Category Archives: X-Men
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 6/29/13
This is a week for new comics! I’ve been trying to add some new titles to my weekly review feature, because it’ll get pretty boring if I just review the same comics month after month, and this week definitely delivered on new possibilities.This week also featured pretty much every X-Men comic imaginable – and most of them good. But we’ve also got the first issues of Larfleeze and Batman/Superman, as well as the new creative team on Red Lanterns. Will the new writer finally deliver the Red Lantern series I’ve been waiting for? Time will tell. I also decided to try out Journey Into Mystery, but sadly, the series has already been cancelled, so it won’t benefit from the Henchman Bump.
This week’s definite winner is writer Matt Fraction, who once again delivers two of the best comics in the world: FF and Hawkeye. I’m going to award Comic Book of the Week to Hawkeye #11 for its ability to think outside the box, and tell a story from the perspective of Hawkeye’s dog. It’s a fun issue. Though the moment of the week – possibly the moment of the year – goes to Miss Thing in FF. In the issue, the team have come up with a new, more efficient way for Miss Thing to get into her armor.
Best pop culture reference of all freakin’ time! Matt Fraction has to have been sitting on that line since he first envisioned Miss Thing. Heck, I’m going to declare right now that Miss Thing probably only exists because Fraction wanted to find a way to include that classic line from the insane cartoon Fred and Barney Meet the Thing. The man is a genius.
Comic Reviews: All-New X-Men #13, Batman/Superman #1, FF #8, Hawkeye #11, Journey Into Mystery #653, Larfleeze #1, Red Lanterns #21, X-Men #2.
Review: X-Factor #258
Now this is more like it! The last issue of X-Factor was a weird, context-less adventure in Marrakesh that didn’t seem to really have anything to do with X-Factor as a comic or as a superhero team. This issue, starring Wolfsbane, is a proper farewell. It tells a great Wolfsbane story, deals with her personal fallout in the wake of the Hell on Earth War, and sets her up with a new, post-series life. This is exactly what I want to see from the final issues of X-Factor.
X-Factor #258
Rahne gets the help of Father John Maddox to say goodbye, and once again, an appearance by Multiple Man’s religious dupe makes for a good issue.
Comic Rating: 4/5 – Good.
It’s sad to see X-Factor go, but it’s fun to watch writer Peter David say his goodbyes. I didn’t like the last issue whatsoever. It wasn’t a goodbye. It wasn’t a character story. It had nothing to do with anything. But this is very different. Father Maddox is one of the best creations to come out of X-Factor, and he’s a great narrator. Nothing has been as good as Maddox’s first ever appearance, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Maddox works well as a foil for Wolfsbane, given their religious connection, and he gives her a suitable outlet to wrap up her story. This issue definitely feels like a goodbye to Wolfsbane. I knew PAD could pull it off.
This issue also definitely feels like a farewell to X-Factor. As Rahne’s story wrapped up, as she shared a final scene with Guido, it really felt like an end of everything. Rahne and Guido used to be best friends, but in this issue I could really see how far they’ve come – and how far they are from friends anymore. Guido killed her son, after all. Rahne gets a very nice send-off. There’s a flash of Wolfsbane action, a heartfelt reunion with an old love, and some counseling with Father Maddox.
In the end, Rahne gets a chance to see the light. I hope we all get that chance when X-Factor comes to an end this fall.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 6/15/13
This is a big week for Superman. Not only did his super big, important movie come out, but it’s also the launch of the heavily hyped and potentially good Superman Unchained. As you may have seen already, I didn’t care for Man of Steel, but I’m a little warmer towards Superman Unchained, even though it didn’t contain any chains whatsoever. I also enjoyed the first issue of the new Batman: Zero Year storyline. If only DC had put out a new issue of Wonder Woman this week, they would have had strong comics for all three of their major characters.
Though when it comes down to brass tacks, only one of them can come away with the coveted Comic Book of the Week. And even though Superman Unchained had some pretty fancy art, only one comic book this week provided the origin story for Batman’s giant penny. Batman #21 wins!
I apologize for the low number of reviews this week. Between Man of Steel and just a hectic work week at my day job (a double homicide, a single homicide and a missing baby) I ran out of time. Still, all good comics all around.
Comic Reviews: Batman #21, Nightwing #21, Superman Unchained #1 and Wolverine and the X-Men #31.
Heartbreaking…
My favorite comic book series, which stars my favorite comic book superhero, is coming to an end in September. Well the September solicitations came out today, and it’s goodbye to X-Factor.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 6/8/13
It’s a week of fresh starts in comic book land, some good, and some bad. First up is a new #1 issue for Astro City, the brilliant and hugely creative superhero series from writer Kurt Busiek. If you’re not familiar with Astro City, I’ll explain more about it in the actual review, and I consider it one of the crowning achievements of superhero storytelling in the past decade. Astro City isn’t based on any of the well-known heroes like Superman or Spider-Man, instead creating a superhero world all its own, but then taking it to the next level. I’m very excited to see what Busiek does with this new volume, and I might just have to go back and reread the original series.
The other fresh start is the first issue of Green Lantern in the post-Geoff Johns world. The entire Green Lantern franchise has been given new creative teams, and I do not envy these guys. Geoff Johns’ run was legendary, and now they’ve got to somehow keep everyone’s interest in Green Lantern and come up with new and exciting stories. Unfortunately, they’re not off to a great start so far. Astro City easily beats Green Lantern for Comic Book of the Week.
And American Chibi might be the new character find of 2013!
Comic Reviews: Age of Ultron #9, All-New X-Men #12, Astro City #1, Detective Comics #21, Green Lantern #21, Superior Spider-Man #11.
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