Comic Book Herald

A Comic Book Reading Order Guide For Beginners & Fans

Reviews

Immortal X-Men #1 Review!

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Immortal X-Men as a book was always something of a tough sell. Having to follow up on potentially the most important X-Men run of the last few decades, follow up on the last guy’s ending, and chart your own path while keeping what came before; those are all difficult factors to juggle when you’re taking over someone else’s work. It’s even more pressing when you’re a returning X-Men writer. In the case of Kieron Gillen, he had a well-liked run that ended around a decade ago, returning to carry on one of Jonathan Hickman’s personal babies in the mutant Quiet Council. It presents an extremely interesting set of circumstances for Gillen to tackle as a writer. [Read more…] about Immortal X-Men #1 Review!

Epic Fadeout: The Conclusion to X Lives / X Deaths of Wolverine

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[Adam Kubert & Frank Martin Jr.]

Hey—at least it wasn’t a wipeout!

It sure looks real pretty. We continue to get some of the loveliest Josh Cassara art—but only where he’s really allowed to breathe, in the quieter, more painterly moments, as here. It’s quite romantic, and I’m sure the captain and his new mate thought so too 😉. [Read more…] about Epic Fadeout: The Conclusion to X Lives / X Deaths of Wolverine

Moon Knight Midnight Mission Review!

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Following on the heels of the Avengers “Age of Khonshu” story arc, Moon Knight: The Midnight Mission established a new status quo for the hero. Attempting to atone for taking over the world on Khonshu’s orders, Moon Knight has declared a portion of New York City his “mission” and has dedicated himself to protecting all those who travel at night. I was sold on this gimmick within the first five pages. And I don’t say that to be dismissive. This is Moon Knight’s sixth ongoing series since 2006.If you’ve paid attention you’ll notice that every #1 comes with a new gimmick.

He’s Batman, but crazy; he’s got a suit; some of multiple personalities have been replaced by Wolverine and Spider-Man; Jeff Lemire is writing it. For as much as people seem to like the character and hold his earliest runs in high regard, Moon Knight has always seemed like a character in search of an audience. So they just keep retooling, slapping on new coats of paint, lights and buzzers. Compared to say, Ghost Rider, the Punisher or even Namor, all of whom seem to stay pretty consistent through various relaunches.

And don’t get me wrong, I’ve never let that stop me from picking up an issue of Moon Knight, but he’s never been a character I felt like I needed to keep up with month to month. This first volume has entirely changed my mind about that. With this new run, it feels like ideas are taking precedence over the gimmicks. [Read more…] about Moon Knight Midnight Mission Review!

Star Wars Legends: Rise of the Sith Omnibus Review!

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For modern audiences, the stories collected in the Star Wars Legends: Rise of the Sith Omnibus–first published by Dark Horse Comics over the course of the ‘90s and ‘00s but published today by Marvel Comics under the terms of their current licensing agreement–face a pair of uphill battles. For one, all of these stories are non-canonical “Legends,” meaning they don’t count in the current Star Wars narrative continuity, for whatever that is worth to any given reader. For another, they all take place in one of the lesser-loved eras of the Star Wars chronology, just before and after the events of The Phantom Menace.

Even though the prequel trilogy overall has received something of a reappraisal, as fans who encountered it as children have grown up to remember it with some of the nostalgia that drives fans of the original trilogy (and because many of the characters and concepts introduced by the prequels have since been mined for better and better-received stories in other mediums), The Phantom Menace itself remains something of the black sheep of the Star Wars family. [Read more…] about Star Wars Legends: Rise of the Sith Omnibus Review!

A Brief Retrospective of Al Ewing’s S.W.O.R.D. & Kieron Gillen’s Mister Sinister & Eternals

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In Anticipation of X-Men: Red #1, Immortal X-Men #1 & A.X.E.: Judgment Day

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[promotional art by Dustin Weaver]
With myriad “Brand” new and “Sinister” twists around the corner with the imminent debut of X-Men: Red by Al Ewing and Stefano Caselli and Immortal X-Men by Kieron Gillen and Lucas Werneck, we’re here to recap what seems most relevant from Ewing’s S.W.O.R.D., his spectacular first foray into the X office, and look back briefly at Gillen’s excellent Uncanny run of a decade ago, particularly his indelible transformation of Mister Sinister into true high camp villainy, before turning to his current stunningly epic Eternals, catching X readers up on how much that heretofore forgotten franchise has been utterly transformed, worked over from the ground up and made storyable at last, complexly laced with broken palace politics by the notorious gamesmaster who will no doubt ring like Machiavellian discord through the Quiet Council, much to its immortal disquiet. Plus! We shall speculate on this summer’s looming three-way conflict between the Avengers, the X-Men and the Eternals—the Immortal X-Men scribe’s A.X.E.: Judgment Day.

(And, with great good fortune, in order to fully enjoy this event, it appears that readers need not bother with the dreck that is Jason Aaron’s Avengers.)

We’ll start with a look back at S.W.O.R.D., but the majority of this piece is about Gillen’s Eternals and speculation on Judgment Day… [Read more…] about A Brief Retrospective of Al Ewing’s S.W.O.R.D. & Kieron Gillen’s Mister Sinister & Eternals