london culling

drive-by readings

Red Hood: The Lost Days #4 (DC) "Higher Learning" Judd Winick Jeremy Haun Brian Reber Pat Brosseau Billy Tucci (cover)

what we learned: London's Russian mob wants to get the heat off them by staging a bombing that would lay the blame on Arab terrorists. with Jason Todd learning from the bombmaker himself, he's in the best position to stop the carnage before it even begins.
oh shit moment: Talia notices that all his teachers end up conveniently dead (with reason). she also informs him that he's been replaced as the Boy Wonder.
what's next: did Jason ever want to reclaim the mantle of Robin?


its your fault - if you just disconnected that 1-800 number...

let's vault in

drive-by readings

X-Men Legacy #239 (Marvel) "Collision Part Two" Mike Carey Clay Mann Jay Leisten Brian Reber Cory Petit Leinil Francis Yu (cover)

what we learned: Luz or Luisa, the stray they picked up last issue and now defended against Sentinels in this one, is more trouble than they bargained for. and why do we say that? ah, as i mentioned last time, the inhabitants of the world (uh, "The Corridor". duh.) she came from bear a resemblance to - uh, hello, Children of the Vault. how you doin'?
oh shit moment: Rogue gives Magneto one big uppercut just to let him know that there is nothing (nothing! nothing!) between them.
what's next: rematch! only Rogue is left from the original team of X-Men they clashed with before.


HDTV? 3D? pfah. solid state light shows are the bomb!

frosty secrets

drive-by readings

Uncanny X-Men #527 (Marvel) "The Five Lights Part Two: Velocidad" Matt Fraction Whilce Portacio Leonard Kirk Ed Tadeo Jay Leisten Brian Reber Joe Caramagna Terry Dodson/Rachel Dodson (cover)

what we learned: a breather issue, as Emma goes on a couple of dates, acts as go-between between Piotr and Kitty, and visits her secret prisoner, Namor has a human sushi chef, Scott knocks back a couple with Logan, the second Light is found (and his name isn't Barry Allen), and oh, welcome back to full-time X-Men adventuring, Cecilia Reyes.
oh shit moment: second Light looks like Michael J. Fox circa Teen Wolf, after a long run (so that's how werewolves got hairy!).
what's next: third Light?


you. kiss. my. phased. ass.

bam!

drive-by readings

Red Hood: The Lost Days #3 (DC) "School" Judd Winick Jeremy Haun Brian Reber Pat Brosseau Billy Tucci (cover)

what we learned: the resurrected Jason Todd learns the killing arts under Egon, a German ne'er-do-well (actually he did, until he met Jason). the former Robin still has a semblance of a conscience and deals justice in his own way. surprisingly, he's even-tempered in here. must be the Lazarus Pit. or i thought it drove you crazy eventually.
oh shit moment: i will be wary of sports energy drinks from now on. especially since i am an evil blogger who writes non-funny things about fictional characters.
what's next: what's Talia's endgame?


well, it did work for Darth Vader ...

children of the corridor

drive-by readings

X-Men Legacy #238 (Marvel) "Collision Part One" Mike Carey Clay Mann Jay Leisten Brian Reber Cory Petit Leinil Francis Yu (cover)

what we learned: since this is Mike Carey driving the ship, he injects new (Spanish-flavored) enemies similar to the Children of the Vault circa the Supernovas story arc (thoroughly enjoyed that one), for a collision course with our mutants (Rogue being one of his faves, i feel). Rogue and Magneto accompany Paras and two other kids to Mumbai for a parental issue, but Mags has his suspicions of an extranormal anomaly. i hope the continuous suspicion of his current teammates doesn't push him again over to the supervillain side of the fence.
oh shit moment: where the hell did these quasi-Sentinels come from? (uh, "The Corridor". duh.)
what's next: i'd rather have someone else other than Clay Mann drawing this, but what the heck - bring it on.


20% tip mandatory.

seeds of hope

drive-by readings

Uncanny X-Men #526 (Marvel) "The Five Lights Part One: Freak Like Me"/"Rebuilding" Matt Fraction Allan Heinberg Whilce Portacio Olivier Coipel Ed Tadeo Mark Morales Brian Reber Justin Ponsor Joe Caramagna Terry Dodson/Rachel Dodson (cover)

what we learned: Hope finds her family (or the backstory of it anyway) in Alaska, and its good enough to trust her new one going forward. What happens when Bishop comes back? also, grandpa Magneto learns of his possible grandkids Wiccan and Speed (in a prequel to Avengers: The Children's Crusade), but Wolverine warns him off. and nothing happens. ah, those halcyon days of 1993.
oh shit moment: apparently, there is hope of Kitty Pryde, whose diagnosis seems to be, she just forgot how to unphase. hey, Hank, care to come back for a second opinion?
what's next: this issue, Emma goes out to meet Tony Stark. next up, she's going for some raw sushi.


wait ... what? after all that shepherding and leading and banging one of the hottest chicks in the world, he's still an emotional cripple?

full circle, part 2

drive-by readings

The Heroic Age: Uncanny X-Men one-shot (Marvel) Matt Fraction Whilce Portacio Ed Tadeo Brian Reber Steve Sanders Jaime Mendoza Ian Hannin Jamie McKelvie Chris Sotomayor Joe Caramagna Mark Brooks (cover)

i see this one-shot as something akin to a look at the past, present and future for our merry band of mutants. with the onset of the Heroic Age, the defeat of one of their most dangerous enemies, and the possible rebooting of their race, the X-Men stand once again at the crossroads, free to rewrite the next chapter of their destiny.

the X-Men's present is Cyclops, who has made steely yet carefully weighed decisions that may have cost him his friends and reputation, that have saved his race from extinction. imagine if he quit after Jeannie's death (and she didn't go back and prod him to marry Emma and continue with the school)? there's no better leader suited to shepherd the X-Men than him, but that's for this moment. Professor X and Magneto have bowed to his wishes, not always freely, but have also made sacrifices to somehow earn his trust. Scott was angry at Charles once for not treating the sentient Danger as an equal, and for living fast and loose with their lives with his decisions. somehow, he hasn't gotten the same vitriol from Charles or Magneto (who likely understands making the hard choice even better), their former mentors. i would say its Scott's age, which is closer to majority of the adults of the X-Men (and the younger generation), that makes them a lot more receptive to his decisions, compared to the father figures Charles and Magneto once were, even bordering on the tyrannical.

but he has not been spared that disapproval from Hank McCoy, longtime friend and comrade in the trenches (and to a degree, Storm). Hank does represent the old school, and not a few us remember when he wasn't blue and furry. his own decision to leave the fold makes him representative of the past, because he didn't want to be part of the new X world order, which he says is more militaristic. wait till he gets a load of the new X-Force - it'll make the last X-Force iteration look like the cute animals from Pet Avengers. and considering his parting words "make love, not war, Scott" (Matt Fraction, you is a hippie!), this seems disingenuous as he is waging war as a member of the Secret Avengers. in keeping with his scientific beliefs, he no longer has faith that the mutant race will blossom like it used to, despite urging from the cute-as-a-button Molly Hayes.

the future, meanwhile, belongs to the appropriately-named Hope (now i don't remember who named her? was it Cyclops or Cable?). here we see here being tested by Reed Richards as a time-transplant, though she was born in this time anyway. lacking the normal experience of a child growing up, its fun to see her awkwardly interact with her peers, like Franklin Richards, who, frankly, with all his powers, should also be in the frontline for mutant rights and defense. maybe the powers-that-be just don't want to remember Heroes Reborn. anyway, Hope, a fine doppelganger of Jeannie (imagine the torment Emma would be going thru everyday as a reminder), wants to find her birth parents in Alaska (Sarah Palin?). this is a good start and Cyclops, realizing that he may be making the mistake of putting the weight of expectations on people, gives her his blessings and a chaperone squad.

its been a long, long time since House of M/Decimation. i hope the next storylines do not involve the exhausting theme of mutant extermination, because am goddamned tired, despite the real-world analogy of the subject.

snaps: New Mutants #13

... where i missed it last week and thus totally missed the girlfight! and am not talking about the Hope/Dani throwdown. Donald Pierce makes his presence felt but despite his anticipation to go down fighting the X-Men, he lasts just a little bit longer than that bomb about to go off and kill off the X-nerds.



well, if you put it that way, no. you're the type who goes to brothels. wanna teleport to your favorite one right now?


Warlock's feeling ashamed for being responsible for all that javascript that puts drive-by viruses on your PC because you use Internet Explorer, dumbass.


"-- be mature and ready for a long-term commitment?"


oy, look who's taking a leadership tack! hey, Subby, are you going to blame Cyclops later?


the X-Men Science team, everybody!!!

here's a shout-out for John Tyler Christopher for the Heroic Age variant. awesome. it looks Greg Land-ish, but hereabouts, we likey Mr. Land.

ventriloquist of the day

ventriloquism - the art of projecting one's voice so that it seems to come from another source. in comics, word balloons attributed to the wrong character.

in Outsiders #28, Jefferson Pierce suddenly becomes royalty.



do you know the new Outsiders is being written by the new DC co-publisher? his name is Dan DiDio.

snaps: X-Men Legacy #231

... where Blindfold's tweets with Destiny lands a bunch of them in Muir Isle and come face to face with an old enemy (who of course was supposed to be dead, as usual). oh, and Magneto gets slapped down by Rogue. which could trigger another meltdown back to supervillain status in issue #250.

1) Rogue demonstrates the tuck-and-roll to Blindfold.


2) in another lifetime, Kurt, you would have a steel bar wrapped your throat for that comment.


3) careful there, Mags - that 'child's' brother is upfront piloting the plane. oh, wait, he joined your cause that day, and that child (editorially) came back to life eventually anyway. ok, fine, you can talk.


4) Psylocke. Husk. on the same plane. hmmm. nobody noticed this?


5) lookit!!! a Maggott sighting! X-fans do the wave!!!

Xmas night at the Markov home

man, this family is kinda effed up.




and then they boogie to Soul Train and Barry White - woohoooooo!

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Outsiders #25

always be covering

unspoken subtext: "try not to disappear again, because if this Emma thing doesn't work out, we can, y'know ... continue what we started way back in the '90s. i know you weren't yourself then ... but hey, you looked good then. and you look good now."


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Psylocke #1

drive-by readings: Adventure Comics #1

Adventure Comics #1 (DC) "The Boy of Steel, Part 1"/"Long Live the Legion" Geoff Johns Francis Manapul Brian Buccellato Steve Wands Clayton Henry Brian Reber Sal Cipriano

this is what the hype was? Conner Kent a.k.a. Kon El a.k.a. that Superboy you hated when he first came out after the death of Superman, now again has his own book (mostly) and he's settled in Smallville trying to understand his roots. he's basically half-Kal and half-Luthor after all. he's really a much more palatable Tom Welling. anyway, Geoff Johns writes some darker undertones contrasting Francis Manapul's kid-friendly sketches (there's something off about the noses on the cover though), and sows some intrigue (not to mention Blackest Night, but not sure if its going to be dealt with here). by the way, has he hooked up with Cassie yet? oh, that's next issue. duh.

the backup story with the Legion is of course meant for hardcore fans (Geoff Johns, showoff) or those who went insane like Thom Kallor.

drive-by readings: Captain Britain and MI-13 #15

Captain Britain and MI-13 #15 (Marvel) "Vampire State: Conclusion" Paul Cornell Leonard Kirk Jay Leisten Brian Reber Joe Caramagna Mico Suayan/Frank D'Armata (cover)

its just unfortunate that when "Excalibur" has its most diverse and intriguing (dare i say, best) configuration ever, economics didn't agree with critical opinion (or just me) and we get a cancellation notice in two years. maybe it was the long title, maybe the former Excalibur readers fled because there weren't much mutants left in the title. but in 15 issues, writer Paul Cornell, bless his British heart, has assembled a great cast anchored by Pete Wisdom, whom he wrote in a 6-issue MAX series earlier. among his other moves were bringing back Meggan, moving Dane Whitman to the English shores, and masterfully blending British fantasy elements and straight up superheroics. throwing Blade into the mix seemed weird, but made sense in the final story arc against Dracula (yes, really). Leonard Kirk provided the art for the whole run, a solid and steady contributor that's a rarity these days.

hopefully, somebody would come to their senses and relaunch this title anew (preferably with Cornell and Kirk). godspeed, mates; see you all again soon.

US Bank, standing tall against the pigs

we commend the position of USBank, one the largest banks in the United States, to stand tall with our beleaguered mutants, especially those who choose to live in San Francisco (Castro district).

when Norman Osborn's jackbooted sentinels come in quell unrest, our mutants will not go quietly into the night. no, siree. USBank also stands behind them (to the side).


i was curious whether the background did exist, and according to Google Maps, yes it is quite accurate.


and we heartily cheered as a whole wall of the bank collapses on now-i-don't-like-him-cause-he's-on-the-other-side Ares, courtesy of Gambit's charge cards (heh).


this is one heck of a product placement. is Michael Bay involved in this?

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X-Men: Legacy #226

who makes Reed Richards shrink???

drive-by readings Capt Britain & MI13 #14

Captain Britain & MI13 #14 (Marvel) "Vampire State, Part 4" Paul Cornell Leonard Kirk Ardian Syaf Jay Leisten Craig Yeung Brian Reber Joe Caramagna Mico Suayan / Morry Hollowell (cover)

along with Guardians of the Galaxy, this title does not disappoint month after month. kinda reminds me of early-Grant Morrison JLA. this month we learn that Dracula has not really taken over the Earth yet, and our heroes have laid such an elaborate trap, with writer Paul Cornell using previous plot devices to their clever advantage. a great aspect of this rebuilt Excalibur is the inclusion of B-list characters that make sense (Blade, the Black Knight, and now Killpower), and this is the team that it should have been years ago (no dis to Chris Claremont and Alan Davis). and with another cliffhanger on hand, i hope it draws in more readers than before.

drive-by readings: X-Men: Legacy #225

X-Men: Legacy #225 (Marvel) "The Retreat" Mike Carey Phil Briones Brian Reber Corey Petit Daniel Acuña (cover)

big whoop: Charles Xavier takes down the annoying, way-past-their-15-minutes Acolytes (finally) without firing a shot. well, of course, he's just the damned best telepath in the whole wide universe and he's pretty much indestructible, despite getting bullet surgery in the brain, among other things. its pretty much how this should go down (if you want to live in the past, go read X-Men Forever). Mike Carey ties up the strings after the events of Deadly Genesis/Messiah Complex, though am not sure since when did Exodus start talking like a modern American man. so whether he follows up on change we can believe in (as Charles prods him to), we don't know. and when Norman Osborn is on the scene, expect no good to come out of it.

anarchy in the UK

or would there be? because Dracula just took over, and everyone should be under his sway.



ok, hopefully we don't get a post-event narrative conclusion a la Secret Invasion.

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Captain Britain & M-13 #13