This is a longer week for comics by just a bit, with a total of eighteen pulls! Amazingly, in my opinion, exactly half are independent publishers, including Image, BOOM!, Dynamite, Titan, Aftershock, and Dark Horse Comics. I think that covers most the major indie publishers, missing maybe just IDW and one or two big players in the game.
I have all three spotlights ready to go this week! For the spotlight on people of color in comics, I'm discussing award-winning writer and educator Eve L. Ewing and her Champions book, starring a few highly representative teenage heroes. For queer topics in comics, I'm back with Far Sector, this time talking about main character Jo's omnisexuality! And last, for the spotlight on women in comics, I go over Adventureman's Claire Temple and her impressive sisters! Girl power, always and forever. This week also features what I'm going to call my Big Week of Big Books (suggestions welcome), after the continual plethora side-by-side favorites and mostly indie releases--Inkblot, Spy Island, Lonely Receiver, We Only Find Them When They're Dead, Black Widow, and Horizon Zero Dawn have been coming out on the same days, and it makes for an exciting week of reads! Continue Reading for all this and more discussion on this week's comic releases!
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Spotlight on People of Color in Comics: Eve L. Ewing + the Champions team
Beginning my research on Eve Ewing for this week's spotlight, I admit that I am floored by the resume of her life. A Black American woman, Ewing has a doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, with her undergrad degree in English from the University of Chicago, with a focus on Africa-American lit. She holds degrees and awards in education, as well as for her writing across several formats. In 2019, Ewing came out with 1919, a poetry collection exploring the Black American experience of oppression and violence during the Chicago Race Riot of 1919, and in the time surrounding and since. As far as her history with comics goes, Ewing wrote Ironheart, the 12-issue series about Riri Williams, the first black woman as an Iron Family character. The series was loved by those it was meant for, and touched on all kinds of relevant topics for young adults, especially young Black Americans. Riri was created by Brian Michael Bendis, who also created Miles Morales, a half-Hispanic, half-Black Spider-Man. Aside from Ironheart, Ewing has written Marvel Team-Up 1-3 featuring Spider-Man and Ms Marvel, Fearless #2 (co-writer), Marvel #1000 (co-writer), and Outlawed, the story that sets up the events of the new-coming Champions series and the new American laws restricting underage heroing. With Champions, Ewing is bringing in, at the very least, Kamala Khan, Miles Morales, and Sam Alexander as Ms Marvel, Spider-Man, and Nova, respectively. The team itself is a great bit of representation, with two of these three listed members being characters of color. Kamala Khan's Ms Marvel premiered in 2013's Captain Marvel, where Kamala became a hero after experiencing the Inhumans' Terrigen Mists. As an Inhuman, Kamala has had a number of adventures with other Inhumans, but its been backplated for her character for some time. She's the child of Pakistani immigrants, a Muslim sister to an older brother. When I first read her series, Kamala was in high school, dealing with the normal craziness of being a hormonal teenager on top of being an Inhuman superhero. To make matters worse, her local government had put out a negative spin campaign on her, and much of her own community was speaking down about Ms Marvel at that time. To top it off, her brother was getting married, soon, to a woman converting to Islam. The series touched on what it means to be a teenager, a young woman, a friend, sister, and daughter, plus a hero, all from a Muslim girl's perspective. Kamala is a ways and means for comic fans of all ages to get to know a marginalized sector of American communities, and see it in a different light than what the media might portray. In relevant news, the live action Kamala Khan was just cast this week, bringing a front actor to the upcoming Ms Marvel Disney+ series! The Canadian Pakistani actor will be the first to portray a Muslim hero on the big screen. Miles Morales needs much less introduction these days, after the success of 2018's Into the Spider-Verse, and his role in the PS4 Spider-Man games. Half-Black, half-Hispanic, Miles is another excellent example of marginalized people at the forefront of popular comics properties. I read his series for a good while, following his time at a private academy for scholarly students, to his crossover with Spider-Gwen, "Kissing in a Tree," to Spider-Men II alongside Peter Parker of Earth 616. Miles has been a force since his creation, without a doubt, and I'm constantly pleased to see how well the public accepted him after his Into the Spider-Verse movie premier. Eve L Ewing is in charge of these characters now, and others. With her perspective on life as a Black American woman, her history of research and education on racial topics, and her proven ability to write a solid story, Champions is the teen book for all ages. If supporting a diverse team of new heroes like Champions makes you an SJW (Social Justice Warrior), I fail to see the problem in fighting for social justice, especially in this world, at this time. Comics like Champions with characters like Kamala and Miles, under writers like Eve Ewing, are an excellent way to start normalizing diversity in comics. Marvel has been pushing it for years, and I'm glad they haven't totally given up yet, I'll be supporting Ewing, Di Meo, and Champions this week, and I hope you will as well.
Spotlight on LGBTQ Topics: Far Sector's Jo and her bisexuality/pansexuality
I've Spotlighted Far Sector a few times, already, speaking on the creative team and the the main character, Jo, and her blackness in the story. What I haven't gone over, yet, is Jo's queerness! Finding herself on a remote space station filled with trillions of alien beings, it would make sense that Jo hook up with one or two after a while. She's a youthful, strong, independent Human, so a curiosity on the station, to say the least. Early on in the series, we get hints that Jo has a good deal of sexual tension with some of the female aliens around her. She openly admits it, for one, but says she hasn't acted on it because the norms of their culture are different from humans. Namely, all the aliens on the station have had their emotions removed, supposedly to keep them in check. Jo expresses concern at more than one point that any kind of flirtations from her new friends are probably just misunderstandings, as they don't really feel attraction. At the same time, Jo is clearly attracted to Councillor Marth, another alien. When it comes to Marth, though, it turns out he uses an emotion enabling drug to turn on his emotions, which causes an affair with Jo. There isn't a whole lot to go on about Jo's relationships back on Earth, but it is inferred that she likes both men and women, making her bisexual. But the addition of the aliens makes it a little harder to categorize. Pansexuality is being attracted to both men and women, but omnisexuality is being attracted to...people, not genders. For example, Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean) is likely pansexual, due to his clear attraction to both Will AND Elizabeth, but Captain Jack Harkness (Doctor Who universe) is definitely omnisexual, openly expressing his desire to screw pretty much anything and anyone, no matter where in time or space they're from. With this in mind, I feel like Jo might be omnisexual more than anything. So far in the story, her sexuality hasn't been an important factor, just a side note. It feels a lot like the creative team is purposely adding the hints and notions of her queerness without openly discussing it in order to normalize it for her character. Being queer isn't always the main identifier for people, it just so happens to be a part of their personality. Without sensationalizing Jo and her relationships in any way, Jemisisn is treating them just like any straight relationship, which does normalize it. This week's issue is meant to address Jo's attraction to Counciler Marth some more. He's a handsome alien, but she even admits to herself she can't trust him on the emotion-giving drug, because he's never had emotions before and can cause a lot of problems. At the same time, she knows him being on the drug is why she is so attracted to him. Whatever conclusion Jo comes to with her and Marth's relationship, I hope we get to see her dip her toes into her queerness some more before the end of the series.
Spotlight on Women in Comics: Adventureman's Claire and her sisters
Adventureman is the story about a woman and her son finding an old superhero team book, and accidentally becoming the heroes themselves. While the plot is interesting enough, what shines brightest in the series so far has been the characters. Namely, the main character, Claire, and her sisters. Claire is one of seven girls in the family, all of whom were adopted as children. Their adoptive parents are Jewish, with their mother having passed some unknown time ago. In the first issue, it's clearly explained that the girls were raised with knowledge of many religions, and the parents made sure to keep each of them connected to their heritage of birth. When we meet them, all the sisters are grown, and visiting one another for the weekly family dinner at their father's home. Claire is the only sister with a child, it seems, but that isn't the remarkable part. Each of the six women are all top professionals in their field, and each field is different from the next. Educators, scientists, writers, laborers, and everything in between are represented at their dinner table. Some critics are calling this characterization in Adventureman unrealistic, but it really just seems to be the product of a loving, supportive, well-funded family core. Its very clear that each girl was valued as an individual as much as a part of the group--something that drives growing children to feel confident, self-assured, and independent. With an atmosphere as supportive as Fraction is building their childhood up to be, it makes sense that they all ended up such well-adjusted adults. And I have to guess, also, that this might be a statement on the importance of women in a society. Its clear that Claire's sisters are all going to have integral roles in the story going forward, as they each have such different, specific areas of expertise. It would have been easy enough to mimic Sound of Music type childhood for Claire, with stair-step boys and girls growing up together instead of adopted, multicultural girls. But in making the siblings all women, and all women representing different nationalities, was a way to add more dimension and individuality to the story of Adventureman. As much as I might nitpick that Adventureman doesn't feel like a story "ten years in the making," the way Fraction and the Dodsons are characterizing Claire and her sister for figure use in the comics is brilliant, and shows that they are willing to go the extra mile to spotlight women in comics, themselves.
Champions #1
Something these first two issues I'm writing blurbs on--Champions and We Only Find Them When They're Dead-- have in common? They're both drawn by Simone Di Meo! This is the fourth iteration of the Champions team--the first being fro 1975, and the second being the first for the new team of Champions in 2016. The 2016 team was created by Mark Waid, and the series was finished by Jim Zub, who also wrote the third series' ten issues. This time, writer and activist Eve L Ewing takes her swing at the team! Unfortunately, this series was taken from an ongoing series to a five-issue mini, or so it would seem. A bad move by Marvel in an era of advancing representation, which this team is chock-full of. This series picks up with Ms Marvel, Nova, and Spider-Man on the run from C.R.A.D.L.E, the team in charge of enforcing the underage hero ban. This whole Outlawed story is basically Civil War for the new era of heroes, so I'm curious where it will go, although not entirely invested. I don't think Marvel is going to book their underage heroes at all, so I'm hoping Ewing gets the characters on a great trail of personal growth out of it.
We Only Find Them When They're Dead #2
As the second book drawn by Simone Di Meo this week, you might think think writer Al Ewing must be related to Champions writer Eve L. Ewing, and you, like me, would be wrong. We Only Find Them When They're Dead is the first (chronologically by this list) in a group of new and mostly indie comics that I've immediately come to love, all on the same release schedule. Most are mini-series' or at last have planned final issues, so they aren't all long-term commitments, either. WOFTWTD appears to be ongoing, though, which makes me wonder where Ewing and Di Meo are headed with this phenomenal story. When taking in new comics, I like to think about how original it is compared to similarly themed stories across story-telling medias. By this train of thought, I think the majority of new comics should be quite original, but in reality, much takes clear inspiration from something else. In this sense, WOFTWTD is one of the more unique and, forgive the usage, cooler comic stories being published. Although I have to admit, I'm severely taken by Di Meo's art for the book, which draws a sweeping, technologically advanced outer-space. I'm not sure how much the credited "color assistant" is involved, but credit is due to whoever it is who makes the colors of this series so...extraterrestrial. I'm at a loss for another word to describe it, but it is simply gorgeous, and exactly perfect for the plot and locations. This second issue will hopefully start explaining some of the futuristic double-talk jargon, and begin what is hopefully and epic chase across the stars in search of living Space Gods, instead of the dead ones they usually harvest! Just the description gets me. Its no wonder I already love this comic.
Spy Island #2
The premier issue of Spy Island was pure excellence across the board, with the entire creative team pulling their weight and making the best kind of comics I can imagine. I wrote a full review of the first issue, which you can find here, but it does contain spoilers. After the introduction to the world of Spy Island in the first issue, I expect the second to jump more into the actual meat of the story, such as what Nora's sister is planning to do about the supposed mermaid problem. The body of the man she killed is bound to wash up, which in turn is bound to cause more problems for Nora, who is still unsure on why she's here. This is from the same creative team that did Man Eaters, a 12-issue series that spoke about the treatment of women and their bodies. Spy Island is just four issues, so you can expect a lot less metaphors and a lot more direct topically. I've already loved what they've put out so far, and am excited to see where it goes from here!
Inkblot #2
The best way to describe the style of Inkblot is how the creative team described it in a letter at the back of issue #1--they used the Marvel Method. Meaning, both Emma Kubert and Rusty Gladd had their turn at scripting, drawing, inking, and coloring the book as they came up with the idea. Signs of the Marvel Method being used are usually self-narrating main characters who have to problem-solve on the go, mild wordiness, and often a certain jovial innocence. Inkblot has all of this, backed by the history of an epic original fantasy realm. While Inkblot does draw from a lot of sources, especially for the world-building, the story was fun to read, and I'm excited to see more on the relationship with the main character and her new magical cat. The cat is the obvious draw of the series, so I hope its put at the front of the story pretty well. Inkblot is solicited as being an ongoing series, so there will likely be even more world-building as we go along.
Lonely Receiver #2
The first issue of Lonely Receiver was equal parts poetic and mysterious--the perfect breeding grounds for a creepy, futuristic story of love. It tells the story of Catrin's love life, starting with the end of a relationship. Before the front door is even slammed behind her freshly ex-girlfriend, its obvious that Catrin has a problem with codependency. To further prove this point, she immediately turns to her phone/personal assistant device and has it create for her a life-partner--a program apparently available in this futuristic world. Not only does it prove her need for a constant cheerleader (which she literally tells the program, as it works), it shows how prone she is to knee-jerk reactions, and possibly saying things she doesn't mean. By the end of the issue, its made clear a decade into their partnership that Catrin's artificial companion has been unfaithful, and becomes more and more restless in their monogamy by the second. She literally disappears in front of Catrin, who is left with a literal set of shadowy eyes, watching her. The world that Lonely Receiver takes place in is clearly an alternate future of our own. It includes trippy sci-fi elements like artificial dream-scapes, near-biological cellular devices, and androids for your every beck and call. At the same time, there is something very wrong with this world, that we've yet to fully see or understand. Lonely Receiver is a five-part self-described horror/romance series, and artist Jen Hickman has already proven themself to be the perfect artist for the project. The combination of their almost simplistic line-work with surprising, high-contrast colors gives the comic a very Blade Runner vibe, and I can't wait for more!
Black Widow #2
On a week of stellar releases, Black Widow is easily one of my most anticipated comics of the week. I wrote a nice little review/discussion about it, which you can read here! Writer Kelly Thompson has set up a thrilling series, following Natasha Romanov through a new mystery--in San Francisco! SF is one of my favorite cities in the world, having lived there for about five years. The city doesn't get the love in superhero comics I've always thought it deserves, so having the series based there is extra exciting for me! I can't express enough how much I love Elena Casagrande's art for the series, paired with the stellar coloring of Jordie Bellaire. As I said in my review, the art feels like a cross between that of Joelle Jones and Otto Schmidt, two legends in the trade as it is, and is almost indescribably seductive to take in. This issue will definitely start shining a light on what Nat is up to on the west coast, and if she's in any real danger. We know she's in some kind of game by game-themed villain Arcade, but we don't know how much of her is actually under his spell. Plus, now Hawkeye and the Winter Soldier are on her trail, who are bound to just cause more chaos before they get to helping.
Horizon Zero Dawn #3
So far, the creative team of Ann Toole and Anne Molina have knocked it out of the park, for both story and art. I find myself going back to the costuming of characters, which I noticed in the "zero" issue. Both men and women have the same midriff-baring crop top and skirt, which is a pleasant change from standard "warrior" designs. As for the story, we've been following the hunter Tallanah as she searches out the source of a new, more dangerous metal machine animal. On her journey, she's already run into Horizon Zero Dawn game main character Aloy, and the two teamed up to share knowledge and what they've learned of the new creatures. Now, she's had a run-in with "the man in the woods," a warrior who lives among the trees and protects a local village from machines. He doesn't believe Talllanah is trying to help, at first, but she convinces him with her useful knowledge and clear loyalties to Alloy. . This will be the third of the four issue series, so its already coming to an end. I've really loved what Toole and Molina have given u so far, and am looking forward to see where they take the story from here! I love the word of Horizon Zero Dawn, and this comic is such a nice add-on to the game mythology--without having to know the game beforehand.
Sacred Six #3
I have to admit, I'm...not very excited for Secret Six? This one might be coming off my pull list after this issue, we'll see how things go. The series is a spin-off from Christopher Priest's Vampirella, including her mother Lilith, her ex-girlfriend now-vampire Draculina, a half-vampire, and some other rag-tag women from the history of science fiction. I want to like this series, so badly, because it sounds like it would be right up my alley. Maybe its the way the story is playing out, but I can't get into it. I'm giving it this third and final issue, though, so we'll see if anything changes for me, here.
DCeased: Dead Planet #4
Tom Taylor's DCeased universe has quickly become a fan-favorite DC comic universe. Funny, isn't it, how the best DC comics take place in alternate universes? Dead Earth, Injustice, the Earth One books, Millerverse and Murphyverse, etc. Dead Earth is technically the third DCeased series. The original, followed by a one-shot called A Good Day to Die, and the third called Unkillables. Dead Planet picks up five years after the original, with the heroes who escaped to space returning to Earth to try and save the rest of humanity. The main problem I see ahead of them, though, is that virus-riddled Superman is still inside the sun, soaking it up, charging himself up, where he's been of the past five years. That's a lot of energy to be taking in, and I have a feeling we're going to see the payoff before this series is over. I'm not sure if Taylor has anything planned for DCeased after Dead Planet, but he clearly isn't taking any prisoner, here, so there likely won't be anyone left to write about, by the end.
Adventureman #4
The tagline of Adventureman has been "an adventure ten years in the making!" Which brings me to the most notable factor of the series--it does not feel like a ten-year in the making story. With that in mind, the tagline feels cheap and unnecessary, let alone false advertisement. The story isn't bad, not by any means. But, the story is certainly the least interesting part of Adventureman. The characters are where the money's at, and the reason I keep coming back to the series. I've already written a good deal about them in my Spotlight on Women in Comics this week, so I won't repeat myself here. I'm a big fan of the creative team, as well, so I'm hoping the story gets more exciting before too long. Matt Fraction first came on my (and many a comics reader's) radar with his and David Aja's multi-award winning series, Hawkeye. I recommend their Hawkeye for anyone trying to get into cape comics, as its different than anything else that had been made at the time. Terry and Rachel Dodson have been notorious int he comic art community for decades, now, and bring their high-energy, uplifting style to the world of Claire and Adventureman.
Decorum #5
This series has been exactly what you'd expect a Johnathon Hickman sci-fi series to be: drawn-out, intertwined, and almost poetically unique. And none of those are said as negatives--this series has been a delight to read, if you're able to be patient with your comics. This series is NOT for impatient readers who want everything explained in the first issue--which, side bar, might just explain why Seven Secrets is getting so much love, with what I call an extraordinarily lazy, straightforward plot explanation. But Hickman is more for the likes of those who enjoy Ridley Scott properties, or Grant Morrison, vaguely. Decorum is surreal, intriguing, and requires a certain level of appreciation and understanding of art usage in comics as a storytelling device. The plot is similar to the art in those aspects--unique, intriguing, and requiring an appreciation and understanding of literary devices. I recently learned Decorum will only be an eight-issue series, so keeping in mind what was just said, you can imagine how absolutely stunning the collected editions of Decorum will be. Hickman has a clear love of graphics in his comics, shown not only in Decorum but his entire Dawn of X design. The final issue premieres December 30th, which makes Decorum an excellent wrap-up to the year!
Wolverine #6
Wolverine is the third part of the X of Swords event, which spans across all of the Dawn of X books. This issue follows the second part of X of Swords, last week's brilliant X-Factor #4. These X of Swords issues are going to be very intertwined, and often will not consist of the same characters the titles usually have, so keeping up is integral to the story. Of, if its easier for you, pick up the collected edition in January, 2020! In my brief research, I found this Diamond Distributors page with some minor information and pricing, if you're hoping to read it collected, instead. This issue will certainly be Wolverine finding the Muramasa blade--a sword made from a piece of his own soul. Due to it's unique composition, the Muramasa blade is said to be able to cut through anything, including the adamantium that runs through Logan himself. We already know Wolverine is one of the sword bearers who will fight against the warriors from Arakko, and the running theory is that his challenge will be against Solemn. Why? Solemn has entirely adamantium skin, the same as the metal coating Logan's entire skeleton. This not only makes it a good theory, but an almost deliciously unavoidable story. Wolverine #6 is the third part of X of Swords, followed by X-Force # 13 as the fourth, and then Marauders #13 as the fifth. If you're keeping up, there are blurbs for both of those-- in order--further down the list!
Deadpool #7
Kelly Thompson's Deadpool is one of the best iterations of the character we've seen in the comics. She writes a Wade who is a classic comedian-- he cloaks himself in jokes and laughter to hide his real, honest, deep sadness. Her Deadpool is currently King of Monster Island, formerly Staten Island. Tagging alongside has been Jeff he landshark and Elsa Bloodstone, Monster Hunter. While her presence originally caused distress on the island, Deadpool has warmed up to her and she to him. Or so it would appear--a few solicitations ahead show that Deadpool is getting double-crossed by Elsa Bloodstone. We don't know how or why, but as it stands right now, Elsa is claiming SHE is the one who might die. I am such a fan of Thompson's love for Elsa Bloodstone. She's written her in a number of places, including 2018's Jessica Jones: Blind Spot. She has an excellent grasp of the character, so I don't doubt that whatever she's up to on Monster Island will be worth waiting to discover.
Thor #8
Donny Cates has this ability to create ideas in comics that catch on, which is both terribly fun and horribly infuriating. Men in comics have it so much easier to get seen than women--as noted by the Giant Size X-Men Tribute issue which had 37 artists, only 6 of whom were female. In any case, Thor #7 felt like the second Thor book in the series. Everything before the last issue of Thor felt overdone and pointless, all leading up to one moment of information in the entire six issues that was important. I definitely feel like that Galactus portion of the story was strictly something Marvel asked Cates to do for the Fortnite game crossover, and now we're finally back to the story as he wants to write it. Last issue saw Thor dropping Mjolnir down to Earth, where it gets picked up by a Midwest Earth man. Thor has been questioning his hammer for some time, now, but the fact that it was remade during War of the Realms hasn't come up in his line of questioning. Either way, it seems he's thrown it down to Earth in an experiment to figure out what is going on with it. This is part two of two for this story arc of Thor, leading into another that will follow the old mysteries of Donald Blake!
Far Sector #8
NK Jemisin and Jamal Campbell's Far Sector is one of my favorite books at DC right now, period. The highly relevant topics being discussed are so poignant to our real world, surrounded by a mystery in space. There is so much that can be said about Far Sector. How Jo, the Green Lantern on this massive, ancient, high-tech space station, was a cop on earth, discharged for not stopping her partner from beating a man into a coma for being Black. See what I mean? Highly relevant. The discussion of these topics is almost therapeutic, even though at the time they wrote it, Jemisin and Campbell could have never know what the state of our country would be today. The last issue answered a question posed at the beginning of the series--how did Jo get her ring? She made it clear the ring didn't choose her, and she's different from other lanterns. Last week, we learned the truth. She was given the ring by a member of the Guardians, the group that watches over the Lantern Corps. This Guardian wanted to try something new, with a new ring of courage. She spoke about how until now, all Lanterns int he Corps had earned their ring by overcoming great fear through courage. This time, she explains, she wants to see what happens when the ring is given to not someone who overcomes fear, but who chooses to continue living, despite fear being an integral part of their daily lives. This Guardian gave Jo the ring after her dishonorable discharge from the force. This is such an important idea, and I think too many people have slept on it. Researcher Brene Brown did a series of TedTalks in 2010 and 2012, discussing the idea of vulnerability and courage. She asked the audience to think of something that makes theme feel vulnerable. She asks, does it feel good to think about telling everyone, from the stage, about your vulnerability? They say, no. She follows up again, this is the TedTalks conference. Do you feel these speakers on stage are courageous? Yes, says the audience. Brown wraps up with, so what is the difference? In an era where growing generation are learning to be more aware and conscientious of themselves and the people around them, this is an incredibly important discussion to be having. It doesn't make you weak to live through pain, put yourself out there, or stand up for what you believe in. It makes you courageous.
X-Force #13
X-Force is part four of the X of Swords event, following Wolverine #6, which also comes out this week. Make sure to check out that blurb above, if you're keeping up with X of Swords. Both Wolverine and X-Force are written by Benjamin Percy (with Hickman's guiding hand, of course), so it makes sense that these titles will be back-to-back in the event, and therefore this issue is likely a direct continuation of the last. Due to this fact, there sin't a whole lot to say in terms of speculation for this issue, that wasn't said in the Wolverine #6 blurb above. What I can guess based on logic, though, is that this issue will be the actual fight between Wolverine and Solemn--one with adamantium bones, the other with the same as skin. The cover of this issue and it's variants would all suggest the same, and that maybe the fight won't go so quick and easy as we might hope. My guess is Logan will have to keep the information about his Muramasa blade close to himself, and use it to his advantage in the fight hen he has no options left. X-Force is part four of X of Swords, followed by this week's Marauders #13. The blurb for the continuation of the event can be seen below!
Marauders #13
Marauders is the fifth part of X of Swords, continued from X-Force #13, which has a blurb just above. There isn't lot said in terms of a solicitation, but based on what is said, what we know from the event so far, and the covers of the issue, my guess is Storm is taking Logan and Jean on a secret trip to Wakanda to steal the sword she needs for her part of the battle. We know Storm is the former Queen of Wakanda, so it makes sense that she would need something of theirs for this event. I'm glad Hickman, Head of X, is pulling out these old story-lines for reference, like Ororo's marriage to T'Challa. They've had a few encounters since they split, some of which were fueled by, in my opinion, intense sexual desire. I'm hoping that with writer Vita Ayala at the helm, we'll be seeing a sexy encounter between the former husband and wife. I'm not totally out of left field with all this sex stuff, okay? For starters, its no secret that the mutants are known for being hyper-sexual, especially towards other mutants. Literally, one of their new Laws of Krakoa is "Make More Mutants." I.E., bang until you make enough babies to fill the island and their numbers. But I digress. Another reason I think their relationship will be heavily referenced is that Wolverine is coming on the mission, as well. Logan and Storm have had a romantic history in the past, which very well might lead to some awkwardness--or jealousy--between characters in this issue. Plus, if Storm and her team are trying to infiltrate Wakanda and steal the weapon without permission, there are bound to be more problems. Wakanda hasn't agreed to trade or treaty with Krakoa, so there is already political stiffness in the wings. If this encounter will make the political situation worse or somehow better, we'll just have to wait and see how it all plays out this week! Marauders is followed in X of Swords by Hellions #5, which comes out next week, October 14th.
Red Sonja #20
Issue #19 of Red Sonja, while beautifully done in art, was unfortunately predictable, and not in good ways. There's a trope about characters dying in order to push forward the plot of another character. Usually affecting women harshest, its become known as "refrigerating" a character. There's another trope, about powerful women not being able to be happy, or having to sacrifice their happiness for the greater good. The last issue of Red Sonja had all of this, plus an unfortunate pre-teen villain. True, the new villain has had his own series to follow, called Killing Red Sonja, but it doesn't seem like good storytelling to make your new "big bad" a kid who couldn't reach you if you hold him at arm's length. The issue went as I figured it would, with Queen Sonja sending her right hand man and new lover to the neighboring kingdom with a message. She gives a heartfelt goodbye, and it was obvious at that moment the man has no fate but immediate death. And, lo and behold, he arrives at the neighboring kingdom just in time for their pre-pubescent ruler to return and cut off his head to send Sonja in a box. While some might argue this is turning the table on the traditional refrigeration of female counterparts, this is a terrible, awful experience for Sonja, which itself follows a lifetime of terrible, horrifying events. Can we please allow out strong female characters to be happy for more than half an issue at a time? What I loved about the lat issue was the art. Artist Alessandro Miracolo has a style uncannily similar to Carlos Gomez. He draws women incredibly well, giving Sonja her well-known curves through her clever new outfit--the metal bikini OVER her regular clothes. His characters faces are incredibly pleasing to behold, and I look forward to his work shining again in the next issue.
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