Category Archives: Jack’s Comic Gems

Jack’s Comic Gems | X-Men ’92 House Of XCII

This is a video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World.

This video is another entry in my “Jack’s Comic Gems” series. This time, I highlight a brief, but memorable mini-series that reimagines the classic House of X/Powers of X story, but in the world of X-Men 92. It’s a unique, but uncanny combination that proves to be a quality gem for all the right reasons.

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Jack’s Comic Gems | King In Black

This is a video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World.

This is video another entry in my ongoing “Jack’s Comic Gems” collection. And this particular comic is essentially a case study in just how great a modern comic book crossover event can be. “King In Black” might as an event centered on Eddie Brock and Venom. And while they are certainly part of it, this story is so much bigger than that.

It’s a dark, but beautiful display of superhero worldbuilding and epic battles featuring the god of all symbiotes, Knull. The stakes couldn’t be higher, personally and globally in King In Black. And it’s one of those unique events that shows just what Marvel can be at its best. Enjoy!

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Smile | A Good Horror Movie That Was Almost Great

This is a video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World.

This video is my personal take on Smile, a 2022 horror movie that I was really excited about when I first saw the trailer. But after seeing it in theaters, I found myself a bit underwhelmed with how it played out. I still thought it was a good movie, but it had the potential to be much greater. And I think that shortcoming offers some lessons for future horror movies. Enjoy!

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Jack’s Comic Gems: Punisher Max: Mother Russia

This is a video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World.

This is video another entry in my ongoing “Jack’s Comic Gems” collection. And for this gem, I re-visit one of the darkest, grittiest gems from the early 2000s. A lot has been made in recent years about Frank Castle and the iconography of the Punisher, largely due to toxic politics and creative failures.

But in the early 2000s, Garth Ennis gave us the greatest iteration of the modern Punisher with the Punisher MAX series. This was Frank Castle as his best and most brutal. If that era had a high point, it was the Mother Russia arc. It’s a true gem from a different era of Marvel.

It’s a gem from a different world, in general. But even with everything that has changed around us, this story showed us just how brutal and compelling a Punisher comic can be. Enjoy!

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Jack’s CreepyPastas: My Neighbors’ Basement

This is a video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World.

This is a CreepyPasta that I wrote and narrated myself. Enjoy!

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Jack’s Comic Gems: X-Factor Forever

This is a video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World.

This is video another entry in my ongoing “Jack’s Comic Gems” collection. And for this gem, I highlight a X-Men mini-series that flew under the radar when it came out. Those who follow X-Men comics closely probably know the role Louise Simonson played in developing the franchise with X-Factor in the 1980s. Her run re-established the importance of the Original Five X-Men in the larger Marvel universe.

That same run ended abruptly. But X-Factor Forever gives Louise Simonson a chance to pick up where she left off in a brief, but memorable non-canon story that highlights everything we love about this era of X-Men. Enjoy!

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Jack’s Comic Gems: Invisible Woman Partners In Crime

This video is a video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World. This is video another entry in my ongoing “Jack’s Comic Gems” collection. And this fantastic gem brought a different kind of story from a familiar character.

For much of her history, Susan “Invisible Woman” Richards has always been defined by her role in the Fantastic Four. As a loving mother figure to many, she is very much the heart of the First Family.

But in this unique mini-series, Partners In Crime, she takes on a very different role for a very different kind of mission. It gives Sue a chance to show what she can do on her own and it turned out to be a hell of a ride. Enjoy!

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Jack’s Comic Gems: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #20

The following is a video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World. This is video another entry in my ongoing “Jack’s Comic Gems” collection. This time, I highlight a single issue from the first volume of Mighty Morphin Power Ranger by Boom Studios. It was, in my opinion, one of the most pivotal issues to date. It gave us the origin story of Grace Sterling, as well as a new perspective on what it means to be a Ranger.

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Jack’s Comic Gems: X-Men First To Last

The following is a video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World. This is a fresh entry in my ongoing “Jack’s Comic Gems” collection. And once again, I have another X-Men comic to add to that ever-growing list in X-Men: First To Last.

It was a high point for the Utopia era of X-Books. However, this particular comic is special, both in terms of its story and the era from which it emerged. It’s not unusual for comics to revisit the past in some major way. Most of the time, it makes for damaging and frustrating retcons.

But every now and then, a comic will find a way to revise history in a way that’s actually compelling and meaningful. Chris Yost and Paco Medina were extra bold in how they linked the current era of X-Men comics with the classic First Class era. But the end result was a true gem of an X-Book. Enjoy!

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Jack’s Comic Gems: X-23 Innocence Lost

The following is a video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World. It is another worthy entry into my ongoing Jack’s Comic Gems playlist. This time, I offer one of the most dramatic and heartbreaking comics I’ve read in the past decade, X-23 Innocence Lost. Enjoy!

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