Reviews

Omnibussin: The Later Marvel Years of The Black Panther

November 16, 2022 by Luka Nieto Garay Leave a Comment

The release of 2018’s Black Panther was a bit of a surprise hit for Marvel Studios. One good reason we know that is that the publishing arm of Marvel did not bother to prepare a single hardcover collection in time for the film’s release—something they’ve begun to do for all of their movies. Marvel vowed to do better next time around, and they have: where once there were no Black Panther omnibuses, now three have been released in a span of a few months, just before the release of the much-anticipated sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. And another one’s on the way! But Black Panther has a long comics history, so these don’t even begin to cover all his adventures: what omnibuses are left? What will they contain? That’s what we’re here to find out!

The A.X.E.: Judgment Day Reread

November 10, 2022 by David Bowen Leave a Comment

[From Free Comic Book Day 2022: Avengers/X-Men; art by Dustin Weaver, Marte Gracia and Cory Petit; the only time I recall seeing the “vs.” included in the event title—misleading much here in the free promo?!]

This is the first of several pieces that looks at the core “A.X.E.: Judgment Day” story from start to finish. We’ll focus on the event series A.X.E.: Judgment Day and the tie-ins written by event author and architect and ongoing Immortal X-Men writer Kieron Gillen (working with artists Valerio Schiti, Guiu Vilanova and Lucas Werneck, respectively), as well as the X-Men: Red tie-in issues from Al Ewing and Stefano Caselli, the surprise mini-masterpiece Legion of X #6 from Si Spurrier and Rafael Pimentel and Marauders #6 from Steve Orlando and Andrea Broccardo—which isn’t as essential as the others but is significant for devoting an entire issue to Krakoan reactions—specifically, the Marauders’—to the Progenitor’s judgment; indeed, the story deals with developing a healthy response to a false god’s terrifyingly bratty judginess.

So, we’re narrowing in on what’s already a wealth of material, paring down from 30+ issues with the tie-ins to appreciate the core of this epic story and its most integral side stories, while appreciating the nuances of character, theme and continuity that each storyteller brings to this apocalyptic barnstormer.

Who Watched the Watchmen? Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt

November 3, 2022 by J.Y. Leave a Comment

It is often said that Watchmen is the most influential comic ever to be released. That comics wouldn’t be where they are without it, for good and for ill. But how did we get here, exactly? More to the point, just what influence did Watchmen provide to the larger world of comics? What, ultimately, is the legacy of Watchmen? Who watched the Watchmen?

It was inevitable that someone would create a map for a post-Watchmen world, in comic form. And that’s exactly what Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt (2019) is: not an exploration of what Watchmen is or means, but a rebuke, a retort, and above all else, a set of instructions that direct artists out from under the “iron hand” that Watchmen has on the medium.