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Best New Graphic Novel: Muhammad Ali, Kinshasa 1974

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Round 1

The more I learn about Muhammad Ali, the less I realize I actually know about the near mythical boxing champion. As an all-around sports fan growing up decades after Ali’s final fight, I’m certainly familiar with the sound bites (“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” and “I am the greatest!”), and the widely accepted knowledge that Ali, previously known as Cassius Clay, was not only the greatest boxer of his era, but one of the most dominant sports figures of all time.

All of that leaves out so many fascinating details that shape the full figure of the personality; Ali’s public refusal to go to Vietnam, his connections to the likes of Malcolm X or Sam Cooke, his thoughts and influence on race, or – and this one blew my mind – that in 1990 Muhammad Ali met with Saddam Hussein to negotiate the release of 15 hostages!

The new Titan Comics graphic novel Muhammad Ali, Kinshasa 1974 doesn’t deign to capture all of this in full, but in its way it does manage to shade in a more fully realized portrait of the world heavyweight champion, from his origins through his iconic comeback against George Foreman in Zaire (popularly known as “The Rumble in the Jungle”). The end result is one of the most interesting sports documentary graphic novels I’ve read, and one of my favorite reads of 2021. [Read more…] about Best New Graphic Novel: Muhammad Ali, Kinshasa 1974

The Best of Deadpool!

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Deadpool, “the Merc with a Mouth” is one of my very favorite characters. He is annoying, hilarious, and violent – but he has a tendency to curb his antics when it’s time to help other people. His voracious eating of tacos, numerous nerd references, and endless self-sabotaging redefines what to expect from a bloodthirsty maniac with a taste for homicide. There is an uncertainty as to whether he is a hero, antihero, or villain. Perhaps the truth is he cannot be boxed into any of them because he is unpredictable, and his schtick puts him in a position where he can be anything he chooses. For better or worse, whether you love him or hate him, Wade Wilson is here to stay because you CAN’T KILL HIM. [Read more…] about The Best of Deadpool!

Mirka Andolfo’s Boobalicious ‘Un/Sacred’ Busts Down Social Barriers

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Mirka Andolfo’s “Un/Sacred” (2019) is a titillating and tender-hearted romantic comedy, illustrating how the odd-pairing of an angel and demon, Angelina and Damiano, challenge social definitions of domestic normalcy around them. The first volume of “Unsacred,” published by Ablaze Press, consists of seven issues translated from the Italian “Sacro/Profano,” and is a humorous consideration of what happens when opposites attract and try to build a family in a world that doesn’t readily accept their union. [Read more…] about Mirka Andolfo’s Boobalicious ‘Un/Sacred’ Busts Down Social Barriers

How to (Re)Read the Hickman Era of X-Men: House of X #2 Pt. 1

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I. The Cover Story of House of X #2: The Uncanny Life of Moira X

Six Moiras on the cover, forming a hexagram, patterns like fingerprints in the background, each portrait opposite someone else’s—with two more triangular portraits fitted into the corners. It’s as if we’re looking end-on at a prismatic crystal, each facet featuring a grim-faced icon.

Seeing this cover for the first time, the reader would be struck by mystery—primarily: Moira as Apocalypse?!

Related:

Hickman X-Men Reading Order

Krakin’ Krakoa!

More in this series!

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Legion of Super-Heroes: Before The Darkness

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The Legion of Super-Heroes can be a bit of an acquired taste, and the dozens upon dozens of trades collecting their stories offer an abundance of choices that might not necessarily make it easier to break into the series. As with the characters of the Legion, the trades are many, and a lot of them don’t have a ton of depth. There is plenty of content, but it takes a while for the essential stuff to start happening, and that has been retconned and re-retconned to the end of time.

Legion of Super-Heroes: Before the Darkness (collecting Legion of Super-Heroes #260-271 and Secrets of the Legion of Super-Heroes #1-3) is not essential, but it builds a bridge between the departure of Superboy and the pending Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen run that would go on to define the team for many readers. The fact is that in spite of and often because of its density, The Legion of Super-Heroes is almost always at least a little bit fun to read. Case in point: Before The Darkness begins with a fight at a space circus and ends with more than one assassination attempt under its belt. So buckle up, it’s going to be a wild ride. [Read more…] about Legion of Super-Heroes: Before The Darkness