Comic Book Herald

I’ll tell anyone who will listen that DC’s Dark Nights: Metal is one of my favorite comic book events of all time, and creators Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo are back for round two in 2020 with Dark Nights: Death Metal.

On today’s Road to DC Death Metal I’ll investigate:

The opening issue of the event releases May 13, 2020, and will feature two 3-month chunks of “event issues” throughout 2020, as well as “Metalverse” tie-ins.

In March, Scott Snyder made a surprise Chicago Comic Con (C2E2) appearance to share a ton of tremendously exciting teases.

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Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com.

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The post The Road to DC’s Death Metal – 2020 Anti-Crisis Event! appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Marvel comics of 1982. Miller & Claremont’s Wolverine! The Brood! Fantastic Four!

On this episode we cover the following issues (all available via Marvel Unlimited):

Up Next:

My Marvelous Year – Marvel Year Twenty-Two: 1983 Pt. 1 —

You can find more Marvel Comics guides on Comic Book Herald at:

mymarvelousyear.com

https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/

Music for My Marvelous Year is credited to Disasterpeace. Support for My Marvelous Year comes via Patreon backers, for as little as $1 a month.

Make sure to subscribe now in order to get every reading list for every year of Marvel Comics! Subscribe to the Podcast! — iTunes, Google Play, Pod Feed

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The post Marvel Year Twenty-One: 1982 Pt. 3 appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

The highly anticipated follow-up to Tom King and Mitch Gerads all-time great Mister Miracle arrives today with Strange Adventures #1, a 12 issue DC Black Label limited series bringing in artist Evan “Doc” Shaner on an Adam Strange story. It’s without question one of the most anticipated comics of 2020.

Today I’ll answer:

+ Who is Adam Strange?

+ Why are King, Gerads, and Shaner following Mister Miracle with this character?

+ What is Strange Adventures doing that sets itself apart from standard superhero comics?

Strange Adventures #1 introduces readers to Adam Strange, man of two worlds, Earth-born hero of Rann, and his alien wife Alanna. To convey the dichotomy of Adam Strange’s duel lives – the costumed adventurer defending the near utopian Rann, and the archaeologist and now published memoirist of Earth – Evan Shaner and Mitch Gerads split art duties, sometimes on the same page.

It’s a fascinating, generally effective split workload, with Shaner’s clean pencils evoking superhero action in its purest distilled form – indeed, it’s Shaner who frequently designs DC’s Golden Age omnibus covers for his ability to evoke that feeling of timeless hero mythology – and Mitch Gerads working the grime, grit, and general uncertainty of present day Earth.

Dating back to his 1958 creation by Julius Schwartz and Murphy Anderson – essential assists from Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky – the premise of Adam Strange is that he travels 25 trillion miles between Earth and Space using Rann’s Zeta Beam technology. The Zeta – or teleportation – beam becomes integrated with Adam Strange’s being, and for much of his history has a limited, fairly unpredictable holding time, meaning Strange will often “fade” back to Earth at inopportune times.

Throughout the Silver Age these stories can be found in titles like DC Showcase, Mystery in Space, and later reprints in Strange Adventures!

To get back to Rann, in the Alpha Centauri star system, Adam Strange has to calculate where and when the next Zeta Beams will arrive, creating plenty of recurring tension every time he misses a beam or something goes awry. In addition the practical tension of the hero stranded on his home planet, this is also generally the device used to manufacture romantic tension, as Adam’s love is “lost in space.”

On Rann, Adam Strange is turned into the planet’s champion – effectively their one man police force or army – and also falls in love with Alanna. During Alan Moore and Rick Veitch’s work on Swamp Thing, it’s revealed that Adam and Alanna will be having a baby, who will go on to be known as Aleea.

For my money, if you’re looking for good Adam Strange comics to read alongside Strange Adventures, I’d first point you to the aforementioned two part Swamp Thing story written by Moore, in issues #57 and #58.

For entries in what would be considered the current DC Rebirth canon – after a fashion – I like Death of Hawkman (which I maintain is actually an Adam Strange story) and Strange’s supporting role in the Grant Morrison and Liam Sharpe The Green Lantern #6

There’s also an Adam Strange reading order in the show notes if you want the whole guide on CBH!

Tom King has been one of my favorite comic book writers since 2016, with truly memorable works like Marvel’s Vision, Vertigo’s Sheriff of Babylon, and of course, DC’s Mister Miracle, which I currently have ranked as my 6th favorite comic book of all time.

Universal adoration for King’s work definitely soured following the conclusion of Mister Miracle, though, with both his Batman run and especially Heroes in Crisis disappointing and outright enraging fans.

Honestly, this puts Strange Adventures in the position of reclaiming King’s status as one of the best writers in comics, working with Shaner and Gerads towards a narrative of returning to form.

In Strange Adventures #1, Adam and Alanna are on Earth – seemingly for good – and Adam Strange is promoting his memoir, “Strange Adventures.” Adam’s generally hailed as a hero, until an extremely angry fan shows up at a book signing and tells Adam he knows what Adam did to the Pykkts, the “invading” alien race we see Adam fighting in the Shaner drawn flashbacks. Although it also raises the question why anyone on Earth would know about Adam Strange’s exploits 25 trillion miles through space.

The incident leads to a public quest for clearing his name following the same angry fan’s murder by an alien weapon.

There’s a particularly interesting moment during Adam Strange’s press conference where Gerads turns his lens on Alanna as she wipes away a tear. Gerads colors the middle panel with the caption “These are lies” as if a flash is going off, which for me brought to mind the panels in Mister Miracle when the background would fizz out like a broken TV reception. The fact that Alanna’s face hardens in the next panel, with the caption “Vicious, Unfounded, Corrupt Lies,” suggests an intentional clue that Alanna is hiding something as well.

This is not all that hard to believe given her place of wealth on the near Utopian Rann – the idea that a race like the Pykkts might have been subjugated or wiped out would very much fall in line with so much of historic colonialism. Directly connecting Alanna and Adam to this reality is a pointed statement.

Adam Strange first turns to Batman to help clear his name, although ultimately Batman turns him down. Again, here I’d point to the way Gerads draws Strange when he’s declaring his innocence to Batman – half his face is a thumbprint of smudged black, and the other half neatly defined and glowing in the pale moonlight. While the “Man of Two Worlds” metaphor may seem ham-fisted at times – alright kids try to get this: he’s both good and bad! – I enjoy these smaller details incorporating the theme into the visuals.

Instead of Batman, Mister Terrific shows up to investigate Adam, and I’m definitely happy to see Michael Holt taking some time away from The Terrifics for this story.

The most intriguing part of this reveal, though, is the structural choice to include an Adam Strange origins quote from DC creative legend, Carmine Infantino.

What does this quote mean? My major takeaway is the idea that Alanna, Sardath, and the Rannians Adam Strange meets literally “float above the ground” on Rann, and could easily be floating above other sentient lifeforms down in the lower layers of Ranagar’s cities. So if you layers of wealth, or privilege, Rann becomes a pretty easy metaphor for income inequality, colonialism, racial subjugation… you name it. I expect the Pykkts will play the stand-in for all of this, although I’ll admit, that all feels a bit obvious.

On the macro level, it certainly appears that the Strange Adventures team is interested in exploring the complexity and contradictions of peace-keeping and freedom fighting. War heroes are absolute monsters to opposing forces, and you see that pretty neatly encapsulated in the Strange Adventures issue cover.

It’s certainly not the first time Adam Strange’s moral compass has been tested, or tilted towards darkness. Flashing back again to the Alan Moore / Rick Veitch Swamp Thing issues, Strange is deliberately responsible for the death of a Thanagarian warrior. In the context of the issue, it’s easy to rationalize the killing – The Thanagarians assaulted Swamp Thing out of nowhere, and would have killed both him and Adam Strange for intervening. Nonetheless, Adam Strange is no stranger to the taking of sentient lives.

To his mind, these actions are justifiable due to the circumstances, and the need to protect Rann, but what I’m sure we’ll continue to see in Strange Adventures is that this is all a matter of perspective.

There’s a potentially very controversial angle to the murder mystery here as it relates to King’s own background. At this point, King famously worked in the CIA, and obviously built a lot of his work – particularly Sheriff of Babylon  – around trauma and experiences from that fairly unique vantage point.

King was accused of falsifying his CIA work for press, and it’s not too hard to draw a parallel between that experience and Adam Strange being accosted by a raging Black Canary fan at a book signing (a book signing meant to celebrate how “great” Adam Strange is!). Likewise, Alanna reads more like a press manager or agent throughout Strange Adventures #1, and as I mentioned, the camera lingers intentionally on here in crucial moments dissecting the nature of truth. This is where conjecture starts to get weirdly personal, but I can’t help but remember King tweeting about his wife’s own righteous indignation at the unfounded claims that Tom King was never in the CIA.

If  – and this is a huge if – that experience and those feelings manifested in a murder mystery with Alanna as a prime suspect, I think that would be a huge mistake for the goals of Strange Adventures and frankly for King’s reputation. I think King, Gerads, and Shaner are smarter than that, but again, that’s also benefit of the doubt I granted towards Heroes in Crisis which was as dour and grimy as all the Identity Crisis comparisons suggested it could be.

Notably, Strange Adventures hasn’t yet used the all black “Darkseid Is” recurring panel motif of Mister Miracle (this was also used stylistically in Sheriff of Babylon), but there is King’s patented use of repetition. For starters, we see “Hi, I’m Adam. Can I sign a book for you” on repeat, as well as several background shots of an Alanna, Adam, Aleea family photo splattered with blood.

This particular image, and the mysterious absence of Aleea, is easily the biggest question for me coming out of Strange Adventures #1, and the one I’m looking for the series to lean into the most. If Mister Miracle was about Scott and Barda becoming parents, then I look for Strange Adventures to focus on the actual lived-in parenting of a young child, and all the fears, and worry and challenges that come with that.

The post Krakin’ King: Strange Adventures #1 Review – Can Tom King Pull Off Another Miracle? appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

At this week’s 2020 Chicago Comic Con (aka C2e2) Jonathan Hickman and the X-Men team announced the X-Men’s first Dawn of X crossover, “X of Swords” pronounced “Ten of Swords.” Starting in May’s Free Comic Book Day special, “Ten of Swords” is a 15 part crossover primarily running through Hickman’s X-Men and Tini Howard’s Excalibur.

Today I’ll answer:

+ What is “Ten of Swords”

+ Why does it make sense that X-Men and Excalibur are the focus comics?

+ Predictions and theories about the event, including a brief history of X-Men swords!

X-Men: Dawn of X reading order

For all Comic Book Herald X-Men videos:

As it turns out, “X of Swords” is pronounced “Ten of Swords,” which is a reference to a Tarot Card.

As a total newcomer to Tarot, I was intrigued to learn a card like the Ten of Swords has an upright, and a reversed position, and the meaning of the reading changes depending on this position.

I’ll note for those interested in their own theories, the reversed position of the “Ten of Swords” refers to recovery, regeneration, and resisting an inevitable end, the last of which sounds so specific to the mutants on Krakoa and Moira’s Powers of X revelation that mutants always lose, that it almost can’t be an accident.

Regarding the meaning of “The Ten of Swords,” I’d encourage obsessed X-fans to read up on some of the details because it’s impossible not to set your mind racing on X-Men connections and possibilities. The readings are just vague enough that a billion storylines fall into place.

Based on the core meaning of betrayal, and being literally stabbed in the back by 10 swords – talk about overkill! – my mind immediately jumps to Mister Sinister (the ultimate promised betrayer) or potentially – and we’ll dig into this in more detail – Apocalypse and all the schemes he has of his own.

Another particularly interesting element to me is the idea that the “Ten of Swords” features a setting sun, signaling the end of an era, which makes me think about the end of one of Moira’s lifelines, or possibly just the Krakoan dream of House of X.

Speaking of Tarot Card connections, this actually isn’t the fist time we’ve seen allusions in the Hickman era of X-Men, considering Powers of X teased “The Magician,” “The Tower,” and “The Devil,” one has to assume with great intent!

I expect all of these cards to play a major role, and to be explained in more detail in “X of Swords,” particularly “The Tower,” which was also just teased in the background of X-Men #7 as the mysterious perfect Krakoan home of Nightcrawler (and where I imagine he’ll be having sermons for his new mutant religion).

In terms of predictions and what I think is coming my absolute favorite connection centers around the mysterious origins of Arakko and Krakoa, teased in House of X #5 and X-Men #2 as deeply connected to longtime X-Men villain (and now ally) Apocalypse. Credit here to @TheMutantMenace and @Larkinz for hitting me with variations of this theory first after the news broke at C2e2 and I was furiously tweeting about relevant swords that could play a role in this crossover!

So let’s start here: Krakoa and Arakko where separated during a demonic invasion, and Hickman writes about “The Twilight Sword of the enemy” as the weapon tearing the world asunder.

The Twilight Sword is a very specific choice of words in Marvel, most memorably tied to Surtur, in the pages of the Walt Simonson all time great run on Thor.

Here, the Twilight Sword is a herald of Doom, created by Surtur and the mines of Muspelheim to defeat Odin and bring about Ragnarok and the destruction of Asgard.

When the Twilight Sword reemerged in the Kurt Busiek and George Perez Avengers about 15 years later, Thor is careful to point out the sword has magical, mystical elements that can influence the makings of reality. The power of the sword isn’t just that it’s a big ass blade – although, it’s a really big ass blade – but the fact that it’s imbued with all these other realm mystical connections.

The big reason the Avengers connections to the Twilight Sword matter here – or at least the reason I’ll theorize they matter – is that it’s Morgan Le Fay who wields the mystical artifact. In Avengers #1 to #3, the swelling Avengers lineup is warped into a medieval realm controlled by Morgan Le Fay and Mordred, all using a combination of the Twilight Sword and – kind of amazingly – the “mutant witch” hex powers of the Scarlet Witch!

As we’ve seen since the conclusion of Excalibur #6, Apocalypse is currently dissecting and running experiments on this same very Morgan Le Fay! This feels like way too much connection to be a coincidence, and I’m convinced Apocalypse is searching Le Fay’s being for mystical connections to the Twlight Sword that allow him to magically access the realms it once tore asunder. An Otherworld / Arakko war feels very much in play here, especially given Jaime Braddock’s own reality warping abilities, and Apocalypse’s clear machinations to put Jaime on the throne of Otherworld.

Bringing it full circle, I predict that all these connections mean Apocalypse is studying the mystical properties of Otherworld and the Twilight Sword in order to access the extra-dimensional realm where his 1st Horsemen are trapped since the split of Arakko and Krakoa.

We’ve seen in both the Marvel Comics #1000 one-pager from Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver, and in the Powers of X selection of “Sinister Secrets,” that Apocalypse strongly desires the return of his secret first horsemen, the preferred and most powerful of them all. Exactly why he’s looking to bring back these Horsemen – who are notably visible in Moira’s 9th Moirapocalypse timeline – is unclear, but I could definitely see it tying back into that “betrayal” the Ten of Swords card foretells.

So my primary theory is that “X of Swords” is a mega Arrako / Krakoa story

Seeds planted throughout Excalibur and Hickman and Yu’s X-Men #2 have left a trail of swords, summoners, and secrets, and I anticipate it will all come to fruition in “X of Swords.”

Another major X-sword that comes to mind – apart from, ya know, Excalibur itself – is Illyana Rasputin’s Soulsword. There’s a lot that goes into Soulsword, but effectively it’s a combination of Illyana’s own soul and her magical ability. Soulsword is powerful enough that its master more or less controls Limbo.

The absolute standout potential of the Soulswords place in a story about Arakko and Krakoa is seen in the pages of New Mutants #50, when Illyana uses the Soulsword to “cleanse” limbo of a technorganic virus.

The learning here – that Soulsword can “cure” the darkness of a mystical realm – seems like especially potent connective tissue for Arakko and “X of Swords.” The flipside, though, is that during Inferno the Soulsword corrupted Illyana to the point of turning her into the Darkchylde, and opened a portal between Limbo and Earth.

Again, this is hugely relevant, as a portal between realms could be at the heart of “X of Swords.”

Otherwise, we’ve been seeing swords pop up a ton throughout X-Men comics, and when you pause to think about it, all over X-Men and related Marvel history.

Just in X-Men #7, we see Apocalypse championing sword fights as the trial by fire methods of The Crucible, where mutants prove their worth and desire to return to their rightful mutant heritage in a post Decimation landscape.

There’s also notably the “Cerebro Sword” Magneto gifts to Professor X upon his resurrection (following X-Force #1)

When you start digging into X-Men characters in the X of Swords promo and beyond, the history of swords is long, deep, and maybe entirely irrelevant but still pretty fun! Likewise, Marvel’s tease of swords from the Marvel Universe “past and present” really opens the door for some timey-wimey weapons selection. Could we see Exodus wielding the famed Ebony Blade from the Crusades for example?

Everyone in the promo blade seems to have a custom made sword, like the aforementioned Professor X with Cerebro, or Wolverine with what I’m guessing is the Muramusa blade, and Gorgon with Godkiller, but the one that *really* catches my attention is Rachel Summers with the Phoenix Blade!

The Phoenix blade was introduced – I believed during the “End of Greys” storyline in Uncanny X-Men #480-ish – as a weapon empowered with a fragment of the Phoenix Force. Korvus, a descendant of the shi’ar Rook’shir who created the blade, and was consumed by the Phoenix Force, originally tried using the blade to kill Rachel Summers.

And finally, on the most reckless note of the bunch, swords are kind of a big deal in seemingly unrelated Marvel events these days! We have the necrosword of Jason Aaron’s run on Thor and now Donny Cates’ work on Venom, as well as Hulkling’s use of the Starsword in the pages of Empyre.

The post Krakin’ Krakoa #39: X of Swords – 2020 X-Men Crossover! Theories and Predictions! appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Marvel comics of 1982. Frank Miller’s Daredevil! Contest of Champions! Nothing stops the Juggernaut!

On this episode we cover the following issues (all available via Marvel Unlimited):

Up Next:

My Marvelous Year – Marvel Year Twenty-One: 1982 Pt. 3 —

You can find more Marvel Comics guides on Comic Book Herald at:

mymarvelousyear.com

https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/

Music for My Marvelous Year is credited to Disasterpeace. Support for My Marvelous Year comes via Patreon backers, for as little as $1 a month.

Make sure to subscribe now in order to get every reading list for every year of Marvel Comics! Subscribe to the Podcast! — iTunes, Google Play, Pod Feed

If you like the show, please consider leaving a rating or review on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!, to help us reach more readers & listeners!

The post Marvel Year Twenty-One: 1982 Pt. 2 appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

X-Men #7 delivers a major update to the state of mutants on Krakoa and in the Marvel Universe, in easily one of the biggest issues since House of X ended!

Today I’ll answer:

+ What is “Crucible” and what does it mean for the X-Men’s resurrection protocols?

+ How does X-Men #7 tie heavily into House of M and X-Men “Decimation” stories from the mid 2000’s?

+ Why Nightcrawler is the perfect guide to introduce us to the new Crucible practice on Krakoa

X-Men: Dawn of X reading order

In X-Men #7 by Jonathan Hickman, Leinil Francis Yu, Sunny Gho, Clayton Cowles, Tom Muller, the issue opens with the mysterious repeating refrain that “Crucible is today.” There’s been a lot of speculation about what “Crucible” might be after Marvel previewed the issue, and X-Men #7 does a nice job building details and information about the new addition to Krakoa culture as the story develops.

Cyclops first considers the new procedure with Wolverine, in a scene full of details that are going to drive the Scott/Logan/Jean/Sure let’s throw in Emma why not shippers wild.

On his quest to witness and learn more about Crucible, Cyclops first strolls past Doug Ramsey, Krakoa, and for just a split second, Warlock chilling. It’s tangential to the main story, but for fans who have been wondering about Doug’s techno-organic arm, and the presence of longtime New Mutants member Warlock, it’s another small clue in what appears to be another mystery. There’s definitely something curious, almost creepy, going on with Doug and Warlock, and I’m certain this isn’t the last we’ll see of them.

The bulk of the issue centers around an extended, religious and philosophical conversation between Nightcrawler and Cyclops, mostly as it pertains to The Crucible.

Kurt has so many questions about Krakoa, the resurrection protocols, and what they mean for faith, the afterlife, and morality.

Crucially, as Cyclops and Nightcrawler make their way to Crucible, they witness Exodus leading some campfire cult kids in the ways of Krakoa. Importantly, Exodus describes resurrection not just as “being reborn,” but as “being made whole.” Even the children of Krakoa understand that death is necessary to achieve this gift.

At this point it begins to become clear what Crucible is meant to be.

Crucible is all about restoring mutants that were depowered in Scarlet Witch’s Decimation to their full mutant abilities. These are Krakoa’s rules for mutants who have lost their powers, and the nation’s path forward to restoring mutant kind to their past glory. Importantly, it’s not enough to resurrect those who have been killed by humans, but mutants also see it vital to restore depowered former mutants as well.

At the conclusion of 2005’s House of M, Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch – then thought to be both mutant and long-time Avenger – Wanda used her reality altering powers to declare “No More Mutants” and depowered 1 million mutants.

Hence her new status in the Marvel Universe as boogeyman to mutant children, and “The Pretender” label given the fact that it’s been revealed in the last 5 years, that Wanda is not – in fact- even a mutant.

It’s also clear now why X-Men #7 is titled “Lifedeath,” in a callback to Uncanny X-Men #186, a story in which Storm copes with the loss of her powers after being hit with a depowering invention from Forge.

Arriving at Crucible, we learn that this gladiatorial ceremony is the Quiet Council’s solution to the problem of Decimation, and mutants that want to be made whole.

The first mutant to go through Crucible – or at least the first we see – is Melody Guthrie, the fourth of the Guthrie’s 10 children, and herself a mutant until the events of M-Day.

The talk by Apocalypse of refusing suicide as an option is particularly relevant for Melody, who nearly committed a form of post M-Day suicide, jumping off a building believing she could still fly (New avengers #18 (?))

So instead of encouraging mass-death, Crucible is Krakoa’s way of challenging depowered ex-mutants to prove their mettle and desire to be made whole. It’s a very Apocalypse argument, fighting for survival and becoming your best self in a sword-fight with the Big A Symbol himself.

My first major questions surrounding Crucible are:

1)What happens if they beat Apocalypse? They don’t get to resurrect? Doesn’t seem like a lot of incentive to have a great sword fight.

2)What about mutants – like Domino in X-Force – who aren’t depowered but are not “whole” in some way. How far does Crucible extend?

While witnessing the evens of Crucible, Nightcrawler and Cyclops pose some major questions about the nation’s resurrection process.

The first is the issue of mutant wills, where Cyclops points out some mutants “are arguing that the best version of themselves would be being reborn in a copy of Magneto’s body with his powers.” Nightcrawler then says “Why stop there? Why not combine two? Why not add a third into the mix?”

This is some dramatic irony, as we know, considering Sinister’s Chimera program from Powers of X is all about mutant power splicing. At this point in Krakoa, though, it’s all theoretical and fuzzy.

The question of resurrection *changes* –  in becoming who you were meant to be – is a very interesting one. We’ve already seen hints throughout Dawn of X that mutants can come back through resurrection with amplifications or minor changes (Synch, Professor X/Fantomex body, now Melody Guthrie).

So you have mutants leaving wills asking to be restored in Magneto’s body w/ his powers… or not mentioned here, how about just in their chosen gender?

One idea that does occur to me is the concept of placing a mutant’s essence – their Professor X/Cerebra backed up person – into a physical body that is not their own is still a fairly untested procedure on Krakoa. This seems like the biggest setback preventing a nation of Magneto’s running around – Magnation? – but I have to imagine we’ll see this exact scenario play out sooner than later.

The second major question revolves around questions of afterlife and the soul. The point is clearly not direct answers, so much as considering the weight of the questions, and Nightcrawler does that very effectively throughout the issue. How much does the resurrection process change a person?

The questions regarding the afterlife and eternity are all especially relevant for Nightcrawler, who not only operates as the most famous devout Christian in the Marvel Universe this side of Daredevil, but has literally been to heaven. After his death in X-Men: Second Coming, Nightcrawler was in paradise until the pages of Amazing X-Men.

Now, obviously in that story arc, Kurt returns to the land of the living, but for someone so committed to a life well lived leading to an eternal reward, how do you reconcile that with eternal immortality on Krakoa?

X-Men #7 ends with Melody Guthrie’s ascension to her mutant status as the flying, glowing Aero, reborn as the mutant she was meant to be before Decimation. Amidst the spectacle, Nightcrawler also declares his new mission is to start a mutant religion, which is a fantastic idea.

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Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com.

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The post Krakin’ Krakoa #38: X-Men #7 Review – What Is Hickman’s Crucible? What’s It Mean For Mutants? appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Few power players in the world of X-Men are as essential to Krakoa with as much baggage between them as Jean Grey and Emma Frost, two of the world’s most powerful telepaths and members of Krakoa’s quiet council. ​

Today I’ll answer:​

+ What does this Giant-Size special mean for Jean and Emma in the Krakoa era?​

+ What’s the big picture role of the 5 Hickman written Giant-Size specials in Dawn of X?​

+ What do you need to know about the history between Jean and Emma?​

In our first of five Giant-Size issues written by Jonathan Hickman, with alternating artistic showcases, we get Russell Dauterman and Matt Wilson – the powerhouse duo that made the Jane Foster era of Thor and War of the Realms so incredible – taking on a Jean Grey and Emma Frost combo adventure.​

Get your Krakoan translators ready because Giant-Size Jean and Emma is a nearly silent issue, with Krakoan language gates offering some of the only text in the issue. For those of you who don’t feel like playing cryptographer, the opening text reads: “Silence, Psychic Rescue in Progress!” Jean and Emma’s psychic rescue is required after Storm is found badly wounded and comatose on Krakoa.​

X-Men: Dawn of X reading order

Why Jean and Emma?​

In addition to a long-running, frequently nasty history that dates back to the early 80’s “Dark Phoenix Saga,” Jean Grey and Emma Frost also stand out as the female leads of the Grant Morrison written, Frank Quitely designed New X-Men. It makes a lot of sense that Hickman – whose passion for New X-Men is well publicized and clearly influence all things X-Men – Dauterman, and Wilson would take to New X-Men #121 in particular, a “silent” issue in which Jean and Emma venture inside the psychic swamp of Cassandra Nova to save Professor X. 

With art by Frank Quitely, New X-Men #121 is a psychedelic explosion of ideas in which we learn Professor X tried to kill his twin sister – Cassandra Nova – in utero.​

Notably, Jean is easily the most successful of the adventuring telepaths, as she points out to Emma at issue’s end. Frankly, if you read nothing else prior to the Giant-Size special, you should consider New X-Men #121 for inspiration and reference points, of which there are several fun ones.

Venturing into Storm’s psychic landscape, we get a nice callback to the character’s shared histories. Whereas Storm’s psychic defenses recognize Jean Grey as a friend, they also recognize Emma Frost is a long-time enemy. Indeed, back in Uncanny X-Men #151 to #152, Emma took control of Storm’s body in order to use her to trick and manipulate the X-Men, among plenty of other misdeeds.​

It’s a reminder that Emma’s history with the X-Men is ripe with baggage, much of which makes Jean and Emma working together an unlikely scenario to begin with. Jean and Emma Frost first meet in the pages of Uncanny X-Men during the “Dark Phoenix Saga” – which more or less spans issues #129 to #138, but arguably has been building since Giant-Size X-Men #1!. ​

This is during Emma’s black-and-white – well, mostly white – straight up super villain days, without all of the nuance and complexity that Claremont, Lobdell/Bachalo in the pages of Generation X, Morrison, and countless other creators would add to her character in the decades to come. As a result, her and Phoenix era Jean quickly throw down, as Jean unleashes the full might of the Phoenix on Emma’s not inconsequential psychic powers.​

In a sense, Emma would have the last laugh, working with Jason Wyngarde – aka Mastermind – to manipulate Jean into becoming the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club. 

Through all that history, by the time House of X and Powers of X culminate in a new Krakoan nation state for mutantkind, Jean and Emma are amicable enough and together enough in their cause to share a beer and celebrate. 

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Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com.

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To learn how you can support Best Comics Ever and receive more exclusive content from Comic Book Herald, check out the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookherald

For the Comic Book Herald reading club through every year of Marvel Comics, check out mymarvelousyear.com

The post Krakin’ Krakoa #37: Giant-Size Jean Grey / Emma Frost Review! appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Looking back at the entire first wave of X-Men Dawn of X to discuss what’s working, what’s not, and where we think X-Men comics are going in 2020!

Thanks to Zack Quaintance (@comicsbookcase) for joining me for a great conversation about all things X-Men!

Related Reading:

X-Men: Dawn of X reading order

You can also find more of my thoughts and theories on all things 2020 X-Men over on the Comic Book Herald Youtube channel!

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Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com.

Subscribe on iTunes

Subscribe on Android

To learn how you can support Best Comics Ever and receive more exclusive content from Comic Book Herald, check out the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookherald

For the Comic Book Herald reading club through every year of Marvel Comics, check out mymarvelousyear.com

The post X-Men: Dawn of X Wave 1 In Review! (W/ Zack Quaintance) appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Marvel comics of 1982. Original graphic novels debut! The Death of Captain Marvel, New Mutants, and X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills!

On this episode we cover the following issues (all available via Marvel Unlimited):

Up Next:

My Marvelous Year – Marvel Year Twenty-One: 1982 Pt. 2 —

You can find more Marvel Comics guides on Comic Book Herald at:

mymarvelousyear.com

https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/

Music for My Marvelous Year is credited to Disasterpeace. Support for My Marvelous Year comes via Patreon backers, for as little as $1 a month.

Make sure to subscribe now in order to get every reading list for every year of Marvel Comics! Subscribe to the Podcast! — iTunes, Google Play, Pod Feed

If you like the show, please consider leaving a rating or review on iTunes to help us reach more readers & listeners!

The post Marvel Year Twenty-One: 1982 Pt. 1 appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

News broke on Friday (Feb 21, 2020) that Dan Didio, Co-Publisher at DC Comics since 2010, is leaving the company. It’s a huge change for DC, and provides an opportunity to reflect on a legacy that includes The New 52, DC Rebirth, and a lot of complexity.

Thanks to Zack Quaintance (@comicsbookcase) for joining me for an impromptu discussion about Didio’s legacy as DC co-publisher, and what it might mean for DC Comics moving forward.

We talk about the good and bad of Didio’s time as the figurehead of DC Comics and what we’ll remember most. We also consider how Didio impacted both DC’s legacy characters and the line of in-continuity superhero comics as a whole. What will DC Comics look like in a post-Didio era, and with new corporate ownership bringing in different ideas of what they want out of a comics publisher?

Related Reading:

Co-Publisher Dan Didio no longer at DC

DC’s The New 52 reading order

DC Rebirth reading order

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Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com.

Subscribe on iTunes

Subscribe on Android

To learn how you can support Best Comics Ever and receive more exclusive content from Comic Book Herald, check out the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookherald

For the Comic Book Herald reading club through every year of Marvel Comics, check out mymarvelousyear.com

The post Dan Didio Out At DC Comics: Quickfire Reactions & Predictions (W/ Zack Quaintance) appeared first on Comic Book Herald.