Another of Duggans forgettable stories in this week's X-MEN! The running plotline with Talon (old Laura from inaude the Vault) and Synch is a terrible story for Laura Kinney, and writing-wise, it plays out like the worst of the worst soap opera plots!

I gave this a 2, simply because Phil Noto's art was the best thing about this issue! No, I lie, second best, as first best would go to if this were truly the end of the Synch-Talon tries-for-the-feels-but-fails-terribly story arc!

*SKIP this MEH issue!* more

So, I finished this, the final Chapter of "The Redroot Saga", and it was good! Much of this, and the prior Chapters, really help to give us a deeper understanding of Sunfire's character! Maybe I am wrong, I don't recall him ever being so transparent before, allow his emotions to show! I really dug that about this story arc.

Unfortunately (or, fortunately, as if you're like me, you were already reading X-MEN anyway), the story ends on a cliffhanger of sorts, as it leads into X-MEN #28, where you will have to read to find out what happens with Sunfire and Redroot!

As I said in review for the first part, the writing for this was pretty dang solid! Steve Foxe and Steve Orlando work well together, each bringing something to the table! I hope Marvel has more lined up for these two together in the not-so-future!

The art still wasn't wow'ing me! The manga look was not really suited to this story, and I felt by the last few Chapters, the art felt rushed in spots and took away from the story, rather than supporting it. But, again, that's just me! more

Not sure why (maybe no one is reading them, or no one feels like reviewing them for others?), but there are zero reviews for the X-MEN UNLTD COMICS on Marvel Unlimited. I've been dipping into them and some of them are pretty good, actually, like this one.

"The Redroot Saga" begins here, wherein Akira Yoshida (Sunfire, y'all!) takes it upon himself to go to Otherworld and bring home Redroot, who was imprisoned there by Mad Jim Jaspers near the end of "X of Swords". What follows, while short, still manages to engage, giving us Sunfire's feelings as he truly *feels* the need to do this, to bring her back, no matter what!

Writing-wise this was a good start! After the debacle that was his stint on MARAUDERS, I had a hard time believing Steve Orlando was writing on this. Then again, he was writing it with Steve Foxe, so maybe together they make one hell of a good writing team, eh? If you've been reading CHILDREN OF THE VAULT (and if you haven't been, why ever not??), then you already how good a writer Steve Foxe is!

The art is okay. It had a kind of a manga feel to it, which I don't really want when I read X-MEN. Was it terrible, no, but not something I really enjoyed! I hope that helps! more

Let me start this by saying I had no intentions of reading this issue, as 1) the series had tanked after the big reveal of where Peter had been in those missing years, etc., and 2) it seemed like another needless death for publicity's sake! By the end of the issue, I was the completely turned around, experience the polar opposite of the feelings I went into this issue with!

While overall, I still think ASM is a lost cause at this point, I feel that this story was genuinely heartfelt, leaving me sad as hell (no tears, tho'; that shit I'm saving for "Fall of X") by that last page! I really thought this would be an "Oh, so yeah, [hero victim-of-the-month] died. I guess they'll be back next week!

And sure we know that Kamala Khan is not permanently dead, but damn, if it still didn't punch ya in the Feels with her sacrifice! I've always liked the character, and this just further cemented her selfless commitment to being a hero! Thank God, Marvel had the good sense not to leave her dead for too long!

And lest we forget about John Romita Jr's art, which has been the high point of the series for me! Here, especially so! What a gamut of emotions he has to evoke, and evoke he does, forcing us, the dear reader, to experience genuine feelings of regret and sadness - unless your Soul is out at the cleaners! Ugh!

All in all, a better than expected read, and one that I am glad I ignored all the naysayers and read it myself! more

Wow! As if the angst and emotional damage from X-MEN #25 wasn't enough, there was this week's IMMORTAL X-MEN, which follows after the Hellfire Gala. Much of it deals with Charles' inner battles as he tries to come to terms with the after-effects of the Gala and his X-Men, his Children! A fair bit of soul searching as he tries to make sense of it in his own manner!

But, as much as this was a very Xavier-centric issue, there was other things going on as well. We saw Sebastian Shaw and where now stands (or does he?) in the Hellfire Club. We witness a psychic communication between Emma Frost and Charles Xavier, trying to assure that just because he can't sense them, it doesn't mean they are necessarily all dead; Charles chooses to believe the "gloom 'n doom" angle! Poor dear! Someone get this man a Mini Schnauzer puppy already!

Oh, and lastly, we see where Exodus and Hope and Destiny had gone when they were forced through that one gate towards the end of the Hellfire Gala. Where, pray tell? A desert, an un-as-yet unnamed desert, but a desert all the same! And with them are 250,000 mutant minds, and, as Exodus points out, "none are Mystique or the rest of the Five, for that matter"!

Granted, the issue encompasses a bit more than that, but it's a review, eh? Good things, though! Gillen never disappoints, here giving us more than just an angst-heavy, cash-grabby event! This is something that really feels like it is going to matter when the dust settles! We shall see.. more

** Apologies abound for the late review! Sometimes Life gets in the way, but I am here with one now, for what it's worth.. **

*** SPOILER-FREE ***

WOW!! Just WOW! I know it is cliched and overused, but I can't think of another word to describe the emotional ending that was this issue! Let me be frank here: I was expecting to have major issues with this, as I loved the grown up character of Kate Pryde! However, those expectations I had were quickly thrown to the wind once the backstory as to how she took on the new moniker of Shadowkat!

I have followed her character since her first appearance back in X-MEN #129 (yes, I am old enough to have been there for when that issue first came out originally!). Kate has had ups and downs as she was a focus of good, and bad, writing! The writing here was very good! Again, so good, in fact, that, again, I had a hard time with believing that it was Gerry Duggan! Color me impressed, Mr. Duggan!

This issue was full of so much Win and so, so much Feels! The only thing that made it a 9.5 instead of a 10 was the stuff in the book before we get Kate's back story! It wasn't terrible, mind you, I just would have like the whole issue to have been Kate-centric, especially considering she was on the cover and all! Jus' sayin'.. more

I thought this was a solid read! The story,while clear clearly sets-up for a larger story overall, is a good read, with the good guys being "good" and the bad guys being..well.."bad", something the comics aren't always black&white about these days!

The other thing that stood out for me was Duggan's efforts to begin to tie-up/tie-together plot threads that have either been running,or only just started recently. Maybe I will stick with X-MEN a little longer, as it looks like Duggan has something going on! more

After all that's going on as we end one event,"Sins of Sinister", and are starting to build for the next one, "The Fall of X", this issue was decidedly refreshing. What a treat it was to see Storm "let her hair down" as she participates in a first date w/Craig Marshall - a first date that was abruptly ended by a mental call from Xavier, asking to discuss Magneto's recent death! That whole exchange between Storm and Xavier was intense, and the way it ended was spot on! You go, Ororo! Perfect issue for someone looking for something that was not event -centric! #recommended! more

When I heard this was coming out, and that Laura Kinney (Wolverine) was going to be in it, I was onboard! Unfortunately, the end result was sadly lacking in both the interesting and scary!

One thing that I thought worked especially well was the bridging scenes with Victor Strange, brother to the deceased Doctor, as well as emcee for each of the anthology's tales.

The first tale, "The Crypt of Shadows", is a ghost story giving us a taste (no pun intended) of Blade's daughter Brielle. Al Ewing hardly ever disappoints, and he doesn't here, helping this anthology to earn a 3.

Next on the docket was "Werewolf By Moon Knight", from Rebecca Roanhorse. I really wanted to like this one, but it felt like it was more of a set-up for some upcoming rather than a story in the anthology!

"Skin Crawl", from Chris Cooper, was a forgettable Morbius tale! So forgettable that I can hardly recall what the story was about!

Then we had "Down Came the Rain", an Elsa Bloodstone tale by Chris Condon. This one was fun! I'm always down for some Elsa adventuring, and Condon's story does not disappoint! Another one that contributed to the 3, rather than giving this anthology a 1!


"Endless Slaughter in the Infinite Swamp" was Adam Warren's Laura Kinney story for the anthology! And, it was the biggest disappointment for me! The writing she was given did not present us with the character that we have gotten to know! Dis-a-point-MENT!!

I don't know if the print version had all six stories, but the digital version was missing "Neither Big Nor Bad", by Danny Lore! I doubt it being there could have saved this one for me! more

X-MEN #20 was something of a disappointment! I quite liked the first part of this new Brood arc, even liked most of the second part! However, by the end of this issue, there was too much going on: you had [SPOILER] coming through the Gateway on Krakoa; the reappearance of [SPOILER II], who was itching for a rematch against Jean Grey, and then there is the bit with Monet and Forge getting the [SPOILER III] colonists onto the ship and off the planet! It was pointed out by another review site on here that what was clearly wrong with this issue was there was too damned much going on!!

Serious, what would it take to get Gerry Duggan off the book, before he can drive any more stakes through the X-Men characterizations and storylines?!?? PLEASE????!?? more

The Dodsons never *ever* disappoint when it comes to the art, esp. when part of the story matteris one Felicia Hardy! Overall, the book's visuals were a solid 10 outta 10; the story, on the other hand, was not so much!

I've always like Joe Kelly 's scripting, but here it was just dialed in! Nothing to make ya go "Wow!" Or anything! It was kinda boring, if we're being honest here! Maybe it was just an off day for Joe theday he turnedin the script for this issue! 🫤 more

In some ways this was a thrilling romp — the scene with Xavier and David was the best thing in the book so far — and in others it suffers from the problem that this book has had all along where there's just too much stuff going on to give anything much depth or even attention, and even with everything coming to a head the team's plotlines (where it has them — Juggernaut, Lost and Forget-Me-Not have kind of just been floating around for nine issues looking for something to do) still seem like a bunch of random stories happening simultaneously and then being pinched together at the end rather than a coherent whole. It's not often I say this, but this has really been a series in need of a stronger editorial hand.

I still strongly dislike Netho Diaz's art, which feels like any of a thousand generic Jim Lee clones from 1995, full of cut corners like making Nemesis's head mushrooms look like someone threw up on his scalp — but I didn't have any patience for that style in the 90's either so perhaps I'm just not the audience for it. more

Erry Duggan is *RUINING* this book, and this team! Can someone at Marvel replace this hack with someone who can write a X-Men story!

Wow, was this solid! I'm sure it is paving the way for next year's "Sins of Sinister" event, but good Lord! So, so much bits and gore! And the things Sinister has set in motion, so intriguingly interesting!

Some will piss and moan, that this wasn't what Jonathan Hickman had intended! To that I say, "Poppycock!" Hickman has said he left notes behind, and while I believe Steve Orlando is •RUINING• MARAUDERS, I think Gillen is killing, doing the an awesome job, one that I believe Hickman would approve, and appreciate! more

Holy Mutant Resurrection! That was effing brilliant! Seriously, where was this writing in the first 16 issues (well, maybe 15, as 16 was pretty good, too)?! I am of the opinion that Gerry Duggan has been trolling us, having us for a lengthy spell, a spell which ended with this lovely confection!

From finishing out his very Forge-centric story arc inside the Vault to dealing with "Alpha Wolverine" Laura Kinney dealing with her first steps outside the Vault to a fine wrap-up of Forge working with Caliban, everything about this issue was a solid homerun! I hope going forward this is what we can expect from the writing/stories in the book! Sooooo good!

And bonus points to Duggan for bringing "Vault" Laura back to the game! Laura is my favorite mutant, so I may have to buy him a drink if I ever have the opportunity to meet him at a convention!

#eXtremeSatisfied! more

This series feels like classic Spidey. Maybe its the art, or action packed fast paced storytelling, but it reminds me of the 90s Spidey cartoon a bit and that is not a bad thing at all.

Beyond qualms with Peter's relationship status that don't bother me much, I'm enjoying this series... and the Gold Goblin suit is very cool. Norman as a whole has been very interesting to read since having his sins eaten. more

I thought this issue was very energetic. Romita's art can be hit or miss, but the energy and motion of it is undeniable and one of its best qualities. This issue sets up some interesting things going forward, that I do hope deliver.