It’s apparently X-Men week in my comic reviews! The only comics I ended up reading and reviewing this week are parts of From the Ashes. And they’re all good comics! So I’m thrilled to read the likes of X-Factor and X-Men.

Comic Book of the Week goes to Dazzler #1 because it’s a near perfect debut for a comic I feel like I manifested out of pure hopes and dreams.

Meanwhile, I’m still enjoying Star Wars: Outlaws. I’m stretching it out nicely so that I don’t need to worry about getting a new game anytime soon, though the endgame is drawing closer. Fun stuff. I loved the first two episodes of Agatha All Along, and the first episode of The Penguin. So things are really darn good these days, pop culture consumption wise.

Comic Reviews: Dazzler #1, X-Factor #2 and X-Men #4.

Dazzler #1
Writer: Jason Loo
Artist: Rafael Loureiro
Colorist: Java Tartaglia
Letterer: VC’s Ariana Maher

Forgive me if I gush too much in this review. This is basically a dream come true comic for me. I’ve never been a particularly big Dazzler fan (I was a Nightcrawler main in the old arcade game), but I love the idea of a superhero rockstar comic. There are so many superhero comics published these days, why not take some of your unique characters and let them have alternate superhero adventures than just fighting crime or beating up bad guys?

And Dazzler, of course, is perfect for this! She’s a long established pop music star…so let her have awesome superhero adventures while on a world music tour?! And here we are! It’s like I manifested this comic into existing, and then the universe rewarded me by putting Jason Loo in charge and having him bring along Multiple Man and Strong Guy as supporting characters. Total dream.

Thankfully, the issue is good, too!

Dazzler has released a new album and is at the first concert of her world tour, which is attracting both fans and mutant haters. She’s got a slew of familiar faces as her backstage, security and drum crew, so awesome. But her first song is interrupted by the villain Scorpia, whom Dazzler defeats while making it look like part of her act.

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

Yeah, I’d say Loo nailed it with this first issue. The only thing it’s missing, in my opinion, is some kind of hook at the end. Not every comic needs a hook at the end, or a stinger. And believe me, I would have been royally peeved if the issue ended with somebody getting murdered just for shock value. But some kind of stinger or tease of what’s to come would have been nice. But on the flip side, like I said, I enjoy a happy ending over some darkly evil ending just for shock value. None of the supporting cast are viciously murdered. Dazzler herself isn’t killed on stage to be one of those kinds of stories. This might just be exactly what I manifested: an awesome, fun comic where a superhero pop star have fun adventures on a world music tour!

The issue itself is fun. We get a lot of the backstage preparations for the concert, which is awesome. I want the nuts and bolts stuff. We get plenty of commentary setting up what this means for Dazzler, for mutants and for the adventures to come. Good stuff. There’s a bit of a subplot with PR wanting Shark Girl to wear an image inducer to hide her shark nature; fine by me. And there is, of course, a ton of queer parallels, which is great! Keep that up! The issue has everything I could possibly want in this comic I manifested. I’m even a big fan of Scorpia!

If I need to address the Taylor Swift in the room, I’m all for it. This version of Dazzler is obviously modeled after Swift and her current Eras Tour, and I think that’s great! Swift is an international phenomenon and has been for years. Use her for creative inspiration, absolutely! No harm in it at all.

And kudos to Loo for writing the lyrics to entire songs as part of this. That’s some solid creative homework right there!

Artwork is also phenomenal!

TL;DR: This first issue is almost everything I wanted when this comic was announced. It’s fun, solidly introduces all the characters and concepts at play, and doesn’t shy away from the nuts and bolts of being set during a music tour.

X-Factor #2
Writer: Mark Russell
Artist: Bob Quinn
Colorist: Jesus Aburtov
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

I’m definitely digging X-Factor because I’m a big Mark Russell fan. So excited to have him on an X-Men comic!

Havok has been made the new team leader of X-Factor, while his girlfriend, Polaris, is part of a semi-militant mutant underground. She convinces Havok to come with her to their next meeting, and it turns out to be an intervention to get him to quit X-Factor. But when they find out that he’s wearing a wire/camera, the militants get very militant and Havok has to fight his way out. His team come and save him, but Polaris opts to stay behind.

Comic Rating: 9/10 – Great.

What really won me over in this issue was the narration, towards the end, where Polaris tries to talk to Havok about the Rime of the Ancient Mariner. The issue doesn’t need the narration or the poetry. And a lesser writer/comic wouldn’t include something like that, it would just tell the story as is, and it would still be a good comic. But that added level of poetry, as it lines up with the dramatic scene at the end of the issue, really sold me and made my brain all aflutter. The scene was already very exciting and emotional, but Russell went above and beyond to add that extra layer of oomph that really wowed me there in the end.

The rest of the issue and writing was fun too!

Now that we have the cast that’s sticking around (I think), Russell starts laying the ground work for their characterizations. I’m down with that. He’s making Pyro out to be fun, and the other characters get some dialogue here and there. The real focus is on Havok and Polaris though. I’m a little surprised that they’re back together as a couple. I don’t think they’ve been a couple for more than a decade at this point? But they’re a classic X-Men pair, so no harm done. I’m a little disappointed that Angel is out of commission, but I’m sure Russell will make this team work. I’m a big Cecilia Reyes fan, so she’s my favorite on the squad at the moment.

TL;DR: The writerly flourishes add a lot of style and charm to this already excellent series. Using poetry and narration to highlight the themes really takes the scenes to another level for me.

X-Men #4
Writer: Jed MacKay
Artist: Netho Diaz
Inker: Sean Parsons
Colorist: Marte Gracia
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles

Oh man, you will not believe the surprise character appearances in this issue!

Trevor Fitzroy has put together a new band of Upstarts and they’re going to livestream themselves hunting the new adult mutants and killing them — for the thrill and also for their secret benefactor. A squad of X-Men heads to Chicago to save their latest victim and fight them off, and it’s a heck of a brawl! And who are the new Upstarts you ask? They’re freakin’ O-Force! They’re a bunch of one-off characters from a couple issues of X-Statix way back in the day! Some X-Statix characters appearing in regular X-Men comics other than Doop?! Yes, please!

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

Jed MacKay you beautiful bastard! This is apparently the week all my X-Men dreams come true! X-Statix characters getting to exist in the regular X-Men comics?! Unbelievable! And while they’re not main team members, I might love it even more that they’re one-off background nobodies who only existed for the gag appearance and social commentary! That’s wonderful! I’ve dinged MacKay before in his Avengers comic for creating teams of brand new randos; I must prefer him scouring old comics and plucking one-off nobodies from out of the ether and putting them to new use. I couldn’t be more thrilled, short of actual X-Statix members getting used.

Beyond that gleeful fannery, this is another excellent issue from the action comic. All these different X-Men comics are finding their place, and I do believe X-Men is about action. It’s almost an issue-long fight scene, and it’s done quite well with writing and artwork. Mix in some storytelling on the side — like distracting the Upstarts with violence in order to slip in and save their victim — to ongoing character building like Beast being upset that he’s taken away from his work to go on the mission — and you’ve got a good comic that easily balances big action and simmering character/plot development.

Also, in terms of quality storytelling, I hope something comes from the mutant they rescue, a fish-looking woman named Jennifer Starkey. Just something about the X-Men saving this rando mutant and bringing her back to base for safety makes me far more interested in her as a new X-Man than when a bunch of rando mutants just show up in the woods in Uncanny X-Men.

TL;DR: The action remains an awesome selling point for this series, especially when the X-Men get to beat up some truly awesome deep cut villain choices!

The comics I review in my Hench-Sized reviews are just the usual comics I grab from Comixology any given week, along with a few impulse buys I might try on a whim. So if there are any comics or series you’d like me to review each week, let me know in the comments.

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