Leftovers 10-22-14

All-New Ghost Rider 8

Johnny Blaze has tracked Robbie Reyes and spirit Eli Morrow down, determined to learn more about this all-new Ghost Rider. Eli convinces Robbie to let him take the reins to fight Blaze as Johnny looks into his soul and discovers Eli is a murdering Satanist, news which shouldn't surprise Robbie but rather does. Eli is overpowered by Blaze but manages to escape, continuing to wrestle Robbie for control and eventually winning it, throwing Robbie's life into chaos and attacking an old contact of his. Still not a bad series though it occasionally gets a bit heavy-handed in this one. It's an interesting idea but it's not one that's particularly a shock at this point as anyone with a brain can see Eli's not a good dude. The art is occasionally confusing this issue, particularly as the two Ghost Riders fight, but it still looks compelling visually overall. Total Score: 4/5





All-New Invaders 11
The Invaders are trying to find Human Torch and settle him down. They suspect he's going crazy because the energy burst that he and Namor were hit with affected him differently. The exact line, and I'm not making this up, from Namor is "It stunned me but, I assume due to his synthetic makeup, drove Jim insane." That's it. End of diagnosis. Everyone essentially nods and says "Mhm, that sounds likely, great work Namor. Or should I say 'Dr. Namor?' You seem to be a pretty solid scientist now." So they find Jim and he freaks out about how he needs to be killed because all the bad energy in him and they all say no but they also kinda say yes (great friends, these dudes) and Namor steps up and talks about how Jim has always been the conscience of the team (sure, a team with constant do-gooder Captain America and the guy struggling with humanity is the conscience, whatever) and he's always made Namor a better guy and then true love's kiss from an unexpected source (Namor) saves the over-powerful and fearful Human Torch, whereupon he learns that he can control his powers and flies into the atmosphere to burn off the bad energy. Look. It's pretty much Frozen. But, and I can't stress this enough, with worse writing. I'm not even a big ol' Frozen fan and GEEZ I'd rather watch the hour and a half of that rather than read this comic again. Total Score: 1/5


All-New X-Factor 15

X-Factor is trying to keep World War Hate at bay in DC as Polaris and Gambit attempt to quell rioters, Cypher, Luna, and Georgia try to quell different rioters, Danger and Warlock provide a shield between the Pentagon and the people, and Quicksilver swaps out the nuclear launch codes the president is bringing to a remote location to use on Russia with a briefcase full of comics. Some complications ensue but they're all overcome and X-Factor stays above the hate (mostly) thanks to Danger and Warlock. However, as they regroup back at Serval, they learn that the briefcase Quicksilver stole has a tracking device on it and some Sentinels make their way over to Serval. Some interesting stuff here. The issue manages to drag somehow, despite the immense amount of action it hinges on. There's a lot of dialogue but it doesn't all advance the plot or build character, some of it just seems meant to drag, which is an odd use of dialogue. Dynamic art works in the book's favor, though, as it's a very kinetic book to flip through. Total Score: 3/5


Amazing Spider-Man 8
Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man team up successfully to bring down Dr. Minerva, who claims to be working on behalf of the Kree to procure the cocoon. When a baby pops out of the cocoon, even one of Minerva's henchman recognizes how wrong what they're doing is and turns on the others, modifying their sonic scanner into a weapon and using it on his fellow henchmen. As Kamala and the henchman watch over the baby, Spider-Man sends Dr. Minerva scurrying away, calling her bluff about her affiliation with the Kree army. He then correctly identifies the henchman as none other than Clayton Cole and tells him to call up Peter Parker at Parker Industries if he's looking for a job. He also gives Kamala a killer pep talk. Meanwhile, Silk gets a new costume and, in the second half of the issue, Spider-Girl barely escapes Daemos, one of the Inheritors (that's apparently what they're called!), though her father and mother, Peter Parker and MJ Parker, aren't so lucky. Along with her baby brother Ben, Spider-Girl follows a couple other spiders out of her world and into the rebellion. The Kamala-Peter stuff is pretty great and is a crossover worth checking in to, if just to show how much Kamala's story mirrors Peter (though obviously there are some differences). We're also officially at the very edge of SPIDER-VERSE now as the true event is meant to kick off in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 9. The table's set, now it's time to actually serve up this next event. Total Score: 4/5


Amazing X-Men 12
Everyone is falling to the Wendigos and Tanaraq is nearing the breach between his world and the real world, prepared to conquer the world with his army of Wendigos. Storm convinces the other gods, beaten and corralled by Tanaraq, to give the X-Men their powers. With those powers combined, they manage to pull Tanaraq back from the portal and, along with the previously eaten Guardian, burst that guy up, ending the Wendigo Curse everywhere and reverting all those changed back to their regular forms. Altogether a pretty good first arc for the new creative team on this series. Yost and Kyle managed to make sure everyone they brought on this first story had some sort of an impact on the plot, which is easier said than done on a big team book like this. Better yet, the story itself was interesting enough alone. This ending is a little abrupt, as Storm basically says "hey you gods, give us your powers" and the gods go "well, okay, that's something we can evidently do." Still, strong work all around. Total Score: 4/5


Axis: Hobgoblin 1
Roderick Kingsley, the original Hobgoblin who has taken to selling criminal identities to up-and-comers, has changed his method and now sells hero identities to up-and-comers, rebranding himself has a motivational speaker of sorts and making crazy money in the process. The Goblin King, though, isn't so thrilled with the arrangement and wants Menace, Lily Holister, on his side to take down Kingsley. Menace has lost her goblin powers since Spider-Man injected her with the antidote but Goblin King believes that blowing up her car and forcing her into the river will probably do the trick to remind her she needs him (specious logic). Unfortunately, it wipes her mind a bit and sends her crawling to Roderick Kingsley in the hopes that he'll give her an identity. Kind of an interesting premise here but it relies on caring about a lot of Goblins, so if you don't you'll probably end up a little uninterested in this tie-in limited series. There are some fun bits but overall it's hard to nail a tone down on this one, which occasionally goes full joke but often also backs off and tries to go darker, weakening both. Total Score: 3/5


Cyclops 6
Cyclops and Corsair have been reunited with Corsair's team but, thanks in no small part to Scott not knowing what he's doing in space, they get captured by Starjammer enemy Malafect (I'm calling all space enemies Babbleblop Spaceman from now on because that's what most space baddies might as well be named). Corsair pretends to be furious with Scott to influence Spaceman, who decides to take Scott on as his own crew member after Cyclops, playing along, blasts Corsair with eyebeams. Babbleblop is into it and adopts Cyclops as his own (crew member). This issue, with a new creative team than the original (not a hundred percent sure if that's permanent or not, but Rucka and Dauterman are definitely both busy, so it, you know, still could be either), has lost a little bit of the spark of the first arc, which focused so much on building characters and bonding. This one gets more into the action and the typical sort of plot. It's still interesting enough to keep reading, but that's something to keep an eye on moving forward. Also, these sorts of space enemies tend to be interchangeable and uninteresting to me (hence: Babbleblop). Total Score: 3/5


Deadpool 36
Deadpool teams with Magneto and his crew to take down the Red Onslaught and his hero-killing Sentinels, which kind of draws the ire of his wife, who believes he needs to spend more time at home and helping her with her kingdom. As the Inversion Wave hits, things change quite a bit for Deadpool. Most of the heroes get surlier with him and oust his refugee friends from the X-Mansion. For Deadpool himself, though, the inversion has turned him peaceful and forgiving, giving way to an all-new Deadpool. It's a pretty neat idea and it's the first real mention of the effects of the inversion, proving that there could be interesting things ahead for AXIS. Since an initial terrible arc, DEADPOOL has turned itself into something really respectable (with a couple of road bumps) and a series that really knows its way around a crossover. Total Score: 4/5


Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy 2

X-23 freaked out a bit after Wolverine's death and left the Xavier School, angrily storming out on Kitty. She goes and parties in some weird and skimpy outfit and then gets involved in a strange gang fight and teams up with and talks with The Chinook, ex-mutant formerly known as Windshear, who teaches her some things about mourning and healing and whatever else. She's all better by the end and heads back home, proud of her clone-dad. Really distracting that there's this story about a teenager who is dressed so ridiculously. I think a lot of people are having trouble with X-23, not knowing how to write her as she starts to evolve a bit, and this is no different. I think there's a compelling story (KIND OF, not really) but it's so weirdly handled and overshadowed by everything else that it gets drowned out. Total Score: 2/5





Secret Avengers 9
We are so close to done this and yet WE'RE NOT DONE YET, what's the deal? I've been writing this for altogether too long. Okay. What happened in this book? There was probably some more condescension as Kot references purportedly more high-culture literature and art. This book is rather a hipster and guys, I hate hipsters. Anyway, Tlon is coming and Deadpool is done distracting Hawkeye and MODOK escaped and is hanging out with a shaman. I still don't care about this book. The Deadpool-Hawkeye team-up is pretty alright though. Total Score: 2/5


X-Force 11

MeMe has been dumped by Fantomex and, after a lifetime of never being dumped and not really understanding how relationships work, Hope is dedicated to finding out why. In the middle of invading Volga's campus, Hope sneaks into Fantomex's mind, suddenly believing him to be scared of Cable, which is why he broke things off with her. Of course, Fantomex knows she's there and snaps at her, screaming about how he doesn't fear anyone and how he's sick of this team belittling him and underestimating him. He has Eva expel Hope from his mind and makes his next move. With Volga's team dispatched, Fantomex turns on his teammates, incapacitating them before explaining that he must kill them all to prove how much better he is than all of them. Before he can do it, though, Volga's mysterious assistant, who had been wreaking some havoc on them earlier, shoots him in the head, revealing herself to be Domino. Really great twists and turns here and Spurrier continues to do excellent work with Fantomex and the rest of the team. I think Hope is a little weakly developed here but I think he has more to say about her and to explore with her. Spurrier did CBR's X-Position this past week and gave, as ever, a really interesting interview that I've been wanting to show to you guys all week. Check it out here and learn more about his really interesting take on these guys. Anyway, continues to be great, this book. Total Score: 4/5

Comics this week

Shorter week than last on new releases, which is pretty neat, but I'm not altogether too excited by the slate of releases, which is less neat. Should I maybe keep that to myself in the future? Feels like it gives away some personal biases that you all surely already know.

Amazing X-Men 12
I dunno, this one's been pretty neat since the inimitable Chris Yost took over. Probably one of the biggest Wendigo events I've ever seen. Anyway, it's been pretty cool and it's a short week and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to send in the ringers on this one (HINT: I rarely plan these out. This is what two years of this blog does to me).

Avengers 37
Do I remember what's happening in this series? No. Of course I don't. I bet it's related to AXIS? WAIT. I do remember, it's eight months later, Sunspot is pulling the strings on the Avengers and on AIM, which are both, suddenly, under the same umbrella. Despite that first sentiment above, I have been enjoying these issues. I just have a bad memory and it's late.

New Warriors 11
Beating out AXIS despite a strong last issue, NEW WARRIORS has been knocking it out of the park since its start and it's time (read: too late) to shine a bigger light on it. Know how I mentioned I like Chris Yost above? I really like Chris Yost and I don't understand how his books don't survive. They're constantly really well-written and a lot of fun. Also, the good will this guy built up from Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes might make him untouchable in my mind.

She-Hulk 9
This too is beating out AXIS since I remembered the last issue ended with She-Hulk preparing to defend Steve Rogers on the stand against none other than Matt Murdock as the prosecutor. Twists and turns abound. This is another book that's regularly been good but hasn't outshined a lot of its competition. Wrong time, wrong place, I suppose. But it's here now!

X-Force 11
I reread X-FORCE 10 a couple days ago and it was still great. This book has been one that I regularly reread and find myself enjoying even more, which should come as a surprise to my readers if only because I won't shut up about this series even on the first read-through. Maybe it won't be a surprise, though, because I also won't shut up about that X-MEN LEGACY book by Si Spurrier so, shocker, I love this one too. This one I predicted I'd love and features one of my favorite writers from the last year and a handful of great characters. Spoilers?

Leftovers 9-24-14

Okay. I apologize both for my busy week this week and for the upcoming post. Got a lot of apologies to make. ANYWAY, let's get right into and out of it.

All-New Ghost Rider 7

Robbie is still having trouble making his personal life and Eli come to some sort of understanding and he ends up killing a guy to take the money he was owed before another Ghost Rider shows up to complicate things further. Still strong stuff with Smith spending just the right amount of time characterizing Robbie and the neighborhood, though I'm still wary of Hyde's role in all of this. Total Score: 4/5












All-New Invaders 10
Mars attacks? I don't know, man, this book is pretty terrible. They're helped by the daughter of the original Iron Cross who is an Inhuman now and then Torch goes crazy and she promises to help while Mars attacks London and Roger Aubrey, the Mighty Destroyer, literally has a line of dialogue that goes "I'm an incredibly dashing, older gay gentleman, by virtue of which means I'm incredibly vain" directly after he says to Union Jack and Spitfire "A speedster, a young man with a pistol and a vintage motor bike, and a "flamboyant" octogenarian." DOES ANYONE THINK ANYTHING IN THIS BOOK THEY DON'T SAY? Perhaps James Robinson would like to sit beside us as we read his books and explain bit-by-bit what's happening in case we don't understand? Total Score: 1/5

Amazing Spider-Man 1.5

Spider-Man finally beats Clash and we're all relieved because Clash is not interesting nor likable and looking back to this point in Spidey history means Spidey also isn't terribly interesting and isn't really likable so now we can all move on with our lives. Total Score: 2/5














Amazing X-Men 11
Wendigos! They're everywhere! Wolverine is one! The X-Men travel to the realm of monsters where monster Tanaraq is getting supercharged by the Wendigo presence on Earth and where he plans his attack on Earth, even expanding the Wendigo curse to mean Wendigos can exist outside of Canada! Where goes the Wendigo? EVERYWHERE. Pretty good stuff, drags a little bit despite all of the action, but still a compelling story and Yost brings to this book his uncanny ability to nail the voice of everyone he touches. Total Score: 4/5

Cyclops 5
Cyclops and Corsair have fixed the tracking beacon bounty hunters placed on their ship and therefore successfully lure a group to them, managing to outwit them and steal their ships, though Cyclops overrides his dad's plans a few times to show compassion for the bounty hunters. Good characterization of a young and optimistic Scott and now we can continue our journeys with the interesting father-son duo. Total Score: 4/5











Deadpool 35
MAYBE, just MAYBE, there will some day be a week where nary a single DEADPOOL book will be released. But that's not this week so, onwards. Deadpool spends some quality time with Ellie and has to fight a Spider-Slayer Dracula has put his consciousness into, which he defeats handily. He also brings the refugees from Butler's camps to the Jean Grey School and has Beast run medical tests on them, which could complicate things as Hank quickly calls Deadpool back, needing his liver for a vital operation. Bit of a break from the action here as even the Dracula fight has very little stakes (HA) and mostly plays for laughs, which are certainly there if not enough to carry the issue. Total Score: 3/5

Edge of Spider-Verse 3

Dustin Weaver introduces us to Aaron Aikman, the only Spider-Man who has sought out the Spider, injecting himself with a serum that gave him his powers and using advanced machinery to vigilânt around the city. There's a full story here about his laboratory and the woman he loved risking everything to save her daughter but the real story is the twist ending when Morlun shows up and kills Aikman, meaning that just because we're seeing these dudes on the EDGE of SPIDER-VERSE, they won't necessarily make it to the main showing. Pretty good stuff, drags like any of these have when they've had to really give a lot of backstory for one issue, but it holds together somewhat nicely. Total Score: 3/5






Guardians of the Galaxy 19
Quill continues to tell his story to Gamora and explains that they couldn't die in the Cancerverse so their sacrifice had kind of been for nothing, now they had to play eternal keep-away from Thanos with the Cosmic Cube, made more troublesome by the appearance of the Cancerverse Avengers who are all evil and who want the Cube themselves and, sadly, eventually get it. The issue is all from the memory of Quill so it's basically a big ol' flashback where we don't know the full ending but we kind of know maybe half of it (Drax, Quill, and Thanos, in the very least, survive to return to the 616) so kind of low stakes here for a story that's going to last at LEAST three issues. Total Score: 2/5

Inhuman 6

Dante and his new friends Jason (rock-based powers) and Naja (weird-based powers) find their way back to Attilan, now run by The Unspoken, and manage to, with the help of Vinatos, the medical regent of New Attilan, infiltrate The Unspoken's throne room. He still has the Terrigen crystals he found so he's still insanely powerful but Dante attacks him all the same, getting horribly wounded in the fight for his troubles. While Naja continues the distraction, Jason uses his rock powers to destroy the crystals, effectively ending The Unspoken's new reign and restoring Medusa to the throne. Good issue for the NuHumans as everything is set right once again, though Lineage seems ready to strike a deal with the imprisoned Unspoken. Total Score: 4/5






Loki: Agent of Asgard 6
Thanks to some time-and-space trickery, Doctor Doom finds himself face to face at the end of the universe with the original Loki, who derides and denounces him, causing Doom to go back to his own time and search out the young Loki, pulling him into battle at his castle. He ends up trapping Loki, who doesn't want any part of this fight, and announcing that he's captured a god, effectively weakening him by destroying his story. Though things seem lost for young Loki, he secretly brought Verity Willis (eye roll!) with him and now she's prepared to help her friend. I literally have no idea what's going on and what the point of any of this is. Total Score: 2/5

Magneto 10
Magneto has been captured by the Red Skull and is being tortured by Xavier's brain in the hopes that Skull can break him. Magneto tries to hide in all his worst memories, giving us a full tour of many of them, but finds eventually that he cannot keep Skull at bay. Before he breaks, he's rescued by the similarly captured Havok, Rogue, and Scarlet Witch. Pretty sad issue for Magneto, you guys, as we see the worst of the worst, but it follows the theme Bunn has set up for this series, which often goes back to why Magneto fights. Total Score: 4/5

New Warriors 10
The Celestials are coming! The New Warriors strike again at the High Evolutionary and his Evolutionaries. Speedball makes a great Ghostbusters reference! The Eternals show up! Action, hijinks, comedy, drama, and more! Check out NEW WARRIORS 10! Total Score: 5/5














Savage Wolverine 23
A story from Wolverine's past where someone drugs him, slowing his healing factor and tries to hunt him through the woods of his animal-times. He's protected by the runt of a wolf pack but eventually the wolf sacrifices himself to save Wolverine, drawing Wolverine out to murder everyone in sight. Typical Wolverine-in-the-woods story done with maybe a little less flare and heart and with even more hand-holding than some of the others I've seen. Total Score: 2/5

Storm 3
Storm is called to Kenya by a mysterious benefactor saying that he needs her help to bring rain and water to the people there. Though she's wary it's a trap, it's a cause that matters enough to her to send her there anyway. It's not entirely a trap, but it was Forge, with whom she has a rocky relationship, who sent the letter. He swears he can do it and she chooses to trust him, though one of the Kenyans doesn't and his interference sort of sabotages everything, though Storm does her part to sabotage the machinery, demanding that Forge first spend a year in Kenya working on the tech and working with the people so that they can all have a mutual trust and to ensure that the tech will work and not just be an experiment. It's another good issue to characterize Storm, who wants to trust Forge but knows things aren't that black and white. Instead, she comes up with an interesting plan that roots itself in trust and hope. That's what we want to see out of Storm. Total Score: 4/5

Thunderbolts 31
It's Punisher vs. Red Hulk in the final battle of the T-Bolts. It's a huge fight and the momentum swings back and forth until Hawkeye and the Avengers (though the lesser known ones, like Cannonball, Sunspot, and Shang-Chi) show up to break up the fighting. Red Hulk doesn't believe they're the Avengers but Punisher stands down, unwilling to harm the good guys. Elektra turns up to calm Red Hulk, dropping the Leader's body in between them and showing them that he was an LMD and that, in fact, it was the Leader behind all of this the whole time. Ross announces the Thunderbolts are done, leaving the Red Leader victorious for next time. Plenty of fun in this issue as the fight gets more and more elevated. Also fun to see Hawkeye lead his team of lesser known Avengers into battle and to see the Punisher and Red Hulk struggle to understand that they are, in fact, Avengers. Total Score: 4/5

All-New X-Men 30, Amazing X-Men 10, X-Men 18

All-New X-Men 30
Bendis (w) and Pichelli (a) and Gracia (c) and Petit (l)

X-23 and Angel escaped all the drama to go on a date and spend the night in one of Warren's rich person apartments and Laura admits to not remembering much of the last night and does NO ONE find this a really, really creepy story? It can't just be me, right? I don't pick up on things all that easily and so feeling really creeped out by this scene must make it pretty obvious, right? Okay, anyway, Emma wants to train Jean but there's prolonged bad blood between them because they both keep failing the Bechdel test and I think they're trying to figure out who fails it harder? That's the takeaway, I think. Anyway, they end up bonding? Is there a person who cares about this?

Okay, look, I'll be the first to admit I'm in a bad mood today but I read this comic last night, when I was in a mildly better mood (until after I read the comic). I tried working out all the "benefit of a doubt" ways to talk about this issue but the bad mood has ensured those have all gone out the window. I'll still start it the same way: I know that I tend to badmouth Brian Michael Bendis on this blog a lot because I don't really care for his style and I think his characters, save a couple, are fairly weak. I have no real desire to badmouth him. I do believe there are reviewers and critics out there who legitimately enjoy the mean part of the job or the controversy of attacking well-liked writers/directors/actors/whatever. I am most definitely not one of those people so I hate coming off attacky at anyone, but especially Bendis who is clearly well-liked and well-regarded (he's gone from a couple of prime AVENGERS titles to a couple of prime X-MEN titles, not to mention all his other past books). THAT SAID, I absolutely hate this series and I really, really hate this issue. I talked a lot above about the strange and terrible women in this issue but that didn't even talk about Kitty's weird relationship or scratch the surface of how poorly written and out of character I think Laura was or REALLY about how uncomfortable the idea that Laura couldn't really remember the night before and woke up in one of Warren's homes with him shirtless and had to have Warren describe the night for her. I'm REALLY uncomfortable about that. Let's not forget, too, that this is the second issue since Laura's joined up with the team (not that long ago) where a cover has featured her making out on a dude, which seems both wrong and odd. And I get that Emma and Jean have this built-in sexist rivalry between them in their history but wouldn't it be a thousand times more interesting if they had some other thing to talk about? Other than ol' just-right porridge Scott Summers? They're two of the most powerful telepaths ever (despite Emma's current situation) and they go to train and they're like "HEY, LET'S CONTINUE COMPETING OVER SCOTT" and then they spend some time locked in each other's minds and just stand up laughing together because, as one of the Stepfords puts it, they've bonded. I want to complain about how incredibly lazy it is to just have two psychics stare at each other for a panel and then come out going "we're pals now!" but I'd have actually accepted a completely silent issue with Pichelli art because I think it'd be far stronger than this.

Total Score: 1/5


Amazing X-Men 10
Kyle and Yost (w) and Barberi and Coello (p) and Wong and Coello (i) and Rosenberg (c) and Caramagna (l)

Wolverine (and much of Canada) has been transformed into a Wendigo and the X-Men are having some trouble dealing with these problems. They keep whacking Wolverendigo away while they plot and Alpha Flight shows up and everybody jokes around a bit while the Avengers watch the border (plus side, the curse doesn't extend beyond Canadian borders) and they need to bring the injured Talisman to a very specific place that leads to the spirit realm but when they take her there they find it's also full o' Wendigos. Maybe this isn't the time for jokes, Bobby?

There is something of a strange tonal shift in this issue as the plight of the Wendigo suddenly becomes a little less serious with all these pals coming together and having a good time. I'll be honest, I think if this is the tone you set up in the first issue or two of this arc then it totally works. But where the first issue or two of this arc had a really serious tone, this one doesn't quite stick the landing. Some of the dialogue and jokes aren't bad and, if it were maybe a little more sparse, I think there's a way this could hit a little better. Instead, it feels out of place and oddly unsympathetic. Seriously Rockslide, pull yourself together. This is why no one brings you to any of the fights or uses you in any of these books.

Total Score: 3/5


X-Men 18
Guggenheim (w) and Tolibao (p) and Tadeo and Yeung (i) and Mounts (c) and Caramagna (l)

The X-Men are fighting an airborne AIM virus by burning it out of the air when Abigail Brand calls them to request their presence. A not-dead/not-paralyzed but certainly comatose Deathbird has suddenly turned up in orbit and Brand isn't sure why and wants a team of 3/5 psychics, particularly ones with experience with Deathbird (who happens to be Rachel Grey's aunt by marriage) and the Kree, to check the situation out. She's also called in Cecilia Reyes to examine Deathbird. The whole thing, though, is interrupted when Sidrian Hunters attack the Peak, coming for Deathbird or, as Cecilia reveals, Deathbird's unborn child.

There are some interesting moments here and Guggenheim has a pretty good feel for the humor he wants to bring to the team. Sometimes, though, it overloads a little and the dialogue ends up slowing a bit more than you'd like, taking something away from the action and the story itself. Good dialogue, particularly good funny dialogue, should never really feel like a slog and while Guggenheim certainly  isn't writing poorly, parts of the issue start to drag. Still not a bad issue and it left me interested where the story would go.

All-New X-Men 29, Amazing X-Men 9, X-Force 7

All-New X-Men 29
Bendis (w) and Immonen (p) and Von Grawbadger (i) and Gracia w/Keith (c) and Petit (l)

X-23 hits Xavier Jr. from behind, breaking his grip on the Stepford Cuckoos and releasing everyone, including his own Brotherhood, from his hold. As he attempts to regain control or to get the X-Men to kill one another, Jean Grey and the Stepfords team to keep him at bay while Laura keeps Raze busy. Eventually, after much banter, the X-Men capture Xavier and Raze, sending them to SHIELD with the explicit direction that they keep strong power dampeners and sedatives on the pair, while the innocent "members" of the Brotherhood are sent back to their own time. STILL, somehow, worst-character Maria Hill allows Xavier to write a message to himself in the future, warning them that this plan didn't work either (presumably she didn't know that's what he'd write, but come on). Also, Warren takes X-23 out on something of a date.

The cyclical and continuous nature of comics means that you almost never see a door explicitly closed. Even when, say, Si Spurrier erases David Haller from the Marvel Universe entire, there's almost always some sort of backdoor. Spurrier didn't really leave one but he acknowledged that someone could certainly come along and change things back anyhow. Still, this "enemies of the future can't be defeated until their dead" sort of backdoor is a dangerous and cynical one, one that allows a seemingly infinite amount of second chances. What might be more dangerous (and perhaps more cynical from me) is that I'm already totally sick of Xavier Jr. and his story. I was sick of it in BATTLE OF THE ATOM. Also Maria Hill continues to be terrible simply to move the story forward and now X-23 and Warren are a thing, apparently. I feel like this is all a new coat of paint on an obviously old story (guys, it's not even THAT old).

Total Score: 2/5


Amazing X-Men 9
Yost and Kyle (w) and Barberi (p) and Wong, Meikis, and Barberi (i) and Rosenberg (c) and Caramagna (l)

The Wendigo curse is spreading, having already enveloped an entire town, and no one is quite sure how to handle it. The US military wants to keep it across the border, though they're eventually outvoted by Thor and Captain America. Meanwhile, officials are suggesting people move south, hopefully keeping the plague behind them. The X-Men, of course, are trying to find Wolverine in all of this. Eventually they manage it, tracking Wolverine and his newfound allies Talisman and Puck, but they're still heavily outmatched by the power and numbers of the Wendigo. Talisman thinks, given enough time to perform the spell, she can change the Wendigo back to their true human form. The X-Men circle her to give her the time but the fight has proven too much for Wolverine, who collapses, turning into a Wendigo himself, and attacks Talisman.

Yost and Kyle, in their second issue of this young series and of this arc, keep the action up here, showing a true Wendigo infestation and making sure to illustrate just how devastating it is. It's so big that two prime Avengers make an appearance in an X-Men book. There's a bit of characterization mixed in with all of the action and the tone, with each character getting a little bit of time in the spotlight, at least long enough to establish a bit about his or her personality. It's a strong issue though I think it suffers a little from a strange desire to jump around in time and to cast the scale of the disaster against a running news broadcast about it. It stretches the issue a bit longer than it needs to be, slowing things where you don't want anything to be slowed. Still a strong issue and another good look at the new creative team.

Total Score: 4/5


X-Force 7
Spurrier (w) and R. Kim (a and c) and Sabino (l)

X-Force has the closest thing they're likely to get to a day off and they're spending it at home, mostly hitting on one another. Psylocke flirts clumsily with the guaranteed one-night-stand Cable but retracts it later when he goes a little too fundamentalist for her liking, MeMe pulls Fantomex into her world, using the Nantes in his head to tell him that she's bored and maybe they could hook up at some time, and Marrow is convinced that Doc Nemesis wants to sleep with her, even as he explains to her all the ways she's broken. Meanwhile, a past Cable had sent Domino to follow a money trail that would point to Volga's investors which pits her directly against Volga in his new robotic body even as Cable forgets she's out there. The issue ends darkly as Volga (who has been spying on X-Force) captures Domino and as Fantomex reveals that he's been killing Cable the last few days to make himself feel more important.

I talk frequently about the occasional need for a series to take a slight break, something to reset the action and slow things down a bit. X-FORCE, unwilling to really take time off, keeps the pace and the darkness off by introducing frequent Cable collaborator Domino to the series and immediately having Cable's "die everyday" revelation have some serious repercussions. Cable going fundamentalist by promising that X-Force will not cease and will even spy on possible threats to make sure their goals are achieved is paralleled by Volga making a speech to Domino that says more or less the same things Cable is, even ending with a pair of panels that put Cable and Volga's faces side-by-side. METAPHOR.

Total Score: 5/5  

All-New X-Factor 9, Amazing X-Men 8, Amazing X-Men Annual 1

All-New X-Factor 9
David (w) and Di Giandomenico (a) and Loughridge (c) and Petit (l)

It's rather a rest day to start for X-Factor as the team returns home from their perhaps ill-thought-out mission to rescue Georgia Dakei with young Georgia in tow. She blames Cypher for the problems but seems onboard with Gambit, to Cypher's chagrin. Gambit is having his usual troubles with the team and its mission, troubles that will no doubt be exacerbated by the fact that he just unknowingly slept with Harrison Snow's wife Angela, as discovered by Harrison's assistant and secret lover Linda. Meanwhile, resident mad scientist Doctor Wexler DNA tests Georgia (pretty much just for fun) and reveals that Scott Dakei isn't her father and her deceased mother isn't actually her mother. Instead, her birth mother, Dakota Bennett, lives in Minneapolis and her birth father is unknown. Quicksilver argues on Georgia's behalf that she ought to be able to meet her birth mother and X-Factor brings her to Minneapolis, where she's greeted happily by her mother. Unfortunately, her birth father is apparently a supervillain named Memento Mori and he's been watching the house for a long time waiting for Georgia to return.

For a rest issue, there's plenty happening here. One of the good things about an issue like this, one that removes them from immediate action, is that we can get a sense of where the team is and how everyone stands with everyone else and what's happening in everyone's life. In many ways, the rest issues are some of Peter David's strongest because he understands the way a team works and knows that the important part of a team book is making sure they feel like a team. That was one of the strengths of his previous long-running X-FACTOR title and it's clearly at play here. There are certainly parts of this issue that drag a little and I'm still finding it a little hard to get behind the Georgia stuff (I'm not really compelled by her character as yet, but it's still obviously an early issue for her). Worth looking at in this book is a nice two page sequence where Georgia talks to Cypher and, when he leaves, she talks to Danger. The two pages are near-mirror images of each other with a few of the panels set exactly the same way and with Gerogia in the same position. Big shout-out to colorist Lee Loughridge on that one because he does pretty spectacular things with the very slightly different light on each page as time has passed a bit. I read it on my computer and could easily flip back and forth between the pages and it was pretty neat, you guys.

Total Score: 4/5


Amazing X-Men 8
Kyle and Yost (w) and McGuinness (p) and Farmer (i) and Rosenberg (c) and Caramagna (l)

It's important to note before I start this review and summary that Wendigos, the incredibly powerful, nigh-unstoppable Canadian murder machines that every so often run into Hulk or Wolverine, are created, thanks to a curse on the land, whenever anyone eats human meat. Anyway, two guys in Canada at a meat processing plant get into a scuffle and one accidentally shoves the other into a table at just the wrong angle, snapping his neck. To protect himself, the murderer shoves the victim into the meat grinder. Do you see where I'm going with this? Wolverine, kind of sick of being cooped up in the school and seemingly invited away, pays a visit to old friend Heather MacNeil Hudson (though she's labeled as Heather McDonald here so maybe I missed something?), AKA Vindicator of Alpha Flight. Heather tells him that her husband James Hudson, AKA Guardian, has been missing for some time and she's worried about him (they've also been fighting a lot lately, as they did the last time we saw either of them in FEAR ITSELF). She and Wolverine go to try to find him as back home Ororo worries about where the healing factorless Wolverine has gotten off to now. Wolverine and Heather quickly learn that Guardian was attacked by a Wendigo and immediately try to call in backup but they may be too late, as they're set upon by a whole slew of the creatures just as Ororo, with the help of Rachel Grey and Cerebro, calls an X-team to Canada.

AMAZING X-MEN so far has been an okay book, one that seemed to take the place of Jason Aaron's WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN in its lightheartedness and its near whimsicality. Now Craig Kyle and Chris Yost take over and immediately throw it into a much darker place, though the art of Ed McGuinness and colors of Rachelle Rosenberg still rather keep it a little lighter than most books. It's an immediately interesting story which will pit the X-Men, including, presumably, reintroduced Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Northstar, as well as a non-healing Wolverine, up against a ton of extremely powerful Wendigos. It immediately gets dark to the point where there was a legitimate chance that Heather was about to be torn in half by Wendigos. So bit of a different tone here but I certainly don't think it's the wrong way to go on this book right now. I also like the addition of Mark Farmer's inks on Ed McGuinness' pencils since McGuinness tends to draw action and certain people very well but sometimes makes people look a little too young for my liking and Farmer's inks seem to balance that a little. Overall, very good start to a new look AMAZING X-MEN.

Total Score: 5/5


Amazing X-Men Annual 1
Nero (w) and Larroca (a) and Oback (c) and Caramagna (l)

A new villain, who seems to be Inhuman though his origins are rather unknown and, presumably, will stay that way, named Meruda has been attacking and brutally killing members of Ororo's old tribe in Africa and has now targeted her cousin Abuya. Ororo rallies the X-Men and they set off to Africa, where they find Meruda is using Abuya's soul to power a dark and evil force. While the rest of the X-Men fight the beast, Ororo fights fellow elemental Meruda, who explains that Ororo killed his family and his tribe when she was a child with a sandstorm she could not control. Though all of this hurts Ororo and brings up some past doubts about what happened that day, she manages to fight Meruda down, destroying him in the process. Meanwhile, the X-Men manage to take down the beast and save Abuya. Ororo discovers, thanks to a spirit on the plains, that she was not responsible for the death of Meruda's tribe, that it was an unrelated sandstorm that killed them. There's a backup story in here by Marguerite Bennett that focuses on Firestar, too.

It's not an awful one-shot sort of story, focusing on Ororo and her past in Africa and that questions what could have happened thanks to a young girl who could control the weather but couldn't, you know, really control the weather. The story is a bit bogged down, though, by lengthy exposition and overlong dialogue. The art is alright but loses some points as well for one of the weirdest shots to end the story as we see Ororo from the back, butt clearly defined past her cape(?) looking out onto her team. Geez, egregious butt-use there, Larroca.

Total Score: 3/5

SUPER QUICK REVIEWS: Amazing X-Men 7, Wolverine and the X-Men 4, All-New X-Factor 8

I was trying not to get into SQRs until later (Wednesday and Thursday I tend to review the most Avengers/X-Men related books or the biggest releases or what-have-you) but then I felt KINDA like there was no other way to do this one? Look, let's just get into it.

Amazing X-Men 7
K. Immonen (w) and Medina (p) and Vlasco (i) and Rosenberg (c) and Caramagna (l)

Firestar and Iceman are sent to the local mini-mart to pick up snacks for "the big game" only to find themselves hurled into an interstellar negotiation as Spider-Man shows up tracking a baby that's just appeared in their cart. After some fighting (plenty of which has to do with resentment about Doc Ock), it's explained that the baby is actually an alien that serves as the only trade-bait that Spider-Man has to re-acquire the mascot for one of the teams in "the big game" that was taken by the aliens for reasons. After much fighting and chasing and squabbling and other actions, the aliens come back down and Spider-Man successfully works out the deal and returns the mascot, a goat, to the game while Firestar and Iceman return to the X-Mansion.

I really love a lot of the stuff I've seen from Kathryn Immonen (I will defend her JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY run with my very LIFE) but this book borders on absolutely inexplicable. There are fun moments throughout, certainly enough to make for an enjoyable enough read but it sometimes does seem to get a little bogged down under the weight of so much joke-making (also, Spider-Man kind of comes off like a jerk, which I suppose is not sacrilege in an X-MEN title). The plot is admittedly thin with plenty of references to "the big game" that don't particularly add weight. Still, it's hard to mistake the tone of this issue as more a fun issue and a throwback to the old Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends cartoon so it's also hard to judge this one harshly because I do think it hits its mark, it's just not a mark I'd be looking to buy.

Total Score: 3/5


Wolverine and the X-Men 4
Latour (w) and Asrar (a) and Silva (c) and Cowles (l)

While reaching out psychically for help, Quentin was discovered by the Cuckoos and co and Cyclops gave the order to pull him to their base. He throws a little simulated psychic fight at him to see how trustworthy he is and he fails pretty miserably but Cyclops decides to listen anyway, hearing about what Quentin saw but unable to offer much advice about the right way to handle news of the Phoenix or Apocalypse. Meanwhile, Wolverine and Storm continue to push forth in their fight to Edan Younge before Wolverine sends Storm back to the school, knowing they'll need her help to stop Faithful John, who is currently pushing through the X-Mansion and convincing some of the students that Evan will be Apocalypse. Preparing to enter the fight to protect Evan, though, is Fantomex, who has secreted Evan to the World and emerges out of it to defend the mansion.

There's a lot happening here and a lot of it is interesting but some of the Younge stuff starts to get a little convoluted in the midst of everything else that's happening. It feels rather like there's just one too many stories happening here (which could, of course, all be skillfully linked together when the arc is said and done) and that one seems compelling but doesn't feel like it fits yet. Obviously Younge was the catalyst for all this but it's still such a weird and disjointed story that it's almost distracting from the other stories which are just as if not more compelling. Still, it's a pretty solid issue and Mahmud Asrar has some pretty strong art to go with it. I also rather like Latour's Quentin Quire, a character I tend not to like.

Total Score: 4/5


All-New X-Factor 8
David (w) and Di Giandomenico (a) and Loughridge (c) and Petit (l)

Cypher has had all the water drained from his body and the team is a bit startled by it. As things very slowly piece themselves together and the situation starts to go crazy as Dakei calls all the cops on the mutant intruders, the team convinces Georgia to do what she can to restore the incredibly weak Cypher. She's never done it before but she vows to try. They bring her past all of the guards and to the kitchen where she can get some water to transfer into Cypher. She eventually succeeds as the team yells at Dakei for berating and hating mutants while his daughter was one and then, as things reach a boiling point, Harrison Snow shows up and has a private meeting with Dakei (who he apparently knows) and the two emerge having come to the decision that Snow will take Georgia.

The tone of this book jumps around so quickly that it's hard to really latch on to it. Sometimes it's tense while they hope for the best for Cypher but then it turns into strange humor but then it jumps into mutant-rights outrage but then it shifts to almost casual conversation. Not helping anything is the inability to lock down an age for Georgia, who occasionally acts like a five-year-old and occasionally acts like a ten-year-old and occasionally acts like a fifteen-year-old. I think we're supposed to get that she's incredibly sheltered (various characters tell us that repeatedly) but I've met some incredibly sheltered people in my life and they still manage to act a consistent age. The humor in the book occasionally works but it also occasionally feels really out of place, which is sometimes pointed out but sometimes ignored. A book that cannot settle on a tone is a book that has some fundamental problems. Hopefully this one straightens it out next time.

Total Score: 3/5

Amazing X-Men 6, Wolverine and the X-Men 3

Amazing X-Men 6
Aaron (w) and C. Stewart (a) and Rosenberg (c) and Caramagna (l)

Nightcrawler has returned and he's got to make the best of things knowing that he can never return to the afterworld. He watches as a SHIELD transport takes Azazel to Ryker's while he's supposed to be at a party with all of his old pals. Feeling okay that Azazel is in custody, he returns and mingles, even welcoming Cyclops, Emma Frost, and Kitty into the bar to celebrate the night. However, he realizes that Mystique is among the gathering and she figures out where Azazel is. He tries to stop her from attacking him and/or setting him free but cannot stop the red bamfs from freeing Azazel. He returns to the bar with Wolverine as Mystique and Azazel join forces.

Story
With Nightcrawler's return now cemented, we see where things are going to go next. This feels like a necessary issue, one where Nightcrawler meets again with all his old pals and even with Mystique. The team-up of Nightcrawler's parents isn't necessarily the most thrilling team-up in the world but I guess we'll see where it leads. 3/5

Character
As of right now, at least, AMAZING X-MEN is really Nightcrawler's book. That could very well change as Nightcrawler's return is less of a surprise to everyone around and as his own book continues, but for now Aaron is one of the key people writing Nightcrawler and I appreciate his take on him. It's very clear that something is changed about Nightcrawler and there's certainly a sadness to him that hadn't been there before. I'm interested to see how he takes this. 5/5

Writing
The writing feels at times a little incongruous as Nightcrawler's depression drives the better part of this book only to be replaced by his parents bickering and CONTINUALLY referencing the fact that they're his parents. Also, I'd be fine if they just flat-out dropped the "Scott Summers leads the outcast X-Men" storyline and mixed all of them back in with the rest of the mutants without any sort of explanation. They so constantly meet up with the other mutants in the world that I feel like everyone is just dying for this all to be over and if it's my go-ahead they're waiting for, they have it. 3/5

Art
I like Cameron Stewart's art here and it's a rather nice change from series regular Ed McGuinness, with whom I sometimes have issues (particularly in the way he draws women's faces). It's strong art here and it works equally well in the calm and happiness of the bar and in the darkness and action of the fights. 5/5

Miscellaneous
It's always nice to see that a resurrection in comics does have some effect on both the recently deceased and on the ones who it affected. I'm interested to see how Nightcrawler handles himself in the coming months of Marvel comics and how his resurrection impacts the rest of the universe but so far I'm liking Aaron's take more than Claremont's (still very early).

Total score: 3/5


Wolverine and the X-Men 3
Latour (w) and Asrar (a) and Silva (c) and Cowles (l)

Askani John injures Wolverine and their Bamf enough that he and Storm can't rush back to the school quickly enough to stop John's attack on Evan. Meanwhile, Edan Younge of the new Phoenix Corporation enters Quentin Quire's mind to tell him that he's bound someday to wield the Phoenix Force and that he should be prepared better than what the X-Men can offer and to tell him that he's lost his edge. Quire doesn't take kindly to this and he uses Wolverine and Storm's appearance to force Younge out of his mind and to leave with a Bamf. Back at the school, the students step forward to try to defend Evan from John but John forces an image on all of them of the future Evan would give them as the new Apocalypse.

Story
There is a somewhat interesting story here and it's the story that things have been heading towards since Wolverine delivered Evan to the Jean Grey School however long ago he did it. It's a little bit muddy right now because there's just so much going on and the Phoenix Corporation confuses things a bit so it's a little hard to see how things are really shaking out. Still, things are getting interesting as Quentin thinks about his potential and, perhaps, his responsibility and as everyone else is forced to see what Evan could become. 4/5

Character
There's a nice moment for Storm in here as everyone is forced to respect how incredible she is. It's probably the best character moment in the book as Quentin gets the focus but continues to be rather obnoxious. Even when he gets a nice moment as he refuses to be defined by all the people trying to do so, he's still just a little too quippy and too...I don't know, know-it-all teen for me? I think that's in his design so it's not anything Latour or Asrar is responsible for but it's hard to put him in the center of the book and ask us to care unduly. 3/5

Writing
As I said, I think the story in here is going where it needs to go and in an interesting direction but it is a little hard to follow at times. It may just be a result of too many plot points converging at the start of a new book and things will fall into place more readily when we've got a little ground under our feet. Still, the rapidly switching narrative and the jumping timeline make it a little harder than it feels like maybe it needs to be. It doesn't read particularly quickly either so expect to need to double back on dialogue a few times in the course of the book. 3/5

Art
It feels like Mahmud Asrar is getting better and better every time out. His art is impressive and the people that he draws are all fairly expressive and he illustrates the calm as well as he does the action. There are a couple times here where it can get a little hard to follow what's happening, particularly as it pertains to the Bamfs, but overall some good art here. 4/5

Miscellaneous
I'll never penalize a book for referencing Remender's unbelievably great UNCANNY X-FORCE so this book may be losing points here and there for a convoluted plot and under-explained new characters but it won't lose points for shooting for the stars here.

Total score: 3/5

Amazing X-Men 5, All-New X-Factor 5, Marvel Knights X-Men 5

Amazing X-Men 5
Aaron (w) and McGuinness and Vines (a) and Gracia (c)

With all of the X-Men by Nightcrawler's side again, they prepare for war with Azazel's ship. Nightcrawler and his friends do what they can to keep Azazel and his pirates at bay but they begin to make a real push against the X-Men and, after Wolverine is stabbed through his back, Nightcrawler is forced to consummate his deal with the Bamfs, the terms of which are still unknown to us. He goes through with it, despite the pleadings of an also-Heavenly Charles Xavier in his head, and the Bamfs pile on Azazel, forcing him to Earth, while Nightcrawler and the X-Men make their way back out of the portal. The deal that Nightcrawler made chained Azazel to Earth, meaning he can't take over Heaven or Hell or anything out there at the cost of his own soul. But hey, Nightcrawler's back!

I still don't really like this arc in its conceit. I think it's a dangerous move to bring Heaven and Hell into a universe that can't possibly abide them. Well, okay, Hell already exists in the Marvel Universe so I suppose it's not that much of a stretch to say that Heaven is there too but the truth of the matter is that Hell works in a somewhat different way than the typical model of Hell. Heaven, then, seems just like a place that would contain the souls of all of the heroes that have ever died and how do you close that door once it's been opened? Obviously heroes don't exactly suffer from overly long deaths, but dropping Heaven into the equation seems both like it's going to bring up religious issues and just be a possible panacea for any deaths that are still to come. On top of that, the scale of the story almost didn't seem big enough; I don't know that it ever truly found its footing here and I particularly don't like introducing Heaven so blatantly with a story that doesn't really shine. I continue to be very torn on Ed McGuinness, who has all the basics of drawing really mastered but whose characters (particularly the women) have really child-like faces (Storm on the cover of this issue terrifies me more than most things in the world). But hey, Nightcrawler's back!

All-New X-Factor 5
David (w) and Di Giandomenico (a) and Loughridge (c)

When Gambit wakes, Danger is standing in his room. She explains to him that his kiss introduced organic counteractions to the programming Nil had done to erase what she once was but that she fears it wasn't enough and needs more counteracting. Gambit doesn't really know what this means and he leaves more than a little shaken. Meanwhile, the introduction of Danger to the team has made things a little trickier around the office as she recognizes immediately that Quicksilver had left through the bathroom window and run somewhere before running back and pretending to be finished with the bathroom based on his heart rate and she deduces that Harrison Snow is having an affair with his assistant when she scans that the assistant has Snow's DNA on her in ways that suggest such an affair. Of course, everyone denies these allegations and Danger is left doubting herself even more. Finally, when X-Factor is brought into a business meeting with the head of an up-and-coming tech business that Snow wants to buy out, Danger immediately recognizes that the man isn't human. As everyone protests Danger's accusation, she plunges her hand through his chest to reveal his true nature. It's the Magus, head of the Technarchy and father of former New Mutant Warlock, who turns up apparently on the side of his one-time enemy Magus as X-Factor faces off against him. Warlock appears to save his father and the two escape while X-Factor tries to put everything together. Polaris decides they need to go see Cypher to understand what's happening with Warlock.

The introduction of Danger to this team has already made the book a good deal more interesting. It's thrown another dynamic in with this team and it's already showing how much more difficult it's going to be to keep secrets around here. With the reveal that Danger can sniff out everyone's little lies, we're able to see just how much of a powder keg Peter David has built with his core three characters and with Harrison Snow, who is still obviously set to be the villain of the piece. In that way, this issue has to be the strongest so far of the bunch and it hints that things may continue to improve as we get a little deeper into a new plot and as we start to establish new members for the team (color me surprised if Cypher and/or Warlock doesn't end up on the team when all of this is said and done). There are perhaps a few too many nerdy references in here for the characters - I have no doubt that they don't sail over the head of anyone reading it but I don't believe that some of the characters would actually make them let alone make them in the situations in which they are made (Snow makes a Doctor Who reference to the head of the other company and then quickly explains that it's a Doctor Who reference for literally no one's benefit in his first time meeting the other company's head). Still, the plot is moving, the characters are coming into their own, and everything's working out one way or another so let's hope this ball keeps rolling.

Marvel Knights X-Men 5
Revel (w and a) and Peter (c)

The dream-Xavier shows up at just the right time as he gives Kitty all of the inspiration she needs to continue fighting and to inspire Krystal into doing what she can to give them an army and to find her way to Darla. Meanwhile, Rogue and Wolverine, their recent fight put aside, re-enter the fray near Darla and manage to keep things chaotic for the young mutant while she begins to panic and tries to use the drugs she got from the head of the cult to up her powers. Kitty and Krystal, leading a Krystal-controlled team of bikers back into the town, cut a swath through the battles and all of the X-Men present begin to get added help when they create their own backups in the form of dream-Storm, dream-Nightcrawler, and dream-Colossus. While the fight rages, Krystal makes her way to Darla and tries to talk her down. Though it's a struggle to convince Darla that she's not doing the right thing here, Krystal eventually succeeds and gets Darla to give up the fight and let the X-Men help her. Finally everything begins to calm down and, to help a little bit more, Krystal convinces the press that everything they'd seen from the outside of these fights were created by a mine cave-in and subsequent explosions from that.

It's a nice little ending for what has been a nice little series. One of the most apparent things about writer/artist Brahm Revel throughout this series has been a true love for the X-Men. He cares who these characters are and where they've come from and, while this story was a sweeping tale about two scared mutants in a town that hates and fears what they are, it's what really drove the story all the way through, right up to its ending with the dream-X-Men team coming to the aid of fellow X-Men Wolverine, Rogue, and Kitty Pryde. The book reads as a real love story to the X-Men while managing to create and craft a story all distinctly its own, aided by Revel's outstanding art. I liked a lot of the things that were happening in MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN (thanks, in large part, to the incredible Marco Rudy art) but I think this series stands a little better as a complete story. Certainly a story worth telling and I think we can safely say, now that the newest batch of MARVEL KNIGHTS books have all been completed, this little experiment of reintroducing the MARVEL KNIGHTS line was a success.

Aaron leaving AMAZING X-MEN, Kyle and Yost to take over

Scheduling demands have forced Jason Aaron to leave new title AMAZING X-MEN after only six issues, as CBR reports. His run will end with April's AMAZING X-MEN 6, which will be the conclusion of the current arc and Nightcrawler's return. Issue 7 will feature the fantastic Kathryn Immonen writing before Craig Kyle and Chris Yost take over on issue 8. It will mark a return for the two Thor: The Dark World writers to the X-world after their run on an X-23 miniseries and books like YOUNG X-MEN back in the 2000s. Aaron's explanation is here, in several tweets:

So yeah, because of my overall schedule demands, I had to step away from Amazing X-Men a bit sooner than I'd hoped.

— Jason Aaron (@jasonaaron) March 10, 2014

Though as far as parting shots go, I think the Return of Nightcrawler is a pretty satisfying way to end my tenure as an X-writer.

— Jason Aaron (@jasonaaron) March 10, 2014

Without Amazing, that leaves me writing Original Sin, Thor, Southern Bastards and a couple of other things I can't talk about yet.

— Jason Aaron (@jasonaaron) March 10, 2014

It was definitely weird to leave the X-verse behind after spending pretty much my entire Marvel career there.

— Jason Aaron (@jasonaaron) March 10, 2014

But I couldn't be happier with the stuff I'm working on now. Fun times ahead!

— Jason Aaron (@jasonaaron) March 10, 2014

Nova 13, Savage Wolverine 15

Nova 13
Duggan (w) and Medina and Vlasco (a) and Curiel (c)

Nova's feeling pretty good about himself after helping a stranded ship that needed a boost, not knowing that the ship was actually a slave trader's ship. These are the things that happen when you're a teenager. Beta Ray Bill, though, knew exactly who was on the ship and is appalled that a Nova would help them. He comes to investigate, having lost the trail on the ship anyway, and he and Nova quickly get into a fight. Nova stands up pretty well to Bill but eventually he realizes what Bill's argument is and the two reconcile, with Nova demanding to come with him to find these slave traders. Bill accepts his help and Sam makes plans for a babysitter, his friend Carrie, to come and watch his little sister while he departs into space.

Pretty solid book. It's largely a fight book pitting Nova against Beta Ray Bill but it gives a pretty good sense of both characters and a pretty good sense of where Nova stands in terms of his power relative to what we know of this universe. He's been up against a number of new foes which makes it hard to judge just how powerful he is (though, you know, destroying a Chitauri fleet in the first arc wasn't a bad read) and something like this, having him stand toe-to-toe with someone the Asgardians hail as a true warrior, worthy of his own Mjolnir-like hammer in Stormbreaker, gives us a sense of the sort of power he has. Their dialogue works pretty well together though the book revolves a lot around Beta Ray Bill's alien appearance (though, I suppose, it makes some sense. You look at that guy and it's gonna take you a little while to get over it). Also nice to see Sam take some responsibility and make arrangements for his mother and decide that he needs to see this slave trader business to the end. Good issue, nothing to particularly note as a downside. Not sure it super stands out but certainly good for the series. I talked about AMAZING X-MEN feeling like a book made for kids and making me roll my eyes at it but I'd say that NOVA is something of an all-ages book at this point and it feels fresh and fun, typically. Follow that model if you're going to make a book that's more accessible.

Savage Wolverine 15
Isanove (w, a, c)

With the death of Elias and the kidnapping of Sofia, Logan is left with little choice but to storm the compound at which Sofia's being kept. He takes out the guard and slashes the face of the outfit's leader, a a man named Sergio, sometimes called Marion while Peter, coming in behind him, shoots the Frenchman Pierre-Anselme in the arm. They hustle Sofia out of there and, with all the kids in tow, head to a brothel in St. Paul to lay low for a little bit. The brothel's owner Dolly, who had a relationship with Logan ten years previous, sets them up with a new car and points them towards Colorado to stay with family. Unfortunately, Marion and Pierre are on the lookout for them and come and interrogate Dolly, killing her when she won't give up any information. Pierre finds the sales slip for Logan's new car and his eyes and ears all over the country track Logan and the kids down by nightfall, with the police taking Logan and Sofia into custody.

Isanove's 1930s crime story continues but, in a somewhat strange if effective move, starts things on a ship headed to America in 1920 as Marion and Pierre, seemingly in their teens or thereabouts, meet for the first time as immigrants. We see their origin for about ten pages of the comic and it lets us understand their ruthlessness and their mentality, not to mention their hero-worship of Houdini, a man constantly in utter control of his body and mind. It's a bit of a jarring interlude as we're suddenly introduced to character's we don't know as young men and are forced to learn about them and about their families in their immediately complex background, not made easier by the fact that we have to pretty quickly learn to distinguish the multiple players on the ship. However, it's not too hard to follow if you can stick with it for its entirety and it rather does give us a good sense of villains who would otherwise be simple gangsters. Isanove's art is a good match for his writing style (helps when you know exactly how your artist is going to draw things and vice versa) though things do start to get a little bogged down here and there as people start to look the same, though constant name reminders (not in a particularly intrusive way, though, in the way where it's like "FIRESTAR will do it!" Geez, I really did not like AMAZING X-MEN this week, huh?). Definitely enjoyable as SAVAGE WOLVERINE, when it's on, continues to be pretty far and away the best Wolverine title.

X-Men 11, Uncanny X-Men 17, Amazing X-Men 4

X-Men 11
Wood (w) and Anka (a) and Keith (c)
AND Wood (w) and C. Mann and S. Mann (a) and Mounts (c)

A story in two parts as part one, the significantly longer part, finds the majority of the team working to try to figure out what Arkea's plan is and why they've come across an empty boat. They actually do a pretty good job of figuring out what Arkea is up to, based on who she's allied herself with and where the money's coming from, tracing Arkea even to the resurrection of Selene Galio and Madelyne Pryor. Their solid deductions still don't stop the infighting amongst them, of course, not helped by the fact that now the always argumentative Monet is on the team. They also realize that the boat being out there has lured all of them out to it, leaving whatever other targets they might be at unprotected. CUT TO the second part of the story, illustrated by the Manns, which focuses on Jubilee leading the fight against the restored and constantly healing Sentinels. The fight goes well enough but Jubilee does the "vampire mist thing" and suddenly no one can trace where she's gone.

The X-Men aren't the only ones with infighting as Ana Cortes pleads with Typhoid Mary to kill her, worrying about the implications of the things she's done and knowing that she won't be able to keep up with the supervillains as their plans progress. On top of that, John Sublime is asking some pointed questions to Quentin Quire, the care of whom he has been not-so-lovingly placed under. There's a lot here to enjoy and a lot to think about as this book suddenly has real steam. The characters are all strong, the relationships between them are already pretty defined and are growing more defined by the issue, and the threat is becoming more and more real. In truth, the threat and the plot are still the vaguest part about this book, but that's a little to be expected with a new villain and a new team finding its way. It's rare that a team book features a team that feels so fleshed out so early on. Wood is deftly drawing on years of backstory from each of these characters to show that this isn't some randomly assembled team, it's a team meant to work together and who know better than to get hung up on their relationships. Lots of good stuff here and the art (I'm particularly fond of Kris Anka's) is matching the writing really well.

Uncanny X-Men 17
Bendis (w) and Bachalo and Townsend w/ Vey and Mendoza (a) and Bachalo (c)

It's training day for the new X-Men and Magik dumps them off in Tabula Rasa, the section of Montana that Archangel deposited a life seed in back in UNCANNY X-FORCE (but, you know, not the last UNCANNY X-FORCE. Thanks, comics). Everyone toys with their powers a bit and some of them have to square off against highly evolved life-forms. Eva goes through something serious that she refuses to talk about and it's possible she's aged a bit out there. Hijack's cellphone, which he refused to give up, alerts SHIELD to their whereabouts and, after a little bit of time, they show up and attempt to escort them out. Hijack turns their armor against them and they manage to escape before Magik brings them home. Cyclops is unimpressed by the way they handled themselves and particularly by the fact that Hijack didn't relinquish his phone and allowed SHIELD to track them, then didn't admit to his mistake when pressed about it. Unwilling to allow that kind of careless attitude, he kicks Hijack off the team and sends him home.

Here's the thing that's a little impossible to explain. I get why training is necessary and why showing the kids here training is necessary. I also get that they're kids and that they're unexperienced and even that they're very new to their powers. However, I can't believe that these kids would get dumped into some foreign situation and all immediately start back-and-forth dialoguing and talking about who Eva has a crush on (GUYS, it's Cyclops because Bendis can't go five seconds without throwing in a hundred love triangles with a lead male protagonist in his book!) and debating where they are. Of those things, the last one is the only thing I am willing to buy. The rest is just...it's kind of unbearable to read. I've talked at length about back-and-forth dialogue slowing scenes but the worst part is it's not even doing the job it's actually effective at doing, which is creating chaos. If someone who doesn't use that style of dialogue regularly starts using it, it makes a scene more out of control. More word bubbles, depending on the word count inside, can make things seem out of control and harried. If there are too many words, though, it just makes things slow down tremendously. It does that here and it makes everyone fairly unlikeable because everyone is the same and everyone is making this book a treacherous and slow read.

Amazing X-Men 4
Aaron (w) and McGuinness and Vines (a) and Gracia (c)

Nightcrawler and Storm work to free Beast from his rage and manage it just before he strangles Nightcrawler. From there, they set sail in their new boat and Nightcrawler and his legion of bamfs spread out to find the others, first rescuing Firestar and Iceman from Hell, where Iceman had tried to freeze the whole place and Firestar had tried to burn the whole place, before tracking down Wolverine and Northstar in the horrible icy lands of maybe-limbo. There are plenty of reunions and Kurt even explains the history of the bamfs, claiming that they were born in Hell of a union between a giant maggot and a shapeshifter and Azazel found them all starving and fed them his blood, binding them to him. Kurt, however, made a dark deal with them, one that has yet to be revealed, to bring them (or many of them, anyway) to his side and they, in turn, have helped him find his friends here in the afterlife to wage his war against Azazel.

I have combatting feelings about all of this, just as I did with Aaron's WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN. The comic landscape right now is a very different one than its ever been, allowing for books that are extremely dark, books that are much lighter, books that are deeper than ever, and books that are none of the above. I can't necessarily fit AMAZING X-MEN into any of these places and I'm not sure I should be trying to. It's absolutely its own book and I'd like to judge it on its own grounds and not weigh it against a greater universe. At the same time, though, it is undoubtedly part of a greater universe and that reality makes it very hard if not impossible to distinguish it. That greater universe, while certainly not having a unified tone, thus allowing books like X-MEN LEGACY or YOUNG AVENGERS or HAWKEYE or SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN in, tends to feel...I don't know, more grown-up than this book. ON THE CONTRARY AGAIN, comics started in the hands of children and it is sad that, aside from specific made-for-a-younger-audience books, there are no major titles out that kids can really read and get into (maybe SPIDER-MAN but that strays pretty dark occasionally too...like how Peter Parker's archnemesis killed him that time and took over his body). So it's hard for me to get into this book and hard for me to find a place in my brain for this book, as it was for WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN. I like to think I'm still capable of fun and whimsy but GEEZ, it's starting to look like maybe not so much. Oh, and I rather have decided that I don't care for Ed McGuinness' art style after seeing it here and in NOVA and finding all the same problems with it. Gracia's color work is solid here, though, and shows really great range as the issue traverses just about every imaginable landscape and lighting.