#x men grand design

[ratingthexmen]

184. X-MEN: GRAND DESIGN #2

By Ed Piskor, 2018.

5 STARS

[mediaomnivore]

I don't know exactly why, but I'm a sucker for the trope of a bunch of X-Men in tubes together.

Ed Piskor

[danzigmcfly]

[comixconnection]

NICKY’S PICKS: Lumberjanes: Somewhere Green & Magnificent Ms Marvel & She Said Destroy & X-23

JOHN’S PICKS: Heroes in Crisis & Superman: Leviathan Rising & Daredevil

JESSE’S PICKS: Amazing Spider-Man & Black Science & Catwoman: Annual & X-Men Grand Design: X-Tinction Agenda

[thereasonsimbroke]

Variety of recounted horrors in Ed Piskor's X-Men Grand Design 🗯️

[dirtyriver]

X-Men: Grand Design - X-Tinction #1 by Ed Piskor

[haushinkv]

[wits-writing]

Comic Power Picks of the Week (8/30/2018)

[Help support this blog]

Exiles #7 (Writer: Saladin Ahmed, Artist: Rod Reis)

Saladin Ahmed’s style mixes a melancholy look inside the state of the character’s minds and a willingness to big through Marvel Comics obscura to put them in situations that test their mettle. In his other works, like Black Bolt, it internalizes the character’s journey. In Exiles it tests the bonds between the ensemble assembled across the multiverse in the book’s first arc. Personal loss already harrowed them through that story. Their latest mission, protecting an Old West town menaced by their version of Magneto’s Brotherhood and protected by Black Panther as the Sheriff, doesn’t look to go any easier on them. Pain of loss from these pyrrhic victories hits team leader Blink especially hard by having to deal with losses from two eras of the Exiles, as shown somewhat misleadingly on the cover. Blink’s conflict comes from reflecting on how she’s been dragged back into the life of multiverse saving missions after getting out and starting to lead a quiet life rather than being about her old and new teams fighting over where she should be.

She shares these moments of reflection with her former teammate Nocturne in the mournful aftermath of the issue’s events. They reflect on how they were brought together in the original Exiles series and the question of if the mission should ever end for them. In juxtaposition to all these personal losses for both teams, Exiles remains a book that has fun with the multiversal conceit driving the narrative. Rod Reis’s art balances grounds the gritty Old West setting of the issue. He manages to use some effective character design work to fit the Marvel characters native to the universe in the setting, like Black Panther’s Man with No Name style poncho made of vibranium. The motif works in reverse with what should feel out of place, like the ever cartoonish Wolvie.

Exiles started strong earlier this year and with each passing issue, it does more work to earn its place as my favorite superhero team book on the shelves.

Power Rangers Shattered Grid #1 (Writer: Kyle Higgins, Artists: Daniele Di Nicuolo & Diego Galindo)

The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comics from Boom Studios, written primarily by Kyle Higgins, wrap up two-years-worth of character development and the epic events of the Shattered Grid storyline, which involved every Ranger team in the franchise’s history, with this one-shot. The story of these comics started with Tommy Oliver, the Green Ranger, question his place on the team in light of his time being under evil influence. That was exasperated by the Rangers’ battles with his evil doppelganger, Lord Drakkon, and finally gets brought to a head as Higgins’s run on this book concludes with this issue.

I’m not going to go into specifics for the sake of spoilers, but there’s a shift in the conflict of Shattered Grid early in this issue. The tone and scope of the story are toned down from the massive scale of the Rangers’ war against Drakkon to something more personal for the main Mighty Morphin team. It’s a shift marked by the art switching from Daniele Di Nicuolo, the main artist for most of Shattered Grid, to Diego Galindo and as the conflict resolves the art shifts back. The end of this one-shot, by extension the events of Shattered Grid, puts a satisfying bow on Higgins run on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Where the two main Power Rangers comics from Boom go from here is anyone’s guess, but I’m looking forward to how it plays out.

X-Men Grand Design: Second Genesis #2 (Writer/Artist: Ed Piskor)

Ed Piskor’s audacious experiment to fit everything from the X-Men’s long, convoluted history into a cohesive narrative with X-Men Grand Design concludes its second act with this issue. One of Piskor’s methods throughout this series to keep it feeling like a story rather than a summary comes from picking a few characters within a given issue to pay focus. The latest issue finds that with Kitty Pryde, Cyclops, Storm, Rogue and Carol Danvers (aka Ms. Marvel) and what happened to them in stories from the direct aftermath of the Dark Phoenix Saga. That’s not to say these are the only characters anything of note happens to within these pages, but it’s a testament to how Piskor manages the pacing of this version of the narrative.

If something’s not important within the immediate confines of this issue, it will get less focus than the most urgent plot at the time. While the X-Men’s first encounter with the Brood and how that affects the team structure gets a decent portion of the issue dedicated to it, the time Magik (aka Illyana Rasputin) grew up in Limbo gets condensed into her going into the portal a child and coming out a teenager a few panels later. Carol Danvers’s arc as presented in this issue gets put into the context of how it relates to the X-Men, which thankfully means the events of a particularly infamous story are left out entirely. By necessity that also means presenting her arc in terms of how it intertwines with Rogue’s path from working under Mystique to her gradual acceptance into the X-Men proper.

Condensing years of X-Men stories into Grand Design’s format leaves it about as dense as a story can be within reason. Piskor’s sense of visual clarity keeps the momentum up. The way dozens of issues worth of character development get paired down into mere pages while remaining compelling is a testament to the successes of Grand Design as this second phase of the story ends.

[unearthlydreams]

💛

[ratingthexmen]

183. X-MEN: GRAND DESIGN #1

By Ed Piskor, 2018.

5 STARS

[mediaomnivore]

Dazzler by Ed Piskor

[cyclopswastight]

Professor X vs Shadow King. X-Men: Grand Design by Ed Piskor

[x-mehs]

Is it okay to be attracted to hobo Namor? Asking for a friend.

[comixconnection]

NICKY’S PICKS: G.F.F.s Ghost Friends Forever vol 2 & Wayward & Man-Eaters & West Coast Avengers

JOHN’S PICKS: Hex Wives & Heroes in Crisis & West Coast Avengers & To Build A Fire GN

JESSE’S PICKS: Justice League Dark/Wonder Woman: The Witching Hour & Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth & X-Men Grand Design: Second Genesis Treasury Edition & Extermination & What If...? Magik

[lobocomicsandtoys]

X-MEN GRAND DESIGN #1

From Eisner award-winning creator Ed Piskor (Hip-Hop Family Tree) comes a thrilling new series chronicling all of X-Men history! X-MEN: GRAND DESIGN stitches together the most important moments in mutant history, creating a comprehensive narrative celebrating the X-Men's past, present, and future. The first in a trilogy, GRAND DESIGN returns to Charles Xavier's assembly of Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Angel, and Beast! A must for fans looking to brush up on their X-Men lore or as jumping-on point for Marvel's merry mutants.

Available at Lobo Comics & Toys this coming Wednesday, 12/20/2017

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[dirtyriver]

X-Men: Grand Design - X-Tinction #1 by Ed Piskor

Uncanny X-Men #251, early November 1989, cover by Marc Silvestri (pencils) and Dan Green (inks)

EDIT: Marc Silvestri, not Rick Leonardi as previously stated, duh. Please excuse the brain fart. Thanks @charles-a-turner