We’re chugging along for 2018 and today we’ll have our picks for this week’s comics and more! What are you looking forward to? Sound off in the comments below!
There’s not much news, but here’s some reviews from around the web.
Reviews
EMissourian – Archangel
Comic Book Bin – X-Men: Grand Design #1
We hope everyone is having a wonderful day today! Sound off in the comments below if you have gotten any neat geeky things this holiday season!
While you get things going this morning, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web in our morning roundup.
Screen Rant – Batman Comics Are Fighting For Transgender Awareness – This was awesome to see.
Blavity – Atlanta Brothers Create And Launch A Line Of Black Superhero Comics – Going to have to check this out!
CBLDF – Turkish Courts Order 12 Anti-Erdoğan Cartoons Removed from Twitter – Nothing to see here, just an autocratic regime.
Reviews
Talking Comics – Aquaman #31
Herts Advertiser – Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again
Atomic Junk Shop – Elsewhere
The Beat – Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles #1
Herts Advertiser – Marvel Generations
Comic Book – X-Men: Grand Design #1
A thrilling new series chronicling all of X-Men history! X-Men: Grand Design stitches together the most important moments in mutant history, creating a comprehensive narrative celebrating the X-Men’s past, present, and future. The first in a trilogy, X-Men: Grand Design returns to Charles Xavier’s assembly of Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Angel, and Beast! A must for fans looking to brush up on their X-Men lore or as jumping-on point for Marvel’s merry mutants.
Ed Piskor takes on the history of the X-Men. That concept alone should get folks excited for it and make it on everyone’s buy list. Much like his multi-volume take on the history of rap, X-Men: Grand Design takes us through the important history of the X-Men. This first volume takes us from the early days of mutants, think before Namor’s attack on New York City, to just before the X-Men’s battle with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Touching upon some of the most important, and key, moments of X history, Piskor has delivered a comic that feels like the definitive continuity laying things out in order and doing it all in a way where we can easily see where key events relate to each other.
And this comic dives into the obscure early years delivering Professor X’s early years as a kid, his meeting with the Shadow King and Magneto, and his formation of the X-Men. This feels like a solid refresher for this long time X fan but also a perfect read for anyone interested in learning more about the history of this iconic group. Piskor does it in a way so that this first issue also sets up key things to come laying it all out in a timeline and a way that’s easy to follow and see how the dots connect.
Piskor does it all with his amazing art style. There’s no changes at all, this is Piskor’s style as varied from Marvel’s “house” as can be. The look brings an indie sensibility about it all, enhanced by Piskor’s writing. Just an awesome combination of story and art.
What tops off the issue is an index in the back giving even more information about what’s presented and where you can find the various stories touched upon. It changes X-Men: Grand Design from a comic to a visual history project, a source to reference for years to come.
Piskor is giving us the definitive history of the X-Men like he’s done with hip-hop and doing so in a way where it feels fresh and new despite 54 years of existence. He’s doing what feels like the impossible, taking a complicated history and distilling it down to the important moments and presenting it in a way that’s perfect for new and long time fans alike.
Story: Ed Piskor Art: Ed Piskor
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
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 are choosing up to five books and why they’re choosing the books. In other words, this is what we’re looking forward to and think you should be taking a look!
Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this Wednesday.
30 Days of Night #1 (IDW Publishing) – A reimagining of the classic horror series.
Assassinistas #1 (IDW Publishing) – Mom’s an assassin who spent her sons’ tuition on new guns. Guess the son needs to get a job helping mom! Quirky concept, sounds like a lot of fun.
Backways #1 (AfterShock) – Writer Justin Jordan does Harry Potter… which is intriguing.
Catalyst Prime: Accell Vol. 2 #2 (Lion Forge Comics) – Lion Forge continues to entertain and their speedster is full of excitement and energy.
Catalyst Prime: Summit #1 (Lion Forge Comics) – A new entry in Lion Forge’s Catalyst Prime universe. Any new release, we’re intrigued and must check it out.
Curse Words: Holiday Special (Image Comics) – Have you been reading Curse Words? If not, you’re missing out.
Dark Ark #4 (AfterShock) – A new take on Noah’s ark, but this is the other arc, with all of the monsters. The last issue pivoted the series and we’re excited to see what’s next.
Dark Nights: Metal #4 (DC Comics) – Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap.
Fence #2 (BOOM! Studios) – The first issue was amazing. The series is a western take on sports manga. It’s so good!
Hellboy: Krampusnacht #1 (Dark Horse) – Hellboy does Christmas. Nuff said.
Marvel Two-In-One #1 (Marvel) – If you’ve never read an issue of this classic series, it’s a lot of fun. Here’s hoping this new one captures that of the original.
Rom & the Micronauts #1 (IDW Publishing) – Two properties coming together. We’re intrigued.
Sink #3 (ComixTribe) – Maybe the most disturbing comic series of the year?
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #15 (Marvel) – If you don’t know Aphra, you’re missing out. Think Indiana Jones but in Star Wars.
Star Wars: Poe Dameron #22 (Marvel) – Filling in the gaps of the Star Wars universe.
Tales of Suspense #100 (Marvel) – Another classic Marvel title returns! This one’s exploring the “death” of the Black Widow.
Transformers: Optimus Prime #14 (IDW Publishing) – Optimus vs. Dinobots.
Transformers: Till All Are One Annual 2017 (IDW Publishing) – Wrapping up this series, one that’s been full of political intrigue and giant robots.
Quantum and Woody (2017) #1 (Valiant Entertainment) – If you’ve never read Quantum and Wody, you’re missing out. A new series that’ll get you to laugh.
X-Men: Grand Design #1 (Marvel) – Ed Piskor takes on the X-Men.
X-Men: Grand Design #1
(W) Ed Piskor (A/CA) Ed Piskor
Rated T+
In Shops: Dec 20, 2017
SRP: $5.99
From Eisner award-winning creator Ed Piskor (Hip-Hop Family Tree) comes a thrilling new series chronicling all of X-Men history! X-MEN: GRAND DESIGN stitches together the most important moments in mutant history, creating a comprehensive narrative celebrating the X-Men’s past, present, and future. The first in a trilogy, GRAND DESIGN returns to Charles Xavier’s assembly of Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Angel, and Beast! A must for fans looking to brush up on their X-Men lore or as jumping-on point for Marvel’s merry mutants.
Marvel Comics and Eisner Award-winning indie cartoonist indie Ed Piskor are teaming up for an unexpected, unprecedented, and uncanny undertaking. Best known for documenting the history of hip hop with the award winning Hip Hop Family Tree graphic novels, Ed Piskor will sample and distill more than 8,000 pages of superheroic storytelling to create a definitive remix of the first 280 original issues of X-Men comic books and 30 years of complicated continuity into one seamless masterpiece of superheroic storytelling. Piskor will write, draw, ink, color and letter all six 40 page issues of X-Men: Grand Design, which Marvel will publish over three years as three separate but interconnected mini-series — X-Men: Grand Design, X-Men: Grand Design–Second Genesis and X-Men: Grand Design–X-Tinction.
On December 9th, 2017, Marvel will publish the debut issue of X-Men: Grand Design. On April 17, 2018, Marvel will collect both issues of X-Men: Grand Design, as an oversized paperback collection in the same size and format as Hip Hop Family Tree, and will also include the first issue of X-Men by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby masterfully recolored by Piskor, and a host of recolored classic pinups. Each X-Men: Grand Design trade paperback will feature a classic X-Men comic book, recolored by Piskor.
