Marvel 1985 #4 cover

I picked up this issue, dying because of last week‘s cliff-hanger, my undying love for Mark Millar (in a total “I’m a comic book nerd and I love your writing” way not any other) and because I knew I was jumping into straight madness. Millar left things at such a high suspense point I was really flying through this issue.

In this months issue, we see a skew of baddies and utter chaos ensue as things really do start to pick up even more than last month’s issue. We’re left with Toby and his dad in a van driving away with none other than The Lizard on top of their van trying to kill them. It’s simply amazing.

But the story continues and boy does it get good.

**spoilers and oh-so-much-more after the break**

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Earth X TPB cover

Well if you didn’t know this you do now. I love Alex Ross. I buy comics that he did the cover of just because his painting is amazing. The comic Marvels is my favorite book ever. But Marvels has enough praise, this review is of something else he was involved in. Earth X is Ross’s theory of the end of the marvel universe. This was inspired by DC’s Kingdom Come at Ross painted for. Ross was asked in 1997, in Wizard, what his vision for the end of Marvel would look like when everyone had super powers. What will the characters be like when everyone has superpowers?

Based of Ross’s notes and sketches Jim Krueger wrote Earth X (first issue came out in 2000), a 14 issue series (12 issues, a 0 issue and one issue numbered X). Earth X is a compelling story that whips around from the beginning of earth, to WWII, to the beginning of the Fantastic Four, and to the present–years into the future from the present Marvel universe. The story explains everything from why people have powers, to how Galactus chooses which planets to devour. My favorite part of the story is how it ties everything together from the beginning of time, to the end. It makes this world, where all these characters are invincible and all powerful, quite believable.

After the break I’m going to divulge some of the plot so beware. (more…)