It was new comic book day yesterday! What’d everyone get? What’d you enjoy? What’d you dislike? Sound off in the comments below! While you think about that, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web.
The Dawn of X begins to break this October! Spiraling out of the pages of House of X and Powers of X, this tectonic shift in the world of the X-Men will kick start a new era for Marvel’s Mighty Mutants! Now get ready for the mutant revolution with a brand-new trailer for Dawn of X, featuring never-before-seen artwork!
Spearheaded by Jonathan Hickman and Leinil Francis Yu with X-Men #1, the first wave of Dawn of X titles will also include new stories and new line-ups for X-Force, the New Mutants, the Marauders, the Fallen Angels, and Excalibur. How does the world view Homo Superior in the wake of recent events? And will the X-Men still fight to protect even those that hate and fear them? Find out as we usher in a new epoch of X-Men storytelling!
It’s been nearly six years since I last picked up a new X-Men comic with any real consistency. The last series I read with any regularity featuring the merry mutants was Jason Aaron‘s Wolverine and the X-Men. Which apparently ended around six years ago. It’s fair to say that I’m a little out of touch with that side of the Marvel Universe (though I have been following both Old Man Loganand Dead Man Logan, but those series didn’t really involve the X-Men as much as a team book would). More than a little, honestly. A lot has happened in the six years I’ve been away, and since I barely pay attention to solicitations I have missed most of it.
But with Johnathan Hickman steering the X-Men in a new direction with both House and Powers Of X, I thought this might be a good time to start reading X-Men comics again.
But how easy is it to jump back in relatively blind after more than half a decade away? Join me, and I’ll tell you.
Expect spoilers as I try to make sense of the comic.
At this point in the story, as we tip the bridge and start the journey to the end, it’s pretty easy to follow along with the story in general. There are still moments that have me wondering what I’ve missed in the last six or so years, but they’re fewer and farther between at this point which means that as the series has progressed it has been less alienating to new readers.
Which makes sense, honestly.
If you weren’t able to follow a story at this point then you’d have to wonder just what in the hell you’d been reading for the past eight comics/
The only real struggle I had with the issue was the nature of Mr. Sinister’s appearance. Issue is a strong word, because I had always seen the character as a darkly sinister scientist, not what we saw here. Still, I’ve long accepted that there are things I don’t know because it has been a long time since I’ve read about certain characters, and this wasn’t enough to throw me away from the story.
Otherwise, the comic is a easy enough to follow, acting as a place for readers to learn more about how the Krakoan home for mutants came to be, and the depths of Xavier’s plan over the years. It’s a needed exposition issue (especially for the person wondering whether this was talked about before the event began), and certainly a welcome change of pace after the death heavy House Of X #4 last week.
The artistic team of R.B. Silva (pencils), Adriano Di Benedetto (inks) and Marte Gracia (colours) remain strong, giving the comic a bold yet classic look across each page, breathing a vivid life to Hickman’s story.
“You see I know how you humans love your symbolism, almost as much as you love you religion. And I wanted you – I needed you – to understand… you have new gods now.”
Magneto, House Of X, #1 p.47. I keep leaving this image and quote in the column because, for me, it’s emblematic of the series as a whole. It’s Hickman, through Magneto, setting the stage for the future of the X-Men.
Powers Of X #4 was a great change of page for the story, and consequently builds the anticipation for House #5 after last week’s comic. We all know that somehow things will be resolved to a new status quo (after all the solicitations that I have seen are pretty clear about that), but how has yet to be revealed.
I can’t wait to see what’s going to come our way next week.
Will I understand next week’s installment in the saga, House Of X #5? Do I regret skipping six years of X-Books? Am I ever going to find out how Xavier is walking again*?
We might find out next week. We might not.
Marvel provided a FREE copy for review purposes, but I read the comic in print from my LCS.
*The answer is yes, but it made no sense when two of my friends told me individually last week, but it basically boils down to “comics being comics” which I’ve kind of accepted with an air of nonchalance.
Writer Jonathan Hickman continues to weave his reshaping of the X-Universe in Powers of X #4. The issue slows things down a bit lifting the veil on details of some of what we’ve seen.
The comic returns to its time jumping premise taking us through the three eras exploring X-History and future history. We witness the deal between Mr. Sinister and Xavier and Magneto, Doug Ramsey meeting Krakoa, and the future dealing with Phalanx.
Hickman takes the first two to fill in gaps in the story he’s telling. It adds some details and depth in a way. The Sinister interaction is interesting in some of the details but as a whole, the character is at odds with what we’ve seen. This Sinister is a bit more playful and spirited reflecting the version we’ve seen in recent years as opposed to the more serious scientific version originally introduced. One could explain this by the use of various clones but that too feels more like a recent addition than something from when the character was first introduced.
What’s interesting as well is we get further hints that Charles Xavier isn’t a hero in this story but something more nefarious. It’s his vision but as we see, he takes actions that are questionable at best. It’s a theme that has gained prominence over the years and continues here.
What stands out is the hint at future plotlines. Pages are used for a rumor checklist that seems to be more about what’s to come than anything else. Some o it is easy to decipher, some of it is drama, and one is groan-worthy.
R.B. Silva‘s art is fantastic. Along with color from Marte Gracia and lettering by Clayton Cowles the comic is beautiful to look at. Each segment has such detail to go over, you linger on pages. And, each segment is so different from each other but it still flows nicely. The team delivers has really thought through design and the use of color to set the tone of each time period and segment. Furthermore, Tom Muller‘s design continues to add a level of detail in the comic that makes it feel as much a sourcebook as it is a story.
Powers of X #4 feels a bit dialed back compared to the last few issues that upped the action. It adds some detail, some needed, some not. What the comic does is world build and deliver a unique experience and vision for where the X-Men have been and where they’re going.
Wednesdays are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in!
Each week our contributors choose what they can’t wait to read this week or just sounds interesting. In other words, this is what we’re looking forward to and think you should be taking a look at!
Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this Wednesday.
Absolute Carnage: Symbiote of Vengeance #1 (Marvel) – Absolute Carnage has been top-notch so far and Ghost Rider getting involved has us very intrigued.
Chainsaw Reindeer (Action Lab: Danger Zone) – A reindeer gets pissed off by Santa’s abuse and goes on a murder spree. The concept is out there and gets us to laugh.
Gotham City Monsters #1 (DC Comics) – S.H.A.D.E. is no more and Frankenstein is a free agent once again and he’s got some revenge on his mind.
King Thor #1 (Marvel) – Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic team up again for one last ride with the Lord of Asgard!
Midnight Sky #1 (Scout Comics) – What if you discover the people around you aren’t who you thought they were? Think Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets They Live.
Pandemica #1 (IDW Publishing) – A war is brewing in the US and a shadow government is preparing a “purity bomb” for ethnic cleansing. A group of scientists and SpecOps are going to try to stop them.
Powers of X #4 (Marvel) – The refocusing of Marvel’s X-Men line of comics by Jonathan Hickman has been interesting and with the “death” of so many major characters last issue, this one should be an interesting read to see where he goes next.
Punisher Kill Krew #2 (Marvel) – The Punisher taking on a bunch of fantasy characters works WAY better than it should.
Starcadia Quest #1 (IDW Publishing) – The board game comes to comics!
Trees: Three Fates #1 (Image Comics) – Warren Ellis and Jason Howard’s Trees returns with a murder mystery in a remote Russian village.
It’s been nearly six years since I last picked up a new X-Men comic with any real consistency. The last series I read with any regularity featuring the merry mutants was Jason Aaron‘s Wolverine and the X-Men. Which apparently ended around six years ago. It’s fair to say that I’m a little out of touch with that side of the Marvel Universe (though I have been following both Old Man Loganand Dead Man Logan, but those series didn’t really involve the X-Men as much as a team book would). More than a little, honestly. A lot has happened in the six years I’ve been away, and since I barely pay attention to solicitations I have missed most of it.
But with Johnathan Hickman steering the X-Men in a new direction with both House and Powers Of X, I thought this might be a good time to start reading X-Men comics again.
But how easy is it to jump back in relatively blind after more than half a decade away? Join me, and I’ll tell you.
Expect spoilers as I try to make sense of the comic.
Much to my surprise, I was expecting to read House Of X #3 this week, not Powers Of X #3. That’s what I get for not paying attention to solicitations, I guess.
If you’ve been reading the entire series so far, and by that I mean everything under the House/Powers Of X banner and not just Powers then you’ll have absolutely no problem reading this comic. It focuses on the Year 100 timeline that you’ll remember from previous issues of Powers, an era where there are less than a dozen mutants/X-Men left in the solar system (really at this point, mutant and X-Man are one and the same). This issue follows the suicide mission, with said remaining mutants trying to find the information about when Nimrod, the machine responsible for the subjugation of humanity became active.
There’s a really interesting outcome with this story, and it’s perhaps the first real instance on the House/Powers being a single series.
I’ve gotta say, that so far this has been one of my favourite issues that I’ve written about for this column because it’s one of the few we’ve had since the event began that you can fully enjoy after having read only the comics in the event so far. There is literally no prior knowledge you need, as long as you have a passing familiarity with the characters – which you should have if you’ve been following the story since House Of X #1.
The exposition pages return again; this time they return to the map of nine of Moira X’s different lives as well as a couple of pages illustrating just how dire things have become in this timeline. There’s also more of the mutant language scattered throughout the comic, too, and if you have the time, patience or google ability to translate it, then you’ll uncover another layer to this comic. I haven’t done that yet, and probably won’t because I am far too lazy, but I love that it’s there.
Once again, the artists are on point. R.B. Silva is the artist and is joined on inking by Adriano Di Benedetto and colour artist Marte Gracia. The trio are solid, providing the comic with a visual gravitas that’s on par for the story that Hickman is telling within the issue. The action is phenomenally choreographed, and in some places it’s oddly shocking, heartbreaking and remarkably satisfying.
This issue is going to have reverberations across the series – perhaps not in the same way House Of X #2 has over the entire Marvel Universe, but certainly within the event as a whole.
There’s nothing in Powers Of X #2 anywhere close to as spine tingling as this moment from House Of X #1. Full quote below.
“You see I know how you humans love your symbolism, almost as much as you love you religion. And I wanted you – I needed you – to understand… you have new gods now.”
Magneto, House Of X, #1 p.47. I keep leaving this image and quote in the column because, for me, it’s emblematic of the series as a whole. It’s Hickman, through Magneto, setting the stage for the future of the X-Men.
Powers Of X #3 is one of my favorite issues in the series so far. It’s a great payoff comic five issues in, and one that keeps the pacing of the event absolutely on point. I loved everything about this comic, and am amazed that Hickman has been able to meet the expectations that I had for this issue.
I can’t wait to see what’s going to come our way next week.
Will I understand next week’s installment in the saga, House Of X #3? Do I regret skipping six years of X-Books? Am I ever going to find out how Xavier is walking again*?
We might find out next week. We might not.
Marvel provided a FREE copy for review purposes, but I read the comic in print from my LCS.
*The answer is yes, but it made no sense when two of my friends told me individually last week, but it basically boils down to “comics being comics” which I’ve kind of accepted with an air of nonchalance.
As I said when House of X and Powers of X began, the whole of writer Jonathan Hickman‘s epic would be better than the individual parts. Powers of X #3 is where that becomes apparent as it becomes clear as to Hickman’s vision. Entirely taking place in the future, Apocalypse and the remaining mutants attack Nimrod. It’s one last gamble to stop this particular timeline.
What Hickman is doing isn’t a continuation of Marvel’s X-Men line of comics, instead he’s created his own event a new timeline like Age of Apocalypse or Days of Future Past. It’s difficult to really go into it but the comic has more in common with the latter story, again showing Hickman is picking the best of what has come before. It also feels more like an X-Men story as opposed to a sci-fi story with X-Men.
Still, Powers of X #3 is a solid entry improving upon what has come before. It has that last stand desperate feel we’ve seen so many times before with the X-Men. The comic is full of action and memorable moments that’ll have readers buzzing for some time.
The art by R.B. Silva delivers the action in a beautiful way. With color by Marte Gracia and lettering by Clayton Cowles, the designs are impressive. What’s solid is the look of this new timeline is original but has nice callbacks to classic X-Men imagery. It’s new yet familiar at the same time. There’s also a solid use of detail to tell more of the story with so much for readers to linger on such as an infection or the state of Wolverine. Tom Muller‘s designs continue to be interesting including the Moira X timeline and the Mutant language throughout the issue.
The comic brings the vision and story together into a clearer vision. This isn’t a beginning of a new direction for the X-Men as this is an event that will then lead into the next new beginning. This is a bridge much like Age of Apocalypse’s individual series were to what comes next. The whole of the story is stronger than the individual parts, a theme that has weaved its way through the series. This is the point things get good.
Wednesdays are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in!
Each week our contributors choose what they can’t wait to read this week or just sounds interesting. In other words, this is what we’re looking forward to and think you should be taking a look at!
Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this Wednesday.
Bad Reception #1 (AfterShock) – It’s a celebrity wedding with no cellphones and no wifi and someone’s killing the guests. The concept sounds like entertaining slasher horror and we’re excited to check it out.
Criminal #7 (Image Comics) – One of the best comics on the market. Amazing writing and amazing art and consistently good. If you’re a fan of crime stories, this is a must and even if you’re not, check it out for the execution.
Excellence #4 (Image Comics/Skybound) – A new take on modern-day wizards, the series gets better with every issue.
The Goon #4 (Albatross Funnybooks) – One of the most fun comics out there. It’s a comedic horror Popeye (these are all good things) that mixes some action and punching with a good dose of humor.
Powers of X #3 (Marvel) – We’re halfway through this volume of Jonathan Hickman’s reinvention of the X-Men and the ideas are out there and keep coming.
Pretty Violent #1 (Image Comics) – Gamma Rae wants to be a superhero and has had powers since she was a baby. The problem is, her siblings are notorious hero-murdering criminals. The comic sounds like an over the top superhero comedy and we’re here for it.
Springtime in Chernobyl (IDW Publishing) – Emmanuel Lepage chronicles his trip to Chernobyl in 2008 in this graphic memoir.
Strayed #1 (Dark Horse) – A military-industrial complex reigns over humanity and destroys alien worlds. The galaxy’s only hope is in an astral-projecting cat and its owner. This sounds like exactly what sci-fi is about, entertainment and reflecting on socio/political issues.
Superman: Year One #2 (DC Comics) – The first issue of Frank Miller and John Romita Jr.’s take on Superman’s origin was interesting and exceeded our expectations so we’re excited to see if the second issue can deliver too.
Transformers ’84 #0 (IDW Publishing) – Celebrating 35 years of Transformers, the issue is a prequel to the original comic series. Yeah, our inner child is squealing over this one.
