Excellent first arc. This milestone stuff is still so relevant today.

A very wordy and sluggish second volume. There's some steam picked up in the second half but not enough.

I think the fact Millar writes Peter as extremely hot headed is odd. Peter can be, and he has been, but here he's always shouting or angry. And I get his Aunt is missing but he's had this happen before and figured out a plan. Here he feels lost all the time, and it doesn't build tension, it makes Peter look dumb.

But the venom stuff is interesting enough and there are touching moments like the diner scene. A 3 out of 5.

This volume brings all the main storylines/titles together for the final showdown against Apocalypse. Some dark choices, far darker than I ever thought they'd go, and some excellent character evolution here. I really enjoyed everyone finally coming together and the big brawl was pretty satisfying. I can't believe I never read this event before now.

This is a huge event, one that isn't for everyone. But if you like a lot of world building and what-if moments, this book is one of the best I read IMO.

Now this is like 8 titles going on at once. Amazing X-Men, Astonishing X-Men, Factor X, WEAPON X and more. And basically each title gives focus to different mutants/groups that all lead back to one big storyline by the end. This isn't a quickly paced title as most of the first issues of each series are letting characters breath and get used to their new look/viewpoints.

The entire Omnibus actually begins with Legions Quest. You know David, Xavier's son? Well he didn't get enough love in his life, and blames Magneto of all people. So he goes back in time, when Magneto and Xavier were best buddies, and decides to try and kill him. However, Xavier jumps in-between, and this leads to his death which creates the alternate universe of Age of Apocalypse.

Fractions are broken up different here. You are either with Apocalypse, basically running this world into the ground and owning people or Magneto and the X-Men trying to fight back. Magneto is on the verge of losing and sends his people out on different missions which is why we lead into so many different comic storylines.

And this is where some people might not be fully invested. The main core storyline takes a backseat to let the world build it's characters. So many pieces of shit, such as Sabertooth, become bonafide heroes in such interesting ways. Characters not much talked about like Blink become heroes you wouldn't expect to. Things change, people change, all based on events.

I will say I think the weapon X stuff is the worst of the bunch. The worst written for sure, nothing was very exciting or fun to read. I really couldn't wait to get past these chapters, and luckily there were only 4 of them but still, 100 pages of nonsense hurts it overall a bit. I also think some of the next generation art is REALLY hard to see at times. And just in general it can get messy with how much is going on, both writing and art style wise.

But honestly I was pretty hooked the whole time. Moments that really shocked me with Nightcrawler, or Colossus. Things going ways I never expected with some nasty kills. The ending having a shocking confrontation that kind of cemented Magneto as a badass. And while some of the art is over the top 90s galore there's some art that is outstanding at times.

So worth checking out for the name and history alone. A event that I had very little expectations for and was kind of blown away how fun it was to read. I think this is also a very re-readable event that'll I'll come back to.

A 4 out of 5.

Arkham is rebuilt!

This time though things are going different.

When killings start happening, Batman goes to the newly built Arkham ran by Jeremiah Arkham. He believes Zsasz is out there killing people, but even Batman can see him still in Arkham soon after the killings happened. Batman tries a new plan to get closer to the system in Arkham, but can it happen? That's the question.

Some cool twist and turns here, even if have to suspend your belief more than usual. I really liked the first outlook of new Arkham by Jeremiah. It felt more strict, and kind of brutal how he got results, but also they semi-worked? A twisted way.

I liked Batman here, very much a detective. I also enjoyed his team up with Nightwing, was nice to see them work together despite having issues at this point in their life. The ending was real solid and a fun opening to a very long run but Mr. Grant for his Shadow of the Bat series.

Not a huge Mystique fan but this was pretty interesting and her dealing with the worst of the worst to achieve something is always fun.

A strong farewell to a character while also supplying a boost for the overall story.

Merged review:

A strong farewell to a character while also supplying a boost for the overall story.

The end is almost here...all that preparing and nothing can stop the monster.

Merged review:

The end is almost here...all that preparing and nothing can stop the monster.

A pretty fun post apocalyptical story. Basically a guy who lost his family after a atomic bomb and survived thanks to having cancer which mutated him now protects these children from the vicious world they live in. Great art mixed with solid writing, this was a fun adventure. I wouldn't say mindblowing but a good time throughout. A 3.5 I'll bump to a 4 on here.

Some real good stuff.

Curt is a genius. But he works for a piece of shit. I know a lot of people can relate to that. And so with that he decides in his free time to create a suit of armor and destroy the illegal activates of the asshole he works for. It's very Iron Man meets Batman yet it works really well.

Mostly thanks to Curt being a solid lead. He wants to do the right thing, but he can also be brutal. Killing people who stand in his way, even people working for scum like his boss, does eventually pay a hefty toll. And I loved that. The first 4 issues is a balls to walls action set piece with a lot of fun moments. But the second story focuses on a serial killer who eventually convinces Curt to look deep inside himself and see if he's one in the same.

Overall, 90's might have been filled with garbage but there's some gems in there, and Hardware is one of them.