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Val Keller-

Val Keller

About Val Keller

Val Keller is a nerd among nerds. Cursed with a comic-based obsession since the tender age of 0, Val has a passion for both the stories on the page and the stories of how they made it there. Owning a decade of experience in feature journalism, Keller has previously written for various NHL outlets, and since 2020, has independently created YouTube video essays delving into the peculiar histories of troubled comics, movies, and video games as TheMonit0rLizard.
 

Punisher's Frank Castle 1
Punisher: Marvel Once Transformed Frank Castle Into an Undead Mercenary

The Punisher has recently undergone massive changes, but none are as drastic as when he was transformed into an undead mercenary.

Venom in Marvel Comics on a background made of multiple Symbiotes and their hosts 1
Venom: It’s Time to Simplify Marvel's Symbiotes

Venom's comic franchise has become too complicated in recent years, littered with underdeveloped characters and overdeveloped ideas.

Spider-Man vs Zombies 1
Marvel Zombies Gives Spider-Man a Horrific Last Stand

Marvel Zombies: Black, White & Blood #1's "Hope" has finally given Spider-Man a sorely missed moment in his expansive zombie canon.

Spider-Man holding Mary Jane's grave as seen in Spider-Man Reign. 1
31 Days of Halloween: Spider-Man: Reign

Spider-Man: Reign was undeniably controversial, but it blended heroes and horror to make something wholly unique.

The zombified heroes from Marvel Zombies 1
31 Days of Halloween: Marvel Zombies #1

2006's Marvel Zombies by The Walking Dead's Robert Kirkman was an unforgettable nightmare of a series that was almost never even written.

Stan Lee and the NHL Guardians 1
The NHL’s Guardian Project is Stan Lee’s Strangest Legacy

Stan Lee led numerous controversial projects in the early 2000s, but none were as strange as his collaboration with the National Hockey League.

Azrael and Jason Todd wearing red hoods in DC Comics 1
Batman: Red Hood is Everything Azrael Should Have Been

Red Hood is one of Batman's most interesting allies, but his success has inadvertently minimized a Bat-Family member who used to play the same role.

Kang Ultimate Invasion 1
Is Ultimate Iron Man Destined to Become Kang the Conqueror?

Ultimate Invasion ended with the birth of the new Ultimate Universe's first superhero - but could he also be fated to become a villain?

X-Men Holocaust 1
X-Men: Did Alpha Flight Just Casually Debut a Baby Holocaust?

The new Alpha Flight series may have subtly debuted a drastic reinvention of an underrated X-Men villain from Age of Apocalypse.

Worf and Alexander Rozhenko from Star Trek 1
Star Trek: Defiant Reinforces Worf’s Greatest Sacrifice

Worf is a pioneering Klingon of his era, earning honor across the galaxy. But Star Trek: Defiant highlights the one area he's always come up short.

Mortal Kombat Comics 1
Whatever Happened To Mortal Kombat Comics?

Mortal Kombat 1 is the series' boldest story yet, feeling very much like a comic book - but what happened to the franchise's forays into the medium?

Magneto 2023 Cover with Scarlet Witch/The Brotherhood and the New Mutants in Marvel Comics 1
Can Magneto's Most Important Trait Keep Aging With Him?

Magneto's limited series reshapes his past but keeps his history with the real-world Holocaust intact, reaffirming its importance as time marches on.

Silver Surfer flies alongside Captain Marvel's son, Legacy, in cover art by Ron Lim. 1
The Silver Surfer Is A Wimp, And That’s Okay

Silver Surfer Rebirth: Legacy understands everything that makes Marvel's cosmic hero work, including how he rarely ends up winning any fights.

Alchemex Labs bonds the Carnage symbiote with a chimpanzee in Cult of Carnage: Misery 1
Cult of Carnage: Misery Gives a Classic Spider-Man Character a Shocking Breakthrough

A twisted symbiotic therapy session with a classic Spider-Man side character is just the latest shocking moment in Cult of Carnage: Misery.

Extreme Venomverse 1
Death of the Venomverse is Too Much Venom, Not Enough ‘Verse

Death of the Venomverse gives Marvel fans as much Venom as they can handle. Sadly, his symbiotic family members don't get the attention they deserve.

Batman Beyond in Neo-Gotham 1
Batman Beyond: Neo-Gothic Gives Classic Villain Unforgettable New Look

Batman Beyond: Neo-Gothic is introducing reimagined Bat-villains into the Beyond universe. For Killer Croc, his new look may be one of his best ever.

Carnage 1
Cult of Carnage: Misery Stiffs Marvel’s Best B-List Symbiotes, Again

Marvel's Cult of Carnage: Misery introduces Madness, the latest in a line of forgettable fates for Venom's most underdeveloped Symbiote offspring.

The first trailer for Marvel's Ultimate Invasion series sees the Maker creating a deadly device. 1
How Ultimate Invasion Puts The Maker Back Into His Most Dangerous Hands

Marvel's Ultimate Invasion is the diabolical Reed Richards' chance to shine, and Jonathan Hickman is the perfect writer to maximize his potential.

Deadpool T-Ray 1
Deadpool’s Twisted First Backstory is Still His Wackiest

The first look at Deadpool's backstory had gore-induced breakthroughs with Wolverine and revealed the Merc With a Mouth may not be Wade Wilson.