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Daniel

@comicextracts

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@drfathergilford, an existentialist, extracting meaning in comics one panel at a time
🏳️‍🌈, I 🥰 X-Men+Community
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Just like mom, no pressure. 😉💎💠
@theuncannyexp

#EmmaFrostCosplay #XMenCosplay #StepfordCuckoos #MarvelMutants #OmegaLevelMutant #emmafrost #hellfireclub #MutantAndProud taken in The Uncanny Experience by @comicextracts

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a year ago

Some moments in comic books are just cool, and need to be celebrated for being cool. No need to write something deep or meaningful here, no need to analyze the comic through my world view lens or extract some deeper meaning. Some moments just have me saying “heck yeah” and cheering for how cool they are. This moment is one of them.

I genuinely feel tense about what this change in identity means for Kwannon. Such great character stakes, such excellent art. This is a cool panel in comics, and that’s one of the reasons I love them and read them. To be wowed by story and sketches.

Psylocke (2025) issue 9
Written by @crashwong
Art by @vcarratu

#psylocke #xmen #coolcomics #badass #kwannon by @comicextracts

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a year ago

Did you have Storm as cosmic jailer on your bingo board? I didn’t, and I’m honestly not sure how to feel about it. Giving someone, anyone, the power of banishment to pocket realms is a strong move with a storied history in comics, especially re: phantom zone.

But I’m a little concerned with the casualness that Storm executes her imprisonment of others without a trial. It’s another odd story beat that feels somewhat out of touch with our current moment, where literally people are being banished from this country without trial, without rights or care. It’s the flippancy of this development that flooded and scared me a bit, because having Storm embody the role of sole judge, jury, banisher feels tone deaf to me. No one individual should wield that kind of authority and capability without oversight.

Don’t get me wrong, the storm goddess is one of the few characters who I think could do a fair job at some sort of cosmic jailer role. But we don’t see that character development, we don’t see her wrestling with the ethics of what she is doing, we don’t see her making hard choices. She casually imprisons someone and then walks away badass like it’s Tuesday. THAT is what felt off to me. And I am going to have a difficult time with Thunder War if the concept isn’t developed with more thoughtfulness than has been shown to this point.

Storm (2025) issue 10
Written by @ayodelemurewa
Art by @lukaswerneck

#storm #goddess #casualimprisonment #cosmicjailer #justice #ethics #xmen #thunderwar #ororomunroe by @comicextracts

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a year ago

What are we here for and how did we get this way? So many of our stories dwell on the details of a character’s past, the backstories, the reasons for how they became who they are now. What we learn from Kelly Thompson’s beautiful narration is that Diana was made to be a weapon, but her characteristics aren’t necessarily what one would expect a weapon to be like.

The gods aren’t predictable, and neither is our own evolution. We’ve arrived in whatever moment we are in through a confluence of chance and choices, entangled in a gordian knot messier than the one Alexander cut and without the same vulnerability. We can’t simply slice through to the truth of who we are and where we’ve come from, it tends to be a long and painful process to dig in, loosen each strand in its turn, and discover who we’ve become and how we’ve become through the fates and fictions and facts woven into what makes us, well, us.

In Diana’s case, the threads of the gods have woven are confusing, but when put all together they form a weapon that monsters fear, everyone can count on, and no one sees coming. They’ve created a tool of goodness and deception and power gathered into a single Wonder Woman.

Absolute Wonder Woman issue 10
Written by Kelly Thompson
Art by @cleanlined

#absoluteuniverse #absolutewonderwoman #dianaofthemyscira #wonderwoman #whoareyou #madeforthis by @comicextracts

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a year ago

The world is complex, and that makes it scary. We are a species that wants to understand, to know, to have security in that knowledge. But the world is often too complicated for us to make sense of it. I think to some degree we all want it to be more simple: for a single narrative to carry the day and we just fall in line behind it to stay safe. Sometimes that narrative is delivered by an authority, and then just saying yes and going along with it can feel easy, safer.

But it’s not. Look at this panel and all the color drained out of it. The world, devoid of complexity, is dark and plain and ominous. The real world is full of brilliant color, but you won’t find that when you just agree with the authority you look to for answers. You’ll find yourself abandoning what is good in favor of what feels safe.

So how do we handle the complexity, the numerous shades of grey are almost too much to comprehend and certainly too much to address? I’ve been struggling with this, because I don’t know the answer. But I do know when you take that step to listen to those who would flatten the Earth, you are treading dangerous ground. Dehumanization and blind obedience are natural next steps.

When Douglas takes Scott’s free will in this panel, he is setting the world down a narrative path devoid of complexity, of nuance, and filled to the brim with his own will. The Earth is his nail and he is the hammer. And regardless of its shape, he will beat it into the arrangement he wants to see. It’s terrifying and a warning. God help us if we simply listen to those who would strip the world of color. There’s no wonder his lettering is black and white.

Age of Revelation issue number 0
Written by @jedcagemackay
Art by @ramosland

#xmen #ageofrevelation #douglasramsey #revelation #scottsummers #cyclops #beginningoftheend #flatearth #seenuance by @comicextracts

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a year ago

The Emotion Exploit winds its way through every moment of every panel in this comic. Because you never know who is feeling something or who is turned off; there is a deadly silence that settles over each frame, begging you to investigate: wait… is this person feeling emotions right now? And that’s why it’s so clever, because we can ALWAYS relate to Jo.

She is our proxy. In the bizarre world of the Far Sector, we look at her expressions, her reactions, her emotions to read the situation. Everyone else is suspect at all times, but Jo is our route to understanding. It’s a brilliant way to write a story and I can’t get over how compelling and deep it is. And I’m only a few issues in.

Plus, hell yeah for bi characters.

Far Sector issue 2
Written by N. K. Jemisin
Art by @pryce14

#farsector #greenlantern #emotionexploit #indarkestnight #readerproxy #cleverstorytelling #readtheroom by @comicextracts

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a year ago

And now for something a little lighter, let’s talk about funeral attire! Well, Hellfire Vigil attire to be exact and Paige Guthrie’s attire to be specific. I have absolutely loved Sevy’s designs and renderings of Husk throughout the Astonishing X-men run, but this has to be one of the most gorgeous.

I haven’t talked too much about it on here, but I got into comics largely through overly-sensualized drawings of beautiful women, especially Jean Grey. One of my first comics ever was Phoenix Endsong, which had a Greg Land cover of the Phoenix which stands out in my mind always. I can’t fully describe how important those kinds of covers and drawings have been to my development and escape from a highly walled highly repressed childhood. I’ve been fighting to come up for air since my teens, and drawings of beautiful people have helped.

Which brings me to this outfit that Paige is wearing. Not only is the design stunning, with its flow and shape and details, but it perfectly shows off Husks curves and sensuality, buttressed against her intense and horror-coded physique (exemplified through her visceral power). I’m taken by this outfit because she is beautiful in it. Yes I know it’s just pixels on a paige but it stirs something deep in my spirit. A freedom from the tyranny of conservatism, a bright light cast on my queerness, a shining example of how beautiful things can emerge from loss.

So here’s to gorgeous designs that flaunt our sensuality in the face of chaos and darkness. I’ve seen what we can be, you can’t take that beauty away from me.

Astonishing X-Men Unlimited issue 27
Written by @alexpaknadel
Art by the amazing @phillipsevycomicart

#xmen #astonishingxmen #hellfirevigil #outfit #thelook #freedom #sensual #design #beyourself #celebratequeerness by @comicextracts

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a year ago

I’m fascinated by how people think about their past: the events they were involved in, the history they experienced, the choices they made, and the people they interacted with. How do we think about ourselves and our history? And perhaps more importantly, how does that framing affect the choices we make (or that are made for us) today?

I’ve been bothered by the answers to some of these questions in Kate Pryde’s journey. Exceptional X-Men has become a retcon on how Kate felt about her time on Krakoa, the decisions she made to protect her people, and the lives that she took or changed to do what she had to do. X-Men volume 5 number 25 was a pivotal book in her history, writing what it meant for someone with trauma to face an impossible choice: become a weapon or see her people exterminated. It’s even more intense recognizing her Jewish heritage and how the murders at the hellfire gala by robotic fascists mirrored the hate and evil solutions of the third reich. What goes through Kate’s mind in retrospect reflects on how we should think about her transformation and choices. And I, personally, think she did the right thing in protecting her people from killers.

But now Bobby asks the question that I am asking: would we go back and change it all? Was what she did not worth it? Would she rather have laid down and let the evildoers win? And by win, I mean kill. Because power grabs by fascists don’t end with kumbayas, they end as they began, with violence against bodies. And that is both horrifying and sobering. But it doesn’t mean that Kate was wrong to do what she did, and making this moment in From the Ashes about her regret feels misplaced to me.

“Would we take it all back if we could?” Iceman asks. I wouldn’t, because the journey was precious, being seen through Kate’s response felt safer than lying down while facing the hate and biogtry that has cropped up since. Her regret compounds the spit in our face. Krakoa was for lovers, but also for fighters. For those standing up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.

Let’s not turn back the clock…

Exceptional X-men issue 11
Written by @eve.ewing
Art by @ikadraws95

#exceptionalxmen #kittypryde #xmen by @comicextracts

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a year ago

The fateful moment has already taken place by the time these panels arrive. T’Challa and Ororo have come to a place where they are alone, involved, and invested together in the outcome of their mission. But they are also invested in each other, and Storm is ready to take what she wants: him. And how can he say no to the goddess of the storm?

Much like in the 616, Storm’s tale in the Ultimate universe is about agency. Tossed by the winds of fate into the story of Wakanda, Ororo is constantly asking herself or being asked what her plans are, who she will be, and what her future holds. Not longer trapped beneath the rubble her parents were buried beneath, Storm embodies the breakout spirit of lightning, crashing through to meet the moment with thunderous results. She will do what she wills and damn the naysayers and those who would hold claim over her.

Her blue eyes pierce those around her with her will. For all her powers and authority over the weather, it is her will that she wields with absolute dominion. It her will which propels those around her to worship her as goddess. It is Storm’s will which makes the winds and the waves of fate obey her. She may be carried along by the times and circumstances, but not for long. She will assert herself as master of her own story.

The moment is already set by the time they set upon one another, because Storm has decided who she is and what she wants and what she will be: herself.

Ultimate Black Panther issue 18
Written by Bryan Hill
Art by @stefano_caselli_art

#Storm #OroroMunroe #TChalla #UltimateUniverse #Wakanda #XMen #BlackPanther #MarvelComics #Goddess #Agency by @comicextracts

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a year ago

One of my personal challenges is that I (surprise, surprise) struggle to self-edit. I’m verbose, I over explain myself, I don’t know what to leave on the cutting room floor or what to prioritize. It sometimes comes up in work but it comes up in life too.

“With great power there must also come great responsibility” is a line that has stayed with me over the years, but accompanying it in recent weeks has been this panel showing Static Shock for the first time really letting loose with his powers. He is over the top and out of control, and where does that lead him? To a burning home, a revealed identity, and a lifelong antagonism between him and his bully. I can relate to the struggle to keep myself in check when I’ve been handed power. And no greater power do I believe I possess than the power of words.

I’m lucky I get to share my thoughts here, it’s a blank canvas where I can drop what I’m thinking into and share what is meaningful to me. But sometimes I need to edit. I’m grateful I get to do an incredible job and have an amazing family. But sometimes I need to edit. I’m thrilled that I have privilege and a voice and opportunity. But sometimes I need to edit.

What do you do when you come into power? How will you use your voice today? What role does editing play in your choices?

Static Season One, issue 1
Written by @definitelyvita
Art by @chriscrosserx and @nikolasdraperivey

#StaticShock #MilestoneComics #WithGreatPower #PowerAndResponsibility #SelfEdit #WordsHavePower #VitaAyala #NikolasDraperIvey #ChrisCross by @comicextracts

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a year ago

Dreamers don’t (always) embark upon their journeys alone. To achieve one’s goals, a dreamer might need a team of confidants, friends, partners, lovers. A dreamer needs a family.

One of the things I love about the X-men is how their stories emphasize family and found family. In the case of Doug and Bei and Warlock, they are truly a unit of loving and caring commitment wrapped in might, authority, and mutual respect. Bei has always been a powerhouse of carefully directed violence, Cypher is coming into his own as a leader and figurehead, and Warlock is a self friend anyone would be envious to have. Together they are unbreakable, unstoppable, a force to be reckoned with in the world. And the reckoning they will bring together is coming. But Revelation couldn’t do it on his own, he needs his family to meet the moment.

When you have a dream, who do you turn to, to help you see it through? Whoever your answer is, those people are your family. Surround yourself with lovers, friends, and confidants who will help you become the best version of yourself and see your dreams through to completion. Because they, and you, are worthy of it.

X-Men volume 6 issue 19
Written by Jed MacKay
Art by @ryanstegman

#xmen #foundfamily #cyper #bei #warlock #dream #revelation #ageofrevelation #preface by @comicextracts

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a year ago

I feel like Ashley Allen has such a good grip on Ilyana as a person. I love this little bit here where the Embodiment touches her shoulder and Magik reacts instinctively, pulling away and standing up for herself. Ilyana is no one’s dear, she is a warrior, a friend, a teammate, and a ruler of Limbo. But more than anything she is her own person.

Seeing her come into her own in this solo series has been an absolute delight. She exudes confidence, intolerance for foolery, a deep respect for her own fate, and responsibility. It’s the Magik we’ve always known but finally in her element: she is doing all that she can do to save a friend, and nothing will keep her from staying on mission. Not even a friend like Dani.

When you face down adversity, how do you respond? There is not necessarily a right answer, but I’m inspired by Allen’s answer for Magik: Ilyana will face it to the bitter end in order to do what is right. May all of us grow and learn from her example… when you face adversity, what will you embody?

Magik Vol 2 issue 7
Written by Ashley Allen
Art by German Peralta

#xmen #magik #ilyanarasputin #danimoonstar #friendship #hero #inspired #embodiment by @comicextracts

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a year ago