Panel Vision - Great Ten

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As the 21^st century prepares to exit its adolescence and enter its quarter-life crisis period, the idea that this will be the Chinese century seems more and more assured.  Chinese tastes and interests have grown into a major box office force for American blockbusters, Chinese industrialism drives a lot of the global economy, they’re the only people with the billions to dictate commands to the likes of Apple or Google, and recently they’ve established themselves at the forefront of the Green Energy push. 

This means that everybody has to adjust, hence why we see a larger Chinese presence in US blockbusters like Transformers 4 or Iron Man 3.  Comics are usually slow to adapt to these kinds of trends save for one exception at DC comics, who got on board the China train as early as 2006- 2 years before their coming out party to the world stage that was the Beijing Olympics.  They did it with a new prestige team of superheroes meant to embody various aspects of Chinese culture known as the Great Ten.

Panel Vision - Legion Quest

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Let’s talk about Legion.  Before he got his own TV show as the first ever live action X-Men show to reach full series, he was a comic book character.  Legion, real name David, is the son of Charles Xavier.  His mutant power is the ability to absorb other people’s psyches into himself and gaining their powers when he gives their mind lease.  

This basically makes him crazy, as he’s got a whole head full of absorbed personalities all vying for control of his body.   Though he first premiered in 1985 in an issue of X-Force, he didn’t really come into his own in the X-Men mythos till a decade later, in a story entitled Legion Quest. 

That’s what I’m looking at today, the story that put Legion on the X-map, for better and worse.  It’s a curious beast, a crossover from 3 of the major X-men comics of the time that set off one the biggest crossover events in Marvel history.  In fact, the only way the series has ever been collected is in relation to the event it spawned, Age of Apocalypse, which I reviewed last year.  

That gives it a direct link to one of the biggest blunders in Marvel history, the comic series that helped bring about Marvel’s bankruptcy in 1996 and believe me it shows- there is no better single example of bad 1990s comics than Legion Quest. 

Cover Story - Top 20 Daredevil Covers

Edited by Robert Beach 

Yesterday marked the launch of Marvel and Netflix’s Daredevil season 2. I’ve already burned through the whole season, and I may do a review of the entire season. For now, I’d still like to get a Daredevil-themed article out there. Luckily, I’ve got this column. 

Yes it’s time to dive into the shallow end once more for a look at the life of the man without fear: Daredevil, showcasing the top 20 Daredevil covers culled from across the character’s massive history.  This is a big list, so let’s get started.

Comics Rainbow - Hulk

This past week saw the launch of the Totally Awesome Hulk.  This new iteration of Marvel’s Gamma powered behemoth will be a departure from mainstay Bruce Banner for his previous supporting character Amadeus Cho.  Switching up the Hulk’s mechanics and identity are hardly new, I’ve already burned through the incredibly massive list of gamma powered beings in the Marvel universe in case you need proof of that, but the Hulk himself has gone through a ton of variations as well.  Most folks know about the Gray Hulk but there are so many other insane and bizarre alterations to the Hulk’s history it’d be a shame not to showcase just how ridiculous Marvel got with this character, in all their shades, shames, and successes. 

Comic Rainbow - Flash Family

Welcome back to Comic Rainbow, the show with a pointedly vague brief so I can focus on pretty much whatever I want so long as I’m indulging my color obsession.  In the spirit of undefined focus this week we’re looking at another topical subject: The Flash.  In case you don’t know CW’s The Flash premiered its 2^nd season on Tuesday of this week at the time of writing.  The show had a rocky start but rocketed into the hearts of nerds and common folk alike through its winning combination of comic book craziness and engaging character and story.  I personally love CW’s The Flash, it’s the only DC adaptation of the 2010s to rival the works of Marvel and is the best comic show currently on TV.  This new season is primed to continue the show’s broadening horizons by introducing both the multiverse and a collection of Flash allies such as Wally West, Jay Garrick, and Jesse Quick.  This has got me thinking about the Flash Family, a group of heroes who all draw their power from the speed force, which I discussed previously in “Would You Like To Know More.”  So, this is your full spectrum look at the Flash Family in all its shades, shames, and successes.

Darth Vader #8 Review

I take a look at the Marvel's best Star Wars comic: Darth Vader, check out my review over on All-Comic

http://all-comic.com/2015/darth-vader-8/

Jupiter's Circle #4 Review

Jupiter's Circle is Mark Millar's attempt at a Watchmen style prequel to his previous series Jupiter's Legacy (which I already looked at over on Front Towards Gamer.)  Check out my latest review of Jupiter's Circle #4 over on All-Comic.com

http://all-comic.com/2015/jupiters-circle-4/