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.

Uncanny X-Men 24, X-Men 17

Uncanny X-Men 24
Bendis (w) and Anka (a and c) and Caramagna (l)

Beast, using Cerebro, knows where Cyclops and his group are. He's been unwilling to disclose such up to now because he doesn't want to deal with Cyclops any more but now the team gets on a jet and flies to the old Weapon X facility to gather their old teammate. They tell him what's happening and head back home with Cyclops, Emma, Magik, and Kitty following via teleport. Amidst fears that Xavier may have left the school to Cyclops, She-Hulk begins to read the will, which reveals a marriage to Mystique and a chip with a video recorded message from Xavier that promises a big secret reveal.

You know those complaints I occasionally lodge about a story REALLY dragging forward? Well here ya go. It also plays to my more specific criticisms of this rift in the X-Men Universe being a rift in name only since they're ALWAYS hanging out together. ALSO, while we're on the subject of issues I'm having, I roll my eyes every time I see that cover and remember the punk (is that what we'd even call it? Just terrible, is what I'd call it) makeover of Dazzler. Look, what I'm saying is that there are real issues with this issue. There are some upsides, particularly in that it looks like Bendis might actually be ready to go a little deeper with some of the characters he's had in his control for the last two years or so, including Ice Man and, maybe, Beast. Still, more bad than good for my own tastes.

Total Score: 3/5


X-Men 17
Wood (w) and Diaz and Briones (a) and Mounts (c) and Caramagna (l)

The X-Men have brought the fight to The Future only to be stopped in their tracks by The Future's defense mechanism Bloodline, which allows only people with The Future's DNA to enter. At Kymera's request, Beast has brought Shogo to the fight scene. Using her future knowledge and begging the trust of her mother and the other X-Men, she brings Shogo to the edge of Bloodline and cuts his finger, wiping the baby's blood on one of the plants in the forest. Bloodline, needing to adjust, shuts down for enough time to allow Jubilee out of her prison and the X-Men into the forest. However, even Jubilee is too slow as the forest rips through the ground and kills The Future itself. Not all is well, though, as Shogo is poisoned by the foliage. Beast is forced to admit that he used Arkea to save Primal and Sprite and asks Storm to trust him as well as he injects the strain into Shogo, which he does and it saves his life. The X-Men all head home relatively happy, though Kymera sets off to live in the world, understanding that her mother didn't ask to suddenly have a teenage daughter and that the two would likely butt heads to no end. She'll still be around, ready to help and to protect the baby Shogo (her best friend in the future), but she won't be at the school.

The Future's storyline is interesting and ends up being almost more of a story for Kymera, who saves the day with some risky maneuvers and the sort of decisiveness we've come to expect from a Munroe. It's not a bad issue (a particular highlight is an unleashed Storm, prepared and able to raze the forest to stop The Future) and the art is pretty solid throughout. It does feel a little anticlimactic for a villain who, just a couple issues ago, seemed so untouchable, to die horribly tucked away from all of our heroes. Still not a bad issue, just a strange ending and one that doesn't sit particularly well, as if Wood had to rush out to finish up the other storylines and check in with all of our key characters before the issue officially ended.

Total Score: 4/5