Excalibur #21
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Tini Howard
Art: Marcus To
Colors: Erick Arciniega
Letters: Ariana Maher
Cover: Mahmud Asrar & Matthew Wilson
Excalibur steps into the floor of the gala and Tini Howard brings some serious setup for the next arc while making this a night to remember. Captain Britian’s struggle to maintain the balance between Krakoa and Britain becomes more strained while Rogue is celebrating the announcement of her addition to the official new team of X-Men. However, it’s Rictor who gets the standout moment from Howard. He’s angry as hell that no one is giving any respect to Apocalypse for his sacrifice during X of Swords. Howard also gives us a surprise death and twist at the end that is going to make things more difficult for Excalibur. Through it all the art team of To and Arciniega make it look great from start to finish. 3/5
X-Men #21
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Art: Nick Dragotta, Russell Dauterman, Lucas Werneck, & Sara Pichelli
Colors: Frank Martin, Matthew Wilson, Sunny Gho, & Nolan Woodard
Letters: Clayton Cowles
Cover: Leinil Francis Yu & Sunny Gho
This issue has quiet a bit going on and once again we see the mutants of Krakoa pull off yet another huge telepathic feat. Doing this made the choosing of the new team of X-Men actually feel different but other than that this issue had very little to offer. The team reveal probably would have had more impact had Marvel not spoiled it for us weeks ago and just let things play out here. The most exciting part of the issue was the opening with Namor, Professor X, and Magneto. More of this tension and melodrama could have helped to improve the overall story. The visuals from the large team of artists helped to make this a decent read but the real gems are the Sinister Secrets from Bar Sinister. 2.5/5
Children of the Atom #4
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Vita Ayala
Art: Paco Medina
Colors: David Curiel
Letters: Travis Lanham
Cover: H.B. Silva & Jesus Aburtov
Going to be very honest here; I have no idea where this series is going or where it will all fit when the dust settles. With that said, I love the fact I can’t predict anything that will happen here but I do know that Ayala has written a group of kids that are a breath of fresh air. They feel and sound like today’s kids and it’s refreshing to see how well Vita writes this team’s adventures and established their bond. Ayala not only excels at this but they also deliver a reveal so subtle that the confirmation of what some of us thought doesn’t overshadow the plot. Medina and Curiel are dynamic with the visuals and there’s just too many great looking panels here. And though this might not be a great Hellfire Gala issue it is another solid entry for this series. 3.5/5
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Infinite Speech
infinitespeech@comicattack.net
Eric Snell
esnell@comicattack.net
