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Return of the Sinister Six

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A 90s Time Capsule of Cheese, Charm, and Peak Fun

A few months ago, while taking inventory of my comics, I noticed that I owned some of the early 1990s Spider-Man with some big names on the cover. Think David Micheline, Erik Larsen, and yes even Uncle Todd. Several of the books stood out to me. Issues 334-339: Return of the Sinister Six.

The six part series tells the main story of how Doc Ock gets the band back together. However, Micheline jams a couple of important sub plots in between the pages of Spidey vs. his old nemeses. Let me try to explain why the old heads look back so fondly, both in spite and because of, on this era of comic books.

Part 1 (Issue 334)

In Part 1, Doc Ock visits Electro and Sandman to start the process. Meanwhile, we get a look at Pete and MJ’s relationship (more on that in a bit), Spider-Man takes on some thugs, and as you can see in the panel below, Iron Man makes a cameo. Overall, a solid introduction that, if they hadn’t spoiled it in the title, might not have you thinking that this is anything but a typical Spider-Man arc.

Part 2 (Issue 335)

Okay, now things are getting serious. Hobby (3), Shocker (4, never mind), and Mysterio (4) all join the cause. This time, there’s a Captain America cameo, Flash and Felicia are dating, and I just have to say that I love, love this version of Peter and MJ. You can have drama without constantly threatening the whole of the relationship.

Nice shorts, Flash!
Wholesome content alert.

Part 3 (Issue 336)

The Vulture (5) starts the issue working for Kingpin, but Doc Ock offers a better dental package. Return of the Sinister Six is complete Another cameo, this time by Doctor Strange. And, who the hell is Chance? They promise that someone dies in the issue and someone does. It happens in a fashion very similar to Gwen Stacy. While a minor character (at least I don’t remember him), the last panel gives it an importance and gravitas sometimes missing from modern deaths.

RIP to a real one. Oof…

Part 4 (Issue 337)

We finally get some action between Spidey and the Six. He takes them on two at a time; Hobby and Mysterio, Vulture and Sandman, and then Electro at the end. There’s also some about the Flash/Felicia sub plot, a Nova cameo (literally, just him flying across the page), and some dude who is obsessed with MJ. Literally, how much can you jam into these issue, David Micheline?

Right there on the page: WHOOOOOOSH! LMAO

Part 5 (Issue 338)

They promise us the all out knock down drag out brawl finally. But first, we need to console Aunt May, work in the cameo (Mr. Fantastic on the TV in the background while MJ exercises), someone tries to kill Peter and then Caesar threatens to kill a dude unless he sets up a meeting with MJ. 20 pages. All of this in the first half of the book. Then, we finally get to the fight. Thankfully, it’s well worth it.

I mean, this is just the first page of the fight. It gets better from here.

Part 6 (Issue 339)

The thrilling conclusion. And, no, I don’t mean that sarcastically. They resolve the MJ drama by some dude shooting Caesar. But, he’s also a damn stalker. She eventually clocks him upside the head with her purse to escape. Meanwhile, there’s a satellite that will poison the planet if they don’t give in to Doc Ock’s demands of being rulers. Spider-Man faces off against the head honcho and then asks Thor to come help with the satellite. Old Thunder God takes care of it and, as you’ll see in a minute, we get the typical Spidey “happily ever after.”

Overall (Return of the Sinister Six)

These books have everything you expect from the 1990’s era Marvel. The sometimes overblown writing. Made me laugh that Micheline gave us that heart wrenching ending to part 3 and couldn’t help himself to go a bit overboard in the very next issue. Also, the beginning with the “electricity is his god, his drug, his reason to be” line? A bit much.

And, the art. It’s gorgeous, but the cliches you know from the 90s exist for a reason. What the hell is that early 90’s MJ? And Flash’s shorts in that one panel? Plus, the MJ in a full split in one panel and the outfit she wore to meet Caesar. All of it is just so delightfully chaotic. Some of this might not sound like my usual positive self. But, trust me, I say all of this with love. Every so often I pine for the simpler days of the 90s and the wild and crazy comics they brought us then.

Return of the Sinister Six brought me back to the days of riding my bike up the street to the comic book store. Walking along the racks looking for my favorites and trying to find some new ones. I gave you a peek into my 90s comics love with a tribute to Uncle Todd last month. I wanted to take another trip back to show that it’s not just a one time thing. It’s a way of life.

Thanks to mighty Marvel for bringing Spider-Man to life.

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Great Good Decent April 2025

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A Visual Guide

I finally realized my dream of recording and posting a video review of the comics for the month in Great, Good, Decent April 2025. Since I don’t want to neglect the web page, I came up with the idea for a visual gude here. Plus, with cross promotion, I can include a link to the video and the actual video below. Enjoy

Great

Good

Decent

The Video

The Verdict

What do you think of my great good decent April 2025? Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments or in the comments of the video. I’d love to have a conversation. When given the opportunity, I’ll gladly defend my selections that aren’t explained in the video or on Instagram or Tik Tok.

It’s one of the things that makes comics enjoyable for me. What one person likes, another might not and vice versa. As long as we are having an interesting and intelligent dialogue, I’m happy to engage. When people start screaming about “woke” this or “Mary Sue” that, that’s when I pack up my opinons and go home. Because, at that point, it’s clear that you aren’t interested in having a conversation and anything said will fall on deaf ears. Okay, glad to get that off my chest.

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Creator Spotlight: Todd McFarlane

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Introduction

Subtitle: The Rebel Who Changed Comics Forever. I planned this article a couple months ago. However, at that time I concentrated too heavily on the articles (which take some time to write) and failed as a result. Since focusing more on Tik Tok (the last two videos are downright viral!) and focusing on only one article a month, I think I can bring the page back from the dead. So, we launch this new feature with Creator Spotlight: Todd McFarlane.

Love him or hate him, McFarlane is like punk rock of comic creators. We tip our hand pretty heavily here when it comes to the old man. Affectionately known as Uncle Todd, we fall firmly in the “love” category. While not everything he touches is gold, he (in the words of wise sage Fred Durst) did it his way. His career is a masterclass in balancing artistic rebellion and business savvy to build an empire from the ashes of his former life.

Early Days: Pushing Marvel’s Limits

Many of us know that McFarlane got his big break at Marvel. Joining David Michelinie on Amazing Spider-Man, he brought a new style to the character that influenced generations of artists. His work on the cover of ASM #300 alone probably launched the careers of dozens of comic book artists.

Younger readers out there probably recognize the black costume from the Venom movies. Maybe, if you played the video games, you saw a version of the costume there. Yes, it’s true. Uncle Todd helped design the black suit and co-created the character of Venom. That led to several spin off characters, most notably Carnage. He also received the go ahead to write and illustrate his own Spider-Man title.

Image Comics: His Own Way

Frustrated by how Marvel and DC treated their creatives and their creations, he and several other giants at the time broke off and created their own label, Image Comics. Uncle Todd, for his book under the new label, created a character that looked very much like Spider-Man. However, Spawn dealt with much more “adult” issues than Marvel or DC ever touched in the past.

Spawn tells the story of a military man sent back from hell with a symbiote suit (sound familiar?) and powers to help Hell fight battles against Heaven on Earth. Simmons also uses his new found status to right some wrongs along the way. The comic sold 1.7 million issues, a record for a creator owned comic at the time. I, myself, bought the issue thrice. It’s a long story that I told more than once, so I will spare you this time. It wasn’t all wine and roses for the Image crew. Critics called the books the ultimate “style over substance” but rebellious teenagers like me didn’t give a shit what those stuffy dudes thought. I, for one, still don’t.

The McFarlane Legacy: Triumphs and Tensions

Unwilling to rest on his laurels, Uncle Todd spun his comics off into an action figure line. The accuracy and attention to detail also changed the way that action figures are made. Spawn also enjoyed success on the small, with an HBO animated series, and big, with a theater released movie, screens. Maybe success is pushing it some with regards to the movie. While decent, it suffered during a time before Disney and Marvel redefined comic book movies. To his credit, another movie under the Blumhouse label looks to improve on that misstep.

Speaking of missteps, Uncle Todd experienced his share of them. In addition to the fight over the creation of Venom, he also fought against Neil Gaiman for the rights to certain characters. Though, to be honest, now that Gaiman has been exposes as a sex pest, McFarlane maybe dodged a bullet there.

Why Uncle Todd Continues to Matter Today

Image Comics released some of my favorite books. Titles like The Maxx, Pitt, and Spawn continue to entertain me even today. My son loves Invincible. The Walking Dead spawned an entire cinematic universe unto itself. It feels weird calling Image books independent because of the vast range of titles and popularity. However, they remain true to their vision of allowing creators to retain all rights to their creations.

I just mentioned the reboot of the movie with Blumhouse as the distributor. I know people hated their Halloween movies, but I enjoyed them (yes, even Ends), so if it ever happens, I hold out hope they’ll do it justice. His toy line continues to expand with every new IP and retains the reputation for quality. Hey, you know me. I Stan for my heroes and Uncle Todd lives in that space.

The Verdict

I leave it to you, the fans, to decide. I presented the case in this Creator Spotlight: Todd McFarlane. What say you? Uncle Todd: Visionary or Stubborn Relic? If it’s the former, vote below. If the latter, let me know why in the comments.

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Creator Spotlight: Todd McFarlane

Uncle Todd's Most Lasting Contribution

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TMNT 6 and 7

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Illuminating Indie Books: Introduction

So far, so good. In the last post, I mentioned how I’ve been working to get the web page back on track. I also put together and posted some reels for Instagram and TikTok over the last couple of days. I’m still not at 100%, but better than recent weeks. Plus, comics week also is historically one of the busiest, so silly to start with this. In any case, TMNT 6 and 7 continues the Jason Aaron era.

When I first read about Aaron taking over our heroes in the half shell, I wondered how his style would work with the book. Over the previous 150 issues, plus ties in like the ones for the Armageddon story, the turtles and their allies focused on the outsider status of the mutants. That makes sense when you consider the writer. I like Aaron, for the most part, but thought it might be too much of a shift. So far, so good.

Writer: Jason Aaron, Artist: Juan Ferreyra
Writer: Jason Aaron, Artist: Juan Ferreyra

Synopsis

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 6: The turtles are back together and back in New York City. They’re not quite at the well oiled machine with some bickering and in fighting. But, they’re together enough to take care of a gang of foot soldiers. Before switching to April’s visit to Casey Jones after his ambush, they cut to an ambush on the turtles. The boys survive that one, too, fight among themselves again, and wind up in the spotlight of a helicopter spotlight in the middle of Times Square. Things look bleak.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 7: The turtles are only one while they’re fighting right now. This issue gives them plenty of chance to do that. They fight their way out of the pickle they found themselves in at the end of the previous issue. They take to the sewers to regroup and find their mojo. What fixes everything in turtle world? Pizza. Not this time, though. The thugs also come after April. She handles herself. Splinter’s influence is felt. The turtles get the upperhand at the end of the issue. Things no longer look bleak.

The Great, The Good, and the Decent (TLDR)

Decent: At the risk of cannibalizing the next section, the art is a bit off for me in TMNT 6 and 7. The turtles look too thin. The colors are too washed out. Then, other times, the art just pops (see my picks for the art this time around). It takes me out of the fiction some.

Good: The consistency and strength of this title to endure such a drastic change in tone speaks well of Kevin Eastman. Sure, the turtles are his baby, but after running the property for over 40 years, things are bound to get stale. With Spawn, for instance, up until a year and a half ago, I felt like reading the various titles felt more like a chore than enjoyment. Maybe I just missed the stale part of TMNT since I only recently started reading again.

Great: Like I said up above, Aaron took the turtles and made them his own. It sometimes takes me time to adjust to new teams, as with the art this time and on Incredible Hulk during PKJ’s tenure. Also, I haven’t quite gotten on board with Al Ewing’s Thor just yet. But, I embraced Aaron’s shift from issue 1. I’m on board. Read below for more.

Art and Writing

I said earlier that the inconsistency of the art takes me out of the fiction some. It’s not a huge deal. But, I found myself doing a double take on a couple of the scenes because they just looked weird. In spite of that, the art worked with the writing well to help to tell the story. When you look at the pages I picked as my favorites this time around, you see what I mean. The first two come from issue 6 and they look like still images from the cartoon or video games. Vintage turtles. Same with the left hand image from issue 7. The right image from issue 7 shows how the comic medium allows them to try new things. I’m not saying they couldn’t do something like that in the cartoon. Just that I don’t know if it has the same impact as the simplicity of this comic page.

Jason Aaron is, generally, one of my favorite comic writers. Unlike some other writers, I don’t like everything he’s done. I didn’t think he was a good fit for Thor. I also initially went back and forth with Chris about whether or not his tone would fit with the Ninja Turtles. But, he made a smart decision. Instead of dealing with the team as a cohesive unit from the beginning, he broke the beginning of the story into four and told it from the vantage point of each of the turtles. Even now, they don’t work as a fully formed team, so it gives him the chance to do what he does best and work out those issues on the page. No idea how long the Aaron era will last on TMNT, but I’m in it for the long haul now.

The Verdict

Aaron has me hooked on the turtles in a completely different way from Sophie Campbell’s story. Both tell completely different stories effectively. I know I sound like a broken record a tthis point, but I can’t help it. I applaud Kevin Eastman for taking such good care of the turtles all these years. TMNT 6 and 7 keep the good times rolling. I look forward to another couple of decades of great stories to come.

Visit Kevin Eastman for all things turtles.

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Amazing Spider-Man 67 and 68

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Superhero Showcase Sunday: Introduction

Long time, no read! I’ve been working to get the web page back on track, including discussing things with my new best friend, Deepseek AI. I can’t promise that the schedule we put together is sustainable over the long haul, but I hit both of my deadlines so far. Now, to make the load more manageable here, I decided to focus on one or two comics and give my other reviews as quick videos on Instagram and Facebook. Then, at the end of the week, I can tie it all together with a longer YouTube dive into the books. Keep reading for my thoughts on Amazing Spider-Man 67 and 68.

The two issues (Legacy 961 and 962) continue the “8 Deaths of Spider-Man story line. They set up for a finish and the next rebooted numbering that starts with Legacy 965, I believe. After a rough patch with Zeb Wells writing, I feel like the old Web-Head is back in good hands and it gives me hope for the future of the title.

Writer: Jutina Ireland, Artist: Andrea Broccardo
Writer: Jutina Ireland, Artist: Andrea Broccardo

Synopsis

Amazing Spider-Man 67 – Peter and Felicia deal with an “about last night” morning by not dealing with it at all. Meanwhile, Cyclops’ X-Men fight with one of the scions of Cyttorak. A stalemate until Juggs shows up and brings his own power of Cyttorak with him. Strange comes to visit Peter and fills him in on everything that’s happened and why Peter needs to intervene. In spite of the dire consequences, Peter blows him off. Cyra, too, pleads with him to help stop the carnage. Another scion rises from the ashes of the defeat of the last. She cries at the death he already caused and what is yet to come.

Amazing Spider-Man 68 – Cyra shows Peter the death at the hands of the new scion. Near total, including those close to Peter. He has another of his usual come to Jesus moments (most likely because

SpoilerAunt May is one of the ones who died
) and gives and offering to reverse the damage. He also once again dons the armor of Strange and rejoins the fight. During the fight, Cyra rescues him and takes him to her father’s domain. The blight causes those on Earth to suffer soul rot. They need to fight the blight at its source. That doesn’t end well.

The Great, The Good, and the Decent (TLDR)

Decent: The story just works. Not great, not bad. Just good enough to keep me reading and interested. But, nothing I will remember years from now like Planet Hulk. Plus, it still suffers a bit too much from the hocus pocus. I’m not used to Spidey being involved in such magical adventures. Hopefully, the new story backs off from that some.

Good: I like the art for the action sequences. Other than one major reveal (possibly planned?), the drama in issue 68 underwhelms. Issue 67, however, delivers some personal scenes that illustrate just how much this affects different heroes on a different level.

Great: After the insanity of Zeb Wells, I welcome a more traditional Spider-Man era. I know they can’t just go from one to the other and this story line provided an excellent bridge between the new and the next. For that alone, I respect Ireland’s efforts and thank her for doing her part to return Spidey to me.

Art and Writing

The art in issue 67 strikes a good balance between action and dramatic scenes. During the battle between the X-Men and the scion, the fighters practically jump off of the page. Then, during the sequences when both Strange and Cyra speak to Peter, you can feel the tension and disappointment that both feel when Peter turns them down. The story is interesting, but the writing brings nothing new to the table. The dialogue gets the job done, but that’s about it.

Issue 67 deals more with action initially, trying to bring the battle against the latest scion to an end. That action continues through the end of the book. As a result, the artist gives us a few of the leaping into battle panels from both the front and the back. This time, the dramatic panels lack the impact of the previous issue. They try to make it more dramatic by giving it world changing ramifications. But, it doesn’t quite reach the same gravitas of the personal pleas from Strange and Cyra. Maybe the writing has something to do with it. Again, it follows the formula to perfection. But, it doesn’t do any more to push the issue as different or special. After the mess of Zeb Wells, I’ll take what I can get. Plus, at the end of the book, the art does the heavy lifting on one heck of a twist at the end. Yes, pun intended.

Those are my favorite pages from the books, art wise. I’ll put the one that contains a pretty massive spoiler at the end of the article.

The Verdict

Amazing Spider-Man 67 and 68 won’t go down as two of the more memorable issues. Not even of recent memory. But, I will remember this era of Spider-Man as the one that returned some semblance of normalcy to my favorite Marvel comic book hero. I look forward to what Joe Kelly brings next and bid Zeb Wells a fond adieu.

Images taken from Marvel and scanned via my phone.

Spoiler Image

Spoiler

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Nerds Are the Worst

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Introduction

Alternate Title: Why Do We Always Hate What We Love? For years, I talked about how Star Wars nerds are the worst. They regularly shit on everything Star Wars related for nearly three decades. The prequels, the sequels, now the various Disney+ projects. It has been exhausting. I just stopped reading and listening so that I could enjoy them in peace.

I repeated the refrain, “Ever since nerd culture became pop culture, nerds feel emboldened to bully one another and the rest of society.” Sure enough, the sickness spread to comic fans who continually scream about “woke” this and “reboots” that. It took a while, but now the cinematic versions of the comics are also falling victim to the sickness. Look, I get that our perpetually online society thrives on division and “controversy”, but can we just have one aspect of our lives that gives us respite from that stupidity? Apparently not. Oh well, let’s start with some of the most recent examples and work backwards. See if we can find a common thread and a way to counteract it.

MCU/DCU

Warner Bros. hired James Gunn away from Marvel after Guardians of the Galaxy 3 to help them rescue their movies and TV shows and try to put them on the same level as Marvel. He announced a roadmap and that much of what happened before wasn’t a part of it. This irritated the so called “Snyderbots” who showed up to attack the first trailer for Superman. Sight unseen with no concrete evidence, they proclaimed that the film would flop and kill DC off forever from ever making movies or TV shows again. You might argue that’s just a small portion of the audience and that their influence isn’t all that great. If it was, Zack Snyder would have been hired back to patch everything together. Seems easier than rebooting everything again.

On the side of the MCU, things are more murky. They genuinely burned some good will by taking short cuts in movies and TV shows like Quantumania and Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Admittedly, some of that happened due to COVID and tight schedules, but nevertheless it happened. Hell, Deadpool himself asked them to cut their losses on the Multiverse, even as he multiverse hopped to save his own. More recently, I’ve seen the hate from the comic book fans infest the new Captain America movie.

I have some hope because on Rotten Tomatoes, the fans are giving it decent ratings. It’s mostly just the critics that don’t like the movie. And you know what we say about critics around here. Those that can, do. Those that cant, enjoy. And those that can’t even do that become critics. For my money, I intend to go and enjoy what I can with the movie. I already have it on good authority that I will like it.

Comics

I got an inkling of the nerd hate during the Marvel Now (I think?) era when they tried to reboot the universe with new characters in their iconic roles. Riri as Iron Heart, Jane Foster as Thor (oh boy, did the manosphere have a field day with that one), and Sam Wilson as Captain America. I joined the Sam Wilson reign during Secret Empire. I loved what they did with the character. Then again, I enjoyed the hell out of Secret Empire. You can find several articles around here about the story.

One of the main arguments nerds made at the time was, “Why redefine already defined characters? Why not come up with new characters?” They almost immediately showed their asses on that argument though, when they crapped on Riri’s character. Okay, fine, while technically a new character, you can make the argument that she shared many commonalities with Iron Man and they intended to replace him with her.

Then, along came Kahhori. Not only was she a completely new character, but they initially made her exclusive to the MCU. One of the episodes of the first season of “What If?”, Kahhori led her people to a successful revolt and overthrow of the colonizers in early America. I mean, hell, if you’re gonna go for it, go for it. Not surprisingly, the mayosapiens were not a fan of this particular origin story. So, yeah, I wonder why they have a problem with Sam Wilson as Cap.

Star Wars

Oh, wow! A new Star Wars movie! How cool is this? Plus, it’s the start of a trilogy that tells the fall and rise of Vader. That’s super cool, right? No, apparently not. As I tell my kids often when they watch the movies (they are Star Wars to them, so they like them best), when the movies first released, Star Wars nerds are the worst of all. They treated them and George Lucas so badly that he told them to fuck off and sold to Disney.

I loved The Phantom Menace. I liked Attack of the Clones fine. And, yes, I remember Revenge of the Sith mostly for the last ten minutes or so of nerdgasm in seeing the rise of Vader. But, watching them again with the kids brought a new appreciation for the movies. Then, when the new trilogy came out, I watched it with them and my father in law. So, nothing people can say will diminish my enjoyment of the movies or the television shows.

The Verdict

Hopefully I made the case that nerds are the worst. I wanted to include video games here. However, this reads like my old thousand word missives from a few years ago. Maybe I will write another article in a couple of months with video games and some of the other instances of nerd on nerd violence. YouTube video hopefully tomorrow.

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Betting the Bowl LIX Post Mortem

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Introduction

I kept the short 3 year (so far) tradition of posting my picks for the Big Game on the page. Through reaction on social media (a bit more on that in a moment) and through discussions with one of my coworkers who also places the occasional wager, I’m not alone in saying that I didn’t do too well with my picks. But, this Betting the Bowl LIX Post Mortem is about the positive. Beside, I actually ended up making money both here and with my actual bets. So, I stand by my saying, “I have no idea how people lose money betting.”

Now, about social media for a few minutes. In another annual tradition, angry white folks got their mayonnaise in a froth over the halftime show this year. I’ve seen several click bait bullshit headlines about how it’s the “worst ever” and the NFL issued an “apology”. I will waste no time debunking either of those because Brandolini was right. I will simply go on record of saying that I liked it. I like it more the more that I watch it and see what I missed.

The Damage

I, like almost everyone, got it wrong about the game. However, as I said, I still made money on the game. I realized very early that my Chiefs pick wouldn’t pan out and I immediately hedged with the Eagles/Over 46.5 Total parlay. I sweated out the over portion, even thinking that the missed two points might come back to haunt me because another FG put it at 46. Granted, it was in the 3rd and I also hoped for some garbage time. But, for a minute there, I cringed.

Now, for the positive. What I got right. I had Hurts for first TD. That returns 0.65 cents. Also, playing both sides of the fence got me the Eagles win and Hurts MVP. That is a 0.95 cent payout. So, I bet 1 dollar and got 1.60 return. That puts me slightly below my hopes of 3 and way below the moon shot of 3.50. But, considering the carnage, I’ll take it.

The Verdict

No point talking bout the penny parlay in this Betting the Bowl LIX Post Mortem. Almost nothing hit and it was DoA, much like the Chiefs. So, another NFL season in the books. A stinker of a game made me nostalgic for my youth. Now, onto the draft and the eternal hope that the league sells its fans.

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X – Books February 2025

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Introduction

I posted almost nothing last month. This month, I dedicated myself to rebuilding my interest and motivation to update the page. As often, I started with comics. I know comics. I read comics. Comics come naturally to me. Even so, the reviews spilled into this week. Therefore, I kick off a new week (D&D) with the last few X-Books February 2025.

Exceptional X-Men #5

Writer: Eve Ewing, Artist: Carmen Carnero

Quick Synopsis and Thoughts: Like many mutants, Kitty went through some shit at the end of the Krakoa era. However, her past haunts rather than inspires. So, when that past comes back, one of the group decides it’s too much to bear and quits the group. How much more can this young team take? My decision to split off the X-Books originally came as a numbers game. However, the more I read these books, the better and more consistent they are. I used to decry the proliferation of X-Books as too much of a good thing. That’s not the case here. Eve Ewing built the mythos of this book very quickly and gave it a very different feel from the other comic stories out there. My verdict: Great

Nyx 6

Writers: Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzig, Artist: Michael Shelfer

Quick Synopsis and Thoughts: An invitation to a Dazzler concert! That turns out to be a front for Mojo and another of his diabolical schemes. Can Kamala Khan survive the treachery? Kelly and Lanzing took another ragtag group of heroes and made them a family that I love just as much as their Guardians of the Galaxy books a few years ago. What’s funny is that I like the individual heroes more in this book, but I loved the Guardians more as a team. This issue, for example, felt a little too uneven for me. I know the point is they’re on the ground mutants. Maybe it just felt too much like Exceptional this time. Oh well, they have time to weave their magic. My verdict: Good.

Phoenix 7

Writer: Stephanie Phillips, Artist: Marco Renna

Quick Synopsis and Thoughts: Thanos targeted Phoenix and brought friends to the party. Phoenix, too, has a few allies with her to try to even the playing field. A good old fashioned celestial brawl ensues with Jean Grey left at a crossroads. This book took some time for me to warm up to. I didn’t like the singular nature of it compared with the team aspect of the other X-Books. But, this one brings a fun team up. My verdict: Good.

The Uncanny X-Men 9 (Legacy 709)

Writer: Gail Simone, Artist: Andrei Bressan

Quick Synopsis and Thoughts: The Outliers, brought onto the team recently, find themselves in mortal danger. A new group of sentinels named the Wolfpack hunts them for reasons unknown. Without their mentors, can they survive long enough to get answers? Well, true believer, come back next time to find out. Another new bunch of mutants. These ones are, obviously, less recognizable than the characters in Nyx. But, Gail Simone brings them to life in a way that only she can. Also, this issue reads more like a classic X-Man book. Maybe that’s what I need from them right now. My verdict: Good.

X-Force 6 (Legacy 296)

Writer: Goeffrey Thorne, Artist: James Towe

Quick Synopsis and Thoughts: The X-Men showed up a few issues ago. Now, Mystique is in the mix as well. Forge faces inter-dimensional horror and lost love returned. Hard to say which represents the bigger threat right now. Like Phoenix, this one took me a while to buy into the premise. But, the last couple episode got me to buy. This one backs off some with the action, but not much. I mean, this is Forge after all. He deals with his emotions by shooting things. My verdict: Good.

X-Men 8 (Legacy 308)

Writer: Jed MacKay, Artist: Ryan Stegman

Quick Synopsis and Thoughts: The X-Men finally gathered enough intel on the prison where they’re keeping Beast. Time to launch a search mission. Actually, two missions. Both of the leaders of the factions (Rogue and Cyclops) pull together their teams to get Beast back. Will they find the ability to work together? Or, will the tension tear them even further apart? MacKay thrives on this shit. He’s at his best when two disparate teams of super powered beings exist in a tenuous truce that can break at any time. So, he’s the perfect pick to help pick up the pieces after the Krakoan era blew up. My verdict: Great.

The Verdict

X-Books February 2025 is a good collection that advances all of the stories nicely. I missed adding Psylocke to my list as well as the Ultimate X-Titles. First, I need a reason to visit That’s Entertainment. Second, my pull list already pushes over 100 bucks most months. And, that’s with the DCBS Discount.

Images for X-Books February 2025 comes from Marvel.com.

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Betting the Bowl LIX

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Introduction

I started this article two Super Bowls ago as a fun way to interact with the “Big Game”. Every year, I get inspired to write articles about the league again. Every year, I lose that motivation very quickly. However, over the last few years, Chris, Jason, and I text semi-regularly about the league, especially in the playoffs. Yesterday, I listened to Simmons and Sal’s pod about the prop bets, so I figured I’d drop Betting the Bowl LIX (know every time you read that I’m pronouncing it phonetically as “licks”) and keep the tradition alive.

Preposterous Prop Promos

These are the bets that I used to diagnose people with a betting problem if they bet them. I still contend that betting the coin toss is a ridiculous proposition and any statistical analysis is wasted on such an outcome. However, Gatorade color actually gained some merit. Sal spent a good couple of minutes talking about it. I even wrote about it at some length last year.

Coin Toss: George says tails, 55-45.

Gatorade: The favorite is purple (KC’s color the last couple of wins), so if you think they’ll win, parlay that with this for 4 to one odds.

Scoragami again pays out 25 to 1.

Flea Flicker: 2.5 to 1. Does that include a Philly special type play?

Single Dollar Picks

Stealing the idea from Simmons, I came up with my own twist. Instead of million dollar picks, I went with a single dollar. The first year, I won 0.94 cents on the picks. Last year, I won 7 cents as the only bet that paid was my KC/Mahomes MVP pick. So, I have 2.07 this year to bet. Still overall up money, but I want to get that to 3 or 3.50 his year. In real betting, when I saw the AFC Championship devolve into no defense, I doubled my balance on FanDuel.

First Touchdown: I rarely hit this one, but the Super Bowl often goes more to script than other games. I put 0.10 on Saquon (pays 0.42), Hurts (0.55), Hunt (0.95), and Mahomes (2.10). I took Kelce last year which didn’t hit. So fade me for a chance at 10 to one odds. Note: Real time change here. I took a dime from the Saquon bet and put it on Kelce (1.00).

Saquon Over 169 yards: This seems like a sure thing. Never mind. I looked at his splits and he feasted on the Rams twice, but only hit over 150 four other times this year. I’ll still put a nickel on it for a possible return of 21 cents.

They Called this the “Sal Special”: He became famous picking this one with my Steelers. But, Phi for the 1st half and KC for the game is +241. My 0.25 cent bet pays a potential. 60 cent return.

Favorites All Around: KC to win, Mahomes for MVP, and purple Gatorade is +953. I’ll put a dime on it to win 0.95 cents.

Run it back: Philly and Hurts MVP. 0.10 cents pays out 0.85.

Perplexing Penny Parlay/The Verdict

Okay, this one took me some time to build. I wanted to make it more realistic than last year, where I just threw it together without much thought. This single penny pays out 136.82 if it hits.

Chiefs to win (-120)

Mahomes MVP (+105)

Saquon first TD (+425)

2-point conversion (+180)

Game into overtime (+1200)

Both teams over 29.5 points (+220/+210)

Game over 48.5 (-110)

Come back in a couple of days for the Betting the Bowl LIX Post Mortem. I feel good about the bets this year, which usually means that I’m going to be way off. Enjoy the game, the snacks, and for some reason, the commercials. As a rule, I hate advertisements and I don’t understand this capitalist worship of such things.

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DC Comics February 2025

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Introduction

Ever since my decision to break Marvel into two articles, my titles from the other publishers grew. For DC Comics February 2025, I just counted nine books to read and review. In the interest of time, I think I need to bring back the old format of categories instead of reviewing each issue. As an aside, Aiden got back into posting videos on YouTube. I think I might try to start a series of my own to cover all of the books in a more efficient manner. Be on the lookout for that next month.

Decent

Writer: John Ridley, Artist: Inaki Miransa
Writer: Tom Taylor, Mikal Janin

Both anthology books land back here. After some good stories, I just didn’t care all that much about either of these books this month. I enjoyed the main titles much more and think they have a more promising future overall right now. Granted, I’ve been wrong about these things in the past. And, I hope I am this time.

Good

Writer: Chip Zdarsky, Artist: Jorge Fornes
Writer: Chip Zdarsky, Artist: Tony S. Daniel
Writer: Simon Spurrier, Artist: Vasco Gorgiev

It took a while for me to get on board with Zdarsky’s Batman. I loved his Spider-Man, but this title was hit or miss for a long time. Some great issues and then, mind bogglingly a very much not great one or two. Recently, though, this current story hooked me and I enjoyed the ride. Now that it’s over, hopefully he can keep things going. I added The Flash years ago because Aiden liked the character. Then, Joshua Williamson wrote some of the best Flash stories in my opinion. I liked Si Spurrier’s introduction, but felt like the quality fell off quickly. However, this current story is awesome and I’m fully invested.

Great

Writer: Jeremy Adams, Artist: John Timms
Writer: Torunn Gronbekk, Artist: Marianna Ignazzi
Writer: Joshua Williamson, Artist: Dan Mora
Writer: Tom Kin, Artist: Daniel Sampere

Aquaman returns in a big way. Wow, what a debut for the man “who talks to fish”. Glad they brought him back and gave him a good team to work with. Can’t wait to see where it goes. I never liked Gronbekk’s Venom or Thor much. But, I feel like she nailed Catwoman and brings the title back to the fun restart by Joelle Jones. Williamson’s Superman continues to amaze and Tom King finally figured out Wonder Woman a few issues ago and that understanding brings with it the Tom King I loved on Batman.

The Verdict

Like Marvel, DC Comics February 2025 continues a strong run. They put writers who understand the characters (imagine that!) and artists who complement the story well. I look forward to every new shipment of books. Plus, this year, we have some other media like the new Superman movie and Creature Commandos to enjoy.