Astonishingly Awful's Profile

A quick read, but the action is worth it! What David Finch is doing here is simply amazing from a technical viewpoint.

Now, I still have the same criticism I had with previous issues: not enough variety in settings, characters and creatures.

There are also some character twists, that feel like coming out of nowhere. The word that comes to mind quite often regarding Skinbrea ker is “unearned”. Kirkman doesn’t give his characters enough space to show who they are first, before having them make character-changing decisions, and that’s a problem from a storytelling POV.more

Maybe this comic is perfectly fine, and the only reason I’m not that excited about it is because I’m an old fart who misses the way comics used to feel and look back in the 80s. Or maybe it’s objectively mediocre. I can’t tell the difference anymore.

Gail Simone continues her reign of terror on the X-Men books. This issue, like all the others in this “Where the Monsters Dwell " story, is particularly terrible. Whether it's the dialogue of Gambit and Rogue, the bumbling villains like Lady Darkhold who are dispatched like something out of Scooby-Doo, or the dragon at the end...this book offers so much to offend X-Men fans. The art is also som ething to behold. Luciano must have been rushed or simply not given a damn due to the page rate. Many of the people have no faces even drawn on them. When the art switches to David Massina, it's equally as bad and very jarring.
I look at this issue only 1 way: this story arc is a mess, it's dumb, and it’s $5.99. Get the hell out of town! Fire Gail Simone. Someone please save the X-Men ! more

I’m glad Ivan Reis is back. Hyde Street was excellent since its beginning, but I feel that it’s really gaining momentum now.

What Johns and Frank are doing here almost exceeds the possibilities of a comic book. Pure magic!

I like absurd comedic superhero stories when handled by the right creative team. Unfortunately, Seeley and Sta. Maria aren't Claremont and Davis.

Also: WTF is even happening?

The inconsistent art trend continues, as David Marquez fills his pages with lots of empty space, relying on the fact that his faces and figures still look better on a lazy work day than those of most other artists. Unfortunately, this is only going to work for so long before readers start seeing through the illusion. Just ask John Byrne.

Fill-in artist Luciano Vecchio's work looks more solid, but I just don't care for his saccharine style.

The backup story is drawn by a third artist, David Messina, who's okay, but not spectacular.

Storywise, Uncanny X-Men #25 is a mildly entertaining but somewhat confusing read, especially when you know nothing about the Darkhold mythos. Is this Darkhold lady Agatha Harkness? She calls herself Agatha Timly, but she looks like the rejuvenated Agatha Harkness and you can't possibly have two witches called Agatha who also look the same in the Marvel universe, can you? Well, you probably can, but it would be pretty confusing, even for Marvel.more

Should've dropped this after the first issue like I originally planned to.

The usual fun schlock, but the story of Prince Salaka and his medieval-ish people is starting to bore me. I want more space action.

The writing is good as ever. Unfortunately, Jan Bazaldua‘s art is a disappointment. His visual storytelling is pretty good, but the style itself is very sketchy and unappealing. The colorist did his best to make up for the lack of detail and depth. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of “painty“ coloring in superhero books either, but at least it works. Maybe Bazaldua just needs a good inker.

This issue had quite a few confusing moments, but overall, it’s well written, excellently drawn and 100% non-woke. X-Men of Apocalypse is the only current x-title I can wholeheartedly recommend. Ironically, it’s not even about the „real“ X-Men, plus, it’s ending already next month.

Good fun issue. I even enjoyed the Transformers in this one. Milana is delivering some dynamic action, and his faces are getting better. Still not a fan of how he’s drawing my guy Clutch though, but that’s just some minor criticism (and a very subjective one).

Most of the time, MacKay‘s writing is simply awful, but I gotta admit, I didn’t hate this issue. Even Netho Diasz‘s art is getting better.
Having said that, this is still Cyclops‘s Unlikeable X-Men and I’d prefer the X-Universe with all of them gone or - in case of Magneto - returned to villain status.

Generally, it's Chris Mooneyham's art that keeps me interested in G.I. Joe: ARAH, and I skip the issues when he's absent from the book. This one is an exception, because I heard so much good stuff about it. Well... I don't quite see it. It's not a bad issue, but there's nothing remarkable about it either. The art works, if you don't pay too much attention to anatomy and faces.

The mystery around the assassination of the future president would be intriguing, if it weren't for Kamala Khan. Marvel is pushing this character so hard, it's just mind-boggling. The last thing any X-Force fan wanted (or expected) on the team was Ms. Marvel, so why is this even happening?

But this isn't the only problem with Inglorious X-Force. The story feels so disjointed - either I' m missing something or there's really no reason for Cable and company to go after W.A.N.D. or do any of the stuff they're doing. I'd expect a well written book to be clearer on why the team is going on these missions.

Another thing that is missing is some introduction to the characters, in case the reader is not familiar with them. I haven't read Hellverine (and I'm not planning to), but I'd love to know why Daken is suddenly some sort of Spirit of Vengeance.

On the positive side, the art is not bad and even shines in some of the action moments. Despite its shortcomings, Inglorious X-Force - of all the current X-books - is the one that reminds me the most of the classic X-books.more