Archive for June, 2014

Review: Magneto #3

Posted in Reviews, tagged , , on June 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Magneto #3People suck.

From the government types who punish the homeless, to the group of people who believe segregation is a good thing, humans are a piece of work. But then so too are mutants. Erik gets the message that segregation doesn’t work and isn’t the solution (a lesson he learned the hard way), but he’s still fuzzy on the idea of “wholesale slaughter others before they can wholesale slaughter you” possibly not being the best solution… to anything.

Bunn is doing a good job of keeping Magneto sympathetic as well as playing him as pretty bad ass. You do not want to go against this guy because he literally has no fucks left to give.

Right now Magneto is directed at the right enemy, though I’d say his actions are far too extreme. He’s the quintessential anti-villain and the ultimate villain. I’m very much interested to see where things go next… what paths he’s going to be taking.

Will Magneto somehow be even more redeemed as he has been before, or will perhaps he continue his march towards straight up villain?

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Review: All-New X-Men #26

Posted in Reviews, tagged , , on June 22, 2014| 1 Comment »

All-New X-Men #26I’ve read fan fiction better than this.

The gang has returned from space and we’re treated to a really awkward moment of Jean hitting on older Scott. Really? Do you want to make it even more obvious that you have some questionable fetish for Jean and that this story is basically a Scott fan fic?

And while you’re at it, Laura leaves because Scott left. Really? Did Bendis even at least skim through Liu’s run on X-23?

Obviously not.

The level of sexist commentary in this title and Uncanny just keeps getting bigger and worse as time goes on. Jean and now X-23 only seem to exist as objects of affection for the male characters, one of which is way to freaking old for her. Not to mention Kitty seems to only be there to react to situations rather than to be a part of the story.

Bendis, you’re a good writer, but you need to start writing stories, not your own personal fan fiction.

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Review: Wolverine and the X-Men #3

Posted in Reviews, tagged , , on June 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Wolverine and the X-Men #3There are two themes Marvel loves to keep using and using and using… “Wolverine is a psychotic killer who should not be teaching children but we’re gonna support him doing it anyway” and “the phoenix is all powerful and we’re gonna use it whenever we get the chance because we’re too lazy to come up with anything else”.

Oh… and then there is Apocalypse… the X-Men’s greatest enemy, so strong and powerful that he comes back and gets killed off every few years or so…

Meh, at least the art is good.

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Review: Amazing X-Men #6

Posted in Reviews, tagged , , on June 22, 2014| 2 Comments »

Amazing X-Men #6It’s true, you don’t get to choose your family, and when you’re Nightcrawler… family is a complicated and messy subject.

I always liked the idea that Mystique’s kids could see through her shape shifts, both Kurt and Rogue have been able to call her out on more than one occasion. I like how when Kurt sees her this time he’d rather she just left than start any battles. It’s the Kurt we know and love, but there is a sadness there. We know that he ‘lost his soul’ so what does that really mean for our beloved Kurt?

As for Mystique, she’s as crafty and clever as ever, pulling a Black Widow move and getting Azazel’s location from Kurt. Then the resulting fight and the banter… sassy parents are sassy. It all ends about the way you expect it to. Mystique offers Azazel a job after being unable to kill him. Mystique has that problem, she’ll kill anything/anyone without a moment’s hesitation… unless it’s someone she loves or had loved. It all started with Kurt, he has that effect on people.

Now that Rogue has come back alive, maybe we’ll get another larger reunion in the future. Until then, it should be interesting what this new team is going to get into now that the set up has pretty much gotten cleared away.

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Review: A+X #18

Posted in Reviews, tagged , , on June 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »

A+X #18Issue 18 marks the end of the run for this title. It says it’s ‘the natural conclusion’ but I think they just realized it wasn’t that great and let it end with the close of Cap and Cyclops’ story.

Our final team up is the unlikely pairing of Shadowcat and Vision.  Again, we see what a wasted opportunity these comics where in that so much could have been done but wasn’t because they only had half an issue to work with. First there is the two of them ‘being attacked by people they love’ in the simulation. Then you have the idea of what it means to be sentient and human and feel regret and remorse. But it’s all ran through really quickly and then capped off with a random out of left field joke that kills the mood.

Then we get the conclusion of Cap and Cyclops which is also kinda lame.

Everyone walks away happy and dandy as if they weren’t mortal enemies or thinking one was a terrorist or something. All Cap and Cyclops do is get into a mediocre and cliche yelling/pissing match while everyone else just walks away.

I’m glad that Marvel took a note and just walked away from this title since they really weren’t given it the depth it could have had.

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Review: Deadpool #27

Posted in Reviews, tagged , , on June 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Deadpool #27I’m not a fan of when a female character is introduced simply to be the love interest of the male character, especially when she’s literally introduced in the issue she marries said male character, well unless you read the online-only comics.

That being said, this is Deadpool, the most loved and yet unloved character in Marvel’s 616. He’s an emotionally damaged man who has been through hell several times and barely holds it together with a grin and a joke. The man who feels like he’s alone in the world because, frankly, people keep him at a distance due to his erratic nature. The man who is treated unfairly by his peers, and they know it too. The man who suffers depression and uncontrollable bouts of self-loathing.

The man who deserves at least one happy day in his life.

So you know what, Deadpool, here you go, she seems like a hell of a woman and I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun while it lasts. Not saying you won’t make a great husband or her a great wife, but lets me honest, Marvel isn’t going to let you stay happy for long.

Cherish this moment my friend… you earned it.

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Review: Ms. Marvel #3

Posted in Reviews, tagged , , on June 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Ms Marvel #3Now I want you all to stop and take a look at the artwork in this title, drawn by Adrian Alphona. Seriously, from the cereal name “GM-O’s” with the tag “trust your gut, not the lawsuits” to the random parking meter with a hatchet stuck in it… it’s all gold.

And it’s made even better with the excellent story telling by G. Willow Wilson.

To be honest, the story of Kamala Khan is all one big trope, the kind of stuff we’ve seen in every teen superhero story where the kid gains powers, they’re horribly awkward with them, meaning they accidentally destroy school property, etc… etc… But through Kamala’s eyes, the story is fresh and new, and it’s because she’s a young teenage Muslim girl who is acting like a young teenage Muslim girl. She is not one walking cliche, but she’s not an anti-cliche.

She’s perfectly normal and reasonable. She’s charming and funny. She’s relatable and sympathetic.

And when she gets shot in the end you’re rather shocked and worried while knowing that you kinda saw it coming.

This is what I call perfect storytelling.

 

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Review: X-Men #13

Posted in Reviews, tagged , , on June 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »

X-Men #13Now that the Arkea thing is taken care of the team is trying to ask itself if it wants to be a team.  Why?

The X-Men have always had teams, some members on multiple teams, and it’s always been because either they all work well together, or out of necessity. I honestly can’t remember the last time they all sat around and debated forming a team. It either just happened or was declared without question. So why is Wood making these girls debate it? Either the team works or it doesn’t and they move on. I’m all for mixing it up, doing something different, but here it just falls flat.

Then you top that with the fact that the issue was cut short because they decided to run two stories at once? What?

Literally, there was all this boasting about this title being an all-female team and how awesome that is and progressive, etc… then they decide to cut several pages and give it to an all male team? Now, I like the characters they picked, I wouldn’t mind seeing a story with them… but maybe in Wolverine and the X-Men which is more geared towards having a group of young students and all that. Here, it’s literally a moment of ‘what are you trying to say?’ and it’s nothing good.

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Review: Uncanny X-Men #20

Posted in Reviews, tagged , , on June 21, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Uncanny X-Men #20You know, I don’t know a lot about comic!Maria Hill, but I”m pretty sure she wouldn’t have the hots for Cyclops.

And if Cyclop’s team is powerful enough to take out the staff of the hellicarrier like that, or at least get into their heads, then why don’t they just pwn SHIELD and be done with this?
And if Cyclop’s team can just walk up to the school, then what the hell, is this a war or not? I’m so confused…

I’m sure all the stupidity with Bond and his being kicked out is either a master plan by Cyclops (the least likely because this would show forward thinking) or a way to turn one of the new mutants into a villain (the most likely as the shear level of stupidity is about right for how much Bendis actually cares).

Everything about the X-Men niche of the comics is annoying right now… especially when it comes to Bendis and Remender…

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