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A review by crookedtreehouse
Reign of X Vol. 8 by Zeb Wells, Tini Howard, Jonathan Hickman, Vita Ayala, Gerry Duggan
3.0
Cable #10: After a somewhat forgettable previous issue, this one features father/son bonding with Cyclops as they battle some non-Krakoan mutants, and try and decipher what's going on with Stryfe. Good luck, I don't think anyone has been able to decipher that storyline since it began in the 90s. The dialog was fun, though, and while Noto's posing seemed stiffer than usual, it rarely pulled me out of the story. 3/5*
Children Of The Atom #3: This was the best issue of the series so far, but that's a pretty low bar. I was intrigued by the presumed origin story that's unfolding around a doctor who can turn humans into mutants? Maybe? Maybe that's what [a:Vita Ayala|16130337|Vita Ayala|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1598534913p2/16130337.jpg] is doing? As usual, it's difficult to tell. The space story made no sense. How did these kids gain access to a spaceship? Why is it crashing? What purpose does this story have except to force two characters together? Why does it feel so much like Ayala has no idea how to tell a story so she just throws ideas at a wall and hopes they'll eventually make sense? How did this series make it to six issues before it was cancelled? 2/5*
Excalibur #20: It's odd to think how this series has evolved under [a:Tini Howard|14205385|Tini Howard|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1573146594p2/14205385.jpg]'s time with it. When it first started, and was focused on Otherworld and classic Excalibur shenanigans, I found myself writing over and over how I felt bad because I could tell Tini Howard was a great writer but she was writing about a corner of the Marvel universe I didn't care about. Then she brought in some other plots that intrigued me. Then it all got derailed by [b:X-Men: X of Swords|52851829|X-Men X of Swords|Jonathan Hickman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1614787008l/52851829._SX50_.jpg|79034287], which I found to be an impenetrable mess. But as soon as it was over, Howard dove straight back into classic Excalibur tropes and ... I like it. This Malice-focused issue was my favorite so far. Howard has a strong grasp of characters, the ability to give each character their own sense of dialogue without making it clash with the way other characters speak, and she's even made the Psylocke/Kwannon storyline that's been going on sense the 80s seem fresh again. While I am in no rush to see her tenure on this title end, I can't wait to see what happens when she's writing a creator owned series or a legacy series that I enjoyed even before she started writing it. 4/5*
X-Men #20: We grind ever closer to the Mystique/Destiny/Moira storyline foreshadowed waaaay back in [b:House of X/Powers of X|45032046|House of X/Powers of X|Jonathan Hickman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575584673l/45032046._SY75_.jpg|69718791], and get to see the creation of Nimrod. While this was far from my favorite Hickman X-Men issue, it was a tight story that ramped up the anticipation for what will surely be the biggest event in the Krakoan era so far. 4/5*
Hellions #9 & 10: The involvement of Mastermind and Arcade almost never make me want to pick up an X-book. Them kidnapping Mr. Sinister so Arcade can build an army of clones is a dull conceit, as well. The biggest issue for me is that I've been reading X-books since I was fourteen, and a few years ago, I read every trade of every X-adjacent book ever printed. Yet I have no idea what's going on with Nanny and Orphan Maker, or why I should care at all about them or Wild Child (aka Sabertooth's Sabertooth). I feel like these characters should have all stayed in the 80s. Empath is technically more interesting but I feel like there hasn't been enough focus on him in the last few issues. 2/5*
If you're not already invested in the post House Of X/Powers of X era of mutant books, there is absolutely no reason to pick this one up. It would be way too confusing.
Children Of The Atom #3: This was the best issue of the series so far, but that's a pretty low bar. I was intrigued by the presumed origin story that's unfolding around a doctor who can turn humans into mutants? Maybe? Maybe that's what [a:Vita Ayala|16130337|Vita Ayala|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1598534913p2/16130337.jpg] is doing? As usual, it's difficult to tell. The space story made no sense. How did these kids gain access to a spaceship? Why is it crashing? What purpose does this story have except to force two characters together? Why does it feel so much like Ayala has no idea how to tell a story so she just throws ideas at a wall and hopes they'll eventually make sense? How did this series make it to six issues before it was cancelled? 2/5*
Excalibur #20: It's odd to think how this series has evolved under [a:Tini Howard|14205385|Tini Howard|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1573146594p2/14205385.jpg]'s time with it. When it first started, and was focused on Otherworld and classic Excalibur shenanigans, I found myself writing over and over how I felt bad because I could tell Tini Howard was a great writer but she was writing about a corner of the Marvel universe I didn't care about. Then she brought in some other plots that intrigued me. Then it all got derailed by [b:X-Men: X of Swords|52851829|X-Men X of Swords|Jonathan Hickman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1614787008l/52851829._SX50_.jpg|79034287], which I found to be an impenetrable mess. But as soon as it was over, Howard dove straight back into classic Excalibur tropes and ... I like it. This Malice-focused issue was my favorite so far. Howard has a strong grasp of characters, the ability to give each character their own sense of dialogue without making it clash with the way other characters speak, and she's even made the Psylocke/Kwannon storyline that's been going on sense the 80s seem fresh again. While I am in no rush to see her tenure on this title end, I can't wait to see what happens when she's writing a creator owned series or a legacy series that I enjoyed even before she started writing it. 4/5*
X-Men #20: We grind ever closer to the Mystique/Destiny/Moira storyline foreshadowed waaaay back in [b:House of X/Powers of X|45032046|House of X/Powers of X|Jonathan Hickman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575584673l/45032046._SY75_.jpg|69718791], and get to see the creation of Nimrod. While this was far from my favorite Hickman X-Men issue, it was a tight story that ramped up the anticipation for what will surely be the biggest event in the Krakoan era so far. 4/5*
Hellions #9 & 10: The involvement of Mastermind and Arcade almost never make me want to pick up an X-book. Them kidnapping Mr. Sinister so Arcade can build an army of clones is a dull conceit, as well. The biggest issue for me is that I've been reading X-books since I was fourteen, and a few years ago, I read every trade of every X-adjacent book ever printed. Yet I have no idea what's going on with Nanny and Orphan Maker, or why I should care at all about them or Wild Child (aka Sabertooth's Sabertooth). I feel like these characters should have all stayed in the 80s. Empath is technically more interesting but I feel like there hasn't been enough focus on him in the last few issues. 2/5*
If you're not already invested in the post House Of X/Powers of X era of mutant books, there is absolutely no reason to pick this one up. It would be way too confusing.