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The Best Carnage Comics of All Time!

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Since his brooding debut in writer David Michelinie and artist Erik Larsen’s The Amazing Spider-Man #344 (1991), serial killer Cletus Kasady has become a familiar, fan-favorite fixture in Peter Parker’s rogues’ gallery as the most common host of the bloodred Carnage Symbiote.

Unlike the more amenable Spider-Frenemy Venom, Carnage has been defined by his unwavering tenacity, his murderous intent, and his ruthlessness. He doesn’t just hate Spider-Man, he hates everyone and everything. Sometimes hilarious but always hyper-violent, he’s a force of nature unlike many others in the Marvel universe, and his long and sometimes complicated history reflects it in both its lowest moments and its surprisingly dense and tense highs. Even Woody Harrelson has taken note.

That’s right, Cletus Cortland Kasady: serial killer… and serial storyteller! It’s more likely than you might think in our list of the best Carnage comics below! [Read more…] about The Best Carnage Comics of All Time!

Nightcrawler’s Religious History & Christianity in X-Men Comics | Krakin’ Krakoa #181

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From the unforgettable Dave Cockrum design to the swashbuckling heart of the X-Men in the pages of Chris Claremont and company’s comics, Nightcrawler has long been my favorite mutant. I remain elated by the opening sequence of Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, and forever lament the character’s general absence in the 90s animated series. As the character develops in comics, Kurt Wagner’s Christianity becomes a more integral part of his story, not quite as integral as say Daredevil’s Catholicism, or even Kamala Khan’s Islamic faith, but certainly notable among the X-Men.

Today I’ll Answer:

  • What has Nightcrawler’s religion looked like through comics history?
  • Is there space for Christianity on Krakoa?
  • What does this history tell us about what to expect in 2021’s Way of X and beyond?

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The Hickman X-Men (Re)Read: House of X #5, Pt.2 – The Mutant Renaissance

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III. Renaissance & Celebration (pgs6-19)

And we’re back—at the start of HOX/POX. With so many mutants having died before the Hickman era and not a few of the same being teased in HOX/POX previews and the mystery of “the pod people” in HOX 1, we knew that mutant resurrection was going to be key to the start of Hickman’s run.

Related:

Hickman X-Men Reading Order

Krakin’ Krakoa!

More in this series!

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Creannotators #48: “Djeliya” with Creator Juni Ba!

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This week on Creannotators, I talk with creator Juni Ba about his upcoming graphic novel Djeliya from TKO Studios! We talk about the West African folklore’s influence, inspiration from Samurai Jack to Disney’s Atlantis to Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, and themes of hidden or omitted national histories, among much more.

On Comic Book Herald’s ‘Creannotators’ I’ll be interviewing some of my favorite creators in comics about specific runs, graphic novels or series, looking for their insights on the inspirations behind the work and ideas or hidden material readers may have missed. Creannotators is an audio annotative guide to enjoying the intricacies and thinking in the art. Thanks for listening, and enjoy the comics!

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Introducing Robbie Reyes: The All-New Ghost Rider Omnibus

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Ghost Rider Vol 8 #3, cover art by Felipe Smith, written by Felipe Smith, art by Danilo Beyruth and Jesus Aburtov, lettering by Joe Caramanga

The Ghost Rider has been one of the most prominent spooky antiheroes of mainstream comics since way back in 1972, and it’s hard to imagine a Marvel Universe without him creeping around its edges and popping in for the occasional crossover. Though Johnny Blaze was the original and Danny Ketch was his predecessor, there are countless other Ghost Riders that have never been explored at length.

When Marvel’s All-New line was in its planning stages, they approached writer and artist Felipe Smith to create a new Ghost Rider with the stipulations that he had to be young and he needed to drive a car rather than a motorcycle. Out of these sparse guidelines, Robbie Reyes was born. A Ghost Rider with a unique powerset and a troubled relationship with the spirit of a serial killer that he has been bonded with, Reyes brought a whole new edge to the Ghost Rider mythos in Ghost Rider: Robbie Reyes – The Complete Collection, while keeping the visual and thematic appeal of the character fully intact.

Collects: All-New Ghost Rider #1 to #12, Ghost Rider #1 to #5, What If? Ghost Rider (2018) #1 [Read more…] about Introducing Robbie Reyes: The All-New Ghost Rider Omnibus