taskmaster book review

220 Extraordinary Tasks for Ordinary People

Alex Horne | 4.56 | 611 ratings and reviews

Ranked #12 in Quizzes

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TARGET: AMI HAN! Taskmaster's journey to clear his name brings him to South Korea's national super human espionage agency! But before he can target Director Han, he'll have to go toe-to-toe with the White Fox! Rated T+

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There's a really good fusion of artist and writer in this series. MacKay knows exactly how far to push the strangeness of the story. Vitti knows just how far to go with the comic end of it all to keep from overpowering the action. It's very precise chemistry that has served the series well so far. Given this creative team's appeal, it's not hard to imagine this being an ongoing companion to MacKay's Black Cat series. The two titles complement each other. Marvel's heroic villains have always been interesting. Give them the right angle, and they become perfect central characters. Read Full Review

While Taskmaster is an unlikely choice to go undercover in South Korea, he pulls it off in a very entertaining fashion while secretly stealing something from another world class spy. Read Full Review

A montage of mimicked superhero moves dug up from his memory is as fitting a visual for his powers as one could imagine, though I do prefer the wit of a more desperate Taskmaster more than the direction he's turned towards. Read Full Review

The fan-favorite skulled mercenary continues his quest to clear his name but comes face to face with some deadly heroes that want want nothing more than to take him down. Read Full Review

While this Taskmaster book continues to try to be funny, its better at telling a fun action comic book. It does a fine job showing some of Taskmasters planning and ingenuity, just wish we saw more of his professionalism. Read Full Review

This is a really good miniseries so far.

I really liked this one! His creative move names! Adorable!

• Amazing Psycamorean

Taskmaster's trip to Korea requires some ridiculous superspy gambits to get Amy Han's kinesic signature. It's the good kind of ridiculous, with a perfectly-orchestrated combination of clever planning and unexpected complications delivering plenty of happy surprises. Alessandro Vitti squeezes some nice emotive work into his solid "hooray for gritty details" style.

Taskmaster Volume: 3, Issue; 3 “The Rubicon Trigger, Part: 3” Publisher, Marvel @marvel Writer: Jed MacKay @jedcagemackay Artist: Alessandro Vitti @alessandro_vitti Colors: Guru-eFX Letters: Joe Sabino @joesabinoletterer Cover: Valerio Giangiordano @valeriogiangiordanoart & Arif Prianto @arifprianto.arf With the use of some bootleg Pym Particles, Taskmaster hitches a free ride inside the base of operations of Korea’s official superhero team, Tiger Division. After successfully capturing program director Ami Han’s signature, Taskmaster’s cover is blown as he’s reverted back to normal size. His escape is suddenly interrupted by Black Widow, seeking justice for Maria Hill’s murder. Faking a surrender, Taskmaster activates a psychic bomb, knocking out everyone within range. With Black Widow lying unconscious before him, his problems could all be over with a simple thrust of his sword… but determined to do the right thing, Taskmaster leaves a “note” exclaiming his innocence and continues on his mission to clear his name the right way. This is shaping out to be a pretty cool series. I loved his previous volume and this has been right up there with it. I’ve always been a fan of Taskmaster and I’m happy to see the character getting the attention he so rightfully deserves. The entire creative team has been doing a great job. Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5) Reviewed by: @meanadam of The Comic Book Club of Instagram Follow: @the_comic_book_club on Instagram for more reviews! more

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Over to you

220 extraordinary tasks for ordinary people.

I wrote the Taskmaster Book partly because so many people were getting in touch asking for tasks that they could do. So if you’d like some tasks to do, why not buy the book!

It has taken over my life since it was published, with readers sending me ridiculous things in the post or via twitter on a daily basis, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

There are tasks for friends, families and indivduals. There are sections for use at home, on holiday or in the pub. There are hidden things, secrets from the show and a lot of extra data for people like me who like that sort of thing.

If you want to join in, use the hashtag #taskmasterbook to see what other people have done and show the Taskmaster World how good or bad you are. Updates will appear here!

And here’s where you can buy it yourself and for others!

Buy The Book

#TaskmasterBook

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Den of Geek

Taskmaster: Ranking Every Series From Merely Quite Good to Ludicrous Best

We rank all previous runs of Taskmaster from Series 1 to 14 according to which have the perfect combination of comedians, absurd challenges and studio camaraderie.

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Imagine being someone who’s never seen Taskmaster . A virgin to joy. Someone whose eyes have never before drunk in the sight of a banana-Noel Fielding hiding in a fruit bowl, of Joe Wilkinson presenting the mayor of Chesham with 42 Calippo ice lollies, or of Charlotte Ritchie stumbling around a golf course blindfolded like an adorable Minion . What promise awaits! The prize tasks, the flashes of creative genius, the glorious failures… Alex Horne’s challenge-based comedy panel show is one of the most reliably entertaining TV programmes ever made.

If you’ve yet to have the pleasure, and would like a steer as to which series are the best of this show, then here’s our attempt to lead you though the highs and less-highs (full runs only here, no Champion of Champions or New Year Treats included). Please note that this ranking was produced by democratic process, which means that even we don’t agree with it (the Daisy May Cooper one was robbed – Ed).

16. Series Six

Alice Levine, Liza Tarbuck, Asim Chaudry, Russell Howard, Tim Vine

There’s no such thing as a bad series of Taskmaster . Instead, there are series of Taskmaster where contestants neither reach for the stars nor end up hilariously in the gutter. They simply, like this lot, go about their challenges with a faintly embarrassed competency and a sense of trying to get it over with as quickly as possible. The highs aren’t that high, the lows aren’t that low and so the result is… middling. What Series 6 lacked was a madman contestant (your Noel Fielding, your Bob Mortimer , your Daisy May Cooper, your Bridget Christie) to drag the whole thing into proper absurdity. Yes, the legendary Liza Tarbuck had Alex sink his bare arse into a custardy cake , and Tim Vine memorably pulled topless muscle man poses from inside a cardboard box next to the A316, but the whole thing had too much controlled reserve and as a result, not quite enough shared-trauma-hysteria studio camaraderie. LM

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15. Series Eight 

Iain Stirling, Joe Thomas, Lou Sanders, Paul Sinha, Sian Gibson 

The outfits – Lou Sanders’ correctly predicting winner jumpsuit, Paul Sinha’s Arthur Dent-style dressing gown – were top for this one. There were real highlights too: Sanders in general , the apparent psychological unravelling of dry-humoured Joe Thomas who despite a long acting career appeared to be meeting himself for the first time on screen, the sight of five adults (one wearing a bin) attempting to sneak up on Alex Horne on a railway bridge… Overall though, 8 didn’t quite reach the heights of other series. Perhaps it was a lack of bonding in the studio. Perhaps the tasks fell into the ‘insane bureaucracy’ category (“Catch all the red balls in things from the shed. Catch all the yellow balls in clothing. Don’t let the green balls touch anything other than the grass. Catch the blue ball in something from the kitchen”, etc) more often than the freer creative category (“Make the best ventriloquist dummy and be chatted up by it”. A classic.). Or perhaps Iain Stirling’s ‘comedy’ rage was too uncomfortably convincing as just… rage. LM

14. Series Three 

Al Murray, Dave Gorman, Paul Chowdhry, Rob Beckett, Sara Pascoe

A mixed bag for Series 3 that swayed between completely hilarious to a bit meh. Sleep-deprived new father Rob Beckett was on the edge the whole series – either maniacally laughing or absolutely kicking off but gave us truly one of Taskmaster’s best moments in the ‘surprise Alex’ task. 

Even though both she and Al Murray considered kidnapping Alex’s children, Beckett’s ‘Aryan twin’ teammate Sara Pascoe knew the assignment and mostly just got on with it. The rest of the line-up included the self-styled ‘trio of dickheads’, an absolutely hapless but nonetheless incredibly entertaining Paul Chowdhry, cheater Dave Gorham and Al Murray who tried to throw money at every problem. Even a surprising unplanned cameo from Ben Fogle can’t help improve this series’ ranking. All in all, good fun but not one of the best. ED

13. Series Twelve 

Alan Davies, Desiree Burch, Guz Khan, Morgana Robinson, Victoria Coren Mitchell

This lot were simply too clever for their own good. For goodness sake, the series loser was Victoria Coren bloody Mitchell, arguably one of telly-land’s smartest women – and even she had moments of absolute Taskmaster glory like the riddle task . Add the creative genius of Morgana Robinson, the Dad smarts of Alan Davies, Guz Khan’s lightning-speed wit and the gutsy brilliance of Desiree Burch and there really weren’t enough funny fails this series. Just lots and lots of smart silliness. The one major exception is Desiree Burch’s attempt at popping the red balloon, which was designated the ‘ worst task attempt ever ’. An entertaining series overall, but lacking a bit of punch. LVG

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12. Series Ten 

Daisy May Cooper, Johnny Vegas, Katherine Parkinson, Mawaan Rizwan, Richard Herring

The pressure was on for Series 10, as the first post-Dave run on Taskmaster ’s new Channel 4 home. Would it look different? Would it feel different? Would the tasks be as good and the contestants as funny? The answers to those questions were: a bit (but only due to Covid), not really, yes and yes. This was Taskmaster ’s first series filmed during the pandemic, so the required social distancing and lack of a studio audience did change things (watch these outtakes without the added ‘live’ viewing audience laughs to see how), but it still worked and there was much fun among the strangeness. Not least the infectious mutual adoration between Daisy May Cooper and Johnny Vegas, the out-there genius of the ‘paint a picture of a howling wolf on a teapot while naming American states’ task and the return-with-a-twist of Series 1 classic: ‘ eat the most watermelon ’. Simple joys in a complicated time. LM

11. Series Thirteen 

Ardal O’Hanlon, Bridget Christie, Chris Ramsey, Judi Love, Sophie Duker

For generations of people Ardal O’Hanlon will always be Father Dougal McGuire, and we all breathed a sigh of relief to know that the real man is apparently not that far off the beloved priest (bringing in his cool never-worn red leather jacket as the most surprising thing in his wardrobe and having a wonderfully daft glint in his eye throughout the series). Sophie Dukar classed up the joint by actually being clever and logical, Bridget Christie (dressed as a very stylish lady Zorro) created the menacing stop-cock dance and Chris “no way!” Ramsey charmed even the most cynical of us by continually being surprised watching back every task he’d participated in.

If there was an award for Taskmaster ’s best blagger, Judi Love would win by an absolute landslide. Who else could talk their way out of every sly dig from Greg Davies and keep him in check with a don’t mess with me stare? Tasked with showing off for twenty minutes there was some very British reluctance from the contestants until Judi decided to completely relish the opportunity (“I feel like I’m in the popular mums’ Whatsapp group”, “Lidl have sent me free stuff before”). Top class entertainment from a bloody good group of lads. ED

10. Series Two 

Doc Brown, Joe Wilkinson, Jon Richardson, Katherine Ryan, Richard Osman

Taskmaster ’s second series has two of the most memorable moments of all time: Richard Osman outsmarting the Taskmaster with the ‘ Place these three exercise balls on the yoga mat at the top of that hill ’ task (especially juxtaposed with Jon Richardson and Doc Brown’s hilariously exhausting attempts) and the legendary Taskmaster moment that is the Joe Wilkinson potatogate tragedy .

The problem is those two key moments overshadow most of the rest of the series. We will give serious bonus points to Katherine Ryan’s genius method of extracting answers from a Swedish person and Doc Brown’s hiphop reimagining of ‘1, 2, 3, 4, 5, once I caught a fish alive.’ LVG

9. Series One

Frank Skinner, Roisin Conaty, Josh Widdicombe, Romesh Ranganathan, Tim Key

As first runs go, Taskmaster Series 1 is a perfect introduction to why the show has become such a roaring success, and that’s really down to the cast. Roisin Conaty was lovably naff, whereas Tim Key was so fearlessly competitive he broke all the rules, stooping low enough to lie about shooting a TV show for Comic Relief to win a task ( yes, really !). The combination of quietly furious Romesh Ranganathan and dry-witted Frank Skinner gave us the beautiful moment where, during a task about throwing a tea bag into a cup from the greatest distance , Frank Skinner jokes ‘someone will spend the first 45 minutes realising it’s easier when they’re wet’ and the scene cuts to an infuriated Romesh discovering just that. 

But the ‘five points’ for best moment of the series is easy to award: the bewildered outrage of Josh Widdicombe realising he’s the only one to have been given several pointless tasks involving counting baked beans, spaghetti hoops and grains of rice. LVG

8. Series Nine

David Baddiel, Ed Gamble, Jo Brand, Katy Wix, Rose Matafeo

Older contestants on Taskmaster vary from the wonderfully bizarre and iconic (Bob Mortimer) to what could be very accurately described as the can’t-be-arsed. Jo Brand and David Baddiel largely, could not be arsed. Surrounded by peppy and competitive youngsters these comedy veterans had the air of people wondering when their next cup of tea and sit down was going to be. So much was his lack of enthusiasm and miscomprehension that Baddiel drove Ed Gamble to complete and utter rage and what was a fairly simple drawing task. This time around, the contrast in approach proved entertaining.

Although Jo Brand spent most of her time in the CBA club, she also had moments of sheer brilliance (scream-singing Jerusalem down the phone to Alex as an egg timer) and other series highlights were Ed Gamble’s meltdowns and Rose Matafeo’s outstanding rootin’ tootin’ Taskmaster theme . ED

7. Series Sixteen

Julian Clary, Lucy Beaumont, Sam Campbell, Sue Perkins, Susan Wokoma

There was a unique magic to each and every one of the line-up in Taskmaster seris 16. Julian Clary was delightfully above it all, taking every opportunity to casually, understatedly destroy Alex Horne with his barbs (who knew casual phrases like “I bet you’ve got a barbecue” and “you’ve got a friend?” could be so devastating?). Lucy Beaumont was on her own planet entirely, but seemingly having a marvellous time throughout, and peppered her studio time with increasingly bizarre stories about her home life. Sue Perkins and Susan Wokoma were both joyfully enthusiastic – especially when doing team tasks together (the Taskmaster Hotel team task becoming an instant classic) – but also had excellent long-running jokes, with Perkins’ ever-growing list of insults for Alex (from “shit-giblet” to “prize anus” ) and Wokoma’s £30,000 RADA training . And then there’s Sam Campbell , an absolute wildcard weirdo (we – and seemingly he – never knew what he was going to come out with next ) who won our hearts in episode one the moment he asked Greg Davies “are you a child of divorce?”.

6. Series Fourteen

Dara Ó Briain, Fern Brady, John Kearns, Munya Chawawa, Sarah Millican

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Let’s be honest, Fern Brady alone earns this series a spot in the top five, with her glamourous wardobe, constant claims of being tired after barely doing anything and memorable ‘me Fern Brady, me Fern Brady’ diss track using words like ‘obsequious’ and ‘serendipitous’.

The rest of the cast were also pretty top tier, with Dara Ó Briain being predictably smart (winning one episode with a massive 30 points!), Sarah Millican coming up with a nifty loophole to a task that made the Taskmaster Lab stink for weeks afterwards, and Munya Chawawa outdoing predecessors like Dave Gorman and Tim Key with an amazing (and obviously doomed) bit of cheating .

And then there’s adorably naff John Kearns, whose bewildered little face gave the impression that every task was genuinely hurting his brain. His did earn an instant series highlight, however, when he successfully sabotaged a team task without either of his teammates noticing. LVG

5. Series Eleven 

Charlotte Ritchie, Jamali Maddix, Lee Mack, Mike Wozniak, Sarah Kendall

The line-up of Taskmaster ’s eleventh series is a mix of wonderful characters; wholesome and adorable Charlotte Ritchie, quietly tenacious and compliant Sarah Kendall, Jamali Maddix who swayed between excited to absolutely not having any of it, safe pair of comedy hands Lee Mack and the wonder that is Mike Wozniak.

The true breakout star of the series, Greg’s M an Down co-star and self-proclaimed bloody milk guzzler Wozniak charmed us all with his unwavering politeness, delightful turn of phrase ( undermining a vole by telling it , “You’ve got no chutzpah, your organisational skills are lacklustre, and your time keeping is abysmal”), and commitment (literally getting a mohawk for ‘tough guy o’clock’ at the final prize task). He may not have won (Sarah Kendall was this series champion) but he undoubtedly won the hearts of Taskmaster nation. ED

4. Series Fifteen

Frankie Boyle, Ivo Graham, Jenny Eclair, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Mae Martin

They really nailed the dysfunctional family sitcom dynamic with series 15. Jenny was the bonkers mum, so comfortable in her own skin she just had relentless fun, bringing infectious joy to things like catching potatoes in a hat. Frankie was the aloof dad, so nonchalant that even the Taskmaster couldn’t ruffle him, which made for some brilliantly scathing exchanges, like their argument about what a banana is . This also played perfectly alongside’s Ivo Graham ‘s adorably neurotic self-loathing, which became especially lovable when he desperately tried to win Frankie’s approval in the team tasks . Kiell Smith-Bynoe was the self-assured eldest sibling, unashamedly competitive in ways that provided some of the series’ funniest moments, from “one on a bargepole for meeee” to his misplaced confidence in his terrible hand sculpture . This left Mae Martin as the diligent over-achiever, unable to resist tattletaling on their fellow contestants, and pulling off some of the series most impressive wins, from “ was it a throw”-gate to the prize task puppet that will continue to haunt our dreams while we await series 16.

3. Series Seven 

Kerry Godliman, James Acaster, Jessica Knappett, Phil Wang, Rhod Gilbert

So many delights in Series 7! Phil Wang’s exposing costume, Kerry Godliman’s ‘bosh!’ approach to tasking, James Acaster’s continuing refusal to return a hello from Alex, Rhod Gilbert’s disturbingly singular imagination and Jessica Knappett falling off the stage while demonstrating her most magnificent walk. A particular treat in this series was that, like Roisin Conaty’s before him, Rhod Gilbert’s friendship with Greg Davies opened the door to insights into the Taskmaster ’s life… and his wardrobe (which Rhod hid inside while Greg slept). Who else could get a picture of the Taskmaster ’s mum in a fez, in the bath? Top-tier trolling from a clearly troubled soul, and an excellent set of contestants. LM

2. Series Four 

Hugh Dennis, Joe Lycett, Lolly Adefope, Mel Giedroyc, Noel Fielding

There isn’t a name in this line-up that doesn’t inspire childlike joy, and all five contestants of Series 4 really do deliver pure unadulterated silliness with a dash of pure genius. While Noel Fielding manages to disguise himself as a tiny banana, Lolly Adefope shows she’s an absolute menace at Hide and Seek to the point that Alex basically gives up. The Mum and Dad of the group, Mel Giedroyc and Hugh Dennis, have equally as much blissful pride in working out how to get a camel through the smallest gap and knocking over a huge amount of rubber ducks in less than 10 seconds . And when Joe Lycett – much like Josh Widdecombe in Series 1, above – finds out he’s the only one who got a bizarre extra element to a painting task, we share the many, many, maniacally joyful looks on his face . LVG

1. Series Five

Bob Mortimer, Mark Watson, Sally Phillips, Aisling Bea, Nish Kumar

Two words: Bob Mortimer. The others were good too, of course, but Bob Mortimer’s contribution to Taskmaster history was god-tier. From his spinning sausage and pork pie presentation unit (to encourage his children to eat the cheaper meats) to the special cuddle he had with Alex in the boot of his Audi, little he said or did wasn’t a cause for celebration in Series 5. Add to that Sally Phillips’ filthy mind, Aisling Bea’s quick wit, Mark Watson’s extreme dedication, and Nish Kumar’s utter inability to perform in very nearly every single task, and you’ve got a recipe for pure Taskmaster joy. How to narrow down the highlights? Send the Taskmaster an anonymous cheeky text every day for 5 months! The Rosalind songs! Make Marmite! Sally Phillip’s watercooler moment ! Make this coconut look like a businessman! There’s not a dud among them. LM

Taskmaster Series 16 will air later this year on Channel 4.

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‘Taskmaster: Anything You Can Do…’ Review

Catching up on where he came from, for those without photographic memories.

Though his big screen debut ‘s been delayed a bit, eventually the rest of the world will get to know one of Marvel’s unique villains, the Taskmaster. The man with the ridiculous cape and skull facemask who can mimic anyone’s motions looks to be a little streamlined for cinema, though, and it’s highly unlikely we’ll see his danger-eschewing, pseudo-cowardly tendencies.

Publishing to the rescue, with 13+ issues of the hooded thug’s exploits from throughout Marvel’s history, in Taskmaster: Anything You Can Do… Sadly though, despite his ability to do pretty much anything, he does pretty much the same thing, over and over.

The first four issues of Anything , Avengers #195, 196, and 223, and Marvel Team-Up #103, are written by the character’s co-creator, David Micheline. Avengers #195 is a good lead-up to the Taskmaster’s ultimate reveal on the final page, prefaced by a tour through his trademark disposable trainee camp. Throughout this story, the reason for his ostentatious garb, despite his predilection for seclusion, is never explained. Honestly, I find that kind of charming, in a crazy, Silver Age kind of way.

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The repetitiveness is less quaint, in hindsight. Every tale is basically the same:  Something fishy going on, hero eventually figures out Taskmaster has another training camp, Taskmaster runs away before getting his final comeuppance. Bonus points for heroes getting trapped in the same shackles again. All with a pile of editor’s notes and exposition on his powers. Cary Burkett’s Marvel Team-Up #146 is the worst offender, even hitting the hero misunderstanding and villain-of-the-week tropes. Mike Carlin’s The Thing #26 falls somewhere in between, with some casual misogyny for flavor.

Amazing Spider-Man #308 is a ’90s preview, with Peter getting EXTREME and savaging criminals over Mary Jane’s kidnapping, way back in 1988. Micheline writes and Todd McFarlane’s on art, and you can see why his rise was such a big deal — the dynamism of both Spider-Man’s movements and the characters’ facial expressions are a breath of fresh air compared to the house style of George Perez, Jerry Bingham, Greg LaRocque, Ron Wilson, and Joe Sinott, in the previous issues. Iron Man #254, written and drawn by Bob Layton, is a strange inclusion, featuring a brightly-colored Spymaster who is more electric nunchaku than spying.

The standout of Anything You Can Do … is 1991’s Daredevil #292 and 293, written by D.G. Chichester, who does gritty right. This is Daredevil as you know him: roughing up bad guys, using his powers in creative ways, and coming to blows with the Punisher. The resolution to the contest between Taskmaster and Tombstone is a little campy, but there are some great beats along the way, and the art by Lee Weeks is angular, striking, and tells as much of the story as the words do.

Captain America Annual #11, by Mark Gruenwald and James Brock, centers on Falcon in the ‘hood with a new costume. It tries to shed light on social issues, but the dialogue is painfully sterotyped for the most part. Taskmaster, on the other hand, has the same, unique voice he’s had in every other issue — that imperfect, vernacular-driven speech with personalized insults we’ve come to love.

That changes in Deadpool #2, by Joe Kelly, who should know better. Taskmaster morphs into Generic Villain #34, though his “you can’t beat the master” attitude is kind of nice. As you probably already know, the art is by Ed McGuinness, but don’t expect modern McGuinness here. Everything’s exaggerated, and the red/purple color choices for the iconic Taskmaster garb are bizarre to say the least.

But the nadir of Anything comes in 1998’s Tom DeFalco one-shot, Hawkeye: Earth’s Mightiest Marksman . The idea is fine enough, with Taskmaster taking the next logical step and trying to find a way to duplicate super powers, but the plot meanders and goes off on weird tangents, and the dialogue is way too dated for something that just came out turn of the millennium. Jeff Johnson’s art on the first half is strictly of its time, on the other hand, and even when Mark Bagley takes over on the back end … well, let’s just say it’s not his best work.

Kurt Busiek and Stuart Immonen’s underrated run brings some life back with Avengers #26, but things stumble again in Dan Jurgens’ 2001-published Captain America #44, which has a standard supervillain plot and Steve Rogers’ girlfriend deciding whether or not she should stand by her man once she’s discovered his secret identity.

As all collections are, Taskmaster: Anything You Can Do… is uneven, but some of the story choices are downright strange. It’s nice to have the original Micheline stuff, but surely there has to be a better Deadpool/Taskmaster story out there, for instance.  This volume suffers from the same malady as M.O.D.O.K.:  Head Trips and other villain collections, in that the title character is really just a foil for the heroes. It makes you wonder why more central books like Fred Van Lente’s 2010 Taskmaster mini-series aren’t included (until you realize they saved all that stuff for yet ANOTHER upcoming book ).

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Taskmaster #4 Review

Writer: jed mackay, artist: alessandro vitti, colorist: guru-efx, cover artists: valerio giangiordano & arif prianto, reviewer: storybabbler.

Let’s recap: Taskmaster has been framed for the murder of Maria Hill and Black Widow’s after him. But Nick Fury (the second one) believes him and now he’s trying to clear his name. He’s went toe-to-toe with Phil Coulson and Hyperion, infiltrated South Korea’s N.I.S. Tiger Division. Taskmaster #4 takes the infamous mercenary to Wakanda of all places. Let’s see how well this goes.

If you’re interested in this comic or any of the others mentioned, simply click on the title/link to snag a copy through Amazon.

The comic starts with Taskmaster entering Wakanda, and comes with a bit of comedy to start off, of course. During this part, you’re given a solid recap by Taskmaster that transitions to displaying more of his mercenary code and pondering on who set him up. From the get-go the comic doesn’t waste time in getting to the main point: Taskmaster is in Wakanda. Thankfully, how he gets there isn’t too complicated and neither is how he meets Okoye and Wakanda’s soldiers.

Taskmaster #4 thrusts the mercenary right into danger as he finds a way to get the Wakandan military not to kill him. His method is pretty classic as it draws on his strengths as a mercenary and overall comic history. The comic even references other events he was involved in. MacKay excels in Taskmaster’s narration, displaying his analytical side, resourcefulness, dirty fighting, and ruthless pragmatism yet also showing his own code of conduct when dealing with others. Especially when he’s not getting paid for it.

Of course, there’s the inevitable fight between Taskmaster and Okoye herself. Personally, I was worried how this fight would turn out and if it would make Taskmaster look weak to show how strong Okoye is, despite his comic history and well-established skills. Surprisingly, it’s very well-balanced as both get more than their share of shots in each other, showing them both as great fighters. There’s even some good banter between them.

In the end, Taskmaster completes his mission and the comic wraps up with foreshadowing of a future confrontation this series set up from the beginning.

One thing that I really liked Taskmaster’s beginning narration while he’s being dropped into Wakanda via a Halo jump and he’s thinking back on his conversation with Bullseye in the first issue. In the conversation, Bullseye mentioned how he killed Daredevil’s girlfriend and how this gives villains like him an edge over the heroes. Taskmaster reflects in the narration about how it does the opposite and motivates heroes even harder, more than he liked. Which is why he adopts a no girlfriends, no wives, and no mothers policy, which is pretty smart actually.

But MacKay manages to connects this train of thought to Maria Hill’s death and how someone is manipulating him and motivating the Black Widow through her death. Sadly, this comic doesn’t make much progress in building up hints or details on who is behind it all. But the cover for the final issue may have either given it away or it’s misdirection. We’ll see.

Final Thoughts

If you’re not a fan of this comedic take on Taskmaster , it’s understandable. But Taskmaster #4 will surprise readers in how it commits to showing Taskmaster as a skilled fighter and mercenary. If you’re already reading the series then definitely check this out.

Dig into our other Comic Book Dispatch Reviews   HERE or grab another perspective from Weird Science Marvel Comics HERE . And, if you’re curious as to what’s arriving in comic shops each week, check out our Comic Book Dispatch Previews   HERE

If you’re interested in TASKMASTER #4 , click HERE to get a copy! If you’re interested in past trades or volumes related to the man with photographic reflexes, click HERE for the very best on TASKMASTER . And finally, if you’re looking for something else to read, check out my Amazon Online Comic Shop by clicking HERE . Thank you all for checking out the Taskmaster #4 Preview as well as your continued support. Stay safe and stay healthy.

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Inside MAGA’s Plan to Take Over America

“Finish What We Started,” by the journalist Isaac Arnsdorf, reports from the front lines of the right-wing movement’s strategy to gain power, from the local level on up.

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FINISH WHAT WE STARTED: The MAGA Movement’s Ground War to End Democracy, by Isaac Arnsdorf

Despite Steve Bannon’s Wall Street pedigree, his taste for five-star hotels and billionaire-owned yachts , he is truly a man of the people — that, at least, is the impression he strains to convey each time he appears in “Finish What We Started: The MAGA Movement’s Ground War to End Democracy,” a new book by Isaac Arnsdorf, a journalist at The Washington Post.

As far as Bannon is concerned, anyone who complains that Donald Trump’s far-right supporters are on the fringes of the fringe, an extremist minority bent on undermining what most Americans actually want, is just a whiner who can go cry some more. As he put it at the Conservative Political Action Conference in the summer of 2022: “All they talk about on MSNBC is ‘democracy, democracy, democracy.’ We’re gonna give them a democracy suppository on Nov. 8!”

The line was classic Bannon: gleeful, bombastic, mildly disgusting. It would also turn out to be wrong. The “red wave” that he and other MAGA enthusiasts envisioned for that year’s midterm elections never materialized; a number of Trump’s handpicked candidates had sailed through their primaries but struggled to prevail in the general election .

Still, Bannon would not be deterred. In the book, he keeps insisting to Arnsdorf that most of the country is MAGA, even if some of those MAGA supporters don’t know it yet. “Bannon believed the MAGA movement, if it could break out of being suppressed and marginalized by the establishment, represented a dominant coalition that could rule for a hundred years,” Arnsdorf writes.

There have been several books about the Trumpification of the Republican Party focused on the politicians and operatives who allowed such a transformation to happen. “Finish What We Started” focuses instead on the ordinary foot soldiers in the MAGA grass roots — the “faces in the crowd” who, in the aftermath of Jan. 6, continued to insist that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen and are determined to never let such an outrage happen again.

The rampage at the Capitol had been spectacular — maybe too spectacular for its own good; what the MAGA movement needed was something stealthier and more tedious, less likely to draw the attention of anyone who would try to thwart it. Arnsdorf recounts how, a month after the attack, Bannon invited a Breitbart blogger named Dan Schultz to his “War Room” podcast to explain what Schultz called “the precinct strategy.” The plan was to take over the Republican Party from the ground up: Get some true MAGA believers into the humble yet foundational building blocks of the party structure — “precinct positions that were often vacant because no one was paying attention.”

Instead of state legislatures staffed by RINOs (Republicans in name only) who had shown themselves too willing to betray the MAGA cause by abiding by the Constitution and certifying the 2020 election, an influx of new precinct committee members would ensure that the 2024 election would reflect the will of the real people — the MAGA faithful.

One person who heeded the message was Salleigh Grubbs, who ran for Republican county chair in Cobb County, Ga., in 2021 and received a phone call from Trump when she won. Arnsdorf juxtaposes Grubbs’s trajectory with that of Kathy Petsas, a Republican Party chair for a legislative district in Maricopa County, Ariz., who went from fielding maybe three applications a month for precinct committee membership to an astonishing 40 a week.

In the months leading up to the 2022 midterms, Petsas was formally reprimanded by her new MAGA colleagues and saw her preferred Republican candidate for Arizona governor get trounced in the primaries by the election-denying, Trump-endorsed Kari Lake; Grubbs, meanwhile, seemed to be flying high on MAGA fumes until she began to grasp “how much more complicated things are, how much you couldn’t see from outside, how there are always unintended consequences.” She still “loved” Trump, but unlike the hard-liners, “she did not worship him.” Arnsdorf describes her growing discomfort with efforts to purge the party’s ranks of anyone who doesn’t toe the new line. Her attempt to speak up for an embattled state chairman gets her booted off a “patriots” group chat.

Arnsdorf mostly hangs back, presenting his subjects’ thoughts in free indirect style. His stated aim is to convey “what makes them believe, what motivates them, what stirs them to action.” Petsas seems baffled by the takeover of her party and clings to the old mode of doing things. Incredulous that the MAGA wing doesn’t think of her as a “real Republican,” she emphasizes her decades of experience as an insider — when that lengthy tenure is obviously considered a mark against her.

Grubbs, for her part, is initially fueled by a sense that official explanations for political results she doesn’t like seem very, very fishy. After Jan. 6, she blasted out a message to her Facebook group: “All. DO NOT BELIEVE THE NEWS. Trump people are not violent. The Capitol protest was fine until Antifa co-opted and committed violence.” She suggests she’s mellowed a bit since becoming a county chair, but mellower MAGA still runs hot. At Georgia’s state Republican convention in 2023, she poses for a photo with Trump and gets a hug from Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. Grubbs deems it “one of the happiest days of her life.”

Arnsdorf’s book arrives at a moment when Democrats are warning that Trump and the MAGA movement are seeking to end democracy as we know it — and Trump, in his usual I’m-rubber-you’re-glue way , has started to fling the accusation right back . Another new book, “ Minority Rule ,” by Ari Berman, traces in methodical detail the long history of white conservatives deploying all kinds of technical maneuvers to counter the democratic effects of a diversifying country. Jacob Heilbrunn’s excellent “America Last” recounts the American right’s “proclivity for authoritarianism” as reflected in a long record of admiration for foreign dictators. Reading these three books together will give you a sense of how the Republican Party has landed on a plan to entrench power in a pincer movement: minority rule on the one hand and mass radicalization on the other.

It’s a shrewdly cynical way to hedge one’s bets. Bannon’s extravagant bluffing — “ We’re two-thirds of the nation! ” he bragged at CPAC — can’t hide the fact that MAGA extremism is still terribly unpopular. An NBC News poll last year put the share of Americans with a favorable view of the MAGA movement at a meager 24 percent . But consolidating power whenever possible can allow the faithful to “feel some wins,” Arnsdorf writes. Bannon, by constantly telling his listeners that they’re the culmination of democracy instead of its death knell, is feeding them a useful and invigorating delusion. The precinct strategy has become another way of energizing the base.

And the base turns out to have infinite patience for the nitty-gritty of local politics, as long as the ultimate goal is not governance but domination. “Now they understand how important the rules are,” a merry Bannon tells Arnsdorf. “We’re having a civics lesson here. We’re exploding, and the reason we’re exploding? We’re really getting into the granular, and people can’t get enough of it.”

FINISH WHAT WE STARTED : The MAGA Movement’s Ground War to End Democracy | By Isaac Arnsdorf | Little, Brown | 247 pp. | $30

Jennifer Szalai is the nonfiction book critic for The Times. More about Jennifer Szalai

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My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes review – love and shenanigans in a new Walsh sister story

In the bestselling novelist’s latest, Anna Walsh moves back to Dublin and falls for an old flame in a comical tale of grit, growth and self-acceptance

S ince she first introduced them to readers in her 1995 debut, Watermelon , Marian Keyes has been drawn repeatedly back to the five Walsh sisters. Having already claimed a novel apiece, now second acts beckon. A couple of years ago, Rachel, the star of Keyes’s breakout bestseller, Rachel’s Holiday , was the focus of a sequel, Again, Rachel . Now it’s the turn of her younger sister.

My Favourite Mistake finds hotshot beauty PR Anna Walsh, who previously survived a car crash that killed her husband, pulling the plug on her glossy Manhattan life. Within a few short chapters, the 48-year-old has moved back to Dublin.

Jobless, homeless and eyeing a dwindling supply of HRT, she leaps at the chance to help save pals Brigit and Colm Kearney’s plans for a luxury coastal retreat in the fictional tiny town of Maumtully. There’s just one catch: helping her defuse local hostility and solve all manner of corrupt shenanigans will be an old acquaintance, Joey Armstrong.

In conversation with fellow novelist Curtis Sittenfeld last year, Keyes discussed menopausal romance in literature. Nodding to the way that writing by women – especially when it’s successful – tends to attract reductive nomenclature, Sittenfeld quipped that this mini-genre-in-the-making might be dubbed “RomMen”.

Here’s hoping not. And yet evolving perceptions of ageing and female desire have certainly created a gap in the market – one that Keyes caters to here with knowing wit, rehabilitating heartless bed-hopper Joey as a therapy-going classical music convert whose sex appeal is only burnished by an edge of vulnerability. The dream midlife romantic interest, in other words.

Anna’s quickening feelings for him are matched for intensity by her relationship with best friend Jacqui, with whom she hasn’t spoken in more than a decade. Toggling back and forth between a thickening plot in “M’town” and regrettable episodes from Anna’s past, Keyes unspools a story of grit, growth and self-acceptance.

There is much to love in My Favourite Mistake , from eye-wateringly comical turns of phrase (what could better capture two particular types of men than “Feathery Strokers” and “Beardy Glarers”?) to Anna’s over-it venting about everything from age-related invisibility to all the time she’s wasted “constructing complaints in a manner which made the fucker-upper still like me. Same with over-apologetic, explanatory emails of refusal.” Overall, there’s a depth to the novel’s modestly proffered insights that make its more escapist elements feel well earned.

It’s not spoiling things to say that whatever else Anna may or may not find in Maumtully, she will win something that’s sure to make many a menopausal woman weak-kneed – not least the author herself, to whom it’s long overdue in snootier literary quarters: respect.

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Democrats, political figures dogpile onto Trump VP hopeful after story of animal killings

It doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative — a growing number of elected officials and political groups all suddenly want you to know: they love their dogs.

The outpouring of animal love from political social media is all in response to South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem (R) — who is believed to be in the running to be Donald Trump’s running mate — admitting in her forthcoming book that she killed a family dog and goat in a gravel pit with a gun on the same day.

According to an excerpt of the book obtained by the Guardian in advance of its publication next month, Noem, a farmer and rancher, said she shot and killed her 14-month-old wirehair pointer, Cricket, because she was “untrainable” and aggressive.

Noem described how Cricket was overexcited on a hunt and wrote that she attacked another family’s chickens like “a trained assassin.” The governor also said Cricket had tried to bite her during the incident, later writing that she “hated that dog.”

After killing Cricket, Noem wrote that she then decided to kill a family goat that was “nasty and mean” and which “loved to chase” Noem’s children.

Democrats, including President Biden ’s reelection campaign, had some fun with it — along with some spirited politicking.

The Democratic National Committee, responding to Noem’s book excerpt, issued a statement on behalf of “the dogs of the DNC, aka the Dogmocratic Party.”

“As DNC’s canine companions, we’ve heard a lot from our owners about just how extreme and dangerous Donald Trump and his far-right MAGA allies are — but nothing could prepare us for the truly disturbing and horrifying passages Kristi L. Noem willingly chose to put in her new book,” the statement said.

“Our message is plain and simple: If you want elected officials who don’t brag about brutally killing their pets as part of their self-promotional book tour, then listen to our owners — and vote Democrat,” the statement added.

After Noem’s excerpt went public, the Biden campaign’s rapid response team shared pictures on X of Vice President Harris holding a puppy and President Biden walking his German shepherd, Commander , at the White House (although Commander was removed from the White House last year after he bit several staffers and Secret Service officers).

Democratic Gov. Tim Walz (Minn.) shared a photo on X of him feeding his dog a treat, writing the caption, “Post a picture with your dog that doesn’t involve shooting them and throwing them in a gravel pit. I’ll start.” The post garnered responses from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.) and Gov. Phil Murphy (D-N.J.) with their furry companions.

Post a picture with your dog that doesn’t involve shooting them and throwing them in a gravel pit. I’ll start. https://t.co/VA3O0lcHtJ pic.twitter.com/gICODi9YD5 — Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) April 26, 2024

The Lincoln Project, a political organization founded by moderate conservatives who oppose Trump, published a tongue-in-cheek video that seemed to nod at Sarah McLachlan’s earworm ads for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

“You have options,” a narrator says in the video. “Shooting your dog in the face should not be one of them. And if you do happen to shoot your dog in the face, please don’t write about it in your autobiography.”

The organization also subsequently said that Trump and Noem’s “disregard for animals reflects their disregard for everything else. Cruelty is the point.”

Other Republicans who do not support Trump, including former Trump aides Alyssa Farah Griffin and Sarah Matthews , as well as Meghan McCain , similarly expressed shock over Noem’s story.

And Laura Loomer, a right-wing activist and Trump ally, wrote on X, “You can’t shoot your dog and then be VP.”

Post a picture with your dog that doesn’t involve shooting them and throwing them in a gravel pit. https://t.co/TJzQXsguNE pic.twitter.com/uJd0DdwI0Y — Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) April 27, 2024

Noem’s actions have been blasted by animal advocacy organizations. Colleen O’Brien, senior vice president of media relations at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said in a statement that the excerpt reveals the governor “obviously fails to understand the vital political concepts of education, cooperation, compromise, and compassion.”

Sara Amundson, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund — the lobbying arm of the Humane Society of the United States — said in a statement that “there is no redeeming takeaway from a story about the ending of these animals’ lives, including a juvenile dog who was the family pet.”

The organization noted that the 86 million American homes “have at least one beloved pet and value our relationship with them. There are so many effective and humane ways to deal with canine behavioral issues that don’t resort to such means.”

Noem appeared to verify the details of the excerpt published by the Guardian, writing on X Friday morning, “We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years.”

The governor, in her post, then urged her followers to preorder “ No Going Back ,” her forthcoming book, “if you want more real, honest, and politically INcorrect stories that’ll have the media gasping.”

Amy B Wang contributed to this report.