Comic Book Reviews (Week October 22, 2025): X-Men: Book of Revelation Issue 1, The Space Between the Trees, and More!

Welcome to my comic book reviews for this week. I will be covering X-Men: Book of Revelation Issue 1, The Space Between the Trees, Exquisite Corpses Issue 6, and more.

Let’s begin by talking about X-Men: Book of Revelation Issue 1. I have to be honest here. I’m not really into the current ‘Age of Revelation‘ event occurring across the X-Men books. The premise of a story taking place 10 years in the future, with Doug Ramsey being the big bad, doesn’t appeal to me. However, I still decided to pick up the first issue of X-Men: Book of Revelation on a whim. And I have to say that I’m glad I did.

Now, don’t get me wrong. This doesn’t mean I’ll be picking up every single issue covering ‘Age of Revelation’. It just means that I will surely see what chapter two of X-Men: Book of Revelation has in store. I don’t know about the third chapter yet. So, yeah, with my already reading the three-issue-long Rogue Storm, X-Men: Book of Revelation is the only other story from the current era I’ll be buying (again, for now).

Written by Jed MacKay with art by Netho Diaz, the story opened in Philadelphia with a young mutant named Elbecca Voss being selected as Revelation’s newest Chorister. And while it’s supposed to be a huge honor, Elbecca’s understandably worried about being picked. Not only that, but a mysterious ghostly voice has also been trying to reach her.

From what I could understand, Choristers is a group formed by mutants with the ability to boost another mutant’s gift or lend some kind of assistance. The current team consisted of Fabian Crotez, Khora of the Burning Heart, Chance, and Elbecca (who replaced a recently killed Topaz). I do like the concept of an antagonist surrounding themselves with ability-boosting security guards. More villains should get on it.

Another thing I enjoyed was how MacKay handled Revelation’s mastery over language. The way he switched between being a leader (in front of a crowd) and a vulnerable friend (in front of Elbecca) was nicely done. Even though Doug let his guard down in front of Elbecca, we know he’s still playing a game because, as he mentioned himself, Revelation just knows the most effective ways to interact with someone.

A major theme at play seemed to be that of inheritance and knowing one’s place in the current hierarchy. Fabian just couldn’t help but be mean toward Elbecca because, as the first Chorister, he was jealous of Doug continuing to expand the group, feeling it cheapened his importance as the first. And though Fabian likely realized Elbecca wasn’t coming for his position, his insecurities prevented him from acting maturely. I knew he was going to push Elbecca off the rooftop, but MacKay and Diaz were still able to amp up the tension.

Talking about the theme, it also showed up during Death’s visit to deliver Apocalypse’s message to Doug. As Apocalypse’s child, I think Death did feel the sting of Doug’s words when he mentioned how Apocalypse chose Doug as his successor instead of his own blood.

I know there’s some backstory to explain what happened between Apocalypse and Doug for them to be butting heads like this, but, frankly, I’m not ready to buy more tie-in comic book issues to understand their beef. That’s why I have my fingers crossed we get some kind of explanation during X-Men: Book of Revelation, or I can simply Google the information soon.

A major reveal involved the truth behind the mysterious Philadelphia ghost. I haven’t been paying much attention to the solicitations for the ‘Age of Revelation’, so I had no idea that the freaking ghost was going to be Kitty Pryde. I’m not the biggest fan of Kitty, but I’m excited for the second chapter.

Does it have obvious queer representation? Yes.

Recommendation: Pick it up!

The Space Between the Trees

I was provided with a free review copy of The Space Between the Trees. The opinions I have shared are my own.

From writer Norm Konyu, The Space Between the Trees is a very trippy supernatural mystery following a couple, Meera and Mark, as they try to find their way out of a forest where time and logic don’t make a lot of sense (at first).

I don’t know about you, but when it comes to time shenanigans, I’m biased toward time being considered a loop instead of the whole multiverse situation. So, I think that I ended up enjoying The Space Between the Trees a lot more because Konyu utilized the time as a loop theory instead of going full-on multiverse MCU.

I read through the entire approximately 104-page graphic novel in one sitting, with my interest piquing when Meera and Mark first saw their past selves. Konyu did an amazing job of connecting scenes from the earlier panels to what Meera and Mark were “currently” up to. A major reveal at the end of the book tickled my brain. It did make me question the “ethics” of the situation, but I can understand what Konyu was going for, and hey, it did work for a story where, again, time happened to be in a loop.

Along with the sci-fi elements of time travel, the story also involved the supernatural via a “haunted” forest. As someone who’s been in Canada for a while now, I couldn’t help but relate the story to Indigenous folklore and how its depiction of respecting (and even fearing) nature contrasted with the rapid urban development occurring in the State I reside in.

Konyu doesn’t explain the mysterious evil lurking in the woods or the reason behind the time travel. The creative decision of not doing so helped make the narrative feel quite creepy. I mean, there’s a difference between a deliberate lack of information in storytelling playing a role in amping up the dread and making the reader frustrated due to a lack of answers. And Konyu sure knows how to amp it up.

My only nitpick would be for Meera or Mark to have some kind of geeky or physics-related background to help make their acceptance of time travel a bit more palatable. I highly doubt a couple of non-geeky or temporal physics non-enthusiasts would react the way they did, no matter their desire to escape the creepy forest, especially when it came to keeping distance from their past selves.

Does it have obvious queer representation? No.

Recommendation: Pick it up!

Exquisite Corpses Issue 6

From co-writers Tyler Boss and James Tynion IV, Exquisite Corpses issue 6 continued to rack up the kill count as the contestants made their way to the Hill in Oak Valley. Most of the chapter focused on Gamer Kid, Jason, and Craig as Gamer Kid decided to finally start offing people while walking around pretending to participate in trick-or-treating.

I enjoyed Gamer Kid trying to become friends with Jason. Apparently, he’s been wanting to make a human friend for a while now. However, as expected, Gamer Kid’s a bit too volatile, and Jason not agreeing with his ideas didn’t sit well with him.

I liked how Gamer Kid made Jason kill a couple of people without realizing it because he presented the activity as playing a video game. Poor Jason. I wonder if we will get to see him realize what he had done down the line. But regardless, Jason’s going to need a lot of therapy not only because of Gamer Kid chasing after Jason, but also for how Rascal Randy handled the litter murderer at the end.

Even though I knew the co-writers wouldn’t kill Craig without his boyfriend Xavi being there to witness it (if such a death even occurs), I was still worried about Craig when he tried to save a child from one of the drone attacks. Craig did seem to be badly injured. But I think he will survive. For now.

As for the rest of the cast, I liked Mike being unable to warn the youth partying it up in the Pit about how everyone in Oak Valley was in danger. Mike’s kind of like the boy who cried wolf. His warnings, understandably, came across as more of his rants involving government-related conspiracies.

A very nice moment of writing involved Pretty Boy stating how much of a loser Mike was. However, according to Pretty Boy, that wasn’t a bad thing because the universe needed losers like Mike to fill the void so people with actual star quality could shine. It’s a nasty read, but in a way, Pretty Boy had a point.

The art by Gavin Fullerton and Michael Walsh, with colors by Jordie Bellaire, continues to work for such a title. From a limited color palette to creepy close-ups and gore, the art plays a major role in making the horror and intense moments hold weight. Also, shoutout to the Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield Halloween costumes Easter Egg.

Does it have obvious queer representation? Yes.

Recommendation: Pick it up!

Creepshow – Volume 4 Issue 2

Creepshow issue 2 housed two short stories that couldn’t be more different when it came to my enjoyment. ‘Keep Your Antennas Up’ was by writer Rachel Pinnelas with art by Gabriel H. Walta, while ‘Par for the Curse’ was by writers Ted Raimi and Thomas Krajewski with art by Ryan Carr and Romulo Fajardo Jr.

I really liked ‘Keep Your Antennas Up’, which involved the operation levels of an effective ant colony and a research lead who didn’t care about her team, wanting to force them to keep working to finalize their current research. Even though it’s told through a horror story, I think the real-life implications (basically a warning) are quite clear, especially when it comes to properly leading a team instead of exploiting team members.

As for ‘Par for the Curse’, while I like the gore-filled art, I was quite ‘meh!’ about the story. The entire “illegal immigrant” angle was quite on the nose, and I’m not a fan of the Magical [insert non-White cultural identity here] trope.

I’m not saying that depicting diverse supernatural beliefs from certain communities can’t make for intriguing storytelling. It’s just that I feel the entire curse thing could have been executed better in ‘Par for the Curse.’

Does it have obvious queer representation? No.

Recommendation: Up to you.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Halloween Special (2025) Issue 1

From writers Sina Grace, Meghan Camarena, Danny Lore, and Nick Marino, MMPR Halloween Special Issue 1 served four short stories depicting the iconic MMPR team facing somewhat scary situations. The narrative didn’t push the envelope for the long-running IP, but it was still enjoyable.

My favorite story was by Grace, not only because it focused on Kimberly Hart but also because it was the most disturbing of the bunch. Grace had Rita come up with a plan to take Kimberly’s place to get close to Power Rangers, especially Tommy. However, instead of it being a simple body swap, Rita decided to trap Kim inside a Putty while she transformed herself into looking like Kim.

Rita kissing an unaware Tommy was creepy AF. She was also quite willing to kill the Rangers while in her Kimberly disguise. Seeing her pick up a pair of scissors for some stabbing action when Billy called “Kim” out on being late to a charity event… Uff! Rita’s unhinged while pretending to be a teenager.

Another dark moment, which I wish Grace had the space to explore more, dealt with the real Kim experiencing an existential crisis due to her identity being stolen while being stuck inside a Putty. She even slashed open her abdomen with a broken glass bottle just for putty to come out.

Of course, Kim, being Kim, managed to have enough resolve to fight Rita again and threaten to end her own life to ensure the safety of her friends, which led to Rita giving up. But still, I do feel Sina brought up certain themes that I would really want him to explore in a Kimberly Hart/Pink Power Ranger solo series.

From a darker Kim-centric short to more comedic and action-oriented tales, MMPR Halloween Special Issue 1 delivered the treats I wanted as a fan.

Does it have obvious queer representation? No.

Recommendation: Pick it up.

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Which comic books did you read this week? Did you read X-Men: Book of Revelation Issue 1?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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