House of X #2 review

Wow. Things just got very interesting in the latest X-Men revamp. Last week’s Powers of X #1 featured a page Marvel have been calling ‘the most important scene in the history of the X-Men’. Big words, but you know what? Writer Jonathan Hickman really has given us a massive game-changer. While not the full ‘everything […]

Batman Secret Files #2 review

In the late 1990s and early 2000s the Secret Files and Origins specials from DC Comics were an occasional treat. Sure, their mix of short strips and Who’s Who-style feature pages didn’t always make for brilliant, essential reads, but the gem-to-clunker ratio made them worthwhile buys. And now here’s Batman Secret Files #2, a tie-in […]

Justice League Dark Annual #1 review

Very soon, on beginning this Justice League Dark Annual, I realised that it’s a stealth Swamp Thing Special. Very soon, I didn’t care. Because this is an absorbing, affecting, great-looking read which works as a one-off, while feeding into DC’s current crossover, Year of the Villain. Not that the other characters who weave in and […]

Powers of X #1 review

Ten years ago, as his dream of a peaceful coexistence for mutants and humans is forming, Charles Xavier meets a young woman. Today, on the new mutant refuge of Genosha, Mystique bargains with Charles Xavier and Magneto over a memory stick. A hundred years from now, mutants and humans are at war. And after a […]

History of the Marvel Universe #1 review

If ever a Marvel comic has had more concepts in a single issue, I’d be surprised. Eternals. Inhumans. Abstracts. Mutants. The list goes on. But story? Not so much. There’s nothing, really, to review in terms of fresh narrative. This isn’t an organic tale, more incidents tagged together to make a timeline. As the title […]

Action Comics #1013 review

Every page a little pleasure. That seems to be Brian Michael Bendis’ motto for Action Comics. We get the ongoing big story (Leviathan) and the company crossover interruptions (Year of the Villain), but along the way are gems of dialogue and detail. The first scene in this week’s issue, courtesy of the Year of the […]

House of X #1 review

It’s the dawn of a new age for mutants. A new relationship with humankind is on the horizon. And at the centre of it, three new drugs Charles Xavier is offering the world. A drug that extends human life by five years, a super-antibiotic and a protection against dementia. And all that world leaders have […]

Aquaman #50 review

It’s been a while, but Aquaman is back in Amnesty Bay. And he’s brought friends. The old sea gods he met during a recent bout of amnesia need feeding, and where better than Maine, with its legendary seafood? Having heard he was dead, Arthur Curry’s friends in the community show up to welcome him back. […]

Batman #75 review

The lunatics have taken over the asylum. That’s a story we’ve seen many times in Batman comics. This time, though, said asylum isn’t Arkham, it’s Gotham City itself. Bad cops are the norm – very bad cops. And the police commissioner doesn’t exactly inspire trust. And the Batman? He’s Thomas Wayne, parallel world pop of […]

Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #1 review

It’s just another day in Metropolis. Citizens go about their business, Superman stands by to protect them, the Daily Planet staff gather all the news that’s fit to put out across several platforms… but high above Metropolis, Jimmy Olsen is jumping out of a spacecraft. Without a parachute. He’s not without resources, though, having had […]