Odds & Ends - COMICSXF https://comicsxf.com The comics criticism you crave Fri, 19 Jun 2026 17:20:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.2 https://i0.wp.com/comicsxf.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/cropped-orange-favicon-2.jpg?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Odds & Ends - COMICSXF https://comicsxf.com 32 32 107498702 Dani’s parents are in mystical trouble again in Moonstar #4 (PREVIEW) https://comicsxf.com/2026/06/19/danis-parents-are-in-mystical-trouble-again-in-moonstar-4-preview/ Fri, 19 Jun 2026 15:00:00 +0000 https://comicsxf.com/?p=57143 Remember how Dani Moonstar’s parents got turned into the Demon Bear, as revealed in the titular and seminal “Demon Bear” story which introduced Bill Sienkiewicz to the New Mutants in New Mutants #18-20? And how it was never really made clear WHO turned them into a massive demonic bear, until a response to a letter...

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]]> 57143 They Might Be Giants demand you look them in the Eyeball if you want new music https://comicsxf.com/2026/01/15/they-might-be-giants-demand-you-look-them-in-the-eyeball-if-you-want-new-music/ Thu, 15 Jan 2026 23:00:00 +0000 https://comicsxf.com/?p=55603 They Might Be Giants on Thursday released their first collection of new music since 2021, a four-track EP called Eyeball. Mark Turetsky has the review.

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]]> 55603 Xavier Files Entry #124: Doug Ramsey Update https://comicsxf.com/2026/01/12/xavier-files-entry-124-doug-ramsey-update/ Mon, 12 Jan 2026 17:00:00 +0000 https://comicsxf.com/?p=55479 With "Age of Revelation" ending, we figured it was the perfect time to update the Xavier Files entry on the New Mutant turned Heir of Apocalypse, Doug Ramsey!

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]]> 55479 SHARK WATCH: It’s insane how often superheroes fight sharks. Here are 27 examples. https://comicsxf.com/2025/07/28/superheroes-vs-sharks/ Mon, 28 Jul 2025 16:00:00 +0000 https://comicsxf.com/?p=53592 It goes without saying, but superheroes need to fight stuff, and more often than not when they’re in ocean waters, they encounter sharks. Now, according to the 20th anniversary edition of the Worst Case Scenario Handbook, there are a few things you can do to fend off a shark attack, but most of them boil...

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]]> 53592 SHARK WATCH: Your guide to Marvel’s many races of weird little shark guys https://comicsxf.com/2025/07/25/marvel-shark-people/ Fri, 25 Jul 2025 12:00:00 +0000 https://comicsxf.com/?p=53559 People really like sharks. I get it, they’re graceful, powerful, nonstop death machines with mouths filled with endless quantities of razor-sharp teeth. What’s not to love?  The creators behind decades of Marvel comics are no exception. They love their sharks too, which means there are a healthy number of shark species, shark races and shark-related...

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]]> 53559 SHARK WATCH: These are the 10 best shark characters in comics https://comicsxf.com/2025/07/22/best-shark-characters-in-comics/ Tue, 22 Jul 2025 16:00:00 +0000 https://comicsxf.com/?p=53463 Happy Shark Watch to those who celebrate! Not only is it that time of year when a certain television channel/streaming service shows a lot of footage of nervous scuba divers, but it’s also the 50th anniversary of Jaws, so — dun dun, dun dun — go get that bigger boat you needed because the ComicsXF...

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]]> 53463 Visit the Mojo Dojo Casa House in our EXCLUSIVE preview of Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace #2 https://comicsxf.com/2024/04/04/ms-marvel-mutant-menace-2-preview/ Thu, 04 Apr 2024 18:00:00 +0000 https://comicsxf.com/?p=48451 Well, Mojo’s having a week, isn’t he? First, he traps Jubilee and Sunspot in a video game in X-Men ’97, now he’s attempting to trap Lila Cheney in a lifetime contract in the latest issue of Ms. Marvel. But wait, doesn’t Kamala Khan have bigger fish to fry right now with the whole Orchis thing?...

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]]> 48451 Usagi Yojimbo DOES NOT cross over with The Crow in this week’s Staff Picks https://comicsxf.com/2024/04/03/staff-picks-april3/ Wed, 03 Apr 2024 12:00:00 +0000 https://comicsxf.com/?p=48434 Each week, ComicsXF staff offer their recommendations for what to read. New DC books come out Tuesdays (for now), everything else Wednesdays. Mark’s pick: Usagi Yojimbo: The Crow #1: Finally making it out of the frozen mountains, Usagi and Yukichi come across a merchant being attacked by four brigands. They rescue the supposed merchant only to...

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]]> 48434 Ultimate X-Men #1 not a big bang but a magical evolution https://comicsxf.com/2024/03/10/ultimate-xmen-1/ Sun, 10 Mar 2024 13:36:45 +0000 https://comicsxf.com/?p=48136 Hisako Ichiki is a teenage girl who just wants to live a normal life – go to school, hang out with her friends, ignore the political strife broiling over after the events of Ultimate Invasion – but life has other plans for her. In Japan, urban legends have sprung to life and brought some unusual...

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]]> 48136 Marvel and the NBA have a lot more in common than you think: PART ONE https://comicsxf.com/2024/03/05/marvel-nba-part1/ Tue, 05 Mar 2024 17:00:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=48091 This is a variant cover to 2021’s Venom #35/200, drawn by Kael Ngu. Take a closer look at it. How does it make you feel? Joy? Apprehension? Confusion? For me, it’s a true work of art, and represents the crossover between two of my favorite things in the world: basketball and comics. While the effects...

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]]> 48091 Rise from your grave in our EXCLUSIVE preview of Dead X-Men #1 https://comicsxf.com/2024/01/25/dead-xmen-1-preview/ Thu, 25 Jan 2024 19:00:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=47771 Previously, in Dead X-Men: Remember that? Fun times. Even with resurrection seemingly off the table for now, mutants are finding all sorts of ways to come back. Jean Grey found herself communing with the Phoenix Force again in the White Hot Room. X-Force has a clone of Beast circa his New Defenders era just lying...

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]]> 47771 The 2023 ComicsXF Holiday Gift Guide! https://comicsxf.com/2023/12/04/holiday-gift-guide-2023/ Mon, 04 Dec 2023 17:00:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=47298 Presented with love by the ComicsXFamily and arranged by Adam Reck The winter holidays are almost here, and no matter what you’re celebrating, you probably want to get something rad for your family, friends and loved ones. But what should you get? When a plate of cookies or a gift card won’t do, the diligent...

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]]> 47298 Ms. Marvel #3 & #4 leave us wanting more (in a good way) https://comicsxf.com/2023/12/04/ms-marvel-3-4/ Mon, 04 Dec 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=47326 Orchis is closing in on Ms. Marvel, with a plan to use her to get to the X-Men. All she has to do is embrace her new mutant identity. But with so many other labels already hanging on her shoulders, Kamala Khan has to wrestle with just what it means to fully accept another one...

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]]> 47326 The Uncanny Experience to return for sophomore year https://comicsxf.com/2023/10/16/uncanny-experience-sophomore-year/ Mon, 16 Oct 2023 18:38:37 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=46916 If you missed out on the inaugural Uncanny Experience X-Men fan convention earlier this fall, you’ll get another chance to enroll, thanks to the recently announced Uncanny Experience Sophomore Year. Following the success of the first event, which featured a unique mix of traditional comic book convention staples like exclusive variant covers and creator panels...

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]]> 46916 Ms. Marvel #2 has some fun while setting things up https://comicsxf.com/2023/10/09/ms-marvel-2-has-some-fun-while-setting-things-up/ Mon, 09 Oct 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=46764 No one ever said life as a superhero would be easy, but things have been especially complicated for Ms. Marvel of late. There’s little time to breathe, however, as ORCHIS’ nets are slowly closing around her — but with a little help from the Marvel Universe’s latest power couple, Emma Frost and Iron Man, she...

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]]> 46764 The X-Mansion comes to Minneapolis in the Uncanny Experience https://comicsxf.com/2023/09/25/uncanny-experience/ Mon, 25 Sep 2023 12:30:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=46622 When the Uncanny Experience was first announced, I was admittedly skeptical. Part comic book convention, part immersive fan experience, the idea of transforming the venerable Minneapolis Club in downtown Minneapolis into a de facto X-Mansion for a weekend, then inviting fans to come and not just buy merch and listen to creator panels, but enroll...

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]]> 46622 ComicsXF takes the Marvel Multiverse RPG Core Rulebook for a test roll https://comicsxf.com/2023/09/05/marvel-multiverse-rpg-roll-2/ Tue, 05 Sep 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=46480 In 2022, a crack team of ComicsXF writers and TTRPG lovers came together to try out the Marvel Multiverse RPG playtest — and found it wanting. Now, the members of the ComicsXF staff come together once more to play the finalized version of the game. Has it improved from playtest, gotten immeasurably worse or ended...

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]]> 46480 Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #1 does right by its lead https://comicsxf.com/2023/08/31/ms-marvel-new-mutant-1/ Thu, 31 Aug 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=46427 Pakistani. American. Muslim. Inhuman. Mutant. Superhero. Outlaw. Avenger. Champion. Exile. X-man. There are a lot of labels on Kamala Khan, and the latest one has upended her world entirely, and given her an all-new mission statement. But underneath all the labels, when you take away the societies who believe they have a claim on her...

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]]> 46427 Dark X-Men #1 is a hell of a good time https://comicsxf.com/2023/08/22/dark-x-men-1-is-a-hell-of-a-good-time/ Tue, 22 Aug 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=46352 Madelyne Pryor has a lot to worry about. As Queen of Limbo, she has to quell constant demonic uprisings against her home. She’s also in charge of the Limbo-New York Embassy, managing mutant refugees from the fall of Krakoa, and generally dealing with a city that does not want her there — and now Orchis...

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]]> 46352 Stab fascists all day in Uncanny Avengers #1 https://comicsxf.com/2023/08/19/stab-fascists-all-day-in-uncanny-avengers-1/ Sat, 19 Aug 2023 11:54:24 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=46334 Krakoa has fallen. Mutants throughout the world are being hunted, shipped off planet or forced to have their powers inhibited. Charles Xavier may have given up the dream of human and mutant co-existence, but Captain America still believes the two can stand together. See the return of the Unity Squad in Uncanny Avengers #1, written...

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]]> 46334 Cable & Bishop play Bad Cop/Bad Cop in Children of the Vault #1 https://comicsxf.com/2023/08/09/cable-bishop-play-bad-cop-bad-cop-in-children-of-the-vault-1/ Wed, 09 Aug 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=46218 Sealed in a dream-state by Krakoan technology, the fearsomely powerful Children of the Vault have been dormant in Chile while thinking they’ve taken over the world. Now Krakoa belongs to the past. Are the Children the future? Not if Cable and Bishop have much to say about it in Children of the Vault #1, written...

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]]> 46218 Batman Turns 900 and Also Peacemaker Is Here in BatChat https://comicsxf.com/2023/05/05/batman-turns-900-and-also-peacemaker-is-here-in-batchat/ Fri, 05 May 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=45391 Batman faces down Red Mask on a journey through the Multiverse, where we see some very familiar cowls in Batman #135, written by Chip Zdarsky, penciled by Mike Hawthorne, Mikel Janin and Jorge Jimenez, inked by Adriano Di Benedetto, Jimenez and Janin, colored by Tomeu Morey and Romulo Fajardo Jr., and lettered by Clayton Cowles....

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]]> 45391 In Conversation with Myself about the Structure of Image’s 20th Century Men #5 https://comicsxf.com/2022/12/28/in-conversation-with-myself-about-the-structure-of-images-20th-century-men-5/ Wed, 28 Dec 2022 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=44346 In the burning deserts of Afghanistan, Platonov confronts Azra about her secrets and discovers her grand plan. But what will he do with what he learns? Then, in the frigid tundra of Siberia, the Iron Star seeks out an old ally for help. But something is terribly wrong with the Collective Man. Image’s 20th Century...

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]]> 44346 Things Get Batty in Midnight Suns #3! https://comicsxf.com/2022/12/20/things-get-batty-in-midnight-suns-3/ Tue, 20 Dec 2022 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=44273 The Midnight Suns brave the darkest and most horrifying journey imaginable to secure aid from one of the most ancient and dangerous beings in all of existence. What terrible secret from the past is Agatha Harkness hiding? And what does the truth mean for Zoe Laveau’s future?! Written by Ethan Sacks, with art by Luigi...

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]]> 44273 The Fates Aligned, Grim Returns for a New Arc with Issue #6 https://comicsxf.com/2022/12/14/the-fates-aligned-grim-returns-for-a-new-arc-with-issue-6/ Wed, 14 Dec 2022 18:00:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=44160 Still trapped in Las Vegas, Jessica, Eddie and Marcel encounter a fabulous twist on mythical Greek figures, as well as someone with the authority to get them out of their phantasmal dilemma. A new arc begins in Grim #6, written by Stephanie Phillips, drawn by Flaviano, colored by Rico Renzi and lettered by Tom Napolitano...

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