A.X.E.: Judgment Day – Seeking a Plan for the End of the World

Unexpectedly, I can’t stop thinking about Kieron Gillen (writer) and Valerio Schiti (artist)’s A.X.E.: Judgement Day.  It’s unexpected because, while I love Gillen as a writer and adore Schiti’s art, of the three teams involved, I only regularly read Avengers.  I often avoid team books (as they lead to lots of tie-ins) but I read Avengers because I’ll read anything Jason Aaron writes.  However, I didn’t expect this story to connect to his run (and it didn’t).  Then, while I feel Eternals is the most gorgeously shot Marvel movie yet, I’ve never read any Eternals comics – now or in my youth.  Lastly, I LOVED the X-Men as a kid but I’ve really struggled to find a story to pull me back into the mutant world since returning to reading comics in 2015.  I dropped X-Men: Gold (Vol. 2) by issue #6.  I dug X-Men: Red (Vol. 1) but the run ended before I knew it existed.  I’ve tried to read Jonathan Hickman’s House of X and Powers of X twice but lost interest a few issues in each time.  Maybe I can’t go home again with the X-Men :/.  So, I was intrigued by the idea but didn’t expect this story to really grab me.  OH MY GOSH WAS I WRONG.  I’ve read it twice (once as it came out monthly and then all at once) and can’t stop thinking about what I’d do if I knew the world was going to end tomorrow.  See??  How can a story with a hook like that not captivate me?!?

Darth Vader #24 – A Moving Masterpiece

I wasn’t planning to write this post.  I’m normally not one for single issue reviews or reflections.  But when I read Darth Vader #24 on Wednesday I did something I’ve never done with a comic…I immediately flipped to the front to read it again.  And since then, the story’s been bouncing around in my head.  I can’t stop thinking about it.  So I figured I’d write about it.  Don’t worry, if you haven’t read it, there’s spoiler protection.  And if you have (or are wild enough not to care about spoilers), I’ll reflect with detail on why the specifics of the issue are so important to me too. 

My on again/off again Relationship with Darth Vader

In the fall of 2015, it was Star Wars that finally brought me back to the world of comic collecting after my seventeen year absence.  Admittedly it felt a little weird returning to Books Galore after so long a time away.  I felt a bit out of place, like coming home to find everything you remember similar…yet different.  But the oddity of my return was soon eclipsed by feelings of excitement.  I was back!  I was reading comics again!  Yay!  And I was excited (after Jeff’s constant urging) to explore the Star Wars stories Marvel was adding to the new Disney Canon.  Of all their comics, I was most excited for Darth Vader.  As the months rolled by however, I found myself wrapped in a passionate yet frustrating relationship with the Dark Lord of the Sith.