X-Men 109

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

X-Men 109

Writer Chris Claremont

Pencils Thomas Derenick

Inks Rick Ketcham & Norm Rapmund

Colors Liquid!

Letters RS & Comicraft’s Saida T!

Cover dated February 2001, also this is a 100 Page Monster, so there are three reprints in the back of this issue.

We join several X-Men as they are having a snowball fight with some local children in Salem Center.

Neal Shaara, the latest mutant to take the codename, Thunderbird.  With Neal, is Nightcrawler and Iceman.  Opposing them is Colossus, Archangel and Psylocke.

Neal jumps at Warren and Betsy blocks him.  They roll in the snow and have quite the moment that makes Warren jealous.  Betsy states she is a grown woman, and if she wants to flirt, she going to get her flirt on.

Rogue and Gambit show up and this at the time when Rogue has access to every power she has ever absorbed, she just can’t control which power will kick in, or the power itself.  Except, if she wants to pop some claws, then that works whenever she wants.

This is also pre-X-Treme X-Men, in fact, this entire issue feels like it should end with a giant advertisement and a “follow the story here” tag.  Storm wants to find Destiny’s Diaries and keep those books and the knowledge of them away from Xavier.  As far as I know, that team only ever found three of the fabled 13.

Then we get this awkward cut to the circus where we see Kurt and Cercise hanging out as Kurt does his circus act.  I had forgotten that Cercise shows up here and it is always nice to see her again.  I must have flipped between the last page with Storm and this current page with Kurt a couple times as there is no transition.

We see Colossus avoiding a giant anvil and he sees a young blonde girl and she reminds him of Illyana.  Nice that he is constantly remembering her.

We see that Warren is a big baby and breaks up with Betsy.  Just let her flirt, he should know that she is loyal and it is all in good fun.  But Warren is blue so there’s that.

We cut to Bishop helping out the police, but he calls one of them a fireman, but he is in his blue shirt and black tie.

X-Men 109 Kitty bone claw

Next is Wolverine and Viper, who is his wife at the moment.  They are paying their respects to Mariko.  Viper is there to deliver a box from Kitty, it is one of Logan’s bone claws that she apparently had.  It is her way of telling Logan that she is save.  We haven’t seen her in a few issues, last we saw, she was with one of the NEO, which that story also never got picked up either.

We see Rogue and Gambit at a Nativity scene.  Rogue gets a headache and starts shooting Cyclops’ optic blast.  She claims she can’t turn it off, but really, she should be able too.  Scott can’t control it due to a head injury he suffered as a boy.  She doesn’t have that problem, so she should be able to control the power.  I suppose one could say that in her panic, she overreacts, but I also suspect that it was an oversight.

At The Xavier Institute, presents are exchange.  In Storm’s attic, we essentially see the formation of X-Treme X-Men.  Gambit is not joining as Rogue doesn’t want him near her as she is worried of hurting him.  Logan isn’t joining as he needs to be the point of contact for Storm at the mansion.  To replace these two, Sage shows up.  Gambit and Wolverine will both eventually join X-Treme X-Men.

Issue ends with Storm being given a modified version of one of her old outfits by Xavier.

On the letters page, we get told to check out Uncanny X-Men 390 first, and come back for X-Men 110 for the aftermath.  Two awesome issues.

Issues that are reprinted are :

Uncanny X-Men 98

Uncanny X-Men 143

Uncanny X-Men 341

143 is the best of the three, heck, the four!

Marvel March 2014 Solicitations

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

http://www.newsarama.com/19790-marvel-comics-march-2014-solicitations.html

 

            Another slew of Issue Number 1s that I am not interested in. 

 

DAREDEVIL #1
MARK WAID (W) • CHRIS SAMNEE (A/C)

            Who refers to New York City as the Golden City?

MOON KNIGHT #1
WARREN ELLIS (W)
DECLAN SHALVEY (A/C)
SILVER SURFER #1
DAN SLOTT (W)
MICHAEL ALLRED (A/C)
             Cool to see Dan Slott not writing solely Spider-Man. 

ALL-NEW GHOST RIDER #1
FELIPE SMITH (W) • TRADD MOORE (A/C)
I know a guy who will be interested in this, will have to let him know.  If it isn’t Danny Ketch or Ghost Rider along with Spider-Man, Wolverine and Hulk, I have no interest.  Same sort of goes for the other three characters as well.  Well, Wolverine needs to be with

CAPTAIN MARVEL #1
KELLY SUE DECONNICK (W)
DAVID LOPEZ (A/C)

IRON PATRIOT #1
ALES KOT (W) GARRY BROWN (A)

Marvel must have gotten the numbers on how many kids were Iron Patriot for Halloween.  At the law office, we had at least 15 little guys in the suit. 

MAGNETO #1
CULLEN BUNN (W)
GABRIEL HERNANDEZ WALTA (A)

Pending on if the first issue has Magik (or any of them) I might pick this up.  I do like Walta’s art. 

 

SECRET AVENGERS #1
ALES KOT (W)
MICHAEL WALSH (A)

Boy, can Marvel NOW keep a title past 12 issues!?!  I know they sell better but ooof!  I know the Deadpool teaser made a reference to being one of the few to make it to issue 25. 

WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN #1 & 2
Jason Latour (W) • Mahmud Asrar (A/C)

Since this won’t have Kitty and I doubt any references too her, I may just be Team Cyclops now.  Which is nice to finally be on one of this schism. 

AVENGERS UNDERCOVER #1
DENNIS HOPELESS (W) • KEV WALKER (A)

The sequel to Avengers Arena. 

UNCANNY X-MEN #19.NOW!
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (W)
CHRIS BACHALO (A/C)
VARIANT COVER BY J. SCOTT CAMPBELL
ANIMAL VARIANT BY GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI
The next stage in humankind is here, and the Uncanny X-Men are leading the way! With original X-Man Cyclops at the revolution’s helm, Emma Frost, Magik and a new generation of mutants defend and educate all homo-superior as warriors of the atom! But after relentless persecution from a society that fears and hates them, the Uncanny X-Men are going on the offensive! Their target? The international spy organization S.H.I.E.L.D! However, as Cyclops’ team fights to save their species, are they only digging themselves into a deeper and more dangerous hole?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

 

            I do wish these animal variants were Pet Avengers related.  The Bachalo cover looks amazing but I’m sure if they took the time and if he commissioned a cover, Campbell’s cover is probably cool too.  If it doesn’t have Magik on it, then I don’t care.  Content wise, looks like next year is going to be X-Men Vs. SHIELD.  Almost as if there is a movie for the X-Men and SHIELD Season One DVDs being sold in roughly six months time. 

 

Uncanny Avengers #18.NOW!
RICK REMENDER (W) • DANIEL ACUÑA (A/C)
“AVENGE THE EARTH” Part One
Welcome to Planet X, the new mutant homeworld, where everything is great—presuming that you possess the mutant gene! Janet Van Dyne, the Wasp, is the last human being alive, relentlessly pursued by Magneto and his All-New X-Force and their “No More Humans” campaign, and protected by her husband, Havok! Witness the fate of the Uncanny Avengers–who survived the Apocalypse Twins’ plot, and how?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Kitty and / or Magik have been making appearances in this title so the little I have read, I have been enjoying what I have read.  I like to keep current, and it sounds like Remember is going all out on this series. 

 

ALL-NEW X-MEN #24
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (W) • STUART IMMONEN (A/C)
THE TRIAL OF JEAN GREY PART 5!
• X-Men and Guardians vs. Gladiator and Jean Grey’s fate lies in the balance!
• One of the X-Men’s lives will be forever changed!
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #13
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (W) • SARA PICHELLI (A/C)
The conclusion of THE TRIAL OF JEAN GREY leaves two teams devastated!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Did not realize this was going to be bigger than a few parts, but it makes sense this will be at least five parts.  Still no idea if Kitty will be involved at all.   

FANTASTIC FOUR #2
JAMES ROBINSON (W) • LEONARD KIRK (A/C)
“THE FALL OF THE FANTASTIC FOUR” PART 2
• Manhattan is under attack by a monstrous killer swarm from a corrupted pocket universe, and in order to defeat it the FANTASTIC FOUR will need all their courage, powers and skill…as well as those of every other hero in New York!
• But to attain final victory one of the First Family will must make a TERRIBLE SACRIFICE!
• And so the first strings are pulled and the first pieces are put in place…
• …On the Fantastic Four’s DOWNFALL!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

 

            It states “every other heroin New York” I wonder if there is any chance that Kitty would be in town for such a moment?  I doubt it.  Shame Kitty doesn’t do more with the first family of Marvel, she would fit right in.  Also, with the Avengers.  She is truly a great character.

 

A+X #18
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
& GERRY DUGGAN (W)
KEVIN NOWLAN & DAVID YARDIN (A)
Cover by KEVIN NOWLAN
A+X GOES OUT IN STYLE!
• Superstar BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS and comics legend KEVIN NOWLAN tell a scintillating tale of KITTY PRYDE + VISION!
• Gerry Duggan (DEADPOOL) and David Yardin (X-FACTOR) finish their rip-roaring CAPTAIN AMERICA+CYCLOPS story!
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

 

            I am not familiar with this legend of Kevin Nowlan but I am familiar with Kitty Pryde!  Her and Vision teaming up is awesome! As far as I know, they have only met the one time and she beat him that time as well.  They have similar powers but he is machine, so she trumps him.  Also, Bendis is writing it so that’s cool too!  Love his Ultimate Kitty Pryde, and his Proper Kitty has been cool in All New and Uncanny.  So excited! 

 

MARVEL KNIGHTS: X-MEN #5 (of 5)
BRAHM REVEL (W)
BRAHM REVEL (A/C)
• The X-Men conjure up old friends to help them subdue the ghosts from their pasts a two young mutants face tough decisions which could alter their lives forever.
• Past, present and future collide in the action-packed finale to this Marvel Knights limited series!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

I am going to miss this miniseries once it is over.  Hopefully they give Revel another X-series again and soon! 

REVOLUTIONARY WAR: WARHEADS #1
Another month of solicts and still no hint that Classic Excalibur is reuniting!  That is disappointing!

 

X-MEN LEGACY #300
MIKE CAREY, CHRISTOS GAGE & SIMON SPURRIER (W)
CLAY MANN & TAN ENG HUAT (A)
Cover by CLAY MANN
• In observance of the title’s 300th issue, iconic X-MEN: LEGACY writers Mike Carey, Christos Gage and Simon Spurrier return to tell an all-new tale of the X-Men!
• Mike Carey brings us a story featuring Professor Xavi—oh wait, he’s dead.
• Well, Christos Gage has penned a tale involving Rog—nope. She’s dead too.
• And Simon! There’s Simon Spurrier with a story led by Legion, who—oops. Can’t spoil the ending of X-MEN: LEGACY #24.
• Well…erm…just read it!
40 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99

 

            So glad to have Mike Carey back on an X-Title!  Saw a preview page and Magik is in this!  Actually now that I think of it, what I read was Carey doing an Original Graphic Novel, and that had Magik but maybe this one will too!  Funny write up there though. 

 

UNCANNY X-MEN #18
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (W) • MARCO RUDY (A)
COVER BY ALEXANDER LOZANO
• Cyclops finds himself in serious trouble.
• Who’s got Scott Summers at gunpoint?
32 PGS. /Rated T …$3.99

Oh guns and the X-Men!  I won’t worry too much but Cyclops doesn’t have much defense if you attack him not from the front.

ORIGIN II #4 (OF 5)
KIERON GILLEN (W) • ADAM KUBERT (A/C)
The penultimate issue!
• Logan, Clara and Creed are on the run from Sinister…but could Sinister offer Logan something he can’t refuse?
• Creed’s secret revealed!
32 PGS./Parental Advisory …$3.99

Still can’t believe they got Sabretooth and Sinister in this!  I know people love Gillen’s Sinister but not like this.  Not like this!  I imagine at one point, we will get an Origin 1.5. 

AMAZING X-MEN #5
JASON AARON (W) • ED MCGUINNESS (A/C)
• Nightcrawler and his pirate band of X-Men take on Azazel and his hellish hordes!
• One of the X-Men must make the ultimate sacrifice!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

I will almost gladly pay the price of any of the cast members of this book to get Kurt back amongst the living!  Maybe not Firestar or Northstar.  Wolverine, Beast, Storm and Iceman are all options!  Take one of them! 

WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN BY JASON AARON OMNIBUS HC
Written by JASON AARON
Penciled by CHRIS BACHALO, NICK BRADSHAW, JORGE MOLINA, MIKE ALLRED, STEVEN SANDERS, DAVID LOPEZ, RAMON PEREZ & PEPE LARRAZ
Cover by NICK BRADSHAW
Blockbuster writer Jason Aaron’s incredible, hilarious and touching WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN run is collected in one oversized volume! Wolverine returns to Westchester to start over with a new school, a new student body and a lot of surprises! But can Logan — and a staff including Beast, Iceman, Rachel Grey, Kitty Pryde, Storm, Husk and Doop — really lead the Children of the Atom into the future? Only if they survive the newHellfire Club, Krakoa, Sabretooth, an army of mischievous Bamfs, war with the Avengers, the Phoenix Five and more! As new students join the school, including the time-displaced original X-Men, new threats emerge from Frankenstein’s Murder Circus, Wolverine’s half-brother Dog Logan, Mystique, the Hellfire Academy…and S.H.I.E.L.D.! Welcome to the Jean Grey School, Wolverine — hope you survive the experience! Collecting WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN #1-35, #38-42 and ANNUAL #1.
928 PGS./Rated T+ …$99.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-9024-0
Trim size: oversized

 

            One hundred dollars is asking way too much but to have the entire series in one hardcover does sound awesome and I bet it makes for a fun and great collection.  You get everything but Battle of the Atom.  They should state though to promote that trade and explain the gap.  Who is going to do the research? 

 

SPIDER-MAN FIRSTS TPB
Written by STAN LEE, ROY THOMAS, LEN WEIN, GERRY CONWAY, LOUISE SIMONSON, TODD MCFARLANE, TOM DEFALCO, KURT BUSIEK, TOM PEYER, MARK WAID, DAN JURGENS, HOWARD MACKIE, JM DEMATTEIS, GARTH ENNIS, MARK MILLAR, PETER DAVID, SEAN MCKEEVER, ZEB WELLS, DAN SLOTT & CHRIS YOST
Penciled by STEVE DITKO, ROSS ANDRU, SAL BUSCEMA, GREG LAROCQUE, TODD MCFARLANE, RON LIM, PAT OLLIFFE, KEN LASHLEY, DAN JURGENS, JOHN ROMITA JR., MICHAEL ZULLI, JOHN MCCREA, TERRY DODSON, MIKE WIERINGO, TERRELL BOBETT, ALEX CAL, JOE MADUREIRA, RYAN STEGMAN & DAVID LOPEZ
Cover by TERRY DODSON & VARIOUS
Marvel’s most titled hero has been amazing, spectacular, sensational — even giant-size! Follow the tangled web of Peter Parker and family through this superior collection of all the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man’s series debuts! Unlimited team-ups, avenging exploits and untold tales — they’re all in a Marvel Knight’s work for a web-spinner that defies description! Collecting AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1963) #1, MARVEL TEAM-UP (1972) #1, GIANT-SIZE SPIDER-MAN #1, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN (1976) #1, WEB OF SPIDER-MAN (1985) #1, SPIDER-MAN (1990) #1, UNTOLD TALES OF SPIDER-MAN #1, SPIDER-MAN TEAM-UP #1, SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN (1996) #0, TANGLED WEB #1, MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN (2004) #1, FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #1, AVENGING SPIDER-MAN #1, SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #1 and SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TEAM-UP #1 — plus material from SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED (1993) #1, PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN (1999) #1, WEBSPINNERS: TALES OF SPIDER-MAN #1, SPIDER-MAN FAMILY (2007) #1 and AMAZING SPIDER-MAN FAMILY #1.
528 PGS./Rated T+ …$34.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-8901-5

I sort of love the idea of this collection but what an odd collection.  More of a novety item but I sort of love the gusto.  It must read and look so odd with all of the different art styles and time periods it expands.  I would have called it SPIDER-MAN NUMBER ONE or something.  FIRSTS makes me think it is a collection of first appearances – which I guess it is, but of titles.  I do want to flip through a copy of this.  Some good issues are in there and some amazing stories are spawn from those first titles. 

 

Interesting, no Ultimate titles, not even Fallout or Requiem titles.  Maybe they are secretly holding any of those issues back, though they better announce them before the deadline to order the titles come up.  Smart to wait one more month, but also cool if that universe has come to an end, when was the last time one of those happened?  

So if my math is right, I have four buys and five maybes.  And really, only two of them, A+X and Marvel Knights X-Men promise to have Kitty, so it could be two buys and seven maybes but Illyana has been in every Uncanny issue for the most part so I consider those guarantees.  4 times 3 is twelve dollars so that’s way better than 4+5 = 9 times three, is 27 dollars. Ooof, my wife wouldn’t like that. 

X-Boards Awards, The Voting

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

http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?476984-2013-CBR-Forums-X-Book-Awards-Voting-Thread

It is that time of year again, and this time, I was well prepared.  Or at least, more prepared than I was last year.  One benefit of having a blog, you have a nice resource of your opinions.  I have to figure out a way to tell which issues were this year and which were back issues, it was easy this time, but I imagine next year to be a bit of a hassle with a full year’s worth of posts.

Here are my votes for the categories :

  • Best Ongoing X-Title
    1.  All New X-Men
    2.  Wolverine and the X-Men
    3.  Uncanny X-Men Volume Three
  • Best X-Miniseries
    1.  Marvel Knights : X-Men
  • 2.  Battle of the Atom
  • Best X-One-Shot
    1.  X-Men : Gold
  • Best X-Book Cover
    1.  Astonishing X-Men 63
    2.  All New X-Men 6
    3.  A+X 8
  • Best X-Men Crossover
    1.  Battle of the Atom
    2.  Age of Ultron
    3.  Infinity
  • Best X-Men Storyline from a Single Title
    1.  Yesterday’s X-Men – All New X-Men 1 – 5
    2.  Frozen – Astonishing X-Men Volume Three 62 – 65
    3.  Wear the Grudge Like a Crown – X-Men : Legacy Volume Two 13 – 15
  • Best Writer
    1.  Brian Michael Bendis
    2.  Simon Spurrier
    3.  Jason Aaron
  • Best Artist
    1.  Chris Bachalo
    2.  Stuart Immonen
    3.  Nick Bradshaw
  • Best Hero/Heroine
    1.  Kitty Pryde
    2.  Magik
    3.  Cyclops
  • Worst Hero/Heroine
    1.  Colossus
    2.  Wolverine
  • 3.  Storm
  • Best Villain(s)
    1.  Iceman in Astonishing X-Men
    2.  Mystique, Sabretooth and Lady Mastermind in All-New X-Men
  • Worst Villain(s)
    1.  Future Brotherhood-X-Men
    2.  Hellfire Club Kids
  • Breakout Star of the Year
    1.  Teen Beast
    2.  Irma of the Cuckoos
    3.  Broo
  • Debut Character of the Year
    1.  Darla from Marvel Knights : X-Men
    2.  Benjamin Deeds
    3.  Deaf Captain America (Uncanny Avengers 13)
  • Death of the Year
    1.  Gabrielle Haller
    2.  Kurt Waggoner
  • Most Missed Character of the Year
    1.  Still not enough Lockheed, for my taste.
  • Shocking Moment of the Year
    1.  Kitty Pryde leaving Team Wolverine for Team Cyclops in Battle of the Atom 2
    2.  Phoenix’s Shadow in X-Men Legacy 19
  • Funniest Moment of the Year
    1.  Young Iceman throwing a snowball at Thor, thinking he is an illusion (All New X-Men 14)  The whole issue is full of fun gags.
    2.  Deaf Captain America (Uncanny Avengers 13)
    3.  X-Men Gold where Wolverine states Thunderbird is just like him, minus the cool powers
  • Quote of the Year
    1.  Cyclops saying Lady Xorn was a better kisser than his Jean (Wolverine and the X-Men 37)
    2.  X-Men Legacy 18 “Miss empowered bikini lady, ma’am” A Channel 7 reporter talking to Emma Frost.
    3.  Any from Deaf Captain America (Uncanny Avengers 13)
  • Onomatopoeia of the Year
    1.  Lockheed’s “Murp” in All New X-Men 18
    2.  Lockheed’s “Pfht” in Savage Wolverine 12
  • Best Kiss of the Year
    1.  Quentin Quire and Oya kissing, Wolverine and the X-Men 35
    2.  Future Deadpool kissing Wolverine’s cheek in All New X-Men 16
    3.  Cyclops kissing Lady Xorn in Wolverine and the X-Men 37
  • Best Single Battle/Fight of the Year
    1.  Cyclops vs. David Haller in X-Men Legacy 18 in the rain.
    2.  All New X-Men 14, the battle with the X-Men versus Illusions and the Avengers.
    3.   Tempus vs. the Avengers in Uncanny X-Men Volume Three Issue 4.
  • Highlight of the Year
    1.  Kitty breaking from Team Wolverine and joining Team Cyclops
    2.  Kitty and Illyana hugging (All New X-Men 18)
    3.  Alan Davis drawing Kitty Pryde again for Wolverine : Killable
  • GUEST STAR OF THE YEAR
    1. Pete Wisdom in X-Men Legacy
    2. Cyclops in X-Men Legacy
    3. Batroc in Wolverine
  • Best Single Issue

1.  All New X-Men 18

I choose to not do the Worst Of categories.  I can see some creative teams being upset by it and I know they at least tried their best.

Anyone who wants to get involved, the voting officially begins on December 26 (I’m pretty sure nothing will beat out my picks) and the results will be revealed the week of January 13, 2014.

Now that I’ve officially done one of these, I will know what to keep track of for next year.

Wishlist : Gifted, the Novel

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

9780785165156_p0_v1_s260x420

Written by Peter David, his adaption of the Josh Whedon’s First Astonishing X-Men arc.

Savage Wolverine 12

Posted by John Klein III on December 10, 2013
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Savage Wolverine 12

Writer & Artist Phil Jimenez

Co-Writer Scott Lope

Colorist Rachelle Rosenberg

Letterer VC’s Cory Petit

Come Conquer The Beasts Part One

I do enjoy seeing Jimenez on Wolverine, especially as he co-wrote the issue and added the Jean Grey School to the issue.

This arc is essentially an Anti-Poaching storyline.  Hopefully Marvel submits this for a grant and gets the word out, as I am not sure who is on the Pro-Poaching side of the issue but Jimenez seems to be really coming down on the issue.

I like the call back to an early Uncanny issue where the X-Men think Logan is a savage and kills for killing sake, but he just likes to sneak up on a beast and pet them.  Apparently he did this even during 1931 and in South Africa.  He takes a baby elephant under his wing.  He is currently looking for it in the present year.  Not sure what the life span is for an elephant but 82 years seems to be a long time.

How long do elephants live?  Google tells me 80 years for Asian elephants in captivity and 60 years in the wild.

So this story is already pushing things but I’m getting ahead of it.

Logan is back in South Africa in the present day, on one of his hunts, and smells death.  He sees hyenas and vultures and comes across three rhino corpses.

These rangers show up, and Logan is so angry that he goes into a blind rage and attacks one of them.  He moves on to their lady leader and she finally snaps him out of it.  I sort of love this turn of events as how many times has he just jumped at a guy, killed him and we just take it for granted that that guy was a bad guy?  At least thousands of times?  The leader calls him an Avengers, which I like, he should act as a responsible member of the number one superhero team on the planet.

One of the rhinos is not dead and Logan has to put her out of her misery, heart breaking stuff.

They get back to their base and Logan finds out that the guy he darn near killed will be okay, and Logan makes this off handed joke about buying him a fruit basket and a teddy bear.  The leader states that he should buy them, instead, a few more vests and three new rifles.  He tries to come off as a cool guy but is quickly shown to be the savage and fool that he really is, in this moment.

We get a recap on how the poachers do their business.  I didn’t know the horns and such were used in medicine and “cheap jewelry.”  You would think that if you are going to kill thousands of animals, you would at least use it in expensive jewelry but still, poaching is wrong.

Savage Wolverine 12 Lockheed

We cut to the Jean Grey School.  First, we get Lockheed pfht-ing at Kroaka.  Then we cut to Kitty Pryde, teaching a class on superhero fashion and codenames.  She is wearing a pink shirt, which Marvel has really been putting her in pink colored outfits when they show her teaching or running the school.  Just something I have been observing.

Quinten Quire is quick to make fun of her horrid multi-color outfit with roller skates.  The bane of all Kitty Pryde fans, as people point to it as an example of how silly the character was.  That and her multiple code names, but it has only been three codenames, so people are going to extremes with that.

Kitty gets a call and Wolverine needs her so she dismisses the class early.  She assigns a paper on crime-fighting in heels, that is due on Friday, which I love that as an assignment.  Broo comments that he liked that above referenced costume.

Kitty explains how the poachers move their ‘goods.’  She mentions Madripoor, a country (only in Marvel) that Logan has a bunch of history with.

We get a flashback to a time, a few years ago, when Patch (Wolverine’s Madripoor disguise, pretty much Logan in a white suit, with a eye patch over his left eye) kills the then prince who ran the country.  At one point, Logan was tricked into marrying Viper, which she married him so that she can rule Madripoor.  Then his son Daken ruled the country – its more the size of an island, like Hawaii size, that’s how big I have imagined it.  Mostly, Tyger Tiger has been the ruler during the off years.  She is essentially the ‘go to’ leader.

Before hanging up the phone, Wolverine tells Kitty to look for his elephant.  Kitty asks out loud, how she should do that and Doug Ramsey shows up and tells her how to do it.  Hopefully this means that Kitty will be in the next issue.  I am pretty sure this is the first time Kitty and Doug have been shown together since his return from the dead and her returning from deep space, so this should have been a bigger moment.

We end the issue with Logan finding the three warehouses and Tyger Tiger are with him, as they enter one of them.  We see a warehouse full of tusks, horns and tiger heads.  It does look disgusting, especially when you realize that each horn represents one rhino, each two tusks is one elephant and well, naturally, each tiger head is one tiger.

Also, Tyger Tiger is apparently cool with the poachers as she is now mad at Wolverine and is going to kill Wolverine.

Uncanny X-Men 365

Posted by John Klein III on December 9, 2013
Posted in: Review, Websites. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

Uncanny X-Men 365

Written by Steve Seagle

Pencils Chris Bachalo

Inkers Thibert, Townsend and Sowd

Colors Liquid! & Monica Kubina

Letterers RS, JG and Comicraft/AD

Covered dated March 1999, also has one of those gatefold out covers with the

Whatever happened to Liquid!?  Before Laura Martin, they were the only Colorist I knew.

When I think of X-Men and Christmas, this is the comic I think about.  It is all from Colossus’ perspective, and it is nice to see how he interacts with various members of the team.

Thanks to this great website, you can follow along!

http://amocat.net/kiotr/KIOTR-Gallery/Uncanny-X-Men-365-Ghost-of-X-mas-Past!

Colossus wakes, to hearing a voice of a lady, that has him running around the attic.  Storm believes he just has too much coffee but Colossus is haunted by the voice, and how it keeps asking him to remember.  He hears a smash from outside, Colossus runs outside and runs into Wolverine.

Wolverine invites him to his cabin that Logan moved into so that Colossus can have his old room.  At the cabin, Logan has been having a get together, Gambit and Puck are the other guests.  Once Colossus mentions the ghost, Gambit is quick to ask questions.  Gambit is asking questions regarding the ghost that his haunting him, the same spirit we will follow, if we choose, in Gambit’s original ongoing, which I only own a few issues of, issues one, five and the 2000 annual.

Gambit leaves the cabin, and Colossus is quick to follow.  Colossus goes back to his room and sees that his painting of the spirit now has some words on it.  The mystery grows!

Uncanny X-Men 365 Kitty 1

He starts walking around and thinking about the ghost and how walks through walls just like . . . he bumps into Kitty Pryde.  She is downstairs waiting for Kurt.  She also accuses him of drinking too much coffee and going to bed early – so of course, he is awake in the middle of the night.

Uncanny X-Men 365 Kitty 2

Kurt teleports back with a tree that was thrown away.  Kitty and Kurt want some ribbon and Rogue has some in her room, but she is sleeping at the moment.  Kurt thinks he can teleport in and out quickly, but Kitty is quick to mention the stench.  Why Kitty doesn’t just phase through the wall is beyond me but they can wait I suppose.

Colossus hears a voice that states he remembers and Colossus opens the door shouting about why he must be tormented.  Turns out, he has entered Professor Xavier’s room.  Xavier mentions, every year on Christmas Eve, that he remembers his fallen students.  We get a great glimpse at the sorrow Xavier carries with him, he has sent so many to their death.

Colossus reenters his room and sees a second drawing of his which now has words on it.

Uncanny X-Men 365 Magik 1

Colossus finally recognizes the voice, it is his dead sister, Illyana.  He steps through a teleportation ring, and he is face to face with Illyana’s spirit.

Uncanny X-Men 365 Magik 2

She needs him to remember something, she explains how the powers at be have rules and she can only tell him one word, remember.  He finally remembers what is in the attic.  His boxes from his Excalibur days, that he put in the attic and never opened, as he wanted a fresh start.  He finds his picture of Illyana and goes to sleep holding it.  Illyana gets this fun line, “You know what.  It’s magic, Peter … … or should I say, Magik.”  Which she was never that fun or funny but I like how now she is on the other side, she can lighten up.

While he is sleeping, we see someone wearing a hat swipe his current picture.

Uncanny X-Men 365 Kitty 3

Issue ends with the X-Men around the tree, Colossus presents to everyone are his paintings.

Uncanny X-Men 365 Kitty 4

Turns out Marrow has been doing the writing on his art, as a thanks for him painting her back in Uncanny 361.

Next issue begins the Magneto War!  Which I own all five issues, one of these days we will cover that here.

Wishlist : 25th Hour

Posted by John Klein III on December 8, 2013
Posted in: Books. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

25th

David Benioff’s first novel, 25th Hour, which he adapted into a film that Spike Lee directed.  Famously has Edward Norton’s character, Marty, wishing he had the power to phase, like that girl from the X-Men.

The reference is on page 39 of the novel.

Cataclysm : Ultimate X-Men 1

Posted by John Klein III on December 7, 2013
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Cataclysm X-Men 1

Writer Josh Fialkov

Penciler Alvaro Martinez

Penciler John Lucas

Colorist Jordie Bellaire

Letterer VC’s Joe Sabino

Part One of Three

Ultimate Kitty Pryde is only referenced twice in Rogue’s narration captions.  Which I find disappointing as I was hoping she was leading the charge.  Hopefully she shows up in this mini or the proper Cataclysm miniseries.

Cataclysm Ultimate X-Men 1 Shadowcat 1

Kitty sends a rescue squad to what is left of Tian.  Jimmy Hudson, Rogue, Iceman, Blackheath, Mach-2 and Stomr.  They are there to rescue Pixie.  The character intro captions are very funny.

Nice seeing Rogue in a proper outfit, instead of that skimpy bikini she was wearing in the woods.  Ultimate Rogue has become quite harden.  She has lost so much, friends, lovers and security.  She is tired of it all.

On the other hand, Iceman hasn’t changed at all.

Jimmy finds Pixie, she is surrounded by some mutants from Tian who are taking care of her – Silence (a new character), Strong Guy (already better than his proper version), Amp (new, maybe?) and Beak – who is even sadder than his proper Marvel character.  Lucky for these new characters, Silence is able to calm everybody down as the X-Men are ready to attack them.

Galactus shows up and has everyone spooked.  Pixie wakes up and sees Galactus and due to Amp’s ability to increase powers, Pixie teleports them to deep space, where the Ultimate Galactus bugs are located.  They all start freaking out being in space and surrounded by this metal bugs that all they want to do is consume. Consume. CONSUME.

Cataclysm Ultimate X-Men 1 Shadowcat 2

Beak recommends Silence calms them down, Blackheath says the “ugly bird man is right.”  Beak then says “Words hurt, dude.”  Which is such a great line.

One of the bugs, Gah Lak Tus, kills Silence.  This sets off Rogue and starts wanting to destroy these things, she is not going to watch any more death.  She absorbed Jimmy’s powers, so she has bone claws.  I wonder if the creative team forgot that Jimmy also has the ability to turn those claws into metal – unless he lost that in his own miniseries, I only read the first issue.

Issue ends with Rick Jones showing up, as he is now Captain Marvel.  Iceman calls him a total spaz.  Future does not look bright for the X-Men or the Ultimate Universe.

Uncanny X-Men 230

Posted by John Klein III on December 6, 2013
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Uncanny X-Men 230

Writer Chris Claremont

Penciler Marc Silvestri

Inker Joe Rubinstein

Colorist Glynis Oliver

Letterer Tom Orzechowski

Cover dated June 1988

This takes place during the X-Men Outback era.

The X-Men have taken over the Reavers’ old base, and with it comes their treasures that those foes have stolen over the years.

Before that, the team is getting use to the new location in Australia.  Their current base is an abandon town.

The team right now is Storm, Madelyne Pryor, Rogue, Havok, Psylocke, Dazzler, Colossus, Wolverine and Longshot with an assist from Gateway, a mute teleporter.  The team has no Danger Room so they come up with inventive ways to test each other.

Apparently one of Longshot’s powers is that he can sense who the last owner of an item is.  So with Longshot’s psychometry, he wants to return all of the items returned.  The team can’t decide what is the right course of action.  Rogue grabs one random piece of jewelry, the team with Pyslocke’s help, can see what Longshot sees.  Wolverine doesn’t believe it is their job to seek out victims and give back the missing products.  Get a great moment with Wolverine and Havok, these two have no past relationship.

The world suspects the X-Men are dead, sacrificing themselves to save Dallas, so technology can’t see them thanks to Roma.  Storm wants to do the treasure returning mission, and Wolverine says she is the boss.

After a day of Longshot reading the items, sending the data, with Psylocke’s power, to Madelyne to track the locations.  Dazzler falls in love with a motorcycle.  Rogue talks to Gateway and he agrees to teleport the team and the items around the world.  Psylocke will give him the locations telepathically.

Of course, this just happens to be Christmas Eve, so people are going to think Santa, not only found their stolen goods, but were able to return the items – which I am sure Santa could do that, he is one jolly elf.

Uncanny X-Men 230 Magik 1

We cut to Salem Center, New York, where the locate schools’ combined choirs, which include New Mutants and especially Magik, who is grieving her supposed dead brother as well as the actual dead, Doug Ramsey.

They deliver all of the treasures to all the people.  Except for the bike, Dazzler gets to keep the bike she fell in love.

Issue ends with Rogue gifting Gateway with a flute.  He enjoys it and all is right again with the world.

Wishlist : DVD – Ultimate X-Men Volume Five

Posted by John Klein III on December 5, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

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I own the fouth one of these, and quite enjoyed it.  The Kevin Smith Daredevil one is also good.

Not sure why they never made Ultimate Spider-Man DVDs or continued the Ultimate X-Men ones, but five was the last one of these.  Kitty is barely in it, but she is in it and Kitty DVDs are hard to come by.