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.

Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #4 Review

 

Writer: Steve Foxe

Artist: Andrea Broccardo

Colorist: Brian Reber

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Mark Bagley & Rachelle Rosenberg

Designer: Carlos Lao

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski

Recap Art: Mark Bagley

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: November 20, 2024

 

The Mole Man is bringing the New York Underground to meet their surface-dwelling family. Kaine wants his brother to help him with this Monster Mash, but Chasm wants to exterminate an Eternal. Can the spider-brothers and Hallows' Eve resolve their differences and work together to quell the uprising? Let’s slip on a monster mask, leap into Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #4, and find out!

 

Story

Moloids, Vermin, and monsters are trashing Queens. Kaine wants Chasm and Hallows’ Eve to help him drive them underground. But Ben is tired of people messing with his mind. Druig’s psychic touch left his brain itching. As Ben uses it like a locator beacon, Janine masks up and clears his path. But when the monsters increase in size, Ben heads off to the sewers, leaving Janine to face the music.

 

Druig has lost interest in the chaos he created. As Ben seeks a rematch, the Eternal helps his puppet take down his tormentor. But it's all another mind game in Chasm: Curse of Kaine #4.

 

Kaine wants a heart-to-heart with his clone-brother. After shaking off Druig’s control, Ben isn’t interested in singing Kumbaya with Kaine. Despite Ben’s claim to make a fresh start, he still grasps for anything resembling a win. And while love may conquer all, Janine doesn't encourage Ben’s better instincts. Hallows’ Eve tempts Ben into fun diversions that can't lead to lasting fulfillment. Still, Kaine does his bit for his brother in Chasm: Curse of Kaine #4, even if Madame Web thinks he’s wasting his time.

 

While Chasm emulates his creator and Kaine evokes Jackal’s late brother, Druig is the real Chasm in Steve Foxe’s story. An endless life and superpowers mean Druig doesn’t need to work for anything. Without death hanging over him, events lose significance, and memories fade. At least Druig wants to remind people that shoving their problems out of sight isn’t ideal. Having been around since Humanity’s hunter-gatherer phase, Druig knows it is easier to cast out those who don’t belong or prove difficult to help than solve the problems that lead to crime and mental illness.

 

Art

While Andrea Broccardo evokes an iconic Kirby cover, Kaine adopts Arachnobatix mode as he elbows aside Moloids and somersaults over a raging Freakazoid. Hallows' Eve mauls Vermin and snarls at Humans in her Black Panther mask. Chasm wields a psychoactive goo axe and fwips away monsters while Freakazoid smashes a dumpster like a spoon. But Chasm and Hallows’ Eve don’t look at each other until Ben smiles. Then they kiss while people die in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #4.

 

Tan Moloids and brown Vermin evoke the ground from which they sprang, while red splashes from Hallows’ Eve’s claws match the color of the Vermin’s eyes. Kaine's red suit, Hallows' Eve's hair, and the Freakazoid's scarlet skin underline their monstrous heritage. Orange fire burns from Druig’s eyes while Chasm’s burn bluish white. Yellow, orange, and red galaxies erupt from the Eternal’s hands as Brian Reber’s bluish-white psychoactive goo springs from Chasm's hands.

 

Amid Andrea Broccardo’s rampaging action and Brian Reber's vibrant coloring, Joe Caramagna thwips black uppercase lettering into white dialogue balloons in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #4. Words grow bold for emphasis, swell or change color for volume, and rarely shrink, while the Scarlet Spider shares his thoughts as white letters in red narrative boxes. Colorful and transparent sound effects help us hear a Black Panther roar, Chasm hew his axe into Kaine’s chest, and a monster squelch a rampant threat. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Druig spurs the disenfranchised to insurrection, Chasm gets kissy and corny, Kaine tries to be his brother's keeper, and Hallows' Eve goes killer kaiju in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #4.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

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

Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #3 Review

 

Writer: Steve Foxe

Artist: Andrea Broccardo

Colorist: Brian Reber

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Mark Bagley & Dean White; Alessandro Cappuccio & Rachelle Rosenberg

Designer: Carlos Lao

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski

Recap Art: Mark Bagley

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: October 30, 2024

 

Kaine heard his clone-brother was walking a darker path. Perhaps he is the Scarlet Spider now, and Ben is Chasm. Still, Kaine wants to help imbue Ben’s life with more meaning than robbing rich kids and frightening the criminally insane. Then Kaine learns Ben is making monsters out of dead people. Worse, his brother isn’t making quips or puns as he emulates Victor Frankenstein. What would Gene Wilder think? More to the point: can Kaine free Ben from Druig's influence and arrest his downward spiral into villainy? Let’s refill our psychoactive goo guns, leap into Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #3, and find out!

 

Story

After Druig halts Janine's psychic ramble through Ben's mind, Mole Man's Moloids carry the unconscious lovers away. Janine awakens in the sewers, and Druig doesn't want to relinquish another prize. So the Eternal sends Ben to reclaim another plaything, but Janine evades his grasp with a ghost mask. When Kaine finds her, Janine assumes the Scarlet Spider is involved with whoever was messing with Ben's mind. Then Ben finds them and launches another psychoactive goofest.

 

Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #3 ponders who is best qualified to help Ben. Both the Goblin Queen and the Queen Goblin promised to ease his troubled mind. Janine can offer Ben nothing more than diversions from his angst. Ben's actions have isolated him from many of the superhero community who could help him. Could a conventional therapist without the words Goblin or Queen in their name help Ben? Or should Chasm be imprisoned in the cell next to Doppelganger?

 

While Kaine ponders if his connection to Ben can help his brother, the Mole Man is grabbing his opportunity to become more than an Eternal's footstool. As Druig plays games with Ben's mind, he inspires Mole Man to rise above his subterranean existence and overthrow the world above. Druig enjoys watching people like the Mole Man pursue their pathetic schemes as much as Rocket Raccoon enjoys seeing Taserface depose Yondu and declare he will help the Ravagers rise again to glory. But in Steve Foxe's story, all these diversions leave Druig as unfulfilled as a life of crime with Janine would leave Ben. Like frightening Doppelganger with a werewolf mask, all this activity is just meaningless fun and doesn't address the fact that Druig has all the time in the world and nothing to fill it with.

 

 

 

Art

As Chasm pursues Hallows' Eve through the sewers, her eyes glow yellow, and Ben's eyes burn white. Hallows' Eve slips on a mask and fades away like Miles Morales. Then she phases through brickwork like Kitty Pryde. As Ben rips off his mask, tears stream down his face, and the building blocks of reality swirl around Druig’s glowing red eyes. Then Druig descends a revolving staircase and walks through an array of spider people like a Psi Corps officer walking through Commander Jeffrey Sinclair's mind. While Taskmaster projects imagery to make Deadpool smile in Deadpool #4, Druig does so to make Ben more miserable in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #3.

 

Brian Reber lavishes a loaded palette on Andrea Broccardo’s art, coloring sewer scenes in green, purple, and blue. Red dominates Druig’s mental landscape. Yet he wears green, like the Mole Man and the Vermin he views as beneath him. Janine’s red hair and Kane’s red suit link those most concerned with Ben’s mental health, while red drops falling from Kaine’s right arm reveal the lengths he will endure to be his brother’s keeper.

 

Joe Caramagna thwips black uppercase lettering into white dialogue balloons in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #3. Words grow bold for emphasis, swell or change color for volume, and rarely shrink. The font emulates hand printing, and the balloons get cloudy when Janine decides to change tactics. Colorful and transparent sound effects help us hear Chasm attack, the brothers deploy their webs, and a monstrous attack on the surface world. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

As Kaine attempts to help his brother, Druig empowers people to pursue their greatest desires. Despite his claims about others, the Eternal reveals that he is the pathetic one in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #3. Not only because Druig lacks fulfillment but also because he attacks people with lesser power instead of pursuing his grievances with his fellow Eternals.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

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

Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #2 Review

 

Writer: Steve Foxe

Artist: Andrea Broccardo

Colorist: Brian Reber

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Leinil Francis Yu & Dean White; Chris Campana; Craig Yeung & Rachelle Rosenberg

Designer: Carlos Lao

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski

Recap Art: Mark Bagley

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: September 25, 2024

 

While Peter Parker, Miles Morales, and Shift have been playing nice with the Vermin, Gwen Stacy and Chameleon gave one of New York’s humanoid rats a roast. But Ben Reilly is a changed man. With his scrambled memories, the former Scarlet Spider enters the fray and kills Jackal’s creations before he wonders, “Gee, might they be sentient?” Ben might not have much to spare, but Druig wants a piece of his mind anyway. What chaos will Chasm unleash when an Eternal messes with his muddled mind? And can his clone brother Kaine help Ben recover what he has lost? Let’s refill our psychoactive goo guns, leap into Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #2, and find out!

 

Story

Ben Reilly spent so long trying to be Spider-Man that he doesn't know who he is. The situation worsened when Maxine Danger messed with his memories. Now Druig is influencing him. When Ben realizes he has been sleepwalking, he wonders what else he can try to regain control. His girlfriend offers him fun and diversion in Steve Foxe's story. But Ben's love for Janine is coupled with need. Ben relies on her to retain his sanity in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #2. Where would he be without Janine?

 

Like Ben, Janine doesn’t view sleepwalking as a step toward mental recovery. She tries to distract him from his dark thoughts, but her bright ideas leave a trail of destruction in their wake. Still, she has one more card to play. Or should I say a mask? After using her Frankenstein's Monster and Werewolf masks, she pulls out another to help Ben. Using it exposes Janine to danger but demonstrates her commitment to him.

 

Kaine Parker has been following Ben and Janine’s trail of destruction. In the hospital morgue, Kaine doesn’t realize that Druig helped Ben reconstruct Freak. Using the dead Vermin and his psychoactive goo instead of lightning, Ben cobbled together a Super Freak. The monster pursues Kaine through the hospital. Kaine's plan doesn't include bringing the Super Freak home to his mother. (If he had a mother, that is). Kaine wants to get it away from people before the Super Freak brings someone's spirit down. 

 

 

 

Art

On his hands and knees, Moleman looks up at Druig. With a spider crawling over his hand, the Eternal looks down upon another cowering mortal in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #2. Kaine somersaults over Super Freak while a portable exam table crashes into the wall and ceiling. One of Jane Foster’s associates hangs from glowing webs alongside a security guard. The supersized Freak pursues Kaine down a corridor that evokes Jackal’s horrors chasing Peter Parker through a nightmare train. Andrea Broccardo’s Super Freak design suggests that HR Giger's Alien art diverted Druig. Kaine's solution to his Freakazoid dilemma evokes how Daniels and Tennessee banish unwanted guests from the Covenant's terraforming bay in Alien: Covenant.

 

Black and red Kaine battles a brown and red Super Freak as a suspended medical examiner’s blue scrubs pair with the blue-tinged white floor and wall tiles. A gray villain who liked Anna Watson stares through a transparent barrier and across a hallway grounded with black and grey flooring and illuminated by a glowing glass ceiling. Chasm’s lavender and black pairs with Hallows Eve’s mauve and black as yellow windows in distant buildings shine against a gray sky. The lovers regain their usual vibrant purple, green, orange, and black in their holy abode. But when Hallows Eve slips on another mask, she explores Brian Reber's purple and lavender world in orange, gray, red, yellow, and white finery.

 

Joe Caramagna thwips black uppercase lettering into white dialogue balloons and Kaine's white thoughts into red narrative boxes. Words grow bold for emphasis, swell or change color for volume, and rarely shrink. Colorful and transparent sound effects help us hear Super Freak’s rampage and Janine's world shatter, while a yellow and orange growl suggests the rise of another spider villain in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #2. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

As an Eternal, Druig has too much time on his hands. Instead of taking night classes at Empire State University or volunteering at FEAST, Druig seeks diversion by manipulating others, including those with all eight eyes open in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #2.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

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

Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #1 Review

 

Writer: Steve Foxe

Artist: Andrea Broccardo

Colorist: Brian Reber

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Leinil Francis Yu & Dean White; Elena Casagrande & Annalisa Leoni; Martín Cóccolo & Dean White; Salvador Larroca & Edgar Delgado

Designer: Carlos Lao

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski

Recap Art: Mark Bagley

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: August 28, 2024

 

Three teenagers from New Jersey receive an invitation to an underground rave. But when they break the police tape and descend into the closed Long Island subway station, monsters attack them. As they back away, two costumed people block their retreat. Is this an underground masquerade? Did someone lure the teens to their deaths? Let’s grab our Halloween masks, leap into Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #1, and find out!

 

Story

Ben Reilly and Janine Godbe are putting the past behind them. Their idea of making a fresh start is luring teens into confined spaces and robbing them. Freak and the vermin surprise the two antiheroes-turned-villains. Janine dons a mask of Frankenstein’s monster and battles the sewer denizens, while Ben argues that citizens should pay for protection. Freak and the vermin press Janine hard. So, after taking the teens’ money, Ben defends his girlfriend. But then Druig gets into his mind and wonders what he can make of it.

 

The Beyond Corporation corrupted Ben’s memories. Society imprisoned Janine for protecting herself against her abusive father. So, Ben and Janine reject society's laws, customs, and morality. They take what they want and live for today. As usual, someone gets in the way of their happiness in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #1.

 

After recent setbacks, Druig hid beneath the surface and usurped another ruler's throne. Like Hammerhead, Druig needs a victory to rebuild his brand. As an Eternal, he craves diversion. Druig decides to make the spider heroes his playthings. Then Ben Reilly walks into his hands. Stripped of his memories, Ben seems an ideal instrument for his amusement. So Druig attaches strings and prepares for his puppet show.

 

Ben's descent into villainy bothers Kaine. Peter Parker's clones share a dark past. Kaine assumes the moral center of Steve Foxe's story about clones gone wrong, humans playing god, and gods manipulating their creations. Kaine discovers he has his work cut out for him. He watches the police remove vermin and Freak in body bags. Kaine had intended to help Ben embrace heroism again. However, the murders remind Kaine of how he once punished a society that rejected him. Even now, after he has embraced heroism, society has yet to welcome Kaine with open arms. 

 

 

 

Art

Andrea Broccardo imbues Hallows Eve and Chasm with attitude and swagger in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #1. As Hallows Eve wades into the vermin crush, Chasm’s body language suggests he owns the world. As Chasm kills Freak and the vermin, perhaps they remind him of his demonic captors in Limbo. But then the background breaks into blocks, and unseen hands insert an ornate key into his head. The top of his skull hinges open, and webbing thwips out. When Ben and Janine relax in their new home, they look relieved of the burden of recovering Ben’s memories. Yet their boarded-up residence evokes the fake Church with a hidden Beyond laboratory that Peter, Misty, and Lizard sheltered in during Bloodhunt.

 

Brian Reber fills the air surrounding Chasm with glowing green light. Hallows Eve projects yellow and orange light as she fights the red Freak and brown vermin. Druig appears as a red mist before taking Human form. Then, red makes way for a flesh-covered face and green fabric. Kaine thwips through the greenish-brown subway in his red and black suit. He finds the teens hanging from glowing green webs. Blue light tinges the stone throne as Druig kicks away his cringing servant. Like him, the man groveling at his feet wears green.

 

Joe Caramagna thwips black uppercase lettering into white dialogue balloons and Kaine's white thoughts into red narrative boxes. Words embolden for emphasis and swell or change color for volume. Expressive sound effects relate vermin hisses, Freak's rage, and a grate being pulled away so a Spider-Pinocchio can take the stage in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #1. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Like Victor Frankenstein, the Jackal sought to improve on nature’s work by creating Kaine and Ben Reilly. Like Frankenstein’s ultimate man, the Jackal’s creations have killed others. Now, as Hallow’s Eve dons the likeness of Frankenstein's feared creation, another person follows in the two creators’ footsteps in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #1.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

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