What do you think?
Rate this book
House of M
House of M: Spider-Man, Fantastic Four & X-Men
The Scarlet Witch has changed the universe, but Saturnyne's come to destroy it! The House of M is spilling into the multiverse like dominos and may topple it like cards, especially if omnipotent evildoers Mad Jim and madder Jamie have their way! Captain Britain and his family have two days to save the world as they know it - if only they can remember it! Heroes and villains will die, but which are which? Plus: If Magneto rules the world, where are Doctor Doom and the Green Goblin, to say nothing of their archenemies? The answers surprised the world! Guest-starring the Black Panther, the Thunderbolts, and more! Featuring the pre-formation of New Excalibur!
Collects: Spider-Man: House of M #1-5, New Thunderbolts #11, Fantastic Four: House of M #1-3, Black Panther #7, and Uncanny X-Men #462-465.
Collects: Spider-Man: House of M #1-5, New Thunderbolts #11, Fantastic Four: House of M #1-3, Black Panther #7, and Uncanny X-Men #462-465.
344 pages, Hardcover
First published December 23, 2009
6 people are currently reading
133 people want to read
About the author
Mark Waid
2,512 books1,286 followersMark Waid (born March 21, 1962 in Hueytown, Alabama) is an American comic book writer. He is best known for his eight-year run as writer of the DC Comics' title The Flash, as well as his scripting of the limited series Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright, and his work on Marvel Comics' Captain America.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 23, 2014
I don't even know where to start with this collection. What a complete waste of time/money/effort/creativity/art/human time on earth/ink/paper/sanity. I almost couldn't finish it. The only thing keeping me going was the fact that each story collected here is completely standalone, so I knew that the current piece of shit I was reading would soon end and maybe something worthwhile would come next. With one exception, this was 100% false. Turns out the carrot at the end of this stick was just a big disgusting turd. Anyway, let's break this turd down:
House of M: Spider-Man: -5000 Stars
This is the worst Marvel comic book I have ever read. This is not an exaggeration. I don't use hyperbole. I think the only comic book I have hated more was Shuddertown, and that's really saying something.
So, what's so bad about HoM: Spider-Man? Well, if I really want to break this thing down, I'm going to have to include spoilers and plot stuff, but don't worry, you shouldn't read this stupid story anyway so you're safe. Here goes:
New Thunderbolts #11 - 0 Stars
Dense and utterly unreadable story of some people I've never heard of fighting some other people I've never heard of. I don't know how they found room for art in this story, what with the 12,000 narration bubbles appearing on every page. The few characters you can see all look the same, so good luck figuring out the plot. Nothing is explained, nothing makes sense. I don't even know how to review this thing. I guess if you regularly read New Thunderbolts up until this point you might have a grasp on it, but as it stands it's mind boggling.
Fantastic Four: House of M - 2 Stars
This one was "fine." It's an imaginative scenario, at least. Reed Richards is dead and the "Fearsome Four" is fronted by Dr. Doom, making for a ruthless team. They follow Magneto's orders, but Doom has other plans, of course. There are some interesting action sequences, and it's thrilling (if a little one-note) to see such a violent Fantastic Four team. The problem is, the plot just doesn't work in the end. It requires too many of the characters to make monumental, idiotic mistakes they would never make, solely in the interest of forward momentum. It also doesn't fully align with the vision of Doom we get from the central House of M miniseries, which, albeit briefly, shows him to be a respected member of Magneto's inner circle. In the end, I felt like this was just a lot of squandered potential.
Black Panther #7 - 4 Stars
The only redeeming story in this entire, seemingly 9-million-page-long collection. This one is non-stop action and plot, with Black Panther being set up as a total badass. The action scenes are incredibly inventive, taking full advantage of the fact that the House of M world isn't "real," and thus allowing Reginald Hudlin to write whatever he wants. The themes of racial discrimination persisting even in this mutant-controlled world are solid, and the characterizations of the characters come through even with very little time to develop them. I just wish there was more of this.
Uncanny X-Men #462-465 - 2 Stars
I'll give this one credit for being the only story in this collection that truly feels like it fits within the world Bendis created in the central series. There are even allusions to the events of that series, fully making this feel like a chunk of the same universe.
The problem is, this was written by Chris Claremont, and comes with his usual foibles and annoying traits. I know he's a classic X-Men writer, but I have never enjoyed reading anything he writes. I've always thought of him as an ideas guy who really needs someone else to write his stories for him. The dialogue is awful. People speak in exposition constantly, including blatantly explaining their powers out loud to each other, repeatedly, just to be sure the reader remembers. People think in stage directions, explaining in their minds what they're doing in a panel. We know, Chris! We can see it! There is an artist drawing your work!
Frustratingly, the only stuff that really needs exposition doesn't receive any. It's super unclear what is going on after the first issue, as character motivations keep changing and people get locked into battles for no discernible reason. There's a ton of fighting, which looks cool thanks to Chris Bachalo's outstanding art (which is far more dynamic than Alan Davis's), but I had no idea why anyone was fighting anyone else in any given moment. Also, it just kind of ends with no resolution. Like this review!
House of M: Spider-Man: -5000 Stars
This is the worst Marvel comic book I have ever read. This is not an exaggeration. I don't use hyperbole. I think the only comic book I have hated more was Shuddertown, and that's really saying something.
So, what's so bad about HoM: Spider-Man? Well, if I really want to break this thing down, I'm going to have to include spoilers and plot stuff, but don't worry, you shouldn't read this stupid story anyway so you're safe. Here goes:
New Thunderbolts #11 - 0 Stars
Dense and utterly unreadable story of some people I've never heard of fighting some other people I've never heard of. I don't know how they found room for art in this story, what with the 12,000 narration bubbles appearing on every page. The few characters you can see all look the same, so good luck figuring out the plot. Nothing is explained, nothing makes sense. I don't even know how to review this thing. I guess if you regularly read New Thunderbolts up until this point you might have a grasp on it, but as it stands it's mind boggling.
Fantastic Four: House of M - 2 Stars
This one was "fine." It's an imaginative scenario, at least. Reed Richards is dead and the "Fearsome Four" is fronted by Dr. Doom, making for a ruthless team. They follow Magneto's orders, but Doom has other plans, of course. There are some interesting action sequences, and it's thrilling (if a little one-note) to see such a violent Fantastic Four team. The problem is, the plot just doesn't work in the end. It requires too many of the characters to make monumental, idiotic mistakes they would never make, solely in the interest of forward momentum. It also doesn't fully align with the vision of Doom we get from the central House of M miniseries, which, albeit briefly, shows him to be a respected member of Magneto's inner circle. In the end, I felt like this was just a lot of squandered potential.
Black Panther #7 - 4 Stars
The only redeeming story in this entire, seemingly 9-million-page-long collection. This one is non-stop action and plot, with Black Panther being set up as a total badass. The action scenes are incredibly inventive, taking full advantage of the fact that the House of M world isn't "real," and thus allowing Reginald Hudlin to write whatever he wants. The themes of racial discrimination persisting even in this mutant-controlled world are solid, and the characterizations of the characters come through even with very little time to develop them. I just wish there was more of this.
Uncanny X-Men #462-465 - 2 Stars
I'll give this one credit for being the only story in this collection that truly feels like it fits within the world Bendis created in the central series. There are even allusions to the events of that series, fully making this feel like a chunk of the same universe.
The problem is, this was written by Chris Claremont, and comes with his usual foibles and annoying traits. I know he's a classic X-Men writer, but I have never enjoyed reading anything he writes. I've always thought of him as an ideas guy who really needs someone else to write his stories for him. The dialogue is awful. People speak in exposition constantly, including blatantly explaining their powers out loud to each other, repeatedly, just to be sure the reader remembers. People think in stage directions, explaining in their minds what they're doing in a panel. We know, Chris! We can see it! There is an artist drawing your work!
Frustratingly, the only stuff that really needs exposition doesn't receive any. It's super unclear what is going on after the first issue, as character motivations keep changing and people get locked into battles for no discernible reason. There's a ton of fighting, which looks cool thanks to Chris Bachalo's outstanding art (which is far more dynamic than Alan Davis's), but I had no idea why anyone was fighting anyone else in any given moment. Also, it just kind of ends with no resolution. Like this review!
February 17, 2021
The Spider-Man story let me down. So during House of M, Wanda was talked into giving everyone what they want. Peter has Gwen back and is rich and famous. But he feels like he does deserve it. So he single handedly tore his own life apart, embarrassed himself and his family, put himself and his family at risk of harm or death and put his uncle and step father at each other’s throats. This was kind of dumb.
2.5 stars.
The New Thunderbolts #11 had no business being in here. There are 10 issues that come before this. An entire complete collection worth of lead up story telling that we don’t get to read, just this one random issue. Needless to say I was lost. 1 star.
The Fantastic Four story was pretty good, short but decent. I guess with everyone getting what they want in this reality Wanda created, Doom is never satisfied. 3.5 stars.
The Black Panther issue was pretty good as well. Also short as it was only one issue but it showed that Black Panther is not to be tried. 3.5 stars.
2.5 stars.
The New Thunderbolts #11 had no business being in here. There are 10 issues that come before this. An entire complete collection worth of lead up story telling that we don’t get to read, just this one random issue. Needless to say I was lost. 1 star.
The Fantastic Four story was pretty good, short but decent. I guess with everyone getting what they want in this reality Wanda created, Doom is never satisfied. 3.5 stars.
The Black Panther issue was pretty good as well. Also short as it was only one issue but it showed that Black Panther is not to be tried. 3.5 stars.
September 13, 2011
This is a look at some of the tie-in stories for House of M.
I enjoyed Spider-Man and Black Panther's stories the best, but they were all really good.
Also includes Fantastic Four: House of M, Uncanny X-Men, and Thunderbolts.
I enjoyed Spider-Man and Black Panther's stories the best, but they were all really good.
Also includes Fantastic Four: House of M, Uncanny X-Men, and Thunderbolts.
January 5, 2020
📖 House of M by Brian Michael Bendis et al.
I’m a sucker for Elseworlds/What If type stories, so I had been looking forward to reading House of M for a while. The premise sounded great: Following the events of Avengers Disassembled, The Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff, has gone berserk and lost control of her reality-warping abilities. Professor X and Doctor Strange do the best they can to contain her, but they fail. The Avengers and the X-Men get together to decide what to do with Wanda (aka kill her) before she breaks down and damages all reality. But…they fail again and we get the House of M - a new reality where Magneto, Pietro, and Wanda are in control of the world and humans are considered to be inferior and detested by mutants.
I have to say, the story reads much better when reading some of the tie-ins at the same time. I got the 4 oversize hardcovers just because I prefer the format, but I don’t think it’s a must read in a larger format.
• House of M, Vol. 1: by Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel
• This is the main title. It contains 8 issues that jumpstart the story and gives a glimpse of the new changes. We see how the Avengers and the X-Men regain their memories and have to deal with their new reality. They then gather to confront Magneto and his family, but things don’t end too well for anybody. The resulting end is that we see Wanda utter the infamous words ‘No More Mutants’, which changes things a bit more.... Overall, 7/10 for both the story and the art.
• House of M, Vol. 2: Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and X-Men
• This is the collection I enjoyed the most. Spidey was with Gwen and had a son, Doom had his own interesting and sadistic F4 team, and Black Panther and Storm were still badasses doing their thing. Spidey acts a bit different here than in the main title, but I still really enjoyed this one. In a subsequent story in Son of M (issue 1) (that is not included in this volume) we see Spider-Man confront Pietro for his role in the events of House of M. It’s a short interaction, but I think it really works well as a continuation to the House of M storyline. The X-Men titles were okay-ish. Overall, 7/10 for both the story and the art.
• House of M, Vol. 3: Wolverine, Iron Man, and Hulk
• I’m gonna go with a 5/10 for this set and 6/10 for art. To me, the most enjoyable story is the one featuring Iron Man….and even then, that one felt a little undercooked. These were all mostly forgettable and didn’t really help with the overall story. I think this one can be easily skipped.
• House of M, Vol. 4: No More Mutants
• This was very inconsequential and felt like filler. I found myself being pretty bored by it so I skipped a lot of it. Can’t really provide a reliable rating because of it.
Overall, I expected a little more from House of M. I’d say it was an okay story that ultimately feels inconsequential now.
I’m a sucker for Elseworlds/What If type stories, so I had been looking forward to reading House of M for a while. The premise sounded great: Following the events of Avengers Disassembled, The Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff, has gone berserk and lost control of her reality-warping abilities. Professor X and Doctor Strange do the best they can to contain her, but they fail. The Avengers and the X-Men get together to decide what to do with Wanda (aka kill her) before she breaks down and damages all reality. But…they fail again and we get the House of M - a new reality where Magneto, Pietro, and Wanda are in control of the world and humans are considered to be inferior and detested by mutants.
I have to say, the story reads much better when reading some of the tie-ins at the same time. I got the 4 oversize hardcovers just because I prefer the format, but I don’t think it’s a must read in a larger format.
• House of M, Vol. 1: by Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel
• This is the main title. It contains 8 issues that jumpstart the story and gives a glimpse of the new changes. We see how the Avengers and the X-Men regain their memories and have to deal with their new reality. They then gather to confront Magneto and his family, but things don’t end too well for anybody. The resulting end is that we see Wanda utter the infamous words ‘No More Mutants’, which changes things a bit more.... Overall, 7/10 for both the story and the art.
• House of M, Vol. 2: Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and X-Men
• This is the collection I enjoyed the most. Spidey was with Gwen and had a son, Doom had his own interesting and sadistic F4 team, and Black Panther and Storm were still badasses doing their thing. Spidey acts a bit different here than in the main title, but I still really enjoyed this one. In a subsequent story in Son of M (issue 1) (that is not included in this volume) we see Spider-Man confront Pietro for his role in the events of House of M. It’s a short interaction, but I think it really works well as a continuation to the House of M storyline. The X-Men titles were okay-ish. Overall, 7/10 for both the story and the art.
• House of M, Vol. 3: Wolverine, Iron Man, and Hulk
• I’m gonna go with a 5/10 for this set and 6/10 for art. To me, the most enjoyable story is the one featuring Iron Man….and even then, that one felt a little undercooked. These were all mostly forgettable and didn’t really help with the overall story. I think this one can be easily skipped.
• House of M, Vol. 4: No More Mutants
• This was very inconsequential and felt like filler. I found myself being pretty bored by it so I skipped a lot of it. Can’t really provide a reliable rating because of it.
Overall, I expected a little more from House of M. I’d say it was an okay story that ultimately feels inconsequential now.
January 24, 2021
Después de recuperar sus memorias y provocar el día más negro de los Avengers, Wanda a perdido el control de sus poderes.
Una historia muy buena dónde la gran bruja escarlata modifica la realidad y crea una realidad dónde todos tienen su historia perfecta aunque eso no sea lo más bueno, dónde muestra que lo único que quiere es un mundo estable aunque ella no esté así y las decisiones que tome perjudican a los demás. Está bien escrita un buen argumentó dónde cambio las reglas esa época de los cómics y nos confirman que Wanda no es un solo personaje más, si no una de los más poderosos de Marvel donde ella puede hacer lo que ella quiere con la realidad y dónde en esta historia ella puso una pauta para la historia de los mutantes con su gran frase "No más mutantes", bravo.
Una historia muy buena dónde la gran bruja escarlata modifica la realidad y crea una realidad dónde todos tienen su historia perfecta aunque eso no sea lo más bueno, dónde muestra que lo único que quiere es un mundo estable aunque ella no esté así y las decisiones que tome perjudican a los demás. Está bien escrita un buen argumentó dónde cambio las reglas esa época de los cómics y nos confirman que Wanda no es un solo personaje más, si no una de los más poderosos de Marvel donde ella puede hacer lo que ella quiere con la realidad y dónde en esta historia ella puso una pauta para la historia de los mutantes con su gran frase "No más mutantes", bravo.
June 20, 2018
This collection had some great stories. I would have liked more of the Black Panther story but loved the Peter Parker story.
November 15, 2018
I couldn't wrap my head around dickish Spider-Man. But the rest was excellent.
December 27, 2020
This collections was great. The only weak run was the Fantastic Four run, and the Thunderbolts. The Spiderman run had some good twists, and The Uncanny X-Men run was awesome.
August 13, 2016
I've been working my way through the Marvel events. For each event, I've been purchasing all the tie-in trades whenever possible. I truly enjoyed the House of M, so I didn't hesitate to order the related books. This is the first tie-in I have read, and while it started out great, I was very disappointed by the end.
As the title notes, the book covers Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four and the X-Men. Also included are tie-in issues for the New Thunderbolts and Black Panther. I was surprised to find that while the Scarlet Witch had supposedly altered reality to give everyone their heart’s desire, just about everyone is unhappy anyway! Many of the heroes realize something is wrong, if only subconsciously. This is particularly true for Spider-Man. The trade opens with him and covers roughly 1/3 of the book. He’s rich and famous, married to Gwen Stacy, and still has Aunt May and Uncle Ben – a perfect life. Only, he’s made an enemy of J. Jonah Jameson by deliberately humiliating him in public at every opportunity. This is not the usual behavior of the kind-hearted Peter Parker we know and love. When the world discovers that Peter is not in fact a mutant, his life spirals out of control. Though I found the story depressing, it was also gripping. Familiar characters pop-up in unexpected roles throughout, and I could not put it down right up to the twist when you find out who’s to blame for ruining Peter’s life.
The shortest section in the book concerns the New Thunderbolts. I know nothing about this group, but the story was done so well that I was still able to follow it. It opens with Ms. Marvel and Genis-Vell, Mar-Vell’s Kree son, engaged in battle with the Thunderbolts; who are, amazingly enough, fighting for the human resistance! Genis-Vell is attacked by Flashback and his powers result in Genis seeing that reality is wrong and he must make the difficult choice to make no choice at all.
Next up is the Fantastic Four, or I should say Fearsome Four as they are known in HoM. Only The Thing survived the cosmic radiation exposure. Doctor Doom uses his dark arts-derived powers to enhance himself, his wife and his adopted son. Never-the-less, they are still only “Sapiens” – tolerated by the HoM as enforcers, not much more than thugs that do Magnus’ dirty work. Needless to say, Doom thinks he should rule the world. This story was also well done and reveals how other characters besides the heroes are dealing with their “perfect” lives.
The Black Panther section is only a little longer than the Thunderbolts; despite that, it is my favorite of the book. This may be because he’s the only hero who comes out ahead in his story. Magnus has encouraged Pietro to woo Ororo Monroe, aka Storm, the Queen of Kenya. But, she’s not interested. Her vocal stance on the treatment of Sapiens is a threat to Magnus’ rule. He suspects T’Challa’s influence on her and decides to remove the problem. That is easier said than done. Action-packed and fun.
Up until the last section on the Uncanny X-Men, I would have given this collection five stars. However, the last quarter of the book is a piping hot mess, as Tony Stark would say. Newbies who do not already follow the X-Men line have little chance of understanding what is happening, or even recognizing the characters. Norturne, for example, appears to be a female version of Nightcrawler. And she doesn't even know who she is either! Further, other than going on and on about all realities being endangered and the Celestial Guardian Roma (no clue who she is, or where she comes from) threatening to destroy the Earth dimension so it doesn't infect all the others, this section does nothing to expand or explain the HoM story arc. I didn't recognize most of the characters and the dialog was unintelligible. “Until the breach itself is sealed, this chaos wave will keep expanding along the sidereal string…to the farthest reaches of imagination, from the Sundered Planes to the Sublimity—perhaps even to the Ascension itself.” Uh huh. Well, that clears everything right up.
Overall, with the exception of the last section which was an incoherent mess, this book is a very good tie-in to the House of M event. We get to see more detail of what this alternate reality is like and how the familiar characters of the Marvel Universe fit into it. Highly recommended.
As the title notes, the book covers Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four and the X-Men. Also included are tie-in issues for the New Thunderbolts and Black Panther. I was surprised to find that while the Scarlet Witch had supposedly altered reality to give everyone their heart’s desire, just about everyone is unhappy anyway! Many of the heroes realize something is wrong, if only subconsciously. This is particularly true for Spider-Man. The trade opens with him and covers roughly 1/3 of the book. He’s rich and famous, married to Gwen Stacy, and still has Aunt May and Uncle Ben – a perfect life. Only, he’s made an enemy of J. Jonah Jameson by deliberately humiliating him in public at every opportunity. This is not the usual behavior of the kind-hearted Peter Parker we know and love. When the world discovers that Peter is not in fact a mutant, his life spirals out of control. Though I found the story depressing, it was also gripping. Familiar characters pop-up in unexpected roles throughout, and I could not put it down right up to the twist when you find out who’s to blame for ruining Peter’s life.
The shortest section in the book concerns the New Thunderbolts. I know nothing about this group, but the story was done so well that I was still able to follow it. It opens with Ms. Marvel and Genis-Vell, Mar-Vell’s Kree son, engaged in battle with the Thunderbolts; who are, amazingly enough, fighting for the human resistance! Genis-Vell is attacked by Flashback and his powers result in Genis seeing that reality is wrong and he must make the difficult choice to make no choice at all.
Next up is the Fantastic Four, or I should say Fearsome Four as they are known in HoM. Only The Thing survived the cosmic radiation exposure. Doctor Doom uses his dark arts-derived powers to enhance himself, his wife and his adopted son. Never-the-less, they are still only “Sapiens” – tolerated by the HoM as enforcers, not much more than thugs that do Magnus’ dirty work. Needless to say, Doom thinks he should rule the world. This story was also well done and reveals how other characters besides the heroes are dealing with their “perfect” lives.
The Black Panther section is only a little longer than the Thunderbolts; despite that, it is my favorite of the book. This may be because he’s the only hero who comes out ahead in his story. Magnus has encouraged Pietro to woo Ororo Monroe, aka Storm, the Queen of Kenya. But, she’s not interested. Her vocal stance on the treatment of Sapiens is a threat to Magnus’ rule. He suspects T’Challa’s influence on her and decides to remove the problem. That is easier said than done. Action-packed and fun.
Up until the last section on the Uncanny X-Men, I would have given this collection five stars. However, the last quarter of the book is a piping hot mess, as Tony Stark would say. Newbies who do not already follow the X-Men line have little chance of understanding what is happening, or even recognizing the characters. Norturne, for example, appears to be a female version of Nightcrawler. And she doesn't even know who she is either! Further, other than going on and on about all realities being endangered and the Celestial Guardian Roma (no clue who she is, or where she comes from) threatening to destroy the Earth dimension so it doesn't infect all the others, this section does nothing to expand or explain the HoM story arc. I didn't recognize most of the characters and the dialog was unintelligible. “Until the breach itself is sealed, this chaos wave will keep expanding along the sidereal string…to the farthest reaches of imagination, from the Sundered Planes to the Sublimity—perhaps even to the Ascension itself.” Uh huh. Well, that clears everything right up.
Overall, with the exception of the last section which was an incoherent mess, this book is a very good tie-in to the House of M event. We get to see more detail of what this alternate reality is like and how the familiar characters of the Marvel Universe fit into it. Highly recommended.
May 20, 2013
An overall disappointing collection, including some of the least interesting comics I've ever read. Still, there was Black Panther #7 and the Fantastic Four tie-in. But these hardly redeem this sub-par collection, or make it worth purchasing (which I did - D'oh!).
Spider-Man: House of M - 2 stars
This House of M tie-in has a quite a few things going against it. Spoilers ahead. In this mutant-dominated reality, Spider-Man is a wrestling celebrity, Crusher Hogan is [fake] wrestling nemesis "The Green Goblin", a JJ Jameson is Spidey's public relations man. Spider-Man is loved by everyone because they think he's a mutant. For years, Peter Parker's been humiliating Jameson in public, and the latter's been growing increasingly resentful. So along comes another Green Goblin, who gives Jameson Parker's diary. The secrets revealed therein, if made public, would utterly destroy Spider-Man's career, and Jameson wastes no time doing so. When it is made known that Spider-Man got his powers in a freak lab incident, and not through mutation, the powers-that-be (ie: the mutants) start being more overtly oppressive to the general human populace. Spider-Man is hunted down by the mutants and hated by the humans, so he ends up faking his own death, in the hopes that the mutants will ease up on the humans. So, yeah... There's some inconsistency between this tie-in and the main "House of M" mini-series, because in the mini, Spider-Man (that is, Peter Parker) is still popular and just taking a stroll with his family when Layla Miller "wakes him up" from the House of M reality/illusion, whereas at the end of the tie-in, it's sort of hinted that Parker & his family are living somewhat in hiding (remember: he's supposed to dead) in the country somewhere.
New Thunderbolts #11 - 0 stars
I did not read this one. I just couldn't be bothered.
Fantastic Four: House of M - 4 stars
With pencils by Scot Eaton, written by John Layman. I really like Layman's "CHEW" series, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found out he wrote this story as well. In the House of M reality, the Fantastic Four never were. Instead, their pod crashed from space and the only passenger still alive was Ben Grimm, whom Victor von Doom keeps around as a pet (he's got his own cage and everything). The space pod's crew have all been altered by cosmic rays, and that gives Doom an idea: he will create a team (the Fearsome Four) with which he will rid the world of Magneto and assume his rightful place as Emperor of the World (this guy, I tell you - he doesn't think small!). The Fearsome Four are bad mofos, even though Ben Grimm (the "It", in this reality) only does what Doom tells him because he believes Doom is working on a cure for his condition. Yes, we know how this story will end, but the ride is a fun one, and the art is easy on the eyes (pencils & colour).
Black Panther #7 - 5 stars
This stand-alone tie-in is something all comic book writers should read: that way they'd see that (1) you don't need 3-4-5 issues to tell a great story, and (2) THIS is how a great tie-in is done. A lot happens in this issue, and yet there's no clutter. I want more comic books like this.
Uncanny X-Men #462-465 - 2 stars
Could not get myself to care about any of it. Only (partially-)redeeming part of this 4-part story are the last two issues, with art by Chris Bachalo. Other than that...
Spider-Man: House of M - 2 stars
This House of M tie-in has a quite a few things going against it. Spoilers ahead. In this mutant-dominated reality, Spider-Man is a wrestling celebrity, Crusher Hogan is [fake] wrestling nemesis "The Green Goblin", a JJ Jameson is Spidey's public relations man. Spider-Man is loved by everyone because they think he's a mutant. For years, Peter Parker's been humiliating Jameson in public, and the latter's been growing increasingly resentful. So along comes another Green Goblin, who gives Jameson Parker's diary. The secrets revealed therein, if made public, would utterly destroy Spider-Man's career, and Jameson wastes no time doing so. When it is made known that Spider-Man got his powers in a freak lab incident, and not through mutation, the powers-that-be (ie: the mutants) start being more overtly oppressive to the general human populace. Spider-Man is hunted down by the mutants and hated by the humans, so he ends up faking his own death, in the hopes that the mutants will ease up on the humans. So, yeah... There's some inconsistency between this tie-in and the main "House of M" mini-series, because in the mini, Spider-Man (that is, Peter Parker) is still popular and just taking a stroll with his family when Layla Miller "wakes him up" from the House of M reality/illusion, whereas at the end of the tie-in, it's sort of hinted that Parker & his family are living somewhat in hiding (remember: he's supposed to dead) in the country somewhere.
New Thunderbolts #11 - 0 stars
I did not read this one. I just couldn't be bothered.
Fantastic Four: House of M - 4 stars
With pencils by Scot Eaton, written by John Layman. I really like Layman's "CHEW" series, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found out he wrote this story as well. In the House of M reality, the Fantastic Four never were. Instead, their pod crashed from space and the only passenger still alive was Ben Grimm, whom Victor von Doom keeps around as a pet (he's got his own cage and everything). The space pod's crew have all been altered by cosmic rays, and that gives Doom an idea: he will create a team (the Fearsome Four) with which he will rid the world of Magneto and assume his rightful place as Emperor of the World (this guy, I tell you - he doesn't think small!). The Fearsome Four are bad mofos, even though Ben Grimm (the "It", in this reality) only does what Doom tells him because he believes Doom is working on a cure for his condition. Yes, we know how this story will end, but the ride is a fun one, and the art is easy on the eyes (pencils & colour).
Black Panther #7 - 5 stars
This stand-alone tie-in is something all comic book writers should read: that way they'd see that (1) you don't need 3-4-5 issues to tell a great story, and (2) THIS is how a great tie-in is done. A lot happens in this issue, and yet there's no clutter. I want more comic books like this.
Uncanny X-Men #462-465 - 2 stars
Could not get myself to care about any of it. Only (partially-)redeeming part of this 4-part story are the last two issues, with art by Chris Bachalo. Other than that...
September 26, 2013
House of M: No More Mutants
House of M: Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and X-Men
House of M: Wolverine, Iron Man and Hulk
Group review for all 3 volumes, with a couple of side-notes.
3/4 of the time I didn't know what the hey was going on. I have no idea who 75% of these characters are. House of M has been over-hyped and is written in such a moronic way, that I could feel my disliking of it page per page.
2 stories that are the exception would be those of Spider-Man, where we are told an alternative history of the character all the while having it link to the character`s more known early history. And Hulk, where, even though the character of Banner seems completely outside his normal, well usual, self, but where the Hulk shines, the story may be somewhat outside the character`s continuity, but it was well written and nicely drawn.
Captain America - wait, I thought the Super-Soldier Serum also gave Cap his long years while maintaining his Young appearance - who the hell is this Dark Knight wanna-be?
Iron Man? - way too many daddy-issues for a man that is supposedly such a Genius.
Wolverine - I`ve pretty much already forgotten what the story was for this character - but then again, I make it part of my mission in life to forget just about anything written about Wolverine.
Black Panther - geez this was more a story about Storm and Pietro than that of the Black Panther.
Fantastic Four - Who the hell are these characters? Even Doom seems completely un-recognizable - and did I say Iron Man had daddy issues? Who knew Domm was such a mama`s boy?
No More Mutants and X-Men - I have absolutely no idea who these characters were.
A note on a lot of the writing. When the heroes use words like "what the *±¢&" or "$#!+", it isn`t very hard to decipher what they are actually trying to say... problem is, a good number of the stories go overboard on using starred-out cuss words and I already have a problem with people who over-cuss in the real world, I don`t need to read it in my comics. Isn`t it funny though that most of the "actual" books I read have ne need for cussing, yet when it comes to comics, it seems to be all right? Maybe comics wouldn`t be considered so juvenile if they started using actual non-cussin words?
These three nicely bound over-sized hardcovers were given to me by fellow Goodreads member Martin - Thanks Martin.
House of M: Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and X-Men
House of M: Wolverine, Iron Man and Hulk
Group review for all 3 volumes, with a couple of side-notes.
3/4 of the time I didn't know what the hey was going on. I have no idea who 75% of these characters are. House of M has been over-hyped and is written in such a moronic way, that I could feel my disliking of it page per page.
2 stories that are the exception would be those of Spider-Man, where we are told an alternative history of the character all the while having it link to the character`s more known early history. And Hulk, where, even though the character of Banner seems completely outside his normal, well usual, self, but where the Hulk shines, the story may be somewhat outside the character`s continuity, but it was well written and nicely drawn.
Captain America - wait, I thought the Super-Soldier Serum also gave Cap his long years while maintaining his Young appearance - who the hell is this Dark Knight wanna-be?
Iron Man? - way too many daddy-issues for a man that is supposedly such a Genius.
Wolverine - I`ve pretty much already forgotten what the story was for this character - but then again, I make it part of my mission in life to forget just about anything written about Wolverine.
Black Panther - geez this was more a story about Storm and Pietro than that of the Black Panther.
Fantastic Four - Who the hell are these characters? Even Doom seems completely un-recognizable - and did I say Iron Man had daddy issues? Who knew Domm was such a mama`s boy?
No More Mutants and X-Men - I have absolutely no idea who these characters were.
A note on a lot of the writing. When the heroes use words like "what the *±¢&" or "$#!+", it isn`t very hard to decipher what they are actually trying to say... problem is, a good number of the stories go overboard on using starred-out cuss words and I already have a problem with people who over-cuss in the real world, I don`t need to read it in my comics. Isn`t it funny though that most of the "actual" books I read have ne need for cussing, yet when it comes to comics, it seems to be all right? Maybe comics wouldn`t be considered so juvenile if they started using actual non-cussin words?
These three nicely bound over-sized hardcovers were given to me by fellow Goodreads member Martin - Thanks Martin.
February 5, 2014
These were pretty good "What if?" scenarios set in the House of M universe. I particularly liked the Fantastic Four and Black Panther sections of the book because they gave us a lot more insight into how the House of M operated. I really liked the Spider-Man section of the book as well: It was VERY well written and drawn; however, it completely contradicts Peter Parker's presence in the main House of M storyline!!! (What's up with that???? ) The X-Men section of the book is just terrible though-- absolutely worth skipping.
A good companion to the House of M universe... but it didn't really add much to the House of M story arc. A good read if you are intrigued by the Elseworld concept, but ultimately, not integral to the main story.
3/5
A good companion to the House of M universe... but it didn't really add much to the House of M story arc. A good read if you are intrigued by the Elseworld concept, but ultimately, not integral to the main story.
3/5
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews