Shipping out of sequence to accommodate the currently in-progress “Black Vortex” event story, the latest issue of All-New X-Men is the weightiest and most gripping chapter to date. Brian Michael Bendis delivers a solid script, sure enough, but the real accolades go to the art team. Until now, the adventure trades as a fairly light-hearted deep-space heist/romp team-up of the X-Men and the Guardians of the Galaxy but that all changes heading into Sorrentino-country! [Read more…] about ALL NEW X-MEN #38 Review: “Whose Crossover Is This Anyway?”
Marvel Reviews
NEW AVENGERS #30 Review: “Marvel Horror Story”
Following a series of increasingly intense issues, Jonathan Hickman’s latest somehow elevates the phrase “we’re boned” to an unparalleled height. Framed largely as a sequence of flashbacks, “Beyonders” is an unrelenting twenty page tale of woe. Latter-day Illuminati members Yellowjacket and Captain Britain take the lead, in turn conveying to the Avengers that the ongoing Multiversal collapse is a terminal problem on the most macro of levels. In short, confirming that even if the heroes somehow triumph, there’s no going back. As in: there will be nothing to go back to. Their ticket is punched, one-way and irreversibly. [Read more…] about NEW AVENGERS #30 Review: “Marvel Horror Story”
UNCANNY X-MEN #31 Review: “Undo Ex Machina!”
The old adage about books and covers is definitely in effect with the latest installment of Uncanny X-Men. Advertised as dealing with fallout from Marvel’s recent Avengers & X-Men: Axis, this chapter actually serves as the conclusion to the even longer-running “The Last Will and Testament of Charles Xavier” storyline, originating as a tie-in to last summer’s Original Sin event series. Clocking in at nine parts, there is satisfaction in crossing the finish line but enjoyment mileage for the journey will definitely vary. [Read more…] about UNCANNY X-MEN #31 Review: “Undo Ex Machina!”
DARTH VADER #1 Review: “The Dark Lord of the Spin-Off!”
Capitalizing on the recent relaunch of the main Star Wars title, Marvel is building a linewide franchise around stories from a certain galaxy far, far away. First on the expansion roster is a solo series spotlighting the central figure of the six feature-length films, Darth Vader. One of the most memorably dramatic and ominous presences on the greater pop culture landscape, the (thankfully) former Anakin Skywalker is also on a very short list of characters to exist without any true in-depth attention. Writer Kieron Gillen and artist Salvador Larroca are seeing to it justice is done to the oversight. [Read more…] about DARTH VADER #1 Review: “The Dark Lord of the Spin-Off!”
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #14 Review: “This is (not) the end”
Amazing Spider-Man #14! Spider-Verse: Part Six! Not exactly the final chapter, not exactly part six, especially considering all of the various tie-ins. Here we are at the end, and while none of the loose ends get tied up, the story finally comes to the part that English teachers would call the Climax. In two weeks, be ready for what Marvel calls the Epilogue, but I’ll call the Resolution. [Read more…] about THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #14 Review: “This is (not) the end”