Omega Kids #2 Review

 

Writer: Tony Fleecs

Artist: Andrés Genolet

Colorist: Fer Sifuentes-Sujo

Letterer: Travis Lanham

Cover Artists: Rod Reis; Chad Hardin & Israel Silva; Carlo Pagulayan, Jazon Paz & Rain Beredo; Federico Vicentini & Matt Milla

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: November 19, 2025

 

The X-Men fought for Mutant equality. But no matter how hard they tried, the X-Men failed to stamp out prejudice, repression, and persecution. So, Doug Ramsey, aka Revelation, unleashed a virus that killed Humans or turned them into Mutants.

 

Revelation has created a Mutant paradise in the former United States. But pockets of resistance still linger. Terrorists and assassins attempt to kill the Mutants’ glorious leader. Revelation can strip dissidents of their ability to communicate. But how does he control his growing territory as the X-Virus spreads across the former United States? And how does Revelation nip trouble in the bud before it can bite him? Let’s leap into Omega Kids #2 and see!

 

Story

Once, Quentin Quire was one of Professor Xavier's brightest students. Now, he leads a surveillance network for Revelation. Quentin has Omega Kids stationed throughout the Revelation Territories. When the young psychics observe dissidents, protestors, and fugitives, they can report their findings to him. But within his vast network, Quentin personally oversees his Elite team. Curtis Terrell Jr, Nell Widows, and Ayla Bozkurt are teenagers. Bailey Quinn is only eight years old. Yet these kids help him prevent uprisings in Revelation’s capital city.

 

In Omega Kids #2, Quentin urges his team to find insurgents in a Philadelphia suburb. While they can kill rebels and terrorists with a thought, the kids can also edit people's memories to keep them out of trouble. But Quentin urges them to carefully assess each subject before rushing to judgment.

 

 

 

Quentin drives his top team hard. He is awed by their potential. But Quentin wishes he were closer to them. And he knows they are as capable of inflicting needless suffering and death as they are of safeguarding Revelation. Sadly, Quentin thinks he can have it both ways in Tony Fleecs’s story. Quentin believes he can employ classical and operant conditioning techniques to transform children into soldiers while maintaining a healthy parental relationship.

 

While the kids constantly signal that they don't share his views, Quentin struggles to close the distance to them. What Quentin doesn't realize in Omega Kids #2 is that the children have turned his strengths against him. Quentin may believe that the kids are all right. But Curtis Terrell Jr, Nell Widows, Ayla Bozkurt, and Bailey Quinn insist, “This is my generation.”

 

 

 

Art

Curtis Terrell Jr is an insecure redhead. Nell Widows has blue hair and horns. Ayla Bozkurt wears teal gloves, a turtleneck, and a light-green bandana in her dark hair. Even though skin covers her eyes, she frequently smiles. Bailey Quinn may be 8 years old, but the blonde radiates confidence and leadership. All wear black jackets bearing a lavender omega symbol. Fer Sifuentes-Sujo lavishes a loaded palette on "Doug's Green Hell," as Quentin calls it. But lavender dominates scenes. The children turn lavender in their astral forms and relax in their lavender refuge. Lavender smoke lingers after their attacks.

 

Bailey and her friends relax on a peaceful hillside beneath a sky filled with mathematical equations and symbols. The residents of Beverly, Massachusetts, may chafe at Carol Danvers' leadership as their shielded town falls into disrepair in the Binary series. But like Republic City after Korra allows the spirit world to mingle with her own, trees, vines, and plants climb walls and push through streets. When the children place their hands against their heads, Andrés Genolet shows their target’s thoughts and memories. An absent loved one takes on a ghost-like appearance. But when they rush to judgment, a familiar symbol rises in Omega Kids #2.

 

Travis Lanham places black uppercase letters in white dialogue balloons. Quentin's team shares their thoughts via clouds and wavy arrows. White letters in black boxes identify people and places. The words grow bold for inflection and swell for raised voices, while sound effects heighten attacks. Yet as Quentin affects his affable charm and struggles to contain his impatience, his T-shirt bears the inscription, "Magneto was weak." Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing a review copy.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Quentin Quinn can create a universe with his mind. But as he tries to instill his values in his students, they hide their thoughts and feelings from him. The children express these in their secret place, a construct of their own making. And while he tries to squash rebellions before they start, Quentin doesn't realize that one is brewing in his inner circle in Omega Kids #2.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Gwenpool #5 Review

 

Writer: Cavan Scott

Artist: Stefano Nesi

Colorist: Matt Milla

Letterer: Ariana Maher

Cover Artists: Chad Hardin & Edgar Delgado

Graphic Designer: Kat Walkington

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Jordan D White & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: September 3, 2025

 

Gwendolyn Poole was a Marvel superfan who relocated to Earth-616. But after decluttering her homeworld of alien space-dragons, Dark Gwenpool killed her. As possession is nine-tenths of survival, Gwenpool starts possessing our heroes to pursue the mystery behind Gwen Stacy’s apparent rebirth.

 

The Great Architect claimed Dark Gwenpool was the better, stronger, and faster Gwen Stacy. But when Dark Gwenpool exhumed Gwen Stacy’s coffin, she found a skeleton inside. If Dark Gwenpool isn’t Gwen Stacy, then who is she?

 

Gwenpool thinks she has the answer. All this grievous Gwenness centers around Peter's love for Gwen Stacy. Will Dark Gwenpool help Dead Gwenpool carry out her plan? Or will the Great Architect hit Gwenpool with a proton blaster and imprison her in a ghost trap? Let's grab a bowl of split pea soup, leap into Gwenpool #5, and see!

 

Story

Dark Gwenpool is coming home, and she's got souvenirs from her trip to the big city. She claims she's killed Spider-Man, Kate Bishop, and Jeff the Land Shark. But the Great Architect isn't putting his presents on display. Nor does he give her a new set of clothes and order his servants to prepare a feast. Instead, he claims that Dark Gwenpool is a party-pooper. So Gwenpool does another possession-intercession to see if she can't turn the Great Architect's frown upside-down.

 

In Gwenpool #5, Gwendolyn Poole seeks to understand what drives the Great Architect. What she discovers is a man in pain. After years of struggle, he got a shot at greatness. But instead of working with others and encouraging them to give their best, he sought to control and manipulate them. When they decide not to be his tools and start playing by their own rules, the “Great” Architect claims they’ve ruined his grand plan. 

 

Gwenpool thought this was all about Peter Parker. Instead, she realizes that it's about each of them. Dark Gwenpool can remain what the Great Architect created her to be. Or she can become something more. Even the Ghostess With The Mostest discovers that she’s got options in Gwenpool #5. Her future isn’t limited to fading away or eking out the centuries in an Ecto-Containment System.

 

Art

Stefano Nesi shows that Dark Gwenpool is only one of the Great Architect's experiments in Weapon X Facility: Beta. As Dark Gwenpool plunks a bow and a mask on a table, workers hurry down corridors, gather to confer, and study a viewscreen. Chemists study boiling yellow liquid in test tubes and round-bottom flasks. Green smoke frames a pink, vaporous apparition. Yet Dark Gwenpool collapses when the Great Architect presses a control on his glove.

 

While Stefano Nesi compares the Great Architect’s emotional pain with Dark Gwenpool’s physical suffering, Matt Milla fills Gwenpool #5 with vibrant colors. Purple shadows echo Dark Gwenpool’s suit, while Jeff’s gray-white tooth foretells X-31’s blades. While the gray-white emphasizes death, it also points toward Gwenpool’s future. The Great Architect's red gloves and boots link him with Dark Gwenpool's ravaged features. But amid Gwenpool’s search for the Great Architect’s purpose, the red X on his shoulders and face echo an unpopular answer in this found-family feud.

 

Ariana Maher casts uppercase black letters into white and pink balloons and portrays Gwenpool’s off-camera dialogue in pink narrative boxes. The letters grow bold for inflection, enlarge for volume, and shrink for lowered voices. Sound effects multiply as Dark Gwenpool follows her programming, the Great Architect dispassionately inflicts pain, and Kate Bishop trades RVs for arrows. Thanks to Marvel for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

As Gwenpool drives this action-packed finale, Cavan Scott addresses how we define ourselves. People often assess their worth in terms of their bodies. Or they treasure memories instead of making new ones. Gwenpool #5 is a rallying cry to forget what we've been, shrug off who others want us to be, and pursue the endless possibilities each day brings.

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Sonja Reborn #1 Review

 

Writer: Christopher Priest

Artist: Alessandro Miracolo

Colorist: Giovanni Caputo

Letterer: Taylor Esposito

Editor: Matt Idelson

Cover Artists: Stjepan Sejic, Joshua Middleton, Chad Hardin, Greg Land, Cosplay (Ani-Mia) & Blank

Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment

Price: $4.99

Release Date: August 27, 2025

 

Margaret Sutherland hungers for revenge. She fell in love with a man, only to have another woman steal him. It’s a familiar tale, and as the saying goes, there are more fish in the sea. But the facts don’t matter to Margaret. All she feels is the aching loss from Justin’s departure. So she uses her connections and crosses the Atlantic. Will a routine traffic stop in New York City prevent her from killing the woman who took Justin away from her? And how does Margaret’s plight relate to Red Sonja? Let's grab our swords, leap into Sonja Reborn #1, and see!

 

Story

Margaret inhabited a world of wealth and privilege. Yet none of that made her happy. Justin brought a ray of sunshine into her empty life and gave it meaning. Working for the Duchy of Lancaster meant the rules governing everyday life in Britain didn't apply to Margaret. Securing a gun and emulating pop culture icons seemed like an easy solution.

 

In New York City, Margaret gets a rude awakening. The police officer acts on his experience and pulls her over. But he is more interested in flaunting his importance than in why Margaret is in this neighborhood so early in the morning. Thus, he doesn't intuit her intentions and follow her into the subway tunnel. 

 

Christopher Priest tells Sonja Reborn #1 from Margaret’s perspective. When danger threatens, she compares her dilemma to classic stories. Unlike in Amy Chu’s series, where Red Sonja travels to New York City, Christopher Priest transports Margaret to the Hyborian world. Like John Carter, Margaret finds navigating her new surroundings a challenge. Her world might have descended into a nightmare in Justin's absence. But everything in Margaret's altered existence is unfamiliar, appalling, and threatening.

 

Still, Margaret senses that a part of her belongs in this strange land. If Margaret can channel that aspect of herself, perhaps she can find a way to survive. But first, Margaret must embrace who she has become. In Sonja Reborn #1, Margaret's soul inhabits the body of the Hyrkanian She-Devil With A Sword.

 

Art

The emergency lights atop his cruiser alternate between painting the officer red and blue. Red and blue also illuminate figures who crouch in darkness. Yellow dominates a treasured memory of Justin. Margaret wears a yellow shirt and gold jewelry. Giovanni Caputo's light pink and blue butterflies represent Margaret's hopes for the future. The yellow field they visit finds a companion later in Sonja Reborn #1, when two other beings meet to share their concerns. One shines with a radiant palette, while the other prefers black and white.

 

Alessandro Miracolo signals Margaret's determination from the first page. She doesn't bother to face the cop as he writes her up. Instead, Margaret clutches the steering wheel, tilts her head down, and fixes her smoldering gaze straight ahead. The visor of the officer's cap casts a mask-like shadow over his eyes, reducing them to white slits as he smiles down at her. With his black hat and jacket, the shadow-mask suggests he sees himself as a hero of the night. But he doesn’t halt her evildoing for long.

 

When she arrives on a dusty slope, Margaret tumbles when she pulls the gold hilt of her long sword from its scabbard. But it's not long before flame-haired Margaret rises again in her silver armor and brown gloves, boots, and cape. As black smoke rises in the distance, Margaret approaches a mounted stranger. Instead of regarding him as he answers her questions, “Margaret” leans toward the horse’s nostrils, as if expressing dominance.

 

As Margaret pursues her quarry, Taylor Esposito fills white dialogue balloons with black uppercase text. Margaret’s thoughts, observations, and reactions during her journey appear as white letters in red narrative boxes. Like her jewelry, translations of British terms appear in yellow-gold boxes, and most of her sound effects are yellow. Yet while sound effects and enlarged dialogue are color-coded to characters and emotions, white letters in black balloons signal a threat to Margaret's future in Sonja Reborn #1. Thanks to Dynamite Entertainment for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

When Margaret Sutherland plunges into the Hyborian world, she unwittingly becomes a pawn in a battle between cosmic forces. While one embraces reason, all the other knows is the pain of losing a loved one. Christopher Priest reshapes Cimmerian history and challenges Red Sonja's traditional orientation to men in Sonja Reborn #1.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Gwenpool #4 Review

 

Writer: Cavan Scott

Artist: Stefano Nesi

Colorist: Matt Milla

Letterer: Ariana Maher

Cover Artists: Chad Hardin & Edgar Delgado; Rickie Yagawa & Nolan Woodard

Graphic Designer: Kat Walkington

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Jordan D White & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: August 6, 2025

 

When Spider-Man collapsed in the street, Gwen Stacy tried to help him. Instead, Gwenpool got in the way. Gwen Stacy's training kicked in, and she killed Gwenpool. That should have been the end of it. But like Gwen Stacy, Gwenpool's spirit refuses to go gently into the night.

 

Throughout her life, Gwenpool has circumvented the rules other Marvel characters must follow. After sliding between panels and emerging giant-sized to tackle Fin Fang Foom, Gwenpool possesses Kate Bishop. When Spider-Man thwips Hawkeye’s body to Gwen Stacy’s grave, Gwenpool manifests as a Class 4 ghost. Then, the pink apparition possesses Spider-Man's body. Why didn’t Gwenpool die? And what will her spirit do with Spider-Man’s body? Let's grab a bowl of split pea soup, leap into Gwenpool #4, and see!

 

Story

Gwen Stacy is confused. The Great Architect dubbed her Gwenpool. She preferred the designation X-31. But much has happened since she left the Weapon X facility to hunt down three Deathloks. Gwen begins to question the Great Architect's programming. She remembers her former life. Her love for Peter Parker reconnects her with humanity. As Gwen stands in the city, surrounded by angry and afraid people, she yearns to help them. But Gwen Stacy was reborn to be a killer. That's her new role in life.

 

In Gwenpool #4, Gwendolyn Poole may be a ghost. But she’s stolen Peter Parker’s body. Despite their mutual love for Jeff, Hawkeye won’t let that stand. Long ago, Peter tried to save Gwen. But in arresting her fall, Spider-Man inadvertently killed the woman he loved. Now, Gwenpool inhabits the body of Gwen Stacy’s former boyfriend. And Gwendolyn wants to punish Gwen for turning her into a ghost.

 

Cavan Scott's story is about manipulation. It speaks to the damage people inflict when they try to use people instead of developing the skills and abilities to empower themselves. The Great Architect covers his face because he's just someone who found a way to order others about. He corrupted Gwen Stacy, turning this loving and caring woman into a living weapon.

 

Whether it's the Bloodhunt, the Gang War, or Fin Fang Foom, the rioters have seen their world blow up too many times. In Gwenpool #4, the people retaking the streets symbolize those in our web of relationships. They observe this manipulation, but feel powerless to stop it.  

 

 

 

Art

Stefano Nesi reveals Gwen Stacy's painful rebirth in the Weapon X laboratory. Like Victor Frankenstein, one doctor runs away, horrified by his creation. Gwen gazes up, as if crying out to the divine for letting the scientists turn her into an abomination. When the Great Architect enters, the X on his face symbolizes that his decision, if not the direction of his life, is wrong. The rioters bear his mark on their apparel. Only the X covers images of those who promised to protect them, and failed.

 

Matt Milla paints Stefano Nesi's action-packed, dramatic art with bright and fluorescent colors in Gwenpool #4. Yellow accompanies Gwen's painful rebirth and the mind palace in which she imprisons Peter Parker. Orange links Gwen's destructiveness with the rioters. Purple binds Gwen Stacy and Kate Bishop, two women who have lost a parent they loved. Pink represents the two sides of Gwenpool: the angry side that channels her unique abilities to control others, and the positive side, when she commits to helping those in need.

 

Ariana Maher casts uppercase black letters into white and pink balloons, and white letters into purple narrative boxes. The letters grow bold for inflection, enlarge for volume, and shrink for lowered voices. Sound effects enhance the fighting, Kate Bishop’s reckless driving, and Gwen Stacy’s desperate search for truth. Thanks to Marvel for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Gwen Stacy was Peter Parker’s first love interest. Then the Green Goblin threw her off a bridge. While her body may have died, her spirit lives on. Gwenpool #4 celebrates the rich history of Gwen Stacy, and how generations of fans refuse to let her rest in peace.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Gwenpool #3 Review

 

Writer: Cavan Scott

Artist: Stefano Nesi

Colorist: Matt Milla

Letterer: Ariana Maher

Cover Artists: Chad Hardin & Edgar Delgado; Karen S Darboe & Ruth Redmond

Graphic Designer: Kat Walkington

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Jordan D White & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: June 23, 2025

 

When Gwen Stacy died, it should have been forever. The problem with resurrection is that no matter how glad you are to be alive, you remember who put you in the grave. Resentment threw Gwen into the clutches of the Great Architect. And instead of designing the next Battleworld, the Great Architect transformed Gwen Stacy into Dark Gwenpool. Gwen dislikes the name. She finds her past so distasteful that she prefers to be called X-31. Yet when she meets up with Spider-Man, Gwen’s concern for Peter Parker outweighs her urge to kill him.

 

Gwen and Peter shared a close bond. So, when Gwenpool tries to get between them, Gwen Stacy reacts like the Great Architect trained her. Even if the woman’s name was Gwendolyne Poole, how will Gwen Stacy face killing another version of herself? And can Peter Parker forgive the woman he never stopped loving? Let's grab our swords, leap into Gwenpool #3, and see!

 

Story

The Avengers couldn't defeat Fin Fang Foom. Spider-Man, Hawkeye, and Jeff the Land Shark also failed. So Gwenpool took out the giant dragon that wanted to crack open Earth's shell and feast on its molten core. But instead of celebrating over Shawarma, Gwendolyne Poole rests in peace. None of the Avengers attended her funeral. So, Kate Bishop and Jeff the Land Shark stand vigil as a priest sends Gwendolyne on her final adventure.

 

Still, another person watches in Gwenpool #3. He stands atop a headstone-dotted rise in Mount Olivet Cemetery. Unlike Spider-Man, Kate’s not anxious to know the man dressed in a dark suit standing in the driving rain. And when she climbs the slope, he runs away. But Kate doesn’t need webshooters to unmask him like Spider-Man revealed Dark Gwenpool’s secret identity. As a private investigator, it’s Kate Bishop’s job to uncover hidden clues. Kate knows that, once she confirms her suspicions, she cannot unlearn her colleague's secrets.

 

Cavan Scott’s supernatural mystery hums with fourth-wall-breaking dialogue that made Gwenpool a fan favorite character. But while acknowledging that the Ghostbusters are just a phone call away, Cavan ponders where our spirits go when we die. Cavan Scott also contemplates how death changes us. Some people lock memories away and rarely revisit them. Others barricade themselves against new relationships by holding onto the past, or feed on the resentment of losing their loved one. Unlike a visit to Las Vegas, Kate Bishop, Jeff the Land Shark, and Peter Parker will leave the graveyard changed in Gwenpool #3.

 

Art

Purple hangs in the moist air, tinging the New York skyline. Like the falling raindrops, it bathes Hawkeye's face and shines from her costume. But Dark Gwenpool (or Gwen Stacy, or X-31) also wears purple, hinting at who she could become. While Jeff shines as blue as the sea, Peter wears black and white as he wades into a moral gray area. Yet yellow also radiates the life-giving energy of the sun, reinforcing the allure of holding onto memories.

 

While Matt Milla enhances the energy and moodiness of Gwenpool #3, Stefano Nesi captures the action and drama of this confrontation in the cemetery. His art reveals Hawkeye's sadness, Jeff’s anger, Dark Gwenpool’s frustration, and Peter’s struggle to cope with what has occurred. A glimpse inside Peter's mind pays homage to Steve Ditko, who helped bring Spider-Man and Gwen Stacy to life. Yet in the same panels, Stefano Nesi reveals how comic art has progressed since Ditko’s time.

 

Ariana Maher casts uppercase black letters into white and pink balloons and narrative boxes. The letters grow bold for inflection, enlarge for volume, and shrink for lowered voices. Sound effects help us hear arrows impacting, smoke grenades detonating, blades appearing, and an aggrieved land shark. Thanks to Marvel for providing a review copy.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Gwenpool was Jeff the Land Shark’s best friend. But she was also an interloper, and another version of Peter Parker’s girlfriend. Her superior knowledge of Earth-616 and her ability to exploit hidden aspects of their world kept other heroes away. Gwenpool #3 flips the script in this story about identity, mourning, and the indomitable spirits of the characters we love. 

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Spider-Girl #2 Review

 

Writer: Torunn Grønbekk

Artist: André Risso

Colorist: Java Tartaglia

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Designer: Stacie Zucker

Editors: Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski

Cover Artists: David Nakayama; Javier Garrón & Jesus Aburtov; Nogi San; Chad Hardin & Alex Sinclair

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: July 16, 2025

 

Makawalu Akana, or Maka for short, is making a new start. After traveling around the world to compete in contests with Bullseye, the young Hawaiian is settling down. Maka is joining the Red Snow Dojo in New York City. She wants to demonstrate her indomitability. But her next challenge is to win friends, not trophies.

 

Even as Maka starts her first practice session with Sensei Barker, Dr Tramma paints a bullseye on Spider-Girl. After assaulting her with Vermin and the Squeak Squad, what will Dr Tramma hit the Hawaiian mutant with next? Let’s leap into Spider-Girl #2, and see, Brah!

 

Story

Like Druig, Dr Tramma wants powerful actors she can manipulate. Spider-Girl wasn’t her first choice. But after Hijack resists her chemical control, Dr Tramma fills Vermin with murderous rage and points him at Spider-Girl. Despite how Maka repels her attackers and saves the dojo, another person in the organization thinks Dr Tramma is wrong. So, while Dr Tramma continues to work on Hijack, a mysterious woman investigates Spider-Girl.

 

The world knows her as Ms Matsumoto. But when she dons her costume, the woman goes by another name. As a knife flies past her to stick in her bedroom wall, Maka gazes out the window. Spider-Girl sees the woman clutching more knives on a nearby fire escape. Maka wanted to spend the night on patrol in Spider-Girl #2, so this engraved invitation is too good to miss. But when Maka thwicks out to follow her, Lady Bullseye cuts Spider-Girl’s barbed web with a sword.

 

While Torunn Grønbekk introduces readers to Maka’s family, Spider-Girl meets Lady Bullseye. Lady Bullseye knows the difficulties that accompany enhanced fighting abilities. She may have expressed disdain for Dr Tramma’s judgment, but Lady Bullseye’s interaction with Spider-Girl seems motivated by compassion. She sees her troubled origins in Maka. The young Hawaiian had already failed to realize Bullseye was a villain who meant her harm. Lady Bullseye makes it clear that life as a vigilante will force Maka to choose her friends and allies carefully in Spider-Girl #2. 

 

 

 

Art

Orange cones and yellow police tape warn pedestrians and motorists of the metal barriers circling the broken asphalt destroyed by Vermin and the Squeak Squad. Windows glow gold and peach beneath a purple sky. Java Tartaglia makes the night glow in the city that never sleeps. As Maka enters her family’s shop, green and purple plants occupy a worktable. Then her aunt bustles into a brick room filled with shelves of boxes, trays, and vases.

 

André Risso gives Maka’s mother and aunt the same dark, edgy hair. Maka’s grandmother restrains her gray hair in a tight bun. Tropical leis hang on her bedroom door, while a Hawaiian flag adorns a pillow and a ukulele perches on a dresser. When a knife with a braided leather handle flashes past, Maka ignores the Spider-Man plushie on her bed. As Maka unzips her backpack, the metal teeth emulate Devil Dinosaur as she withdraws her costume in Spider-Girl #2.

 

 

 

While André Risso introduces us to Maka’s homelife, and Java Tartaglia helps the black-and-white villain shine, Joe Caramagna introduces Lady Bullseye with black uppercase letters in yellow narrative boxes. Maka's assessment of Lady Bullseye appears as red uppercase letters in boxes. Uppercase black letters in white dialogue balloons grow bold for intonation and occasionally shrink, such as when Maka whispers to her new friend Beba. Sound effects accompany web-thwicking and sword-swishing, while Lady Bullseye's throwing knives hiss like the shuriken Maka once threw at Spider-Boy and Daredevil. Thanks to Marvel for providing a review copy.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Maka Akana's mentor has let her down. Lady Bullseye knows the feeling. She doesn't want the young Hawaiian to make the same mistakes she did. Spider-Man ordered Bailey Briggs to relinquish his costume because the ten-year-old had robbed a bank. In Spider-Girl #2, Lady Bullseye delivers a warning. Drop the hero act now before life tempts or forces you to become a villain.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Gwenpool #1 Review

 

Writer: Cavan Scott

Artist: Stefano Nesi

Colorist: Matt Milla

Letterer: Ariana Maher

Cover Artists: Chad Hardin & Edgar Delgado; Godtail; Gurihiru; Greg Land & Edgar Delgado; Jeehyung Lee; Paco Medina & Morry Hollowell; Todd Nauck & Rachelle Rosenberg

Graphic Designer: Kat Walkington

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Jordan D White & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: May 14, 2025

 

Fin Fang Foom has rained destruction on Earth. After defeating the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four, only Spider-Man, Kate Bishop, and Jeff remain. But neither Spider-Man’s thwipping, Hawkeye’s Bada Boom arrows, nor the land shark’s super cuteness can pierce the dragon's hide like one of Bard's arrows. Can anyone prevent the space dragon from cracking open the Earth and sucking its molten transmuted Tiamat core? Let's grab our swords, leap into Gwenpool #1, and see!

 

Story

Gwendolyn Pool was a Marvel superfan transported from our world to Earth-616. When no one else can help, Gwenpool appears. Like her pool-mate Wade Wilson, Gwen enjoys breaking the fourth wall and addressing the reader. She also understands how people create comics. Like all the great heroes in Saturday Morning Cartoons, Gwen knows how to interact with the artist and flip the script. Such omnipotent power frightens Jeff, who scurries away on his super cute fins.

 

While Gwenpool arrives to save the day and form a new fantastic foursome, the mystery in Gwenpool #1 concerns another person. Once, she also went by the name Gwenpool. But she has disowned her former life and now bows before a shadowy controller. Whatever went wrong in her life, she no longer sees herself as a person. Instead, the woman only recognizes her assigned number. She is X-31, the latest in a long line of experimental living weapons.

 

 

 

The apocalypse in Cavan Scott's story pays homage to Gwen Stacy of Earth-65, the Ghost-Spider who struggles to wield world-ending power without destroying her intended beneficiaries. While sprinkling his story with nods to The Avengers and Terminator, Cavan Scott contrasts two similar but different people. Like Wolverine, one struggles to find any joy in life. The second, like Deadpool, seeks fun and diversion to endure the death and destruction she wields to make the world a better place. Although Cavan Scott’s story features Kate Bishop, Gwenpool #1 recalls Clint Barton's journey from world-saving Hawkeye into the sword-wielding Ronin. 

 

 

 

Art

Stefano Nesi transports readers to a shadowy murder room, where agents wearing night vision goggles pursue a lethal target. After completing her mission, X-31 glows, projecting a larger light image as she watches more targets appear on viewscreens. Smaller panels nestle around a two-page panorama of Spider-Man crawling from a crater while Fin Fang Foom bellows fire. The space dragon dominates another two-page spread that showcases the hopelessness of the situation. The tiny forms of Kate Bishop comforting a cowed Spider-Man form tiny figures of light before the giant silhouette of Fin Fang Foom burning like the sun.

 

Pinks and purples dominate the early scenes, while night vision goggles turn scenes green with agony. Purples, pinks, oranges, and yellows surround the giant green dragon bellowing yellow fire. After Gwenpool brings a lighter shade of pink to the party, the purple sky lightens. Grays, yellows, and even blue fills the air as Gwenpool interacts with her colleagues. But that doesn’t mean the danger is past, as Matt Milla lavishes attractive colors on an eye-opening meetup in Gwenpool #1.

 

 

 

Ariana Maher casts uppercase black letters into white and pink balloons and narrative boxes. The letters grow bold for inflection, enlarge for volume, and shrink for lowered voices like a tiny Gwenpool leaping from a panel into white space. Fin Fang Foom speaks into cloudy balloons, while sound effects help us hear gunshots, dragon fire, thunder, and a wailing land shark in Gwenpool #1. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

As Gwenpool #1 ponders how people and circumstances shape our characters, it reminds us how we can wake up one day and, like the Talking Heads, ask, “How did I get here?”

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.