Coates was determined to provide a lush, vibrant story that would ensnare leagues of veteran fans and newcomers to the series. He also proved to stay authentic to T’Challa’s background and story by featuring Klaw, Luke Cage, Ororo Munroe and countless others into his arcs. Themes surrounding colonial theft, xenophobia and the struggles to stay autonomous within an increasingly ‘globalized’ world are discussed within the series.

It is vastly important for Wakanda to have a collective memory and purpose outside of the Western gaze. While Don McGregor did a considerable job with T’Challa, it is evident that when dealing with culturally diverse characters, it is best to have a person who is of that culture to spearhead the character’s development. While some dismissed it as a promotional tool to ramp up interest in the Black Panther film by director Ryan Coogler, Coates proved that he is a writing force to be reckoned with. In his run of Black Panther, we receive a more nuanced idea of what T’Challa’s reign as a King is. The strife, the complications, the love interests, the cultural context – are perfected with Ta Nehisi’s flawless sociopolitical insight. Here are some highlights of his amazing run. [Read more…] about Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Black Panther Retrospective

Meet the Xenomorphs in Aliens Omnibus Volume 1

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Aliens: Nightmare Asylum, written by Mark Verheiden, art by Den Beauvais and Roger Casselman, lettering by Bob Pinaha and J. David Jackson

If you have yet to get into the Aliens comic franchise, you are in for a treat. Appearing mostly as one-shots and limited series starting in the late ’80s continuing up to this very day, these comics tend to be wildly violent and epically dystopian. Though centered around our beloved Xenomorphs (and sometimes Ripley!), the Aliens comics have also introduced a lot of brand new characters and concepts that, alongside the Alien novels, only helps add to the mythos of the films.

Aliens Omnibus Vol. 1 collects hundreds of pages of the classic Dark Horse-era Aliens output. It should be noted that there has already been an Aliens Omnibus series that is now out of print. The Marvel omnibus gathers more issues into a single volume and seems to be fully collecting not just the central series but the fill-ins and back-up stories that appeared in anthology series like Dark Horse Presents.

Collects: Aliens (1988) 1-6, Aliens (1989) 1-4, Aliens: Earth War (1990) 1-4, Aliens: Genocide (1991) 1-4, Aliens: Hive (1992) 1-4, Aliens: Tribes (1992) 1, Aliens: Newt’s Tale (1992) 1-2, Alien 3 (1992) 1-3, Aliens: Space Marines (1992) 1-12; material from Dark Horse Presents (1986) 24, 42-43, 56; Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special (1991) 1; Dark Horse Insider (1989) 14-27 [Read more…] about Meet the Xenomorphs in Aliens Omnibus Volume 1