New Champions #8 Review

 

Writer: Steve Foxe

Artist: Ivan Fiorelli

Colorist: Arthur Hesli

Letterer: Travis Lanham

Cover Artists: Ivan Fiorelli & Arthur Hesli

Graphic Designer: Kat Walkington

Editors: Sidney Stubbs, Alanna Smith & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: August 13, 2025

 

When the New Champions shook off HYDRA’s brainwashing, Hellrune’s friends returned to their parents, and she reentered the foster system. The McCormicks were considerate, but Hellrune was desperate for what her friends had. So she cast a spell to find relatives, and her magical, bird-like scouts led her to a Norwegian island. After Hellrune found her Aunt Veleda, she left the team to connect with her family. But Hellrune is growing suspicious of Veleda’s motives. When her aunt visits a Scandinavian magical market, Hellrune sends an SOS.

 

Moon Squire rallies his friends, and Liberty transports them to England. A half-vampire guides them into the Shadowplay Market, the UK node of the worldwide magical market. The team learn where Aunt Veleda has taken her niece. But can they reach Iceland before Veleda sacrifices Hellrune? Let's board Liberty's Star-Spinner, leap into New Champions #8, and find out!

 

Story

Hellrune always felt closer to her friends than Mr and Mrs McCormick. But she didn’t belong in their families. Aunt Veleda was supposed to supply that sense of belonging. Instead, Veleda isolates Hellrune. She insists that Liberty, Moon Squire, and Cadet Marvel aren't her friends. After all, when Hellrune left them to reconnect with her family, the New Champions immediately drafted in replacements, including the magic-wielding Amaranth. 

 

But there’s a reason Aunt Veleda keeps talking about people using others. In New Champions #8, Veleda reveals Hellrune’s heritage. Like the Bene Gesserit, her coven has conducted a breeding program. Now, Veleda brings Hellrune to their ancestral grounds. In this place where the veil is closest between Midgard and Niffleheim, Veleda needs Hellrune to gain the power she seeks.

 

Steve Foxe’s fast-paced rescue plot shows how the founding members and recruits have bonded. It suggests why the zombies arose on the Norwegian island, and a magic spear appeared on Hellrune’s thirteenth birthday. While New Champions #8 completes the young heroes’ saga, it leaves the possibilities open for a future series.

 

Art

Two small figures trudge toward an ancient temple rising amid snow-covered mountains. Inside, Veleda lashes Hellrune to a platform inscribed with skulls and a horned god. Veleda takes Hellrune’s spear and dumps out her purchases from the Scandinavian magical market. Then she thrusts Hellrune’s spear into the flagstones.

 

Ivan Fiorelli shows that Liberty designed her Star-Spinner for four people. As Fantasma helps out Gold Tiger, Liberty, Amaranth, Moon Squire, and Cadet Marvel hug themselves amid the wind and snow. But when hands rise from the snow, fighting and flying warm the kids better than Veleda and Hellrune’s fur cloaks.

 

Arthur Hesli’s intense and pleasing colors make New Champions #8 pulse with power like Hellrune’s spear. Cadet Marvel's yellow visors and lightning bolt link him with Gold Tiger. Red binds Liberty and Amaranth with Hellrune. Blue connects nearly all the heroes beneath the intensely blue sky. Veleda, her associates, and her god share green. When Veleda summons her god, the spear channels the same green energy she used to bind Hellrune, instead of its usual blue. The green lightning bolt on Hellrune's face suggests she must choose where she belongs.

 

Travis Lanham conjures uppercase letters into white and colored dialogue balloons. The letters grow bold for inflection, swell for volume, and rarely shrink. Dialogue balloons grow spiky when witches invoke their god. Sound effects accompany a turbulent flight, an uprising in the snow, and a divine manifestation. Thanks to Marvel for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

When Hellrune’s friends risk everything to find her, she must decide where her future lies. New Champions #8 delivers a satisfying conclusion to this series about family, belonging, inclusion, and friendship, while reminding us that manipulation is never a form of love.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

New Champions #6 Review

 

Writer: Steve Foxe

Artist: Ruairí Coleman

Colorist: Arthur Hesli

Letterer: Travis Lanham

Cover Artists: Gleb Melnikov & Arthur Hesli; Edwin Galmon & Andrew Dalhouse; Meghan Hetrick

Graphic Designer: Kat Walkington

Editors: Sidney Stubbs, Alanna Smith & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: June 11, 2025

 

While Hellrune tries to reclaim her family’s magical heritage, Amaranth wields magic on behalf of the team. The Scarlet Witch’s former apprentice suggests they would be more effective if everyone had a basic understanding of magic. While showing them how to view potential threats, the team sees Monte fighting a Human-sized frog. Fantasma transports them to Monte’s aid, and Amaranth bespells the amphibian aggressor.

 

After Cadet Marvel demonstrates that magic is only one solution to any problem, the kids notice Liberty and Monte have vanished. Can the team find their team leader and the street magician? Let's hitch a ride with Fantasma through a Hell Portal, leap into New Champions #6, and find out!

 

Story

Sometimes, the best thing you can do is recognize you need help. In Liberty's absence, Cadet Marvel emails the Avengers. Still, he's surprised when Captain Marvel appears. Carol Danvers knew his mother from when they served together in Alpha Flight. She agrees to help the young man who pays her homage by protecting San Francisco.

 

But in New Champions #6, it's the Avengers who honor Liberty by convening in her parents' house. As they learn about this young lady who builds Hard Light devices and vehicles, the Avengers comfort her worried parents. Without Monte and Magnetrix manipulating their emotions, the New Champions get on better with the Avengers than with Nova, Ms Marvel, and the more established Champions team. But they realize they need to be prepared for a battle, as Monte has used magic to shield Liberty's distinctive energy signature.

 

When the Scarlet Witch and Amaranth transport the Avengers and New Champions to New York, they discover Magnetrix draining Liberty of her energy. With Monte questioning her actions, Magnetrix secures help to prevent the heroes from disrupting her plans. As with Jeph Loeb's Nova series, Steve Foxe's story lets the New Champions work with and measure themselves against their heroes. Most of the Avengers are happy to pay it forward and help fight Monte and Magnetrix. But, like Spider-Man mentoring Spider-Boy, one adult hero worries about how power can transform our character in New Champions #6.

 

 

 

Art

Cadet Marvel evokes a young Steve Rogers dressed in a red T-shirt, blue pants, and a brown leather jacket. Like him, Captain Marvel brings flowers to his mother's grave. But she wears her uniform. Her scowl suggests her displeasure at adopting her name without permission. Inside a graffiti-adorned building, Liberty strains at the magic binding her to Magnetrix’s adjustable office chair. The silhouette behind Monte, suggestive of his shadow, hints at his concerns over authenticity in New Champions #6.

 

Ruairí Coleman shows the heroes and villains preparing for their battle with separate double-page horizontal layouts. Arthur Hesli also suggests similarities by coloring Scarlet Witch and Amaranth's magic the same pink and purple as Magnetrix’s uniform. When Monte's master summons a purplish-white orb, the yellow, pink, and white lights fade from the skyline. Thankfully, white stars still shine in the blue sky, and no vampires fill the streets of New York. 

 

Travis Lanham conjures uppercase black letters into white dialogue balloons. The letters grow bold for inflection, swell for volume, and rarely shrink. Iron Man and Vision both utilize yellow balloons, while white letters in blue balloons deliver Fantasma’s dialogue. Larger lowercase white letters with red borders locate us in time and space. Sound effects accompany Storm’s displeasure and Magnetrix emulating Palpatine. The draftee to the “Brotherhood of Disgruntled Hydra Agents” delivers a series of noisy attacks, while a low buzzing signals a cry for help in New Champions #6. Thanks to Marvel for providing a review copy.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

When you realize people have taken advantage of you, it changes you. Like Moon Squire, Liberty uses the power Hydra gave her to help and support others. Other team members with less supportive families have struggled with their commitment to protect and serve their communities. In New Champions #6, Liberty gains insight into why Magnetrix chose to walk a different path.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

New Champions #4 Review

 

Writer: Steve Foxe

Artist: Ivan Fiorelli

Colorist: Arthur Hesli

Letterer: Travis Lanham

Cover Artists: Gleb Melnikov & Arthur Hesli; Pablo Villalobos; Rian Gonzales

Graphic Designer: Kat Walkington

Editors: Sidney Stubbs, Alanna Smith & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: April 23, 2025

 

Like the other New Champions, Hydra brainwashed Hellrune. Liberty, Moon Squire, and Cadet Marvel returned to their families thanks to Spider-Woman. Sadly, Hellrune sank back into the foster system. So, when her magical birds located her aunt on a Norwegian island, Hellrune remained with Veleda instead of returning to San Francisco with the New Champions.

 

The remaining New Champions were saddened to lose their friend. Fantasma, Amaranth, and Gold Tiger can’t replace Hellrune, but they seem viable recruits. So, when Gold Tiger sends an SOS, Liberty answers the call. But it will take time for Liberty and her teammates to travel to Los Angeles. Can anyone reach Gold Tiger first? Let’s hitch a ride on Liberty’s “flying saucer,” leap into New Champions #4, and find out!

 

Story

Like many runaways, Gold Tiger walks the streets of Los Angeles. When the Wakandan kid enters the pawn shop, Discount Don is about to close for the night. Her offer of a gold brick for American currency intrigues him. But Gold Tiger backs away when Discount Don wants to check its authenticity. She offers to let him keep it gratis. Outside, she discovers that the Sons of the Serpent have already answered Discount Don's text. Thankfully, Gold Tiger has the Hard Light communicator Liberty gave her on the Viking zombie island.

 

In New Champions #4, Fantasma comes to Gold Tiger’s aid. But LA's roller derby hero is displeased with the impromptu rescue. Hellrune's spell accidentally drew Fantasma into a battle with Viking zombies. Monte and Magnetrix have painted targets on Liberty, Cadet Marvel, and Moon Squire's backs. Now, Gold Tiger has adversaries who hunt her. Fantasma wants to know more about who she may be risking her life alongside.

 

In Steve Foxe's story, Fantasma is more interested in interviewing her potential teammates than sharing personal details. While Liberty acts as team leader and hosts an orientation in her family's garage, Moon Squire is the glue that binds the team. He makes others comfortable by showing wisdom and compassion in New Champions #4. 

 

 

 

Art

Liberty dines with her parents beneath globe droplights, a flower vase, and a fruit bowl in her modern, two-story home. Moon Squire sits on the floor while Cadet Marvel reclines on his daybed. Amaranth travels alongside the Scarlet Witch through the surreal shapes of another dimension. Fantasma breaks away from her roller derby team to take Liberty's call. While Gold Tiger walks the streets alone, Ivan Fiorelli portrays the other New Champions in their homes and with the people supporting them.

 

Arthur Hesli paints Gold Tiger in red, turquoise, and gold, evoking her colorful homeland. The Sons of the Serpent wear green uniforms reminiscent of the organization that brainwashed Liberty, Moon Squire, and Cadet Marvel. Gold Tiger's claws rip lines of blue-white energy through the air, linking her with Fantasma's Ghost Rider power and Liberty's hard light energy, wings, and inventions. Soft greens and blues often fill the interiors of the richly colored New Champions #4. Gold shines from illuminated windows, Cadet Marvel's visor and lightning bolt, and the burnished beast emblematic of Gold Tiger's power.

 

Travis Lanham conjures uppercase black letters into white dialogue balloons. The letters grow bold for inflection, swell for volume, and never shrink. White letters in red narrative boxes introduce our heroes, and white letters in blue balloons portray Fantasma’s dialogue. Larger lowercase white letters with red borders locate us in time and space, while music notes highlight Gold Tiger's love of music. Sound effects help us hear slashing claws, clunking gold bricks, and the lash of Fantasma's chain on flesh in New Champions #4. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Hydra made Moon Squire, Cadet Marvel, and Liberty household names. Moon Squire's large family provides emotional support to deal with being a public figure. In New Champions #4, the team's charter members realize that, like Hellrune, their recruits may have fewer supportive people. The teammates need to know each other sufficiently to work effectively together. But Amaranth, Gold Tiger, and Fantasma should have the option of keeping as much of their identities secret as they wish, not only from the team but also from Joe Public.

 

Still, Gold Tiger seeks connection. Her story overflows with mysteries that the Wakandan has yet to understand. Like her new teammate Amaranth, Gold Tiger wields immense power. Others hunger to harness her uniqueness. And not everyone who wants to study Gold Tiger is as ethical as the scientists in Wakanda.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

New Champions #1 Review

 

Writer: Steve Foxe

Artist: Ivan Fiorelli & Ig Guara

Colorist: Arthur Hesli

Letterer: Travis Lanham

Cover Artists: Gleb Melnikov & Edgar Delgado; Federico Vicentini & Matt Milla; Luciano Vecchio; Rose Besch; Stanley “Artgerm” Lau; Peach Momoko; Paco Medina & Jesus Aburtov; Nicoletta Baldari

Graphic Designer: Kat Walkington

Editors: MR Daniel, Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Alanna Smith & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: January 8, 2025

 

Hydra captured them. Kondrati Topolov, aka Gremlin, brainwashed them (and made their families forget them). The young heroes worked for Echidna and followed Titan's commands until screamy Angar unlocked memories of Hydra’s conditioning. Nick Fury helped them reunite with their families (well, most of them). But who are the newest superheroes protecting San Francisco? Let’s hitch a ride on Max Zorin’s blimp, leap into New Champions #1, and find out!

 

Story

The Brothers Grimm collected folktales about extraordinary children. But when the New Champions interrupt their hovering heist, the skull-faced villains who took their name feel embarrassed to be captured by children. Liberty is ecstatic at her friends’ teamwork. Cadet Marvel objects to such parental praise in public, and Moon Squire reminds her that his parents expect him home at dinnertime. But the young heroes are tired of taking the bus for their superhero patrols, so Hellrune teleports them home.

 

 

 

Echidna's marketing team crafted an origin story for their new corporate superhero team. Some of it was false. But while Nick Fury reunited Moon Squire, Liberty, and Cadet Marvel with their parents, Echidna’s story about Hellrune living in an orphanage seems based on fact. Hellrune should be traumatized by her Hydra experiences. Yet what bothers her more in New Champions #1 is the magic she wields.

 

 

 

Are we products of our biology or our environment? Superheroes are no different from the rest of us. In Steve Foxe's story, Cadet Marvel, Liberty, and Moon Squire benefit from their parents and sibling's influence. But Hellrune has nothing to call her own except her magic. Unlike Jaren, Miranda, and Emilio, "Runie" doesn't even know her given name. So, while living with her foster parents, Hellrune uses magic to find her biological parents. She needs to learn what makes her tick and why her family abandoned her.

 

 

 

Art

While Moon Squire enlivens in white cloth and a black mask, Cadet Marvel rocks with a yellow lightning bolt emblem and yellow goggles. Clad in Captain America attire, Liberty flies with her Wasp-like, hard-light wings. Hellrune displays Iron Age fantasy adventurer appeal with her greaves, rondels, and fur cape. But her unique lantern-like spear separates her from the rest of humanity.

 

 

 

Magic flows from Hellrune’s spear in bands of rainbow light. While Arthur Hesli lavishes a loaded palette of vivid colors on Ivan Fiorelli and Ig Guara’s art in New Champions #1, intense blue-white light unifies our heroes. Hellrune wields this from her spear and conjures glowing symbols and runes. The same intense energy surrounds her when she teleports. 

 

 

 

Liberty gathers her friends Moon Squire and Cadet Marvel with a blue light vehicle, while newcomer Fantasma crackles with blue-white energy as she roller-skates into their lives. Perhaps most intriguing are Hellrune’s blue-white ravens. Do her scouts foretell destruction, as they did for Spider-Gwen on Earth-65? 

 

 

 

Travis Lanham conjures uppercase black letters into white dialogue balloons. The letters grow bold for inflection, swell for volume, and shrink for lowered voices. White letters in red narrative boxes introduce readers to our heroes, while black letters in colored boxes reveal texting. The cawing of ravens accompanies the cracking and booming of Hellrune’s magic, while a giant crashing toward the friends brings along another young hero in New Champions #1. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

After her friends hit the jackpot with loving families, Hellrune grows desperate. She risks using magic she doesn't understand in a quest for her biological family. But when her hoped-for reunion becomes mayhem in the marsh, the first people Hellrune calls are her found family. New Champions #1 is a quest for identity and a reminder that learning the truth about our past may not always be pleasant.

 

Rating 9.5/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Power Rangers Unlimited: The Morphin Masters #1 Review

 

Writer: Ryan Parrot & Rachel Wagner

Artist: Daniel Bayliss

Colorist: Arthur Hesli

Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

Cover Artists: Toni Infante, Goñi Montes, Miguel Mercado & Justine Florentino

Publisher: Boom! Studios

Price: $7.99

Release Date: January 31, 2024

 

After her battle with Lord Drakkon, Ranger Slayer hurtles through an interdimensional vortex. Kimberly Hart arrives in a forest, but where will she find the Morphin Masters? Dark Specter's infection is spreading, corrupting the Morphin Grid. Can a pink and black ranger who has made all the wrong choices save the universe? Let's leap into Power Rangers Unlimited: Morphin Masters #1 and find out!

 

Story

While exploring the forest, Kimberly finds an XI Unit made by the Morphin Masters. When attacked, a disembodied voice guides her escape. The Pink Emissary offers to aid her quest but will not protect Kimberly from danger. Also, despite the urgent situation, the Pink Emissary speaks ambiguously.

 

Kimberly feels alone and unloved. A conversation with a fallen friend offers solace. But in this realm of wonders, is this merely the appearance of her former teammate? He speaks of The Illumination, six elders who took refuge here. Should she trust this spirit with her life? The Morphin Grid is held together by Faith and Trust, after all.

 

In Power Rangers Unlimited: Morphin Masters #1, Kimberly must pass tests. As the Black and Pink Ranger Slayer, others don't view her as a hero. The Power Coin protects her from Dark Specter's infection but not from the violent, corrupted rangers.

 

Aleia, the Pink Emissary, views the universe—and the Morphin Grid—in a way Kimberly can only imagine. Aleia wants to help but must allow Kimberly to endure ordeals and make her own choices. But is it right to stand aside and do nothing? So many heroes have discarded their ideals and now wield their power untampered by morality. Others have retreated from the battle. They view life, evil, and even the death of the universe from a detached, philosophical perspective.

 

Kimberly Hart has lost friends. She's done things she can never forgive. At times, Kimberly's failures have weighed her down. In Power Rangers Unlimited: Morphin Masters #1, the Ranger Slayer must decide where she stands. Ryan Parrot and Rachel Wagner ask: does Kimberly’s history of failures mean she can never succeed? Or can Kimberly accept her past and battle on regardless? The fate of the universe awaits her decision.

 

 

 

 

Art

Memories of her battle with Lord Drakkon haunt Kimberly as she hurtles through the vortex. A forest of twisted and tilting trees shows signs of decay. A robot, entangled by a tree like an unsuspecting hobbit, speaks to her. Kimberly battles animals that glow like suns. Energy radiates from the Pink Emissary as she hovers above Kimberly. Aleia guides her through a realm of clouds toward flying pyramids.

 

Kimberly's expressions and posture relate to her struggles in Power Rangers Unlimited: Morphin Masters #1. The Ranger Slayer wishes she were a better person. Kimberly gazes in wonder at the realm she travels through. Her burden lightens when Kimberly spies the face of a fallen friend in a pillar of water. But she crosses her arms, and her gaze falls when he asks her to trust him.

 

Arthur Hesli’s vibrant colors lure the reader into Daniel Bayliss’ magical world. Intriguingly, Kimberly’s adventure with Aleia begins surrounded by her favorite color. The Pink Emissary’s costume shines brighter than Kimberly’s black and pink and crackles with energy. By contrast, jagged red lines adorn the blackened arms of Aleia’s corrupted counterparts. Black cracks rip across each fallen Emissary, radiating a brighter hue of their costume’s power.

 

White dialogue balloons host black uppercase letters with good spacing between lines of text. Like their costumes, fallen Emissaries conjure jagged gray balloons surrounded by hints of their Ranger color. Ed Dukeshire’s giant yellow letters relate sounds and shouts, while dialogue shrinks occasionally for lowered and weakened voices. Yet even during fights or when no one is speaking, Kimberly keeps us engaged by sharing her thoughts with us in appealing pink narrative boxes filled with uppercase red letters.

 

Whether you’re a franchise veteran or newbie, Power Rangers Unlimited: Morphin Masters #1 is easy to understand and follow. Kimberly Hart may be down on herself, but it's easy to relate to her struggles. The immersive art in this double-length special transports readers to a realm of beauty and wonder. Thanks to Boom! Studios and Hasbro for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

With the universe at stake, Kimberly Hart, the pink and black Ranger Slayer, struggles to redeem her past in Power Rangers Unlimited: Morphin Masters #1. It's a fight she was never meant to win. But could she?

 

9.6/10

 

For another cover see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.