by Matt Fraction (writer), Terry Dodson (pencils), Rachel Dodson (inks), Justin Ponsor (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Scott ventures into Emma’s mind in an attempt to seperate her from the void as tensions grow among Utopia’s residents.

What’s Good:  X-Men fans will no doubt be absolutely thrilled to know that this month is a Greg Land-free zone.  I’ll admit that over the past couple of months, my position on land has reached something akin to sadly ambivalent resignation.  The Dodsons’ signature style has always been fun and as a result, this entire experience of this issue is a much more pleasant affair compared to the past few Land-drawn books.  I can’t necessarily point to specific images that blew me away, nor can I talk in specifics.  All I can say is that the book as a whole feels so different and so much better under the Dodsons’ hands.  It feels so much more fun, so much more full of life, and so much more likable.  Hell, even though they aren’t writing, the book even feels smarter.  Under the Dodsons, Uncanny essentially becomes a better book, one that’ll leave you feeling a lot happier and a lot more eager to read it.

To be fair, though, this is also a better outing by Fraction as well.  While last week’s book was little more than an extended action sequence, this month is much more character-based and human.  It’s a more intimate, relatable, and engaging read for these reasons.

Normally, I’m not a fan of books centered on one character’s adventures in another’s mind.  Such comics often end up being strange for strange’s sake, while not carrying the gravitas that a good book should.  That said, I rather enjoyed Scott’s adventures in Emma’s brain.  Largely, this is due to the dynamic between the two characters, but even more so, it’s because Fraction does not attempt to have these abstract psychic adventures fill the entire issue.  We get extended breaks from all the psychic wandering, and as a result, what wandering there is more palatable and the book feels much better paced.  Furthermore, Fraction takes a minimalist approach to Emma’s mind.  It’s big, blank, and full of doppelgangers; the Void’s presence makes it weird and creepy, but Fraction’s restraint keeps it from going off the deep-end.

Meanwhile, Beast’s reappearance in the book’s pages is a welcome, grounded relief and he remains a well-written character.  I also continue to enjoy whenever Fraction treats the logistic difficulties of living on a “floating” asteroid.  His acknowledging the real difficulties of sustained living on such an impossible location make the book feel more intelligent and eases the already massive strain on the suspension of disbelief.

What’s Not So Good: Fraction’s minimalist approach to his depiction of Emma’s mind is a bit double-edged.  While it prevents the book from becoming lost in the wilds of indecipherable abstraction and metaphor, Fraction may very well have taken it a little far in making Emma’s mind nothing but a white blank.  It’s bland and empty and one can’t help but wish Fraction pushed the very able Dodsons a little more.

Also, while the artwork was great, I’m not sure if the opening scene with a Predator X was necessary, given how much was already going on in this book.  It doesn’t help that it’s the only scene not on Utopia and as a result, it feels detached and not at all the sort of introduction or prologue that an opening two pages should be.

Conclusion: A really good issue of Uncanny accompanied by refreshingly vibrant, characterful artwork

Grade: B+

-Alex Evans

by Matt Fraction (writer), Greg Land (pencils), Jay Leisten (inks), Justin Ponsor (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: The X-Men attempt to stave off the Predator X attack.

What’s Good: This is an action comic, pure and simple and in that capacity, it delivers; it’s big, bloody, and explosive.

Better still, Matt Fraction makes the most of the fact that it’s a team based action comic.  One really gets a sense of strategy in the X-Men’s dealing with the Predator Xs.  Abilities are used in perfect concert and the X-Men feel like a well-trained, well-oiled machine.  Multi-level, cooperative strategy is employed as the mutants essentially combine and chain each other’s abilities in a sort of cooperative harmony that was clearly quite well thought out by Fraction.

Taking this perhaps a little more literally is Fraction’s use of Rogue.  He uses her power absorption ability to synchronize X-Men mutant abilities, allowing him to essentially play a cool and creative game of mix and match with mutant powers.

While action-based, the issue is nonetheless not without development.  A very interesting Phoenix-related occurrence happens with respect to the Cuckoos that is foreboding and is sure to pay dividends at a later date.  Furthermore, the last page of the book is similarly intriguing, as we get a look at Danger’s idea of a prison.  Those who have read William Gibson’s foundational cyberpunk novel ”Neuromancer” will probably get a kick out of the scene.

On art, Greg Land actually acquits himself quite well, particularly for his often-weak standards.  While certain female faces do lack detail or appear a little awkwardly photo-referenced, there aren’t any real catastrophes this month.  Compliments are due, however, for Land’s drawings of the Predator X monstrosities, which look horrifyingly savage and distinctly alien.  That last page with Danger was also quite beautiful.

What’s Not So Good: While the use of teamwork in harmonizing abilities and employing strategy was impressive, that doesn’t change the fact that this is just one big, extended action scene across 21 pages.  In other words, it’s hard not read this without realizing that while you’re entertained, the book nonetheless feels strangely hollow, shallow even.  Indeed, this is mainstream comics at its most popcorn superficial, the sort of book that the indie comic fan no doubt points to in horror.  That doesn’t mean it’s bad, but it also means that the book doesn’t summon any sort of emotion beyond the base-level amusement that comes with reading a good action scene.  It’s not a smart read in the slightest, nor is it a dense one, though it is enjoyable for what it is.

Also, some of Fraction’s voices are still off.   He struggles with Rogue’s colloquial accent, for starters.  At times it disappears altogether or is at least very minimal, while at other times, she sounds like a painfully exaggerated hillbilly.  Fraction can’t seem to find a middle ground, nor can he find consistency.

Magneto’s voice also feels problematic this month and reminds me of Fraction’s struggles to write Xavier’s voice in past issues.  At times, Magneto just sounds too young, hip, and catchy, particularly with his battle banter.  Worse still, in a later scene, he goes back to the more aged, formal tone we saw last month.  Like Rogue, not only is the voice problematic in itself, but it also lacks consistency.

Conclusion: Enjoyable for what it is, this issue still feels a little thin due to its not striving to be anything more.

Grade: B -

-Alex Evans

This an iconic X-men cover that I redrew for the Covered Blog only to have it rejected within a few hours. Oh well. I’m posting it here for the four three people that will care…

Today I was drawing the X-Men and I was looking at back issues for inspiration.   I kept returning to the issues drawn by the late great master Dave Cockrum. There’s just something fascinating about his linework!  I couldn’t ask for a better artist to emulate. Here’s some images that I found from his tribute website.  I encourage you check out more of his work.  Here’ some of my favorites below!

The whole gang is here in this classic look at the X-Men. Now that I think about it, I think my favorite X-Men from this era are the top three in this image.

Avengers Assemble! Well, at least three of them took the time to show up. Hawkeye, Goliath and Black Widow look positively dynamic in this piece. I’m not keen on the random shape behind them, but I’m sure Dave had his reasons.

Once upon a time, Mantis and the Swordsman were newlyweds! Now Mantis is green (Does anyone know how that came about?) and a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Swordsman is no longer among the living. There’s that distracting shape in the background again. Grrr.

The Vision and Captain America arrive late to my Avengers Assemble call. Better late than never as they say. I’m loving how haunted the Vision looks and Cap’s expression is priceless.  I think the circle works better here than the amputated triangles shown in the two images above.

It’s a Knight! Of horses? Or maybe he’s the Rook! Could he be the Rook Knight? Does he have special chess powers? I don’t know. However, I really love the design of this character from his winged helmet to his science fiction boots. Cockrum knew how to design a costume, sometimes merging seemingly disparate elements into a cohesive whole!

Cockrum’s creation, the amazing Nightcrawler, is having a bit of a hard time in this last image.   Dave obviously had a great sense of humor.  The inclusion of the vulture is simply too funny!

Thanks for checking out Dave’s art with me! I hope it inspires you like it has me!

Oh, X-Men Forever, how I want to love you!  Really, I do!  I love the concept and I love the era in which the comic takes place (The conceit of this title is that it picks up right after legendary author Chris Claremont was forced off the title 16 years ago).  Having Dave Cockrum covers like the one above is certainly a nice treat!   However, I have not been loving this series.  It was a refreshing switcheroo to have Wolverine taken off the playing board right off the bat, and I even enjoyed the “evil” Storm that came out of nowhere.  It was a bit madcap and perhaps it was done for shock value, but it certainly got my attention.  I started off reading the series with the excitement I used to feel when I was a younger reader, but that excitement diminished with each issue.  Kitty somehow absorbs/phases one of Wolverine’s claws?  There’s a possible child clone of Storm?  And to add insult to injury, she’s going to be called Lil ‘Ro? Professor Xavier is keeping secrets?  Nick Fury is going to be a mainstay character in the title?  A whole issue is dedicated to exploring the background of another Trask descendant?  Oh, but wait, the real clone may be the evil Storm?  It’s all too much.  It feels like Claremont decided to jettison all the elements that made the old X-Men stories beloved.  Killing off Wolverine (although we’ve been treated to flashback stories about Logan and Nick Fury after his death) in favor of a toothless Sabretooth falls flat for me.  Evil Storm and child Storm are two Storms too many (I can’t believe I just said that!) and the fact that one of them might be a clone is an old chestnut that has lost its flavor.  Breaking up Jean and Scott over an affair that never happened feels forced to me.  Okay, Jean held a torch for Logan and was keeping his secrets.  And how many more stories do we need about Xavier keeping secrets?  

*shakes head*

I want to like this title.  I really want to love it.  But upcoming solicits like the following aren’t going to make me hold my breath for a glimmer of excellence. 

X-MEN FOREVER #15 & 16

Written by CHRIS CLAREMONT
Penciled by PETER VALE (#15) & TBA (#16)
Cover by TOM GRUMMETT
GREAT JUMPING ON POINT…the fate of PERFECT STORM! The last time we saw Storm, she was fleeing from the X-Men, having blinded Sabretooth and killed Logan. Now, we turn our focus to Wakanda to see what became of the evil clone of the woman that the X-Men loved and trusted. ALSO: new two-part story starting with Issue 16 as CHRIS CLAREMONT continues his landmark run on X-MEN FOREVER! Don’t miss a single panel! Plus, an extra feature detailing a timeline of what other Marvel Universe stories were occurring during the current X-Men Forever saga!
#15 – 40 PGS./Rated A …$3.99
#16 – 32 PGS./Rated A …$3.99

Tom Grummett is certainly a capable artist and I have read that Claremont enjoys collaborating with him.  However, Grummett’s art, while serviceable, doesn’t excite me.  I find his figures to be pretty standard, lacking a sense of pizzaz.  Costume design is rather generic as the above image represents.  This Storm must be pretty evil as she’s wearing hand me downs from Captain Universe.  It doesn’t bode well that the artist for #16 is To Be Announced.  Hopefully Paul Smith will pick up the pencil for a few more issues, but even his art has been more than a bit loose for my taste.  I was willing to drink from the well of super-scribe Claremont, but in regards to this series at least, the well seems a bit shallow.  

I miss this Storm (words by Claremont and art by Cockrum).  Fierce, determined, and fueled by naivete and outrage.  This is a character worth reading about with no need of clones or alignment changes to make her interesting.

The page above comes from the Classic X-Men reprint series and is drawn by Dave Cockrum.  It was inserted in between pages 3 and 4 of Uncanny X-Men #104.  I always love seeing the human touches on original art pages even if it’s just the series title and page numbers.  It’s a glimpse of the magic behind the scenes that makes the art process relatable.  I find it inspirational.  Part of me wishes that Claremont had run with a Logan and Ororo romance in X-Men Forever.  What other place could this relationship be properly explored?  And Banshee’s alive in this alternate reality!  Hopefully he’ll return to the team, but I highly doubt it.  He was briefly seen at Wolverine’s funeral, but he was canoodling with Moira MacTaggert.  I’m still going to keep reading X-Men Forever, but I hope the series tightens up its cast and plotlines.  This book has the enviable position to explore new territory with some of the most interesting characters in comics.  I hope it gets around to it.

As always, thanks for visiting “Raging Against the Dying Light,” all dozen of you. ( : I have a lot of loose threads in this one, my main articles for November and December are in formation and so now’s the time to spew out what I refer to as a “Geek Diatribe” to touch on all the incomplete facets of interest I write about on this site. This time it’s all light too, no politics or religion!

First off, the 2009 Baseball season is over. I find it a very depressing of an end at that…I’m not a vehement Yankee hater, I have extreme love for the history of the team and readily admit the talents and watchability of most of the current Yank roster, but I always have a bit of anger over the unrestrained budget the team has to work with and the idea that they can “buy’ the championship…and the fact that A-Rod alone earns a higher salary than several combined teams. So, there’s always the hope that they will be shutdown and it will be proven that money can’t suppress the drive to overcome that thrives in the underdog teams; the Phillies would have been a much more satisfying win. But the whole thing got me thinking about the structure of the current season; it’s November, and Baseball is just now wrapping up. It’s cold, grey over much of the country and well on the way to winter. Now, I never thought I’d specify that the season should be shorter since Baseball is really the only sport for me, but the season should be shorter! It’s a spring and summer game, and the now extended season length drags it into competing too heavily with football broadcasts and ticket sales, and the game just doesn’t seem appropriate this time of year for whatever reasons. I say, start it in early spring as is done now, start the post-season in September and have the World Series the first week of October. Anyway, as many people thrive for the play-off season when things heat up, as fun as that can be I prefer two other key baseball phases—the opening game through the first two weeks of the season and the events of and games leading up to July’s all-star game and home-run derby. A lot of this ties in with many of the teams still having a shot, but just as much at factor is the time of the year and the way it perfectly fits with the game. I imagine football fanatics feel the same way about fall and February.

Item two on the geek docket is the best music of the 2000s. I’ve pretty much got the 50 picked out for albums and almost for songs, I just have to properly rank them which requires listening to them and making the call on order. It’s a compulsive geek trait for any type of list like this, but you can’t just arbitrarily throw them together. There’s a distinctive reason why item A is at 17 and item B is at 16…or at least there should be. As I was working on my list I noticed that “Paste” magazine already has their “50 albums of the 2000s” on their site. I really like “Paste” and they’ve turned me on to a lot of good music over the years, but their list was off (in my mind) on several accounts—for one thing, it’s early November, there’s still 2 months of music yet to be released. Related to that, their “Best of ‘09” list isn’t up yet—it seems fairly backward to sum up a decade before the last year of the decade. As to the selections, there’s the obvious nerd-centric private idols that the publication adores and will rank highly and mention continuously even if no one else does as highly—everyone does this, my lists are guilty of it as well. “Paste” is very noticeable for adoring a core 5 bands that can never do wrong, as is Rolling Stone and AMG and it’s interesting because these core 5 never overlap in the same regard between these publications. That’s a very signifying factor that when it comes to art and pop criticism, there is no great science. There may be general critical consensus that something new and groundbreaking is “excellent” but it often differs from group to group and certain styles and personalities latch on to certain sounds. I won’t ruin the article for you, but the #1 album of the decade for “Paste” sums up their stance and personality as a publication, and that’s not a bad thing. I’m pretty sure my “1 choice does the same thing for me, as will RS and AMG’s. Another observation on “Pastes” selections is that they was heavily eschewed towards music made by bands established in the ‘00s, with a few ‘90s bands new work thrown in but very little attention paid to career artists releasing very notable work in the decade. No mention of critically acclaimed and massively entertaining work by Dylan, Young, Springsteen, U2, etc. Jazz, Hip Hop and Blues were almost completely overlooked as well, and although Indie is a major focus for “Paste,” they’re an eclectic publication so I expected more variety. The 2000s, looking at them as a whole, may very well have produced the bulk of music that will stay with me the longest. I was a junior in High school at the beginning of the decade and as it draws to a close I’m a first year grad student working on a Masters. In between there was college, work, marriage. I’ve moved several times and grown a lot, and the music I’ve heard that’s stuck with me from each phase of this decade is formative and memorable. Granted, most of my all time favorite albums were made long before this time, but there’s something to be said for what was new and vibrant amidst the average, waiting just to be found.

On to the next one; I always cap up the year’s best in graphic art and prose– comics and graphic novels—with a top ten list at the end of each year as well. This year has been phenomenal with trend breaking literate work in Graphic Novels- – “Asterios Polyp” by David Mazuchelli, The illustrated book of Genesis by R. Crumb, pretty much the entire Vertigo monthly catalogue, creator owned and controlled titles by Jeff Smith and Terry Moore (“RASL” and “Echo,” respectively) and notable work from indie publishing houses IDW (“Locke and Keye“), Boom Studios (“The Unknown: The Devil Made Flesh“), etc. As far as mainstream work, generally meaning the “big two” (Marvel and DC), it’s become clear that despite cornering 65 percent of the market and being host to millions of loyal fans who refuse to read books published by anyone else, Marvel is far inferior to almost every other publishing company, especially DC. It just hasn’t been Marvel’s year. They sell out to Disney for a big paycheck. They opt for raising the majority of their titles to a higher price point– an entire dollar more, making most of their mainstream titles 3.99, a price DC reserves for special events and “important” stories. Unlike Marvel, when DC charges 3.99 they provide ten additional pages of story as well as better paper and ink quality. Marvel heads (here’s looking at you, Joe Quesada—by the way, stay retired from penciling, your art is atrocious) originally stated that this was the result of a tighter economy and to combat mounting paper costs but later Quesada admitted in an interview that it was really because “this is a business” and they wanted to see how much profit they could make if the cost of the titles continued to go up and sales didn’t dip accordingly. To make matters worse for Marvel, their output hasn’t been good enough to justify such tactics anyway. The only really smart move they’ve done recently is re-tool “Amazing Spider Man” last year, shedding the excess titles, hiring a great staff of rotating writers and artists for it, releasing it thrice monthly and generally making it the best popcorn, fun-for-everyone-over-13 book as possible. They have even (thus far) kept it price-pointed at 2.99 and the stories from it all year have been great escapist fun. Other than that, they’ve consistently dropped the ball. Big tie-in events and mini-series? DC’s “Blackest Night” is far better than Marvel’s “The List” or whatever they’re calling it now (since it’s an ever continuing fall-out tale from last summers “Secret Invasion” which was far inferior to DC’s “Final Crisis” at that). Thor? An Eisner-winning surprisingly smart book by Stracinzski is now moving on without Stracinzki and staying at 3.99 (without the extra ten pages). Then there’s the it-just-won’t-die slew of “Marvel Zombies” mini’s that get worse with each sequel. Or dumb ideas like “Marvel Apes” or “X-Babies.” There’s the never-reveal-the-ending-to-the-mystery compost-heap “Hulk,” which gets ever more ridiculous and stopped being fun half a year ago. They were building up steam with “Uncanny X Men” each issue after 500 then lost it having each issue be part of an asinine tie in to an asinine concept series. The only other worthwhile Marvel title right now is “Fantastic 4,” while DC has been on a run with their mainstream work as well. Geoff Johns and Gary Frank are producing the best Superman mini in years, “Secret Origin,” and their entire run on “Action Comics” was terrific last year. Since Batman’s death, every tie-in Bat title has been excellent., notably, “Batman and Robin,” with Grant Morrison and initially Frank Quietely but “Detective Comics” as well if only for J.H. Williams III’ impressionistic and unconventional art. “Green Lantern” and every “Blackest Night” tie in has been great sci-fi and “Wednesday Comics” was a truly original and successful idea. Of course, “JSA” has fallen off and “JLA” seems to never work, but the point is that much of their mainstream work is great and most of it is approachable and more affordable than their competitions. Most importantly, where DC has it’s “Vertigo” imprint which puts out a lot of great, intelligent adult-geared work and DC utilizes that imprint heavily, Marvel’s “Icon” imprint which allows creator funded work to be released doesn’t get nearly enough emphasis. “Criminal” by Brubaker and Phillips is back again with another miniseries, and it’s great. “Kick Ass,” is always fun whenever Mark Millar bothers to get it out (he’s late on everything lately), but what else does Icon have? And why no funding from Marvel? Why not more emphasis?

Okay, last up (and briefly) is “The Wire.” Harvard recently announced a college course that will utilize “The Wire” in its curriculum. If any show has ever been worthy of this, it’s this one. The smartest, most important and best produced television show of all time. Five seasons, so check them all out. That’s all for now.

Halloween may have been yesterday, but today we take a look at some versions of Storm that definitely celebrate the spirit of the holiday!

This classic Bill Sienkiewicz cover depicts Storm as a thrall to Dracula!  This story was a thrilling read when I was younger.  I could not fathom a way that Storm could reverse the vampiric curse!

You actually have to read Uncanny X-Men #159 before you read the Annual.  Brent Anderson drew this stunning cover.  Oh, the horror!

This mini-series featured a Storm from an alternate reality who due to her time in Limbo has lost her natural mutant powers and instead relies on magick.

This is the original artwork of that same cover by the legendary John Buscema!  What an amazing look from behind the scenes!

I leave you with an Andy Kubert drawn Storm dressed as a witch from the 1996 Fleer trading card set.  Happy Halloween!

I am totally off my rocker for this amazing artwork by Corey Lewis for Strange Tales #3 from Marvel Comics!   Many thanks to Robot 6 at Comic Book Resources for featuring this preview!

The X-Men as a band is a great concept and I am loving who Corey picked. Of course the amazing thing about this story is that it features Longshot searching for Dazzler! It’s exciting to see such a great talent taking one of my favorite eras of the X-Men and making it so contemporary and fresh! Let’s just say that this mohawk Storm has a very special place in my heart already!

I just found this today, but its been out there since 2006.  Look at Deadpool!  Such a cool poster, if anyone has an extra or knows where I can find one (for free would be great) send me a message.

Today was most probably the best day of my existence!  I launched my first self-published comic, my memoir fantasy PRINCESS WITCH BOY at the Alternative Press Expo here in San Francisco!  So much to share about APE, Isotope, Dean Haspiel, The Mini Comic Award of Excellence, Prism, Writers Old Fashioned and so much more, but right now I’d like to send out a big ol’ shout to everyone who came out to APE, and/or attended the signing for Dean Haspiel or the APE Aftermath party at Isotope, and/or bought my comic!  You know what?  Today was the best day ever!  (Creating) Art = (Creating) Community = Joy!

This is the cover of Princess Witch Boy, Book One:  Gateway.  Out titular hero looks at the reader as the spirits of three women float above him.  They represent the triple aspects ( shapechanger, supermodel sorceress and djinn) that the boy channels in times of crisis.  From left to right we have Galaxy Runway, Velvet and Replica)

Here I am working the Writers Old Fashioned booth while hawking my wares.  That’s the lovely Ms. Emily Stackhouse (Brazilianoir) in the background.  Photo by Zan!

Signing personalized copies of Princess Witch boy at the Writers Old Fashioned booth.  Photo by Zan.

Posing with Ken Kneisel with our Wuvable Oaf tees on! We’re like twins!  Wuvable Oaf is the genius comic by Ed Luce!  Yes, you heard me.  I said genius.  I meant every syllable!  And since I’m choosing to spend this Sunday on me instead of Ororo, here’s some random images of the best character I’ve ever named myself after! *laughs*

Image by John Byrne
Olivier Coipel drew this fierce as all get out Storm image!
Doctor Doom has the hots for Storm and uh, Storm might like him, too? Huh?

And just in case you forgot:

Don’t try to fly in the face of facts alone or with friends. Or at all, really. If a mutant goddess can’t do it, what chance do you have?  So, instead of wasting time flying in the face of facts, try looking up some facts about the following people, places and things since I don’t have time to create links to all their names.  That’s right, dear reader, Google some information on Isotope Comic Book Lounge, Writers Old Fashioned, Alternative Press Expo, Dean Haspiel, Prism, and mini-comics.  Stay tuned to stormantic.com and I will let you know how you can order your very own copy of PRINCESS WITCH BOY! Mwah!

Escrito por Matt Fraction, Lápices por Greg Land, Tintas a cargo de Jay Leisten, Colores a cargo de Justin Ponsor, Publicado por Marvel Comics.

Sinceramente me siento un poco decepcionado de hasta donde han llegado con los X-Men. Principalmente, no me siento cómodo con esta corrida de Matt Fraction. No sé realmente hasta donde llegará en su corrida a través de este título. Pero, estaba (particularmente) ansioso por saber qué es lo que iba a hacer con Magneto, y debo de decir que hizo un excelente trabajo. Pero vamos por partes.

Previusly in Uncanny X-Men: Los X-Men sacaron de las profundidades del Oceano Pacífico el Asteroide M. Y lo declararon tierra mutante. Una tierra lejos de los prejuicios de la humanidad contra la raza mutante. Lo volvieron su tierra y le dieron el nombre emblemático de Utopía. Este es el paraíso para la raza mutante. Pero a pesar de todas las complicaciones que tienen, además de su status actual, un nuevo e inesperado peligro se acerca. El señor de esas tierras ha regresado a su hogar. Magneto ha arrivado.

Magneto llega al Asteroide M cambiado y en cierta manera, con una actitud dócil y servicial pidiendo asilo de los X-Men. Sus diálogos son excelentemente escritos. La parte de mayor impacto es la lucha de poderes de Cyclops y Xavier, creando un ambiente sin igual. Ver a Magneto retirar su casco y pedir que si dudan de su “nueva” actitud, lean su mente para que vean que no los trata de engañar. Sin embargo, en este punto es cuando pierde algo de sentido, sobre todo la actitud de Xavier que no “pega” con su personalidad. Pero este trago amargo pasa rápido cuando Magneto le dice a Cyclops que él ha hecho lo que ni Xavier ni Magnus hicieron: Establecer una unión en la raza mutante… y se arrodilla ante él. Pero es obvio, al menos para mi, que Magneto está jugando con ellos. Cuando se entera que la bebé (que será la salvadora de la raza mutante) está viva, no puede ocultar su sorpresa y disgusto. Sin embargo, esta plática se ve interrumpida por el primer ataque hacia Utopía. El final del libro es hermoso, vemos a Cyclops ser el líder y protector de la raza mutante y a los X-Men preparandose para detener el ataque. Como dije, el guión y los diálogos de Fraction son muy bien escritos, de principio a fin.

Sin embargo, el libro no es perfecto, Greg Land tiene grandes momentos en su arte (como casi todas las escenas de Magneto y su punto cumbre llega cuando explica su regreso) pero también grandes fallas. Su arte se siente reciclado y repetitivo y hasta cierto punto llega a cansar.

Estoy bastante satisfecho con este número e invitado a leer los siguientes. Particularmente, me da mucha curiosidad lo que se trae Magneto entre manos y qué es lo que anda buscando. Espero ansiosamente el siguiente número y ver cómo trabajan juntos Nación X y Magneto.

Uncanny X-Men #316: What is this? Here is what I can infer form the opening scenes. A random team of previously unmentioned SPB’s attacks a greasy man working in a diner, who I can assume is the Scalphunter clone from Messiah Complex, last seen in one of those X-Men back up stories talking to Nightcrawler. Anyway, he gets beaten up by this group and taken away, why, I don’t know… Meanwhile, back at X Island, old Japanese scientist guy dies, and they have a funeral. For now we’ll skip over that dangling plot thread/lack of plot development around that group of brainiacs being assembled to reactivate the mutant gene or whatever, because surprise: Scott and Emma’s tumultuous relationship is tumultuous! Scott is lacking confidence in his ability to make future plans and lead his little mutant nation properly, and while Emma can make sarcastic barbs, she cannot provide emotional support, because she has to remain in her diamond form because part of the Sentry’s evil split personality, the Void, is trapped in a little squiggle in her forehead. Aside from the stupidity of that, there is no explanation why her staying in diamond form keeps evil dormant, in the same manner that the Stepford Cuckoos have 3 parts of the Phoenix forced trapped in their hearts, which are also diamond, even though their bodies are flesh. That is leftover hoo-hah from the Phoenix Warsong mini-series, but it’s a concept that hasn’t gotten less stupid with time. Then amidst all this unreality, Cyclops is like, gee, how are we going to get water, food and electricity to our little island? What?!?!? I never heard Magneto fretting about getting food to Asteroid M, or the High Evolutionary getting electricity to the Savage Land! It seems like a totally unnecessary and unprecedented reality check. Everyone knows the X-Men don’t play no reality, does Nightcrawler get poo in his fur when he wipes, does Emma Frost face the onset of menses in her diamond form? I don’t think so! And aside from that, isn’t Emma a millionaire, can’t she just pay for whatever they need? At the end of all this, Magneto shows up, with his powers restored by the High Evolutionary in some unspecified manner, to fight, or take his house back, or something.

 Grade: Lame

 Green Lantern #46: Onto greener pastures! We have a big old fight scene on Zammoran, and an awesome team up begins to gel between Hal, Carol, Sinestro, and Indigo-1. Main Events: A lot of exposition dialogue between Hal and Carol. Identity revelation and subsequent indoctrination into the Black Lantern Corps of the couple who powers the Pink Lantern’s power battery, the release of that Predator thing the Girl Guardians were trying to keep under wraps, the showdown between Mongol and Sinestro, more dead surprises, beaucoup awesomeness! Blackest Night sub-series continue to plug along and dish out that whole dead loved ones rising and trying to rip out the hearts of surprised heroes. That leads us right into Blackest Night Titans #2, which was fairly dope, because Donna Troy’s zombie baby tries to eat her! Everyone loves a zombie baby, and all the resurrected dead are totally awesome and ready with the one-line zingers!

 Grade: Dope

Superman: Secret Origin #1: I like this Geoff Johns penned miniseries way more than Flash: Rebirth. It’s a rare event when an origin story isn’t some bland back story in the last few pages of a regular issue, and aside from that, isn’t just a listing of facts and events everyone’s already heard before. SSO paints a picture of an adolescent Clark Kent, not only dealing with growing up, having crushes, and trying to fit in, but having to deal with these rite of passage events along with the sporadic emergence of his superpowers. It is also a great set up issue, the ordinariness of a boy growing up in middle America town can seem boring, yet this stable background allows for a grounded reaction when his alien origins are revealed, and make them seem all the more extraordinary by comparison. Our cast of characters is set up, with Flash, Lana, and even Lex all making appearances. We also have the origin of Superman’s first costume, and the super teen’s reaction to this is as you would expect, especially when you see him in it. It is great to see the Man of Steel as the awkward, imperfect teen he once was.

 Grade- Anti-suck!

 North 40 #’s 1-3: Fairly enjoyable but nothing spectacular. Retread scenario of two high school outcasts accidentally summoning a great, Lovecraftian evil into their hick town. Everyone mutates, getting fire breath, extra eyes, sea urchin eyes, going all vampire and eating their family. There’s a good guy who got the superest powers of all, a sheriff who has to do right, and a wise old witch of uncertain loyalties. It’s not bad, but anyone who’s ever read Stephen King or John Saul might experience some lackluster déjà-vu.

Grade- Zzzz

Peace out!

Franklin Firestar.

Uncanny X-Men#516

Writer: Matt Fraction

Artist: the second coming of Jack Kirby Greg Land w/ inks by Jay Leisten

Price: $2.99

Publisher: Marvel Comics

So here we have the first part of the new storyline called Nation X. Here is the main problem I have with this story:

1). It’s seven parts. Why? Why does Marvel seriously decompress some of their stories? Oh yeah… its because they want your money.

Here are the problems I had with this issue:

1). Little to nothing happens in this issue. You could’ve written what happened in this issue in about 6-7 pages.

2). Greg Land does the art.

3). It didn’t excite me enough to continue with this story.

I understand that Matt Fraction is setting up the story, which he usually does in most of his stories and then he gets things going nice and smooth. But he has always intrigued my interest in what’s going to happen next. Here… not so much. So Magneto comes to the X-Men on Utopia (an island where mutants are being kept safe. Formally Asteroid M, the headquarters of Magneto and his Brotherhood). Cyclops and Professor X argue about what they should do to Magneto for about 3-4 pages. Yawn. Then they decide to hear Mags out and Mags then tells everyone about how he got his powers back and how he was refreshed after the events of House of M which was kind of interesting. Then a big plane calls in to Utopia saying its going to crash so instead of trying to save the falling plane Cyclops tells Nightcrawler to see what’s in it. Nightcrawler then teleports out of the plane after seeing something that apparently frightens him and shouts at Cyclops to shoot the plane down. Then Cyclops orders the X-Men to take their battle stations and then its to be continued…

This issue was a whole lot of meh for me. The art was bad, although it was actually more tolerable than I expected. The story was mediocre and didn’t have a good enough hook. I usually love Fraction’s stories so I gave this a try a didn’t care for it too much. I may stick around for a couple more issues because knowing Fraction’s type of storytelling he will get things moving nicely soon and things will get interesting. It wasn’t really worth $3. I expected more from you Matt Fraction. Maybe its because I expected a lot that caused me to not care for this issue much… maybe.

Rating: C

Alrighty guys and gals I gotta get back to reading Deadpool#900 (I’m only halfway through it and yes I will do a review of it when I’m finished) and kicking butts and taking names on Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2! Stick around for a review of Batman#691, Green Lantern Corps#41, + Deadpool#900!!! (hopefully)

THE PULL LIST:
ACTION COMICS #882
ADVENTURE COMICS #3
AIR TP VOL 02 FLYING MACHINE
BATGIRL #3
BATMAN #691
DEADPOOL #900
DETECTIVE COMICS ANNUAL #11
GREEN ARROW BLACK CANARY #25
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #41
KULL TP VOL 01 SHADOW KINGDOM
MARVEL ZOMBIES 4 HC
MARVELS PROJECT #3
MOON KNIGHT TP VOL 05 DOWN SOUTH
NOMAD GIRL WITHOUT A WORLD #2
RED HERRING #3
RED ROBIN #5
RED SONJA HC VOL 07 BORN AGAIN
UNCANNY X-MEN #516
UNWRITTEN #6
VAMPIRELLA SECOND COMING #2
WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #1
X-MEN FOREVER #9

THE LOWDOWN:

Uncanny X-Men # 516

Magneto’s back.

Here we go again (on our own?[/Whitesnake])

Let’s see. This can go one of two ways. Magneto will either be set up as the biggest bad of all bads or they’ll go the New Excalibur route and try to humanize him, while everyone debates whether he’s really turned over a new leaf or not.

Anybody want to take a guess as to which way they go this issue?

If you picked the “neutered supervillain” opton, you would be absolutely correct. This issue walks a fine line between having a classic X-Men vibe and going back to a dry well. I get the genuine feeling that this was more of a setup issue for what’s to come, and so the underwhelming way that Magneto makes his presence felt at the X-Men’s island stronghold can partially be forgiven as I’m sure he will have more of an impact down the line.

Web of Spider-Man (Volume 2) # 1

Okay, I wasn’t going to buy this. I really wasn’t. I have no vested interest in anything related to the Clone Saga. I tried reading through the bulk of it one time and just couldn’t do it. Everything about it turned me off and so my only real understanding of the storyline and its ramifications come from the cozy busom of Wikipedia.

That having been said, you can probably understand my lack of enthusiasm in regards to the first segment of the book dealing with Kaine. It’s not that it’s a bad story. It’s just that I don’t really have the connection to make it work on the level it would like to. As nostalgia, it’s a total miss for me. I imagine the effect may be different for someone (and I’m sure that person exists) that has a warm spot in the cockles of their soul for the Clone Saga.

From a strictly compositional standpoint, it’s pretty well done. It was crafted well enough that someone like me who admittedly doesn’t have much firsthand knowledge of the stories where these characters first appeared, still could follow the story because of the organic explainations in the narrative. That’s a major plus.

I had no problems however, with the second segment featuring the return of Spider-Girl, who I’ve been missing since her series was cancelled a while back. I imagine the nostalgic mind-boner I got from this story is the effect that was wanted with the first Kaine segment. I wonder if the people putting this together banked on an overlap with the readers for the two characters or if it was an attempt to spread the net wider in the attempts of getting fans of either character to buy the book. I’m guessing it’s the latter.

Oh, the third segment was a comedic bit featuring Frog-man. Of course I loved it.

Batgirl # 3:

I expected this series to pretty much be a disaster. The story where Stephanie was killed off was utter crap. The whole Leslie Thompkins ordeal was a clusterfrak. What hope did we really have of Stephanie taking over as Batgirl working on any passable level?

I’m not sure what the expectations really were but at the end of this third issue, all of mine have been passed. Stephanie is working for me as the new Batgirl. The story is making strides toward righting the wrongs that came with her death way back in the War Games arc. (You want to read some real crap? Pick up those issues.)

In this one we get the standard Batman trope of Scarecrow’s fear toxin revealing the lead character’s true insecurities and the heartfelt Batcave passing of the torch. You cannot have a character take over a Bat mantle without the touching moment in the cave. (See Dick Grayson as new Batman post-Battle for the Cowl)

So, let’s just hope the series doesn’t go downhill from here, because they’re off to a good enough start.

Deadpool # 900:

In this issue, Deadpool plays ping-pong against Doctor Octopus.

Go buy the book, already.

===============================================

So, there you are.  I would review more but I’m admittedly a little backlogged on some books and need to catch up.

See you next week.

by Matt Fraction (writer), Greg Land (pencils), Jay Leisten (inks), Justin Ponsors (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Magneto tries to make his position clear and Nation X faces its first attack/invasion.

What’s Good: Magneto is the obvious star of the show here.  Fraction does a solid job of writing the character.  His voice is enjoyable, at once likable and yet impossible not to find suspicious, always carrying that air of sophistication, intelligence, and power.

What’s even better is how his very presence alone only deepens the already present cracks between X-Men.  If anything, Fraction uses Magneto not just as a character, but also as a kind of social phenomenon among Nation-X’s residents.  This leads to a particularly interesting legitimization of Scott, as he puts Professor X in line.  It makes the issue feel intelligent, something that Uncanny sorely needs.

Magneto is also a good fit ideologically within Nation X in his non-combative stance.  It allows a number of interesting discussions.  His conversation with Cyclops over the possibility of continuing the mutant race is a definite highlight, with Scott’s stance of hope standing nicely in contrast to Magneto’s noble pessimism.  It’s a nice debate with both characters occupying rather touching positions.

Art-wise, Greg Land, overall, actually does a pretty good job.  Magneto looks good, with one double-page spread detailing Magneto’s recent history with the High Evolutionary being very impressive.  I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention that this is probably my favourite Uncanny cover in a long time.  Nightcrawler is also very well done, whether static or in motion.  Thankfully, much of this issue is dialogue, meaning Land can stick to the basics.

What’s Not So Good: That said, Land, even on a good month, commits an atrocity.  This month, I was stunned to see Land seemingly re-use images from last month.  There is one particular panel featuring the mysterious new crew of baddies, with Bouncing Bettie and Verre in the background.  I’m pretty damned sure that Land just took prominent images of the two characters from last month’s issue and pasted them in, hoping that just because they’re now in the background, we won’t notice.  Then later, he uses the same image of Bouncing Bettie again in another panel.  Now, perhaps this is just a case of Land re-using a photo-reference, but it sure doesn’t look it.

Speaking of cutting corners, Fraction clearly wanted to quickly create a rift between Xavier and Summers over Magneto, but chose not to do it in any logical manner.  Magneto removes his helmet and invites the X-Men to read his mind.  Why then would Xavier assume Magneto’s guilt without using his telepathy, let alone launch a psychic attack?  It’s a shame, as the Xavier/Cyclops dynamic is a good one here, but Xavier’s actions didn’t make sense.

Beyond this, I felt that scenes with Scalphunter went on a little too long.  I also don’t feel that Fraction has yet settled on bad-guy leader Lobe’s voice, which veers wildly between formal and colloquial in a manner that’s just strange.

Conclusion: It’s actually a pretty good issue of Uncanny, and mainly because Magneto rules!

Grade: B -

-Alex Evans

Astonishing X-Men #31 hit last week and it is made of awesome! You can tell by the art of Phil Jimenez that he is a huge Storm fan! He’s simplified the Simone Bianchi costume while still honoring it.  I’m not sure that I really like Storm in white.  I think it washes her out since her hair is the same color as her costume but I can handle it since those awful black lines at her crotch are gone.  I’m also not missing those clunky double boots.  It’s great to see her back in her original thigh boots.  Warren Ellis writes a commanding and capable Storm and gets her into the action right off the bat!  I continue to enjoy his characterization of everyone else in this book as well.  Hands down, this is currently my favorite X-Title!  However, X-Babies #1 was also an immensely enjoyable read and definitely worth checking out!  And I would be remiss if I didn’t reference the amazing spot on characterization in Jeff Parker’s  X-Men Vs. Agents of Atlas #1.  That mini is superheroes done right!  Too bad it is only two issues!

Upcoming artwork from Uncanny X-Men: First Class #5 by Roger Cruz.  Old school fun with today’s flair.  I wish this wasn’t a mini-series.  I totally miss Banshee in current continuity.  Jean too. 

This page is from an issue of Wizard magazine.  I thought it would be fun to share since it has some tidbits about Storm’s behind the scenes origin.  The legacy of Dave Cockrum lives on!

Lush lines by Terry Dodson from Uncanny X-Men #505.  The interaction between Ororo and Emma is one of the most interesting aspects of the X-Men franchise these days and we don’t get nearly enough of it  I chose three pages to illustrate my fascination with these two queens.  

Terry Dodson’s versions of Storm and Emma are among my all time favorites.  He gives both women a solid sense of strength and elegance. 

All of those White Queen costumes are to die for.  And for some reason, this page has me recanting my earlier opinion about Storm dressing in white.  I’m totally loving it here.  

Otro mes, otro repaso. Como en los meses anteriores, la parte del pedido relacionada con Blackest Night irá en un post individual.

Empiezo por DC que sin los números relacionados con Blackest Nigth son menos…

• Superman Secret Origin 1: ¿alguien obliga a Gary Frank a dibujar a Superman con la cara de Christopher Reeve? Porque si es así debería pedirle ayuda a alguien… El resto del dibujo no está mal, pero me da un mal rollo la cara de Clark Kent… Geoff Johns se dedica a hacer lo que mejor sabe, reescribir el pasado de los personajes para que coincida con lo que él quiere contar. En esta ocasión reintroduce la existencia de Superboy y vuelve a situar a Lex Luthor en Smallville… No está mal, pero… ¿qué necesidad había de esto?

• Justice League Cry for Justice 3: vale, el dibujo está muy bien pero es que la historia sigue sin arrancar… ¡y ya van tres números! Vale, ahora sabemos que Prometheus es el villano de la historia – cosa que ya habían revelado antes de la aparición del primer número – y que tiene un plan para convertirse en el más malo de los malos, vamos que la quiere liar gorda. Pero… ¿tienen que contarle todo de una manera tan lenta? Joer, sabiendo Robinson que le iban a dar la serie regular podía darle un poco más de marcha al asunto.

• Justice League of America 37: por fin se termina la historia de relleno perpetrada por Len Wein en la que la JLA se enfrenta a Amos Fortune, Roulette y la Royal Flush Gang con La Llave como villano en la sombra. La verdad es que estaba deseando que empezase Robinson pero después de los tres números de Cry for Justice y el grupo que ha elegido… como que ya no me apetece tanto. Además, si en tres episodios no ha conseguido reunir al nuevo grupo en una miniserie de siete… ¿cuánto tardará en la serie regular?

• Justice League of America 80-Page Giant 1: y yo que lo compré pensando que era el remate de la etapa de McDuffy en la JLA y me encuentro con una historia que no está relacionada con la misma y que, siendo totalmente sincero, ha sido una total y absoluta pérdida de tiempo y de dinero.

Sigo, o termino, con Marvel…

• Stephen King The Dark Tower – Fall of Gilead 5: la calma previa a que se desate la guerra… Lo que no es obstáculo para que Steven Deschain muera a manos de sus propios soldados, lo que provoca que la defensa de Gilead quede en manos de Roland y de los pistoleros más jóvenes… Bueno, reconozco que esta parte me está gustando bastante, sobre todo porque no está estropeando lo ya conocido. Buen dibujo.

• Fantastic Four 571: segundo número de esta nueva etapa en la que Reed Richards planea dejar los 4F para unirse a un Concilio formado por los Reed Richards del Multiverso… Entiendo que un guionista quiera dejar su manera en la serie, pero es que estas historias en las que un miembro de los 4F deja el grupo no acaban de ser creíbles. Dale Eaglesham está bastante bien, pero me gustaría ver más al resto del grupo.

• Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men – Exodus: en general me ha gustado bastante este crossover. No creo que los cambios sean permanentes, pero al menos sí le dan un aire fresco a los mutantes y se han sacado de la manga un nuevo plan de Osborn para vender más especiales…

• Uncanny X-Men 515: recibido por un error de la tienda, primero de los números en el que se ve el nuevo statu quo de los mutantes una vez que han formado su propio estado en la isla. Seguramente puede salir algo interesante de todo esto, pero no se ve en este número.

• Dark Reign The List – Avengers: y aquí se inicia el nuevo plan de Osborn para deshacerse de sus enemigos, a los que tiene apuntados en una lista de cosas pendientes… Sí, es tan estúpido como suena. En este número, el único que he pedido, Clint Barton es capturado por Ares cuando va a matar a Osborn…

• Dark Avengers 9: Ares contra Nick Furia al que le cede la custodia de su hijo. En fin… Lo único que merece la pena son las cuatro últimas páginas. Hasta el 12 voy a seguir pero como esto no cambie – y mucho – en el próximo par de números… me pasaré a los recopilatorios.

• The Mighty Avengers 29: en cambio con esta lo tengo mucho más claro, una vez que se complete el primer año de Slott en la misma, ¡la dejo! Entre el pésimo dibujo y el decepcionante guión con el que nos está “sorprendiendo” Slott… ¿cómo no dejarla?

• The New Avengers 57: ¿por qué teniendo una serie propia le dan más bola aquí a los Dark Avengers que en su propia serie? Immonen sigue decepcionándome pero sigue siendo el mejor dibujante que ha pasado por la serie en cinco años, así que…

Boring introduction! I read 21 comics in September, and these were the best.

5. Green Lantern #46

Hey, Green Lantern is great again! We know Mahnke’s art is going to blow our minds, but Johns pulled his weight too, delivering the gore he’s so fond of. There was a lot of progression here, featuring a fight that’s been brewing for a long time. Sinestro and Mongul’s conclusion is not only drawn well, Johns gives each baddie a fun monologue, dripping with a bit of truth. Indeed, for a brief time, Johns made me believe that Mongul could actually win. Loud, bloody, and just the kind of cosmic fun that Johns wants you to have.

4. Wolverine: Old Man Logan Giant Size

It all ends. It was the worth the wait, but for Millar’s part of it, this issue played out exactly how you’d expect, which would’ve been a dull experience, except for the reason we’re all here: Steve McNiven. Just about every panel in here is iconic, ready to be framed on your wall. No matter what silly cliché Millar wrote, McNiven made it sing. However, the writing’s not all bad. This issue pays great tribute to Wolverine’s character as a whole, blending his Western and Eastern ways together. So, even on that corny, Lone Wolf & Cub-inspired last page, I smiled.

3. Detective Comics #857

Another conclusion, what can I say? Those are usually great issues. Alright, Rucka’s opening Batwoman arc hasn’t had as much substance as I’d like, but something we can all agree on is the talent of Williams. We haven’t seen Kate’s origin yet, but she’s already a fully-developed character, mostly due to Williams himself. That continues here, of course, as Williams gets to render some dazzling stunts, with Kate jumping from plane to plane, kicking her way to Alice. Speaking of Alice, this issue delivers a twist with her that I didn’t see coming at all, and it was telegraphed, even on the cover. The twist works, not only to shock us, but as a brilliant window into Kate’s past.

Seventh Soldier’s Review

2. Dark Reign: The List – X-Men

I read most of these specials, and this is probably the only one that’s actually a one-shot. Fraction doesn’t conform. This isn’t about political nonsense or the status quo. Fraction gives us the simple tale of revenge, and it works very well. A great deal of that credit goes to Alan Davis. He makes this absurd, spandex-clad medium lyrical. Consider the scene at the end, with Namor, Osborn, and the Sentry. In Davis’ hands, this simple scene becomes a grand confrontation between legends. Superman and Luthor could easily replace Namor and Osborn, and Sentry’s inclusion is the icing on the cake.

1. Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus

I, like many of you, wasn’t very impressed with this crossover. Fraction’s characterizations were still superb, but the plot seemed to contain nothing but buildup. Well, that all culminated with Exodus, and what a culmination. The epic battle between teams is there, with almost every character utilized. Deals with the devil, an old New Avengers callback, and a new status quo makes this the most explosive comic of the month, and the best too.

For more comic goodness, go here.

I was gathering images for my most recent Stormwatch post and kept coming across great artwork of that Canuck scene-stealer Wolverine! It seems to me that ‘ol Logan deservs his own mini-post to highlight some three gems! So here we go!

Wolverine by John Bolton for the cover of X-Men Vignettes Volume 2.  This is Wolverine at his most dangerous.  his costume is all ripped up from a fight, but his healing factor has taken care of any injuries he sustained.  I love the expression on his face in this image.  He looks like he’s ready to go for round 2!

Ed McGuinness draws the battle between Wolverine and Gorilla Man for the variant cover of  the upcoming X-Men Vs. Agents of Atlas written by Jeff Parker!  This Wolverine is more of an adventurer as well as scrapper, matching Gorilla Man for animal intensity!
X-Baby Wolverine looks a bit upset about having to deal with any even younger version of himself in this fun cover to X-Babies #3 by Skottie Young!  I don’t know why there are two ‘lil Wolvies, but I’m itchin’ to find out in this mini-series!

]]> http://stormantic.wordpress.com/2009/10/04/storm-sunday-brent-anderson/ Sun, 04 Oct 2009 09:40:04 +0000 stormantic http://stormantic.wordpress.com/2009/10/04/storm-sunday-brent-anderson/

Every Sunday, I celebrate my favorite character ever by focusing on an artist, an era or aspect of Ororo Munroe, aka Storm, of the X-Men!  Today we look at the work of Brent Anderson!  As always, click on the images if  you’d like to see them larger!!

The first time I saw the cover of the Official Marvel Index #9A  I was mesmerized!  I was in awe of the sheer amount of characters who fill up the page and spill around to the back cover!  I was inspired by how the personality of each character shines off the page!  Nightcrawler is playfully hanging from the X-Men logo and tweaking Wolverine’s mask, Kitty Pryde is kneeling oh so cutely in front of everyone, Cyclops has his hand placed firmly on Professor X’s shoulders reassuringly, and Colossus stands proud and confident.  It’s a great change of pace to see Wolverine being annoyed on a cover instead of posing menacingly.  There’s more to Logan than kicking butt and this image is proof!  I was also impressed at how lithe Storm looks.  There’s more than a hint of John Byrne’s style in the image, but Brent Anderson makes it his own by physically elongating the characters with a soft, perhaps one could say lush, linework.  Byrne’s figures at this time were a bit more rounded, his Storm and Phoenix more bubbly in their babeness (Not a word, I know, but roll with me here).  I think it really helps that Terry Austin (longtime collaborator with John Byrne) inked this image.  The slender Storm figure in this image is not at odds with Byrne’s style.

Brent Anderson is perhaps best known among X-Fans for penciling the X-Men graphic novel, God Loves, Man Kills. This book is a great example of the themes of prejudice and persecution that Chris Claremont made famous in the X-Men.  Anderson’s art depicts the human side of Marvel’s mutants brilliantly.  His facial and figure work give the story’s philosophical underpinnings emotional depth.  This is a classic for many reasons and make no mistake, Anderson’s art is equally as important as Claremont’s writing.

You probably already know that the Skrulls are scapegoats for everything evil in the Marvel Universe, but there was also a time when the Badoon were used as the “We can kill them ’cause they’re evil” bad guy standin (The Badoon are actually older than the Skrulls!).  I don’t believe any Badoon were killed in this issue, but they were a great plot device to bring the X-Men and the Fantastic Four together, so that’s good.  I’m super into how Anderson drew Storm on this X-Men Annual #5.  Her gestures are regal and strong and her hair just goes on and on like it should.  The unstable molecules of her costume are working overtime to make her cape stretch that large!  That’s a mighty Colossus paired up with Mr. Fantastic’s giant fist and Anderson’s  Wolverine looks ferocious!  I think that many fans of Anderson’s work are partial to his rendition of Nightcrawler and from this cover it is easy to see why!  Kurt looks simply dynamic!

In issue Uncanny X-Men #160 the demon lord Belasco shows up to menace Colossus’ little sister Illyana.  He kidnaps her and she ages seven years into the teleporting demon sorceress we know and love today as Magik!  I never grow tired of covers with a giant hand attacking a team of heroes and this cover is no exception!

I found this image of a recent Kitty Pryde commission floating around the internet and was happy to see that the date is so recent! I bet Brent gets a lot of requests for his work from this era! If you are unfamiliar with Brent Anderson, check out his website which has a great gallery of his work from Astro City, Green Lantern: Legacy, Strikeforce Morituri, Batman and Gen13! There’s also a great sketchbook you can order from his site as well!

]]> http://srfelga.wordpress.com/2009/10/01/resumo-x-men-93-ed-panini/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:50:26 +0000 srfelga http://srfelga.wordpress.com/2009/10/01/resumo-x-men-93-ed-panini/

Bom, as coisas andam meio corridas, mas vou tentar colocar os resumos em dia. Um lembrete deveras importante: Fest Comix está chegando!!!

Fabulosos X-Men: Bom, conclusão do arco SFX. Não achei grande coisa. Para mim, o arco inteiro pareceu uma história dos “Barrados no Baile”. Muito sem sal mesmo. E os desenhos do Greg Land ajudam a deixar aquela sensação de revista de modelos. Uma pena que em X-Men, escritores da envergadura de Bruba e Fraction, que fazem maravilhas com Capitão América e Homem de Ferro, respectivamente, não se deram muito bem.

Legado: Uma palavra resume essa edição (na verdade, 2 edições): Sensacional. Muito bom como o Carey anda trabalhando essa revista. O Enfoque em Xavier e a proposta estão muito bem conduzidos. Os desenhos de Scott Eaton ajudam a deixar esse título com o posto de um dos melhores títulos mutantes. E o castigo que Xavier recebe de Emma Frost foi surpreendentemente merecido.

Jovens X-Men: Bom, nessa edição explica um pouco as ações do “Ciclope“. Aparentemente, ainda estamos num momento pré-formação dos X-Men em SF. Mas nada disso salva o título, que consegue ser mais fraco que Uncanny. Uma pena ver alguns personagens legais metidos numa fria como essa revista.

Na próxima edição: A Invasão Skrull chega à SF. E cabe aos X-Men chutarem algumas bundas……

Mais informações: Marvel616

X-Men VS Agent of Atlas - Preview

Looks like Cloak and Dagger’s mutant misadventures will be continuing as they are seen in the X-Men Vs Agents of Atlas Preview. I’m ambivalent to their inclusion into a roster that is already fudge pack’d. Not only do you have the core X-Men such as Colossus, Dazzler, and Angel just standing around, but now you’ve got Namor, the New Mutants, the New X-Men, Young X-Men (I wish Ink would laser remove himself), The X-Club (Fraction trying to be Ellis, AMIRITE?), useless mutants (Bling!, what’s his face, and the ugly one) sitting in the background but now you’ve got Cloak and Dagger there too.

I didn’t have a problem with them being Dark X-Men because I knew it was going to spin-off into its own title. A separate title that featured a smaller cast means Cloak and Dagger had a chance to do something or at least be angst and interracial. But with them being lumped into with a cast of over 50 and only two titles they will essentially just be transportation (as seen above) or the very least background (haithar every B-list character in Uncanny X-Men) because lets face it Ellis has the toys he wants to play with in their own Astonishing sandbox and to an extent so does Yost/Kyle with X-Force.

NEDS MOAR ETHNIC CLEANSING

I miss the good ol’ x-title days where every one was on a team and that team stayed in its own title – this way of separating the the large cast in the 90’s really worked and allowed for characters to grow and develop. I fear Cloak and Dagger being X-Men means Cloak and Dagger being in limbo. Looks at the diverse and beloved cast of the New X-Men – they’ve been split up into sell-able (X-23, Pixie, The Cuckoos  Elixir, and too a much smaller extent Surge) and page fillers. While Wolverine and Emma Frost pull triple duty in every Marvel title ever! I am so tired of Emma Frost being sneaky and doing things for the greater good and I am just fucking tired of seeing Wolverine cut things and being grumpy – doesn’t he do anything else at all?

Ok, let me preface this by saying that I’m usually not one to ride the fence when it comes to hot button issues.

Tonight on the MaD-Cast we will be discussing the art of Greg Land and I’ll be citing what others think of it and what I think about what could be a great debachle OR what is really no big deal.

Well it’s certainly at least a big of deal as the size of Frost’s breasts to the right there.

Seriously, they are as big as her head.

Or is her head as big as her breasts? Quite the conundrum.

There will be cursing im sure of it.

-MaD