More Mutants

Did you see Wolverine over the weekend? It did well in the box office. Well enough, in fact, that 20th Century Fox is confirming not only a second Wolverine flick, but a Deadpool spinoff as well.

According to Yahoo! Movies: "Following the monster weekend for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and a day after announcing that a Hugh Jackman-powered sequel is in the works, 20th Century Fox has confirmed to E! News that Jackman's costar Ryan Reynolds will be given his own spinoff and potential franchise-launcher as the Marvel Comics antihero Deadpool."

I thought the Wolverine movie was OK, not the worst film Marvel has put out, but not the best. Better than Spider-Man 3 but only slightly, nowhere near as good as Iron Man. To be honest I thought the evolution of Wade into Deadpool was one of the weaker points in the film. I won't get into a lot of details so that anyone who is reading this but hasn't seen the film won't have it ruined. I just thought that there was a story to tell and it wasn't told - it just happened without any explanation. But Deadpool does have mass appeal right now as a character, so I can see Marvel jumping on the opportunity to ride the money train. Sorry Gambit fans - no news yet on a film for the card carying mutant from the bayou.

What I've Read This Week

This week I've read a few comics and figured I'd share my brief thoughts.

Avatar Press's release of Rawbone #1 by Jamie Delano and art by Max Fiumara looked cool. I like pirates, pirate tales are fun, even a little violent. Good stuff, right? Well part of the writing felt awkward, there were places where we moved ahead or back in time that were not very clear as to what was going on. But otherwise it seemed like it could be good. Until the virgin was rapped by an ape, an ape dressed like a pirate no less. That's when I decided I wasn't a huge fan of this particular pirate tale.

For those of you who, like myself, are fans of the old X-Files show, before it got all psychological instead of paranormal, you might also like this comic book. Fans of fun UFO stories and Ben Templesmith fans will also like it. Templesmith is the artist for Groom Lake #1, written by Chris Ryall. It's Area 51 like you've not seen it before, including talking, cigarette smoking aliens working for the government.


I am happy to say that ever since Marvel got Larry Stroman off of the art for X-Factor the book has gotten very good. It's like Peter David either didn't want to waste a good story by pairing it with horrible art, or he felt that he needed to make it up to readers by offering great stuff once Stroman left. The last few issues have been very good, each having a twist and a great cliff hanger. That's one thing I love about comics, to me it's what makes them good. If I can't wait to read the next issue the writer has done his or her job. X-Factor #41 was a great issue and I can't wait to read the next one.



Bendis is the golden boy writer of Marvel comics, and has been for years now. And who can blame readers? His stories, while sometimes wordy, are well written and usually well crafted. This week Dark Avengers #3, written by Brian Michael Bendis featuring the art of Mike Deodato, arrived in the comic book store. I liked this fairly well. It's an interesting concept--bad guys fighting even worse guys, or girls in the case of this story arc. This is another "who can you trust" idea, and so far I've enjoyed it. We'll see if it gets dull or wierd as the story goes forward, as sometimes happens with these Avenger titles.


That's all I've read so far for comic books. Probably all I will pick up this week, as not much else is catching my eye.

I could barely finish it...

Have you ever picked up an issue of a comic book you typically enjoy, only to discover that there is a new interior artist? An artist whose work you, for some reason, just don't like? Maybe it's that the style is very different from what the book was before, maybe it's just the style altogether? Then you have a hard time getting through the issue because you just aren't enjoying it the way you used to. Has this happened to you?

Well I had this happen when I read X-Factor 33. I am not saying that Larry Stroman isn't a good artist. He's WAY better than I'll ever be, better than some other comic book artists out there too. But it's just so different from the artwork of Pablo Raimondi and Renato Arlem, two other artists who've worked on the comic. It is so manga-ish and just not as finely detailed. The characters are barely recognizable to me!

Raimondi on the left, Stroman on the right. See for yourself the vast difference in style. Now maybe you personally prefer Stroman, and that's fine. But I have to admit, I want Raimondi back!

X-Men: Who's out, Who's in, What's What

Newsarama.com had an article from Heroes Con in Charlotte about the future of the X-Men Universe. Here are the highlights, edited for quick & easy reading. For the full article click here.

The team’s relocation to San Francisco beginning with July’s issue #500 will be permanent.

Gambit will be playing a role in X-Men: Legacy, while Mr. Sinister will be the “big bad” of the coming months. The title will also be where X-readers will be able to find Rogue.

The mystery of why Archangel’s wings are metal will be revealed little by little in X-Force

Matt Fraction said that he is a huge fan of the Chris Claremont/Bill Sienkiewicz characters from New Mutants, and has already begun using them in stories, but other characters, such as Dazzler will be around.

Having been reading up, Brubaker came back on the line with a comment that things looked pretty promising for using Mimic in upcoming stories. He liked what he had found.

Asked if they would be dealing with the Scarlet Witch in the series, Brubaker said that he would expect to see Allan Heinberg dealing with the Scarlet Witch in the future, noting that she is more of an Avengers character than an X-Men character these days. (Which means we'll never see her, since Heinberg is not known for his timely work)

Fraction added that readers will see an Emma Frost miniseries in 2009.

Moving on, Brubaker said that there will be stories coming that touch upon Vulcan, but Brubaker couldn’t say just what yet.

Fraction explained that there will be old "bad guy" favorites presented in new lights, such as the Hellfire Cult and the Sisterhood of Evil Mutants. To illustrate his point, Fraction said that at the end of issue #500, there’s a scene with a number of skinheads in Hellfire masks – “It’s things you’ve never seen before, but yet, are things that are familiar.”
Cyclops has to have faith – that whatever Cable is doing with the mutant baby will somehow work out for their species. Fraction said that will be a core tenet underlying the character of Cyclops – “what does it mean for Cyclops, when you’re the guy in charge and all you have is hope?”


Brubaker said that he and Fraction will be sticking close to the”198” mutants that supposedly survived M-Day, even though that number was originally meant to be a rough estimate, with perhaps as many as 400 mutants with powers remaining in the Marvel Universe.

There are no plans to use Kitty Pryde, Brubaker said in response to a question, although, Fraction added, Colossus will really, really miss her. Likewise, there are no current plans to use The Initiative’s Mutant Zero or Cassandra Nova. And Fraction teased a Magneto appearance hard.

An appearance by Captain America got a “maybe” from Brubaker, but one character that will definitely be making an appearance: Storm.

Fraction said that he sees Wolverine as being something of the bad example of the team, who has always been a little detached with a “don’t become like me,” vibe. Now, as a result of M-Day and more recently “Messiah Complex” and “Divided We Stand,” Cyclops has had to change and, ultimately become more like Wolverine. While that may be where he needs to be for the X-Men, Wolverine sees it as a shame that it had to happen to someone like Cyclops. Boiling it down to a pop culture touchstone, Fraction described their relationship as something akin to Han Solo and Luke Skywalker.
Jean Grey? Still taking the dirt nap, Fraction said.

There you go - X-Men update summary. We'll see if I get any more bits & pieces at Chicago Wizard this weekend.

No, Really, This Time It's the BIGGEST

X-Men Messiah Complex is, according to a direct quote from Marvel: "The beginning of the first major X-Men crossover in ten years."

So, is this more major than House of M? Or wasn't that an X-Men crossover, even though it crossed into most X books and really had the largest impact on the X-Men?

And I guess the Endangered Species X-Over that they've talked everyone into buying isn't major. Even though it crosses into 4 X-Men books: X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, New X-Men and X-Factor. And this one hasn't even finished up yet. Endangered Species is 17 parts, and Messiah is only 13, right? So I guess quantity of issues isn't what makes a crossover "major."

How many times can Marvel have a crossover that they claim is major, only to have an even MORE major one come up? How many times can they claim something is HUGE before people stop listening? Are fans tired of this yet?

I am sure this will be a good series, and I know X-Men fans will read it. But once again we've got hype building up a product that may or may not deliver and trying to convince us that it's bigger than anything before.

More details here.

"Astonishing" News!

Great news - Joss Whedon and John Cassaday have agreed to sign on to continue their great work on Astonishing X-Men for another year. That's 24 total comics - the current year is finishing up (#8 just came out on 2/16) and then we can look forward to another 12. If you are an X-Men fan and you are not reading this book, I say "give it a try." I'm not an X-Men book reader usually, but I really like Joss's writing and this book is action packed and a very good read. We have the trade for issues 1-6 in the store, so that's a good place for those who have not given the book a try to get started.