Since the 1970s and the boom of martial arts media, the martial arts master has become a standard trope in comics. Ninjas, samurai, karate fighters and kung-fu masters have been present in comics from a myriad of companies. In many cases, they are portrayed through the lens of a white creator and with a problematic…
Each week, Xavier Files staff offer their recommendations for what to read. New DC comics come out Tuesdays, everything else Wednesdays. Chris’ Pick X-Factor #4: As “X of Swords” rolls on, it looks like maybe The Five are about to resurrect someone they shouldn’t have. It’s hard to say when all you have to go…
These past few months, for the average person, it’s been hard to look at anything long-term. There are too many questions. When will COVID-19 stop being a controlling factor in our daily lives? What happens with and after the election? Was 22 chapters too much Sword Content? Even within the smaller world of the comics…
So everything around Xavier Files Central this week has been about swords, swords and more swords. I don’t know entirely why. Maybe something X-Men related. That’s usually what it is… But seriously, X of Swords has landed, and Sword Bearers and Sword Breakers abound. But not everyone who studied the blade while you were partying…
Because we can’t start with wrestling *every* week. William C. Nevin Memorial Pick of the Week Bourbon. Comics. Whatever. It’s my pick. This week? A big-ass IDW sale at comiXology. In prepping for our next “Assigned Reading” piece here at Xavier Files, I hit up comiXology to grab the first trade in the IDW TMNT…
Full disclosure: I am not a Taylor Swift fan. Some might assume it’s a matter of taste, others might allude to the fact I’m “old” or “seriously, this is embarrassing, you’re not even the target audience.” Regardless, it was impossible to miss the release of her new album, Folklore, which landed online last month and…
Each week, Xavier Files staff offer their recommendations for what to read. New DC comics come out Tuesdays, everything else Wednesdays. Zack’s Pick (But Really Everyone’s, But Mostly Zack’s Because It’s His Site, But We Are All Very Excited): X of Swords: Creation #1: Swords! Swords! Swords! Swords! Swords! Listen, if you’re not frothing at…
He is the lone avenger of the night. He sits atop gargoyles in Gotham City, eternally alone in his quest for justice. He is Batman. He is the father figure to a group of young people who fight in his endless war against crime. He works with them to make them better, stronger and frankly…
I love Scott Summers. Cyclops has always been my favorite X-man, even when he was at his squarest back in the ’90s cartoon. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because I’m pretty square myself. “X-Men #30,” the wedding of Scott and Jean Grey, is a favorite X-Men issue of mine. I can quickly rattle off…
The Best Man Miro might be in trouble. The ‘Rasslin’ Report If I owned stock in Miro — which I don’t, because he’s the professional wrestler formerly known as Rusev — I’d call in a hold or maybe even a sell order into my broker, because I’m down as hell on his AEW debut, primarily…
The early 90s X-Books had their share of bad ideas. Characters who never did anything interesting or good but boy did they feel important had have neat designs. Because X-Men were the biggest thing ever in the 90s, some creators, whether from a misplaced sense of nostalgia or wild confidence in their skills, continue to…
Each week, Xavier Files staff offer their recommendations for what to read. New DC comics come out Tuesdays, everything else Wednesdays. Andrea’s Pick Giant-Size X-Men: Storm #1: We can all agree the X-Men’s resident goddess has been underwritten since the dawn of dawn of X the Hickman era began the Disassembled stuff Blue and Gold…
The first weekend of the DC FanDome — a 24-hour, multiplatform, virtual hype fest that continues this weekend — included among its many trailers, featurettes and celebrity interviews an image of Darkseid wielding a spear from the vaunted “Snyder Cut” of Justice League. It gave me pause. The spear is a versatile weapon. It can…
Spider-Man is being haunted by his past. Unfortunately, I am not talking about Kindred, the mysterious demonic figure who has been interminably teasing a reveal In the book since the beginning. Or rather, not only about Kindred, but writer Nick Spencer’s fascination with stories from Spider-Man’s past. From the start Spencer sprinkled his series with…
We’re at a crossroads in the centuries-long generational war. Boomers, Zoomers, Millennials, and the oft-forgotten Generation X are at arms with one another, blaming each other for their lives’ many woes. I find myself in an interesting position amongst all this. Being born in the 1996-to-1999 liminal space between being classified as a Millennial or…