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BGCP Interviews Alex Paknadel (Marvel, BOOM!, TKO)

28th February 2026

BGCP Interview: Inside the Mind of Writer Alex Paknadel Writing for comics is one of the most competitive and creative fields in the entertainment industry. In this special episode of the BGCP podcast, hosts Massimo and Alan are joined by one of the most exciting voices in modern comics: Alex Paknadel. From gritty indie horror to massive Marvel superhero events, Alex has built an impressive bibliography that spans genres and publishers. Whether you are a long-time fan of his work or an aspiring writer looking for industry secrets, this interview is a must-listen. Who is Alex Paknadel? Alex Paknadel has quickly become a powerhouse name in the comic book world. He first burst onto the scene with the critically acclaimed sci-fi series Arcadia (BOOM! Studios), a high-concept story about a digital afterlife that immediately marked him as a writer to watch. Since then, he has penned scripts for some of the biggest properties in pop culture, including Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed and the Doctor Who universe. He is also a master of horror and social commentary, as seen in his work on Redfork (TKO Studios) and the giant-robot mystery Giga (Vault Comics). Episode Highlights: What We Discuss In this deep-dive conversation, Massimo and Alan explore the reality of working in the comic book business. Here is what you can expect from the episode: Breaking into the Industry: There is no single path to becoming a professional comic writer. Alex shares his personal journey, offering valuable advice for creators trying to get their foot in the door and get their pitches noticed by editors. The Immortal Hulk Connection: Marvel’s Immortal Hulk is widely regarded as a modern masterpiece. Alex reveals how a conversation with series architect Al Ewing led to Marvel loving his pitch for Immortal Hulk: Time of Monsters. He shares behind-the-scenes details on how that collaboration came to be. Indie vs. “The Big Two”: We discuss the creative differences between working on creator-owned indie titles like Turncoat and Giga versus playing in the sandbox of established universes like Marvel and Assassin’s Creed. Deconstructing Redfork: We take a closer look at Redfork, his dark and atmospheric horror graphic novel from TKO Studios, discussing the inspirations behind the terrifying mining town tale. Listen to the Interview You can catch the full interview right here on the Big Glasgow Comic Page. Don’t forget to check out the links below to pick up Alex’s books and support his work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_sNDkDSr-s&t=2202s Support the Creator If you enjoyed this interview, we highly recommend checking out Alex Paknadel’s bibliography. You can find his latest releases and collected editions at the links below: Follow Alex on Twitter/X: @AlexPaknadel Buy his books on Amazon: Shop Here Buy his books on ComiXology: Shop Here Want to discuss this episode? Join the BGCP family on our social channels! We are Scotland’s biggest community for geeks, gamers, and comic fans. Join the Discord: Chat with other fans and get exclusive updates. Follow us on Socials: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Link to Next Interview: John Layman

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Review – Hawkeye (2012)

15th June 2021

Review – Hawkeye (2012) Writer: Matt Fraction Primary Artist: David Aja Artists/Illustrators: Javier Pulido, Annie Wu, Alan Davis, Jesse Hamm, Steve Lieber, Francesco Francavilla Publisher: Marvel Comics Release Date: August 01, 2012 INTRODUCTION: Skilled archer, assassin, ninja, Avenger, all things that Clint Barton A.K.A. Hawkeye USED to be. After experiencing everything from the likes of leading his own Avengers branch in West Coast Avengers to death by Bendis in Avengers: Dissasembled, Barton has been through the ringer. But just because there’s a fresh new Hawkeye on the scene in Kate Bishop, that doesn’t mean good old Clint’s gonna get replaced…right!? Well… contrary to Barton’s track record with women, Clint Barton and Kate Bishop do make an excellent team as their archery skills are unmatched by anyone except for each other. Even though their lives aren’t exactly filled with all the glamor and pizzazz as your average Iron Man or Captain America, this duo of purple archers make a strangely perfect team. Yep! As for these heroes, their base of operations is none other than a busy city apartment building. Because nothing says teamwork like mysterious carpet stains and rooftop barbecues! In fact, due to a strange turn of events, Clint quickly finds himself in ownership of the building in order to keep rent from forcing the residents out into the streets. But things aren’t all sunshine and roses as Barton’s new trek into the world of being a landlord brings with it the attention of a particularly stubborn russian “tracksuit mafia.” And you know it’s gonna get crazy when a clown assassin knocks on that front door! STORY: This 22 issue story stars two purple-wearing personalities and their unique dynamic, but is in many ways about the community that revolves around the apartment they live in. Each resident of the apartment complex is a part of the building’s day to day life and provides meaningful relationships with Clint. A man seemingly stuck in-between the life of a superhero and the lives of the people, not being able to fully integrate into either group. Clint does however find himself a new friend in Lucky, the pizza-loving’ dog that he saves from the ever-persistent “bros” that make up the tracksuit mafia. Kate on the other hand is a hotshot newbie with everything to prove and nothing to do..except sit and bicker with Clint of course! So as she continues to show off her sharpshooting skills, she eventually decides to head out on her own and do some private eye detective work. Kate finds herself driving all the way across America to California with the heart and soul of the team, Lucky, at her side. Kate’s journey to California and her adventures, there are ones that both differentiates the character that she took her superhero name from as well as showing the importance and uniqueness of their relationship. Kate’s relationship with Hawkeye is in no way romantic and doesn’t follow the roles of a master and a pupil. But rather a dynamic that works off of each others best and worst aspects and they always know that at the end of the day they have each other as a shoulder to lean on. ART: David Aja primarily fills the role of artist throughout the series. But throughout the story, especially in Kate-centric issues, a variety of different authors take up the task. Aja does a great job at making his work unique and his art style is clearly a large part of what makes this book stand out. Aja is particularly excellent at visual storytelling and constantly finds unique ways to tell a story through his illustrations. In many ways, Aja’s work is the biggest treat of the entire book. His creative ideas translate perfectly to the characters. These noteworthy accomplishments include an issue seen entirely from the perspective of Lucky, using simplistic but instantly recognizable symbols that shifts the perspective of the story into the eyes of the fan-favorite dog. In the second half of the story, Fraction introduces a new element in the story for Barton’s character, leaving him temporarily deafened right after the introduction of his even more washed-up than him brother. This leads us to see how a current event relates to something in the Barton family past, and shows how much Clint has grown in that time. Aja uses this opportunity to show a completely unique type of storytelling, leaving out almost all dialogue in the entire issue except for the use of sign language throughout. Leaving the reader to try to understand the things that are being said purely through the gestures and portrayals within the art. All the other artists included also do a great job at contributing their own skills to the book. While I personally may be more keen to some art styles than others, each one shows a side of the characters in a unique way that usually depicts a brand new experience in a brand new landscape for Hawkeye and co. The changes to the artwork is mostly used when Kate Bishop is on her own adventures and really differentiates her story as a unique contribution to the overarching narrative. OVERALL: As a huge fan of the Hawkeye character, this series has been a real treat. Clint Barton specifically is a character that isn’t as prominent in the mainstream as many of his fellow Avengers. So when a series comes along starring the Avenging Archer, it’s gotta really stand out to reach the demographic it can reach when at it’s fullest potential. And this series has seemed to do just that. Hawkeye by Matt Fraction is a series that is hard for an avid Marvel comics reader to avoid considering how well received it truly has been. Ever since it’s release it has gained a large following and is known for being a modern classic among the Marvel fanbase. I believe that this praise is completely earned. And if anything is deserving enough to be considered a “character-defining run”, its Matt

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Review – New Avengers: Breakout

22nd December 2025

Review – New Avengers: Breakout Publisher: Marvel Comics Writer: Brian Michael Bendis Penciller: David Finch Inker: Danny Miki Colourist: Frank D’Armata Letterer: Albert Deschesne Release Date: August 17th 2005 When I was asked to go back and write a review for New Avengers: Breakout, I was initially excited by the prospect of getting to revisit this book. When I first read the TPB, I really enjoyed what Brian Michael Bendis did with the story and appreciated the way that he gave the Avengers comics a much-needed soft reboot. Seven years down the line from when I first read it, it unfortunately has not aged particularly well. Upon reading it for the first time, my favourite part of the story was the titular breakout sequence that takes place across the first two issues included in the book. This is still the case today upon re-reading the TBP. Whilst it is a fairly contrived situation, with the obvious foreshadowing of Foggy Nelson worrying about a breakout coming across as painfully obvious foreshadowing, the breakout sequence is fun. The action that takes place in this segment of the book is well-written and the rap-sheet style character briefs that are shown alongside the appearance of each major villain are cool. It is also a fascinating situation to see Matt Murdoch to be caught in, as a prison is a very bad place for a prosecuting lawyer to be during a prison break. Unfortunately, this is the only part of the book that I enjoyed re-reading for a second time. After the prison break takes place, the pace of the story grinds to a halt and then crawls very slowly to the end of the sixth issue. It felt so aimless and meandering whilst reading through it and I was constantly checking how much longer I still had to go before the book was done. This is never a good sign for a comic book story. The plot following the straightforward breakout sequence is also far more unnecessarily convoluted than it ever had to be. This is even referenced in the dialogue, when Spiderman quips at one point that he has “no idea what is going on, more so than usual!” Pointing out how overly confusing and messy your story is doesn’t make up for writing a convoluted mess of a plot Bendis. There is also an unfortunate section of the book where the male members of the team gawk at Spider-Woman after she suits up for the first time. It is fairly brief, but in a post me-too era, the panels haven’t aged particularly well at all. The lingering panel on Spider-Woman’s detailed physique in her skin-tight costume feels particularly off-putting and sleazy. In terms of the book’s artwork, I enjoyed David Finch’s pencils for the most part. I thought that the way that Jigsaw was drawn looked awesome, there was a particularly striking splash page of Carnage appearing behind foggy during the breakout sequence that I enjoyed and I thought that the Quinjet looked really cool in this book. That being said, there were certain panels where I was not a huge fan of how Steve Rodgers’ face was drawn. Some of his expressions looked somewhat goofy and even when he wasn’t being overly expressive, I wasn’t into the way that his features were drawn. Some of his poses also bend the laws of what is biologically possible. I also felt that there were some questionable colour choices on Frank D’Armata’s part. I usually enjoy D’Armata’s work, but not so much in this book. There was one page in particular that showed Daredevil in his full red costume standing in front of a red sky that was a very similar shade of red to The Man Without Fear’s costume. This meant that the character didn’t really stand out on the page, as the background colour was so similar to the costume’s colour. Overall, I was fairly disappointed upon revisiting New Avengers: Breakout for review. I wish that this wasn’t the case, but unfortunately this book simply did not stand up to the test of time in my eyes. It felt very dated at points and confusing and boring in others. This is probably my least favourite Brain Michael Bendis story that I’ve revisited recently for review.

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Review – Marvel’s Alien #1

22nd December 2025

Review – Marvel’s Alien #1 Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson Art by Salvador Larroca & Guru-eFX Published by Marvel Released – March, 2021 SUMMARY Marvel’s Alien #1 is the debut of a brand-new comic series written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and brought to you by Marvel (thanks to Disney). The year is 2200. Weyland-Yutani employee, Gabriel Cruz, is sent home after a lifetime of servitude to the controversial company so he can reunite with his family. All the while, he battles a recurring nightmare of his haunted past with help from a counselling Bishop android. Back on Earth, he finds that home life comes with its own haunted past. ART The hyper focused art style and dynamic colour palettes of modern Marvel comics lends itself beautifully to the Alien franchise. With Larocca nailing the crucial queues of fear that arise in the presence of a Xenomorph and Guru-eFX showcasing a different kind of virtuosic darkness in their varied blends of colour and shading, the artwork in this comic will be embedded in the minds of all who dare to take a peek. Despite being a mostly dormant R rated comic to begin with – focussing more on the tense setup of Alien as opposed to the guns-a-blazing Aliens, we do see droplets of the crimson rain in a few panels that is sure to pour as the series continues. In the mean-time, there is more than enough dripping horror squeezed out of this one comic. WRITING First and foremost, the opening monologue immediately reminds you that this is not for the faint of heart. This isn’t just a thrilling comic, this is a flashback to your first paralyzing experience of Xenomorphobia. You’ll be reluctantly turning pages with a sweated palm over your eyes. The dialogue throughout comes off naturally with great readability and emotion, especially between main characters. I believe every word and relate to every breath. Without revealing too much, Johnson has set up a twisted twisty plot with characters you are actually going to care about which is a welcome inclusion. Personally, I love all the characters in the franchise, Covenant is my favourite of the films! With the potential for emotional attachment, there is sure to be added tension when stakes are raised. OVERALL Don’t let the combination of Alien and Disney sour your appetite just yet, this series is shaping up to be an absolutely dramatic and traumatic addition to the Alien franchise. From parasitic corporate politics to pseudo-sexual scenes of symbolism, the themes of the franchise are all on show in Marvel’s Alien #1. Finally, and most importantly, we have a new cat mascot in the Alien lore! His name is Stubs and his fur is black so witches will adore him and I would die for Stubs. I need a Stubs & Jonesy spin-off series on Disney+ ASAP! While you’re at it, add the Alien Queen to the list of princesses. She’s earned it! [yasr_multiset setid=1]

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Review – Deadpool 2

20th May 2021

Review – Deadpool 2 Directed by: David Leitch Produced by: Ryan Reynolds & Stan Lee Written by: Rhett Reese & Ryan Reynolds Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin & Morena Baccarin Release Date: May 15th 2018 (UK) I was recently asked to review Deadpool 2 for the site and I honestly went back to it reluctantly. Although I did enjoy the movie when it came out, it has never had the same re-watchability as the first one and although it is only a 3 year old movie, I wasn’t expecting it to have aged very well. Thankfully my negative preconceptions were misplaced and I ended up actually having a really good time re-watching Deadpool 2 for review. Deadpool 2 is the kind of sequel that knows exactly what it is. It doesn’t pretend to be anything original and it’s main focus is getting a laugh out of it’s audience over anything else. It succeeds greatly at this with the film being hilarious throughout and it comes very close to being as funny as it’s predecessor, it just doesn’t quite get there. I think that the main reason for this is because it chooses to focus more on a story than the last one did and through that, the humour loses some of the momentum that it builds up. Although the first movie’s laughs have better momentum, an argument could be made for this movie’s individual lines being funnier. My particular favourite was the jab Deadpool makes at his creator Rob Liefeld for not being able to draw feet properly in his comics. Check out our fantasy MCU Casting for the X-Men I loved how they chose to show off Domino’s powers. Her power of ‘luck,’ could have came across really lame onscreen, but David Leitch’s fantastic direction helped it to come across brilliantly. I also loved the cameos, from the room full of X-Men, to Brad Pitt as the Vanisher. When they killed Vanessa at the start of the movie, I was disappointed as I was looking forward to seeing her character develop in this movie and I felt like just killing her off to give Deadpool motivation for his arc in the movie was pretty lazy. Then, they immediately rectified it with the hilarious Bond-esque opening title sequence. Later on, I thought that they were going to make Vanessa become Death, who is Deadpool’s love interest in the comics because he has so many encounters with her, but at the end of the movie we see Deadpool going back in time to reverse her death from happening, which also sort of negates a lot of the emotional beats that the movie surprisingly managed to hit during it’s finale. The Juggernaught is the movie’s surprise villain and while it is nice to see him in his comic accurate form, the CGI used is really cartoony and even hard to swallow in a surreal superhero movie like this one. However, that’s not why anybody watches a Deadpool movie. If I was looking for deep, meaningful character arcs and realistic CGI, there are a ton of other movies for that. Deadpool is there to make you laugh and there is no doubt that it succeeds at that. There are some comedic moments that feel oddly dated, like the constant references to dubstep for example and I feel like they missed a trick not bringing up the fact that the director was swapped out during the film’s production or the real life scandals involving TJ Miller, but every joke earns at least a chuckle, which justifies it’s place in the film. It may not as quite as novel because we have seen it before, but there are plenty of scenes in here that will have you laughing out loud in the cinema and fans of the character will not be disappointed. [yasr_multiset setid=2] [yasr_visitor_multiset setid=2] Buy tickets for BGCP Comic Con in and around Glasgow Scotland – BUY TICKETS Check out all of our Comic, Movie, Television and Videogame Reviews HERE and our Podcasts/Interviews HERE

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Review – Scarlet Witch Vol 1: Witches’ Road

18th May 2021

Review – Scarlet Witch Vol 1: Witches’ Road Publisher: Marvel Writer: James Robinson Art: Vanesa Del Rey, Marco Rudy, Steve Dillon, Chris Visions, Javier Pulido, Jordie Bellaire, Frank Martin, Vero Gandini, and Muntsa Vicente Release Dates: 2015 – 2017 Scarlet Witch has taken the world by storm these last few weeks thanks to WandaVision. Fans of her literary and live action appearances are very aware that daughter of Magneto is not perfect. She is one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe. She can rewrite reality with a single thought; however, she cannot control everything or everyone around her. Wanda Maximoff has committed unspeakable acts that changed the world forever. She carries guilt for those acts to this day, but must push it aside to face a looming threat. Enter the Scarlet Witch. Story Scarlet Witch Vol:1 Witches’ Road follows Wanda Maximoff’s return to fighting evil. But instead of facing purple-skinned tyrants and her technical father-in-law Ultron, she faces a silent threat. A “broken” magic is surrounding the world. Dark forces are forming at work, and old villains vie to become our hero’s new rival. The world may not want the Scarlet Witch, but she is the best they got. The five issues together follow Wanda’s trek to confront the witchcraft that permeates the globe. However, each issue can be treated as a stand-alone story as each issue puts Wanda to a completely different location and in touch with completely different people. This is what makes Scarlet Witch Vol: 1’s such a fantastic read; James Robinson gives his readers a story wherein Wanda is constantly confronting herself and the forces working against her. But by approaching the story as a loosely tethered anthology of short stories, Robinson adequately toes the line between lore-building and having fun with Wanda’s character by placing her in ever-changing circumstances. This philosophy of giving readers short stories with a beginning, middle, and end is descriptive of Scarlet Witch Vol: 1 as a whole. Previous knowledge of the Scarlet is not required. The story provides you everything you need from the get-go, and it is not a lot: Wanda Maximoff is Scarlet Witch; she has a disembodied mentor called Agatha Harkness; Wanda is living with the sins of her past and she is ready to atone for them. Readers who find their way to the end of the volume are invited to continue journeying with Wanda into Volume 2, yet Robinson’s cohesive storytelling also allows readers to stop their journey at the final page, satisfied with what they read. Art The absolute best thing about Scarlet Witch Vol: 1 is the art. Every issue contains a different illustrator’s art. Each artist uses light, shadow, color, dimension, shapes, and even panels differently. However, none are bad; in fact, it is very difficult to pick out which is best as this will depend on the reader’s preferences. This shotgun approach of having different illustrators illustrate their own issue of a 5-issue arc serves two accomplishments: 1) First, it resonates with Robinson’s loose-anthology approach to Scarlet Witch Volume: 1 in that each issue can be treated as its own short story. 2) Second, it gives readers of different artistic preferences something to like. If a reader did not like the overuse of darkness in issue #1, that’s fine because more than likely that reader will like the bright colors of issue #5. Everyone will like something. While this shotgun approach is risky for sacrificing artistic consistency, I believe the risk was well worth it as each illustrator is no doubt talented in their given style. Scarlet Witch Volume: 1 Witches’ Road is a cohesive, fun story comprised of smaller cohesive, fun stories. Scarlet Witch fans will watch Wanda grow beyond the sins of her past. New fans who only know Wanda from the MCU will be treated to a fun time and may come to respect her comic book counterpart. Come for the Scarlet Witch; stay for the eye-catching artwork. If you enjoyed our Review of Scarlet Witch Vol 1: Witches’ Road then leave a comment or rating below. Join us on Discord, Twitter, Instagram etc – linktr.ee/BGCPComicCon [yasr_multiset setid=1] [yasr_visitor_multiset setid=1] Buy tickets for BGCP Comic Con in and around Glasgow Scotland – BUY TICKETS Check out all of our Comic, Movie, Television and Videogame Reviews HERE and our Podcasts/Interviews HERE

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