World Comic Book Review

19th March 2024

Extraordinary X-Men Annual #1 (Review)

Extraordinary X-Men Annual #1
Marvel Comics September 21, 2016
Writers: Brandon Montclare and Ollie Masters

American comic book publisher Marvel Comics has spent the past couple of years targeting new readers, primarily leveraging upon the success of related company Marvel Studio’s motion pictures. The print strategy is to refresh existing superhero franchises (usually by having a new character take over an established hero’s role) or by introducing substantive continuity changes to a property.

Some of Marvel Comics’ superhero characters are described as acquiring their powers through unlikely mutation, the product of madcap evolution, and these characters tend to sit apart from the other characters. Marvel Comics’ once flagship line of mutant-centric X-Men comic books were given the latter treatment of continuity shift. “Extraordinary X-Men” Annual #1 is an example of why the approach is counter-productive.

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Out of the Dust

Old Man Logan #1, #2 [review]
Marvel Comics, November 2015, December 2015
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Review by DG Stewart, 21 November 2015

Under the moniker “Secret Wars”, Marvel Comics have recently and confusingly sewn together several of its character continuities in a way which is utterly impenetrable to the casual reader. The idea is entirely and brazenly commercial: to ensnare readers into buying more than the one regular series by smearing the plot amongst many series. For those who do not succumb to this, plots of individual comics are turned to staccato mush.

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