Maddie's reading summariesSlideshow 1: Inferno 1988 and OnSlideshow 2: Dawn of X, Moira, Destiny, and MystiqueSlideshow 3: Clones on KrakoaImage 4:Final Images:Above: the 1988 Inferno ad and the 2021 Silva homage to it! Click "continue Reading" to see this special edition episode's podcast notes!
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Happy November! I can hardly believe the year is coming to an end already. Needless to say, it's been a weird and wild one.
This week's comics are absolutely stellar, with only three DC, nine Marvel, and four independent publisher releases. Of those, two are from X of Swords, three are by Kelly Thompson, and two are from Black Label. I've done another trio of spotlights this week, showing off comic book representation! For the spotlight on people of color in comics, I'm discussing Grag Pak's Agents of Atlas, the first all-Asian superhero team! Then, after the reveal of Kate Pryde's bisexuality a few issues of Marauders ago, I'm discussing the sexuality of the X-Men, and how that changes through the years. Finally, with her three upstanding comic releases this week, I talk about writer Kelly Thompson, and how she chooses to be fresh with her characters without tearing them down or tormenting them first--something very common (and usually masculinity driven) in cape comics. Without further ado, Continue Reading for more comics talk!
Its the end of September already, and the year has been like no other. I have to notice that having this space to talk about comics each week has become something of a comfort, when everything else seems to be going berserk. While my pull lists have gotten longer this year, I see the comics that I'm reading expanding my perspective and inspiring me creatively.
This week has a total of fourteen comics on my pull list! Two #1s, three one-shots, three more indie titles, one for X of Swords, three other Marvel titles, and two other DC ones. I like that I'm getting a little more spread with the publishers that I read, and especially evening out the cape-to-not comics. I'm also back to doing the three full spotlights again this week, for people of color, LGBTQ+ topics, and women in comics. I'm spotlighting the new Shang-Chi series in the first segment, and touching (very lightly, TBH) on the history of racism against Asian-Americans. Then, I'm talking about two female illustrators- Robin Eisenberg, who's queer-forward work is featured on this week's Wonder Woman 1984 variant, and Amanda Conner, artist and co-writer for Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey, who is probably one of the most well-established female artists in comics. There's so much to discuss, again, this week, so Continue Reading to step into the delightful, if messy, world of comics! Giant-Size X-Men: Storm REVIEW!9/20/2020
This is another review I write a number of weeks ago, but find myself going back to again and again as an example of modern comic book excellence. I've said it before on this site: I LOVE to talk about comics when I can pick through them, pointing out the various literary devices and artistic strengths. I get SWEATY about comics like that, and thanks to hearty efforts from every member of the creative team, X-Men #11 is easily going down as one of my favorite single-issues this year. I've touched this review up from when I originally wrote it as part of my week #28 Pick List, so there will be minor differences to that version. Continue Reading to see what made this issue so fantastic! X-Men #11 was written by Johnathon Hickman, with art by Leinil Francis Yu, and colors by Sunny Gho.
This week, we have a rare thing in comics: a short pull list! Admittedly, four of the ten issues are Dawn of X books, one Marvel Annual, two are DC and three are from Image. A little skewed, as far as publishers go, but all quality comics nonetheless. And, I have to admit, it is a lot less pressure having fewer comics to write about every week.
This week I'm particularly proud of the representation spotlights. I talk about writer/artists Johnnie Christmas and Mirka Andolfo in the sections on creators of color and women in comics, respectively. Both creators have strong styles of and sectors of the comics world they thrive in, with impressive work under their belts already. Then, in the spotlight on LGBTQ+ topics in comics, I talk about Northstar and Daken--two queer male comics characters as two very different examples of queer male portrayal. Continue Reading for all this and more!
Welcome to another big week in comics! I feel like I've been going pretty hard on these pull lists each week, and I hope the new formatting helps with the added features. Feedback is always appreciated!
One thing that stood out to me about this week's pull list is that a solid third of them are #4's. I'm not sure why this struck me as odd, but I wanted to share. You might have also noticed I read a good deal of limited series'. This week alone, there is the Death Metal event tie-in, the fourth of five for Star and Ludocrats, and the final issues of Dead Earth, the X-Men tie-in to Empyre, and Ant-Man. I'm also picking up the final book of the once-ongoing Harley Quinn series, where the notoriously self-contained book is going canon for it's bonus-sized final issue. A lot of independent publishers often prefer short story contracts, to keep their releases fresh and new, offering more all the time. Since I'm actively trying to expand the ratio of indie comics I read, it makes sense that I'm reading more limited series', as well. I'm also still doing the spotlights on representation in comics, which I plan to continue for the foreseeable future. This week, I'm discussing comic writer Ta Nehisi Coates, pop culture's response to Harley Quinn's multi-faceted sexuality, and a spotlight on the women of comics showcasing writer Karla Pacheco and her new Spider-Woman series. You may also notice a number of these "blurbs" are smaller than my usual pull list writing. This is due to a larger number of commitments over the weekend, pressing myself for time, and the fact that for some of these, I've either talked them to death already, or the story isn't capturing me as well as it used to. If the shortness of those blurbs is off putting, apologies, I'm a little overdue for a pull list cleanup. Continue Reading for all this and more!
I refuse to hide in shame when I admit that three of my top-five picks this week are technically Dawn of X books. What can I say? Johnathon Hickman knows how to put together a universe.
X-Force, Marauders, and Empyre: X-Men are mt three mutant-based picks, leaving the other slots to this week's Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel. It also doesn't escape me how four fifths of this list are Marvel properties, but that is also easy to explain. Marvel's theory of "the more, the merrier" that they've had in recent years has excellent payoff, as far as I can see. There's something for everyone, no doubt about that. But let's not get too caught up in which publisher may or may not be better than others. When it comes down to it, Marvel and DC are both massive conglomerates that care only about their bottom dollar and give very little effort in terms of creator benefits. Dark sides of the industry aside, this was a pretty good week for comics! I'll admit that many of the other issues faltered for me, and many felt unimportant or like filler. These five, however, were the obvious choices that stood out for me in story, art, and overall quality, Continue Reading to find out more about my top picks from the week! WARNING: SPOILERS!
Click here for the most (and final) recent update!
In my opinion, Empyre: X-Men has been far and beyond better than the main Empyre event, or any of the other tie-ins. This might be because the series is co-written by ALL of the Dawn of X writers at Marvel, who in turn were picked by Head of X Johnathon Hickman to help build his new world for the mutants. Since the series is still coming out, here are the release dates of each issue: #1 July 22nd, Jonathan Hickman and Tini Howard, art by Matteo Buffagni #2 August 5th, Gerry Duggan, Ben Percy, and Leah Williams, art by Lucas Werneck #3 August 12th, Ed Brisson, Vita Ayala, and Zeb Wells, art by Andrea Broccardo #4 August 19th, Jonathan Hickman, art by Jorge Molina And just for fun, here's a breakdown for the writers on this series, and what they normally write for Dawn of X: Johnathon Hickman: X-Men, New Mutants Tini Howard: Excalibur Gerry Duggan: Cable, Marauders Benjamin Percy: Wolverine, X-Force Leah Williams: X-Factor Ed Brisson: New Mutants Vita Ayala: Marauders Zeb Wells: Hellions Continue Reading for the full reviews on each of the four parts! SPOILERS AHEAD! |
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