Comic Book Herald

A Comic Book Reading Order Guide For Beginners & Fans

Sara Century

The Infinity Crusade Omnibus Review!

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Infinity Crusade #1, written by Jim Starlin, art by Ron Lim, Al Milgrom, and Ian Laughlin, lettering by Jack Morelli

Infinity Crusade is the third installment of the Infinity series, which means that comic fans of the early ’90s had already had their wallets tried by two similarly themed events in short succession. Though it’s difficult to know how this series would have read if one were returning to the comic shop every week only to see all their favorite titles had been sucked into the event, in omnibus form, we’re allowed to read Infinity Crusade all the way through, uninterrupted, as a 1200-ish page complete story.

As someone who had only read the crossover in bits and pieces beforehand, I found that the story greatly benefits from the collection by saving its reader from having to run quite literally all across the Marvel Universe to find random, loosely-connected issues. What we’re left with is a crossover that delivers on all its promises by giving fans the high-impact moments they want, with no shortage of compelling character beats among its sprawling cast. [Read more…] about The Infinity Crusade Omnibus Review!

Uncanny X-Men Omnibus, Volume 4 Review!

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Uncanny X-Men #185, written by Chris Claremont, art by John Romita Jr., Dan Green, and Glynis Oliver, lettering by Tom Orzechowski

Claremont’s X-Men run is generally referred to as an indisputable comic book classic, one that ran for no less than seventeen years (more if you include his various returns to the books after departing in 1991). There’s no question that it is where the greater world began to take notice and fall in love with X-Men’s suddenly complex and tragic mutants, and the special mix of science fiction, horror, action, and soap opera that Claremont brought to the book continues to define the mood of the franchise all these many years later.

With many of the X-Men’s greatest hits in the bag (The Dark Phoenix Saga, Proteus, The Brood Saga, etc.), this is where we truly start to see the stories diverging and expanding into a more sprawling and convoluted X-Continuity. Soon, Claremont would no longer be the only X-Writer, and we would see more and more of the spin-offs and crossovers that sometimes diluted and sometimes advanced the franchise. Though The Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Vol. 4 might read as more of a sporadic collection of B-plots than a saga, longtime readers and those newer readers that don’t mind being thrown into the deep end of the pool will be able to appreciate the character dynamics alongside many resolving and developing plot threads alike. [Read more…] about Uncanny X-Men Omnibus, Volume 4 Review!

Meet Marc Spector in the Moon Knight Omnibus

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Werewolf By Night, cover artist Gil Kane, written by Doug Moench, art by Don Perlin, Howie Perlin, and Phil Rachelson, lettering by Ray Holloway

Moon Knight is one of the stranger superheroes, and his relationship with violence, heroism, and the ghosts of his own misdeeds have combined to create one of Marvel’s most underrated properties. That’s sure to change with the debut of the pending TV series, but it’s easy to forget that this is a character that has been hanging around in the Marvel Universe since all the way back in 1975. Despite a fair number of solo series and guest appearances over decades, Moon Knight (aka Marc Spector) can be a hard nut to crack.

Fortunately, there are now collections that make it easy to read all of Marc Spector’s earliest stories in the same place. Moon Knight Omnibus Vol. 1 collects Moon Knight’s first appearances in Werewolf By Night, a handful of team-up issues, an offbeat collaboration with the Defenders, his short run as a back-up story in Hulk Magazine, and the first twenty issues of his 1980 solo run. Though it introduces Marc Spector as a guest star to other heroes, this trade proves that his early days can be read as a surprisingly linear character arc. [Read more…] about Meet Marc Spector in the Moon Knight Omnibus

The Best Silver Surfer Comics!

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Of the many co-creations of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Silver Surfer is one that was exceptionally close to Lee’s heart—he referred to the character as his personal philosophical outlet and a mouthpiece for many of his own observations on the human race. Indeed, Surfer’s removed, sensitive condemnation of the foolishness of humankind remains relatable to this day, and it brought out a seldom seen quietly emotional side to Lee’s writing that has continued to inform the character. All these many decades later, the Surfer remains almost completely unchanged from his foundational appearances. [Read more…] about The Best Silver Surfer Comics!

Thor and the Eternals: The Celestials Saga Review!

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Roy Thomas’ run on Thor isn’t generally considered one of the all-time greats, but it sure is long, and this is where we start to see it all wrap up. Ending with #297, it goes out on a suitably bizarre note, with countless unresolved plot threads and more questions than when we first started reading.

Jack Kirby’s Eternals series ended only a year and change before this arc began, but it wasn’t the first time the Eternals made an appearance in the pages of Thor. In fact, the Eternals and the Celestials played a fairly large role in Roy Thomas’ run, and this edition recaps recent events involving our beloved demigods. The long and the short of it is that the Celestial Arishem has begun a fifty-year-long judgement of humanity that will wrap up sometime in the far-flung future of 2026. Considering how the last forty-five years have gone, the idea of a cosmic judge overseeing and evaluating us based on their merits sounds a bit horrifying, but we’ll see how the next five years go. Go easy on us, Celestials. [Read more…] about Thor and the Eternals: The Celestials Saga Review!