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Ed Brisson
Guide to Old Man Logan (New for Patrons!)
Whoa, two weeks in a row? It’s true, Crushers – I’m back with a new X-Men guide for all Patrons of CK! This character’s core collections have been tracked on another longstanding Crushing Comics guide, but I felt like shoe-horning him into another guide did him a disservice. There wasn’t room for all of his guest-appearances, or to discuss the distinct periods of his continuity – from his modern classic introduction to his satisfying end. Plus, per usual, I couldn’t find any other guide who explained things the right way – not even Wikipedia! Thus, I bring you my brand new Guide to Old Man Logan!
New solo X-Men guides are available exclusively to Patrons for a very long time before they go public! Become a Patron of CK to gain instant access.
It was fine to leave Old Man Logan as a brief footnote in my Guide to Wolverine – Logan when we just had his original Mark Millar story – which was the case for the first five years of my Wolverine Guide!
However, once Brian Bendis delivered Old Man Logan into the present day via Secret Wars (2015), I’ve never loved the idea of his modern adventures being shoved into the main Logan guide. With 13 collected arcs to his name plus equally as many team appearances, it’s been clear to me for several years that Old Man Logan needed a guide of his own – which was emphasized when Marvel spun off several other books featuring the “Wastelanders” of his potential alternate future!
[Read more…] about Guide to Old Man Logan (New for Patrons!)
Guide to Daken AKA Akihiro (New For Patrons!)
Today I get to debut a new X-Men character reading order for Patrons of CK! I’ve wanted to dig into making a guide for this character for years, because I’ve already read every issue he’s appeared in and I love them all! When I realized his newest fiery series is an ongoing rather than a limited series, I knew I couldn’t let another week of my Marvel New Releases posts go by without him having a full guide of his own. That’s right, it’s time for a page devoted to everyone’s favorite pansexual murder son – Guide to Daken – Akihiro, Son of Wolverine!
Guide to Daken – Akihiro, Son of Wolverine
As a new X-Men guide, this page is available exclusively to all levels of Patreon supporters! Thank you for helping me keep this site alive.
First, let’s clear something up about this character’s name.
This character’s given name is “Akihiro.” His code name “Daken” is an anglicization of “??,” a slur about the character’s mixed-race parentage which means “mongrel” or “cur” – a dog of no clear breed. While the slur was assigned to him by others in his youth, he later took it on as his codename of his own accord – and it certainly mirrors his father’s noble-sounding codename of “Wolverine.”
(In a way, the fictional Akihiro’s choice to adopt a taunt as his chosen name is mirrored by how real life drag queen Trixie Mattel reclaimed “Trixie” from being a homophobic slur aimed at her in her youth).
As the character gained wider exposure and began to develop a familial relationship with his half-sister Laura Kinney, fans took exception with his name being a Japanese slur coined by a team of white writers. Increasingly, writers began to refer to him simply by his given name of Akihiro – although he has sometimes taken on other short-lived codenames such as “Fang.”
That said, to many fans this character is still known as Daken, which was how he was introduced and the title of his second ongoing series in 2010. To the best of my knowledge, the term “??” is not a slur that’s an offensive word to simply speak or write – it’s only offensive used in the context of a person.
Furthermore, it is disingenuous to treat a fictional character’s previous name as if it is a real life “deadname” that can cause stress and even dysphoria to a person. Ultimately, people have always searched for “Daken” over “Akihiro,” so in the service of helping people find information about this character I will continue to refer to him by both of his names. [Read more…] about Guide to Daken AKA Akihiro (New For Patrons!)
New Comics & Collected Editions Releases: Marvel Comics – June 5 2024
It’s the 23nd new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics June 5 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel Comics May 29 2024 new releases.
This week in Marvel Comics: The Ultimates debut, Alpha Flight divided, Ms. Marvel’s Inhumans reunion, Lando’s verdict, a second Spencer Spidey omni, the Age of Krakoa finale, and more!
This list includes every comic and digital comic out from Marvel this week, plus collected editions in omnibus, hardcover, paperback, and digest-sized formats. I recap and review every new single issue. Plus, for every new release, I’ll point you to the right guide within my Crushing Comics Guide to Marvel Comics to find out how to collect each character in full – and, if a guide is linked from this post, that means it is updated through the present day!
Marvel Comics June 5 2024 Collected Editions
Alpha Flight: Divided We Stand
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302952457 / digital)
See Guide to Alpha Flight. I really, really loved this Ed Brisson & Scott Godlweski Alpha Flight mini-series that was a part of the Fall of X fallout from the 2023 Hellfire Gala.
I have a lot of affection for the core Alpha Flight characters and Ed Brisson voiced all of them particularly well as he explored how they might be stuck on separate sides of the mutant conflict. I think this reads just fine as a standalone outside of a full-on Krakoa read, since most of these characters are non-mutants and not a big part of the past five years of X-Men.
The Amazing Spider-Man By Nick Spencer Omnibus Vol. 2
(2024 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302953645 / digital)
See Guide to Spider-Man – Peter Parker (2018 – Present). This collects the final half of Nick Spencer’s run on Amazing Spider-Man (2018). I deeply disliked this comic – it felt like a Spider-Man with no jokes and no heart. I think if you are an Osborn Family superfan this would appeal to you, as it deals with a lot of the intricacies of the relationship between Norman and Harry. Otherwise, I wouldn’t recommend it.
In a curious turn of events, the next omnibus is already available – Amazing Spider-Man: Beyond Omnibus (2023 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302949624 / digital), which contains the entire final portion of this run that reintroduces Ben Reilly.
Black Panther by Eve L. Ewing Vol. 2: Reign at Dusk
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302948849 / digital)
See Guide to Black Panther. I was soft on this series from Dr. Ewing to start, but after the first three issues I really warmed to it and I was bummed to see it end abruptly at issue #10.
I think Ewing did something intriguing and much-needed here by defining more of the urban environment of Wakanda outside of the capital city and exploring T’Challa’s relationship to it outside of being king. Plus, she brought in strong new supporting players and villains. If you can get into a more slow, cerebral take on Black Panther that does not have the political bent of Coates’s run, this could be for you. [Read more…] about New Comics & Collected Editions Releases: Marvel Comics – June 5 2024
New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – March 13 2024
It’s the 11th new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics March 13 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel Comics March 6 2024 new releases.
This week in Marvel Comics: Thor’s most-titanic stories yet, a collected hunk of multi-versal Deadpool, Black Widow & Hawkeye team up, Carnage crosses over with Venom, Ghost Rider’s Final Vengeance, and more!
This list includes every comic and digital comic out from Marvel this week, plus collected editions in omnibus, hardcover, paperback, and digest-sized formats. For each new release, I’ll point you to the right guide within my Crushing Comics Guide to Marvel Comics to find out how to collect each character in full – and, if a guide is linked from this post, that means it is updated through the present day!
Marvel Comics March 13 2024 Collected Editions
Deadpool-Verse: Deadpool Corps
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302958527 / digital)
See Guide to Deadpool. Don’t confuse this collection with the “Marvel-Verse” digest-size books collecting scattershot all-ages stories for their focus character like the Wonder Man volume below. This is actually a very chunky standard-size paperback collecting all of the Deadpool Corps material from the Prelude mini-series and the 12-issue main series.
This is one of the main “Deadpool in the multi-verse” sorts of stories, which tracks well with the themes of the Deadpool & Wolverine film from what we’ve seen in the marketing material.
Immortal Thor by Al Ewing Vol. 1: All Weather Turns To Storm
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302954185 / digital)
See Guide to Thor – Odinson. This run is a massive blockbuster that somehow manages to tell a Thor story even bigger than the two runs that came before. However, if you like Thor throwing his hammer at a clearly-defined villain, this one’s not for you. It’s about the concept of Thor, of godhood, and of stories. Also, it looks absolutely gorgeous. More on this run below in the single issue section!
Marvel-Verse: Wonder Man
(2024 digest-size paperback, ISBN 978-1302954543 / digital)
Hmm, I don’t have a guide to Wonder Man, but with Marvel pumping out collections in anticipation of his debut in the MCU maybe I need to move him up the priority list! This digest-size intro to the character collects Avengers (1963) #9, Marvel Two-in-One (1974) #78, Wonder Man (1986) #1, and Avengers (1998) #14.
Moon Knight Vol. 5: The Last Days of Moon Knight
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302950910 / digital)
See Guide to Moon Knight. Jed MacKay brings his 30-issue Moon Knight series to a spectacular conclusion. Normally I’d say, “don’t start with the final volume!” However, this opens with a truly outstanding issue in the giant-sized #25, and I think you could read this brisk conclusion in order to catch up to the new Vengeance of Moon Knight (2023) title and be left hungry to catch up on the four volumes that came before. [Read more…] about New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – March 13 2024