In a nutshell, if you are a fan of Conan you are likely to enjoy this book. That said it's firmly mediocre in general. I was excited to see the relaunch of the Conan the Barbarian series in 2019 and more so when I noticed Jason Aaron was handling the writing duties so I anticipated the release of Volumes 1 & 2. At my local comic book shop the other day, Volume 3 caught my eye and it was a no brainer picking it up having been a fan for a long time. Sadly, Aaron isn't writing the arcs anymore and the book has suffered for it. Zub handles the material well enough as it reads like any other Conan story over the last how many decades but one can't help but feel a little duped as the entire creative team from the first twelve issues was replaced. Kind of like, here's a new take on an old character (yet again) and now that you are hooked we will change basically everything and rotate talent until this thing reaches issue 200 or it's not selling anymore and then we'll shelf it for seven years until eventually doing the same thing all over again in the hopes that you will again buy it. Maybe I'm just jaded. For continuity sake having three artists over six issues isn't the best to carry a storyline. Antonio's work on issues 13-16 comes off very classically Conan but I preferred the later two issues and Pizzari and Silva's work more. As I only read trades these days, I cannot speak to if any of the three are still working on the book or not. Tonally the color work is a bit too dark for me. I don't mind deep shadows if it helps narrate the line work and storyline but here it seems to just fill space at times. I feel like I'm painting a bad picture of this volume. That's not my intent. As I said at the beginning, if you like Conan you will like this and for the time being I will continue to pick it up. If you are however on the fence about starting or restarting something new, there are better options out there in the fantasy niche of the comic book world.

After Marvel relaunched the larger X franchise, I've been pleasantly surprised with most of the offerings. Billed on the back as "the new mutant team you're going to hate to love," sadly that didn't quite deliver. This collected four issue edition features mostly Havoc, Psylocke, and a snarky Mister Sinister. Havoc comes off moody and Sinister is up to his normal puppet master antics and I'm generally content to give them more development time to see how Wells handles expanding them. Psylocke steals the show for me and I hope the intent is that she becomes the focus moving forward. The rest of the cast of characters are mildly amusing. The intent seems to be to give the whole lot a Suicide Squad kind of feel as the misfits, misunderstoods, and bad eggs of the X universe. Segovia's artwork is on point and, with Curiel's help, covers the attempt at darker ground well. Shadow elements on the page are rendered deep adding to the mood. There's lots of potential here to carve a little niche away from the larger X continuum and make this a great title. Marvel has always been a little soft trying to push established characters into the realm of edgy. If Hickman and the shot callers up the chain give Wells some room to play, we could have a hit on our hands. The relevant question is will I continue to read it. The answer is yes. It stutters a bit trying to get going but I holds enough promise and intrigue that one is compelled to continue the journey. So impressed, no. Hopeful, absolutely.

In what was an impulse buy at the local comic shop to try something new, I have been pleasantly surprised with this book. Simply put, this book is for a rainy night before bed to make your dreams fun. What sold me trying it out is the artwork. Brazilian illustrator Gabriel Iumazark has a bright future in the comic medium. The color palette runs in greens and sickly yellows with the occasional punch of red to emphasize the horror element the book is creating as it unveils itself. Living in Florida as I do, these color choices punch the run down nature of time and rot where humidity and water are destined to reclaim all. At first glance, the balance of lettering on the page was off to me but as you move forward the style grows on you and fits with executing the story's vision. I had a bit of trouble with being sold on the whole teenage boy fantasy element but you got three issues to complete a concept so there's not much room to be subtle. It's not heavy handed and while not deft exactly serves to move along the story to the meat of the arc so I'm good with it in the end. My overall impression is being left wanting more and I'll pick up likely anything Iumazark touches in the future.

I think we can all agree that lately the school of magic thing has been a bit overdone. That said, I can't say it has stopped me from jumping in with both feet here. As a big fan of Doctor Strange, I was intrigued immediately as he is introduced to new ground as the headmaster of a lively new cast of Marvel teenagers including the son of an archenemy. I think this book is destined to have cameos aplenty. The ragtag inevitable group of misfits that comprise the school are far more diverse than other similar efforts (see DC's Mystik U) and Marvel should be applauded for their recent efforts towards diversity and capturing a younger readership by reimagining older characters (Miles Morales) and in this case creating new ones. My personal favorite is the young frost giant, Guslaug. Having been more creative with the creation of the characters will most assuredly give Young more fertile ground to develop this little corner of the Marvel universe as we won't be limited to a singular plane of existence. In fact, we cover several in this first collected six issues which is what you'd expect from something associated with the Sorcerer Supreme. It is easy to dismiss this book as being written for a younger audience. I would submit it is more accurate to say it was written for everyone. I happily passed it along to my own teenager who enjoyed it immensely. The combination of coloring and artwork pair very well. Ramos's line work comes off a little bit manga, a little more cartoon, a little less realism. It fits with the story and characters. Color artists rarely get the props they deserve and Edgar Delgado smashes it. The palette has a tendency towards the pastel end of the spectrum. Reviewing his other work, the man does not shy away from bold colors. If I were rating the artwork team alone as it serves the story, this easily gets a nine. Should you pick it up? Yes. The combination of new characters along with what promises to be an expansive storyline should be entertaining for a long time to come. It's fun, fresh, and just what the doctor ordered (see what I did there?)