I’ve never been drawn to war stories. There’s an impenetrable incomprehensibility that I’m not often able to move past. It’s like our inability to comprehend large numbers but applied to extreme emotional settings of violence and trauma. When faced with such powerful, loud, visceral or violent imagery, I often just … dissociate. Many creators, especially…
Change came by force to the comics industry in 2020. A two-month pause in shipping by Diamond Comic Distributors — until this summer the lone distributor of single-issue comics in North America — laid bare the industry’s weaknesses. It sent comic shops into survival mode, led DC to seek out new distributors, lured creators to…
Each week, Xavier Files staff offer their recommendations for what to read. New DC comics come out Tuesdays, everything else Wednesdays. Matt & Chris’ Pick Future State: Next Batman #1: DC begins rolling out its two-month Future State event with this look at a future Gotham City ruled by a private law enforcement group and…
Look what [my editors] made me do. Get it? I’m told that’s a reputation reference. Well whatever, it doesn’t matter because we’re not here to talk about 2017 Taylor Swift. No, this is about 2020 Taylor Swift. Specifically evermore, her second full length album release this year which dropped last week. While we already established…
I have experimented with different columns and different formats over the five or so years I’ve been writing about comics, but you, Loyal Content Consumer, don’t necessarily care about that; no, you care about the comics, and I want to care about the comics with you. When I’m curled up in my big ratty office…
Ikaris is the last Eternal to come back to a now-meaningless life, expected to carry on with business as usual. So begins an ambitious relaunch courtesy of writer Kieron Gillen, artist Esad Ribić, colors by Matt Wilson, and Clayton Cowles handling the lettering and design! Zoe Tunnell: It is here!!! After a two-month delay and…
Zoe Tunnell: Hi there! I’m Zoe Tunnell, and I think the Eternals are pretty neat. I’ve got a weird history with the team as they somehow were one of my first forays into the Marvel Universe! After getting into comics via the Ultimate Universe as a teen in the mid-2000s, I started scouring my local…
X-Men writer Jonathan Hickman has a passion for graphic design. His love of charts has become nearly as memetic as his pithy interviews. Since we at ComicsXF are evolving our graphic design with the relaunch, we figured it was the perfect time to invite Jon over to talk about charts. Zachary Jenkins: Design elements have…
It wasn’t supposed to end like this. Xavier Files started at my dining room table over a plate of bacon and eggs. It was a Tumblr blog where I took bits and pieces of my favorite comics podcasts and foolheartedly assumed my opinion on comics would be exactly what the internet needed. I wrote about…
Hello friends and readers! This week we’re taking a look at the end of a friendly-neighborhood superhero’s latest arc! And it’s… a comic for sure. Amazing Spider-Man#55 written by Nick Spencer, art by Patrick Gleason, colored by Edgar Delgado, and lettered by Joe Caramagna. Well, that was a comic’ed book. Look, I haven’t made it…
Wolverine reminisces as X-Force bleeds into his solo. Benjamin Percy, Adam Kubert, Antonio Fabela, Viktor Bogdanovic, Matthew Willson, and Cory Petit present Wolverine #8.Which is also Wolverine #350.Don’t ask. TT: Hey Pierce! Welcome to our first column talking about our little corner of the Rain of X! It’s like the Dawn of X except there’s…
The Twilight Sword of the enemy tore the one land asunder. But what now keeps it apart? Jonathan Hickman, Phil Noto, and Clayton Cowles weave a tale of wonder in X-Men #16 Chris Eddleman: Rob, it’s been a long war. 22 issues, to be precise. But there is a time for war, and a time…
No One’s Rose by Emily Horn, Zac Thompson, Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque, Raúl Angulo and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou is an adventure story that explores ecology, utopia and life after calamity. I spoke with Horn and Thompson about the series and their perspectives on utopian fiction, climate change, destructive cycles, Waterworld and more. Click here for Part I….
King In Black: Iron Man/Doctor Doom #1 comes out on December 30th. Written by Christopher Cantwell with art by Salvador Larroca and Guru-eFX and letters by Travis Lanham. This review is a variant on “A Visit from St. Nicholas” with apologies to Clement Clarke Moore. ‘Twas a week after Christmas, a world gone to hell…
What if the last 60 years of American history was a carefully orchestrated conspiracy designed to teach the president who really runs the country? Wouldn’t that be something? Vishal Gullapalli, Forrest Hollingsworth and Will Nevin team up to talk over The Department of Truth #4 by James Tynion IV, Martin Simmonds, Aditya Bidikar, Dylan Todd…