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Decorum #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Mike Huddleston Review!

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Editor’s Note: Although I remain in a state of X-Men induced delirium inspired by the Jonathan Hickman written House of X / Powers of X era, the writer somehow found time to kick off an 8 issue Image Comics series, Decorum, with artist Mike Huddleston. The oversized opening issue is a fascinating blend of hard science fiction (reminiscent of Powers of X) and space assassins operating in the seedy underbelly of a developing galactic superstructure.
Since Decorum is full of fluid visuals and challenging science fiction, I recommended the book to Comic Book Herald’s writer supreme, John Galati. Naturally, John responded with an annotated array of thoughtful notes, comparisons, and critiques. Check it out below, and then check out Decorum #1 for yourself!

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Krakin’ Krakoa #44: Death of Death – How Vulcan Connects Hickman’s X-Men, Immortal Hulk, War of Kings & Avengers!

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While he’s been laughably drunk and bombastic throughout the Krakoa era of X-Men, Gabriel Summers, aka Vulcan’s return to the world of X-Men brings with a huge mystery that extends from Hickman’s X-Men to Immortal Hulk to cosmic fallout from the 2009 event War of Kings.

Today I’ll answer:

  • + What is the mystery of Vulcan and why does it matter for X-Men?
  • + What does this have to do with “The Death of Death” and War of Kings
  • + How might this mystery connect to everything from “Sinister Secrets” to the Phoenix to the promised December X-Men event in 2020

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DC Comics Young Adult Graphic Novels List!

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Starting in 2019, DC formalized their YA comics with the DC Ink imprint dedicated to standalone graphic novels set outside DC Comics expansive continuity. The end result is a growing list of accessible, high quality graphic novels from talented YA creators, and many times writers and artists known to standard floppy comic book fans.

Unlike the “mature readers” Black Label imprint, DC Ink is less centralized around Batman stories (although you’ll find some!), and open to a more diverse array of DC heroes, anti-heroes, and villains. My personal favorite so far is Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass which does a great job of showing the potential in these graphic novels for both new readers and longtime comics fans. [Read more…] about DC Comics Young Adult Graphic Novels List!

DC Comics: Crisis of Creative Communication

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For a comic book universe to tell its stories to maximum efficiency, creators, editors and departments need to have an understanding and plan in mind going forward. An excellent example is during the late-80s to mid-90s.  Especially post Crisis on Infinite Earths. The DC universe needed to be restructured, and to do this in a consistent and effective manner, the different departments have to be organised. The events following Crisis on Infinite Earths, such as Panic in the Sky and Legends were integrated extremely well into all the ongoing series that it effected. This takes masterful planning and a clear line of communication. DC Comics in particular have had periods where their organisation skills have been incredible. However, recently they have found themselves heavily segmented, resulting in one of the most awkward reading experiences in a long time.

If we look at the DC creative teams at the beginning of 2020, excluding Black Label as a separate entity, you can see some very clear archetypal groups.

Spoilers For Discussed Comics May Follow!

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