Showing posts with label Espen Grundetjern. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Espen Grundetjern. Show all posts

Saturday, December 13, 2025

Unbreakable X-Men #2 Review

 



Writer: Gail Simone

Artists: CF Villa, Mario Santoro, Davide Tinto, David Marquez, AB Silva, Alessandro Cappuccio & Ramon Rosanas

Colorist: Espen Grundetjern

Letterer: Clayton Cowles

Cover Artists: Lucas Werneck; Ejikure; InHyuk Lee; Marco Checchetto & Edgar Delgado

Designer: Jay Bowen

Editors: Lindsey Cohick, Annalise Bissa, Tom Brevoort & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: November 19, 2025

 

With Wolverine's help, Rogue and Gambit mentored a group of young mutants nicknamed the Outliers. When the St Juniors invited them to share Haven House, the X-Men also trained their daughter, Dome. The house guarded a graveyard for centuries, a rare resting place for Mutants in a world that hated them. The St Juniors and X-Men also helped Lady Henrietta Benjamin and Man-Thing guard the Dark Artery, an entryway to the Penumbra. There, Shuvahrak torments people who hurt or betray the Mutant members of their families during their lives.

 

When Galactus approached their property, Rogue stopped the Planet Eater at the cost of her life. Years later, Henrietta Benjamin visits the St Juniors’ home. She tells Gambit, Ransom, Temper, Dome, and Spider-Girl that Shuvahrak no longer wishes to torment the dead. Now, she wants to attack the living. Can Gambit and his adopted family prevent the dark god from arising? And how will Shuvahrak treat the inhabitants of Revelation's Territories? Let's grab a pack of playing cards, leap into Unbreakable X-Men #2, and see!

 

Story

After Rogue's death, the St Juniors' home became a house of pain. Gambit thinks of Rogue constantly. He yearns to join her in death. When Shuvahrak raises a zombie army to wipe out the guardians, Gambit pours out his anger and despair over Rogue's loss on his undead attackers. Despite how Ransom and the others care for him, Gambit draws strength by thinking of Nightcrawler, who has prayed for and counseled him.

 

In Unbreakable X-Men #2, Lady Henrietta and the others don’t know how Shuvahrak has gained new powers. But the prospect of the god breaking free to torment the living is a danger they cannot ignore. It frightens Ransom enough to suggest a reunion of the Outliers, something he has resisted all these years. Foremost in his thoughts is Deathdream, who convinced the others to promise that they would fight Shuvahrak if she ever threatened the living.

 

With Miss Henrietta urging them to hurry, Gail Simone’s story sends Gambit and his small cadre of X-Men to gather reinforcements. Years ago, Galactus told Rogue that Dome served no purpose at Haven House, but she could fulfill her promise elsewhere. Given her fierce love of Dome, Rogue didn't let the girl consider becoming the Planet Eater’s herald. Years after one giant's attack brought their lives to a standstill, the threat of another helps Gambit and the others remember their purpose and use their gifts to protect others in Unbreakable X-Men #2.

 


 

 

Art

As Gambit battles near a statue he cannot see, he guards a memorial erected by the city of New Orleans. Afterward, clad in the clothes of his late wife, Lady Henrietta hugs and kisses Gambit outside Haven House. While the X-Men gather in the living room, Shuvahrak arises. Chains adorn a leviathan more beast than Human in appearance. As the rays of light surrounding her echo the shape of Rogue's memorial, worshippers surround her, while a town climbs a nearby hill.

 

While Espen Grundetjern adorns Unbreakable X-Men #2 with brief respites from the encroaching darkness, Ransom strides through photographic negatives. Like Shuvahrak's tail, Sadurang’s glowing orange, red, and blue body appears more serpentine than before. 

 


 

 

Spider-Girl’s red jacket links her with Calico’s red riding coat, while the copper manes of her gray horses glow. Lady Henrietta and Dome prepare to protect Haven House, clad in black and gray. The X on Dome’s shirt echoes the entryway to the realm that can no longer hold its angry god.

 

Clayton Cowles shares dialogue using uppercase black letters in white balloons and boxes or white letters in black balloons. Gambit’s thoughts appear as white letters in pink boxes as he fights off zombies with glowing pink cards. The letters grow bold for intonation and never shrink. While earthshaking sound effects herald the end of an era, enlarged and colored words make for a statement of purpose and unity. Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing a review copy. 

 


 

 

Final Thoughts

Gambit's love of Rogue helped him build a loving, supportive community for Mutants in Haven House. After his despair made the home a tomb, the Outliers went their separate ways. While survivor's guilt made Gambit want to die, Shuvahrak’s loss drove her to make others feel her pain. Dwelling on her loss fed her anger until that was all she knew. Feeling betrayed by the Mutant community for not protecting her child, Shuvahrak arises in a land created by Revelation’s betrayal of the Mutant community’s ideals in Unbreakable X-Men #2.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 


Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Bishop War College #4 Review

 


Writer: J. Holtham

Artists: Sean Damien Hill; Victor Nava; Alberto Foche

Colorist: Espen Grundetjern

Letterer: Travis Lanham

Cover Artists: Ken Lashley & Juan Fernandez; Cory Smith & Rachelle Rosenberg

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: May 24, 2023

 

A freak accident hurled Bishop and Tempo to an alternate Earth where all the X-Men are black. Meanwhile, his students battle the Fenris twins and the anti-mutant Orchis organization in caverns on the mutant island of Krakoa. Can Bishop find Tempo and return home? Can his students repel the Agents Of Orchis? Let's grab our Multiverse passports, warp into Bishop War College #4, and find out!

 

Story

Bishop is a time traveler. He comes from a dystopian future he hopes to prevent by training the next generation of mutants. Instead, he's defending Tempo in New York City against mutant-hating superheroes with his new Black X-Men buddies on Earth 63. It's a savage fight, reminiscent of the climactic battle in X-Men: The Last Stand. Meanwhile, the young mutants try to rescue fellow students captured by the Fenris twins. Aiding them is a rock creature reminiscent of Groot called Wrongslide.

 

 

I enjoyed watching the kids working together to rescue their friends. Bishop's battle against Earth 63 Mutant-Haters like Iron Man and Moira MacTaggert reveals that his alternate-world self never used his powers in anger. There's also a question of whether the woman Bishop's defending is his friend or her nonmutant counterpart on Earth 63. Adding salsa to this spicy combo plate is Blightswill, an element that dampens and alters mutant powers.

 

Although I liked Bishop and the young mutants, the Fenris twins seemed lacking in depth. Lots of folks hate mutants in War College #4. The only question is why.

 

Art

While backgrounds sometimes suffer, the art team delivers consistent character portrayals and action sequences. The characters emote and move well. At no time did I wonder what I was looking at or ask: What did I miss? I liked seeing a flying attacker reflected in the glasses of Earth 63's Bishop. The digging machine beneath Krakoa reminded me of something the Tracy brothers would operate in Thunderbirds or the Iron Mole in At The Earth's Core. As a Guardians of the Galaxy fan, I loved Wrongslide’s scenes. Only when I wrote the credits for this review did I realize that penciler Sean Damien Hill and inker Victor Nava undertook the Earth 63 sequences, and artist Alberto Foche created our world's Krakoa scenes. Kudos to the editorial team for bringing together artists who pair together this effectively!

 

Espen Grundetjern’s colors are bold and vibrant in Bishop War College #4. They’re always pleasing to the eye. I found battle scenes—in which characters hurl their powers or fire their weapons—electrifying. 

 

While Travis Lanham's lowercase letters start small and shrink for lowered voices, his sound effects enhance every battle. I liked how he portrayed Killian Devo, Moira MacTaggert, and Feilong’s characters through messages on a mobile phone, even if the letters were tiny. One thing I love about the X-Men books is the introductory pages that immediately bring you up to speed on what's happening. Dr. Heather Tucker's one-page speech before the U.S. House Oversight Committee helped me understand what the Earth 63 version of Tempo cares about. But who is the woman Bishop meets in alternate New York City? Will the real Tempo please stand up?

 

Final Thoughts

Engaging characters and fraught battles on Earth 63 pair with a threat to the mutants of our world in Bishop War College #4. Everything hangs in the balance in this fast-paced yet substantial penultimate issue of the series.

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

 

Rating 8.5/10