Review: OLYMPIA — Comics Are A Medium Of Intergenerational Love

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The Olympia trade paperback collects all five issues of a passion project between Curt Pires and his father Tony Pires, with art from Alex Diotto and Jason Copland, and colors and lettering by Dee Cunniffe and Micah Meyers respectively.

The Epic of Olympia

Olympia at first glance looks like a knock-off of Jack Kirby tributes like Kirby: Genesis. However, it is actually an exploration on how comic books affect people, especially across generations. It all revolves around a fan, a comic creator, and a comic character, and tying each of them together is the need for a father figure. POV character Elon, for example, lost his father and finds solace in the comic series featuring Olympian. Olympian’s creator Kirby Spiegelman meanwhile feels lost and without direction, especially after the death of his own father figure. To an even lesser degree, even Olympian is trying to live up to his father’s expectations as ruler and protector of his home. This all likely comes from how Tony Pires himself was battling cancer as he and his son Curt worked on Olympia.

Yet this story is not about feeling helpless after many defeats and losses. It’s how the interaction between the three characters fills the role of a father figure and how it connects them to everyone they love. Elon in particular, despite being only 13, often acts like the most driven of the three. He takes charge of most of the situation while being fully aware of the absurdities surrounding him. Like when Elon despite being a fan still finds Olympian’s over-the-top personality a little odd. It is this mindset that gets Kirby on a path out of his depression and re-evaulate what he’s got to live for. As for Olympian himself, he’s arguably the least dynamic part of Olympia considering how passive he is about events. At most, it’s just his presence that drives everything forward.

The Dynamic Art

That presence however is where most of the passion takes place. On several pages, Alex Diotto promotes actions so simple yet energetic throughout Olympia they practically tell the story through atmosphere. Every subtle change increases the importance of the moments that take place. Most panels that practically repeat are displays of time and dramatic effects, like when Elon waits for Olympian to recover but ends up falling asleep and Olympian is off panel. Then there are the two-page spreads that highlight big dramatic moments, sometimes succeeding pages that anticipate them. The action scenes that follow after can get so wild that traditional panel layout distorts in reaction.

Jason Copland, who works on the art in issue #3, however foregoes all of that in favor of 9 and 3-panel grids for other dramatic effects. In that issue, readers see Kirby struggling to keep control of his life. When those 9-panel grids give way to a splash page, it’s a display of Kirby at his lowest as everything from before comes screeching into this moment. Following this are 3-panel grids where Kirby tries to make sense of everything in a dramatic question, only to be disappointed as he gets no expected answers. Then this sequence reverses as his prior plan takes a new turn.

Colors and Lettering In Simplicity

Dee Cunniffe’s coloring looks relatively simple, but it’s how it makes the above artists’ shorthand stand out in Olympia. Brighter colors help keep the reader’s gaze on events like Olympian’s bright costume and Elon’s clothes during a battle against monsters. The monster’s blue colors and the purple background following them make it easy to contrast against them. Yet the most effective of them all is how Cunniffe highlights the Kirby Krackle to show off the source of energies, blue for Olympian purple for the antagonists.

Micah Myers as letterer works between recycling shorthand and dedicated illustrated wordmarks. Most of those wordmarks are in the in-universe comic book, when those illustrated wordmarks do appear, it’s a sign of of the Olympian comic affecting the world around it. Otherwise it’s just the recycling use of some wordmarks that in the right place are very effective, like when Kirby has a gun to his head and banging is on display. It’s like knocking on the door stealing all of the power from the decision.

Remember Olympia

In this loving tribute to comics from the likes of Jack Kirby, Olympia reminds readers that, while some things end, the spirit behind them lasts forever. Because Tony certainly didn’t seem to want Curt to let his death deter him. If anything, this limited time is what convinced everyone to push out their best efforts — efforts so passionate, it’s difficult for readers not to feel it on the pages.

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Interview: Lance Briggs and Kyle Higgins Take Us Into THE TRAP

By

Matthew Sardo

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October 2, 2020

Interview: Lance Briggs and Kyle Higgins Take Us Into THE TRAP

Monkeys Fighting Robots caught up with former Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs and writer Kyle Higgins to chat about their new Kickstarter project The Trap, football compared to art, and the influence of the giant elephant in the room, the political climate of today.

Earlier this week, Briggs announced the Kickstarter for his passion project.

The creative team on the 120-page sci-fi graphic novel includes Briggs, Higgins, artist and co-creator Danilo Beyruth, colorist by Tamra Bonvillain, lettering by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, and book design by Sasha Head.

About the book:
In THE TRAP, Jaylen Robinson is a rising sports star from a not-so-great part of the galaxy: Earth. He’s worked hard his whole life. Everyone’s saying that Jaylen is the Next Big Thing for the interstellar sport of the future: surfriding. The future is his. This is his chance. Until it’s not. You can support the project here: THE TRAP

Lance Briggs and Kyle Higgins Interview:

MFR: Lance, your Kickstarter statement is powerful. Did you need to make The Trap?

LANCE: One hundred percent. It’s a story that’s incredibly personal to me, both because of my background as well as the issues we’re looking to discuss and shine a light on. And creating Jaylen, for me, is also a way to talk to so many kids that are living in less-than-ideal environments. Amongst systems that have failed their own. I see you, and I want you to know — you are special. Even if it doesn’t feel like it.

This book is also an opportunity for me to start doing something that I’ve always dreamed of — sharing my imagination with others. My imagination is what kept me going as a child, as an athlete, and now as an adult. Dreaming of what is possible, even if it seems impossible, is so incredibly important. And writing has been a great way for me to tap into that more and more.

MFR: What was the world-building process like? Did you push the creative envelope and then reigned it back in, or was there a specific creative vision to expand from?

KYLE: Well, for me, world-building has to come from narrative intent. Meaning, I don’t world build just to world build — I world build for the sake of the story I’m trying to tell. So, THE TRAP started with figuring out the core idea of the series — that in the future, Earth has been annexed into an interstellar coalition of planets, but due to certain events over the generations, we’ve become both the red-headed stepchild of the coalition, as well as prime real estate for the interstellar drug trade. So what that does is it creates a situation and a status for our world where the problems of marginalized communities are the problems for all of us. Because we are all in “the trap” together.

From there, we were able to start really building and refining characters, as well as different aspects of this world to really strengthen the allegory.

LANCE: Right. What do sports of the future look like? What kind of escapism, entertainment, politics, business, etc. would exist?

KYLE: Lance came up with the idea for surfriding, which I love. It was a tricky thing to figure out — the sport of the future needed to be something that multiple species and races could compete in, since it was going to be Jaylen’s best chance of getting out of The Trap and potentially bettering his life off-world. A board based racing sport totally fit the bill.

MFR: Kyle and Lance, talk about your emotional reaction the first time you saw Danilo Beyruth’s work on The Trap.

KYLE: Oh, man. I was so excited. I think, Lance, we both looked at the designs and went—

LANCE: “That’s Jaylen!”

KYLE: Exactly, yeah. Like he’d been there the whole time. Fully formed. Just waiting to be drawn.

LANCE: What made it even cooler was when Tamra started putting down colors for him.

KYLE: Yes. Absolutely. Tamra is one of the best in the business, and being able to work with both her and Danilo… we feel incredibly lucky.

MFR: Lance, how has working on the Football Aftershow helped you become a better storyteller?

LANCE: It’s taught me patience, more than anything — having to listen to Alex Brown’s false narratives and falsified facts with a straight face! (Laughs) It’s torture, but I fight through it!

MFR: Lance, with playing football at the highest level, there are nerves, but you control your destiny with your play. With art, you put yourself out there emotionally. What are those nerves like?

LANCE: Well, I’m still figuring that part out. But I guess what I would say, is that in football… you’re talking about moments that last 8 to 12 seconds. And of course, you get nervous. Anyone who says they don’t, they’re lying. And if you actually don’t get nervous? Then I don’t think you care to be great. But, I knew that no matter how nervous I would get… I knew I was prepared. Compare that with writing and publishing stories? So far, I don’t know that they’re even comparable. Kyle and I have a process built on trust and respect, so it’s very low risk and low pressure — we talk through everything. If I were doing it solo, I’m sure it would be different.

MFR: Kyle and Lance, the past four years, have been a political dumpster fire of division. How has the current state of the world influenced The Trap?

KYLE: I think the better question is… how has it not? The issues we’re dealing with are not new. But over the last four years, I don’t know how you could argue that they’ve gotten any better.

LANCE: They haven’t. We’re looking to talk about some of them here, through science fiction and storytelling. Hopefully, to show people the issues in a new, hopeful objective — but also relatable — way.

KYLE: If anything, the last four years have really opened my eyes to just how deep the wounds in our country are. And how many of them are not anywhere close to being closed or healed.

MFR: Lance and Kyle, thank you again for your time and best of luck with The Trap!

Have you backed The Trap? What are your Kickstarter buying habits like during the pandemic? Comment below with your thoughts.

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Review: LIFE IN THE STUPIDVERSE — Laughing at a Painful Administration

By

David Weber

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Life in the Stupidverse, out now from IDW Publishing, is a wonderful collection of satire highlighting Donald Trump’s flawed presidency that is certain to give you a chuckle.

Welcome to the Stupidverse! Although I’m not sure, I need to say “welcome.” Many of us have been living in the Stupidverse these past four years. In this collection, the Pulitzer-nominated cartoons of Tom Tomorrow poke fun at the presidency of Donald J. Trump in a diverse variety of entertaining ways. The collection is filled with so many different strips with so many references that you will have to take time to remember all the political chaos that has happened during the current administration.

The writing in the book is phenomenal. Life in the Stupidverse is filled with so many well-executed points and hilarious satire, and that all goes without mentioning just how much content is in the book. Each page has a point to be made. The points may overlap, but the way that Tomorrow makes his points through heavy satire is always entertaining. He also creates satire through many fun ways, such as comparing Trump to a baby, saying this world must be a simulation because of how crazy it is, or by making charts that illustrate circular reasoning.

The pencils and inks of Life in the Stupidverse go well to serve the purpose of his cartoons, and Tomorrow does a good job of varying what is on the page so that his cartoons are still visually interesting. Tomorrow is never afraid to go too crazy with the ideas for his jokes, so each page is its own spectacle of what Tomorrow has used to illustrate his point. There are several strips where the same faces are used repeatedly, which can create a bland feeling, but that is his point. The main focus in nearly all political cartoons is the writing, and Tomorrow certainly delivers on that.

The colors in Life in the Stupidverse are incredibly simple and make the comic strip come to life much more than if it were in black and white. There isn’t anything about the coloring that will necessarily leave you in awe, but it does nothing but add to the writing, which is the most important aspect.

Life in the Stupidverse features lots of interesting uses of lettering, and it greatly adds to the satire of Tomorrow’s work. Whether it be a bold font to establish what a scene is, a calligraphic font to parody Valentine’s Day cards or a wavy font to title a strip, Tomorrow makes fantastic use of lettering to add fun to his political cartoons.

Reading Life in the Stupidverse is a fun, but also slightly painful experience. Tom Tomorrow’s work is brilliant and incredibly funny, but each strip discussing moments of Trump’s presidency feels like reliving trauma. The collection is definitely well worth the read, and well worth the money for that matter. If you are a staunch Republican that loves every word that comes out of Trump’s mouth, you probably won’t enjoy Tomorrow’s satire, but nearly everyone else is sure to enjoy this collection and get a good laugh out of this country’s most recent administration.

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Review: KILLADELPHIA #8 – Exploring the Afterlife

By

David Weber

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Killadelphia #8, out this week, is another fun and gripping issue, full of fearsome vampires, entertaining violence, and a look into the world of Killadelphia‘s afterlife.

About the Book:
After John Adams was defeated, his wife, Abigail Adams, has taken over leading the vampires. They have already murdered the mayor to alert Philadelphia that they are still around, and now are setting their sights on a bigger target. Jimmy Sangster is dealing with the problem without the help of his undead father, who is exploring the afterlife in search of his deceased wife. All these plotlines come together to make Killadelphia #8 a captivating issue.

Killadelphia #8 Story

The writing of Rodney Barnes in this issue excels at making you want to keep reading. We have the characters we have grown to love facing a new threat lurking somewhere in Philadelphia. The story is always captivating, and the tone of the story being a mix between a police mystery and a horror tale, makes it such a fun read for fans of either genre. The version of the afterlife shown in this issue is another thing that stands out. It seems to take inspiration from the underworld in Greek mythology, but the way the undead fits into the picture and its aesthetics are completely new, and it is an absolute pleasure to see this new take.

A very interesting part of Killadelphia #8’s story is how Barnes can balance three narratives, all happening at once. In this issue, we have scenes of Abigail Adams as she speaks to other vampires, Jimmy Sangster dealing with a disemboweled mayor, and James Sangster Sr. as he navigates the afterlife. These scenes are very nicely interspersed, and there is never a time when it feels one scene is being focused on too much or not enough.

Art

I have nothing but praise for Jason Shawn Alexander’s work on this issue. Every face looks nearly photographic, and his vampires always look cool and frightening. Killadelphia #8 is yet another beautiful showcase of Alexander’s talent. The art in this issue does nothing but make me want to pick up the next, and I have a strong belief that other readers will feel the same.

The colors of Luis NCT fit with Alexander’s line art incredibly well, and his little use of vibrant colors in Killadelphia #8 makes it more impactful when colors do appear. The dark scenes of the issue make it so that when blood is spilled, it pops out on the page; and effortlessly allows scenes full of bright colors to have an ethereal tone.

Marshall Dillon does a great job of having the lettering go along with the art. The color choice of pink for the backgrounds of captions pairs nicely with the red and black color scheme that comprises much of Killadelphia #8. Speech bubbles are very simple and get the point across, and the inverted color scheme of speech bubbles for characters is a good choice to demonstrate that they are otherworldly.

Conclusion

Killadelphia #8 continues the amazing story of the series. The series is so fun, dark, and violent that it’s extremely difficult to put down an issue once you have picked it up. Barnes does fantastic work as he continues to keep the story thrilling, and Alexander, NCT, and Dillon are there to back him every step of the way. Each person plays a vital role in helping Killadelphia become the stunning series it is now, and I can not wait to see where it will lead.

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Review: TRANSFORMERS #23 Reaches An Expected Destination

By

Anthony Wendel

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Transformers #23 out this week from IDW Publishing brings the series to a familiar location. The start of the civil war between the Autobots and Decepticons has arrived. The issue is made possible thanks to Brian Ruckely (writer), Anna Malkova (pencils/inks), Joana LaFuente (colors), and Jake M. Wood (lettering).

Summary

Cybertron has suffered. The world is in chaos. The situation on the ground truly is a crisis. Sentinel Prime, head senator and leader of the Autobots, will denounce the Ascenticons, the Rise, and anyone he thinks is an enemy of Cybertron’s security.

Writing

This issue arrives at the point everyone knew was coming. From the rumors, whispers, and obvious sub-plots (and the plot of the original cartoon in the 80s), what everyone saw coming has arrived. Megatron addresses the senate and delivers his true intentions. From there, things go downhill for the Autobots.

Though it took a while (and at times felt like it was taking too long) Brian Ruckley, has finally finished the introduction. Moving forward the book will focus on the war between the Autobots and Decepticons. It’s a welcome sight and one can only hope the story will keep moving forward to ensure momentum isn’t lost. The characters don’t need long pontifications anymore about the building civil unrest and the eventual downfall of the society.

Artwork

This issue has some intense moments but strangely not during the battle scenes. Anna Malkova’s art features some very emotional facial expressions, especially by Megatron as he passionately delivers his speech to the senate. Still, compared to the jaw-dropping brutality seen in the previous issue, the combat is tame in comparison.

The color by Joana LaFuente enhances the emotional scenes as they occur throughout the issue. One of the best examples is shown when Megatron is shown entering the door to the Senate. The glow around him makes it feel like a spotlight is a character entering a stage and letting the audience know they have arrived with a purpose.

The lettering work by Jake M. Wood allows the speech to flow very smoothly, which is ideal for this type of event. When a character arrives and delivers a speech intent on laying out their plan to both audiences (the one in the comic and the one reading it), proper sequencing of speech is highly beneficial. Here, Wood’s work makes it feel like the audience is there on the Senate floor as Megatron reveals his dark secrets to the world.

Conclusion

Transformers #23 finally kicks things into high gear. After taking a while, the series has reached the start of the war between the Autobots and Decepticons. From here, action SHOULD be the main focus of the series. The key point in the previous sentence is the word SHOULD.

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Marvel Comics Exclusive Preview: BLACK WIDOW #2

By

Anthony Composto - EIC

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October 1, 2020

marvel comics black widow exclusive preview

BLACK WIDOW #2 hits your local comic book store October 7th, but thanks to Marvel Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive four-page preview for you.

About the issue:
WIDOW NO MORE? Something is very wrong with Natasha Romanoff: she’s – happy?! Retirement definitely agrees with the world’s deadliest woman as she revels in the perfect life she never even dreamed she could have. But scratch the surface of that perfect life and you’ll find something very wrong – and a woman like Nat just can’t help but scratch.

BLACK WIDOW #2 is by writer Kelly Thompson and artist Elena Casagrande, with colors by Jordie Bellaire, and letters by Cory Petit. The main cover is by Adam Hughes.

MFR critic Cat Wyatt on the first issue of the series:

“BLACK WIDOW #1 is full of creative writing, character development, surprising twists, and absolutely perfect artwork. Altogether, it does the character (and her fans) justice.”

Marvel’s BLACK WIDOW movie is currently scheduled for May 7, 2021 after being delayed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was originally scheduled for May 2020.

Check out the BLACK WIDOW #2 preview below:

Are you reading BLACK WIDOW? Sound off in the comments!

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Image Preview: The Hero From Hell Honors The King Of Wakanda In SPAWN #311

By

Gabriel Hernandez

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October 1, 2020

Spawn #311, McFarlane cover (Chadwick Boseman)

In honor of Chadwick Boseman’s passing, Todd McFarlane has created a touching cover for Image Comics’ SPAWN #311, available on October 28th. The cover features Boseman giving the Wakandan salute while wearing Spawn’s classic costume.

Says McFarlane about the inspiration for the cover: “We should all admire the traits Chadwick shared with us. And the inspiration he gave to millions of children around the globe who got to see a strong, meaningful and proud hero that looked like themselves.”

You can check out the full size cover and read the full Image press release below.

Will you be adding this issue to your collection? Let us know what you think in the Comments section, and please share this post on social media using the links below.

TODD MCFARLANE PAYS TRIBUTE TO CHADWICK BOSEMAN IN UPCOMING SPAWN COVER

PORTLAND, Ore. 09/30/2020 — Image Comics President and SPAWN creator, Todd McFarlane, will pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman in the upcoming SPAWN #311 with a cover in memory of the late actor who brought to life Marvel’s Black Panther character in the Avengers films.

“Given the limited amount of minority characters in the comic industry today that are considered major Superheroes, I thought it appropriate for one of those well-known heroes (Spawn) to pay tribute to a man who made a lasting impact on helping shape such a strong superhero of color,” said McFarlane. “Chadwick Boseman is a person who honed his skills and then made a career using them. Then he fought a fight against his own body that showed the true spirit of this man. We should all admire the traits Chadwick shared with us. And the inspiration he gave to millions of children around the globe who got to see a strong, meaningful and proud hero that looked like themselves.”

SPAWN #311 Cover B by McFarlane (Diamond Code AUG200369) will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, October 28.

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Exclusive Boom! Studios Preview: AN UNKINDNESS OF RAVENS #2

By

Matthew Sardo

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October 1, 2020

Exclusive Boom! Studios Preview: AN UNKINDNESS OF RAVENS #2

An Unkindness of Ravens #2 hits your local comic book shop on October 28, thanks to Boom! Studios, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive first look at the issue for our readers with five interior pages and three covers.

The book is written by Dan Panosian, with art by Marianna Ignazzi, Fabiana Mascolo drops the color, and you will read Mike Fiorentino’s letter work. An Unkindness of Ravens #2 features a main cover by Panosian and variant covers by Qistina Khalidah and DANI.

About An Unkindness of Ravens #2:
Wilma is being courted by the Ravens, a group of witches who want her to join their coven. But Scarlett, the most popular girl in school, wants Wilma for herself. But Scarlett, the most popular girl in school, has eyes on Wilma herself, and her motives may not be as genuine as they initially appear…

Check out the preview below!

Do you have An Unkindness of Ravens on your pull? Comment below with your thoughts.

About the series:
* Not all the witches burned during the Salem Witch Trials – and the ones that survived did so together. Now, generations later, their descendants protect the ancient secrets entrusted to them. They call themselves the Ravens.

* Wilma is the new girl in school, and she plans to go completely unnoticed – except that she bears an eerie resemblance to the Raven member Waverly. And Waverly just went missing.

* But the truth behind Waverly’s disappearance will put the entire coven in danger – and Wilma will have to rely on power she never knew she had if she wants to save her new friends.

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Exclusive Preview: Ashley Christine’s MIDNIGHT 99 – Lizard People Produced Eddie Murphy’s ‘Party All The Time’

By

Matthew Sardo

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October 1, 2020

Midnight 99 is available digitally through Amazon for $2.99 on October 6. Thanks to NeoText Publishing, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive look at chapter 2 of Ashley Christine’s debut novella, a classic hard-boiled whodunnit. (Scroll to the bottom to read the book.)

“MIDNIGHT 99 is a reaction to my frequent existential angst of living on a planet that my species is slowly destroying,” – Christine.

“When I couldn’t find an answer as to why we humans are so out of sync with our environment, I made up my own—which is that giant Reptilian space Lizards are using humans to terraform planet Earth to an ideal Lizard temperature. They also created the patriarchy, wealth inequality and were producers of Eddie Murphy’s 1985 hit ‘Party All The Time.’” – Christine.

Also, as a genderqueer/non-binary woman and unabashed eccentric, I wanted to create a character that someone like me could relate to. Enter Tulsa Kalhoun, a chaos-baiting, genderfluid, bisexual dumpster fire of a human being. She’s the unholy spawn of Hunter S. Thompson, Grace Jones, and Tank Girl. She is loud, unapologetically herself, and always just a little bit horny. Like me, she’s queer and a weirdo—a queerdo. Which is a word I just made up. And trademarked.” – Christine.

About the book:
Meet Tulsa Kalhoun. Once upon a time she was a well-respected, pantsuit-wearing broadcast journalist— until an inconvenient supernatural awakening left her career and sanity in tatters. Now she stumbles through this world peddling a private pharmacy of perception-expanding herbal narcotics, made with plants you’ve never heard of from places not found on maps. But when Tulsa wakes up in a hotel bathroom on the eve of the secret unveiling of Earth as the ultimate Reptilian vacation destination, blacked out from a particularly indulgent vision quest bender, she knows that she’s supremely and epically screwed. Because a supposedly unkillable Lizard Overlord named Doug is dead on the toilet.

With no memory of what happened— and an ever more tenuous hold on the daily cocktail of alien pharmacologicals that barely keep her tethered to this plane of existence—Tulsa has to retrace her steps, searching for clues of how she got to her current predicament. She’ll have to wade through a swamp of daunting challenges and colorfully shady characters like the Illuminati, the Youthinati, debauched Reptilian tourists, kinky gray aliens who are way too into butt stuff, Neckties, Necronauts, off-brand soda, her super-hot half-human half-Lizard ex-girlfriend, and her own self-destructive tendencies.

[pdf-embedder url=”https://monkeysfightingrobots.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/MIDNIGHT-99-Ch-2.pdf” title=”MIDNIGHT 99 Ch 2″]

What did you think of Christine’s writing style? Comment below with your thoughts.

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How X-FACTOR #4 Raises The Stakes In X of Swords

By

Matthew Brake

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Marvel Comics released X-Factor #4 on September 30. Writer Leah Williams, artist Carlos Gomez, colorist Israel Silva, and letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna continue the story begun in X of Swords: Creation #1, showing the aftermath of the battle in Otherworld, the fates of the fallen mutants, and raising the stakes of the upcoming conflict with Apocalypse’s children by throwing a wrench in Krakoa’s resurrection protocols.

While X of Swords: Creation established that the X-Men would pick ten champions to fight on behalf of Krakoa, it was easy to wonder, “What’s the big deal? These characters will be resurrected anyway” (not just in a typical comic book-y way, but in a Krakoan resurrection protocol way). Sure, even if they were resurrected, their loss in the tournament will still ensure the invasion of Krakoa by Arakko. This issue, however, really raises the stakes by revealing that one’s death in Otherworld messes up one’s Cerebro back-up, replacing it with some Otherworld amalgamation of one’s identity. Indeed, we learn in this issue that while a version of Rockslide has returned, this is not the same character who died in Otherworld, and so Krakoa suffers its first real loss and permanent death. This event just got some teeth!

Polaris takes center stage in this issue, caught between her grief over Rockslide’s death, her inability to stop it, and her father’s harshness. It is truly heartbreaking to watch Lorna gather the pieces of Rockslide as she mourns his loss and carry his pieces off into the night. Gomez’s artwork does a good job capturing Lorna’s emotions in her desperate gathering and clinging to Rockslide’s remains and her forlorn wandering into the night.

But there is an arc here that ends in triumph, as Lorna works through the darkness of the night, Gomez and Silva portray Lorna the next morning as having gone through her dark night, having understood Lady Saturnyne’s message to her, and constructed a casting circle out of Rockslide’s remains as a tribute to him.

There is a beautiful image of the image drawn by Gomez and colored by Silva of Polaris standing in the center of the sunrise, with a gorgeous lens flare. This is juxtaposed to a sad-looking Apocalypse who sits in the darkness being scolded by Xavier and Magneto, who note that no one will miss him. In some ways, Apocalypse’s own despair mirrors Polaris’s, and as the sun shines on her, so does the morning sunshine in on Apocalypse, as Caramagna’s letters present Lorna’s inner monologue about pain, redemption, and the hope for something better. As the sun has shone on Lorna, so it may shine on Apocalypse once again.

X-Factor #4 was a strong second chapter to the X of Swords event, elevating the threat that Krakoa faces and potentially shaking up Krakoa’s status quo. The possibility exist that some of the residents of Krakoa may not make it out alive, or, since this is comic books, may at least have their characters or personalities transformed by the time this event ends.

What did you think of X-Factor #4? Tell us in the comments below!

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