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All posts for the month November, 2013

What If Volume Two Issue 12

Posted by John Klein III on November 20, 2013
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

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Storyteller Jim Valentino

Inker Sam Delarosa

Letterer Phil Felix

Colorist Tom Vincent

What If the X-Men Had Stayed In Asgard?

Based off of Uncanny X-Men Annual 9 and New Mutants Special 1

At the end of the the original story, Loki makes the mutants decide to stay in Asgard or return to Earth.   The catch is, the decision must be unanimous.  They all, of course, chose Earth, though it broke some hearts.

This time, Rahne chooses to not leave her wolf prince.  With Dani’s help, some come to realize it is better in Asgard than it is on Earth.

The vote breaks down as :

Staying               Leaving

Rahne                 Cyclops

Dani                    Karma

Sunspot             Wolverine

Doug                   Warlock

Rogue                  Kitty

Cannonball        Colossus

Nightcrawler     Magma

Magik                  Rachel

Storm

Loki decides, that he will let those who want to leave, to go home.  Which is awesome, as if they knew that going in, they may have voted differently.  This way, we know what was in their hearts.

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We get just one panel of what the X-Men look like now.  If I had my way, we would get at least one story with this expanded team.

Cyclops, in a shirt to big for him, that belt is essential

Iceman

Beast, human form

Angel

Rachel, in a black and yellow costume design we will never see again.  It isn’t that bad.

Karma, also in a never used since outfit.

Wolverine

Jean, in an outfit she would never wear

Shadowcat, in an outfit very close to her Evolution  outfit, plus a white mask.

Colossus, armor power but minus his face.  Which is the one spot he really should have armor, that is where he keeps his brain!

Magma, pretty much still has the New Mutants uniform.

What If V2 12 Magik 1

The Asgard mutants, all have a nice space to be :

Rahne, will be in wolf form most likely forever, but with her wolf prince.

Doug is the first official Librarian of Asgard.

Cannonball marries the Drawf King’s daughter.

Sunspot and Nightcrawler become warriors of the land.

Rogue dates Fandrall the Dashing.

Dani stays a Valkyrie.

Magik is the new Enchantress.

Storm is made the official new Goddess of Thunder.

Hela and Karnilla make an alliance to ruin the nine worlds.

Volstagg is trying to cure his ailing daughter, Hildy.  He is looking for the Sword of Surtur.

Magik senses the new alliance, and the trouble it will bring.

While Loki is making a speech, this giant six foot six inch frog tackles him!  Loki makes it so Frog Thor can’t speak, and makes Storm  battle hungry.  This is shown, artistically, via Loki’s bald bald.  Which I haven’t thought of him as being bald.  Also, we see the reverse of the cover’s image.

A giant battle ensues.

Sunspot is the first to die.

Back at the Sword of Surtur, Volstagg falters and pushes a bunch of rocks onto the sword.  This breaks Loki’s spell and Thor is human looking again.

Hela is on the battlefield with her forces and now with Thor, the heroes are united.

Balder the Brave shows up to Karnilla, and promises to marry her and become her king.  Which is all she ever wanted.

The Drawf King is the next known hero to die.  Quickly followed by the wolf prince.

Then the Valkyries kill Hela, Dani delivering the death blow.

There is a time cut.

Thor announces Storm will be the new Queen of Asgard, so that he can pal around with the Avengers.  Which is Namor, She-Hulk, Captain America and Thor.  Pretty decent line up.

Storm rules Asgard according to the old laws Doug finds.

Nightcrawler joins the Warriors Three, since Fandrall has decided to retire and marry Rogue.

Cannonball has a newborn on the way.  I forgot to mention that Sam is drawn very unattractively.

Rahne gives birth to two wolves and a human baby.

They Who Sit Above In Shadow, trick and reward Loki, for his part of bringing peace to the nine worlds and give him complete rule over the nine worlds.  Of course, he rules the nine worlds minutes before the worlds are swallowed by a black hole.

It is nice to read a What If where not everyone dies or the world isn’t completely ruin.

. . .

With this post, I hit my target for Thor month but I am going to try to get a few more added.

Marvel Knights X-Men 1

Posted by John Klein III on November 19, 2013
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

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Story and Art Brahm Revel

Color Artist Christiane Peter

Letterer and Production VC’s Joe Sabino

Haunted Part One of Five

Issue opens very dramatically.  A mutant, who is not Leech, is being hunted upstate.  Rachel senses this, and it brings up old Hound memories.

This miniseries was billed as Kitty, Rogue and Wolverine.  Revel gets to sneak in Rachel and Beast.

Marvel Knights X-Men 1 Kitty 1

The main three are going to head to a small town in Western Virginia to save two other detected mutants.  Apparently a slew of kids have gone missing around town.  This angers Wolverine, and the team is off.

Marvel Knights X-Men 1 Kitty 2

The town is located somewhere along the West Virginia / Kentucky border.  I wonder what the three of them discussed on this long car ride.  I imagine they didn’t want to fly as that would draw too much attention.

Marvel Knights X-Men 1 Kitty 3

Of course, Wolverine walks up to a group of men and irritates them.  Kitty and Rogue go to a teen party.

We meet Krystal, a young blonde who does drugs and as mental powers that makes a person do what she says.

Apparently, the sheriff, Jasper, is a bad man.

Krystal leads the X-Men into the woods, where kids go to disappear.  They find a cabin.  Inside, Wolverine finds . . . Sabretooth!

Who, of course, has to be an illusion but Revel gets one chance to draw the X-Men, let the gentleman draw Sabretooth, while he can.

Good art, and the characters sound right, the mood feels very suspenseful.

Wolverine First Class 15

Posted by John Klein III on November 18, 2013
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

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Writer Peter David

Artist Scott Koblish

Colorist Ulises Arreola

Letterer / Production VC’s Joe Caramagna

Issue starts wih Ulik and a troll trying to get to the surface.  Ulik gets to the subway tunnel and gets smack by a subway.

Koblush is a very expressive artist.

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He shows Kitty is a wide range of motions.  We join her pleading Logan for something.  Koblish shows Kitty pleading in the exact same pose for five panels, and it is fun everytime.

She tries at breakfast, while he is washing the dishes, brushing his teeth, while he is working with Colossus and Nightcrawler on the Bkackbird, then finally while he and Kurt are playing some PS3.

Kurt finally asks what she wants, Logan admits he cannot remember.  Kitty really wants to meet Thor.  She wants to do this, as the girls at her dance class are real jerks.  She never had classmates at Stevie Hunter’s dance studio, besides Doug, in the original continuity.  I really like the idea of Kitty having classmates her age, as she rarely had that interaction.

While explaining the goal to Kurt, she says Thor Heyerdahl, who Logan does know and that Thor does owe him one, as Logan helped him with building the Kon-Tiki.

At this point in Logan’s history, he has not met Thor.  Present Day, he is on Uncanny Avengers with Thor, and can set up a meeting easily.

Arreola really uses a rich color palette, rich but bright.  This was meant, and succeeded, as an all ages title.  The colors are light and keeps the story feeling very welcoming.

Peter David, of course, can tell enduring tales that all can enjoy, and he throws little jokes into the script.  Such as Whitney, the leader of the other two gals, tells them that they don’t have minds of their own, but they also should not be offended by Whitney thinking that of them.

Kitty is poolside, while Logan is swimming.  She is trying to convince him to set up a meeting.  She tries to trick him by saying Jean told her to ask Scott.  In a great use of pacing, it is done in snappy dialogue, it is revealed that Kitty already tried Scott.

This makes Logan laugh and he agrees to do the meeting.

Thor is being presented with a medal, Logan knows, if more than one superhero is present at an event, trouble will follow.

Of course, Ulik shows up.  He has a magnet that captures Mjolnir.  That doesn’t hold Thor back at all.

The troll takes the giant magnet into a sewer.  Wolverine enters the fight with Ulik while Kitty fights the troll.

Kitty tricks the troll into defeating himself.  At one point, Mjolnir turns into a simple cane.  Kitty doesn’t know this, but once a polite man asks for it back, she complies.  He becomes Thor and thusly defeats Ulik by sending into the atmosphere.

Kitty goes back to the dance class to eat crow, while she is in the middle of her confession, Thor speaks up and asks her how she is doing.  It is a great pay off, and it feels like when someone much cooler shows up to make things right.

Thor asks if there is a question she wants answered.  She asks about his hair.  He says, “mine…hair?” and you see Logan smirk.  Great way to end the issue.

All New X-Men 18

Posted by John Klein III on November 17, 2013
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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Writer Brian Michael Bendis

Penciler Stuart Immonen

Inker Wade Von Grawbadger

Colorist Marte Gracia

Letterer VC’s Cory Petit

Okay, this is now my favorite issue of the year.  It has everything you want in a comic.  People talk about how they miss the down time issues.  This issue is all about recovering from Battle of the Atom, and stating steps to move forward.

The entire creative team really brought it this issue.

This issue takes place, seconds after the epilogue where Kitty and the Original Five leave the Jean Grey School.

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Also, Lockheed is there!  I have been worried that he was going to be forgotten about.  This is all I needed to see, one panel with him in the new place.  Would it be cool to have two panels?  Yes, but that is what the future is for.  Lockheed says, murp.  Say it aloud, it is an odd sound.

All New X-Men 18 Kitty Magik Two Teams

I like how Kitty is the only one with a duffel bag, also that she is holding it with one arm.  That is one strong lady.

Magik explains that the New Xavier School is a reappropriated Weapon X facility.  Hank is quick to ask what is Weapon X.

That first splash page, where you see Cyclops’ team.  Never notice before how lack of color his team his.  He is practically all in red, but everyone else is in black or white.

Feel bad for Hank, bare foot in that Canadian snow.

All New X-Men 18 Kitty Cyclops

I really like Kitty and Cyclops’ interaction.  She punches his shoulder, she gets why he choose this location.

Cyclops explains to the Original Five, what the Weapon X program was about.

We get the two teams meeting.  Which is nice to see teams meeting for once with handshakes instead of kicks to the face.

Nice moment with Bobby and Tempus.  He likes her accent, she says all Americans do.  He then unloads all of his thoughts on the previous crossover.  She left a while ago, which is a great sight gag.  Earlier in her history with Cyclops, she was the only approachable gal, so she was flirted with and now she has no time for it.

We also get the Cuckoos showing Jean to her room.  Irma is the brunette, Phoebe is thinking of going red, which I am all for, let the three of them have their own look, then they can have their own voice.

Celeste really lays into Jean.  Jean tries to be nice but it escalates.

Celeste was always the closest to Emma.  Jean makes a reference to their origins, which I still hate that they were not just five gals with a hive mind, they were the successful test tube clones of Emma.  Such a horrible origin.  I am now back in the process of forgetting that is their origin.

Poor Benjamin, still just standing around, watching.  I like how big Immonen draws Hank.  He is suppose to have big hands and feet, and that really comes across when he is standing around actual items.

Magneto shows up, Hank doesn’t quite know how to handle him.  Magneto created the communication system and Hank finds the setup cute.  Not a word Magneto associates with his actions.  Gets a great line regarding the unspoken subtext, I like this Maagneto.

We don’t get it this issue, but I have always been a fan of Kitty and Magneto’s relationship.  She can thank him for returning her to Earth.  It took a lot out of both of them, but we never got her saying thanks.

We finally get Hank talking to Jean about the kiss.  It gets heated fast.

Scott shows up, clearly having heard the tail end of that conversation, stating Professor K wants them.  I sort of love that title for her.

Kitty called a meeting, only Scott shows up for it.  He is the only one there, as Bobby and Warren are sleeping off the crossover.  She dismisses him, he doesn’t like being called Slim anymore.

This is the heart of the issue, from this point on.  It is so fantastic to see Kitty and Illyana together again.  Their costumes are so different!  I sort of want to see Kitty talj to Illyana about it, as it is such a radical change.

Illyana starts to talk about Kitty’s recent break up, Kitty rathet not.  He was just another poor boyfriend choice.  There is this great beat when Kitty realizes she has only had three boyfriends, and one of them’s sister is right there.  So awkward.

Kitty says she hasn’t spoken with Piotr, which is true, she only wrote him a letter and gave him some painting supplies in Cable & X-Force 6.

We finally see that Illyana does feel horrible about how she and her brother  ended things.  He was going crazy, and she could have turned it off at anytime.  It was rather harsh, but I was cool with it.

All New X-Men 18 Kitty Magik almost Hug

Illyana really commits to a hug, but Kitty apparently is always in phase mode around Illyana (or was in phase mode to cut down on the cold) and Illyana goes right through Kitty.  Another wonderful sight gag of Illyana falling head first into the snow.

Great with Kitty holding Illyana while both are sitting in the snow.  Illyana must be so cold in the snow, in that outfit.  I know she is Russian  and Queen of Limbo, but it has to be cold.

41 hours later, the team is reunited.  I really want Magik to be the seventh member of the team.

Kitty talks to Bobby about his defense mechanism.  It is neither cute or funny.   What is funny is she compares him with Hank, and how Hank is a good listener.  Of course, he wasn’t listening.

All New X-Men 18 All New Costumes

Kitty gives Illyana the go ahead.  Illyana magically changes the Original Five into their new uniforms.  Which the cover is super misleading, a great cover for three months ago when the future was uncertain.  Now, it looks like she is sad because she liked those original costumes.  Which she obviously does, as her current costume is just a modified version of the basic training uniform.  Kitty is due for a costume change.

These new uniforms, Jean is in green, a good color for her.  I wish that Scott and Bobby were not both shades of blue.  Angel is in red.  Poor Hank, stilk bootless in the snow.  Hank is in orange, which is nice as there are not many orange theme heroes.

I guess the implication is that either or both Kitty and Illyana created the new look.  Hank only asks how the new uniforms manifested, Illyana tells him via magic.  She also gives him a one sentence recap of her own origin and powers.

“I am a trained sorcerer working under the tutelage of Doctor Stange after being raised as a child in the Limbo dimension by the demon Belasco.”

I keep reading that Magik is being train by Dr. Strange, but has that ever really been shown?

All New X-Men 18 Kitty Train Speech

Kitty gives one of her classic speeches about what their new mission statement is, pretty much the same as before, but now they know how important it is, as they have seen the future.

I like that it keeps getting brought up that Kitty was the one who ended the relationship.

All New X-Men 18 Kitty Train

Immonen uses the technique that I really like on the next page.  He copies the previous page’s top panel, but under it, we get Jean hearing both Scott and Hank’s thoughts.  Both are thinking about Jean.  What I really enjoy is that both, towards the end of the page, both seem to be getting over Jean, rather quickly.  Once she isn’t the only available girl in two blocks, she really loses the thing that made her so attractive.

Jean is overcome and levitates herself, for the very time.  She cannot control it.  Luckily Angel flies up and catches her.  He did confess loving her, in a throw away line during the first part of Battle of the Atom Issue Two.  He can have her, as far as I can care.  You know, if Jean is okay with that.  I am at that point, where I don’t really need to see characters in a couple situation.  Though it is nice for those characters, at first, most comic relationships end horribly, one way or the other.

An alarm goes off and the team is heading to Florida.

Such a great issue, deals with the previous storyline and transitions to the next.  Looks like, from the next issue image, that Magik is along for the ride.  Probably due to her being the ride.

A+X 1 Baby Variant

Posted by John Klein III on November 16, 2013
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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Look how adorable that Scottie Young cover is!  Baby Kitty with an even cuter Lockheed.

Love this cover so much!  Baby Thor is there, being ridden by Baby Wolverine.

Inside has two good stories as well.

First one has Captain America, Bucky and Cable.  By Dan Slott and Ron Garney.  Cable and a future Trask offspring are back in time to WWII.  Issue ends with Bucky noticing Cable’s mechanical arm.  Nods to Winter Soldier.

Second story has Hulk and Wolverine, plus cake!  By Jeph Loeb and Dale Keown.  The two Avengers see there is one piece of cake left, then their future selves show up, Maestro and Days of Future Past Wolverine.  They fight to a draw, the future ones go back to see Red Hulk is the President, and he sent them there to kill his younger self.  Not sure if this ever got picked up elsewhere.

The first page summary page has some funny  lines in it.

Marvel February 2014 Solicitations

Posted by John Klein III on November 15, 2013
Posted in: Solicitations. Tagged: . Leave a comment

http://www.newsarama.com/19561-marvel-comics-february-2014-solicitations.html

WOLVERINE #1 & 2
PAUL CORNELL (W) • RYAN STEGMAN (A/C)
Variant Cover by Jerome Opeña
Animal Variant by Katie Cook
Design Variant by TBA
Blank Variant Also Available
Issue #2 – Variant Cover by TBA
WOLVERINE NO MORE?
After the events of KILLABLE, Wolverine has something to prove. Before he can take on Sabretooth again, he’ll need to build himself back up, get better and stronger than he’s ever been…but it’s not as easy as he thought, and he’ll soon find himself turning to other means of revenge when the normal channels don’t seem to be working fast enough. Can he fight back his demons, or is this the beginning of a Wolverine who’s gone to the dark side?
32 PGS./PARENTAL ADVISORY …$3.99

So, Wolverine is now getting a fifth volume!  People are going to start thinking he isn’t able to keep a title afloat.  No Alan Davis art is going to hurt this relaunch.  Plus, he is fighting Sabretooth, the main villain of Killable, so this really should just be issue 13 of the last volume.  So silly sometimes, but it has been proven that people love themselves a new number one. 

FANTASTIC FOUR #1
JAMES ROBINSON (W) • LEONARD KIRK (A/C)

MS. MARVEL #1
G. WILLOW WILSON (W)
ADRIAN ALPHONA (A)

THE PUNISHER #1 & 2
NATHAN EDMONDSON (W)
MITCHELL THOMAS GERADS (A/C)

SHE-HULK #1
CHARLES SOULE (W) • JAVIER PULIDO (A)

WINTER SOLDIER: THE BITTER MARCH #1 (of 5)
RICK REMENDER (W)
ROLAND BOSCHI (A)

NEW WARRIORS #1
CHRISTOPHER YOST (W) MARCUS TO (A)

LOKI: AGENT OF ASGARD #1
AL EWING (W) • LEE GARBETT (A)

X-FORCE #1
SI SPURRIER (W) • ROCK-HE KIM (A/C)

No interest in these new number ones!  It is nice that there is another female lead book but it doesn’t sound like it is for me.   I like that she has an alliteration name, I like that she is from Ne Jersey, it is cool that she is a Muslim Inhuman, makes her part of the well-be-then current storyline. 

            I also like the sound of this new She-Hulk title, she is back to being an attorney, which I really liked from Dan Slott’s two series. 

Winter Soldier, to tie in with the new movie. 

            The Loki series does sound fun. 

I will miss Spurrier on X-Men Legacy and unfortunately, have no interest in X-Force titles. 

ALL-NEW X-MEN #23
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (W) • STUART IMMONEN (A/C)
Variant Cover by DALE KEOWN
“THE TRIAL OF JEAN GREY” PART 3!
• Jean is on trial and it’s up to the All-New X-Men and Guardians of the Galaxy to get her free.
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

Now that we know Kitty is still in this title, I am looking forward to this crossover!

 

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #12
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (W) • SARA PICHELLI (A)
Cover by MIKE DEODATO
Variant Cover by Dale Keown
Movie Variant also available
“THE TRIAL OF JEAN GREY” PART 4!
• A surprise ally from one character’s past comes to help, but is that enough against the most powerful army in the Universe?
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

With this being written by Bendis, who has Daredevil experience, imagine if this is an actual trial?  That might be cool. 

CATACLYSM: THE ULTIMATES’ LAST STAND #5 (of 5)
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (W) • MARK BAGLEY (A/C)
Variant Cover by Jorge Coehlo
THE BIGGEST ULTIMATE EVENT YET! MARVEL’S GALACTUS VS. THE ULTIMATES
• The stunning conclusion of the biggest Ultimate event ever!!!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Hopefully the X-Men have shown up, if they want me to buy it.  I guess it will be next month’s solicitations before we know the fate of the Ultimate Universe. 

MARVEL KNIGHTS: X-MEN #4 (of 5)
BRAHM REVEL (W)
BRAHM REVEL (A/C)
• All the X-men intended to do was locate two young mutants and keep them from harm’s way.
• But now, scattered, manipulated and fighting themselves, the X-Men must get their act together and save an entire town!
• Can the X-Men stand against an army of villains ripped from their own minds?!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

First issue was quite good so I can only imagine this is going to be a very nice miniseries. 

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: THE MOVIE ADAPTATION #2 (OF 2)
TOM COHEN (W) • WELLINTON ALVES (A)
GET READY FOR THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 WITH AN AWESOME ADAPTATION OF THE WEB-SLINGER’S LATEST HIT FILM!
• When danger threatens the city, high school student Peter Parker leaps into action as the wall-crawling Spider-Man!
• Spider-Man! The Lizard! Gwen Stacy! All this and more movie magic!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

I must have missed this last month.  Is this really the best way to remind people there was a Amazing Spider-Man movie prior to the sequel coming out in May?  Wouldn’t the DVD do that plus all of the marketing?  This comic isn’t very wise.  Though it is faster than having to watch an entire movie.  I wonder where the first issues ends at? 

UNCANNY AVENGERS #17
RICK REMENDER (W) • STEVE MCNIVEN (A/C)
The conclusion of Ragnarök Now!
• The Avengers Assemble! But are they too late?
• The Twins’ revenge on Kang is complete, but at what cost?
• Planet X is born!
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

Cover implies everyone shows up for this.

AMAZING X-MEN #4
JASON AARON (W) • ED MCGUINNESS (A/C)
• Wolverine and Northstar are defeated and stranded in… Purgatory?
• Nightcrawler tries to rally the X-Men to help them and save the after-life from Azazel, but they are outgunned by the demon lord and his hordes!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Still no Kitty Pryde?  At least we now know that Marvel’s afterlife has a Purgatory.  Very Catholic of them.  Good job!

UNCANNY X-MEN #17
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (W) • CHRISTOPHER BACHALO(A/C)
• It’s training day for the students of the new Xavier School.
• Only, the training seems to be that the teachers just left them on mission to fend for themselves.
• Uh-oh.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

How great would this title be with Kitty! 

WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN #41 & 42
JASON AARON (W) • NICK BRADSHAW & PEPE LARRAZ (A)
Cpver by NICK BRADSHAW
SCHOOL’S OUT FOREVER! FINAL ISSUES!
• It’s the end of the year for the Jean Grey school – but where do our graduates go from here? And who will have survived the experience?!
• Jason Aaron, Pepe Larraz & Nick Bradshaw bring the story of the Jean Grey school to a close!
32 PGS. (EACH)/Rated T …$3.99 (EACH)

Shoot, I knew I was leaving this title behind but look, Kitty and Lockheed are on one of these covers!  Hopefully Nick Bradshaw doesn’t leave the X-Titles behind, I really like his art.  Makes you wonder what is going to happen with the Jean Grey School, maybe a new young mutants title? 

X-MEN LEGACY #24
SIMON SPURRIER (W)
TAN ENG HUAT (A)
Cover by MIKE DEL MUNDO
“FOR WE ARE MANY” CONCLUSION!
• Collapsing under the weight of his dead father’ disappointment, Legion’s god-like powers spiral out of control, leaving the fate of mutantkind in the balance. To what ends will Legion go to save the world from himself?
• This is it. This is the end. Anything can happen…
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

            I am going to miss this title once it is gone.  Hopefully Magik or Kitty show up like they have from time to time.  Such a good comic. 

X-MEN ADAMANTIUM COLLECTION
Written by STAN LEE, ROY THOMAS, CHRIS CLAREMONT, FABIAN NICIEZA, GRANT MORRISON, JOSS WHEDON, ED BRUBAKER, MATT FRACTION & BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Penciled by JACK KIRBY, NEAL ADAMS, JOHN BYRNE, BRENT ANDERSON, JIM LEE, ANDY KUBERT, FRANK QUITELY, JOHN CASSADAY, GREG LAND, TERRY DODSON & STUART IMMONEN
Cover by ALEX ROSS
The super-sized, slipcased “Adamantium Collection” format is back, and it’s the X-Men’s turn in the spotlight! It’s the best and brightest moments from the mighty mutants’ long and storied history like you’ve never seen them before — and packed with extras! Thrill to the X-Men’s debut, seminal battles against Magneto and the Sentinels, the classic “Days of Future Past” and “God Loves, Man Kills” stories, Magneto’s return, Cyclops and Jean Grey’s wedding, Cassandra Nova’s deadly attack on mutantkind, the discovery of a cure for mutation, the X-Men’s exodus to San Francisco, and the original teen team’s shocking arrival in the present day! Collecting X-MEN (1963) #1, #57-59 and #141; UNCANNY X-MEN (1981) #142 and #500; MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL #5; X-MEN (1991) #1-3 and #30; NEW X-MEN (2001) #114-116; ASTONISHING X-MEN (2004) #1-6; and ALL-NEW X-MEN #1-5.
720 PGS./Rated T+ …$200
ISBN: 978-0-7851-5460-0
Trim size: oversized

            That isn’t the worst collection of issues.  They are going to reprint 141 & 142 a bunch this upcoming year.  500 is clearly a start to a story, but that might spur someone to buy it.  I’ve seen the Wolverine Adamantium Collection and it is a giant of a book.  At $200, no one is going to buy it at that price but there are places that sell it at a discount, so check those sites out!  X-Men 1 – 3 plays as a superb X-Men movie if they didn’t have a budget to worry about. 

            There are a slew of Captain America trades coming out. 

My totals are five buys and four maybes.  Even if I get all nine, that’s only $27.00, so let’s hope that isn’t the case. 

Buys : All New X-Men 23, Guardians of the Galaxy 12, Marvel Knights X-Men 4, Uncanny X-Men 17, and Wolverine and the X-Men 41

Maybes : Cataclysm 5, Wolverine and the X-Men 42 and X-Men Legacy 24, Uncanny Avengers 17

$15 is more like it but you never know what appearances can be made that are not promoted.

What I Bought 2013.11.14

Posted by John Klein III on November 14, 2013
Posted in: Purchases. Tagged: . Leave a comment

All New X-Men 18

Marvel Knights X-Men 1

Wolverine Volume Four 11

X-Men Gold 1

For the first time in quite some time, Kitty is on four covers.  Not even sure when was the last time she was even eligible to accomplish that feat.

Back Issue :

All New Wolverine Saga

Added to the Wishlist :

Marvel Knights X-Men 1 – Rivera variant

Wolverine 11 – 50th Anniversary Variant, Kitty’s second appearance on one of these

Ultimate Fantastic Four 27

Posted by John Klein III on November 13, 2013
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

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Writer Mark Millar

Pencils Greg Land

Inks Matt Ryan

Colors Justin Ponsor

Letters VC’s Randy Gentile

President Thor Part One of Three

Issue starts with Reed meeting future versions of this Fantastic Four.  By future, I mean 24 hours into the future.  Their plan is to go back to the moment when the initial experiment happen that gave them all their powers.

Reed comes back to the present and gathers himself.  He calls Sue.

Ultimate Fantastic Four 27 Shadowcat 1

Susan is at a archeological cite.  With her, from the X-Men, Jean Grey and Kitty Pryde.  Back when they were civil to each other.  Millar “created”  or “reimagined” or better yet, Ultimatized Kitty.  He is why we were so lucky.

Johnny is hanging out with the Zombie Fantastic Four from the previous arc, that gave the world, the Marvel Zombies.

Turns out, ever since they all changed, Ben has been having a hard time.  He has been extremely depressed and suicidal.  This day, the police are mad at him because he was not helpful.  He tries to say that the UFF have saved the world.  The officer, which I adore, states the past few storylines, and how the team save the world, but only after causing it releasing the original threat.  They are not very good superheroes, or scientists.  Reminds me of how many times the proper Fantastic Four has had to clean up their own messes.

On this same day, Johnny has his birthday party.  He tells Ben to come dressed as a lady.  Of course, no one else is dressed.  Ben leaves ashamed, embarrassed and wanting to kill himself even more.

Thor was not impressed.  Johnny is worried that this incident will hurt his chances of joining the Ultimates.  I suspect, he never had a chance.  He never does join that team.

With this new information, they are all decided to change the past.  We come full circle from the beginning of this issue, but this time, we are following the future team.

The panel with the Pre-Tranformed folks, Doome looks so weird and clearly, something is wrong with him.

The team changes the past, right as a Skrull shows up to prevent the change.

In this new timeline, Thor is the President, hence the title of the arc.  Reed is the Vice President.  If a non-American can be president, then a twenty year old can be the vice president.

Also, everyone has super powers.  That last page, in the very next second, there must have been a giant collision as you have people flying to the right and people flying straight at the reader.

Not sure what happens next, as this is the only issue of this storyline I own.  I do know this new timeline never took off.

Thor and the Warriors Four 4

Posted by John Klein III on November 12, 2013
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Thor and the Warriors Four 4

Story Alex Zalben

Art GuriHiru

Letters Dave Sharpe

Apparently, in the last two issues, Beta Ray Bill showed up and all of the Asgardians plus Bill have turned into babies.  Except for Loki, Enchantress and the Frost Giants – the villains.

The Powers’ parents are worried as the kids are not back yet, and grandma is getting sicker.

Loki is holding Baby Thor at arms length, stating he has won.

Jack taunts Loki, stating that what Loki has done, is beat up a baby.  Then Loki explains his entire plan.  Loki gets a tad cruel, stating all of the teams he had considered before realizing that Power Pack was just foolish enough to fall for it.

Loki moves on to Julia, who is tied up with chains.  She stands up to him, and he kicks her over.

Loki goes back to taunting Baby Thor, Alex speaks up, saying that is not how brothers interact with each other.

Thor ages to his ten year old self.  Beta Ray Bill’s young self has an awesome afro.  No one questions it.

Odin is older, so he is aging faster.  Bill’s twenty year self, has quite the stylish hairstyle.

Jormungand arrives, he is a giant serpent.  According to Norse mythology, he is slated to kill Thor as Ragnarok nears.

Thor has also aged to a twenty year old.

Alex whispers that they need Lockjaw.  Then the Pet Avengers show up, Alex believes he somehow summoned them.  Throg squashes that thought.

Great interaction between Bill and Throg.  Throg calls him, Thorse, which is excellent.

Lockheed is part of the Pet Avengers team.  They only have two panels, but at least he was there for both of them.  He has yet to miss a Pet Avengers appearance.

Thor confronts Jormungand, and we get a I Say Thee Nay!  Which is always good.

Jormungand gets some characterization through his dialogue, very classic villain lines, mixed with some nice humor.

40 year old bearded Thor drops Mjolnir.  Jormungand goes to eat Thor, Alex charges in to help.  He uses his gravity power to lift the hammer and fling it at the serpent.  Then it comes back, and turns out Alex is worthy of lifting the hammer.  Times like these, it is a shame that this mini is not in continuity.

We get an incredible panel with all four characters dressed as Thor – Alex, Throg, Thorse, and Thor himself.

The spell reverses and the foes are turn into babies.  Baby Loki starts chewing on a book, very adorable.

Lockheed and the Pet Avengers, are not shown doing anything, but at least Lockheed was present.  They were just there to get Throg back into the issue.

The kids come back in time to see their grandmother is feeling better.  Doctor Donald Blake has given her some freshly made applesauce.

Great use of Thor knowledge there.

Such a happy ending.

X-Men Legacy 19

Posted by John Klein III on November 11, 2013
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

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Writer Simon Spurrier

Penciler Tan Eng Huat

Inker Craig Yeung

Color Villarruba

Letterer VC’s Cory Petit

Issue starts with a time cut from the previous issue.  It is explained quickly.

Ruth knows David is in trouble.

I will not lie, I was a huge fan of the SWORD mini.  Not only because of Lockheed’s involvement, but also for the chemistry between Agent Brand and Sydren.  Sydren is this alien who can sense emotions.  The way it is portrayed in most appearances, he reveals the emotion that any one could obviously tell the person is experiencing.

At the Peak Station, there are two floating orbs that state simple comments.  Those things are fun, as well.

This issue has Aarkus the Aetheric, who is a space cop.  I got the impression that he and David have tangled before.

Apparently, while David has been at the Peak Station, the Dark Xavier personality has been running around the planet, causing all types of hazards and thousands of deaths.

While Aarkus is explaining all of this, David is trying to figure out what the weapon is that Aarkus plans on using to stop this menace.

Then there are these two duo splash pages.  Left page, in blue, is Aarkus’ thoughts, which has Magik depicted feeling pain along with her team.

Right page, in red, you see what is happening inside David’s mind.

At one point, David can’t concentrate on seeking answers, s what is being told to him is so horrible.  Aarkus explains what the entity is not.  It is not a Cassandra Nova type, or an Onslaught type, or a Tulpa – which I am not familiar with this third one.

When David can’t take the suspense any longer and asks what the weapon is, Aarkus finally explains.  It is such a nicely set up and paced reveal.  As a reader, you have gone along on the ride with David, he was getting closer with each page.  Then Aarkus starts talking about birds and nest philosophies, and you wonder where he is going with this.

The weapon is, the Phoenix’s egg sibling, its own shadow.  We got ourselves a Dark Phoenix, all by itself.