Having watched Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on Disney+ Plus a few days ago, I was blown away by how well the world building was. The death of Chadwick Boseman and the on-screen death of T’Challa, was meant for fans, cast and crew to mourn both. It was cathartic but at the same time, also reopened old wounds of the passing of Boseman.
What stood out about the film other than the mourning, was how the key characters reacted. For many, their pain of loss guided their actions throughout the film. They saw how easily their enemies looked to attack once they knew T’Challa had fallen. In the debut issue of Bishop: War College, we find a hero leading a team to protect an island paradise, one whose enemies are waiting to attack as well.
As the comic opens, we find Bishop pushing his newest cadets at his War College to beyond exhaustion. It’s to the point that it causes them call it quits on one of their first day. He gets visited Dani Moonstar, the new leader of the New Mutants, who warns him that he may be pushing them too hard. But Bishop’s fears are soon realized when the Von Strucker Twins show up on the shores of Krakoa. Bishop realizes he needs to change his teaching methods and eventually turns to Tempo for help showing a more human side for the character. But, when he is running a drill with her things go off the rails resulting in Bishop to disappear to an unknown location. By the issue’s end Bishop is in an unknown world and his cadets rendered powerless just as the real threat is made clear.
Overall, Bishop: War College #1 is a fun debut issue which potentially reinvigorates the franchise and character of Bishop. The story by J. Holtman is exciting. The art by the creative team is beautiful. Altogether, it’s a story that fans will more than enjoy.
Story: J. Holtham Art: Sean Damien Hill Ink: Victor Nava, Roberto Poggi Color: Espen Grundetjern Letterer: Travis Lanham Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Lucas Bishop has been a character I’ve always felt was rather intriguing. His depiction over the years has been mixed but the idea of some attempting to prevent their horrific past is a quandary with a lot of potential. The fact it’s presented in a “police” framing makes it all the more intriguing, even though that aspect is danced around. Bishop: War College #1 opens up with that potential as Bishop is tasked with training young mutants as Krakoa’s Captain Commander. The country’s defense is on his shoulders as he continues his mission.
Written by J. Holtham, Bishop: War College #1 kicks off with Bishop being the angry, drill instructor, we’ve seen far too many times. Running mutants through war games, he’s attempting to prepare a group for the threats to come and at the same time rubbing quite a few people the wrong way. And that’s where Holtham’s writing gets interesting.
Bishop: War College #1 starts off with a lot of potential recognizing the conflict with Bishop. He’s a cop sent to the past to prevent a holocaust in the future and condemning an individual who may or may not commit a crime in the future. At the same time, he’s in the present and must build a life. We’ve seen the character go to extremes with these things but here it’s presented as a conflict within the man. And that’s the most interesting aspect. We see him attempt to balance his life while also haunted by what may come. And all of that rubs people the wrong way for various reasons.
But, the story takes a swerve as a threat presents itself sending the series in a different direction by the end of the issue. That direction could be interesting but is far from Bishop training a new generation of mutants to defend Krakoa. What’s revealed needs a bit of explanation as well as it feels like it drops Krakoa’s defenses a bit too easily, especially with what has been presented in the past. The fact no one has an idea some of these events are occurring is rather odd.
The art by Sean Damien Hill is good. There’s solid emotion throughout the issue and you can see the anger in Bishop and tiredness and frustration in others. The facial expressions and body language nails all of that really well. Hill is joined by Victor Nava and Roberto Poggi on ink, Espen Grundetjern on color, and Travis Lanham on lettering. Lanham’s lettering stands out as it really emphasizes the drill instructor aspect of Bishop the comic is going for. You can hear “again” being yelled over an over. While the art overall is good, there’s some panels and characters fall a little short, an example being when the issue’s villains are revealed.
Though the ending of the issue takes it in a different direction, Bishop: War College #1 is an intriguing start that lays the groundwork for an exploration of Bishop’s mission and drive. We’ll see if it continues this direction and dives in, as expected, in a “Scrooge” sort of story, but here’s hoping.
Story: J. Holtham Art: Sean Damien Hill Ink: Victor Nava, Roberto Poggi Color: Espen Grundetjern Letterer: Travis Lanham Story: 7.0 Art: 7.0 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Read
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
(W) Jim Zub (A) Cory Smith (I) Roberto Poggi (C) Israel Silva (L) VC’s Travis Lanham (CA) Geoff Shaw Parental Advisory In Shops: Apr 07, 2021 SRP: $3.99
INTO THE WILD! • CONAN must escape the Khitai royal guard while stalking through an uncharted land and battling the forces of nature that would see him fall! • But is his new comrade MEIWEI everything she seems? • And what secrets do HENG THE INSURGENT and his roving bandits hide?
The Hulk’s battle with Shadow Base comes to a brutal end. Gamma Flight, the Hulk, and General Fortean’s forces collide in this volume of The Immortal Hulk!
The Immortal Hulk Vol. 5 includes issues #21-25.
Story: Al Ewing Art: Joe Bennett, Ryan Bodenheim, Germán García Ink: Ryan Bodenheim, Ruy José, Belardino Brabo, Marc Deering, Roberto Poggi, Germán García Color: Paul Mounts, Chris O’Halloran Letterer: Cory Petit
Get your copy in comic shops now and in book stores on December 3! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site
Get your copy in comic shops November 13! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site
Deadpool gets tied up and tangles with Carnage in Absolute Carnage vs. Deadpool #1. The latest entry into the “Absolute Carnage” event.
Story: Frank Tieri Art: Marcelo Ferreira Ink: Roberto Poggi Color: Rachelle Rosenberg Letterer: Joe Sabino
Get your copy in comic shops now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site
Two characters I generally dislike come together in Absolute Carnage vs Deadpool #1, an entry in the Absolute Carnage event. And even though the issue has a more comedic tone than the rest of the event’s horror, it still works and entertains. Yes, I enjoyed a comic with Deadpool and Carnage at the center of it.
Written by Frank Tieri, the issue sees Deadpool finally piss Spider-Man off enough that Spider-Man stops talking to him unless Deadpool seeks help. Off to Ravencroft Deadpool goes but unbeknownst to him, the place is the hideout for Carnage and his cult. For those that don’t know, Absolute Carnage has Carnage and his growing army attempting to get the spines of symbiote wearers to free their god. Up to this comic, the event has had a nice tinge of horror to it. Absolute Carnage vs Deadpool #1 takes a bit of a different route focusing more on Deadpool’s humor.
That humor extends to Carnage who comes off more as a laughable villain than the nightmare depicted in other issues. That’s not a bad thing but there’s absolutely a difference in tone in this comic versus all others. It makes this issue a bit of an outlier. That also makes it a breather in a rather serious and “scary” event.
What also works is Carnage and Deadpool themselves. They play off each other. With tones so diametrically opposed they somehow balance each other out and become tolerable to me.
The art by Marcelo Ferreira fits the tone of it all quite well. With ink by Robert Poggi and color by Rachelle Rosenberg the art is able to do both humor and horror. Compared to early parts of the comic, the tone of the art begins to shift as Deadpool enters the building of nightmares and continues to shift as things spin out of control. The lettering is key too. Joe Sabino nails it with a style that emphasizes the nature of Carnage and his followers.
While I’m not quite there to say you should go out and buy the comic, I do think the trade will be a lot of fun to read.
Spider-Man swings in to a brand new series that keeps things a bit more grounded and local. Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Vol. 1 Secrets and Rumors collects issues #1-6 of the series.
Story: Tom Taylor Art: Juann Cabal, Yildiray Cinar, Marcelo Ferreira Color: Nolan Woodard, Federico Blee, Jim Campbell Ink: Douglas Franchin, Roberto Poggi Letterer: Travis Lanham
Get your copy in comic shops now and book stores on July 23! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site
This week marks the end of both “War of the Realms” and the Messages from Midgard column. There are a few straggler tie-ins like Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and an Omega issue, which I will cover in its own review, but the core miniseries plus three ancillary tie-in minis and Jason Aaron’s arcs on Thor and Avengers wrap up this week. Plus there’s a fun Superior Spider-Man story where Peter Parker and, of all people, Gwenpool, teaching Doc Ock that heroism is about saving individuals and not just trying to glory hog the whole event. That privilege is reserved for Thor, of which there are four, because its their event.
War of the Realms #6
In War of the Realms #6, Jason Aaron, Russell Dauterman, and Matthew Wilson knuckle down to give both this event and basically Aaron’s seven year run on Thor one hell of a conclusion. It’s centered around a simple premise. If only Thor can break the magic circle and confront a Knull-infused Malekith, then why not bring four of them: Odinson, King Thor, Young Thor, and Jane Foster’s Thor, who now wields Mjolnir from the Ultimate Universe. What follows is an exercise in fighting, bickering, and true heroism while the rest of the heroes confront Laufey on Midgard.
Before digging into the fantastic things that Aaron does with both Thor and Jane Foster’s arcs, I would like to praise the visuals of Dauterman and Wilson, who really outdo themselves in issue six. Wilson’s palette is majestic and varied ranging from the eye of the storm to the clash of lightning on symbiote ooze and a snowstorm to end all snowstorms. Like the different hammers and weapons used by the Thors, Dauterman switches up his inking style to fit the scene from looser work when Malekith does anything symbiote-y to more clean polished art when Odinson forges Mjolnir anew in the eye of a storm. His attention to detail is uncanny, and he draws many epic moments like when Odinson punches his own hammer and memorable small ones like Screwbeard and Ivory Honeyshot doing their best Gimli and Legolas imitation at the end of the world.
One word that can be used to describe War of the Realms #6 is “satisfying”. Odinson has gone on a painful heroic journey that draws comparisons to the one his own father, Odin, went on to become All-Father sacrificing body parts to gain the wisdom and power to rule Asgard. There are also parallels to the journeys of Dionysus and Jesus Christ in his story as he humbles himself and suffers to save the whole world. But, lofty comparisons aside, this is really the story of a man who becomes a hero and “worthy” in spite of his flaws, which is a metaphor for most of the Marvel heroes, who have fantastic abilities and feet of clay. It is a rare sight to see such an iconic character, like Thor, grow and change over a run, and Jason Aaron has pulled this off with War of the Realms #6 being the finishing touch and earning an Overall Verdict of Buy.
War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas #4
In New Agents of Atlas#4, this new pan-Asian superhero team finally gets their act together to assemble and prevent Sindr, the Fire Goblin queen from melting the polar ice caps. Greg Pak and artists Gang Hyuk Lim, Moy R, and Pop Mhan take their cues from third act of the 2012 Avengers film from Jimmy Woo playing the Nick Fury role and lying about Pele’s true nature to get the team to work together and lots of big epic splash pages of heroes doing team-up moves. However, with the exception of Brawn, Shang Chi, and the Filipina heroine Wave, I feel like I barely know these heroes so the big fight scenes look pretty, but feel like action figures in position, not characters reaching the end of their journey.
Pak, Lim, Federico Blee and the guest artists and colorists had a tall order introducing new characters and ones who had only appeared in Korean and Chinese comics as well as mobile games to a new audience. Having four issues and a big, yet underdeveloped baddie helped, but in the end, the cast of New Agents of Atlas was simply too large to get to know the new folks. Hopefully, the upcoming miniseries will take its time to develop their personalities as well as show off their cool costumes and powers. Unfortunately, New Agents of Atlas #4 earns an Overall Verdict of Pass despite its one genuinely memorable twist.
War of the Realms: Punisher #3
War of the Realms Punisher#3
features the same fantasy baddies as the rest of “War of the Realm’s” tie-ins,
but Gerry Duggan, Marcelo Ferreira, Roberto Poggi, and Rachelle Rosenberg
take a grittier, more violent, and at times, fatalistic approach to their story
beginning with Frank Castle having guns pointed to his head by former mobsters.
He gets out of this pickle pretty easily by swearing on the souls of dead wife
and kids that he’ll spare the criminals once they get the civilians to safety.
Most of them don’t have to worry about living as they’re immediately set upon
by a squad of trolls; one of which Frank tortures in a chilling scene that
makes the criminals realize that they’re not getting out of this alive too.
Duggan and Ferreira portray Frank Castle as a hardened soldier in War of the Realms Punisher #3, and his enemy is the criminal element, both mortal and otherworldly. Sure, he’ll get the civilians to safety in New Jersey, but he’ll also gun down the last criminal standing with him while the doctor he was assisting shrieks in terror. This is because Castle is as much of a monster and a force of nature as the trolls and Fire Goblins that he was gunning down or blowing up tanker trucks to stop. Duggan’s understanding of Frank Castle’s character, and that we can cheer for him to take out the bad guys and recoil at killing one in cold blood as well as the hellish visuals of Ferreira, Poggi, and Rosenberg earns War of the Realms Punisher #3 an Overall Verdict of Buy and definitely has me interested in Duggan’s upcoming Punisher Kill Krew series.
War of the Realms: Uncanny X-Men #3
Even though it’s nice to see Cyclops, Multiple Man, and your
favorite former New Mutants defending Citi Field from Frost Giants, Matthew Rosenberg, Pere Perez, and Rachelle
Rosenberg’sWar of the Realms: Uncanny X-Men has been the weak link of the tie-in
minis. Issue three is no exception with the pointless killing off of Sunspot,
the repetitive dialogue of (dead in the main series) Wolfsbane’s lover
Hrimhari, and a tacked on sequence with Dani Moonstar and the Valkyries even
though this plot point was only touched upon at the end of issue one. It could
have been a good hook for the miniseries and a through-line to the main action,
but in the end, it’s too little, too late.
War of the Realms: Uncanny X-Men #3 does have a few cool moments like Multiple Man’s dupes luring the Frost Giants into a Limbo portal, a visceral claw on claw fight between Sabretooth and Wolfsbane, and Cyclops precision sniping Frost Giants. However, these are few and far between, and after three issues, this miniseries has really done nothing to justify its existence and earns an Overall Verdict of Pass. But the silver lining is that Jonathan Hickman is coming in a month and probably all these events/pointless character deaths will be retconned.
Thor #14
Jason Aaron, Scott
Hepburn, and Matthew Wilson’s story in Thor
#14 covers much of the same ground as War
of the Realms #6, but from the POV of Young Thor as the Fantastic Four
summon him from brooding and trying to lift Mjolnir to a fight for all ten
realms. I read this almost directly after War
of the Realms #6, and there are obvious re-draws of Russell Dauterman’s art
although Hepburn has an earthier take on the material to match the boisterous,
shit-talking Young Thor. The issue also has more direct connections to the last
adventure of the three Thors in Aaron’s Thor,God of Thunder series and a similar
art style although Hepburn is no Simon Bisley. There’s a lot of gruffness, talk
about hammers, and an indirect reference to Back
to the Future along the way.
However, compared to the standalone issues about Loki, Cul Borson, and even Gorilla-Man in Aaron’s tie-in issues of Thor and Avengers, Thor #14 seems less essential because Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman portrayed Young Thor’s carelessness, brashness, and adventurous nature so well in War of the Realms #6. He does get a cool action sequence against a gnarly Hepburn-drawn Venom symbiote and lifts Mjolnir in a moment that again proves that “worthiness” and heroism is not something bestowed externally, but internally. Most of the material in Thor #14 is covered in Realms #6, but that scene and the sheer joy that Aaron gets at writing Young Thor earns the issue an Overall Verdict of Read.
Avengers #20
Avengers #20 is yet
another standalone success from Jason Aaron, Ed McGuinness, Mark Morales, and
Jason Keith and is a metafictional
look at She-Hulk, and how she’s changed as a character in the past few years.
The opening sequence is brilliant and set in side a Wakandan therapy simulation
where She-Hulk looks at a pinup of the John Byrne version of her and beats up a
version of her that looks like it was drawn by Javier Pulido. The comic is a
narration about how she likes embracing the monster and getting to beat up
enemies with her new powers instead of being sexually harassed while in
costume. Unlike Bruce Banner, she enjoys the freedom of being Hulk, and
McGuinness and Morales use wide panels to show the swath of destruction she
causes with her bulging forearms.
Using the character of She-Hulk as a case study, Avengers #20 is also a bigger commentary about how women have to fit pre-conceived roles in the workforce (Even if that means the Avengers.) and society and get pushback whenever they’re assertive or show anger. Deadpool asking She-Hulk why she doesn’t crack jokes or break the fourth wall any more is the metafictional version of a male co-worker asking a woman why she doesn’t smile. And, on a more a geeky level, this issue also has some foreshadowing of Aaron’s future plans for the Avengers title with the help of omniscient Daredevil showing Aaron can work on both a micro and macro level. Avengers #20 is a fantastic, holistic character study of She-Hulk and her recent developments and easily earns an Overall Verdict of Buy with a side dish of allusions to Immortal Hulk.
Superior Spider-Man #8
Superior Spider-Mancontinues
to be an underrated delight and study in ego from Christos Gage, Lan Medina,
Cam Smith, and Andy Troy. Doc Ock continues to be terrible at reading the room,
er, event and wants to take out Malekith all by himself with the help of the
Fantastic Four and West Coast Avengers. He doesn’t want to protect New York
City, but basically hack America Chavez’s portal abilities to get to what he
thinks is the real action. This ends up backfiring, and he gets one hell of a
dressing down from Spider-Man in the nature of heroism while Spider-Man is
wearing his helmet from the Land of
Giants one-shot and is immediately abandoned by his “minions” aka the West
Coast Avengers.
Gage and Medina use the wide scope of “War of Realms” to tell an entertaining and at times fourth wall breaking (Thanks to Gwenpool.) story about how heroism isn’t just about defeating the final boss, but saving one person from death and danger. Having Spider-Man deliver the lecture about this topic makes sense because for the most part, he has focused on protecting his neighborhood instead of mixing it up with gods and monsters. Gage’s script is self-aware, and Medina and Smith have a classic, illustrator style approach where it is easy to follow the action even in a Southern California blizzard. For commenting on the nature of heroism, being funny as hell, and having plentiful America Chavez side eye, Superior Spider-Man #8 earns an Overall Verdict of Buy.
War of
the Realms #6 was the best ending to a summer Marvel event since
Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic’s Secret Wars,
and it shipped on time too. One thing that these two events shared in common is
that they were a culmination of two macro-stories, namely, Jason Aaron’s Thor
run and Hickman’s Fantastic Four-Ultimates-Avengers/New Avengers project. The
War of the Realms has been foreshadowed for years, and the early battles were
fought in the pages of Mighty Thor and
Thor so the event was really just
icing on the cake. Sometimes, the montage of the different battles were a
little insufferable, but when Aaron, Dauterman, and Wilson grabbed onto the
character journeys of Odinson and Jane Foster, the book really sung. Nowhere
was this more evident than in War of the
Realms #6, and the spinoff I’m most excited for is Valkyrie even if I’m little disappointed that Tessa Thompson’s take
on the character is nowhere in sight although Al Ewing may pluck her from
somewhere in the multiverse.
Panel of the Week
Young Thor and King Thor bonding over craft beer is the cutest thing. (From War of the Realms #6, Art by Russell Dauterman and Matthew Wilson)
The War of The Realms has brought monsters to the streets of New York City, but New York has a monster all its own…Frank Castle, A.K.A. THE PUNISHER! And he’ll be damned to Hel if he’s going to let a bunch of Ten Realms tin-pot tyrants terrorize his town. But given he’s one man against an army of monsters, Hel might soon have him! The War of Realms is about to meet Marvel’s One Man Army. Expect Punishment!
It has been a long time since I’ve bothered to read any of the spin off series that a Marvel event usually produces, but lately I’ve been on a bit of a Punisher kick (almost entirely due to the Netflix series), and so despite not having read either of the first two issues of War Of The Realms, I decided to pick this issue up.
I can honestly say that you don’t need to have read anything regarding the main series to enjoy this book because once the Punisher starts fighting giants and dark elves nothing else matters other than his surly one-liners and the explosive actions as Frank Castle shows the forces of Malekith why you don’t mess with New York and innocent lives.
There isn’t a whole lot of depth to this book, though there is an interesting scene with Frank on a bus that playing into your expectations of the Punisher. Instead, Gerry Duggan focuses on giving the reader something that we can all get behind; a really fun comic.
After decades of watching the Punisher battler monsters in human form, with War Of The Realms: Punisher #1 we’re treated to him shooting literal monsters. It’s not quite a fish out of water tale, as Frank seems more resigned to his current task than overwhelmed by the nature of the enemy he faces which leads to the previously mentioned dry one-liners.
The comic is drawn by Marcelo Ferreira with inks by Roberto Poggi and colours provided by Rachelle Rosenberg. The trio give the comic a clean style that conveys the weight and gravitas of the situation without ever coming off as cheesy (which would be an easy trap to fall into , given the nature of the story.
When it comes down to this comic, and its place in the greater arc, I assume it fits in, but seeing as how this can be read independently to the main series, there’s no real excuse for fan of the Punisher to pick this book up and enjoy the book you’re reading.
