X-Men

X-Men #7: A Reflection on the Duggan / Larraz Run So Far

February 9, 2022 by David Bowen Leave a Comment

The ongoing X-Men title that started last summer, in the wake of both X of Swords and Hellfire Gala, is doing what many longtime fans of the franchise have been missing—interacting more with the world beyond Krakoa (unsurprising the way the Marvel Universe bills itself as “the world outside your window”). But writer Gerry Duggan is actually giving us much more than just that almost numbingly overstuffed world; he’s making the X-Men intersect with MU mainstays in entirely unexpected ways that on reflection appear entirely inevitable.

So right off, I just have to say that I’m enjoying Gerry Duggan’s X-Men immensely, especially the stellar art that is really making it all pop so vividly, whether we’re talking Pepe Larraz or Javier Pina. Even so, I’ve got a few quibbles, like, most recently: Why, why, why did the Arakki not immediately secure their moons, Phobos and Deimos?

Casual Krakoa: X Lives of Wolverine #2, Sabretooth #1, The X-Cellent Return of X-Statix!

February 4, 2022 by Dave Leave a Comment

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 *

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Spotify | RSS

[Read more…]

There Will Be Love: Steve Orlando Arrives on Krakoa with Marauders Annual #1

February 1, 2022 by David Bowen Leave a Comment

[cover by Russell Dauterman and Matthew Wilson]

A New Crew Sets Sail—over the skies of Westchester!

So, Steve Orlando, Kate Pryde, and Lucas Bishop’s new crew of Marauders hasn’t literally set sail yet, but this annual coming out two months before the start of the next volume of Marauders does neatly establish the working roster, with brief tidy scenes with great character work through the kind of snappy dialogue you’d expect from Steve Orlando, an energetic but deeply character-focused writer with a gift for gab*; Kate and Bishop each do their recruiting job efficiently, and we get a vivid sense of who their fresh mates are without undue exposition.

(*If you don’t know Steve’s work, at least check out his astounding Midnighter and Martian Manhunter, both complete, state-of-the-art 12-issue runs, each a highwater benchmark for 21^st-century superhero comics, in a wildly innovative collaboration with artists ACO and Riley Rossmo. And his recent work I’ve not yet checked out has seen much praise, like the 2020 indie OGN with Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Kill a Man, and his ongoing Image series, Commanders in Crisis. Clearly, Mr. Orlando’s just revving his engines and there’s much more to come.)

(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!

Casual Krakoa: X Deaths of Wolverine, X-Men #7, Marauders Annual & Black Panther #3!

January 29, 2022 by Dave Leave a Comment

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 *

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Spotify | RSS

[Read more…]

X-Men

A New Crew Sets Sail—over the skies of Westchester!

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