A Comic Book Reading Order Guide For Beginners & Fans
On my weekly livestream, Casual Krakoa Live, I review the week’s X-Men comics, and answer big questions about what’s going on with Marvel’s merry mutants! You can listen or watch below:
* Spoilers Follow *
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[Read more…] about Judgement Day #2 | Comic Book Herald Live!
The DC Animated Universe (DCAU) was a big part of my childhood; I know I’m not alone in that. Watching Batman: The Animated Series, Static Shock, and all the other shows always was a good time. That universe gave us what – at the time – we didn’t have with Marvel or any cinematic experience. It ended on TV after Justice League Unlimited concluded, but it continued living on through a few movies and comics.
During the last season of JLU, we saw Lex Luthor forming the Legion of Doom, basically the Justice League for villains. After many failed attempts at destroying the League, Luthor tried to reach godhood again by reactivating Brainiac; instead, he resurrected Darkseid by mistake. In the last episode, the Justice League and the Legion of Doom united to fight Darkseid; however, the one who “defeated” him was Luthor, who delivered him the Anti-Life Equation.
JLU had a near-perfect conclusion, but between its events and the start of Batman Beyond there still were many possibilities; Justice League Infinity represents one of them. From JLU producer James Tucker and animated series writer J.M. DeMatteis, accompanied by artist Ethen Beavers and colorist Nick Filardi, Justice League Infinity is a multiversal (and really nostalgic) adventure that gives a taste of the great DCAU. [Read more…] about Justice League Infinity Review!
These days, thanks to his years of work with legacy Marvel Comics properties, Jonathan Hickman is regarded as one of the kings of long-term comic book storytelling. He is supremely skilled at planting seeds early on that become hugely impactful plot points, and at recontextualizing scenes by returning to them 30 issues later and revealing information that fills in gaps the reader had no idea existed. Within Marvel, that deftness has, of course, given us the 2015 universe-resetting Secret Wars event and, more recently, revitalized the entire X-Men franchise. But even with the huge swings Hickman has taken over the last decade or so, working with legacy characters within a shared universe at one of the Big Two meant he had at least some limitations. East of West – the sci-fi/western end-of-days epic Hickman co-created with artist Nick Dragotta – has no such boundaries. Over 45 dense, exciting issues, Hickman and Dragotta flex their world-building muscles, and boy are those two jacked. [Read more…] about Hickmania 8.1: East of West Review!
Wanda Maximoff. Wanda Frank. Just Wanda. Or the Scarlet Witch. The Great Pretender. The Great Redeemer. Whatever you may call her, she’s one of Marvel’s powerhouses, and that universe’s Nexus Being—that is, the living focal point for all its mystical energies… and, if that mumbo-jumbo doesn’t clue you in, she’s a character with a remarkably complicated history, too. I’ve discussed her before in this site (my first time writing for Comic Book Herald, actually), so I’ve already made my case for why she’s a worthwhile character despite all the many, many controversies and mistreatments. What I’m here to do today is try and coalesce all her convoluted continuity, which has mostly been told through team books instead of her own title, into a single omnibus Marvel could believably publish… as well as a fantasy version they certainly won’t.
[Read more…] about Omnibussin: The Saga of Wanda, the Scarlet Witch
This week on Creannotators, I’m talking The High Desert: Black Punk Nowhere
This conversation includes mature language
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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[Read more…] about Creannotators #89: “The High Desert: Black Punk Nowhere” with creator James Spooner!