Crushing Krisis

The Newest Oldest Blog In New Zealand

Brian K. Vaughan

Swamp Thing – The Definitive Collecting Guide and Reading Order

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Thank you for being a reader and supporter of Crushing Krisis!

This site would have never grown past the original guides to X-Men without readers like you, and I will never forget that!

It not only takes (a lot of) time to produce hundreds of pages of comics content, but also money for hosting, registration, and software. The financial support from Patreon pledges has kept this site running when I would otherwise have had to suspend it or refocus my spare time on freelance work.

I completely understand if you cannot afford to support CK or are not interested in doing so. The core of my coverage of the X-Men and the Marvel Universe is available to all readers for free – absolutely nothing has changed about that. I still appreciate your support and you are always welcome to ask me questions in comments here or on Twitter or YouTube!

As a thank you to readers who support Crushing Krisis on Patreon, I provide early access to new guides like this one. Patrons generally chip in $1-2 a month to help cover the costs of hosting CK and to make awesome new content like this possible.

I literally could not have launched the DC section of Crushing Comics without the support of Patrons, nor would I have worked on Star Wars or Conan, nor would I have the time to launch a YouTube channel or revise the X-Men Reading Order.

That said, all readers benefit from the support of Patrons – because all of those exclusive guides eventually become regular free content for every reader.

Guides launched with the support of Patrons and now available to all readers: 22 Guides!

DC Comics: DC New 52, DC Rebirth, DC Elseworlds & Infinite Earths, DC Universe Events, Detective Comics, Batman, Batman by Grant Morrison, Batwoman, Gotham, Green Arrow, John Constantine – The Hellblazer, Robin(s), Watchmen, & Wonder Woman

Marvel Comics: Marvel Era: Fresh Start, Marvel Ultimate Comics, Jessica Jones AKA Alias, Magneto, New Warriors, Star Wars, & X-23

Other Publishers: Conan (Marvel & Dark Horse)

Plus, top-to-bottom revisions to guides including: Iron Fist; X-Men Reading Order Eras 0, 1, and 2; Uncanny X-Men #281-393; Uncanny X-Men #394-544

Current Exclusives For Crushing Cadets ($1/month): 8 Guides!

DC Guides: Batman – Index Ongoing Titles, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight

Marvel Guides: Alpha Flight, Domino, Legion, Marvel Era: Marvel Legacy, Scarlet Witch, Vision

Current Exclusives For Pledgeonauts ($1.99+/month): 31 Guides!

DC Guides: Animal Man, Aquaman, Catwoman, Batman – Index Ongoing Titles, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Flash, Justice League, Nightwing, Outsiders, Suicide Squad, Teen Titans & Young Justice

Marvel Guides: Alpha Flight, Ant-Man & Giant-Man, Champions, Darkhawk, Dazzler, Domino, Falcon, Gwenpool, Legion, Marvel Era: Marvel Legacy, Moon Boy / Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur, Ms. Marvel: Kamala Khan, Power Pack, Scarlet Witch, Sentry, Silk, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Venom, Vision

Back Issue Review: Black-Eyed Kids, Lady Mechanika, Warframe, and more!

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Welcome to another week of Back Issue Review! In this post, I share my capsule reviews of comic books I read that were not newly-released this month.

My reading this week was entirely focused on non Big Two comics (that means no Marvel and no DC) and largely on checking out books with women protagonists I hadn’t read before.

This post includes reviews of:

  • Black Cloud (2017) #1-2
  • Black-Eyed Kids (2016) #1-15
  • Bonehead (2018) #1
  • Dread Gods (2017) #1-2
  • God Complex: Dogma (2017) #1-3
  • Interceptor (2016) #1-5
  • Justice League (2016) #22-24
  • Lady Mechankia (2010) #0-2
  • Maxwell’s Demons (2017) #1
  • Morea (2017) Vol. 1
  • Paper Girls (2015) #11-15
    (AKA Volume 3)
  • Reactor (2018) #1
  • The Realm (2017) #1-4
  • Rose (2017) #1-4
  • Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose (2000) #1
  • Void Trip (2017) #1-2
  • Warframe (2017) #1

Unfortunately, most of those weren’t very good, but I did come away with a pair of new favorite titles, plus one I enjoyed but couldn’t commit to because we’re from such different worlds. [Read more…] about Back Issue Review: Black-Eyed Kids, Lady Mechanika, Warframe, and more!

Back Issue Review: Maestros, Super Sons, Umbrella Academy, Victor LaValle’s Destroyer, & more

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Welcome to my third pilot post of Back Issue Review, where I give you the run-down on all the not-new comics I read this week. (Did you miss last week’s edition?)

This week I read very little Marvel and DC, instead focusing on a ton of indie comics series that are easy to pick up with no prior comics background. As it turns out, a pair of the most-popular series fell a bit flat with me, while a few more obscure titles totally blew me away. I even found a new favorite comic book to add to my pull list!

Today’s back issue review includes write-ups on:

  • Backways (2017) #1
  • Captain Canuck (2015) #4-5
  • Dept. H (2016) #1-12
  • Eternal Empire (2017) #1-4
  • Gasolina (2017) #1-4
  • Justice League (2016) #20-21
  • Maestros (2017) #1-3
  • Mercury Heat (2015) #1-12 & FCBD
  • Paper Girls (2015) #6-10
  • Super Sons (2017) #1-4
  • The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite (2007) #1-6
  • Victor LaValle’s Destroyer (2017) #1-6

I’ll tell you now that Maestros and Victor LaValle’s Destroyer are two of the best comics I’ve read from 2017 – they both totally blew me away!

Please let me know if you like this this post – I’m still experimenting with this new weekly series, but there’s no guarantee it will be back for more with you reading it.

And now – let’s get to the comics! [Read more…] about Back Issue Review: Maestros, Super Sons, Umbrella Academy, Victor LaValle’s Destroyer, & more

The Pull List: Babyteeth, Black Bolt, Captain America, Crosswind, Giant Days, and more!

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What did I read this week that was newly released and wasn’t X-Men?

I’m still a long way off from being caught up to all of present-day Marvel, so I have to choose my battles – reading series that are in the early stages of their Legacy numbering or have few enough issues that I can catch up all the way. A handful of indie series I follow (one only begrudgingly) also dropped this week.

This post covers:

Updated: The Definitive Guide to Marvel’s Runaways Comic Books

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Today Marvel’s Runaways become stars of the small screen with the debut of their series on Hulu and their much-wanted omnibus collection has finally been announced. To commemorate this momentous double occasion, I’ve updated The Guide to Marvel’s Runaways!

If you don’t need a complete listing of every comic book issue the Runaways have ever starred in, but would like to learn a little bit more about them and figure out where to start (or, even just figure out of you want to watch their TV show), just keep reading!

[Read more…] about Updated: The Definitive Guide to Marvel’s Runaways Comic Books

Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan – The #44 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

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Before Saga and Ex Machina (and early in Y: The Last Man), Brian K. Vaughan’s Runaways was a blast of pure, bright imagination (still with sinister undertones) in 2003, as Marvel was succeeding with imaginative reboots and Mature Readers updates. The initial, self-contained run about a group of teens thrust together as they flee a deadly secret is a perfect book to introduce new fans to reading comics.

Runaways_2003_0018Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan is the #44 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017 on Tigereyes’s Secret Ballot. Visit the Marvel Masterworks Message Board to view the original posting of results by Tigereyes. And, check out the Guide to the Runaways to track down every single issue.

Past Ranking: A 2017 debut!

Probable Contents: Collects Runaways (2003) #1-18 & Runways (2005) #1-24.

A second volume would be “Runaways by Joss Whedon, Terry Moore, & Kathryn Immonen” – check out 12 Must-Read Marvel Runs (that ought to be an omnibus) – 1998 to 2008 to see my predicted contents.

Creators: Writer Brian K. Vaughan and penciller Adrian Alphona created the team, with Alphona alternating art duties with Takeshi Miyazawa (宮沢武史) with inkers David Newbold and Craig S. Yeung.

(If those pencillers sound familiar, it’s because they are also the team on G. Willow Wilson’s ultra-popular Ms Marvel.)

Both pencillers are initially colored by Brian Reber, with Christina Strain taking over from issue #8 and remaining with the team across all of their runs.

Can you read it right now? Yes!

Runaways might be Marvel’s most thoroughly-reprinted series of the modern era outside of Grant Morrison’s New X-Men! You can get it in original hardcovers and paperbacks, oversize hardcover, pocket-sized digests, and hefty Complete Collection paperbacks – all as described in the Guide to the Runaways to track down every single issue. It’s also available in full on Marvel Unlimited!

The Details:

Runaways is about a group of unwitting teen heroes finding their powers and themselves amidst an unravelling mystery about their families.

Notice I didn’t call them a “team.”

Brian K. Vaughan and artist Adrian Alphona created a cast who were teenagers first and superheroes second. Or third. Or maybe not at all. [Read more…] about Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan – The #44 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017