Comic Book Herald

Throughout its first six issues, Marauders has consistently been my favorite Dawn of X book in the new X-Men lineup, both delivering on the promise of post House of X innovation and the energy of X-Men comics set in the broader Marvel Universe. For the full Dawn of X reading order: For all Comic Book Herald X-Men videos: My Notes From the Review! Issue #6 concludes the series first arc, revealing the Hellfire power plays of Sebastian Shaw and the potential impact that will have on Kate Pryde and her sailing Marauders. Impressively, the issue by Gerry Duggan and Matteo Lolli also solidifies Marauders as the X-Men comic most thoroughly integrated into the non-mutant parts of the Marvel Universe, with a variety of surprising character inclusions. Today I’ll answer: + Who are the Marvel Universe villains introduced in this issue? + Can Kate Pryde be resurrected? + How Marauders has neatly threaded a story perpetually grounded in the Krakoa era of X-Men Please note spoilers for the discussed issues may follow. Marauders #6 begins where issue #5 left off, with the Marauders walking into a trap set by Hominus Verendi (aka Kade Kilgore and the kids formerly known as the Hellfire Club during the early 2010’s Wolverine & The X-Men). In this case, Verendi has put a variety of villains together to take on Kate, Pyro, Iceman, Bishop, Storm and Lockheed, and they range from X-Men deep cuts to Jack Kirby and Stan Lee creations from Silver Age Fantastic Four. The first I’ll cover is an X-Men deep cut, the X-Cutioner, who is less well known than both an X-Men storyline (X-Cutioner’s Song) and Thor/Avengers villain The Executioner. Like Duggan and Lolli’s inclusion of Shinobi Shaw, X-Cutioner is another post-Claremont early 90’s X-Men character introduction, a former FBI agent named Carl Denti who wields alien (likely Sh’iar) technology (or in some cases Sentinel tech – really anything recovered by/used against the X-Men). Denti debuted in Uncanny X-Men Annual ‘93 with a cover teasing “Where Walks the X-Cutioner,” and he set out to avenge his FBI mentor’s death at the hands of “evil mutants.” In some ways, X-Cutioner is like a Punisher for evil mutants, or at least he starts that way, specifically hunting down Mastermind for his crimes. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that many of X-Cutioner’s initial targets were members of the Hellfire Club, given Hellfire’s obvious impact throughout Marauders. This includes of course, Emma Frost, who X-Cutioner tried to assassinate around the time of Uncanny X-Men #310. As you’d expect, he was unsuccessful. The X-Cutioner’s costumed partner in crime is known as the Hate-Monger, who was introduced in Fantastic Four #21 as actual Adolf Hitler. Since that time, various creators have made it clear the Hate-Monger persona is a clone of Hitlers, but either way the intent is a blend of Nazi, Klan, and evil incarnate. You can tell Kate is particularly shook/infuriated by Hate-Monger’s presence, as she should be! It’s worth remembering that Kate is one of Marvel’s most prominent Jewish characters, and the mere presence of a villain this vile is an affront to her culture. Much like Red Skull, Hate-Monger’s hatred knows relatively few limits, extending to any racial minority as well as mutants. He’s actually even more offensive than your run-of-the-mill mutant-genocide proponent, and that takes doing. The history of the Hate-Monger is beyond insane – at one point during a SHIELD 50th Anniversary special he tried to assassinate baby President Obama – but suffice to say if he’s around, he’s the absolute worst. A couple other villains I’ve already touched on in some capacity throughout Krakin’ Krakoa that show up: Donald Pierce of the OG Hellfire Club (“Dark Phoenix Saga”) and Chen Zhao, the Chinese anti-mutant conspirator we’ve seen in the pages of Marauders leading up to this point. I particularly enjoy the inclusion of Pierce, who I would say is best known for getting his Cyborg arms cut off / ripped off in what was clearly the most acceptable form of violence John Byrne could get away with during the early 80’s run with Chris Claremont. At one point, Pierce defeats Colossus by letting him rip off his arm and Piotr freaks right the heck out. Anyway, neither Pierce nor Zhen are any more effective in Marauders #6, getting swiftly tossed into the drink. The most mysterious villain introduction is Yellowjacket, a miniaturized Verendi accomplice injected into Pyro’s innards by the X-Cutioner. Historically, Yellowjacket has been most commonly tied to Hank Pym (when he’s had enough of calling himself Ant-Man and may or may not be on the verge of a mental breakdown), but even with Hank’s well documented struggles, I don’t think he’s on the side of mutant exterminators. For my money, the more likely player is Eric O’Grady, aka the Irredeemable Ant-Man (in the 2006 series by Robert Kirkman and Phil Hester), aka Black Ant. O’Grady is a former good-for-nothin’ SHIELD agent who steals Ant-Man tech, an

I had high hopes for Excalibur heading in to Dawn of X, and through two issues was still caught up in the potential of a book exploring magic in the world of mutants. Talented creators Tini Howard and Marcus To have been playing with Apocalypse as a wizard, a previously untapped look into how a mutant this ancient might have explored the supernatural, while simultaneously moving the Captain Britain mythos forward once again towards Betsy Braddock. Nonetheless, apart from Fallen Angels, Excalibur has been the most disappointing comic in the Dawn of X, and with one full story arc under its belt has only trended down since launch. There will be fans of course, much as there are for Fallen Angels, but for me, reading this series is an increasing exercise in missed opportunities. For the full Dawn of X reading order: For all Comic Book Herald X-Men videos: My Notes From the Review! Today I’ll answer: + What went wrong? Why hasn’t Excalibur lived up to the promise of Dawn of X? + Is there a future for Excalibur as an ongoing in the Krakoa era? Please note spoilers for the discussed issues may follow. Before digging in, I will call out the elements I enjoy because again, these are talented creators and it’s not like I think Excalibur is devoid of ideas and craft. At its best Excalibur calls into question the mutant nation of Krakoa’s role and involvement with forces of magic, time travel, and alternate realities. Sure, Krakoa has a newfound hold over Earthbound territories, but what of Otherworld, Hel, Asgard… what’s Krakoa’s role in those far out reaches of the Marvel Universe? Are they conquerors or allies? I also love what Tini Howard has done with Excalibur’s data pages, really expanding the idea of Apocalypse the wizard with poetry, text, and Grimoire entries that, while confusing, create that sense of magical mystery the book is aiming for. Too many data pages in the Dawn of X have been little more than excuses to write prose, and Howard has been more inventive than that. In terms of Excalibur’s failings, it primarily boils down to one key question: What is this book’s story and why do we care? The answer is simultaneously complicated and painfully straightforward, and therein lies the problem – each member of Excalibur’s oddball roster is dealing with their own loosely related set of problems. On the surface, the hook for Excalibur is that it’s the book exploring magic and alternate realities, and this has been Apocalypse’s primary role, with mysterious manifestations seemingly bent toward opening Krakoa to other magical realms like Otherworld. The remaining team members are all impacted by “magic” in some way. Betsy Braddock’s brother Brian, the former Captain Britain, is imprisoned and transformed by the Otherworldly magic of Morgan Le Fay. Jubilee’s son Shogo magically transforms into a dragon when he enters Otherworld. Gambit is super cranky because Apocalypse magically put Rogue in a sleeping beauty coma. And late entrant Rictor is… welcomed with open arms by magical Druids due to his earth powers. Big picture, apart from Apocalypse and Betsy, it remains unclear why this is the Excalibur lineup aside from “these characters were available.” Now I know Excalibur is going to be plenty of X-fans favorite comic. That’s great, and I welcome that diversity of opinion around comics. That said, I’ve found so little to grasp onto with this book. The threats facing Excalibur seem to change from issue to issue. The book opened with Morgan Le Fay as a threat from Avalon, but since then there have also been threats from the Coven Akkaba, Apocalypse (of course), Druids, racist UK leaders, and a host of magical creatures. The effect is an Excalibur with a hook (Apocalypse wants to conquer alternate realities on behalf of Krakoa, and well, himself) that keeps getting more and more weighed down by comparatively less interesting threads. The challenge of an all-new Excalibur was to sell readers on this particular lineup and the purpose of this series. Excalibur has not done that. All of this muddled magical mayhem builds to an influx of Otherworld creatures invading Earth, most specifically London, where Captain Britain and Pete Wisdom were in the process of convincing some arm of the UK govt to… accept Betsy as the new Captain Britain. This ties to one of the biggest problems I’ve found with Excalibur, in that this type of demonic and mythical invasion of Earth could have happened any time in X-Men history! As a matter of fact, it has (shouts to Inferno)! The recent turn of an X-Men conversation around “too many series” has helped me isolate the absolute most appealing aspect of new X-books in the Krakoa era: A hook and purpose very specific to the new status quo of the X-Men post House of X. So when X-Factor is announced with the hook about exploring “The Five” and the process of resurrection, I’m instantly on board and excited. Excalibur has lost that connection. Demons from otherworld invade London is not speci

Beginning with Marvel Comics #1000, and more directly with the 2019 Incoming #1, Marvel Comics began building to a cosmic war event, with Empyre #1 launching in April 2020. The event promises to bring the Avengers and Fantastic Four together against a cosmic Kree and Skrull threat that connects back heavily to Marvel Cosmic stories told since the publisher’s earliest days. Today I’ll answer: + What comics set the stage for understanding this event? + Why Marvel’s promotional strategy for Empyre is so refreshing + Expectations and theories for the event Please note spoilers for discussed background reading may follow. Before digging into the comics and stories that set up Empyre, it’s worth calling out a few big differences between Empyre and Marvel’s last few years of big events. Whereas the likes of War of the Realms and Absolute Carnage were both very clearly built on the backs of specific creator visions (Jason Aaron on Thor, and Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman on Venom), Empyre is more indebted to Marvel’s history of Kree/Skrull storylines. I’ve thought about it, and the approach of a major universe-wide event that doesn’t deliberately build out of a particular ongoing series is not a confidence-infusing background. The two least organic event builds of the past decade are 2013’s Age of Ultron and 2016’s Civil War II, and at my most charitable the best I can say about the events is that I liked parts of Age of Ultron. I talked about this a fair amount with War of the Realms, but it really helps to have the goodwill, strategy, and creative vision of a successful series driving to a universe-wide all-caps comic book EVENT. Empyre is – at least on the surface – forsaking that approach, but with a caveat. On one hand, the creative team of Al Ewing, Dan Slott, and Valerio Schitti, do not have an ongoing series between them, and although Slott’s near 20 issues on Fantastic Four will begin to tie-in to Empyre in 2020, Ewing’s most high-profile work – the Immortal Hulk – is simply not a part of this event pitch. So by traditional measures, Empyre is kind of out of the blue. That said, Marvel is quickly attempting to ground the event two ways. The first is through Ewing’s work writing potentially related teases in the pages of Marvel Comics #1000, and then Ewing and Slott’s work writing the teaser material in Incoming #1 (more on this in a moment). More clear even, is Marvel’s promotional effort to tie Empyre to some of their Kree vs Skrull greatest hits. Honestly, I love this approach and find it greatly refreshing. Marvel is leaning in to their vast continuity, calling back to storylines from 1971, the mid to late 1970s, 1984, 2005, and 2019! For Marvel fans who can’t help but dig into the entire decades long shared universe, it’s a suggestion that all that history is building to a payoff (As a writer, Al Ewing has shown a particular knack for weaving deep lore into modern stories as well). While this can be intimidating for newer readers, I actually agree with the instinct that more often than not, passionate new readers will simply seek out explanations for the history they don’t know, rather than away frightened! So without further ado, let’s address the history that we know will set the stage for Empyre, no matter how tangentially it may do so. You can check out the full guide on Comic Book Herald’s Empyre reading order! The post Best Comics Ever: The Road to Empyre – Marvel’s 2020 Cosmic Event! appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Marvel comics of 1980. Dark Phoenix Saga! The worst idea in Avengers history! On this episode we cover the following issues (all available via Marvel Unlimited): Marvel Team-Up #95 Uncanny X-Men #129 to #137 Fantastic Four #220 to #221 Man-Thing / Doctor Strange #4 / #41 Avengers #196 to #200 Up Next: My Marvelous Year – Marvel Year Twenty: 1981 Pt. 1 — Captain America #253, #254 Daredevil #168 to #172 Uncanny X-Men #141, #142, #145 to #147, #150 Avengers Annual #10 Thor Annual #9 You can find more Marvel Comics guides on Comic Book Herald at: mymarvelousyear.com https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/ Music for My Marvelous Year is credited to Disasterpeace. Support for My Marvelous Year comes via Patreon backers, for as little as $1 a month. Make sure to subscribe now in order to get every reading list for every year of Marvel Comics! Subscribe to the Podcast! — iTunes, Google Play, Pod Feed If you like the show, please consider leaving a rating or review on iTunes to help us reach more readers & listeners! The post Marvel Year Nineteen: 1980 Pt. 2 appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Marvel comics of 1980. Cap for president! She-Hulk debuts! Hulk eats a banana! On this episode we cover the following issues (all available via Marvel Unlimited): Amazing Spider-Man / Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #200 to #201, #210 / #43 to #45 Captain America #241, #250 Iron Man #131 to #133 Savage She-Hulk / Incredible Hulk #1 / #250 Daredevil #163 to #165 Up Next: My Marvelous Year – Marvel Year Nineteen: 1980 Pt. 2 — Marvel Team-Up #95 Uncanny X-Men #129 to #137 Fantastic Four #220 to #221 Man-Thing / Doctor Strange #4 / #41 Avengers #196 to #200 You can find more Marvel Comics guides on Comic Book Herald at: mymarvelousyear.com https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/ Music for My Marvelous Year is credited to Disasterpeace. Support for My Marvelous Year comes via Patreon backers, for as little as $1 a month. Make sure to subscribe now in order to get every reading list for every year of Marvel Comics! Subscribe to the Podcast! — iTunes, Google Play, Pod Feed If you like the show, please consider leaving a rating or review on iTunes to help us reach more readers & listeners! The post Marvel Year Nineteen: 1980 Pt. 1 appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Marvel comics of 1979. Iron Man in Demon in a Bottle! Scott Lang debuts as the new Ant-Man! On this episode we cover the following issues (all available via Marvel Unlimited): Marvel Two-In-One #53 to #58 Marvel Premiere 47, 48 / 51-53 Iron Man #125 to #128 Avengers #181, #185 to #187 Fantastic Four #210 to #213 Up Next: My Marvelous Year – Marvel Year Nineteen: 1980 Pt. 1 — Amazing Spider-Man / Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #200 to #201, #210 / #43 to #45 Captain America #241, #250 Iron Man #131 to #133 Savage She-Hulk / Incredible Hulk #1 / #250 Daredevil #163 to #165 You can find more Marvel Comics guides on Comic Book Herald at: mymarvelousyear.com https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/ Music for My Marvelous Year is credited to Disasterpeace. Support for My Marvelous Year comes via Patreon backers, for as little as $1 a month. Make sure to subscribe now in order to get every reading list for every year of Marvel Comics! Subscribe to the Podcast! — iTunes, Google Play, Pod Feed If you like the show, please consider leaving a rating or review on iTunes to help us reach more readers & listeners! The post Marvel Year Eighteen: 1979 Pt. 2 appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

When comics writer Donny Cates gets a chance at a Marvel series, he takes big shots, and aims for at least one clear, major hook to get readers on board. What if Thanos… won? What if Loki was the Sorcerer Supreme? What if Peter Parker could talk to Spiders? Ok that last one’s like half a joke (but seriously, it happened), but the idea is Cates excels as these balls-to-wall no-cards-left-on-the-table “WHAT IF” style narratives seen through to completion. It’s this approach that has generated an extremely compelling body of work, across a wide variety of Marvel titles, from Thanos to Venom and now to Thor. This body of work has also increasingly set up Cates as the godhead of Marvel Cosmic, a role that looks to continue in Thor. In many ways, Thor #1 is actually three years in the making, as the Cates-verse at Marvel builds upon itself in a style not dissimilar to what Jonathan Hickman did at Marvel from 2008 to 2016, only faster, and with fewer data charts. Since the Cates-verse is so compelling, and such an interconnected pocket universe, I can’t help but take the debut of this new Thor #1 as the chance to launch “The Cates of Hel!” where I’ll be reviewing all Donny Cates written books, like Venom and Thor, to explore connections, ideas, and Marvel Comics history. Today I’ll answer: + What’s coming for Thor in 2020 + What are the elements of the Cates Marvel-verse at play in Thor #1 (and what comics should you check out to understand them) + A little history about the first meetings between Thor and Galactus in Marvel’s Silver Age, in comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby! Spoilers for the discussed comics may follow! Thor #1 follows in the wake of War of the Realms, and the Jason Aaron written run of Thor that began in 2012 with Thor: God of Thunder and ended in 2019 with King Thor (both drawn by Esad Ribic.) Aaron’s is a truly worthy run in the Marvel pantheon, undeniably one of the top three Thor runs of all time, and arguably 2nd best (Walt Simonson’s 80’s work is still, quite unimpeachably the GOAT). The highest degree of difficulty in the run is likely the middle stretch, where Aaron, Russel Dautermann, and colorist Matt Wilson turned Jane Foster into the goddess of thunder and were wildly successful in doing so. That’s the legacy that awaits Donny Cates, Nic Klein, and Matt Wilson (again!) entering Thor #1. The War of the Realms is over, and so – if the apparent mission statement of King Thor is to be believed – is death in the Realms. While I don’t necessarily expect the dark elves or Muspelheim to remain off limits for Cates, it’s definitely a smart move to take the action away from the 10 realms after so much focus over the past several years. Of course the other major inherited development is King Thor. Thor is both only recently “worthy” and only recently anointed King of Asgard. It’s not the first time we’ve seen Thor take the throne (whether in Marvel continuity or in alternate futures), but it’s a new role for Thor in the modern Marvel era, and not one without burden. The carefree prince will always be an adventurer first and foremost, and there’s a sense here that King Thor confined to a throne is the end of those days. As Tony Stark remarks with a sharpie on Mjolnir “Enjoy retirement.” When confronted by Loki, Thor displays his newfound all-father force by stopping his thrown hammer in mid-air, but also unintentionally reveals the continued difficulty he’s having even lifting Mjolnir. I quite appreciate that this thread wasn’t simply thrown away because even though the Odinson was finally restored to enough “worthiness” to wield the hammer in War of the Realms, it’s been a long, arduous journey, and Aaron’s work provides every indication that it will continue to be one for the unsure Thor. As for Loki, his role in the Cates/Klein era remains entirely unclear. I can’t help but lament the cancellation of Loki’s solo series written by Daniel Kibblesmith, as the prince of lies will once again have an empty Asgard to play with for the foreseeable future. I’m sure Cates and Klein have ideas aplenty as well. Things are all well and good until a Galactus with a severed arm comes crashing to Asgard, in my favorite artwork by Klein and Wilson this issue. Before passing out, a clearly wounded Galactus desperately tells Thor he’s come for help, and fears the coming of the Black Winter. In order to get to the bottom of Galactus’ dire warnings about “Star Plagues” and “Black Winters,” King Thor calls for a gathering of former heralds of Galactus (maybe I missed it in the issue, but I’d actually enjoy the semantics here – how does Thor reach all of them? Another hammer toss round the cosmos? Sponsored ads on the ‘Gram? One wonders.) This is also the first – of several – clear Cates-verse connections, with Donny’s favorite Cosmic Ghost Rider sluggin’ mead at Thor’s table (shouts to Firelord and Stardust for joining the party as well). The Cosmic Rider debuted in “Thanos Wins,” and has since appeared in t

While 2019’s Dawn of X ended on a middling, muddled note, 2020 is off to an improved start, beginning with the energizing X-Men #4 by Jonathan Hickman and Lionel Francis Yu. My Notes From the Review! The issue features Professor X, Magneto, Apocalypse and their security detail of Cyclops and Gorgon heading to a global economics summit to discuss Krakoa’s newfound place in the world. The issue is full of Hickman’s riveting political tete a tete perfected in East of West, as well as the ethos of financial influence so elegantly explored in The Black Monday Murders. Honestly, in many ways X-Men #4 would have made a very sensible first issue, and I’m curious to explore why that is. Today I’ll answer: + What makes X-Men #4 the best Hickman/Yu issue to date + The state of the Krakoa X-Men era heading into 2020! Certainly there’s a surface level analysis of X-Men #4 that could reduce the issue to “people sitting around talking,” but there’s so much more happening here that addresses much of what I’ve been looking for in the Dawn of X. Whereas X-Men #3 was a wild curveball in the dirt (although I’m sure it’s not the last we’ll see of Hordeculture), issue #4 cuts directly to issues of Krakoa’s place in the world. We hear Magneto eloquently share mutantkind’s new plan for peaceful takeover, we see Professor X take Cerebro off for the first time (his X-Force #1 assassination not withstanding), and we learn of Krakoa’s ability to adapt to human hostility in the form of Gorgon’s security. Hickman’s first three issues of X-Men are an intriguing blend of offbeat humor, seed planting (yes, sometimes literally, but mostly I’m thinking here of Arrako and the Summoners), and defying expectations. I’ve been torn between just enjoying the breath between HoX/PoX and what Mister Sinister calls in Incoming #1 “The great crossover in the sky,” and wanting to see the Dawn of X more directly proceed from the big ideas in HoX/PoX. This is less specific to just the X-Men comic book, but my biggest sense of disatification with Dawn of X has come from a feeling of untapped potential in the era’s launch: The Powers of X and Moira X timelines were the biggest hook of the opening event, and have been lost to way more familiar ground. What X-Men can do instead, though, is answer the practicality of Krakoa in the Marvel Universe, and this is where X-Men #4 excels. More specifically, though, what makes X-Men #4 the best Hickman/Yu issue to date? A huge part is that Hickman revels in writing villains, especially villains that like to wax poetic over 9 panels. Prominent examples that come to mind are Archibald Chamberlain from East of West, or Doctor Doom from Fantastic Four / New Avengers / Secret Wars. In X-Men Hickman has found a perfect new star with Magneto, who digs into his steak with relish, and unsurprisingly takes the lead explaining mutantkind’s promise to subsume political, financial, and institutional power in the world in order to effectively “take it over.” This is another of Hickman’s wins, deflating long-running X-Men comic book tropes and replacing them with new ideas. The human politicians and leaders ask the mutant trinity if there will be war, if that’s what they want, and Magneto – of all people – assures them “there will be no war.” If for no other reason than to set the stage for his speech, explaining that war is an outdate form of mutant takeover, once he’s tried and failed at too many times. The new takeover is more insidious, more natural, and significantly harder to prevent. Lionel Franics Yu has come under fire for his X-Men work, with the most consistent criticism that his detailed grim and serious work does not match the tone of what has frankly been a more comedic opening salvo from writer Jonathan Hickman. I don’t have much doubt that Yu’s one of the better artists working consistently at Marvel, but his role on this specific title has absolutely felt miscast. A case of creative collaboration based on pedigree rather than fit. To Yu’s credit, his grim seriousness plays wonderfully throughout this tense conversation, particularly with Apocalypse unveiling arguably the greatest flex of all time, and certainly the best of 2020. I won’t spoil the joke beyond what’s shown here on the Youtube video, but suffice to say it pays to have a centuries old Celestial-powered mutant wearing a business suit in your meetings. I also very much appreciate leaders of humankind questioning the mutant drugs that have allowed their rapid ascent to power on the global stage. The very premise of House of X relies heavily on the idea that mankind would believe Krakoan drugs are as effective and safe as mutantkind claims. I am not necessarily looking for the FDA’s memos on testing (although that does feel like a possible data page) but it does feel noteworthy that the likes of Wakanda has denied a need for these drugs whereas other nations have accepted. Now, at first glance I’d imagine T’Challa, Shuri and company simply do not want

Incoming is Marvel’s 2019 year-end spectacular, simultaneously summarizing much of the publisher’s 2019 while building suspense for storylines and comics to come in 2020. Spoilers for Incoming #1 Follow! Today I’ll answer: What comics are the most important to have read prior to Incoming #1 What Incoming #1 teases for Marvel’s 2020, across everything from Hickman’s X-Men to a linewide event called Empyre to “perhaps” the death of teen heroes How Incoming #1 is the best idea Marvel’s had in years and fulfills the missed promise of Marvel #1000 Big picture, Incoming #1 could just as easily be called Marvel Universe (2019) #1 (and I’d argue that’s exactly what it should be called and that there should be one of these every year to onboard new readers!). The issue bounces between Marvels top creators contributing short stories for the characters or teams they write at Marvel. So you have Kelly Thompson writing Jessica Jones and Captain Marvel, Chip Zdarsky writing Daredevil, Jonathan Hickman reuniting with RB Silva and Marte Gracia for a Powers of X style Mister Sinister story, and so on. Impressively these short stories all intertwine, ultimately connecting to tell one murder mystery. Now there was some hand wringing, myself included, over a teaser promo Marvel released for this issue which suggested the murder mystery might be an Identity Crisis or Heroes in Crisis style death of a known character. Any comic book event that is strongly centered around “which character that you love will die!” in this day and age sends off a LOT of warning bells. Fortunately, the brilliant Al Ewing is in charge of the mystery’s framing, and he continues his work from Marvel Comics #1000 developing the Masked Rider into a centerpiece of the Marvel Universe fabric. The murder the Rider uncovers is a locked room mystery of an unknown player, and without the usual untimely death of a beloved figure, it’s easier to just enjoy the suspense of the hunt. The truly impressive trick to Incoming #1 is that the murder mystery is used as pretense to bounce around every corner of the Marvel Universe and it actually makes sense. We get a feel for what’s been happening in a wide variety of titles this year in both ways large (the Sampson and Joe Fixit interview very broadly summarizing Immortal Hulk) and small (Tini Howard continuing her story of Billy and Teddy’s romance from Death’s Head four issue mini). It’s a remarkably smart way to deliver a sampler platter issue, something Marvel has struggled with over the course of this decade. It’s no secret that genuine on-ramps into Marvel Comics are one of the publisher’s biggest struggles (there’s a reason Comic Book Herald’s guides on where to start reading Marvel books are perpetually among my site’s most popular). This is the closest I’ve seen Marvel come to an approach I’ve been recommending for years, though, with an authentic “state of the universe” address that functions on its own as a story. For my money, the two biggest criticisms against Incoming #1 are as follows. First, $9.99 is a terrible price point for your “new-reader” catch-up initiative. I get why Marvel prices this comic 60% higher than their standard release (there’s a ton of story and creative talent on display!), but just once I’d like to see Marvel bet on themselves with an excessively affordable on-ramp. The immediate comparison that comes to mind is DC’s .25 cents Free Comic Book Day teaser where the publisher teased out upcoming initiatives like the (now ill-fated) Batman and Catwoman wedding. I love the “we’ll give this one away” approach, but at most even saying “it’s 3.99 just like our other books but with way more in it!” is a win. The other criticism to me is that Incoming #1 is quite effective at building towards what’s coming in 2020, but doesn’t do a ton to really build your knowledge of what’s come before (or even where you can find that information). Sure, Elektra training Daredevil in his Netflix season one duds, or Nova referencing Annihilation Scourge makes sense to me, but I’ve read all those comics throughout 2019. For those who have not, there’s a real “here’s the situation, let’s roll!” vibe that can be extremely challenging for a lot of new readers. Apart from Ewing’s work reaching back to Marvel’s relatively untouched Golden Age, the most fascinating callback is the murder mystery leading our Marvel heroes to Raksor and Bel-Dann, Skrull and Kree warriors previously seen as interplanetary monitors during the X-Men’s “Dark Phoenix Saga” (Uncanny #137 to be specific) and later during another John Byrne story in Fantastic Four Annual #18. This builds to the issue’s biggest tease for next year, the April 2020 Empyre, with Teddy of Young Avengers fame apparently take Emperor Teddy status among an allied Kree and Skrull armada. For those less familiar with Teddy Altman and his time with the Young Avengers his given name is Dorrek VIII, son of both Kree and Skrull royal heritage. Historically he’s been

Marvel comics of 1979. Frank Miller on Daredevil! Black Cat debuts! We skip the debut of Alpha Flight! On this episode we cover the following issues (all available via Marvel Unlimited): Thor #283 to 286 Peter Parker, Spectacular Spider-Man #27 to #28 Daredevil #160, #161 Amazing Spider-Man #194 to #197 Uncanny X-Men #117, #123 to #128 Up Next: My Marvelous Year – Marvel Year Eighteen: 1979 Pt. 2 — Marvel Two-In-One #53 to #58 Marvel Premiere 47, 48 / 51-53 Iron Man #125 to #128 Avengers #181, #185 to #187 Fantastic Four #210 to #213 You can find more Marvel Comics guides on Comic Book Herald at: mymarvelousyear.com https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/ Music for My Marvelous Year is credited to Disasterpeace. Support for My Marvelous Year comes via Patreon backers, for as little as $1 a month. Make sure to subscribe now in order to get every reading list for every year of Marvel Comics! Subscribe to the Podcast! — iTunes, Google Play, Pod Feed If you like the show, please consider leaving a rating or review on iTunes to help us reach more readers & listeners! The post Marvel Year Eighteen: 1979 Pt. 1 appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

With East of West wrapping up its seven year journey into the Apocalypse, John and I are taking a look back at the Jonathan Hickman, Nick Dragotta, Frank Martin, and Rus Wooten series from Image Comics! In addition to the CBH Deep Dive podcast, I’ve also included our “Journals From Armageddon,” an email conversation John and I had prior to this conversation. Check out part one here covering East of West #1 to #29 (the first two in-universe years of the Apocalypse), and we’ll be back in January 2020 with part two covering East of West #30 to #45, the final year of the Apocalypse! For previous Deep Dives: For more, check out the full guides on Comic Book Herald: Best of Jonathan Hickman Dave’s Faves: The Best Comics of All Time! Comics discussed include: East of West Journals From Armageddon Dave: Hey John, I thought for this month’s deep dives we could start a back and forth about thoughts and questions we have as we read/re-read East of West. Think of this as a completely optional series of thought starters and possible dialogue to run as a companion on CBH once we’ve recorded our episode on part one. Now, part one is going to focus on the first two years of the Apocalypse (up to around issue #30 in the series), but obviously big picture questions and thoughts are fair game. I haven’t read the most recent issue in the big East of West finale, but otherwise there aren’t really any spoilers I’m worried about. Let’s go! Line one, panel one: “The dream is over.” Ok, I won’t be breaking down this book on a line by line basis (#EastofPedantic) but this is the only line of dialogue for nearly three pages while Nick Dragotta, Frank Martin, and Rus Wooten’s art do the work. I can’t read this line and think of anything other than John Lennon’s broken crooning on “God” from his first post-Beatles solo album. It’s a pretty famous song for a number of reasons, not least of which is that “The dream is over” sequence is the most deliberately Lennon addresses the end of the Beatles. It’s the build to that moment which feels more relevant to Hickman’s thematic opening statement here, as Lennon delivers an impassioned series of “I don’t believe in…” statements culminating in “I just believe in me. Yoko and me. That’s reality.” It’s about as direct a “kill your idols” song as a flippin’ Beatle could deliver, and that’s literally what we see the three horsemen discussing in this opening sequence. Another band of four, the horsemen just broke up too! Death is missing from their crew, and the remaining three horsemen are ready to set the world on fire if he won’t rejoin. Even the Apocalypse isn’t going according to plan. The dream is over. From there we get our first all white text transition with “The things that divide us are stronger than the things that bring us together.” The combination of these statements quite quickly builds a unified pessimism at the hear of this world. The trick will be filling it with purpose and life. John: Great thought about Lennon! I’m really excited with the collations you’ve spotted: The theme of breaking up the team the fact that we’re hearing it now from a man beyond death The sheer aesthetic match of the song itself! Brilliant thought! (Vastly better than my scoring with Morrissey’s “I know it’s over.”) Here are a few ideas I’ve been gathering. The two main reasons for Armageddon prophecies I’ve been reading a number of books and papers on eschatology in preparation for this month’s “Superpowers Reviewed” article. So these are taken straight from theology and current secular views. 1.) They Provide Definitive Answers Virtually all cultures create their own End Of Days prophecy to reaffirm their solutions to “The Big Questions.” These stories act as the conclusion to the culture’s narrative, the final summation that “proves:” the immortality of the human soul the value of the culture’s moral systems and rituals and the unknowable will of the Gods Even the word “apocalypse” comes from the Greek “to reveal” (something enormous.) It has nothing to do with war or death, only understanding. It is for this reason that it’s exceedingly common for Apocalypses to be seen as ultimately a celebration of faith, not a fear of death. 2.) They’re About Organizing Chaos Somewhere around 2-2.4 million years ago, human beings became possessed by a contradiction: The realization that we could all die at any moment, consumed by some arbitrary mass death event (disease, floods, volcanos, war, etc). As a rule, people don’t do well with arbitrary things—particularly not ones with such incredible power—so we made… A mental shiel

Zack & Dave talk about all our 2019 favorites, including MMY comics we read this year, in this holiday special! Topics discussed include: Best music, movies, TV, sons, podcasts, books, and comics of 2019! Fandom What’s coming in 2020 You can find more Marvel Comics guides on Comic Book Herald at: mymarvelousyear.com https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/ Music for My Marvelous Year is credited to Disasterpeace. Support for My Marvelous Year comes via Patreon backers, for as little as $1 a month. Make sure to subscribe now in order to get every reading list for every year of Marvel Comics! Subscribe to the Podcast! — iTunes, Google Play, Pod Feed If you like the show, please consider leaving a rating or review on iTunes to help us reach more readers & listeners! The post My Marvelous Christmas: Our 2019 Favorites! appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

I definitely would not have predicted Gerry Duggan and Matteo Lolli’s Marauders would be my favorite “Dawn of X” X-Men comic in 2019 – particularly ahead of two Jonathan Hickman written series with X-Men and New Mutants, but it very much has held steady as the comic most clearly filled with purpose, humor, and vision. Marauders feels like a book that knows where it wants to go, and how it wants to utilize the new status quo of Krakoa and House of X for a successful long run. Today I’ll answer: + What the last two issues tell us about Marauders vision + Who the heck is Shinobi Shaw + Who the heck are those kids claiming to be ex Hellfire Club! My Notes From the Review! The clearest direction for Marauders so far is that Duggan, Lolli and company are most interested in the Hellfire Club politics and power dynamics than the ostensibly teased hook of a mutant pirate vessel led by Kate Pryde. The pirating is very much in play, but it’s secondary to the machinations of wealthy, powerful, scheming former villains, and that’s actually fascinating! As a result, the pirate crew is given short spurts of focus over the past few issues, allowing displays of power (in the case of Storm) and displays of idiot humor (Pyro offering beer to refugee kids). Whereas issue #3 is all about Sebastian Shaw’s power schemes – more on those in a moment – Marauders #4 blends Kate and Bishop solving eastern mysteries with unexpected Hellfire twists and turns. Even during their investigation into the “disappearance” of an individual being used to foster anti-mutant hostility Kate remains on Bishop’s case about accepting her offer to join her Hellfire squad as her – very on the repeatedly broken nose – Red Bishop. So yes, there’s action and exploration of the world outside Krakoa – such as kate and Bishop’s discovery of the “Lady Deathstrike maid service” – but the real hook here is the Krakoan power struggles and what it means for the status of the X-nation. Who the heck is Shinobi Shaw Marauders #3 dives into these power plays with Sebastian Shaw’s efforts to resurrect his son Shinobi Shaw – dead by his own hand prior to House of X – as his Black Bishop. As the Hellfire power players put together their loyal supporters, it’s interesting to note that both Emma and Sebastian have chosen family with their first announced picks. Neither are particularly known for their deep familial ties, although this is doubly true in Sebastian’s case, where his relationship with his son is rooted firmly in a neverending quest to subjugate and kill the other! Since he’s a lesser known X-character I’ll also take a moment to talk about Shinobi Shaw. Shinobi debuts in X-Factor #67 and right out of the gates is seen draining his father’s wealth, trying to use his mutant ability to control his own density (think Vision but only the body-density bits) to give his dad a heart attack, and then blowing up the Shaw estate. Happy Father’s Day! Shinobi has played at Black King of the Hellfire Club although more often than not his clearest rival is in fact the return of his father. There’s a particularly strange family dynamic between the two where they simultaneously want to kill the other, but are also proud of the strength in their family name that they would be able to succeed. With dad’s like this who needs enemies? The big issue ending is Sebastian’s attempts to manipulate Shinobi for his own ends. This feels destined to blow up in Sebastian’s face, especially considering we’ve already seen Shinobi is beholden to some mysterious outside entity, but for the time being he’s trying to use Shinobi’s anger against Emma and Kate Pryde. Who the heck are those kids claiming to be ex Hellfire Club! Marauders #4 ends with an even more surprising entry into the Hellfire legacy sweepstakes, with the reemergence of Kade Kilgore and the Homines Verendi (which from what I can tell translates to something like “The Feared Ones”). During Jason Aaron’s run writing Wolverine and the X-Men, he introduced a new youthful Hellfire Club led by Kade Kilgore. Kilgore and this new Hellfire Club is part of Marvel’s comics tradition of making genius intellect pre-teens, like Valeria Richards, although of course in this case they are pure evil. The other members seen here are Maximillion Frankenstein, Manuel Enduque, and Wilhelmina Kensington. Each member represents powerful wealthy bloodlines, in a new even more bloodthirsty model. Importantly they’re also all human and either hate mutants, or enjoy profiting off anti-mutant weapons manufacturing. The difference seems negligible. Why is this all so compelling? At the heart of these storytelling choices, there’s a throughline connecting Krakoa and the Worlldd of X to money power and shaping the globe. It’s in the way Jonathan Hickman writes Sebastian Shaw speechifying like a character out of Black Monday Murders, in the way X-Force #4 includes a data page with the shell corporations of Professor Charles Xavier, and of course in the way

Zack & Dave cover your questions, poll results, and recap the Marvel Comics of 1978! Topics discussed include: The mysterious case of the 1978 variant cover episode Bears More MMY shared universe heroes & villains! Up Next: My Marvelous Year – Marvel Year Seventeen: 1979 Pt. 1 — Thor #283 to 286 Peter Parker, Spectacular Spider-Man #27 to #28 Daredevil #160, #161 Amazing Spider-Man #194 to #197 Uncanny X-Men #117, #123 to #128 You can find more Marvel Comics guides on Comic Book Herald at: mymarvelousyear.com https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/ Music for My Marvelous Year is credited to Disasterpeace. Support for My Marvelous Year comes via Patreon backers, for as little as $1 a month. Make sure to subscribe now in order to get every reading list for every year of Marvel Comics! Subscribe to the Podcast! — iTunes, Google Play, Pod Feed If you like the show, please consider leaving a rating or review to help us reach more readers & listeners! The post Marvel Year Seventeen: 1978 Variant Cover! appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

The third issue of New Mutants is the first solely written by Ed Brisson with art by Flaviano, and it’s a trip back from space to Krakoa and a whole new gang of youthful mutants. I’ve gathered the shift from the Hickman-driven classic New Mutants in space story is relatively divisive for some readers, but I honestly enjoyed the return to Krakoa with a new crop of youngsters. Today I’ll answer: + Who these (New) New Mutants even are! + How New Mutants *could* function more like an X-Men anthology than expected + Whether or not Glob Herman is the single strangest reading order request I’ve ever gotten on Comic Book Herald (spoiler: he’s not, but I do have one!) Whereas issues #1 and #2 deal almost exclusively with mutants debuting during the Chris Claremont written New Mutants circa 1982 (save Chamber and Mondo), New Mutants #3 is a disparate collection of mutants who’ve debuted everywhere from Claremont/Byrne on Uncanny X-Men to Whedon/Cassaday on Astonishing X-Men to the late 2018 Extermination mini-event by Ed Brisson and Pepe Larraz! Who is Armor Armor is the clear leader throughout New Mutants #3, asking about bringing more of her mutant friends along to Krakoa. I quite like this angle as I’ve been asking the same thing about Mutants not yet on Krakoa. There’s still a lot of open-ended residency across Marvel’s merry mutantdom, as there are plenty of mutants we haven’t yet seen on the island. Just last week we saw that Rictor has apparently had issues controlling his powers enough to make it to Krakoa, and over the course of this issue Armor identifies a similar challenge facing Angel and Beak. Hisako Ichiki first appeared in Astonishing X-Men #4, in the must-read “Gifted” story arc by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday. As her name suggests she can generate a virtually indestructible psionic armor around her body, which gives her enhanced physical abilities. Throughout Astonishing she takes on a role similar to Kitty Pryde in the 80’s or Jubilee in the 90’s, the tenacious up and coming young woman who bonds with Wolverine. For my money, Astonishing is the best series to read to get a feel for Armor, and because I enjoy her in that series so much, I’m excited to see her leading a New Mutants squad here. This is a mutant who has plenty of experience, and has fought alongside the likes of Cyclops, Emma Frost, and of course Wolverine. Who is Glob Herman? Glob has transformed significantly since his debut in Grant Morrison’s New X-Men where the big pink blob with his eyes and bones hanging out was… kind of a menace? Glob takes to Quentin Quire’s punk riot at Xavier’s, lighting himself on fire and, uh, I think Glob tried to kill a guy (actually several humans!) Glob’s softened significantly since, with roles everywhere from Wolverine and the X-Men to Age of X-Man. Notably, Ed Brisson has taken on the mantle of head-Globitecht, writing him into compelling stories in the pages of Old Man Logan and even an X-Men Christmas special. Who is Boom Boom For my money Boom Boom is one of the stranger inclusions with this young group of relatively obscure mutants because Boom Boom has been around! Tabitha Smith debuted all the way back in 1985 (in Secret Wars II believe it or not – it’s in issue #5 of that clunker so you’d be forgiven for never making it that far into the event). Boom Boom’s bounced around the X-Men universe since then most famously as a member of X-Force and in the all-time great Nextwave. Here’s writer Warren Ellis on why he included Boom Boom in Nextwave: “I wanted a character who could blow things up.” There’s more to the quote, but you get it. When we meet Boom-Boom in New Mutants #3 she is clearly restless and willing to accept even Armor’s mission to Nebraska in order to get off Krakoa and do something. Her role is yet to be revealed in full, although I think it’s fair to imagine she might be the help the other New Mutants need at the end of this issue. Who are Maxime and Manon? Given their recent introduction, twins Maxime and Manon are the least instantly recognizable of this group. In the pages of the Brisson written Extermination Maxime and Manon are manipulated by Ahab, the mutant-hunter from the Days of Future Past timeline into turning various X-Men into his hounds (ala Rachel Summers). Ultimately, Ahab is defeated, and in doing so, Maxime and Manon are given a chance to be free of his influence with the X-Men. In terms of powerset, Manon can control memory, and Maxime can manipulate emotions. And Finally Who are Angel and Beak? Both characters debut early in the Grant Morrison written New X-Men and eventually develop a romance together. As you can tell from reading New Mutants #3 that romance leads to a LOT of children. Beak’s real name is Barnell Bohusk, and Angel’s is, well, Angel Salvadore. Beak is more obvious but both characters are good examples of Morrison’s interest in the less savory side of mutation, more focused on uncomfortable physical transformation than any sort of po

Through three issues X-Force continues to improve and build on the promise of House of X. It’s one of my favorite Dawn of X titles, and issue three by Benjamin Percy and Joshua Cassarra did not disappoint! Today on Krakin’ Krakoa #24 I’ll answer: How X-Force is the X-Men Dawn of X title most consistently fulfilling the promise of House of X What we’ve learned about the Death of Professor X The mystery of the 5th assassin! For all Comic Book Herald X-Men videos! For the full Dawn of X reading order: Issue 3 follows in the wake of the Reavers attack on Krakoa, and their successful assassination of Professor X (and destruction of his Cerebro headgear). Last issue also saw Wolverine and Quentin Quire discover the facility where the Reavers where horrifically holding a skinned and tortured Domino, using her mutant DNA in order to infiltrate the nation of Krakoa. We now know this faction of anti-mutant terrorists is capturing and experimenting on a variety of mutants in order to implant themselves with cybernetic upgrades, which is very much in line with the Reavers we know and, well, hate. I also have to call out the remarkably effective opening 9 panels in X-Force #3 where the creative team alternates close-ups of Domino’s torture and mission statement monologuing by “The Man with the Peacock Tattoo,” which for the record, is way less intimidating sounding than a Dragon Tattoo. As Wolverine and Quentin are rescuing Domino from this horrific fate, the process of reviving the assassinated Professor is underway, primarily driven by Jean Grey and Beast. Here we get Beast asking the question about the value of death in conversation with Jean Grey. Jean answers everyone’s fears about taking the stakes out of X-Men comics: “What I’m saying is without death life is less about me and more about us. The long game of mutantkind. That’s the dream of Krakoa.“ This is honestly the closest I’ve seen any of these – save a few hints here and there in the Hickman written issues – get to referencing the futures we’ve seen referenced in the pages of Powers of X and available to us via Moira’s lifelines. The end result is the apparent resurrection and public announcement of Professor X’s return. I say “apparent” because this all happens fairly quickly throughout the issue given the significance of the Professor’s role in making resurrection protocols and Cerebro backups tick. As Beast says “he’s all of us.” So Professor X is back, but there’s a fair amount of doubt we see expressed implicitly and explicitly in this issue. I appreciate Quentin challenging the “Kill No Humans” law of Krakoa – You have all these “villains” playing nice with X-Men but it’s down to Quentin to call out Professor X on still playing too nice. Calling out Professor X’s mistakes seems especially relevant this issue, in both his return as if nothing went wrong (he even gets a cool sword from Magneto as a memento), and another glimpse into all the threats that remain to mutantkind, perhaps even from within Krakoa. After a very effective and monstrous opener, the newly named XENO (all caps, all on-the-nose) has been relatively patient and clearly has nothing good planned. The idea that XENO might have a sleeper agent on Krakoa should be terrifying to X-Men fans. There’s also the possibility that all the awful bigots are effectively teaming up here given the language like “The shadows have gathered here” and “We are one and we are many.” I wonder if this is a combination of the likes of Reavers, Friends of Humanity, Purifiers ,etc. All in all, I’m enjoying X-Force a great deal, and consider it the heart of Dawn of X! ——————————————————————————— Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com. Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Android To learn how you can support Best Comics Ever and receive more exclusive content from Comic Book Herald, check out the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookherald For the Comic Book Herald reading club through every year of Marvel Comics, check out mymarvelousyear.com     The post Krakin’ Krakoa #24: X-Force #3 Review – The Lives & Deaths of Professor X appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Marvel comics of 1978. Magneto triumphant! Jane Foster, the Mighty Thor! Peter Parker graduates college! On this episode we cover the following issues (all available via Marvel Unlimited): Marvel Team-Up #69, #70 Uncanny X-Men #112 to #116 Amazing Spider-Man #176 to #180, #185 Fantastic Four #197 to #200 What If? #10 Up Next: My Marvelous Year – Marvel Year Eighteen: 1979 Pt. 1 — Thor #283 to 286 Peter Parker, Spectacular Spider-Man #27 to #28 Daredevil #160, #161 Amazing Spider-Man #194 to #197 Uncanny X-Men #117, #123 to #128 You can find more Marvel Comics guides on Comic Book Herald at: mymarvelousyear.com https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/ Music for My Marvelous Year is credited to Disasterpeace. Support for My Marvelous Year comes via Patreon backers, for as little as $1 a month. Make sure to subscribe now in order to get every reading list for every year of Marvel Comics! Subscribe to the Podcast! — iTunes, Google Play, Pod Feed If you like the show, please consider leaving a rating or review on iTunes to help us reach more readers & listeners! The post Marvel Year Seventeen: 1978 Pt. 2 appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

November 27 2019 – the day before Thanksgiving – was the first new comic book day in approximately 4 months with at least three new X-Men comics released on the same day. Appropriately, my varying reactions to the releases are a healthy reminder that more is not always better, and that one of House of X and Dawn of X’s greatest strengths has been a healthy sense of curation (Marvel as a whole is otherwise comically overproducing books these days). Big picture, New Mutants is a book I expected to enjoy, and lo and behold, nothing has changed, whereas X-Force had a make-or-break second issue actually sell me on many of the comic’s bolder first issue choices. And then there’s Fallen Angels #2, which I’m increasingly convinced is the only absolute dud of the Dawn of X. For all Comic Book Herald X-Men videos! For the full Dawn of X reading order: Two issues into Fallen Angels and I have no doubt that Fallen Angels is a let down, and the only real dud of the Dawn of X. This book will of course have fans – many of them have chimed in on the Comic Book Herald Youtube channel, and I’ll encourage them to continue to do so! I’m genuinely interested in other perspectives and why people enjoy work that isn’t working for me – so it’s important to me to go beyond simply “comic=bad” and explore specific elements that I find objectionable. Starting big picture, I respect the hell out of Hill and Kudranski’s pitch for a book about Kwannon reclaiming the Psylocke “shell” as she refers to it as truly her own. There’s conceptually a bold meditation on identity and the X-Men’s history of racial body swapping (it’s more than just Betsy & Kwannon, just ask the New Mutants “Demon Bear” saga), somewhere in the idea of Fallen Angels. As far as I can tell though, all of this is secondary to a substantially less interesting exploration of the role of violence in a utopia. This is particularly less interesting alongside a lineup including X-Force, where the concept of peaceful Utopia is so feverishly upended. The premise doesn’t match the reality *already* and we’re only two issues into Dawn of X! Just as messily, Fallen Angels is also sprinting headfirst into the surest way to mediocrity: It’s a ninja Hand book without a compelling leader of the Hand. It’s not like mutant-kind don’t have a history with Madripoor and the Hand – obviously this is especially true if we’re talking about Betsy Braddock and Kwannon – but to me this feels like another instance where the focal point doesn’t really tie with the rest of Dawn of X and the development of Krakoa. In every other title we can at least see ways the book contributes to the new world. Fallen Angels is still extremely unclear. Perhaps this is all because Fallen Angels didn’t need to be a team book. The comic Hill and Kudranski appear interested in writing is just called Psylocke. And that’s a fine, if bold choice for an X-book to launch – I mean it’s not like that would have been any less marketable than a comic book title connected to an off the wall late 80’s miniseries? Not only do I think Fallen Angels didn’t need to be a team book, it didn’t need to be a book with *this* team. This is probably the aspect of Fallen Angels that irks the comic fan in me the most – Teen Cable and X-23 do *not* make sense for this book, and the work is not doing anything to convince me otherwise. Bryan Edward Hill is at odds with other writers on many of the characters he’s writing. From Hickman’s off-the-rails comedic Mr. Sinister to Hickman’s goofball meathead Teen Cable, to Tom Taylor’s years of character work on X-23 (more on this in a moment), Hill’s writing them all muted and reduced to ominous talk of war and violence. Forget which version is even preferred – it’s blatantly inconsistent. This is far from the first time two writers have had different takes on their caretaking of Marvel’s property, but it’s happening in concert during a Dawn of X that is otherwise cohesive and wholly connected. It’s an approach incongruous with Dawn of X, and so is the comic book. In order to more specifically discuss the regressive nature of Fallen Angels, I think it helps in particular to define Laura Kinney’s regression. X-23 is a clone of Wolverine, created in a lab, born and bred in violence. When she speaks aloud the following it’s not just a return to her early 2000’s identity, it’s a nonsensical attempt to ignore the fact that literally no one understands her better than Logan, aka Wolverine: “There is an anger in me. A rage. I gave up any hope that someone could possibly understand it.” She has clones like Gabby and Wolverine, but only Psylocke can understand her rage now? Since when?! Another piece of Fallen

Marvel comics of 1978. Korvac Saga! Captain Britain! God vs. Taller God! On this episode we cover the following issues (all available via Marvel Unlimited): Thor Annual / Avengers #6 / #170 to #177 Power Man / Power Man & Iron Fist #48, #49 / #50 Marvel Team-Up #65, #66 Devil Dinosaur / Machine Man #1 / #1 Thor #269 Up Next: My Marvelous Year – Marvel Year Seventeen: 1978 Pt. 2 — Marvel Team-Up #69, #70 Uncanny X-Men #112 to #116 Amazing Spider-Man #176 to #180, #185 Fantastic Four #197 to #200 What If? #10 You can find more Marvel Comics guides on Comic Book Herald at: mymarvelousyear.com https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/ Music for My Marvelous Year is credited to Disasterpeace. Support for My Marvelous Year comes via Patreon backers, for as little as $1 a month. Make sure to subscribe now in order to get every reading list for every year of Marvel Comics! Subscribe to the Podcast! — iTunes, Google Play, Pod Feed If you like the show, please consider leaving a rating or review on iTunes to help us reach more readers & listeners! The post Marvel Year Seventeen: 1978 Pt. 1 appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Zack & Dave cover your questions, poll results, and recap the Marvel Comics of 1977! Topics discussed include: Digital re-coloring comics vs. original versions Which Marvel heroes prefer baths to showers? More MMY shared universe heroes & villains! Up Next: My Marvelous Year – Marvel Year Seventeen: 1978 Pt. 1 — Thor Annual / Avengers #6 / #170 to #177 Power Man / Power Man & Iron Fist #48, #49 / #50 Marvel Team-Up #65, #66 Devil Dinosaur / Machine Man #1 / #1 Thor #269 You can find more Marvel Comics guides on Comic Book Herald at: mymarvelousyear.com https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/ Music for My Marvelous Year is credited to Disasterpeace. Support for My Marvelous Year comes via Patreon backers, for as little as $1 a month. Make sure to subscribe now in order to get every reading list for every year of Marvel Comics! Subscribe to the Podcast! — iTunes, Google Play, Pod Feed If you like the show, please consider leaving a rating or review to help us reach more readers & listeners! The post Marvel Year Sixteen: 1977 Variant Cover! appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Absolute Carnage wrapped up this week: I’ll review the full event, complete with tie-ins, and discuss what it means for the Marvel Universe! Spoilers for Absolute Carnage follow! For the video: For the full Absolute Carnage reading order: Comics Discussed Include: + Absolute Carnage + Venom + Tie-Ins! Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com. Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Android To learn how you can support Best Comics Ever and receive more exclusive content from Comic Book Herald, check out the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookherald For the Comic Book Herald reading club through every year of Marvel Comics, check out mymarvelousyear.com The post Best Comics Ever #60: Absolute Carnage – Post-Game Report – Full Review! appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

DC’s six issue “Event Leviathan” comes to a close, with the final chapter in Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev’s frustrating superhero mystery. I’ll review the full event, complete with tie-ins, and discuss what it means for DC’s 2019. For the video: For the full Event Leviathan reading order: Comics discussed include: + Action Comics by Brian Michael Bendis & Steve Epting + Event Leviathan + Manhunter (2000’s run) Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com. Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Android To learn how you can support Best Comics Ever and receive more exclusive content from Comic Book Herald, check out the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookherald For the Comic Book Herald reading club through every year of Marvel Comics, check out mymarvelousyear.com The post Best Comics Ever #59: DC’s Event Leviathan Post-Game Report – Full Review! appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Marvel comics of 1977. X-Men in the Phoenix Saga! Star-Lord! Doctor Doom vs. Red Skull! On this episode we cover the following issues (all available via Marvel Unlimited): Iron Fist #11 to #15 Uncanny X-Men #104 to #108 Amazing Spider-Man #174 to #175 Marvel Preview / Marvel Spotlight #11 / #32 Super-Villain Team-Up #10 to #12 Up Next: My Marvelous Year – Marvel Year Seventeen: 1978 Pt. 1 — Thor Annual / Avengers #6 / #170 to #177 Power Man / Power Man & Iron Fist #48, #49 / #50 Marvel Team-Up #65, #66 Devil Dinosaur / Machine Man #1 / #1 Thor #269 You can find more Marvel Comics guides on Comic Book Herald at: mymarvelousyear.com https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/ Music for My Marvelous Year is credited to Disasterpeace. Support for My Marvelous Year comes via Patreon backers, for as little as $1 a month. Make sure to subscribe now in order to get every reading list for every year of Marvel Comics! Subscribe to the Podcast! — iTunes, Google Play, Pod Feed If you like the show, please consider leaving a rating or review to help us reach more readers & listeners! The post Marvel Year Sixteen: 1977 Pt. 2 appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

This month John & Dave tackle Doomsday Clock by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank in relation to HBO’s Watchmen and the original limited series by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, and John Higgins. For previous Deep Dives: For more, check out the full guides on Comic Book Herald: Watchmen Doomsday Clock I also recommend checking out HBO Watchmen’s Peteypedia! Comics discussed include: Watchmen Doomsday Clock Before Watchmen Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com. Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Android To learn how you can support Best Comics Ever and receive more exclusive content from Comic Book Herald, check out the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookherald For the Comic Book Herald reading club through every year of Marvel Comics, check out mymarvelousyear.com The post Deep Dives #4: World of Watchmen – How Doomsday Clock & HBO Watchmen Approach Sequels appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

This week on “Previously On,” I’m digging into New Mutants #1 and answering questions about the comics role in Dawn of X, and some theories about Marvel Cosmic connections. 1) Who Are the New Mutants? The New Mutants debuted in 1982 in a graphic novel (Marvel Graphic Novel #4) by Chris Claremont and Bob McLeod. The original lineup includes Cannonball (Sam Guthrie), Wolfsbane (Rahne Sinclair), Karma (Shan Coy Manh), Psyche / Mirage (Dani Moonstar), Sunspot (Bobby Da Costa), Illyana Rasputin (Magick), Dough Ramsey (Cypher), Warlock and some Magma here and there. This is the next generation of young mutants in the world of X-Men, and it’s an important development to return the Xavier Mansion to a school for gifted youngsters and to re-instill the team’s purpose of helping *new* mutants find their way in the Marvel Universe. The series really takes off though when Chris Claremont is joined by revolutionary artist Bill Sienkiewicz, delivering such stone cold classics as “The Demon Bear” saga and the debut of Charles Xavier’s son, Legion aka David Haller. The duo is so strongly tied to New Mutants, that they even regrouped for a “War Children” one-shot special in 2019, and lo and behold, it’s quite good! Following Louise Simonson’s excellent work writing the title, the original lineup has been somewhat scattered since the 90s – the X-forcification of New Mutants began when Rob Liefeld was brought on as artist, and introduced the likes of Cable and Deadpool through the pages of New Mutants, before bringing many of those elements over to X-Force – which was the other X-Men first issue that came out this week! Hickman himself is no stranger to the classic New Mutants – In addition to Sam and Bobby’s role in his Avengers run (bigger than anyone could have anticipated!), Hickman and artist Nick Dragotta also have a lesser known six issue miniseries series, Astonishing Tales: Mojoworld, that stars Sam & Bobby. Unsurprisingly, then, it’s Bobby’s desire to take the team to space to recover Sam that operates as the driving action in New Mutants #1. 2) What have the New Mutants been up to lately? A) New Mutants: Dead Souls Uncanny X-Men I don’t want to get too in the weeds on these 2018 through 2019 comics because frankly New Mutants #1 is pretty clear that while they *happened* Hickman, Brisson, Reis and company are all looking to move forward from page 1 panel 1. Long story short both the New Mutants Dead Souls mini and Uncanny X-Men (particularly issues #11 to #22… the first 10 are really Age of X-Men prelude) build to a situation where the New Mutants are all taken over by Warlock’s techno-organic virus. Team carries forward into the pages of Uncanny X-Men where some of them are brutally killed. Frankly, Uncanny X-Men devolved into a poorly executed murder-fest, and writer Matt Rosenberg has pretty publicly apologized, in particular for how upsetting many fans found the death of Wolfsbane. Which again, brings us back to the cathartic release of hope found on Page 1 Panel one of Dawn of X New Mutants #1. B) Cannonball can’t stop going missing in space The other recurring thread in the world of New Mutants is that Sam Guthrie can’t stop going missing in space. At the end of the day, this kind of makes sense, because the Hickman era of Avengers develops a romance between Sam and the Sh’iar imperial guard’s Smasher. They even have a kid together! Most memorably, Sam Guthrie is lost and imprisoned on the Skrull world where the Skrulls all pretend to be mobsters (from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s Fantastic Four!) in the pages of the Al Ewing written U.S.Avengers. At this point we have to consider that Sam simply prefers space! 3) What’s The Role of New Mutants in Dawn of X? A) Renewal of hope. Renewal of younger generations in the world of mutants. This is in both a literal (resurrection) sense, and in a broader metaphor. We don’t see it much in this issue, but the early understanding is that the more Ed Brisson focused work will revolve around non-OG new mutants like Armor and Glob Herman. The kids are the future, and this is the book to deliver that message. B) Expanding our understanding – or at least the mystery – of Krakoa. This is part 1A of why I see Jonathan Hickman wanting to take a hand personally in this title, planting seeds – puns puns puns – for the future of Krakoa and mutantkind. It makes sense to do this in New Mutants, where we have Doug Ramsey as a central character, basically experimenting on Generation X’s own Mondo and his own connections to the sentient island nation. There are two major learnings from New Mutants #1: Krakoa can inhabit and speak through Mondo – perhaps others? Flowers from Krakoa are *deadly* to certain species of life in outer space. It’s this second that feels more obviously

Marvel comics of 1977. Avengers vs. Thanos! Ms. Marvel debuts! Howard for President! On this episode we cover the following issues (all available via Marvel Unlimited): Marvel Team-Up /Avengers Annual / Marvel Two-In-One Annual #55 / #7 / #2 Ms. Marvel #1, #7, #9 to #10 Avengers #160 to #162, #164 to #166 What If #1 Howard the Duck #8 Up Next: My Marvelous Year – Marvel Year Sixteen: 1977 Pt. 2 — Iron Fist #11 to #15 Uncanny X-Men #104 to #108 Amazing Spider-Man #174 to #175 Marvel Preview / Marvel Spotlight #11 / #32 Super-Villain Team-Up #10 to #12 You can find more Marvel Comics guides on Comic Book Herald at: mymarvelousyear.com https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/ Music for My Marvelous Year is credited to Disasterpeace. Support for My Marvelous Year comes via Patreon backers, for as little as $1 a month. Make sure to subscribe now in order to get every reading list for every year of Marvel Comics! Subscribe to the Podcast! — iTunes, Google Play, Pod Feed If you like the show, please consider leaving a rating or review to help us reach more readers & listeners! The post Marvel Year Sixteen: 1977 Pt. 1 appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

This was a big week for X-Men comics, as it’s the first week since House of X #1 launched that Marvel published two separate X-Men titles on the same day. First up, I put together my video review and theories for X-Force #1 by Benjamin Percy, Joshua Cassarra and Dean White. For all Comic Book Herald X-Men videos! For the full Dawn of X reading order: For the full X-Force reading order: Comics discussed include: 90’s X-Force Uncanny X-Force by Rick Remender & Jerome Opena (2018 to 2019) X-Force by Ed Brisson and Dylan Burnett X-Force (2019) #1 Many more! The post How Does X-Force #1 Fit Into X-Men Dawn of X? appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Marvel’s bringing back the Annihilation event title for a mini-crossover this December 2019, Annihilation Scourge! I’m breaking down what comics set the stage for Annihilation, and what characters like Nova, Annihilus, Beta Ray Bill, Silver Surfer and the Fantastic Four have been up to setting the stage for this event. For the Video: For the full Comic Book Herald reading order: Annihilation Scourge reading order Comics discussed include: Annihilation Guardians of the Galaxy (Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw) Silver Surfer: Black Many more! Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com. Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Android To learn how you can support Best Comics Ever and receive more exclusive content from Comic Book Herald, check out the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookherald For the Comic Book Herald reading club through every year of Marvel Comics, check out mymarvelousyear.com The post Best Comics Ever #58: The Road to Annihilation Scourge! appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Zack & Dave cover your questions, poll results, and recap the Marvel Comics of 1976! Topics discussed include: Dave’s a Youtuber now Zack’s secret Stilt-Man poll Where in the flames of Faltine is Doctor Strange? More MMY shared universe heroes & villains! Up Next: My Marvelous Year – Marvel Year Sixteen: 1977 Pt. 1 — Marvel Team-Up /Avengers Annual / Marvel Two-In-One Annual #55 / #7 / #2 Ms. Marvel #1, #7, #9 to #10 Avengers #160 to #162, #164 to #166 What If #1 Howard the Duck #8 You can find more Marvel Comics guides on Comic Book Herald at: mymarvelousyear.com https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/ Music for My Marvelous Year is credited to Disasterpeace. Support for My Marvelous Year comes via Patreon backers, for as little as $1 a month. Make sure to subscribe now in order to get every reading list for every year of Marvel Comics! Subscribe to the Podcast! — iTunes, Google Play, Pod Feed If you like the show, please consider leaving a rating or review to help us reach more readers & listeners! The post Marvel Year Fifteen: 1976 Variant Cover! appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Marvel comics of 1976. Panther vs. the Klan! Dr. Strange vs. Dracula! Man vs. Duck! On this episode we cover the following issues (all available via Marvel Unlimited): Howard the Duck #1 to #3 Master of Kung Fu #44 to #47 Warlock #12 to #15 Jungle Action #19 to #24 Tomb of Dracula / Dr. Strange #44 / #14 Up Next: My Marvelous Year – Marvel Year Sixteen: 1977 Pt. 1 — Marvel Team-Up /Avengers Annual / Marvel Two-In-One Annual #55 / #7 / #2 Ms. Marvel #1, #7, #9 to #10 Avengers #160 to #162, #164 to #166 What If #1 Howard the Duck #8 You can find more Marvel Comics guides on Comic Book Herald at: mymarvelousyear.com https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/ Music for My Marvelous Year is credited to Disasterpeace. Support for My Marvelous Year comes via Patreon backers, for as little as $1 a month. Make sure to subscribe now in order to get every reading list for every year of Marvel Comics! Subscribe to the Podcast! — iTunes, Google Play, Pod Feed If you like the show, please consider leaving a rating or review to help us reach more readers & listeners! The post Marvel Year Fifteen: 1976 Pt. 2 appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

I explore what’s become of the Ultimate Universe since Secret Wars (2015), how Marvel’s quietly bringing it back before our eyes in 2019, and my theories for the best way to renew the Ultimate Universe imprint! For the Video: For the full Ultimate Universe reading order: Ultimate Marvel Universe Reading Order For Ultimate Universe comics after 2015: Ultimate Universe Comics After Secret Wars (2015) Comics discussed include: + Secret Wars (2015) + Ultimate Spider-Man + Miles Morales: Spider-Man + Ultimates & Ultimates 2 + Spider-Men II + Many more! Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com. Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Android To learn how you can support Best Comics Ever and receive more exclusive content from Comic Book Herald, check out the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookherald For the Comic Book Herald reading club through every year of Marvel Comics, check out mymarvelousyear.com The post Best Comics Ever #57: Will Marvel’s Ultimate Universe Return in 2020? Is it Already Back?! appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

In Krakin’ Krakoa #13, my analysis of House of X / Powers of X, I’m considering why Jean Grey is wearing her Marvel Girl costume, and what it means for the Phoenix Force and the X-Men! For the Video: For the full reading order: Hickman X-Men reading order Phoenix reading order Comics discussed today include: + House of X / Powers of X + Dark Phoenix Saga + Secret Wars (2015) + Jason Aaron / Mike Del Mundo’s Thor + Avengers vs X-Men +Many more! Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com. Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Android To learn how you can support Best Comics Ever and receive more exclusive content from Comic Book Herald, check out the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookherald For the Comic Book Herald reading club through every year of Marvel Comics, check out mymarvelousyear.com The post Krakin Krakoa #13: What Does Jean Grey’s Costume Tell Us About Phoenix in Dawn of X? appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Marvel comics of 1976. Phoenix! King Kirby’s Eternals! Luke Cage Joins the FF! On this episode we cover the following issues (all available via Marvel Unlimited): Uncanny X-Men #98, #99, #100, #101, #102, #103 Captain America #193 to #196 Eternals #1 to #3 Daredevil #131, #132 Fantastic Four #168 to #170 Up Next: My Marvelous Year – Marvel Year Fifteen: 1976 Pt. 2 — Howard the Duck #1 to #3 Master of Kung Fu #44 to #47 Warlock #12 to #15 Jungle Action #19 to #24 Tomb of Dracula / Dr. Strange #44 / #14 You can find more Marvel Comics guides on Comic Book Herald at: mymarvelousyear.com https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/ Music for My Marvelous Year is credited to Disasterpeace. Support for My Marvelous Year comes via Patreon backers, for as little as $1 a month. Make sure to subscribe now in order to get every reading list for every year of Marvel Comics! Subscribe to the Podcast! — iTunes, Google Play, Pod Feed If you like the show, please consider leaving a rating or review to help us reach more readers & listeners! The post Marvel Year Fifteen: 1976 Pt. 1 appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

In Krakin’ Krakoa #12, my analysis of House of X / Powers of X, I’m investigating Moira X’s journal entries and mapping them to the entire history of X-Men comics! For the video: For the full reading order: Hickman X-Men reading order Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com. Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Android To learn how you can support Best Comics Ever and receive more exclusive content from Comic Book Herald, check out the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookherald For the Comic Book Herald reading club through every year of Marvel Comics, check out mymarvelousyear.com The post Krakin’ Krakoa #12: The Unspoken History of Hickman’s X-Men appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

This month John & Dave tackle House of X and Powers of X by Jonathan Hickman, RB Silva, Pepe Larraz, Marte Gracia and collaborators. For previous Deep Dives: For more, check out the full guides on Comic Book Herald: Hickman’s X-Men John’s review of telepathy Comics discussed include: House of X / Powers of X Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com. Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Android To learn how you can support Best Comics Ever and receive more exclusive content from Comic Book Herald, check out the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookherald For the Comic Book Herald reading club through every year of Marvel Comics, check out mymarvelousyear.com The post Deep Dives #3: House of X/Powers of X – What Makes an X-Men Reinvention Successful? appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Zack & Dave cover your questions, poll results, and recap the Marvel Comics of 1975! Topics discussed include: Which All-New X-Men character the club would marry Longevity of comics creators 70s Marvel writers Marrying trees for the sake of the universe More MMY shared universe heroes & villains! Up Next: My Marvelous Year – Marvel Year Fifteen: 1976 Pt. 1 — Uncanny X-Men #98, #99, #100, #101, #102, #103 Captain America #193 to #196 Eternals #1 to #3 Daredevil #131, #132 Fantastic Four #168 to #170 You can find more Marvel Comics guides on Comic Book Herald at: mymarvelousyear.com https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/ Music for My Marvelous Year is credited to Disasterpeace. Support for My Marvelous Year comes via Patreon backers, for as little as $1 a month. Make sure to subscribe now in order to get every reading list for every year of Marvel Comics! Subscribe to the Podcast! — iTunes, Google Play, Pod Feed If you like the show, please consider leaving a rating or review to help us reach more readers & listeners! The post Marvel Year Fourteen: 1975 Variant Cover! appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Dive into current Marvel Comics X-Men relaunch with Dawn of X coming to comic shops in 2019! For the video: For the full reading order: Hickman X-Men reading order Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com. Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Android To learn how you can support Best Comics Ever and receive more exclusive content from Comic Book Herald, check out the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookherald For the Comic Book Herald reading club through every year of Marvel Comics, check out mymarvelousyear.com The post Krakin Krakoa #11: Road to Dawn of X (Hickman’s 2019 X-Men Relaunch)! appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Dive into current Marvel Comics for the first time ever, or first time in a while, with this fast track guide on where to start! For the video: For the full reading order: Marvel Fresh Start Marvel Fresh Start Fast Track! Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com. Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Android To learn how you can support Best Comics Ever and receive more exclusive content from Comic Book Herald, check out the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookherald For the Comic Book Herald reading club through every year of Marvel Comics, check out mymarvelousyear.com The post Best Comics Ever #56: Where to Start With Marvel Comics (Fresh Start Era)! appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

In House of X #6 we get our first glimpse of Krakoa’s mutant leaders, the Quiet Council of Krakoa. On today’s Krakin Krakoa X-Men exploration, I’m going to explore questions like: Who’s the redacted Red King of the Hellfire Club? What 10 mutants are missing from this assemblage of 18 mutant leaders? Who the flip is Exodus?! For the video: For the full reading order: Jonathan Hickman’s X-Men Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com. Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Android To learn how you can support Best Comics Ever and receive more exclusive content from Comic Book Herald, check out the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookherald For the Comic Book Herald reading club through every year of Marvel Comics, check out mymarvelousyear.com   The post Krakin’ Krakoa #10: Who’s the Missing Red King in House of X? appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

At times, Namor the Sub-Mariner has challenged even Apocalypse for title of “First Mutant.” So why is it that the King of Atlantis is *the* holdout from the X-Men’s mutant island nation of Krakoa? In this Krakin’ Krakoa, the series where I dig into the most fascinating elements of the Jonathan Hickman written X-Men comics at Marvel, I explore why Namor’s refusing Professor X’s offer, his history with the X-Men (and Marvel Universe at large), and consider what it means for Professor X to be ready to involve Namor. For the video: For the full Namor reading order: Namor (Sub-Mariner) Reading Order Plus, I explore how recent revelation in the pages of the Chip Zdarsky written Invaders have led to a secret history between Namor and Professor X – one that may well have significant consequences for House of X moving forward. Comics discussed in this episode include: + Powers of X #5 + Marvel Comics #1 + Dark X-Men: The Beginning + Invaders by Chip Zdarsky + New Avengers by Hickman + Many more! Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com. Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Android To learn how you can support Best Comics Ever and receive more exclusive content from Comic Book Herald, check out the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookherald For the Comic Book Herald reading club through every year of Marvel Comics, check out mymarvelousyear.com The post Krakin’ Krakoa #9: Namor & The X-Men (Powers of X Companion!) appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Marvel comics of 1975. Clones! Panther’s Rage Concludes! Moon Knight debuts! A cosmic villain returns! On this episode we cover the following issues (all available via Marvel Unlimited): Amazing Spider-Man #144 to #149 Jungle Action #13 to #18 Strange Tales / Warlock #178 to #181 / #9 to #11 Werewolf by Night #32, #33 Giant-Size Defenders / Defenders #5 / #26 to #29 Up Next: My Marvelous Year – Marvel Year Fifteen: 1976 Pt. 1 — Uncanny X-Men #98, #99, #100, #101, #102, #103 Captain America #193 to #196 Eternals #1 to #3 Daredevil #131, #132 Fantastic Four #168 to #170 The post Marvel Year Fourteen: 1975 Pt.2 appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

In 80 years it will be 2099, and Marvel is bringing back their future Marvel 2099 comic book universe as a result! Late 2019 will feature a 2099 crossover event including the likes of Spider-Man 2099, Venom 2099, Doom 2099, and many more, as well as crossing over with present day events in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man. For the video: For the full reading order guide check out the page on Comic Book Herald: Marvel 2099 (2019 Event!) Comics discussed include: + Spider-Man 2099 + Doom 2099 by Warren Ellis + Timestorm 2009/2099 + Superior Spider-Man + More! Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com. Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Android To learn how you can support Best Comics Ever and receive more exclusive content from Comic Book Herald, check out the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookherald For the Comic Book Herald reading club through every year of Marvel Comics, check out mymarvelousyear.com The post Best Comics Ever #55: The Return of Marvel 2099! appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Who are the real first horsemen of Apocalypse? What role will they play in the Dawn of X? And What do Jack Kirby’s Eternals have to do with Apocalypse in Hickman’s X-Men? I answer all these questions and more in this deep dive into Apocalypse, his four horsemen, and House of X. For more, check out the full guides on Comic Book Herald: Apocalypse reading order House of X reading order For the video: Comics discussed include: SHIELD Jack Kirby’s Eternals Uncanny X-Force Many, many more! Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com. Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Android To learn how you can support Best Comics Ever and receive more exclusive content from Comic Book Herald, check out the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookherald For the Comic Book Herald reading club through every year of Marvel Comics, check out mymarvelousyear.com   The post Krakin’ Krakoa #8: The Secret History of Apocalypse’s Horsemen (and an Eternals Theory?!) appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Marvel comics of 1975. X-MEN! Celestial Madonna! Uh… Champions? Our guest today is Gary Butterfield – You can find more of Gary’s excellent work at http://duckfeed.tv/ On this episode we cover the following issues (all available via Marvel Unlimited): Giant Size X-Men #1 Uncanny X-Men #94, #95 Giant Size Fantastic Four #4 Tomb of Dracula #26 to #28 Avengers / Giant Size Avengers #133 to #135 / #4 The Champions #1 Up Next: My Marvelous Year – Marvel Year Fourteen: 1975 Pt. 2 — Amazing Spider-Man #144 to #149 Jungle Action #13 to #18 Strange Tales / Warlock #178 to #181 / #9 to #11 Werewolf by Night #32, #33 Giant-Size Defenders / Defenders #5 / #26 to #29 You can find more Marvel Comics guides on Comic Book Herald at: mymarvelousyear.com https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/ Music for My Marvelous Year is credited to Disasterpeace. Support for My Marvelous Year comes via Patreon backers, for as little as $1 a month. Make sure to subscribe now in order to get every reading list for every year of Marvel Comics! Subscribe to the Podcast! — iTunes, Google Play, Pod Feed If you like the show, please consider leaving a rating or review to help us reach more readers & listeners! The post Marvel Year Fourteen: 1975 Pt.1 Featuring Gary Butterfield appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

This month John & Dave tackle The Immortal Hulk by Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, and various collaborators. For the video: For more, check out the full guides on Comic Book Herald: The Hulk reading order Comics discussed include: + The Immortal Hulk (through volume 4!) + The Best Defense Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com. Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Android To learn how you can support Best Comics Ever and receive more exclusive content from Comic Book Herald, check out the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookherald For the Comic Book Herald reading club through every year of Marvel Comics, check out mymarvelousyear.com The post CBH Deep Dives: The Immortal Hulk! appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

In the pages of House of X, Wanda Maximoff (The Scarlet Witch) is referred to as “The Great Pretender” and listed as one of the most devastating assailants in mutant history. But was Wanda pretending to be a mutant, actually a mutant, or simply deceived into thinking she was a mutant? For more, check out the full guides on Comic Book Herald: Scarlet Witch reading order For the video: Comics discussed include: Scarlet Witch (2016) Vision (2016) House of M Uncanny Avengers Many, many more! Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com. Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Android To learn how you can support Best Comics Ever and receive more exclusive content from Comic Book Herald, check out the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookherald For the Comic Book Herald reading club through every year of Marvel Comics, check out mymarvelousyear.com The post Krakin’ Krakoa #7: Is Scarlet Witch a Mutant? Should She Be? appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Zack & Dave cover your questions, poll results, and recap the Marvel Comics of 1974! Topics discussed include: Sexy Comics Odin Being Useless Captain America’s relationship to America More MMY shared universe heroes & villains! Up Next: My Marvelous Year – Marvel Year Fourteen: 1975 Pt. 1 — Giant Size X-Men #1 Uncanny X-Men #94, #95 Giant Size Fantastic Four #4 Tomb of Dracula #26 to #28 Avengers / Giant Size Avengers #133 to #135 / #4 The Champions #1 You can find more Marvel Comics guides on Comic Book Herald at: mymarvelousyear.com https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/ Music for My Marvelous Year is credited to Disasterpeace. Support for My Marvelous Year comes via Patreon backers, for as little as $1 a month. Make sure to subscribe now in order to get every reading list for every year of Marvel Comics! Subscribe to the Podcast! — iTunes, Google Play, Pod Feed If you like the show, please consider leaving a rating or review to help us reach more readers & listeners! The post Marvel Year Thirteen: 1974 Variant Cover! appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

It’s Thor vs Loki at the end of time! I explain the history of “Future Thor” throughout Jason Aaron’s complete run since 2012! For more, check out the full guides on Comic Book Herald: Thor reading order For the video: Comics discussed include: Thor: God of Thunder Thor by Aaron and Del Mundo War of the Realms Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com. Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Android To learn how you can support Best Comics Ever and receive more exclusive content from Comic Book Herald, check out the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookherald For the Comic Book Herald reading club through every year of Marvel Comics, check out mymarvelousyear.com The post Best Comics Ever #54: The Road to King Thor! appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Marvel comics of 1974. Thanos vs. Avengers! Wolverine debuts! Shoeless Shang-Chi! On this episode Zack and Dave cover the following issues (all available via Marvel Unlimited): Daredevil / Captain Marvel / Avengers CM #31 to #32, Avg #125, CM #33 to #34 Marvel Premiere / Astonishing Tales #15 / #25 Giant-Size Master of Kung Fu #1 Avengers / Giant-Size Avengers #128 to #129, #2 Incredible Hulk #180, #181 Up Next: My Marvelous Year – Marvel Year Thirteen: 1975 Pt. 1 — Giant Size X-Men #1 Uncanny X-Men #94, #95 Giant Size Fantastic Four #4 Tomb of Dracula #26 to #28 Avengers / Giant Size Avengers #133 to #135 / #4 The Champions #1 You can find more Marvel Comics guides on Comic Book Herald at: mymarvelousyear.com https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/ Music for My Marvelous Year is credited to Disasterpeace. Support for My Marvelous Year comes via Patreon backers, for as little as $1 a month. Make sure to subscribe now in order to get every reading list for every year of Marvel Comics! Subscribe to the Podcast! — iTunes, Google Play, Pod Feed If you like the show, please consider leaving a rating or review to help us reach more readers & listeners! The post Marvel Year Thirteen: 1974 Pt. 2 appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

In this “Road To” I share the history of the Batman Who Laughs, and how it all builds to the latest DC Comics crossover, Year of the Villain: The Infected! For more, check out the full guides on Comic Book Herald: https://www.comicbookherald.com/reading-dc-comics/dc-rebirth-reading-order/year-four/year-of-the-villain-the-infected-reading-order/ Comics discussed include: + Dark Nights Metal + Justice League by Scott Snyder + The Batman Who Laughs + Batman / Superman #1 Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com. Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Android To learn how you can support Best Comics Ever and receive more exclusive content from Comic Book Herald, check out the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookherald For the Comic Book Herald reading club through every year of Marvel Comics, check out mymarvelousyear.com The post Best Comics Ever #53: Road to DC’s The Infected (History of the Batman Who Laughs!) appeared first on Comic Book Herald.