God Loves, Man Kills is a well that’s hard to return to. This doesn’t stop it from happening, however.
The most successful of these returns, 2003’s X2: X-Men United, wasn’t even a comic book but a movie.
Even it took liberties with the material, but this is to be expected. [Read more…] about X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills — The Extended Edition Review!
1980s Marvel Toy Comics for Dummies
Toys and comics have gone hand-in-hand for a long time. This is true up to this very day; I myself have Marvel Legends figures displayed with my comics, and even hand-picked what characters and issues would go well together. It’s great to have such a comforting piece of childhood stretch into my adulthood (now that I have my own money and don’t have to beg my parents for nice things!). But certainly, when I was growing up in the Eighties, comics and toys had a similarly symbiotic relationship—perhaps, even stronger than it is now. [Read more…] about 1980s Marvel Toy Comics for Dummies
Underrated Gems: Zeb Wells’ Fall and Rise of the New Mutants
NOTE: The end of this piece WILL spoil HELLIONS #1, so if that matters to you, please bookmark this and enjoy later!
My selection for largely unheralded (pun intended) comic story of the recent decade is a timely and strategic choice. Back in the early 1980s, when the X-Men were busy fighting the Brood in space and Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel of MCU fame had heavy history with our merry mutants back in the day) was busy becoming Binary, an eventual member of the Starjammers, Professor Charles Xavier thought they were dead. Because of this, he founded a class of…well…New Mutants. This would be long-time writer Chris Claremont’s second ongoing series (Ed. Note: Art by Bob Mcleod!). He handed the keys over to Louise Simonson roughly halfway through the book’s 100-issue run. Near the end, artist Rob Liefeld took over writing the book, introducing characters like Cable, Domino and Deadpool that are X-Men mainstays (and movie stars!) to this day. [Read more…] about Underrated Gems: Zeb Wells’ Fall and Rise of the New Mutants
X-Men: X-Tinction Agenda Retrospective & Connections to Dawn of X Explored!
This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the FIRST X-Men crossover of the Nineties—the “X-
Tinction Agenda”! For me, this is the crossover event that serves as the template for future events, even
though the format for such shenanigans has always been toyed with. [Read more…] about X-Men: X-Tinction Agenda Retrospective & Connections to Dawn of X Explored!
The Five Essential X-Men “Generation X” Comic Book Stories!
Generation X has a special place in the hearts of X-Fans of a certain age. If you were born in the 80s, you probably just missed reading New Mutants as the issues hit shelves (unless you were an especially precocious pre-teen), Shadowcat had already moved to Excalibur by the time you were old enough to read, and Jubilee wasn’t exactly a central character in X-Men plots.
I was twelve when the Phalanx Covenant kicked off what would be the first team of mostly-original mutants in nearly fifteen years, helmed by two Academy headmasters that hadn’t exactly enjoyed the spotlight. I’d been reading X-Men in sporadic chunks for a couple years, but already knew I wanted to see more of Banshee, and that having the White Queen working for Charles Xavier was going to cause issues. [Read more…] about The Five Essential X-Men “Generation X” Comic Book Stories!