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Meet Marc Spector in the Moon Knight Omnibus

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Werewolf By Night, cover artist Gil Kane, written by Doug Moench, art by Don Perlin, Howie Perlin, and Phil Rachelson, lettering by Ray Holloway

Moon Knight is one of the stranger superheroes, and his relationship with violence, heroism, and the ghosts of his own misdeeds have combined to create one of Marvel’s most underrated properties. That’s sure to change with the debut of the pending TV series, but it’s easy to forget that this is a character that has been hanging around in the Marvel Universe since all the way back in 1975. Despite a fair number of solo series and guest appearances over decades, Moon Knight (aka Marc Spector) can be a hard nut to crack.

Fortunately, there are now collections that make it easy to read all of Marc Spector’s earliest stories in the same place. Moon Knight Omnibus Vol. 1 collects Moon Knight’s first appearances in Werewolf By Night, a handful of team-up issues, an offbeat collaboration with the Defenders, his short run as a back-up story in Hulk Magazine, and the first twenty issues of his 1980 solo run. Though it introduces Marc Spector as a guest star to other heroes, this trade proves that his early days can be read as a surprisingly linear character arc. [Read more…] about Meet Marc Spector in the Moon Knight Omnibus

X-Factor Epic Collection: Angel Of Death Review!

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X-Factor exists in a really strange memory limbo. Most people think of the team as the Peter David run with Multiple Man or the government-run era with Havok and Polaris. But if you’re really tuned in you remember the original hook of the team being the Original Five X-Men reunited, and if you’re really really tuned in you remember the additional hook of them masquerading as Mutant Hunters to take and train the mutants they “captured” as the “X-Terminators”. This Original Five era may not be necessarily the most well-remembered era in the concept of the X-Factor team, but it can’t be denied that it gave some incredibly influential building blocks into the X-Universe – including Apocalypse, Archangel, and of course…Nanny and Orphanmaker. 

While Bob Layton was the author of the beginnings of this series, it really started bringing these ideas to life when the great Louise Simonson, primarily joined by her husband Walt Simonson, took the reins. X-Factor Epic Collection: Angel Of Death collects this Simonson era in its full swing. This collection really pushes the scope for what X-Factor as a concept can be by stripping it down and rebuilding what works, what doesn’t, and making it look like it was meant to be there from the beginning. From Archangel to “Inferno”, this collection really captures some of the heights of the Simonsons’ X-Factor run while keeping up the serialized soap opera so at home in this era of X-Books. 

[Read more…] about X-Factor Epic Collection: Angel Of Death Review!

The Best Silver Surfer Comics!

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Of the many co-creations of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Silver Surfer is one that was exceptionally close to Lee’s heart—he referred to the character as his personal philosophical outlet and a mouthpiece for many of his own observations on the human race. Indeed, Surfer’s removed, sensitive condemnation of the foolishness of humankind remains relatable to this day, and it brought out a seldom seen quietly emotional side to Lee’s writing that has continued to inform the character. All these many decades later, the Surfer remains almost completely unchanged from his foundational appearances. [Read more…] about The Best Silver Surfer Comics!

Pietro Maximoff: The Twin I Hate to Love and Love to Hate

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*Some WandaVision discussion & possible spoilers through episode six follows!*

Most people’s only exposure to Pietro Maximoff, better known as the speedster Quicksilver and brother to the Scarlet Witch, is the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s depiction in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and of course the much quirkier (and popular) “Peter” version from FOX’s later X-Men films. In fact, X-Men actor Evan Peters can now be seen now on Disney+’s WandaVision playing a warped version of the MCU’s Maximoff twin, somehow (what’s up with that, anyway?). These portrayals of Pietro have very little in common with each other, and yet they’re all miles apart from the original comic book character that inspired them. And isn’t that fascinating? Whatever changes the MCU makes in the characters’ origins, they usually maintain the personalities of major characters relatively intact in the process of adaptation. Why didn’t they with Pietro?

So. Let’s talk about Pietro Maximoff. That slippery bastard. [Read more…] about Pietro Maximoff: The Twin I Hate to Love and Love to Hate

Quicksilver Reading Order!

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Let’s get this out of the way. If the Marvel Universe put together a tournament to crown the most unlikeable character, our friend Quicksilver would be the #1 seed. Pietro Maximoff — along with his sister, Wanda, the Scarlet Witch — graced us with their presence way back in the original Lee/Kirby X-Men. Pietro has remained brash, impatient, and generally the worst throughout his comic history. He also happens to be a world-class speedster who has spent significant time with the Avengers, the Inhumans, the Fantastic Four, and across various X-Books. Let’s get up to speed. [Read more…] about Quicksilver Reading Order!