After having had a not  very good read of the X-Men :Gold Annual, I wasn’t sure where this book was going to take me. Glad they are using this years annual as a story building component. Was pleasantly surprised, as it took me to the first chapter of a cross over between Venom and the squad from X-Men: Blue. It’s 6 parts in total and is called “Poison X”. If you familiar are with the Venomverse series you have probably already met the antagonists of this story arc. Give you a hint…Rhymes with “himbiote”

I enjoyed the prospect of this crossover, as Venom and the time displaced younger X-Men have never met to my knowledge(prove me wrong internet).They cover a lot of ground in this first part as they obviously had more pages to work with. Would love to see this done more often, even if they are debuting a new character which what many annuals tend to be used for. That, and debuting new artists and writers also. I do have a bit of symbiote fatigue after the Venomverse event from last year but this does have a unique look to it so we’ll see how it goes.

I enjoyed seeing how a cool part of X-Men lore in the “The Starjammers” played into the story. A unique position for them to be in as far as where they fit into the narrative. Writer Cullen Bunn paced the story pretty well, and I liked the fact that a few of “wilder’ members of X-Men Blue team got benched for this adventure(and explained away pretty well) to better show the contrast between Venom and the X-Men :Blue team. Also enjoyed the inner monologue interactions between Eddie Brock and the Symbiote as they struggled for a balance.  I was a bit disappointed in the hook for next issue as I feel this particular  plot device has been done to death.

Enjoyed Artist Edgar Salazars take on Venom. “Toothy but muscular” always suited the character well. Edgar had a 3 issue run in the Uncanny X-Men about 6 months ago that I suspect helped him get this job. His take on the younger X-Men made them seem less “minor leaguer ” in my eyes just from his presentation alone. The variant cover art for this series is pretty cool also. The second part of this cross over lands Feb.14th.

P.S Pop back by on Jan.27th as we take a look at DC’s Raven: Daughter of Darkness #1

I didn’t have this in my pull list, and I picked it up on a whim as I liked the cover and the “old timey” vibe to it. I’m glad I did.It’s a bit pricier then your monthly books by $2.00, but it’s got a very unique feel to it, and that’s getting rarer these days. Also, if you have interest in the X-Men after the Disney purchase, and you have no desire to purchase Marvels back catalogue, this is a relatively good “jumping on” point to start from.

This first chapter was written and pencilled by Ed Piskor. Ed Piskor is someone who you might call an “Alternative artist”. He is a former student of the Kubert School ,and has done a variety of underground “minicomics”. I vaguely remembered seeing some of his previous work on a book called MACEDONIA about 10 years .He’s got an interesting style in that X-Men: Grand Design, actually felt like it was  written in the 1940’s and the art harkened back to the comic strip style popularized then.

The story itself is a pretty comprehensive “Re-telling” of X-Men lore from the very beginning. Obviously there are spoilers aplenty in these pages ,so if your new to the X-Men this may not be the best place to start your journey on their history. Having said that, if your a “X-Men completionist” this is a pretty cool gift of their history told in a very unique format. As alluded to earlier ,it feels like a 1960’s X-Men story told in a 1940’s comic strip style. Original in that aspect to say the least.

I’m not usually a fan of  comic “gimmicks”. I’ve seen enough Gatefold/Foil/Embossed covers to last me a lifetime, but the “yellowed” paper effect that they have brought to this book makes for a pretty cool reading experience. It even smells like older newsprint paper.Definitely brings a sense of history and reverence to the subject if nothing else.

If you’ve been an X-Men fan for years there’s not much new brought to this book ,other then the aforementioned presentation. I even noticed at certain points that were a few liberties taken with that documentation. Definitely more a book of “experiencing ” the X-Men then reading any new material from them. There is a neat bibliography in the back listing the timeline and issues in which these events took place.I thought that was a nice historical reference.

This book is Part 1 of a trilogy. Chapter 2 is already out, and the rest of series is expected out later in 2018  It’s not a “must have” for me at this point in time, but it was a cool read .

P.S Pop back by on Jan.23rd as i’ll be taking a look at IMAGE Comic’s “Days of Hate” which came out just this past week. Cheers for now.

Marvel Two – In- One originally launched in January 1974 and was one of my favourite series(along with Marvel Team up) growing up. There was constantly new guests, so you never got bored with the line up. When they announced a new series via the “Legacy” imprint ,I knew I had to give it a shot.

Overall , I really enjoyed the first issue. There were a variety of reasons behind this. I THINK this is going to be a beginning of a return of a book I had have been waiting a few years to resurface.(that FOX sale definitely boosted the idea I suspect).I was hoping they would start off with a strong story and great art . They didn’t disappoint.

First, the story. Great dialogue from writer Chip Zdarsky. Even the minor characters got some great lines which speaks volumes to story depth. The sense of loss he was able to convey in Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm over(and this really isn’t a spoiler since it’s been over 6 months)the loss of Sue& Reed Richards and the kids was very well written.

There’s no knock down, drag out fights in this chapter really ,and that’s a good thing as it helped establish a strong, forboding mood and backbone for the series. It felt like a good first chapter of a “Homecoming” adventure, and set the tone for the story arc very well. Through a few, well placed, Flash back scenes Zdarsky got across strongly why the Fantastic Four was also known as “The First Family”. They take care of their own.

Jim Cheung on pencils was top-notch, and his attention to detail portraying strong facial expressions(and that’s saying something for Ben Grimm)helped convey the sense of melancholy and remorse that both Johnny and Ben have been feeling. Heck , the inkers also deserve kudos for some well placed shadowing during key moments.

I did have a few issues with a the book. There was a key reveal that I think could have been held off for a few issues, but I also understand they had to come strong out of the gate .To balance that, there was some pretty cool nostalgia, and some interesting Easter eggs(Who knew the car racing world had that many coincidences in it?).

I do plan on putting this book in my pull list. The first issue delivered well, and I’m interested to see where the story goes. It was released on Dec.20th so you might still find some copies on the shelf. Recommend taking a look. Was a great read.

P.S Pop back on Sunday Jan.21rst when I plan on taking a look at X-Men :Grand Design. Cheers for now.