A Comic Book Reading Order Guide For Beginners & Fans
[Forewarning: This is purely a personal account and view of my own relationship to Marvel’s Mutantdom. It is not by any means intended to be an end-all-be-all perspective or an all-encompassing thing nor a ‘Here’s Why It Bad’ or any kind of harsh judgement. Take it purely for what it is, which is as a reflection on a concept as it relates to personal interest.]
I’ve never been a big fan of The X-Men.
Well, actually, that’s not true. [Read more…] about The X-Men & Me: Reflections on a Metaphor
You could say Apocalypse and Rictor forge a covenant in this issue, but I’m not sure what the other two are! Maybe another one is Betsy’s agreement with the Queen? Pretty silly to call that a covenant, especially given how blandly it’s presented. (Is it supposed to read so silly?)
Related:
[Read more…] about (Re)Read Hickman’s X-Men: Apocalypse, Now – Excalibur #1-6 Pt. 3
Excalibur will possibly end before it reaches issue #30—although that seems crazy with how much material Tini Howard and Marcus To have introduced, enough for a whole franchise! An entire comic company could be launched from all the elements of their Otherworldly worldbuilding—and X-office contributions, generally. So hopefully, Marvel backs off a bit on its recent kneejerk habit of just rebooting everything without strong in-universe reasons or respect to fans of titles whose stories are never resolved!
That said, this series hasn’t been without its flaws, and its first six issues are its weakest. They still contain much of interest and lay diverse seeds of potential for future storytelling—besides the fact the art is beautiful.
But if the series were to end, it would be a real shame—avoidable if it relaunches with the same creators under a title like Captain Britain and Her Majesty’s Mutants or something. (I’m not a fan of the word “witchbreed,” which is meant to be pejorative anyway; neither is it very compelling.) It’s clear to anyone following Excalibur that the creative team is just getting started with the epic they obviously want to give us. Although that is a bit strange to say after 23 issues!
Related:
[Read more…] about (Re)Read Hickman’s X-Men: Otherworldly Machinations – Excalibur #1-6 Pt. 2
A Companion to 2019’s New Mutants
Ed Brisson’s short eight-issue stint on New Mutants isn’t as memorable or relevant as the other X stories coming out at the time—with the exception of the entirely forgettable Fallen Angels. But it’s nice to see Brisson faithfully depicting these beloved younger mutants, who otherwise aren’t getting much play. And Italian artists Flaviano and Marco Failla are a perfect fit for the material, with each handling distinct stories except for sharing this first arc, which was, along with the switch-up with Hickman’s issues, a little jarring.
(The second Brisson arc, issues #9-11, is the more memorable one.)
[Read more…] about (Re)Read Hickman’s X-Men Era: Like Marauders But Not as Cool
If you were to ask comic readers what Big Two character had the most consistent or strongest publication history, you’d be hard-pressed to find an answer beyond Daredevil, especially Daredevil after Frank Miller’s revitalization of the character. Between Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev in the early 2000s, Mark Waid and Chris Samnee in the early 2010s, and Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto’s current run, most people would only be able to point to a handful of stories that didn’t meet the high bar of quality they’ve come to expect from the character.
Charles Soule’s run has a bit of a weird reputation in the midst of this, though. It followed the beloved and subversive Mark Waid run, taking every significant change from that run and undoing it. No longer was Matt in San Francisco, he was back in Hell’s Kitchen. His delightful love interest Kirsten was nowhere to be seen. His secret identity was back to being a secret. It would be hard for anyone who enjoyed Waid’s run to not balk at this abrupt change, especially because the story refused to explain how it happened for a year. But with the omnibus coming out