Scott and Jean drawing

 I did the pencil work on this drawing and friend and fellow artist Zane Fannin did the inking and color with markers. He said this is his favorite Jean Grey/Marvel Girl costume. I have to agree. Especially when rendered by the great Neal Adams, who made such an impact on comics and comic book art, and in particular on the original X-Men. I should give credit to Werner Roth for creating the X-Men's individual outfits in 1967. I own the Essentials reprint book of the Roy Thomas/Neal Adams/Tom Palmer X-Men run and it's a joy to re-read and adsorb that art over and over again. In all the decades of X-Men comics, there are a few runs that still get talked about. John Byrne even did an entire series (X-Men: The Hidden Years) inspired by these issues.

Jean and Scott. Marvel Girl and Cyclops. A Marvel super couple! 

Review: No Spell Lasts Forever

 Last year (2025) at SPACE I picked up issue #1 of No Spell Lasts Forever. This year (2026) I picked up issue #3. I'm not sure how I missed #2, which is what I meant to grab, but it does give me a chance to review something I used to deal with when I was a kid: missing an issue and having to catch up!

But let's start with the details: Sarah Cooke is the writer and creator of this story about a criminal named Rosette Diamant who uses magic to get away with her crimes. She dies, and is given the chance of avoiding Hell if she can corrupt and innocent person. Aimee Hawley draw issue #1 and Eze Di Savino draws the other issues.

And it's a very good story! Sarah does a great job moving the story along while providing the necessary  exposition so the reader understands the drama. It may be a little wordy, but I like comics that take a while to read! The art in the first issue is good, but the art in issue 3 is even better. Di Savino has a cartoonier style that fits the mystical nature of the book.

I can offer a little constructive criticism. For example, in the beginning of issue 3  Rosette details her plans to her crime boss, then proceeds in carrying out the plan. It seems an unnecessary detail to include. The dialogue could have stopped at her saying she had a plan, then the reader can observe the plan taking shape. I think it's more dramatic. Speaking of dramatic, the only criticism of the art I can think of is that it can get a little mundane during the long conversational sections. There are ways to make even a boring conversation more visually exciting.

 

And those are obviously very small criticisms. My favorite part may be seeing our protagonist's moral compass adjust as she finds out there is some true goodness in the world. And the flashbacks that explain how she got her powers and moral view of the world are interwoven extremely well.

I invite everyone to check out No Spell Lasts Forever! I think most people will really enjoy this comic! Here's some links:    

 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nospelllastsforever/no-spell-lasts-forever-1-4

 https://www.facebook.com/nospellcomic/

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Instagram/Bluesky: @sarahccomics