Comic Book Reviews (Week December 28, 2022): X-Treme X-Men Issue 2, My Bad II Issue 2 & More!

Welcome to my comic book reviews for this week (December 28, 2022). I will be covering X-Treme X-Men issue 2, My Bad II issue 2, X-Terminators issue 4, and more.

Let’s begin by talking about X-Terminators issue 4 by writer Leah Williams with art by Carlos Gomez and colors by Bryan Valenza. I’m not sure, but I think this series will be coming to an end with the upcoming fifth issue. And that’s disappointing because Williams created an X-Men title that’s comedically chaotic and thus very different from the other X-Men titles. I have my fingers crossed that if X-Terminators is concluding due to the upcoming Sins of Sinister event, Marvel Comics allows Williams to bring back said series afterward.

The, as of yet, penultimate issue focused on Dazzler, Jubilee, Boom-Boom, and Wolverine figuring out a way to escape from Alex’s prison in space. The kink-shame scene was so unexpected. I loved it!

We also got an entire explanation about why Alex was working with The Collector. And having already seen our leads being interrogated by the Quiet Council, the current issue showed how the group found themselves in such a situation in the first place. Considering they are a bunch of heroes, of course, they would have brought all of the prisoners to Krakoa (during a fun little baseball match) before figuring out how to send each alien and magical species back to their planets.

Due to Dracula showing up seeking recompense for the heroines murdering numerous vampires, I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t a single line of dialogue between him and Storm, considering their history. Anyway, kudos to Jubilee for turning the tables on Dracula.

With Dazzler and the rest getting their revenge, I’m looking forward to seeing what the final issue will hold. I wouldn’t mind seeing the leads just having fun while spending a day or two together.

Does it have obvious queer characters? Yes.

Recommendation: Pick it up!

X-Treme X-Men Issue 2

From Chris Claremont and Salvador Larroca, X-Treme X-Men issue 2 was way better than the debut chapter as it wasn’t bogged down by the creative team needing to give readers a lengthy recap going over Kitty and Ogun’s backstory.

While trying to pinpoint Ogun’s location, as he went on to possess a couple of people, the X-Men also had to deal with the escalating threat of the Purity mob. Due to the mutant team being divided, Bishop and Sage had to face a powerful enemy on their own. Seeing those two be thrown around like ragdolls helped amp up the stakes.

I also liked how there was quite a bit of focus on how Kitty’s relationship with certain members of the X-Men could serve as an advantage or be to her detriment due to what Ogun knew about her. Apparently, things will continue to get worse for the X-Men in the upcoming issues of this 5-part miniseries. And you know what? I’m here for it as long as the creative team is able to provide us with an epic finale!

Does it have obvious queer characters? Yes.

Recommendation: Pick it up.

Creepshow Issue 4

Both stories in Creepshow issue 4 were enjoyable. ‘Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are’ by writer Kyle Starks and artist Fran Galan was a vampire tale while ‘La Mascara De La Muerte’ by writer Henry Barajas and artist Dani and colorist Brad Simpson was about a cursed mask.

I liked the pacing of the first tale as it introduced us to four kids spending summer together only to get involved with vampires. The fact that their plan didn’t go as expected made sense. They were kids after all. The way the story then introduced a time skip to show the lone survivor, a woman named Nancy, being afraid to ever leave her house was done well.

With vampires not being able to enter someone’s house without permission, I really thought an online messaging group would prove to be Nancy’s downfall. However, the actual conclusion I got was creepier and it circled back to something being mentioned during the flashback. H said that, the fact that the vampires waited for so long kind of didn’t make sense to me. But oh well. I read Creepshow for the horror aspect of it and not so much for perfect storylines.

As for the second short offering, it served its purpose as a tale about not accepting defeat and heeding warnings. Lupe Lopez got more than what she bargained for when she decided to wear her father’s cursed mask for another shot at reclaiming her title in the world of Lucha Libre. I enjoyed the gore-y artwork in this one.

Does it have obvious queer characters? No.

Recommendation: Pick it up.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II Issue 1

Even though Ryan Parrott’s not writing the main MMPR comic book anymore, at least he’s back to deliver another installment in the MMPR x TMNT crossover. Illustrated by Dan Mora with colors by Raul Angulo, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II opened with an exciting chapter that laid the groundwork for the threat making its way toward the Rangers and the Turtles. Things aren’t looking good and I’m here for it!

Along with giving readers dynamic panels during the fight sequences, Parrott also took the time to deliver well-written character interactions. I really liked the conversation between Leonardo and Jason where they talked about having people like Tommy and Raph in their teams. And what happened to Casey Jones offered the perfect opportunity to amp up the emotional beats for our heroes.

A major highlight for readers will be seeing Donatello and Michelangelo in their human forms. Notice their human fingers still resembling the three fingers they had as turtles!

From what I know from the TMNT fandom (taking into consideration the previous lore and current developments), the four turtles are supposed to be Blasian. I can’t wait to see Leo and Raph wear their human disguises!

Does it have obvious queer characters? No.

Recommendation: PICK IT UP!

My Bad II Issue 2

I was provided with a free digital copy of My Bad II issue 2 for review. The opinions I have shared are my own.

From writer Mark Russell, My Bad II issue 2 served as another enjoyable chapter in a comic book series that, in my opinion, easily rivals The Boys when it comes to parodying the superhero genre, and that too without relying on nudity and crass humor.

The second chapter continued the Chandelier’s mission, in ‘The Pizza Man Cometh’, to hunt down the pizza delivery guy who has already killed a bunch of people while targeting actual superheroes. As usual for Russell, he used the current story to hold a mirror up to real-world society. The news broadcast encouraging hysteria among certain people when it came to seeing pizza delivery guys at their front doors really stood out to me. Through visuals, the story showed how certain people were still delivering pizzas because they needed the money even though their life could be in danger.

The Chandelier’s monologue of how being a superhero meant you were in competition with not only villains and other superheroes, but time itself was a very interesting take. Of course, superheroes would want to leave a mark after their death. It’s just that The Chandelier’s too much of a mess of a lead character to actually do something right. And that’s one of the things that make reading My Bad a joy.

We also got a B storyline, in ‘Perfect Date’ by writer Bryce Ingman, where Emperor King, under the disguise of being the superhero Steel Integrity, continued being a hero to get dates. With how his true intentions got revealed in front of Good Karen after a lizard attack, I’m looking forward to seeing if he will manage to save his “relationship” with her or if he will move on to someone else. And yes, for those wondering, Good Karen has been working very hard to redeem the name “Karen”.

Writer Bryce Ingman also showed what The Accelerator’s human widow has been doing to find a suitable spokesperson for Dixon’s Fried Chicken in ‘Help Wanted’.

There’s also a fun little one-page addition titled ‘Office Fight!’ by Russell that introduced a bunch of office workers complete with unique abilities and how said abilities might help them during, you guessed it, an office fight.

In times where certain comic books seem to be dragging out storylines across numerous issues, My Bad II offering a variety of content in a single comic book is much appreciated.

Does it have obvious queer characters? No.

Recommendation: PICK IT UP!

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Which comic books did you read this week? What did you think of X-Treme X-Men issue 2?

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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