Thanos Rising

 

Bloody good read this one. 2013's 'Thanos Rising' charts Marvels' big purple villain from his disturbing birth, through his troubled formative years and his journey towards the merciless Titan that destiny would have him become, no matter how hard he tried. Strong stuff. Dark themes for a dark character, they don't call him the 'Mad Titan' for nothing. He's clearly not right. Compellingly written by Jason Aaron you almost feel sorry for Thanos at times, only almost though; and as for the illustration, well, Simone Bianchis' work is never not gorgeous, and it's made even more so by fantastic colour artists Simone Peruzzi and Ive Svorcina. As I say, bloody good read.

 

Legion Son of X: Invasive Exotics (X Men Legacy)

 

He's going to keep his fathers' dream alive, though going to do it 'his' way. Following the untimely death of his father Professor Charles Xavier, David Charles Haller known in certain circles as Legion continues to follow his path towards redemption, whilst wrangling control of the myriad powers running rampant in his head and pursuing a relationship with his new found love Blindfold, a student at The Jean Grey School. And there's still the issue of the powerful and frightening interloper lurking in the shadows of his mind, who is it, what it's game? Full of twists, turns and surprises Legion Son of X: Invasive Exotics (X Men Legacy) by Simon Spurrier, Tan Eng Huat and Paul Davidson is a fabulous read. Superb writing by Spurrier, who portrays David in an unusually sympathetic way, an engaging story, witty and clever, and one which ensures this volume is a real page turner, though Huat and Davidsons' lovely illustrations keep you lingering on the page. Oh the dilemma.

Legion Son of X: Prodigal (X Men Legacy)

What a fabulous graphic, Legion Son of X Prodigal (X Men Legacy) by Simon Spurrier, Tan Eng Huat and Jorge Molina. Legion (David Charles Haller) is the omega level mutant son of X Men mentor Charles Xavier, and he's quite the character, and quite quite unstable too, which has led to incidents in the past. Wonderfully written by Spurrier and beautifully illustrated by Huat and Molina we find Legion hidden away in the Himalayas, where under the tutelage of a mystic he's created a prison in his mind to house his multiple personalities, can he control them and their various individual powers though? Legion wants to be better, and he's being called for help, this may be an opportunity to start on that new path; but something’s not right, and who's that in the shadows of his mind? And then there's the X Men. It's a real page turner.

Moon Knight 'Lunatic'

What's Khonshu up to? Has Marc Spector lost his mind...again? Master writer Jeff Lemire puts the Moon Knight through the mangle, reuniting him with friends, and taking the character on a nightmare journey through his various persona’s and the fractured worlds of his mind and of Khonshu's creation, where what's real and what's fantasy merge, putting his life and sanity on the line. Greg Smallwood's lines do Lemire's words justice and as always Jordie Bellaire's colours are the cherry on top of the glorious cake. Lunatic is great reading. If you like Moon Knight then you'll love this, more so if you're versed in his history as there are character references that go well back, if you don't know the character or his background then this might be a touch confusing...though, maybe not, I'm lending my copy to a friend to read who hasn't read Moon Knight before, so I'll find out.

Hawkeye: My life as a weapon.

I received several graphic novels at Christmas, though with one thing and another I'd not got around to reading any of them; this being very remiss of me I though I'd rectify the situation. The first one I went for was Hawkeye; My life as a weapon, written by Matt Fraction, art by David Aja and Javier Pulido. For me Hawkeye's always been a bit player in the comics/graphics I've read and I've not been too happy with his depiction in recent movie outings (most recent exclude as I've not seen it yet). I didn't really know his character that well, so it was nice to get a better insight into his character through a graphic which centers on him and his escapades. This is Clint Barton Hawkeye. My life as a weapon explores Bartons world, he's got no super powers though is highly trained and experienced in what he does, no magic, he's a ordinary hero with a bit of cash and some good/ powerful connections. Barton's a down to earth sort of guy, a street fighting type who takes his fair share of knocks and isn't adverse to a humorous quip or smart mouthed comment.  Although an Avenger, Barton lives away from the mansion, an outsider by desire, often working alone or with Kate Bishop (another to take up the Hawkeye mantle) fighting organized crime when not fighting super powered villains with the Avengers. This is not an origins story but it does give you a good insight in to Hawkeyes character and lifestyle.

The art is great, old school style yet simultaneously bang up to date, really engaging and Fractions writing too is top notch; well worth a read. My life as a weapon is Vol.1, Vol.2 is definitely now on my wish list.