X-Terminators (in its entirety this time)

A few weeks back, I pondered on the decision of what to do regarding the series X-Terminators. With the fifth issue never having been received by my LCS, how was I going to finish the series.

Well, a couple of weeks later (and I couple of weeks ago), I decided to just bite the bullet and picked up the trade.

And this week I decided to read it.

X-Terminators by Leah Williams, Carlos Gomez and Bryan Valencia follows the Mutant Dazzler, who upon splitting with her boyfriend decides to hit the town with pals Jubilee and Boom Boom. However, when the aforementioned ex turns put to be a lot more villainous, the explosive trio find themselves fighting for their lives in an Arcade-style arena.

I have to admit, 12 hours after finishing reading this series, I'm not sure I can put into words what I think of X-Terminators. This is without doubt a series I never thought I'd see Marvel publish a comic quite like this.

Not that it is a bad read or anything because far from it. Leah Williams has written an incredibly fun, utterly insane and completely no holds barred adventure starring a trio of characters who I think are usually dismissed in terms of their powers.

The tone that Williams' story conveys to me is a cross between Death Proof (which makes sense when the back cover references the book as 'Grindhouse of X') and Broad City with the utterly over the top sensibilities of Blues Brothers (I'm thinking that car chase sequence).

In fact, X-Terminators is something of a breath of fresh air thanks to a quartet of female characters (the Wolverine, Laura Kinney is in here too, in the identity she deserves) who show they take no nonsense and do not come across as being secondary to male characters.

Meanwhile, Carlos Gomez' artwork is equally on point with a style that reminds me of Jim Cheung's work on Young Avengers or David Baldeon on Domino (to which this might be the closest to a spiritual successor). However, Gomez' work has much more of 'pop' to it thanks to Bryan Valenica's colours. As a result, X-Terminators has this bubblegum/cheesecake vibe which does well at avoiding being too gratuitous. 

I've rambled on a bit, but to round up my thoughts, X-Terminators may be a bit left field when you compare it to other Superheroes comics, but that doesn't change the fact that it is a fun read. Reading this has given me a newfound admiration towards the characters of Dazzler, Jubilee and Boom Boom as well as giving me a chance to see Laura Kinney as the Wolverine we deserve.

I'm not sure if we'll ever see a follow up (although the final pages certainly keeps the door open), but if this team ever wanted to come back with these characters, these five issues have guaranteed them a reader for it. 

The May 2023 Pull List Comics

After last week's burn through of my April Pull List comics, I decided I'd continue to catch up on my pull list comics this week by reading through the books released in May.

First I read She-Hulk #13, which saw the titular Jade Giantess continue to struggle in finding her balance between her dual lives. Here, we see Jen Walters continue to try and find a new status quo with current beau Jack of Harts post (his) repowerment, as the villainous Scoundrel from the last few issue also makes a play for her affections.

I'll be honest, I never thought of myself as someone big in to the soap-like melodrama but this series continues to hook me on it. Rainbow Rowell once again shows she gets She-Hulk perfectly as her world, which not so long ago seemed to be coming together, appears to be unravelling again before her very eyes.

Meanwhile, Andreś Genolet returns to the art on the series and, I have to say, his style matches the high quality of the writing. It's bright, it's bold and it has this shine to it that I can't help but feel this comic looks like something from a dream.

I must admit, I never thought that anything would threaten the Fantastic Four's top spot in my pull list. However, this issue, much like the rest of the series, shows me that She-Hulk is offering some competition as I find myself struggling to wait for the next issue.

Speaking of Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four #7 (or 700 if we go by legacy numbering) see our now fugitive first family arrive at the spare home of Ben's dear Aunt Petunia (I think spare home? I mean, no one lives there). However, rather than have a little R&R (and renovation work) the team encounter a ghost which leads to a loss of the alphabet and the arrival of a familiar face.

Any fears I had regarding this run from the last issue have been firmly put to bed here as Ryan North gives a truly action packed and engrossing bumper issue. He also show that's he can write the appearing bad guy (I'm not gonna spoil, although I suspect Alex Ross' ever phenomenal cover might do that anyway) incredibly well, getting the balance of their ego and malice perfectly.

Iban Coello returns to the series and, once again, the switch from Ivan Fiorelli to him is practically seamless. Again, the style of his interiors is just so gorgeous and vibrant. I don't know if it is meant to be the new house style, given how it looks like Isaakze et al. in the prior run, but I'm really digging it.

I'm not entirely sure the story was what I wanted or expected from a centenary issue (sept-centenary?), but it was still a 'Fantastic' read, again, I'm not sure I want to wait a month before reading.

Finally for this month, I read The Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #3 where the Son of Kal-El continues his multiversal adventure with a stop in the Injustice universe, where the Superman and Batman of that world (as well as their respective followers) continue their battle for supremacy.

The third issue in and I have to admit, I remain on the fence with this series. Tom Taylor continues to be an excellent writer and the read itself is engrossing. However, with the ejection of Ultraman from the plot, the story feels to have lost direction, as the issues so far feel more like a trip through Tom Taylor's greatest hits.

Clayton Henry's artwork is equally solid but, after reading She-Hulk and FF beforehand, feels like it is lacking the same punch for me. That'd not to say it's bad work because far from it, but I just feel underwhelmed compared to those prior reads.

While I feel like I've blasted this issue, let me clarify, issue 3 is still a good read. However, from this creative team, I expected more and wonder if this mini-series will come across better when read as a whole.

So, that's May's comics done.

I'm unsure what I'm going to do for next week. I've just taken a job which lets me pick up my new comics as and when they come out and so I have FF #8 and Jon Kent #4 on my pile. However, I also have a lot of trades still to read and so I'm contemplating keeping the current format of reading all comics from a month in one go.

But, I'll worry about that decision tomorrow.

The April 2023 Pull List Comics.

 After the last two weeks of reading comics from Free Comic Book Day, I figured they would be followed up with some of the costly titles I have piling up.

So this week I started with my Pull List comics released during April.

First up, I checked out Fantastic Four #5 Which saw the Richards/Grimm clan have to blot out the sun of an entire county in order to defeat supernatural bacteria they'd neglect to dispose of in the previous issue.

Ryan North's run continues breathe new life into this series, although I am finding 'everyone hates the FF' trope little overused by this point. That said, North seems to have perfectly picked the core concept of the book whilst evenly focuses on all the cast.

Ivan Fiorelli's continues to match up perfectly in style and tone with prior artist Iban Coello (to the point that I didn't even notice the switch). However, more importantly, this style continues to imbue the spirit from Izaakse, Medina and Silva from the previous run, all having artwork I absolutely loved.

This issue was a good read and I'm loving where the series was going, although I would like the FF to be adored by the masses once again.

Next up was She-Hulk #12 which picked up from the previous issue as Jen struggled to deal with the ramifications from both Jack of Hart's re-powering and her encounter with the mysterious super-powered criminal.

This series of She-Hulk continues to be a fantastic read here. Rainbow Rowell has found the perfect balance of Jen Walters in a run that is equal parts superhero comic and slice of life. This is no better exemplified by the book club backup which is pitch perfect storytelling.

The art, meanwhile continues to match the high quality of the writing. From the gorgeous Jen Bartel cover to the stylish interiors, this comic looks so light, optimistic and full of life.

Everything about this series feels like the embodiment of She-Hulk and this issue os no exception. I love reading this month by month and i cant wait to check out the next instalment.

This was followed up by a double bill of Star Trek #6 and Star Trek #7. While issue six concluded the crew of the Theseus' encounter with the God City of T'Kon and the fallout from its encounter with Kahless, issue seven saw Captain Sisko return to DS9 in search of a weapon to fight back, whilst also having a bittersweet reunion.

While this series has continued to devolve and become a bit of a chore to read, both of these issues seemed to hit Warp speed, ramping up the action and leaving me a little more hooked.

The art continues to be solid work but, for me, its the story which has really improved. I now find myself in a bit of a quandary because I had all but given up on this series, but now I wonder if it's worth given this book yet another chance.

Finally, I finished the week with Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #2 which followed up from the prior issue as Jon Kent and his travelling companions seek out Ultraman to prevent further deaths of multiverse Supermen.

This series continues the intrigue that the first issue sets up as Tom Taylor pushes deep into Jon's complex relationship with the Earth-3 Man of Steel. However, I think that the thing which knocks it down in my estimation is the level that this series seemingly relies on prior series in order to explain the backstory.

The art is this really clean and beautiful look to it which feels perfect for a Superman character. It's also great to see Val-Zod in all his glory once again. That said, this run has me interested in what happens next, if only to get the resolution from the cliffhanger ending.

So, that was my week.

For next week, hopefully I can catch up on my pull list fully by getting through the May comics.

However, with a life the way it is sometimes, only time will tell.