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Reviews

Black Widow Movie Review: The Reboot Redefined

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The number one question I’ve had about Black Widow since its announcement as a belated Phase 4 MCU project is *why* finally getting to a Scarlett Johansson solo movie made since for this new era. After all, the narrative is set between 2016’s Captain America: Civil War and 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War. So why wasn’t this movie planned for *that* time period, apart from Marvel Studios (specifically Ike Perlmutter’s) absolute terror of delivering a feature film with a woman lead?

Ultimately, regardless of the success of the film as Marvel’s mixture of The Americans, cold war spies, and classic Black Widow superhero intrigue, I’m going to fixate on the purpose (glorious or no) of Black Widow as a Phase 4 film. Delivering a massively belated ScarJo spy movie just because it’s better late than never simply rings hollow.

So does Black Widow deliver as a turning point for this post Avengers: Endgame MCU landscape? [Read more…] about Black Widow Movie Review: The Reboot Redefined

Courtney Crumrin Review!

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Ted Naifeh’s Courtney Crumrin falls under the category of children’s stories that scare the hell out of me. I first read them in tiny black and white editions, camped out in the local library. They didn’t have all of them, but the ones they did have?

A creepy little town with an imposing great-uncle. A tongue in cheek tone, as a two-legged wolf thing introduces the story and characters. Goblin Town, magic, and fairy tales. Family and loneliness and love. I was immediately pulled in by the fairy tale aspects, and the sense of meaning and significance that all good legends carry. [Read more…] about Courtney Crumrin Review!

How to (Re)Read the Hickman Era of X-Men: Xavier & Magneto’s Coup Against Moira X- the Ultimate “Precog”?

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Before stepping back to Year 1000 in POX 5, let’s briefly look at this devastating cover to POX 6. Already we’ve speculated about this image, that it speaks to the potential tragic fallout of Moira’s own hubris. (Why would she otherwise be the one left standing?) The only other thing to mention for now is that those trees do resemble cherry blossoms, symbolic for the Japanese of the ephemerality of life.

Related:

Hickman X-Men Reading Order

Krakin’ Krakoa!

More in this series!

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Generation X Epic Collection: Back To School Review!

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Generation X is a strange spot in the larger X-Universe in such a unique way. Whereas Simonson’s X-Factor was a bit of an odd duck with so many elements that would become such important staples for the mutant corner of the Marvel Universe, Generation X starts out with such a specific voice and strong characters, but for the longest time felt forgotten in the larger scheme of the X-Men line.

Arguably the most popular character from the book is Jubilee who had a head start by being a member of the X-Men proper and made even more popular by being a mainstay on the iconic cartoon. Following Jubilee in popularity would be Monet, who outside of this series, was a mainstay of Peter David’s X-Factor amid other scattered appearances. As for the rest, there didn’t seem to be much love for Chamber, Synch, Husk, Skin, and their time at the Massachusetts campus of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.

[Read more…] about Generation X Epic Collection: Back To School Review!

The Power Pack (Don’t) Grow Up (And That’s Fine) In The Power Pack Omnibus

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Power Pack #44, cover art by Jon Bogdanova, written by Jon Bogdanova, art by June Brigman, Russ Heath, Hilary Barta, and Glynis Oliver, lettering by Joe Rosen

Louise Simonson might be best known as co-creator of seminal X-Characters like Cable and Apocalypse (with Chris Claremont, Rob Liefeld and Jackson Guice), or perhaps as one of the key writers of the “Death of Superman” story, but those accomplishments are still only part of the work she’s done in superhero comics. After editing various Marvel books for years, Simonson was inspired to create a new team in the Power Pack, which featured four super-powered siblings (Alex, Julie, Jack, and Katie Power) who gain their superpowers from a horse-like alien (called Kymellians, at war with the Snarks) named Whitey. In collaboration with the great June Brigman, Marvel’s first-ever preteen superhero team was formed.

Power Pack Classic Omnibus remains a unique book all these years later, and though it was ostensibly aimed at children, the stories often leaned into fairly adult subject matter. After all, Power Pack #27 saw the children appear in the Mutant Massacre, where they worked to stop Sabertooth’s murderous rampage across the Morlock tunnels while witnessing the attempted annihilation of an entire community of mutants. Yet the greatness of Power Pack is in how it mixes incredibly heavy subject matter with the endearing dynamics of a family that truly loves one another. The worse things get, the more the Power kids come through for each other, and that’s largely what continues to define the team here in the latter days of their ongoing.

Collects: Power Pack (1984) #37-62, Excalibur (1988) #29, Power Pack Holiday Special #1, Power Pack (2000) #1-4, Fantastic Four (1998) #574, FF (2011) #15, Power Pack (2017) #63, Power Pack: Grow Up! and material from Marvel Super-Heroes (1990) #6 and Marvel Fanfare (1982) #55 [Read more…] about The Power Pack (Don’t) Grow Up (And That’s Fine) In The Power Pack Omnibus