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All New X-Men #11 – Review

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Matt Sargeson

ALL-NEW X-MEN #11

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Stuart Immonen (Penciler), Wade Von Grawbadger (Inker), Marte Gracia (Color Artist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

Review: The point’s been made by my fellow WCBR brethren that reviewing All New X-Men looks like an unenviable task. And they’re right. Not that it’s a bad comic; quite the opposite, as nearly a year in and I still find it to be one of the strongest all-round titles to come out of the Marvel NOW ‘situation’. Rather it’s the case that a lot of the time each issue feels filled to the brim with lots of great little moments between the many and varied members of its cast. Keeping track of all that over a few hundred words can get difficult, especially if you don’t want to make it look like you’re just transcribing the script wholesale. Woe is me, 1st world problems etc. I can deal. Once more into the breach dear friends…once more!
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All New X-Men #9 – Review

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Matt Sargeson

ALL-NEW X-MEN #9

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Stuart Immonen (Penciler), Wade Von Grawbadger (Inker), Marte Gracia & Rain Beredo (Color Artists), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

Review: My review of last month’s All New X-Men #8 was pretty awful; too many overly-long sentences and contrived compliments. Still, I blame it all on Bendis. After all, it gets difficult finding new ways to lavish praise on a book that’s still failed to put a foot wrong 8 issues in. Therefore it’s a little bit of a Godsend that #9 offers something of a hiccup. It’s not much of one, granted, but it’ll do.

So let’s get that criticism out of the way first: this issue does feel like something of a placeholder. The only characters whose story sees any concrete progression this month is the villains’, and even then they only appear on 4 of the book’s 20 pages (that’s 20%, stat fans). Irksome, yes, but a minor sin in the grand scheme of comics. I mean, I seem to remember 2009’s Cable series achieve the impressive feat of running for 25 issues without anything of note happening at all.
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All-New X-Men #8 – Review

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Matt Sargeson

ALL-NEW X-MEN #8

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), David Marquez (Penciler), Marte Gracia (Colorist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review: They should re-name All-New  X-Men the X-Postman – it always delivers (*cue comedic groans*). Every issue features something new and exciting to sling your way; not in some glib show-off manner that seeks to hold your attention with illogical, grandstanding curveballs but in packaging its characters’ motivations and developments in a series of brilliantly executed flourishes. The latest installment is no exception.

Bendis has often made the great decision to begin each issue by focusing on one character at a time, then expanding the book to a crescendo with a winning performance from an ensemble cast. He moves seamlessly from the personal to the public; sound reasoning indeed considering that the X-Men are comprised of such a strong cast that you can’t move for bumping into interesting individuals and the richly detailed relationships that connect them. That format is continued here, though in this issue he chucks in the proverbial kitchen sink too; as you can see from the cover, now the Avengers are getting in on the action as well.
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Ultimate Comics X-Men #23 – Review

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Matt Sargeson

ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN #22

By: Brian Wood (Writer), Carlo Barberi (Penciller), Don Ho (Inker), Jesus Aburtov (Colorist), VC’s Joe Sabino (Letterer)

The Review: This issue really took me by surprise. Much like Brian Wood  often did with great success during his Vertigo series DMZ, this is a stand-alone tale that breaks  away from the title’s continuing narrative to address an otherwise undocumented   chapter in one character’s life. In this case it deals chiefly with Storm and starts directly after she and Colossus participated in the breakout from Camp Angel (around issues #10 and #11) leading all the way up to just about the present day (around about #19). Just as with DMZ, this change in gear offers its readership the chance to catch a breath from the dense plotting of the ongoing title and for Wood to explore one of his individual cast member’s histories in rich detail and with a tighter focus. It is – for me – easily the best issue of Ultimate Comics X-Men in months.
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Uncanny X-Force #2 – Review

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Matt Sargeson

UNCANNY X-FORCE #2

By: Sam Humphries (Writer), Ron Garney (Penciler), Danny Miki with Scott Hanna (Inkers), Marte Gracia with Israel Gonzalez and Wil Quintana (Colorists), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review: One of my big comic book regrets of late is that I didn’t pick up Remender’s run on Uncanny X-Force. I borrowed the odd issue from friends but didn’t get the big picture, and from what I hear the whole run is an epic Must Read; I’m basically waiting for Marvel to package the whole thing up in an Omnibus edition so I can try and read it all in one massive sitting. Anyway, the point is that as well as missing out on some great storytelling, I also feel that I’ve missed out on some key moments which inform Sam Humphries’ turn on the title.

This feeling was a bit more pronounced with the first issue (lots of vague plot points discussed between Storm and Psylocke and glimpsed in flashback panels) but the sense still lingers here. This, along with the general bluster that dogs the books composition, makes things a little hard to follow. I can’t quite work out whether I like it or not. There’s good and bad, and I’m not sure if any one side really wins out.
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Ultimate Comics X-Men #22 -Review

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Matt Sargeson

ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN #22

By: Brian Wood & Nathan Edmondson (Writers), Carlo Barberi (Penciler), Juan Vlasco (Inker), Jesus Aburtov (Colorist), Joe Sabino (Lettering)

Review: I dig that whole line of thought that when you’re tasked with reviewing something you should do so in a kind of bubble. You can only really give your personal honest opinion – otherwise you’re just acting as an aggregate for the communal hum of the internets. As such, I make it a rule to only read other reviewers’ critiques on a comic until I’ve submitted my own for publication. This serves me well. Occasionally though, I have to stick my head above the parapets and make sure that I’m not veering wildly off target, blinded by a cantankerous mood swing or unnerved by a total misreading of the material on my own part.

Ultimate Comics X-Men prompts this second-guessing behaviour more than most. I scratch my head and wonder why most other reviewers seem to be almost floored by Wood’s handling of the material, proclaiming the book to be one of, if not the, best X-titles on the stands (Ultimate or otherwise). Either I’ve been missing something entirely these last few months or these guys are all smoking the same blend of off-brand crack.
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Uncanny X-Men #1 – Review

Posted on February 15, 2013 by paladinking

UNCANNY X-MEN #1

By: Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils & colors), Tim Townsend, Jaime Mendoza & Al Vey (inks), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story:  An inside man approaches Maria Hill with an offer to help take down Scott Summers.

The Review:  One of the concerns I had about this book going in was the way it would differentiate itself from All-New X-Men.  Yes, I realize it wouldn’t feature the time traveling teens, but Cyclops and his gang have appeared quite a bit in that book such that having them star in this one seemed to be some serious overlap.  Thankfully, Bendis quickly dispels this concern.  It’s not so much that Cyclops team are front and center, which they are, but rather that the tone of the book has been subtly altered.  While part of it may be due to Bachalo’s artwork, with its muddy colors and its lack of distinct, clean lines (as opposed to Immonen and Marquez on All-New), the big reason for this is the subtle change in tone.  The book feels more shadowy, more “underground,” and a touch more edgy.  The humour isn’t there and the soap opera of All-New is shifted into something that’s a little closer to twisty, spy-thriller dramatics.  All-New is the above-ground, flagship story.  Uncanny is what happens beneath and on the revolutionary fringes that Cyclops and his team currently occupy.
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X-Men Legacy #5 – Review

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Matt Sargeson

X-MEN LEGACY #5

By: Simon Spurrier (Writer), Jorge Molina (Artist), Norman Lee & Craig Yeung (Inkers), Rachelle Rosenburg (Colorist), Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review:  I’ve only just caught up with X-Men Legacy. I picked up each issue as they arrived but they’ve always wound up near the bottom of my ‘To Read’ pile, the terrific Mike Del Mundo covers narrowly persuading me each month to keep it on the Pull List. Having finally sat down with the series, I’m pleased I stuck with it; it’s a mercurial experience, never resting too long in one place or idea but gathering momentum as it travels.

In large part this is down to the broad canvas the story plays out upon, one half-inherited and half-invented by Simon Spurrier. The star of the book – Legion aka David Haller – continues to be the same Omega-level mutant with the splintered personality you’ve always loved/loathed but who now has a cast of over two hundred characters who’ve  taken up residence in his head. Each one represents a different persona and power-set that David can draw on – as long as that persona doesn’t overtake him first. Comic Book Logic dictates that each one will be called upon in Legion’s quest to realise the Xavier family dream. With the action split between the physical and psychic realms it’s kind of like Ben 10 filtered through Grant Morrison; a charming, trippy drama.
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All New X-Men #6 – Review

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Matt Sargeson

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), David Marquez (Artist), Marte Gracia (Colorist), Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review: There’s something about this issue that feels just right. I think it’s a sense of everything starting to feel a bit more comfortable, of everything and everyone slotting into place. If we use a ‘Moving House’ analogy, the first 5 issues were the difficult bit; hefting the sofa, fridge and countless long boxes onto the delivery van and unloading them into your new digs. Now everything’s unpacked, the beds are made and (despite your girl’s best efforts) the Hot Toys have set up shop on the mantelpiece once again. Now it’s time to start living here. Of course, it’s also the time you start finding out that the heating is on the fritz and your next door neighbour has just started learning to play the drums…

Now the initial confrontation with Scott’s brotherhood is out of the way and the decision’s been made to stay and sort out the future, the original X-Men are settling into the 21st century, taking their first tentative steps towards building relationships with their modern counterparts. So far Hank’s situation has been fairly well documented and Iceman’s has been relegated to the (admittedly funny) joke of perpetually annoying his older self. As such, this issue largely focuses on Jean and Scott, with Angel getting a bit of time in the spotlight near the end.

For Jean this represents an internal struggle. As in, right inside her head. With her telepathic powers still blooming and causing nothing but torment, Kitty Pryde steps in to help mentor her in how to assert some control. They’re affecting scenes as they’re played out with a good deal of empathy between the former/future team mates; Kitty’s become a kind of elder statesman for the X-Men at this point and Bendis imbues her position with a pitch-perfect sense of humility. Rounding things off is a diplomatic (though slightly stiff) Storm who gently announces Jean as the de facto leader of her displaced team. It’s a winning display of Girl Power from some of Marvel’s most powerful ladies and it’s nice to see this side of things play out so maturely…

….because really, the guys were never going to play that nice. Still, Cyclops, what did you expect? Stealing Wolverine’s bike, cash and jacket was never going to end well. Bendis has given little tastes of the continued friction between the two leading X-Men but the relationship plays out on a bigger stage here. Having taken his leave of the school and its hostile, alien environs, Scott decides to take a trip into town with the aforementioned appropriated goods. It’s not long before Wolverine tracks him down and, following some terse words and faltering attempts at talking about feelings, the optic blasts and Adamantium claws soon get to popping. The hostility between Cyclops and Wolverine is one of the most enduring and entertainingly antagonistic relationships in comics and it is no less so under Bendis’ control. It’s also heartening to see that even when Summers is a snot-nosed, gangly, pre-pubescent kiddy-wink, Wolverine still wants to open him up like a tin of beans. Awwwwww.
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All-New X-Men #5 – Review

Posted on January 6, 2013 by paladinking

ALL-NEW X-MEN #5

By: Brian Michael Bendis (story), Stuart  Immonen (pencils), Wade von Grawbadger & Craig Yeung (inks), Marte Gracia & Jason Keith (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: Jean Grey enters Beast’s mind to help young Hank McCoy save old Hank McCoy.

The Review:  All-New X-Men has been by far the biggest surprise for me thus far of Marvel NOW.  Despite generally being a fan of Bendis, I didn’t have high hopes.  The last couple of years of Avengers comics have been rough and I wasn’t sold on the concept.  I found the first issue “meh,” but then as the issues went by, I found myself continually wanting more as, gradually, the book crept to the top of my stack.  There’s something inexplicably addictive about this book that has led to me devouring each issue and it’s something I’ve been trying to puzzle out for these last couple of weeks.

With this issue, I think I know what it is, finally: Bendis has nailed the “soap opera” vibe and the result is a terribly addictive comic book.  He’s managed this through a combination of excellent dialogue (which is remarkably light on his usual tics), solid character-work, and FUN character dynamics, particularly with respect to the excellent use Bendis has made of the original five X-Men.  This month, the dynamics they share with their present-day selves positively crackle.  Iceman/Iceman continues to be absolutely hilarious and watching Beast argue and debate himself is a real pleasure.  Meanwhile, Bendis does a solid job of building up the dread for the inevitable day where Warren meets…”Angel.”
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Wolverine and the X-Men #22 – Review

Posted on December 23, 2012 by Hugo Robberts Larivière

WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN #22

By: Jason Aaron (writer), Nick Bradshaw (artist), Laura Martin (colorist)

The Story: The kids of the Jean Grey School of Higher Learning face their brainwashed teachers while the young Bishop of the Hellfire Club meets the Frankenstein creature.

The Review: I can remember when this title began, it was a beacon of silly fun with Jason Aaron advancing the status quo of the X-Men franchise in a wild new direction with fun concepts and interesting characters. A bunch of old-time X-Men acting as teachers with a bunch of old and new kid characters in a school setting that still felt important and good–that was what characterized this series when it started.

Now though, Aaron seems to have trouble channeling the same mad energy he once possessed on this title, as this circus arc does not seem to be moving along in an interesting way. Here, we get the kids facing against the teachers brainwashed by the Frankenstein circus. This could be an interesting arc in which we could get to know better some of the students, like Quentin Quire, or others.
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Cable and X-Force #1–Review

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Roman Colombo

CABLE AND X-FORCE #1

By: Dennis Hopeless (writer), Salvador Larroca (Art), and Frank D’Armata (colors)

The Story: Cable is back, and the first thing he does is make himself and his teammates fugitives. Way to go, Nate.

The Review: Vibrant art, vibrant writing. That’s the best way to describe Cable and X-Force. There is a lot of dynamic here that Larroca, Hopeless, and D’Armata bring to the comic, but this doesn’t mean that it’s a perfect book. The best comparison is the new Thunderbolts. Both books are about how the team comes together, but the difference is in the execution. This incarnation of X-Force is partly chance and partly planned. Cable  needs Forge and Dr. Nemesis, so he recruits them. But Domino and Hope arrive by other means…and Colossus’s role is not yet defined. This works well. It shows a team becoming something rather than Cable sipping tea in France watching Domino kill mimes (or whatever the hell that scene was in Thunderbolts with Deadpool). There’s a progression and a purpose. The problem is, the first issue doesn’t give us an idea of what that purpose is. We see them all on the run, not able to explain a lot of dead bodies to Havok and the rest of the Uncanny X-Force, and they have matching uniforms. They become a team–but why? This could be just a casualty of “writing for the trade.” But it didn’t leave me anxious for the next issue.Hopeless is good with the individual characters, developing them and letting us get to know them, but the plot is weak.
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All New X-Men #3 Review

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Matt Sargeson

ALL-NEW X-MEN #3By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Stuart Immonen (Artist), Wade Von Grawbadger (Inker), Marte Gracia (Colorist), Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review: All New X-Men is enjoying a well-deserved reputation as one of the best Marvel NOW titles at the moment. This success is largely down to the fact that it’s not really traded on the gimmicks which first made the title a talking point – Jean Grey coming back, the original X-Men coming face-to-face with their future selves – so much as it has strong character work from Bendis (and some top flight artwork from Stuart Immonen). This issue’s focus is restricted solely to Cyclops’ new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, revealing a little of the workings of the team and more of the turmoil present within it. I haven’t found it quite as compelling as the previous instalments, but it’s still some better than average comic booking and an important step forward for the overall story.
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All New-X-Men #2 Review

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Matt Sargeson

ALL-NEW X-MEN #2

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Stuart Immonen (Artist), Wade Von Grawbadger (Inker), Marte Gracia (Colorist), Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review: Believe it or not, I actually tend to judge most aspects of my life with 10 year old Matt Sargeson in mind. “Would my younger self be happy with the possessions I have accrued all these years later,” I ask myself. I take a glance at the comics, the action figures, the video games and my beautiful, beloved Hot Toys and decide that yes, his chubby little face would no doubt fill with joy at the sight of all these cool and geeky belongings. Would he mind that I spend my evenings writing about comics rather than writing them? I reckon so, just about. Would he be disgusted that I still don’t own a Goddamn Hoverboard yet!? Abso-frickin’-lutely. As such, when young Scott Summers hears that his older-self will go on to perpetrate mutant hate crimes and kill Professor X, I can totally understand why he’s ready to flip the %#!% out. Ah Scott, I feel for ya buddy.
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X-Men Legacy #1

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Roman Colombo

By: Simon Spurrier (writer), Tan Eng Huat (penciler), Craig Yeung (inker), Jose Villarrubia (colorist)

The Story: David Haller, the son of Charles Xavier (and sometimes called Legion), is trying to get his insanity under control with the help of a foulmouthed monk (the best kind). And oh…he doesn’t know that his dad is dead. Awkwardness engaged!

The Review: I never really cared for the character Legion. He’s always come off as a very convenient plot device and not something that can be considered a real person. And what kind of power is having every power? Isn’t this just a more convenient version of Dial H? So we have this mohawk jagoff with a lame superpower and a convenient back story of being the son of the most powerful mind in the universe (aw for irony because the son is out of his mind) who is only used to futher a plot. And Marvel wants to base an entire series off of this guy? Good luck.

As it turns out, I kind of forgot to remove X-Men Legacy from my subscription list, and you don’t want to be that guy at the comic shop who’s like “Oh, I know you ordered this for me, but…I kind of forgot to cross it off, so…no…” So I picked up the relaunch. Figured I’d read the first issue and see how it went. And hell, I’ve been enjoying Simon Spurrier’s Extinction, so maybe this wouldn’t be absolutely horrible. Then I decided to read Thor: God of Thunder and really, that should have been the last thing I read: How can anything not seem mediocre after that beautiful bastard Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic gave us? But I guess I was just really wanting to not give Legion a chance in hell, because I read it right after. So, I read it.
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All New X-Men #1 Review

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Matt Sargeson

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Stuart Immonen (Artist), Wade Von Grawbadger (Inker), Marte Gracia (Colorist), Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review: Even amongst a crowded week of high profile releases, All New X-Men easily stands out as the most controversial of the lot. Its grand concept alone raised a few eyebrows as soon as the title was announced – a time travel story seeking to bring the original first class of X-Men face-to-face with their modern day counterparts (a living, breathing, pre-Phoenix Jean Grey included). Then, as time wore on, it became clear that Cyclops’ role in proceedings would be far removed from the heroic leader and moral compass that fans and fellow X-Men alike had rallied around for decades.
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A + X #1 – Review

Posted on November 3, 2012 by Matt Sargeson

By: Dan Slott, Jeph Loeb (Writer), Ron Garney, Dale Keown (Artist), Danny Miki, Cam Smith, Mark Morales (Inker), Wil Quintana, Frank D’Armata (Colorist), Clayton Cowles, Albert Deschesne (Letterer)

The Review: Buying this book was a somewhat difficult decision; lotta great books out this week but only so much cash in my pocket. I’d collected all of AvX Vs alongside the main event book and felt like I’d reasonably gotten my money’s worth, though the $3.99 price point sometimes caused a heavy sigh. The execution is very similar here with a mix of creative teams delivering two done-in-one stories per issue, though in this case the featured Avengers and X-Men have joined forces instead of butting heads. As such, this is pretty much as close to a Marvel Team-Up book as we can get right now and perhaps that’s reason enough to consider a purchase. But does this first issue do enough to entice us back for a few more?

Let’s take a look:

Captain America + Cable: First, forget Cable, they should have called this segment Captain America + Ron Garney! I would pay good money to read an entire issue of Garney drawing nothing but Cap taking a 12 hour snooze or painting a fence. He was (as has often been said) born to draw the character, and with editorial wisely pairing him with Dan Slott, the result is a story that captures some of that classic Waid/Garney magic. With Cap and Bucky taking on a deadly mission behind enemy lines during WWII, Cable drops in through the time stream to lend a hand against Atticus Trask’s diabolical Nazi Sentinels – a perfect set-up.

Slott’s definitely in his element; he writes an assured Captain America who effortlessly orchestrates spontaneous feats of strategy with his sidekick, and styles a brash, cocky Cable for him to spar with. A new twist on the Sleeper concept, Germans getting called “Fritz,” and a sly reference to Bucky’s future as the Winter Soldier – brilliant fun. It’s a lean, compact little story without an ounce of fat, packing a satisfying beginning, middle and end within a tight 11-page window.
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Avengers vs X-Men: Consequences #2

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Roman Colombo

By: Keirron Gillen (writer), Steve Kurth (pencils), Allen Martinez (Inks), Jim Charalampidis (colors)

The Story: FINALLY! Someone is exploring what happens to Scott Summers going to jail. I thought nobody was going to show this guy behind bars. And I’m really glad someone is there to remind us of what a horrible person is, because we just haven’t had enough of it yet.

The Review: Was the sarcasm palpable enough? Yes, this is yet more Cyclops in jail. In fact, it’s an entire issue about Cyclops in jail. Not one of the plotlines from Consequences #1 are explored other than Cyclops and Wolverine. And it doesn’t look like this is going to be the end of it either.  Yes, by now we all fully understand–the Marvel Editors want to punish Scott Summers. But the person who wants to punish him the most? Scott Summers.
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Avengers Vs X-Men Consequences #1

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Roman Colombo

Written by Kieron Gillen, Art by Tom Raney, Colors by Jim Charalampidis

The Story: Mutants are back, baby! Cyclops has fallen. Everyone needs a mission.

The Review: This certainly is one of those “set the stage” issues. We get a lot of introductions to the stories that will be told in Consequences, but nothing that is entirely concrete yet. Individually, each of these setups are pretty good, but when compiled into one comic, it gets a little tedious. So what are these setups? Well, we have what happens to Wakanda, and if Storm and Black Panther can ever patch things up (doesn’t look too hopeful). It also shows how screwed over T’Challa was in AvX. He actually wanted to remain neutral in issues 6 and 7, and then the Avengers brought an X-prisoner to his country, prompting Emma to prompt Namor to attack. Now his country is in ruins because of a war he wanted no part in, and he blames the mutants. I’m not sure if that is reasonable or not, but considering what happened to the poor guy, I think it’s better that we don’t see him rationalize everything. Who actually could? This shouldn’t be a debate about who he blames, we should just see a man who had something terrible happen to him and his country, and that’s what we get.

The next story has Cyclops in prison, which gets the most development in this issue. And it’s probably the story you will roll your eyes at the most. Basically, some organization is already trying to exploit the mutant phenomenon and want to test their technology on Scott Summers. And we’re back to the X-Men stories of old. It’s also really similar to the Osborn mini a couple years back. The only difference is that Osborn was an actual villain. Scott might need to be detained, but why SHIELD and the Avengers would send him to a privately owned prison who are clearly anti-mutant is completely unbelievable. At first it seems Cap and the others don’t know, but he sends Wolverine to to talk to Scott. Cap doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who would send someone like Cyclops to a place like this. I think this is only thee to set up Wolverine and Cyclops teaming up again and taking the mutant-hating warden down. If that’s the case, this is very heavy-handed.

As for Hope’s part, it’s simply one of the best parts of this issue, since Gillen writes her so well. Duane Swierzcynsky deserves a lot of credit for everything he did to develop the character of Hope, and Gillen deserves equal credit for expanding and developing that character to the next stage. Now that she’s fulfilled her destiny, what’s next? This is what I am most interested in reading about, as we get hints of Cable, which is always nice.
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Uncanny Avengers #1 – Review

Posted on October 11, 2012 by paladinking

By: Rick Remender (story), John Cassaday (art), Laura Martin (colors), and Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

The Story:  Cap tries to form a new team embodying Xavier’s dream of co-habitation as Havok pays a visit to his brother, Wanda and Rogue come to blows, and the Red Skull gets up to some really grotesque stuff.

The Review:  For those familiar with Rick Remender’s work, this title is very different from anything we’ve seen from him prior.  With John Cassaday’s slick, polished artwork, this is the big, flagship Marvel Comic sort of book.  Rest assured, however, that Remender nonetheless nails it, giving us an issue that almost feels like an issue from an event.  That said, while Remender’s usual weirdness takes a backseat, it’s still very much there, giving the book a real edge to it.
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Uncanny X-Force #32 – Review

Posted on October 6, 2012 by paladinking

By: Rick Remender (writer), Phil Noto (art), Frank Martin Jr. & Rachelle Rosenberg (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story:  Deadpool to the rescue!  Quick, somebody rescue Deadpool!

The Review:  If there’s one thing this issue hammered home for me, it’s that I really, really love how Rick Remender writes Deadpool.  Honestly, if Deadpool were written like this more often, I might actually be tempted to pick up his ongoing.  Remender’s Deadpool actually feels like a three-dimensional, believable human being.  Yes, he’s unhinged, yes, he’s goofy, but he’s not the over-the-top cartoon caricature that he’s usually portrayed as.  Rather, he has inner struggles and insecurities and one always gets the feeling that there actually is a hero with a sense of morals underneath all the jokes.  That’s the thing about Remender’s Deadpool:  there’s a real person, and a good one at that, sitting beneath the surface, or fascade, of wackiness.  That’s not something a lot of writers do correctly, most seemingly focused on that surface as being the be all and end all of Deadpool.
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Avengers vs. X-Men #12 – Review

Posted on October 4, 2012 by paladinking

By: Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction & Jonathan Hickman (story), Jason Aaron (story & script), Adam Kubert (pencils & inks), John Dell & Mark Morales (inks), Laura Martin & Justin Ponsor (colors), and Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

The Story:  The Scarlet Witch and Hope take on Dark Phoenix Scott Summers for all the marbles.

The Review:  No one will ever accuse AvX of being subtle, nuanced, or even particularly smart writing.  That being said, it never really aspired to be more than it is.  So really, how much you enjoy it, and how much you’ll enjoy this issue, is really largely dependent upon your feelings about big event comics in general.  For myself, I honestly had fun reading this issue.  It wasn’t anything exceptional, but I enjoyed myself.  It was a solid, cathartic conclusion to the story and, yeah, AvX winds up being about a hundred times better than Fear Itself.
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Wolverine and the X-Men #17 – Review

Posted on September 27, 2012 by paladinking

By: Jason Aaron (writer), Michael Allred (art), Laura Allred (colors), and Clayton Cowles (letters)

The Story:  So just what exactly IS Doop’s job at the school, anyway?

The Review:  No  more AvX tie-ins for Wolverine and the X-Men!!!  Is it any surprise that this is the best issue of WatXM in months?  I highly doubt it; with the shackles of AvX gone, Jason Aaron is allowed to go back to his usual craziness and here he gives us the kookiest issue in quite some time.

It’s a done-in-one that spotlights Doop and is drawn by the Allreds.  If that sounds awesome to you, rest assured that it is awesome in every way that you think it is.  It’s been quite a while since I read a Marvel comic that was this freaking funny from cover to cover.  Seriously, Jason Aaron does not let up for one moment with the jokes.  Once the issue gets started, it’s gag after gag after gag, occasionally even simultaneously.  The issue is so utterly ludicrous and some of the jokes are so completely over the top (and even, in one case, kind of twisted…) that it almost feels like WatXM has gone on a Doop fueled fever dream for a month.
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Uncanny X-Force #29 – Review

Posted on August 21, 2012 by paladinking

by Rick Remender (writer), Julian Totino Tedesco (art), John Lucas (interlude inks), Dean White (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story:  The future X-Force tries to keep Psylocke alive to stop their Minority Report-styled universe from ceasing to exist.

The Review:  In most comics, the bad guys’ plans require killing the good guy.  I loved Remender’s creative reversal of this dynamic; here, the bad guys are desperately trying to keep Psylocke from killing herself.  It makes for some really great situations.  For instance, there’s a wonderful scene where the Punisher tries to get Psylocke to do what he wants…by pointing a gun at her.  Psylocke rightfully laughs at this and it shows that even the characters struggle to deal with this wacky reversal of the usual state of affairs.  There’s just something so wonderfully goofy, in a very dark way of course, about a hero desperately trying to die and diving into things with reckless abandon to accomplish this end, while the villains try to save her.

This also leads to a great little interlude where Psylocke meets Warren in the afterlife (maybe?).  Remender leaves it perfectly in the air as to whether this really was the afterlife, but it’s a highly effective scene and leads to more fantastic character work, and character development, for Psylocke.  Remender is really doing some of the best work with Psylocke that we’ve ever seen.

Remender also once again shows a fantastic handle of Deadpool.  There’s a couple of pages that are utterly hilarious here, with one visual gag involving the Punisher that is guaranteed to get a laugh.  Deadpool is, again, never over the top but adds a nice touch of zaniness to an otherwise unremittingly grim comic.  The gag with the Punisher is definitely one of the best Deadpool scenes from Remender yet.
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The Avengers #29 – Review

Posted on August 16, 2012 by paladinking

By: Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Walter Simonson (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Jason Keith (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story:  The Avengers hunt down Rachel Summers in an attempt to neutralize the X-Men’s telepathic advantage.

The Review:  The main Avengers title has been frustrating me for a while now.  Despite being what should be Marvel’s flagship book and being helmed by a fantastic, generations-spanning creative team, the book has been flailing, seemingly without any meaningful direction.  This led to a frustrating arc where Bendis and Simonson did an inexplicable re-tread of a story that was already being told in Secret Avengers.  Sadly, this month continues that trend, this time with Jason Aaron’s Wolverine and the X-Men in its sights.  For reasons unknown, Marvel decided that it would be a good idea to have Bendis retcon a random issue of Wolverine and the X-Men, and not even  particularly good one at that, that came out June.
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