Marvel Reviews

(Re)Read Hickman’s X-Men: X-Men #8-11 & Empyre: X-Men #1-4

January 30, 2022 by David Bowen Leave a Comment

All Set-Up and… A Fun Side Romp in Someone Else’s Big Event–

With Hickman having once again upped the cosmic ante for Krakoa in 2020’s X-Men #8-11, hopefully readers won’t have to wait for his eventual return to the X line for the resolution to these alien mysteries—more to the point, let’s see these story elements get some development in 2022. The world’s looking at you, Mr. Ewing!! Aliens, aliens, so many aliens, oh my!!!

Related:

Hickman X-Men Reading Order

Krakin’ Krakoa!

Marvel Then: The Brilliance of Hawkeye

January 28, 2022 by Dave Leave a Comment

In October 2012, Marvel rebranded their entire line of comics under the “Marvel Now” banner, an era that would effectively last for three years until 2015’s Secret Wars. It’s a fan favorite era of comics, under the editorial reign of Axel Alonso, with titles like Hawkeye, Superior Spider-Man, Thor: God of Thunder, and Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers among many others.

2022 marks the 10 year anniversary of Marvel Now, so at Comic Book Herald, we’ll be looking back at the best, most interesting, or just downright most confounding Marvel Now titles. This is “Marvel Then.” [Read more…] about Marvel Then: The Brilliance of Hawkeye

X Lives of Wolverine #1: Logan’s Many Lives—X, VI, & VII (Plus: Those Darn Russkies)

January 24, 2022 by David Bowen 2 Comments

WARNING: Spoilers abound!

Given everything that had been teased about X Lives and X Deaths of Wolverine, I expected the first issue to open with Logan traveling back in time to some relatively predictable venue—Canada, Madripoor, or Japan, as Mr. Percy directed us to look back to Logan’s opening narration at the start of his Wolverine #1. What a pleasant surprise, then, to find the best there is at what he does doing something wholly unexpected and very good, all things considered, for the fate of mutantkind: rescuing a newly born Charles Xavier and simultaneously slicing baby Chuck’s umbilical cord…! With a bone claw?! While the midwife is possessed by Omega Red and terrorizing the lucky new parents?!?

Well, this is Xavier Mansion in Westchester, and Logan in Wolverine #1 did mention New York as one of his main haunts—just not so far back in time. [Read more…] about X Lives of Wolverine #1: Logan’s Many Lives—X, VI, & VII (Plus: Those Darn Russkies)

(Re)Read Hickman’s X-Men: Who’s the Monster— New Mutants #9-12

January 22, 2022 by David Bowen Leave a Comment

By Ed Brisson, Flaviano, & Marco Failla.

Ed Brisson (story), Flaviano (pencils/inks, NM 9-11), Marco Failla (pencils/inks, NM 12), Carlos Lopez (colors), Travis Lanham (letters), Mike Del Mundo (covers), Jordan D. White & Annalise Bissa (editors)

These issues actually take place before X-Men #8, since Magik here has just returned from Shi’ar space along with the other OG New Mutants and the King Egg—before the Krakoans knew what they’d stolen!

“Really,” they must’ve come back before X-Force #4 since Doug’s there, unspeaking, at the Quiet Council. This era’s continuity has been very confusing to keep track of! See my provisional DOX continuity order below, after the article.

Related:

Hickman X-Men Reading Order

Krakin’ Krakoa!

Jason Aaron on Avengers & She-Hulk: World War Huh?

January 21, 2022 by David Bowen 4 Comments

What is this broken toy with a flickering bulb for a brain lumbering through 50 issues of a flagship title? It’s certainly not She-Hulk—and I don’t simply mean she’s not “my” She-Hulk. I know it wasn’t Jason Aaron who first broke this character, but what he is guilty of is keeping her broken—and dull, dull, dull, super-dim and super-dumb. In fact, he could’ve just had her mumbling and grumbling word bubbles occupied by nothing but those very words, dull-dull and dumb-dumb, for the past almost four years.

This critique of Aaron’s run spins out of my reading of the recently released World War She-Hulk trade, the first half of which has career-best art from Javier Garrón, one of my favorites. That is the only positive I can share regarding this collection. There are Garrón pages in maybe a quarter of the bloated issue #50 occupying the rest of the volume, which sees the return of the bombastically cartoonish work of Ed McGuinness, who was previously busy with Heroes Reborn—an Aaron-helmed, Squadron-centric event that did less than nothing to make me care more about that tired parody of the Justice League. [Read more…] about Jason Aaron on Avengers & She-Hulk: World War Huh?

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