Rogue Storm #1 Review

 

Writer: Murewa Ayodele

Artist: Roland Boschi

Colorist: Neeraj Menon

Letterer: Travis Lanham

Cover Artists: Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado; Elizabeth Torque & Federico Blee; Iván Talavera; Karen S Darboe & Jesus Aburtov; Rickie Yagawa & Tamra Bonvillain; Stefano Caselli & David Curiel

Designer: Jay Bowen

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

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: October 15, 2025

 

Rogue has traveled with Gateway, Warpath, Fantomex, Iceman, and Akujin to the Sahara Desert. Snow covers the vast land of dunes. The Uncanny X-Force must prevent Storm from unleashing further destruction on Earth's ecosystem. Rogue doesn't want to kill her friend. But like Rogue, Storm has changed. Can Rogue kill her best friend? And why is Storm attacking the world she sought to protect? Let’s leap into Rogue Storm #1 and see!

 

Story

As Rogue rides through the snow, Gateway hovers alongside. He reminds Rogue that this is necessary. Yet the proposition seems overwhelming. Sentinels guard an ice fortress surrounded by wrecked bodies and vehicles. While Akujin hungers for the opportunity to kill Storm, the rest seem less confident. Yet they charge into battle regardless, firing tank-like cannons mounted to their steeds. When one of the rhino-like animals speaks, it asserts its readiness for the challenge. Yet Storm's guardians will draw first blood.

 

 

 

While Rogue Storm #1 takes place five years into the Age of Revelation, it also revisits events three years previous. An accident cost Rogue her husband and her powers. Storm consoled Rogue and helped her get back on her feet again. Her friend enhanced her fighting ability. But Storm could not replace Rogue's sense of uniqueness.

 

Murewa Ayodele’s story demonstrates how people can rebuild their lives after suffering incomparable losses. It's also a powerful reminder of how much we can change as we journey through life. But mostly, it’s an exhilarating battle between titanic forces and underdogs. 

 

 

 

Art

Roland Boschi opens Rogue Storm #1 with glimpses of the burning Amazon forest, the destruction of Atlanta, and ridges of land emerging from the snow and clouds like the spine of the world. But the most telling reminder of Storm’s power is the first panel, which shows Mjolnir orbiting Earth with bits of the broken hammer drifting nearby. Storm’s new home also inspires awe, with giant metal guardians surrounding a heap of Pick-Up Sticks. But a glimpse inside reveals that the ice palace is no Fortress of Solitude.

 

 

 

Neeraj Menon lavishes a bright palette on this snow-bound battle. The titanic guardians prove faster than AT-AT Walkers and lend scenes an epic grandeur. Yet the Human-sized crystal killer seems everywhere at once. Red contrasts with green in this light-blue land of stark sunlight. While Rogue wears red, the winged warrior spills it. The sentient steeds roar as they charge, wearing green saddles and armor. These two colors symbolize what Rogue has suffered in Rogue Storm #1. 

 

 

 

Travis Lanham fills white narrative boxes and dialogue balloons with large black uppercase letters. A stylized white font identifies time and space. The creatures speak into irregular balloons, while Iceman’s rage swells and turns blue. Sound effects make this story about killing a god crackle and boom, while heroes work together to leap into combat and smash their titanic opponents. Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing a review copy.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

As X-Force attempts deicide, and Storm’s guardians intend decimation, an angry god divides her mind among her guardians. Rogue Storm #1 hints at how Revelation has achieved mastery over other Omega-level Mutants and suggests that Rogue’s situation may not be unique.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

X-Force #45 Review

 

Writer: Benjamin Percy

Artist: Robert Gill

Colorist: GURU-eFX

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Daniel Acuña; Whilce Portacio & Arif Prianto

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: October 4, 2023

 

Domino’s raid on an exclusive Russian bathhouse netted her a mysterious ring. Is it linked to Mikhail Rasputin? Can it help Sage rebuild X-Force? Let’s leap into X-Force #45 and find out!

 

Story

The Chronicler writes the story of X-Force’s downfall. His mutant powers influence those he writes about. Mikhail used his brother Colossus to help Orchis destroy the thriving community of Krakoa. But the massacre left Orchis running the world, and Mikhail craves power. So Mikhail gives the Chronicler a new task. Find another character for your next story arc. Choose someone inside Orchis who can work for me!

 

Sage lost her team at the Hellfire Gala. Mikhail holds half her people prisoner. She must reform X-Force to free the mutant community from Orchis' shackles. The key to achieving her goals lies in the mysterious ring. She's secreted the strange artifact in a No-Place tumor. But who can help unlock its secrets?

 

In X-Force #45, Benjamin Percy weaves readers into two intertwined dramas. The Chronicler yearns to escape Mikhail’s domination. Sage wants to defeat Mikhail. But the clock is ticking, and a misstep could sweep either player off the gameboard.

 

 

 

 

Art

Robert Gill packs pages with detailed art that portrays characters consistently from panel to panel. Darkness surrounds Colossus amid the tragedy of his life while parchment leaps from tall stacks upon the Chronicler’s desk. Orchis agent Jun Wei tantalizes with a dragon tattoo that slithers across her skull, while Deadpool savors the good life in Las Vegas. Settings filled with life and energy invite readers to visit every locale featured in X-Force #45.

 

GURU-eFX loads his palette and doesn’t hold back. Panels set in Krakoa and Las Vegas explode with color. Darkness surrounds people in Mikhail’s world, yet nothing hides from the reader’s gaze. Gray seeps into a colorful, unlit corridor in Dr. Strange’s house while the fire crackling in his hearth casts the library in pink and orange. Glowing symbols hover before his eyes as he studies the mysterious ring, while tears trickle down the Chronicler's cheeks as he writes a character’s demise in X-Force #45.

 

Joe Caramagna writes the Chronicler’s narrative in white boxes and Deadpool’s dialogue in yellow balloons. He gives aging eyes a break from his tiny script with a fact sheet on Orchis agent Jun Wei and the Telepathic Notations of Dr. Strange. Giant, angry letters roar amid the darkness when someone withdraws a gun and pulls the trigger. Who shot J.R., you ask? Forget Dallas! Discover who shot who in X-Force #45!

 

Final Thoughts

While Sage and Domino seek the key to mutant liberation, a prisoner’s desperate bid for freedom could doom countless others in X-Force #45.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

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

X-Force #43 Review

 

Writer: Benjamin Percy

Artist: Robert Gill

Colorist: GURU-eFX

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Daniel Acuña; Rahzzah

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: August 23, 2023

 

Everyone wants to attend the party, but will Sage let them? X-Force's leader doesn't have the last say, as she's taking orders from Colossus. But the metal man's mind is on other matters as the Hellfire Gala gets set to rock. How will Sage, Colossus, and their squad fare as the massacre of the millennium begins? Let's leap into X-Force #43 and find out!

 

Story

Colossus doesn’t want X-Force to join the party. As a representative of Krakoa’s Quiet Council, he orders them to monitor the gala remotely. What they don’t know is he's under the sway of his brother Mikhail. X-23 and Deadpool may be none the wiser, but Domino suspects Colossus is compromised. Can she discover his secrets before the festivities begin?

 

If you've read X-Men Hellfire Gala #1, you know about the party that rocked the mutant community to its core. X-Force #43 serves as a prequel and gives greater context to the event. While Deadpool and Quentin provide the laughs, Domino’s excursion exposes the change Colossus has undergone. Even if you know how the group’s journey ends, what Domino discovers in the Savage Land enthralls.

 

 

Art

Appealing characters inhabit this strange, organic world. Rooms and buildings look grown instead of made, rounded instead of rectangular, and more whimsical than real. Communities rise from the seafloor to stand above the ocean waves in X-Force #43. Plants decorate buildings and interiors. Bright colors mesmerize, energize, and prevent the epic tragedy from becoming dark and dreary. Inspired by such artistry, Deadpool and Colossus indulge their creative sides.

 

Lettering is tiny, as lowercase black words inhabit white and colored dialogue balloons and boxes. A letter from Mikhail and an entry from Sage's logbook prove easier to read in X-Force #43. Few sound effects accompany the team's journey into darkness.

 

Final Thoughts

Sage struggles to control her team as Domino races to discover Colossus’ secrets in X-Force #43.

 

8.8/10

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