Previously on X-Men

Once upon a time, I loved watching this show every Saturday morning; It was the highlight of my week! It was this big serious show that dealt with all the stuff I loved about the X-Men, even if it didn't feature any of my favorite characters (I was an X-Force kid through and through).

That said, watching that video, I'm surprised I still like the X-Men. I don't remember that show being quite that wacky...

The Bill February 9, 2012

We're not going to dwell on the past. Instead we're going to gallop into the future as if this 'weekly' comic review feature has been published without major absences. Sound good? Good.

Let's do this thing!




Going Back to School:

Wolverine and The X-Men # 5
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Nick Bradshaw


I was done with the X-Books after Grant Morrison left. His run was the perfect blend of big, progressive ideas to keep me interested with a solid foothold in past continuity to make me feel like it meant something. To say I was upset with the near instant dismantling of all the cool new things he added to the mythos is putting things mildly. After that fiasco, I was certain that I never needed to read an X-Book ever again. That there would be no new book that would be able to attain that same level of manic creativity. And then Wolverine and The X-Men came out.

Holy. Shit.

This book ought to be a blueprint for how to make a successful X-Book - Nay, a comic book. Each new page is brimming with new ideas, new locations, and big visuals to match; it's a Morrisson book on meth, but 100% more accessible.

This issue picks up with Wolverine dealing with the financial realities of running the premiere mutant school in the Milky Way while the school in question is besieged by tiny Broodspawn. Also, Kitty deals with her magical insta-pregnancy and The Beast teaches a hands on Biology lesson by shrinking his students and hanging out in the body of their janitor. Like I said, the book is full of big ideas. Jason Aaron is totally knocking this book out of the park.

On the art side, Nick Bradshaw is giving the book a big, fresh look to go along with the writing. His stuff is, in the very best of ways, very comic book-y. And sure, at times, I find myself not liking his stuff as much as I want to, but I can't deny that he's delivering some fantastic pages.

I'm excited by this book in ways I haven't been excited in a while. It's a book that inspires as well as entertains, and I hope that it continues on like this for a good long time. I'm in no hurry for them to get back to the same ol' convoluted X-Men stories that got them here, but I am very excited to see them develop a whole new slew of classic stories for people to rip off for years to come.

My Secret Origin: Rebirth!

Late last week marked the end of my Twenties. It also marked my twentieth year as a comic collector, something that kind of blows my mind. So, to celebrate I embarked on a nostalgic journey across the history of my comic collecting, starting with my first run-ins with the medium and ultimately what forced me to stop for a time. Spoilers, it didn't last. Come join me now as we finish this crazy journey and explore what started my love for comics all over again.
Also, sorry for the dramatic pause between entries. Let's just say the celebrations for my annual day started a bit early and leave it at that.

________________________________________________

I bought my last comic in the Fall of 1999 and was determined to stick with that decision. It actually worked out pretty well, because as a poor college student I didn't have the disposable income I had when I was in High School. Plus, I didn't have the room for anything in those tiny shared dorms. For a time there life was simple, unencumbered, and honestly kind of boring. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I kind of missed comics.

Occasionally during that time, I would find myself in various comic shops and found a renewed vigor in my decision. Say what you will about the early 90s, the late 90s were even worse for comics. Piles of books with crazy intertwining story lines, bored plots, and an increasingly outdated look. The world seemed to be moving forward while comics were just wallowing.



Full disclosure, I was still buying one book (in trades) during this period: Preacher. I would argue though that Preacher was as anti-superhero that you could go in the mainstream and still enjoy on a very visceral level. In recent years, I've given Preacher to people who aren't sure about comics and have instantly gotten them hooked. It's simple, consistent art style mixed with the no-nonsense, over-the-top storytelling made for an experience that proved comics aren't just for kids anymore.



Anyway.

It was the summer of 2001 when my geek habits started to rear their ugly heads again. Living off campus, and being the responsible 20 year-old I was, I needed a job to, you know, live. After a long search, I found the best job a guy like me could want: Sales Associate at KB Toys. For a few hours a week, I was paid to hang out in a toy store with cool older geeks and it was amazing. Plus, I got a 15% discount on everything in the store. Needless to say, my status as reformed geek was in danger.

To make matters "worse", I got a new place and a new, geek-enabling roommate. A dear friend of mine to this day, this guy would encourage me to relapse on my pledge and give into all those geeky urges I was feeling. Basically, I would never want this guy to be my AA sponsor, I'm just saying. It was with him that I made my triumphant return to the San Diego Comic Con.

When I was a kid, I used to go every year, buy a load of books, and just revel in the comic audacity of it all. Returning after a few years of not collecting made me view things in a different way. Instead of hunting for expensive back issues or buying random toys, I was there for the experience of it all. I ended up with a few sketches, a handful of pictures of costumed fans, and a select few trades that seemed interesting. Even though I was in the heart of comic fandom, I wasn't quite ready to give up my pledge. Not quite yet.

While I gobbled up books like Powers, it wasn't until I saw a preview for Daredevil: Yellow that I found myself swept up in the comic madness again.



There's something about that book that defines Marvel at the turn of the century. The focus on characters over action, maybe; the non-traditional (but totally awesome) Tim Sale art (for a superhero story), maybe; Maybe, it was just at the right place at the right time. Whatever the case, Daredevil: Yellow was a turning point for me.

I recently sat down to read it again to see if it actually holds up to my high praise and I gotta tell you, it doesn't disappoint. The story's simple enough: Matt Murdock, in an attempt to get over the death of the woman he loves writes her a letter about how he fell in love with her. Starting with the death of his father through the moment he truly captured Karen's heart, the book chronicles Daredevil's early Silver Age antics through a very modern and emotional lens. Done in mostly desaturated colors and sweeping visuals, the whole thing never fails to blow me away.



It did it's job, I was totally hooked. Suddenly, I found myself as excited as I was when I was a kid to read the latest issues. But instead of collecting in the hope that one day these books would make me money, I was collecting because I loved all the stories therein. I made a conscious effort to only buy the comics that I wanted to read and, more importantly, stop getting them if they were terrible. I was reborn as a collector and the future was bright.

In the years since, I've become the 'comic guy' in my group of friends. If anyone has a question on who Thor is, or how many Flashes there are, or where Spider-Man gets all his webbing from, I'm their guy. Additionally, I've become a gateway for people looking to get into my favorite hobby, offering book, character, or storyline suggestions for anyone who seems interested. Even more fun, I've become a repository for people looking to get rid of their comics from a run of Fantastic Four to a full on seven long box collection (the inspiration for the blog, honestly). Needless to say, my collection has kind of exploded fairly recently.

And that brings us to today, where as a thirty year-old I sit proudly atop my massive collection twenty years in the making. Sure, it might be cumbersome to move and a pain in the ass to sort sometimes, but it's mine and I love it. I don't know what the future of my comic collecting will bring, but I can't wait to find out.

I hope you stick around to find out with me.

My Secret Origin, The Dark Times

At the end of this week I turn 30 which would be weird enough on it's own, but it also marks my TWENTIETH year reading comics. As a celebration (or validation) of this anniversary, I've decided to take a trip down memory lane and highlight some milestones. The past few days I've discussed how I became a fan through circumstance, fate, and some social pressure. Alas, the good times couldn't last forever, and with an imminent move to college, they were destined to come to an end...
________________________________________________
As bad as a rap the 90s gets for being pure terrible comics, it was the perfect time for me to start reading. Issues were relatively cheap (unless they had some gimmick cover), the selection was huge, and they were readily available every where I went. For a kid looking for a hip new hobby, comics certainly made it easy on me. And for this kid, it was all about Spider-Man and X-Men.

Spider-Man was a constant in my collection for years, but unfortunately the 90s were terrible times for the webslinger. While I was intrigued as anyone by the angst-ridden 'There is no man, only The SPIDER' stuff it really didn't grab me the way I suppose it intended. Same thing with the Spider-Clone fiasco. As interesting as it all was, I never felt truly invested in any of the characters. So, when it seemed that the clone saga was never going to end, I got out and never looked back. Besides, I still had the X-Men and life was good with them.



There was nothing not to like about X-Men in the 90s for an eager teenage comic reader like myself. Each issue was jammed packed with intrigue, hot girls, big action, and plenty of plot twists to me on the edge of my seat. Contrary to logical thought, I loved the intertwining storylines, the never-ending flow of events, and the utter ridiculousness of some of those characters (I'm looking at you, Nate Grey).

However, post Age of Apocalypse, the quality of the events started to wane. Starting with Onslaught and continuing through Zero Tolerance and the Magneto War, each event seemed to set up some amazing premise and fall on it's face. For whatever the reason, I always let it slide, hoping that the next event would be the one that returned everything to the franchise's former glory. And then there was The Twelve.



The notion of "The Twelve" was one of those dangling, long standing plot lines introduced by a throwaway line in an early issue of X-Factor (surprisingly not by Chris Claremont). In the issue in question, a rampaging Master Mold tells Cyclops that he's one of the twelve mutants that will form the future. From that one line, fans went all conspiracy theorist and demanded answers.

Almost ten years, a major cultural movement, and countless crazy-ass events later, Marvel decided to give in and figure out what this 'The Twelve' thing really was. And it was terrible.

Nominally a story about Apocalypse and his latest scheme for world domination, this time with the help of twelve cipher mutants, it attempted to be the cap on years of storytelling and that was my major problem with it. It might have been the years building up to it, or the fact that I was getting ready to go to college, but suddenly I found myself just plain not caring about anything that happened.

Where before, when I was a younger reader, I loved the complexity of the X-Men, with The Twelve it became more of a chore, and frankly one that I hated. For every character that showed up, there was some kind of caveat that I needed to know about why they were there and their relations with the rest of the cast. Sounds pretty standard, I know, but when it comes down to "Bishop just showed up and he's confused because in his own series he's running around in a strange future-ish world where he's the last X-Man but doesn't know why" it gets a little tedious.

Plus, I hated all those fucking mutant skrulls that I feel were thrust on the situation. A pox on Fiz and his stupid brethren, I'm glad they were subjugated. Stupid skrulls, got no business being in my X-Books.



Sorry, that was a tangent. Anyway...

As bad as the massive amount of backstory needed to enjoy The Twelve was, the worst thing about it was the ending. Alan Davis actually came up with a pretty neat idea involving The Twelve where each mutant in question represented what would be a part of the new world he was going to create. To wit, The Living Monolith was the Earth; Magneto and Polaris the poles; Iceman, Sunfire, and Storm as the elements; and you get the point, it was clever. So, of course, they all escaped at the last minute to face off against the ailing Apocalypse, who was attempting to jump into a new host body (Hey, there's Nate Grey again). With options running out, Cyclops, the man that started all of this, leaps in the way and ends up becoming the new host for the world's first mutant.



And then the event ended.

Sure, it was supposed to lead into some other crazy event right away, but I didn't care. After roughly six months of explicit set up, not to mention the years of storylines previous, everything ended right when things got interesting. A quick glance at what was coming up the next month - a strange Age of Apocalypse knockoff - confirmed it for me, I was done. Done, not just with the X-Men, but with comics in general.

"Besides," my 17 year-old brain rationalized at the time, "I'm going to college and it's time I grow up a bit. I don't want boxes of comics scaring away all the cute girls I'm going to meet." (ED NOTE- there were none)

And so, that was that, with my boxes tucked safely away at my parents' house I drifted off to college, content in the belief that I was done with comics forever. It was one the most "Spider-Man No More" moments I've ever had in my life.

As I'm sure you can surmise, this new resolve didn't last forever. Come back tomorrow as my love for the medium is rekindled, my outlook on collecting is changed forever, and my collection soars to crazy heights that would make my 9 year-old self implode with jealousy.

The X-Men First Class Spin Off You've Been Waiting For

The X-Men First Class Rejects.

X Men - First Class REJECTS Trailer - watch more funny videos

I dunno about you, but I would totally pay 8 bucks to see that at the theater. It couldn't be any worse than that Wolverine movie, that's for damn sure.

The Bill June 2, 2011

Short weeks are just the worst! I mean, not when it comes to the work week of course, but more when it comes to trying to get shit done. Do you realize how quickly a Wednesday can sneak up on you when you're not prepared? Pretty damn fast!

But whatever, what's past is past. Let's check out some reviews...




Marvel's Big News of the Week:

Fear Itself #3
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Stuart Immonen


I remember, months ago, reading the press for Fear Itself and wondering what Matt Fraction had planned when he talked about cracking the internet in half with issue three. "It's something noone will see coming," I'm sure he said, "and something that will have long lasting implications on the universe. Fans will definitely be talking about this for a long time..."

And then DC had to go ruin things with their non-reboot reboot announcement. Those jerks!

Just as well, I suppose, because I can't really tell what the big deal is with this issue. Sure, it involves scenes of The Thing grabbing a hammer, but that was spoiled months ago. And yeah, I guess it has the death of a major character, but I don't really buy it as anything other than a fake out until issue four comes out. I dunno, I just don't see what the big deal was supposed to be.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still digging this crossover to no end, but it doesn't necessarily have the twists and turns that, say, Civil War had. Color me intrigued for the rest of the series, but not totally hooked... yet.




Revisiting the 90s:

Uncanny X-Force #11
Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Mark Brooks


I think I've made this joke before, but I don't care: This book is the 90s squared. It's not enough, apparently, to just showcase badass anti-heroes, now they have to take them into the high water mark for 90s X-books: The Age of Apocalypse.

Not that I'm complaining. Honestly AOA was one of those crossovers that hit me at exactly the right point in my comic development to make it one of my favorite storylines of all time. And so far, this is a much better representation of that classic story arc than that horrible ten year anniversary book was a few years back.

My conceptual love aside, it's actually a very fun issue. From the straight-forward premise, to the surprise appearance at the end, I never ran out of things to love about this issue. As a matter of fact, this one went a long way in making me consider buying this book for the long haul. It was just that much fun.

Now if I could only get over my X-book phobia...



That's all I got for this week. I'll try to deliver on time next week! Until then!

How I Learned To Not Be A Troll and Love Peter David.

"PAD sux."

Honest to God, that was my first post on the internet ever. Yes, I was that ornery 15-year old on your favorite newsgroup, trolling before trolling was trolling. And boy, did I get chewed out for it. Never again have I intentionally misspelled (unless it's for effect), not defended a position, or just flat out ignored punctuation since. I learned that lesson very quickly, but the PAD thing took a while longer.



PAD, Peter A. David for you n00bs, has been a prominent comic writer and fan-favorite for years. He's done highly regarded runs on The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, X-Factor (the 90s version), and X-Factor (the current version), while also tackling few novels in between. The man's a writing machine. But even with all the universal praise, to my 15-year old brain the man straight up sucked.

At the time, I didn't understand his witty banter, excellent puns, or exceedingly clever takes on any given character, all I knew is the man didn't want to play ball when it came to crossovers. Something that, as a young fanboy, I just couldn't comprehend.

From the rumors I hear, the beginning of his immense distaste for crossovers came from the end of his first run on X-Factor. It was during X-Cutioner's Song (my first big X-Crossover, by the by) that he was forced to write an issue that featured no members of the book, and instead focused on Wolverine, Cable, and Bishop.



It wasn't a terrible issue (well, all things considered), but it did kind of derail his own plots for the book. At the time I wasn't really aware it was a problem (Oh, those crazy pre-internet days...) and presently I'm aware how much that would suck, it was that time inbetween that really festered the hate in me. The thing I really couldn't get over: he dissed Onslaught.



Yeah, yeah, Onslaught's a joke now, but to my mid-90s, crazy X-Fan brain Onslaught was the culmination of years of storytelling. It was the definition of an epic - one that would have consequences that would really last, not just for the X-Universe, but the Marvel U at large - and demanded the be reflected in all of Marvel's books. To put it simply, PAD did not share my enthusiasm for the concept of an evil Professor X and his quest to take over the world.

His problem, from what I remember, was The Hulk's involvement in the fracas. For whatever reason, the higher-ups decided that The Hulk should not only be involved, but that he should be one of Onslaught's henchmen AND would ultimately be split into a monster half and a human half (with the human escaping into the... you know what, let's just leave it splitting). Needless to say, this is a huge change in the character and would severely derail any long term story lines that were already in place. So, as those who are slighted tend to do, PAD was quoted somewhere (probably in Wizard) voicing his dismay in how everything went down.




"How dare he not want to play ball with these large, universe-changing events!" I shouted to no one (I didn't have a lot of friends who read comics). "The Marvel Universe is shared, if something happens in one book, it should be reflected in another," I continued, "He needs to check his ego at the door and start doing what's good for the Marvel Universe as a whole!" Of course, without a physical outlet for this impotent adolescent rage, I took to the internet newsgroups and boiled down my grievance into two words: PAD sux.

Oh, how I was wrong.

After putting the habit down for a few years and returning, I discovered how much fun PAD's work can be. Sure, sometimes it can get a little overly cutesy and punny - like in the mostly fantastic Captain Marvel series from 2001 - but for the most part his stuff is insightful, funny, and overall just swell. I may not actively read any of his books anymore - even though his X-Factor is pretty damn amazing, not to mention the phenomenal stuff he's been doing with the Multiple Man - I've realized, in my maturing years, how refreshing his work can be.

And I wanted you all to know that.

It was a mistake that's been haunting me for years and I needed to set the record straight. To that point, I would like to formally revoke my first internet post and declare that PAD does indeed not 'sux'.

Phew. I feel better already.

Iceman and Beast: Yukon Ho!

That was the best Calvin and Hobbes pun title I could come up with. It was either that or "Attack of the Deranged Mutant Goons", and I didn't think that really fit with anything.

Anywho, I found this while perusing Comics Should Be Good over at CBR and thought it was too good to not get reposted. I hopes you digs it as much as I do.

PS. Also go check out more of Caanan Grall's other phenomenal stuff at his webcomic Occassional Comics Disorder. You won't be disappointed.

Hey Rogue, What's Your Favorite Kind Of Nut?

Huh. I woulda figured pecans...

An off model Rogue answers your burning questions in Dazzler #24 by Danny Fingeroth and Frank Springer.

I Hate April Fools Day...

And here's why:



I found this on Reddit today and my gut tells me this can't be real. But, in a week that had The Black Panther decked out in Team America gear I don't know what to think.

Is the big surprise in Marvel's Fear Itself #3 (something that's been hinted at by Matt Fraction to no end) a world changing thingamajig similar to what will probably happen in DC's Flashpoint? I'm half thinking that might be the case, because the alternative (assuming it's real and not a fan drawing) is just... They wouldn't, right? I mean, I know he's has been hanging with those flithy mutants for a while now, but that wouldn't make him strap on an X. Would it?

Ugh. Stupid April Fools. Anyone have any thoughts?

Am I the only one hoping it's the return of Spidercide?

The Bill Feburary 16, 2011

Hey everyone! It's that time of the week again, so I hope you're prepared to read my prattlin' on about my new comics. Also, I have a very important question for any and all of you reading this, so make sure you stick around for the outro. Okay?

Okay! Let's do this!




Testing The X-Waters:

Uncanny X-Force #5
Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Esad Ribic


I used to be such a huge X-Fan it was crazy. I had posters, toys, guidebooks, every chapter to every big crossover, you know EVERYTHING. That is, until it all got ridiculous around the time of The Twelve, when things got so bad that I stopped collecting comics all together. It was bad.

Years later, I dipped a toe in the water for the latter half of Grant Morrison's run and was blown away. It was the X-Men run I always wanted, so of course it was retconned as soon as Morrison left. Sad and dismayed, I left the X-Books a second time, but still with an eye on them just for old times sake.

A few months ago when Uncanny X-Force hit the stands, I found myself inexplicably intrigued by it. Maybe it was the writer, maybe it was the use of Fantomex, or maybe it was just my old X-Force love come bubbling up; whatever it was, I just needed one more thing to click and I would be all over this book like white on rice.

Then they teased the Deathlok virus.

This idea, thought up by the always entertaining Jason Aaron, really grabbed me of late. For whatever reason (still unknown), I'm all about this new take on the Deathlok mythos. You know, that instead of being a pacifist in a cyborg body, it's this assassination force sent from the future. It's fun, fresh, and was just the thing that Uncanny X-Force needed to get me to pick it up.

The verdict? It was okay. Not terrible by any stretch, but just not what I was expecting.

The cover - which I know I shouldn't judge these books on - makes it out to be an all out brawl between this new X-Force and some Super-Deathloks, but the reality is it's not. There's some fallout from the previous issue, which I'm glad is there; There's some backstory, emotional and otherwise, for Fantomex, which is interesting and generally well-done, not to mention that it's nice to see that Morrison continuity being utilized; and there's some cool fight scenes, which is why I bought the book. However, at the end, I didn't have the charge that I wanted to have from it.

I dunno, I'm going to give this book this arc to impress me. So far, I dig most of the stuff about it, but I'm not totally in love with it yet. I'll let you know how things progress.



So Good It Hurts:

Avengers Academy #9
Writer: Christos Gage
Artist: Mike Mckone


I know I've gushed about this book before, but I can't help it, it's just that good! Avengers Academy is what I want every teen hero book to read like. You have kids acting like kids, making bad decisions, getting emotional, and whatever, while the adults do their best to rein them in. The characters, the dynamics, the overall storytelling on this one is nothing less than amazing and this issue is no exception.

This time out we get a glimpse of one character making a questionable decision while the adults discuss the ramifications of a different decision. There are tough questions to answer which could alter the future of these young, hopefully, heroes. Meanwhile, Gage and McKone give us the knock-down drag-out fight we've all been waiting for between Finesse and The Taskmaster (fresh off his unbelievably awesome miniseries).

This book just great old-school storytelling in the mighty Marvel manner. Do yourself a favor and pick this book up if you haven't already. I promise you won't be disappointed.



Okay, one last thing before I go.

So, I've been doing these reviews for a while, and have had a lot of fun doing them in the process, but I can't help to think I could do better with the name. I started using the name "The Bill" because it was a great pun for both the anatomy of a platypus and how much I spend on comics a week. However the more I think about it, i don't think it's as targeted as it should be. It doesn't say "COMIC REVIEWS!" like it ought to.

So the question: Should I change the name of this feature? Do you think I'm crazy and The Bill is a fine name? Or do you think it's about time I stop trying to be clever and come up with something a little bit more descriptive?

Lemme know what you think, either in the comments or via the email if you're the shy type. I'm excited to hear your thoughts.

Oh, also you can comment if you want to know anything else about what I bought or want to share in my lovefest for Avengers Academy. You know, if you want...

A First Class X-Men Trailer

This popped up last night...



...and I gotta say, I kinda dig it. Which is not what I was expecting.

Suddenly, I feel like I understand a lot of the casting decisions. There's no Cyclops or Nightcrawler because the timing isn't right, so instead they're using Havok as a Cyke Stand In and Azazel as their wannabe Nightcrawler. It's not perfect, but at least it works and at least now it all makes sense. To me at least.

Also, I'm pretty impressed by James McAvoy's Professor Xavier, even if he's starting to look like an overripe tomato. He seems to have the right amount of poise to pull it off. But I have to say, I'm very surprised they didn't make him shave his head so people would know without a shadow of a doubt that it was supposed to be a young Patrick Stewart, ala what they did with Star Trek Nemesis. Surprised, but very happy that they respect our intelligence a little bit.

So there it is, I'm officially mildly excited for this movie. What about you? It can't be worse than X3 or Wolverine, right? Right?

Marvel's Biggest Swerve Ever

Do you remember when this happened:



Yeah, it was totally awesome.

That was the moment I knew I'd be a life long comic fan. If they could do amazingly unexpected things like that to their characters two summers running (remember X-cutioner's Song was the year before where Xavier was assassinated), who knew what the futures would bring.

That said, I don't think anyone anticipated Wolverine going without his adamantium for six years during the height of the X-Men's popularity. I mean really, who in their right mind would not only de-metalfy Marvel's premiere badass for more than, say, a couple of years. You know, for effect.

And that's the mind frame that set up everyone for the biggest swerve in Marvel history: Wolverine #100



First off, I gotta say something about this cover. I know it's been said before, but man that cover sucks. The GirlFriend took one look at it and thought that giant silver blob was supposed to be a mirror. "Oh, I get it," she said earnestly, "It's like I am Wolverine."

She's adorable.

Anyway, this issue picks up mid issue where our favorite Canadian (Take that Michael Myers!) has been kidnapped by the evil son of Cable, Genesis. His grand plan is to return Wolverine to his former shiny goodness and turn him into the first horseman of the Apocalypse (specifically Death, because big heroes always get turned into the cool horsemen).**



Wouldn't you know it, things start to go awry. After watching the bonding process, Cannonball (who had been hiding in the air vents) springs to action to... tell everyone he tried? Poor kid starts getting whupped on, and with his dying breath levels a world class guilt trip on the guy he was "trying" to "save".



Guilt, being the most powerful force in the Marvel Universe, fuels Wolverine to finally regain consciousness and return to his adamantium-laced berserker self in no time. Right?


Wrong.

Here we are in the big anniversary issue where Wolverine gets bonded to, but ultimately rejects his replacement metal. WTF, my wayward friends.

Oh, but the swerve didn't stop there. Maybe you thought Wolverine was going to be the same, just a little meaner, maybe have a little superficial touch up.

Wrong again.



Thankfully, this... iteration... of Wolverine only lasted a year or so before it quietly drifted off into nothingness and was never ever mentioned again.

But what about the adamantium? How'd he eventually get that back? Would you believe off panel?

That's right, for Marvel's final swerve they finally opted to give Wolvie back his metal as an afterthought buried beneath another huge crossover.

You know, the one where he was a Horsemen of the Apocalypse (he was Death, by the way).

Wolverine's adamantium, a giant six year epic resolved off panel. Way to go, Marvel.

**Hey, so, sorry about the wonky pictures. For whatever reason blogger doesn't seem to like the pictures as they are saved and has instead decided to bring them in at their scanned orientations. It's fun. So I'm going to leave them for now and come back later to fix it. Hopefully then blogger will decide to stop being an asshole.

Wolverine Loves His Damn Eggs

Few people know about Wolverine's love of Canadian Eggs and even fewer take the time to write about it. Lucky for us, Faith Erin Hicks is around to help us out, opting to pitch a story around this oft forgotten Wolverine quirk for the Girl Comics anthology.

Marvel was quick to shut it down.

Undaunted, she finished the story and put it online for the world to see. Finally we can all see what Wolverine goes through to get his special Canadian Eggs.

It's so awesomely fantastic I just had to post about it. I hope you dig it as much as I do, and find yourself with a new found pity for Wolverine being forced to live with all those teenagers.

That poor poor man. No wonder he has rage issues...

X-arama!

I'm not gonna lie. I came back from vacation with a head cold that makes forming a coherent sentence one of the hardest things to do. So while I really want to write up a semi-review of Siege #4 (quick review: It does the job, but I wish it was better), I don't think it's going to be in the cards for today.

Instead, I have this sweet piece of art snagged from the clutches to 4chan combining two of my favorite things in the world: Futurama and the X-Men.



There are some dubious choices up there, but it's fun none the less.

Now I'm going to climb back into my healing cocoon (read: the couch) and attempt to be back tomorrow with more hard hitting blogging... or something.

I need some drugs.

Fabulous 100th Post!

Woulda look at that, 100 posts on my little blog. Not bad for less than a year. I mean, not all that great either, but still not bad. I feel like I'm going strong and finally finding my voice on this damned thing. Here's to a hundred more!

And, to keep the tradition alive from my fifteth post, here are all the issue 100s I own. Also this will probably be the last time I do this, because A- not many series reach over a hundred; and B- It's kinda silly and I really ought to focus on generating new content. Right? RIGHT!


This book was just floudering at the time, I only bought this because I had the previous 99 issues. Which is saying something, considering that it's X-Force.


Power Man and Iron Fist is the greatest team up ever. I really need to write about them more.


The start of Claremont's second coming and coincidentally when I stopped reading comics. (SPOILERS: I started reading them again!)


Honestly, I bought this one because it was a shiny collectors item. I remember not knowing what was going on, but it was kinda nice to see someone actually die from the Legacy Virus. You know, aside from little girls.


Hyped as being the issue where Wolverine finally got his adamantium back, they sure fooled us by turning him into a noseless pirate for six months. I think they were trying to punish us...


So in this issue, Spidey creates a new suit of armor to get, I dunno, the villain or something. It was totally great, lasers had no affect, bullets were worthless, it was unstoppable! Until someone made it really cold, and the armor shattered. I was very disappointed.


I believe my thoughts on Spider-Girl are pretty clear.


I totally own this book, and totally love it. Iron Man, uh, recaps his origin and faces off against some classic foes. It's great! You should totally go read it and let me know what you think about it.


Daredevil in the mid seventies was weird. He moved to San Francisco, lived in sin with the Black Widow, fought robots from the future, and in this one, fought mind altering hippies. Thank god Frank Miller came around.


Featuring the first appearances by Feral and Shatterstar, this is the book that made me an X-Force devotee.

Shut up, I was 13. Get outta here!

Meanwhile...

LASERS!!

The X-Tinction Agenda Ate My Brain

Oh The X-Tinction Agenda, how you've been forgotten.



You were the start of a string of bigger and badder (in both senses of the words) X-Men crossovers, reaching creative highs during the Age of Apocalypse (I don't care what you think, it was mind-blowing for the time) and ultimately crashing and burning with The Twelve Saga (shudder).

I found a trade collection of you the other day and thought, "oh, how wonderful it would be to remind myself of why I fell in love with the X-Men all those years ago." I didn't expect greatness from you, X-Tinction Agenda, but I didn't expect you to rot my brain with this horrible dialogue from Gambit:



"What care I for the others, whom I hardly know?"
"Missing? But where can she have gone?"

That feeling you have reading this scene are your brain cells dying. Just leave it be, it's not worth it. It took me a solid week to recover from processing Gambit's strange turn from mush-mouthed Cajun to oddly formal and grammatically confusing Dickhead.

What did I do to deserve this X-tinction Agenda? Maybe this is why everyone forgot about you, because you hurt them all the same...