Kalaoui's Profile

Joined: Oct 13, 2016

Recent Activity

Kalaoui reviewed Captain America #11 Nov 16, 2024
7.5

This truly feels like Steve Rogers stepped into battleworld or an alternative universe where he is shoehorned into a life full of exposition using him to build something I have no clue where it's going. Sure it reads nice and makes you think about life or death and having a choice or being thrust into action. Rogers is old school and he at least would have his own opinion based on his faith that i more

Captain America #11

By: J. Michael Straczynski, Jesus Saiz
Released: Jul 24, 2024

Steve Rogers finds the last change agent, someone who can change the direction of the world forever...by dying. And as Steve wrestles with the morality of his task, a member of his inner circle is moving to betray him... PLUS: PART 2 OF DEADPOOL/WOLVERINE: WEAPON X-TRACTION!
Rated T+

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Kalaoui reviewed Captain America #10 Nov 14, 2024
7.5

Jesus Saiz's fantastic art is the saving element here for a story that won't be remembered a few months from now. The way this arc just spent all the great will from the first arc baffles me. Not bad but this feels like the 3 or 4 filler episodes that don't matter in a 22 episodes season.

Captain America #10

By: J. Michael Straczynski, Jesus Saiz
Released: Jun 19, 2024

THE PRICE OF FREEDOM!
When a change agent on Captain America's recruitment list finds him, Cap expects the Front Door Cabaret's protection to be an easy sell. Instead, he's confronted by a critical question: How do you protect someone who doesn't want your help?
Rated T+

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Kalaoui reviewed Captain America #9 Nov 12, 2024
7.5

This heads back in some sort of direction but still a weird direction for a Cap story. Jesus Saiz helps a lot in delivering some nice art to help the story hit the notes Straczynski is going for but this is way off for me still.

Captain America #9

By: J. Michael Straczynski, Jesus Saiz
Released: May 8, 2024

TO STAND AGAINST DEATH!
Captain America has a new mission: to assemble six new change agents under the Front Door Cabaret's protection before they can be found by those who want them eradicated. But his first recruit is already in danger, and Cap's only lead seems to be...a misplaced penguin?
Rated T+

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Kalaoui reviewed Captain America #8 Nov 12, 2024
7.0

Straczynski tries too hard to have Cap drop some heavy knowledge and quotes but just doesn't work well. Cap seems out of place in a story that should have Dr. Strange at least in the mix...weird. Magno is delivery some very detailed art but just seems off to me in places. I can't really put my finger on it.

Captain America #8

By: J. Michael Straczynski, Carlos Magno
Released: Apr 3, 2024

Captain America has the tools and the will to protect the Front Door Cabaret and its strange guardian, Lyra, from the onslaught of a fate worse than death - now he just needs the strategy. But sometimes good strategy requires sacrifices to be made...

Rated T+

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Kalaoui reviewed Captain America #7 Nov 12, 2024
7.5

This arc starts in a promising way but still not as intriguing as the past one. Magno's art is not bad but is off from his best. Plenty of detailed work but the figures and faces seem off to me.

Captain America #7

By: J. Michael Straczynski, Carlos Magno
Released: Mar 6, 2024

THE FIGHT FOR LIFE! Just when Steve Rogers believes the fight against Asmoday is won, he meets a strange new ally named Lyla, guardian of the mysterious Front Door Cabaret - and learns that Asmoday's defeat has unleashed a new threat that only Steve can stand against. A bold new arc that will send ripples across the Marvel Universe begins here!
...

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Kalaoui reviewed Blood Hunt #5 Nov 7, 2024
8.0

Good ending albeit rushed but it delivers an enjoyable read with promise for a future event worth following. I have to give it up for Pepe Larraz and Marte Gracia they were fantastic on art and made this average story look beautiful.

Blood Hunt #5

By: Jed MacKay, Pepe Larraz
Released: Jul 31, 2024

Doctor Strange is presented with a dread bargain to gain a chance to save the world. The Avengers ride into a battle they cannot win. The dead battle the undead across the globe. Will it be enough? Will the world be saved, and how will it be changed if it is? Featuring a dramatic shift for the future of the Marvel Universe!
Rated T+

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Kalaoui reviewed Blood Hunt #4 Nov 7, 2024
7.5

This series moves way too fast and I am missing so much by not reading the tie-ins so it's not as enjoyable. Pepe Larraz is killing it on the art just fantastic stuff.

Blood Hunt #4

By: Jed MacKay, Pepe Larraz
Released: Jun 26, 2024

Doctor Strange and Clea court a dread ally - but at what cost comes this aid? Hunter's Moon and Tigra do the same- but can this shadowy figure be trusted? And meanwhile, the Avengers are given the battle they so sorely crave in order to avenge their fallen friends. But in the darkness...a light?
Rated T+

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Kalaoui added Aliens vs. Avengers (2024) to their pull list Nov 7, 2024

Aliens vs. Avengers (2024)

ALIENS AND AVENGERS FACE OFF!
It's all led to this: Xenomorphs reach Earth! The perfect organism meets a planet of superhumans. Who will be first to fall? Legendary collaborators Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribi? cut loose in this four-part epic unmissable for Marvel and Alien fans alike!
Rated T+

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Kalaoui rated Blood Hunt #3 Nov 7, 2024
7.5

Blood Hunt #3

By: Jed MacKay, Pepe Larraz
Released: Jun 12, 2024

NIGHT HAS FALLEN. WILL THE SUN RISE AGAIN? As the heroes rally at the Sanctum Sanctorum, they must first deal with a threat close to their hearts! And while they raise the torch of defiance, the new lord of the vampires enacts his dreaded scheme!

Rated T+

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Kalaoui reviewed Blood Hunt #2 Nov 6, 2024
7.5

It's a fun read if I don't think of it as an event because the Avengers here could be substituted with another team and it wouldn't matter. So it's fine but the art by Pepe Larraz instantly elevates it to great.

Blood Hunt #2

By: Jed MacKay, Pepe Larraz
Released: May 22, 2024

The vampires' first strike has laid low the world, and their endless legions run riot across the planet. The broken Avengers join the fighters of the Midnight Mission and unlikely allies BLOODLINE and DRACULA in seeking out the one man who can do something about this: Doctor Strange. But after the apocalyptic events of BLOOD HUNT #1, what is left o...

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Kalaoui reviewed Blood Hunt #1 Nov 6, 2024
7.5

Not bad but not great either. I want to like this but the twist didn't work for me. The art from Pepe Larraz colored by Gracia is phenomenal as always and worth the fee. It makes it at least worth following.

Blood Hunt #1

By: Jed MacKay, Pepe Larraz
Released: May 1, 2024

THE BLOODIEST MARVEL EVENT EVER!
The skies have gone dark, the sun hiding its face from the carnage to come. The children of the night, the vampires, have risen from the dark and hidden places of the world as one to drown the Marvel Universe in blood. Earth's final night has fallen - can even the heroes of this doomed world stem the tide of bl...

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daspidaboy reviewed Blood Hunt #1 May 1, 2024
8.0

It's been a while since I read a Marvel event that got me hyped. But I will reserve my thoughts for the plot twist in this issue

Blood Hunt #1

By: Jed MacKay, Pepe Larraz
Released: May 1, 2024

THE BLOODIEST MARVEL EVENT EVER!
The skies have gone dark, the sun hiding its face from the carnage to come. The children of the night, the vampires, have risen from the dark and hidden places of the world as one to drown the Marvel Universe in blood. Earth's final night has fallen - can even the heroes of this doomed world stem the tide of bl...

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AmericanHealthcare reviewed Blood Hunt #1 May 6, 2024
8.0

It's fine. I can't give it a 9 or a 10 because there are no meaningful stakes*; will anyone who matters die (and stay dead)? No. Will the status quo change in an interesting way? No. We're just fighting vampires, which is okay if unspectacular. The designs on the vampire mini bosses are cool even if their dialogue is a little 90s. The whole thing is a little 90s, actually. I don't mind that. more

Blood Hunt #1

By: Jed MacKay, Pepe Larraz
Released: May 1, 2024

THE BLOODIEST MARVEL EVENT EVER!
The skies have gone dark, the sun hiding its face from the carnage to come. The children of the night, the vampires, have risen from the dark and hidden places of the world as one to drown the Marvel Universe in blood. Earth's final night has fallen - can even the heroes of this doomed world stem the tide of bl...

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Kalaoui rated Fantastic Four #22 Nov 6, 2024
8.5

Fantastic Four #22

By: Ryan North, Ivan Fiorelli
Released: Jul 31, 2024

BLOOD HUNT TIE-IN: ONE LAST HOPE!
Alicia Masters and Reed Richards - and the survivors of New York - are lost, alone against the vampire menace, and Reed's exhausted. But they still need to survive - and avoid being turned into undead blood parasites. Reed has one last desperate hope, and it's not guaranteed to work - but there is at least a c...

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Kalaoui reviewed Fantastic Four #21 Oct 31, 2024
8.5

Nice tie-in done right.

Fantastic Four #21

By: Ryan North, Ivan Fiorelli
Released: Jun 12, 2024

BLOOD HUNT TIE-IN: FORMULATING A CURE?
Reed and Alicia are in New York for a day trip to an art museum, when suddenly the skies turn black with darkforce energy and vampires attack, everywhere, all at once! It's Reed Richards versus the world as he tries to save everyone he can - AND come up with a cure for vampirism! But vampires are magic, i...

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Kalaoui reviewed Fantastic Four #20 Oct 31, 2024
8.5

Very enjoyable FF book that fills me with joy like the OL' FF books did. Ryan North knows these guys and keeps it simple yet hits the mark when it needs to. Plus all those small tidbits like the tabloid page were ridiculously hilarious. Gomez is great as usual and I like the consistent artist on a book. Gomez and Aburtoz work well together.

Fantastic Four #20

By: Ryan North, Carlos E. Gomez
Released: May 8, 2024

Things are calm and normal, and definitely will be for a long while. Things are NOT about to explode in everyone's faces, and this is NOT the last chance at normalcy that the FF will have for a very, very long time! With that being absolutely the case, Ben "The Thing" Grimm and Johnny "The Human Torch" Storm get part-time jobs to bring in some extr...

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sawright20 reviewed Fantastic Four #20 May 10, 2024
8.5

This shows that North doesn’t need a high-concept science plot to make this run work. He understands the characters, and that’s the heart of the book. This issue was a lot of fun, though inconsequential. Which is a reason why I like it! Sometimes I need a break from universe ending threats and need to be treated to the mundane. Also, Gomez’s art is growing on me.

Fantastic Four #20

By: Ryan North, Carlos E. Gomez
Released: May 8, 2024

Things are calm and normal, and definitely will be for a long while. Things are NOT about to explode in everyone's faces, and this is NOT the last chance at normalcy that the FF will have for a very, very long time! With that being absolutely the case, Ben "The Thing" Grimm and Johnny "The Human Torch" Storm get part-time jobs to bring in some extr...

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Kalaoui reviewed Fantastic Four #19 Oct 30, 2024
9.0

Great issue! The Film noir angle was done almost perfectly by North and Kudos to Gomez on the amazing art that made this shine especially with Aburtov's perfect coloring. Ryan North continues his one and done take lately and it works since it slowly moves the backstory along. This could have been stretched but why overstay your welcome.

Fantastic Four #19

By: Ryan North, Carlos E. Gomez
Released: Apr 10, 2024

She came in trouble, all five feet, six inches of it. Even her name was a warning that things were about to get bad for me, real quick: "Storm." Miss Susie Storm, standing there in a blue gown custom-made to take years off the life of anyone who saw her, big as life in my crummy office. The doll needed a private eye to find her boyfriend. Seems he'...

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Kalaoui reviewed Fantastic Four #18 Oct 30, 2024
8.5

Great story with Ryan North messing around with his pseudo science explanations but enjoyable one and done nonetheless. Gomez delivers great art with pretty good colors by Anburtov.

Fantastic Four #18

By: Ryan North, Carlos E. Gomez
Released: Mar 20, 2024

THE SECRET OF FRANKLIN RICHARDS! Franklin Richards has been an immortal, a god, an Omega-level mutant - and more. He's created life, entire universes, and been worshipped for it. He's ended life and been cussed out with just as much sincerity. But there's something else Franklin Richards has done - and is doing - that nobody else in the universe kn...

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Kalaoui reviewed The Black Monday Murders #8 Oct 24, 2024
8.5

This is has officially went off the rails because there are too many messed up moments happening that I could do without but I get what they add to the portrayal of these barbaric, self indulgent and greedy cannibals. Only Hickman can marry Wall Street, the federal reserve, colonial Spain and demons among many others all chasing that elusive mammon sacrificing many in its path.
Dumas is still more

The Black Monday Murders #8

By: Jonathan Hickman, Tomm Coker
Released: Feb 14, 2018

END OF STORY ARC
"UNIONIZED LABOR"
The unholy alliance of money and law is formed. Dumas and Ria meet again.

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Kalaoui reviewed The Black Monday Murders #7 Oct 24, 2024
9.0

A super dark story that's a great metaphor for what is really happening in today's society. It's quite clear that Mammon is not THE main devil but one of many. Coker's art and Garland's colors are fantastic!

The Black Monday Murders #7

By: Jonathan Hickman, Tomm Coker
Released: Sep 27, 2017

"The Scales"
Accounts are balanced and old grudges are settled. Revenge is the order of the day.

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9.0

The Black Monday Murders #6

By: Jonathan Hickman, Tomm Coker
Released: Jun 21, 2017

"THE FEDERAL RESERVE"
The secret history of the Black Monday market crash.

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9.0

The Black Monday Murders #5

By: Jonathan Hickman, Tomm Coker
Released: Apr 26, 2017

NEW STORY ARC
"COMPANY MAN"
Thomas Dane goes looking for a man who doesn't want to be found.

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9.0

The Black Monday Murders #4

By: Jonathan Hickman, Tomm Coker
Released: Nov 23, 2016

"BURY YOUR FAMILY, BURN YOUR ENEMIES"-Been waiting to find out just how deep the rabbit hole goes? Join us for a Rothschild funeral as the heads of the world's secret houses of money attend.
END OF ARC ONE.

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Kalaoui reviewed The Black Monday Murders #3 Oct 3, 2024
9.0

Methodical and deliberate in every word and panel. Hickman and Coker put the work in here. I'm fully onboard with the unfolding world and the tale told of the dark forces. My only gripe is that no true essence of light has been brought in yet because Detective Dumas is not a true agent of light but merely playing a different dark force tapping the same well (as of now).

The Black Monday Murders #3

By: Jonathan Hickman, Tomm Coker
Released: Oct 12, 2016

"A FULL CONFESSION"
Solve one murder, uncover thousands.

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9.0

The Black Monday Murders #2

By: Jonathan Hickman, Tomm Coker
Released: Sep 14, 2016

"A SPIRIT OF COOPERATION"
In the world of high finance, solving one murder leads the police to the location where all the bodies have been buried. The time is nigh to invest in the coolest new comic of the year!

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Kalaoui reviewed The Black Monday Murders #1 Oct 1, 2024
9.0

Hickmanesque comics at its finest. The driest world building of a Wall Street noir drama where I fill in the blanks as I go within such great dialogue. This is well done. Tomm coker is perfect for this dark story. Well detailed with a mix Deadoto and Alvaro Martinez styles.

The Black Monday Murders #1

By: Jonathan Hickman, Tomm Coker
Released: Aug 10, 2016

"MAMMON"
ALL HAIL GOD MONEY! From JONATHAN HICKMAN (EAST OF WEST, Secret Wars, Avengers) and TOMM COKER (UNDYING LOVE) comes a new crypto-noir series about the power of dirty, filthy money... and exactly what kind of people you can buy with it. THE BLACK MONDAY MURDERS is classic occultism where the various schools of magic are actually clandes...

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Kalaoui reviewed Howard The Duck #11 Sep 30, 2024
8.5

Great series with a zany ending! Zdarsky and Quinones delivered.

Howard The Duck #11

By: Chip Zdarsky, Joe Quinones
Released: Oct 12, 2016

• Join Chip (Zdarsky) and Joe (Quinones) as they say goodbye to Howard in a Very Special Issue that is still priced as a Regular Issue!
•  Can Howard outwit fate? Can any of us? Or is the concept of predestination just shorthand for the near-infinite factors in play that are guided, at their core, by free will?
&bul...

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Kalaoui added Tin Can Society (2024) to their pull list Sep 26, 2024

Tin Can Society (2024)

Series Premiere. The first stunning issue of a brand-new series from Giant Generator showcasing the first graphic novel work by screenwriter Peter Warren (The Incal feature film, Kill Me) with jaw-dropping art by Francesco Mobili (X-Men, Scumbag) and beautifully colored by Chris Chuckry (New X-Men). Johnny Moore i...

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Kalaoui reviewed Howard The Duck #10 Sep 26, 2024
8.5

I'm onboard with the shenanigans by Zdarsky and Quinones. Quinones has gone from delivering 110% on art for a very long time to a mix of great stuff with rushed pages but nothing that bad. This book is stupid funny and I like it.

Howard The Duck #10

By: Chip Zdarsky, Joe Quinones
Released: Aug 31, 2016

• The person behind all of Howard's troubles is revealed! Who could it be? Is it Spider-Man? Wolverine? Thor? Ms. Marvel? Am I just mentioning these characters on the off chance that some retailers will just skim the catalogue looking for character names and will accidentally order this?
•  Who knows???
Rated T+

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