Above-the-Board Recommendation: Way of X #1 Right now, there’s room for a lot of “X-Men” stories.  We’re getting a modern-day pirate story with lots of conflicting agendas in “Marauders.”  Character-driven detective action in “X-Factor.”  Dark comedy and action in “Hellions.”  And whatever Head of X Jonathan Hickman feels like writing about in a given month […]

“X of Swords” isn’t quite the next volume in Jonathan Hickman’s run.  This volume collects the five “Giant-Size X-Men” one-shots which were released over the course of last year.  Aside from their slightly expanded page count, these issues wouldn’t have felt out of place in the pages of the writer’s “X-Men.”  This is because these […]

I already talked about half of this volume with Rob, and the other half when talking about the tie-in issues to “Empyre.”  Still, as Hickman and crew are onto something special with their “X-Men” relaunch, I felt that this volume deserved to be written up here and assessed as a whole.  Even if it does […]

It’s the one title on my “Best of 2020” list that I haven’t written or talked about yet, so it’s time to give it its due.  Honestly, letting “Superman’s Pal:  Jimmy Olsen” sit on my review pile for so long was downright disrespectful on my part.  It isn’t just that the adventurous photographer for the […]

Not only does this graphic novella have an attention-getting title, but said title is also very appropriate for the tone and style writer Alex De Campi and artist Erica Henderson are trying to evoke.  After a very brief prologue in Vienna, 1889, the story jumps to Los Angeles, 1974, where Quincy Harker is making a […]

The superhero known as Stealth has protected the mean streets of Detroit for decades.  Nobody knew who he was, until he came crashing home late one night and journalist Tony Barber found out that it was his retired firefighter father Daniel.  Tony’s reaction to this reveal was a kind of “surprised” that was more frightened […]

Syd Holmes used to be a homicide detective.  Now he’s hustling for laughs at some of the seediest comedy clubs in New York City.  If that didn’t sound bad enough, another stand-up comic by the name of Carl Dixon is about to get his big shot on Leno, and he’s managed to do it by […]

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these.  There really hasn’t been a need for one, what with my “To Review” pile coming very close to being exhausted at a few points in the last year.  However, as the postal network sorts itself out post-pandemic, I cash in a gift certificate, and make […]

…With the wrap-up coming here as the Sin-Eater takes the fight to the current administrator of the Ravencroft Institute, Norman Osborn.  The thing is that based on what the vigilante has been doing to all of the other supervillains, why shouldn’t he be allowed to do that to Spider-Man’s arch-nemesis?  As Peter points out, they […]

…Well, it turns out they’re leading to the kind of grim, dark storyline that’s the antithesis of what we got in the previous volume.  It all starts with a special issue devoted to refreshing and modernizing one of Spidey’s foes who has managed to stay dead for a few decades now:  The Sin-Eater.  Stanley Carver […]