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Roy Thomas & Werner Roth’s X-Men – X-Men Omnibus, Vol. 1-2 (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Darren

To celebrate the release of The Wolverine later in the month, we’re taking a look at some classic X-Men and Wolverine comics every Monday, Wednesday and Friday here. I’m also writing a series of reviews of the classic X-Men television show at comicbuzz every weekday, so feel free to check those out.

The X-Men were not, to put it frankly, a comic book franchise that hit the ground running. Despite the considerable talent involved in their first nineteen issues, the comic struggled to find its own niche, unsure of just how far it dared to venture from the standard superhero template, and how confined it was by the whole “mutant superhero” bit. Writer Roy Thomas was tapped to take over the book when Stan Lee left.

Thomas is one of the underrated Silver Age writers. His work on The Avengers, spanning more than a half-a-decade, is arguably more influential and definitive than Lee’s original run on the title. He is responsible for The Kree-Skrull War, which remains one of the stronger early Avengers stories. He would work on X-Men twice before the book was finally cancelled. His second run, with Neal Adams pencilling, is arguably a lot stronger than his work here, which feels a little muddled and unfocused.

To be fair to Thomas, it’s quite clear that he recognised that the X-Men needed a shake-up and to find their own voice distinct from the initial run written by Lee and Kirby. Unfortunately, Thomas doesn’t seem entirely sure of what that voice is.

Lighten up, Charles!

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: arts, Classic X-Men, Comics, Friday, Jean Grey, Lucifer, magneto, Monday Wednesday, Mutant Master, Roy Thomas, stan lee, Unus the Untouchable, wolverine, x-force, x-men | 5 Comments »

Look! First X-Men: Days of Future Past Posters!

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Darren

The Wolverine isn’t out yet, but we’ve already got the first posters for next year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past. They’re a massive improvement over the wonderfully dodgy “face in the crotch!” posters that teased the superb X-Men: First Class. It’s a rather wonderful concept, combining the older and young versions of two of the franchise’s most iconic characters. Starring Sir Patrick McAvoy! Sir Ian Fassbender!

Although I’m wary of the incredibly vast cast that Bryan Singer has assembled, I am a giddy X-Men fan, so I’m quite looking forward to the adaptation of the wonderful Chris Claremont and John Byrne story. (I recent did a review of the animated adaptation of the story over at comicbuzz.com, for those wanting a sneak peek at what might be in store.) I really like these posters, and I suspect a trailer might not be too far away.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: bryan singer, chris claremont, Days of Future Past, ian mckellen, John Byrne, wolverine, x-men, X-Men: First Class | 1 Comment »

Stan Lee & Jack Kirby’s X-Men – X-Men Omnibus, Vol. 1 (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Darren

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby are the architects of the shared Marvel Universe. The pair collaborated on titles like The Fantastic Four, The Avengers and Thor – helping reinvent American comic books during the sixties. The comics redefined what superheroes could be, honing in on the changing sensibilities of the era. However, not every series was a run-away success. Not every idea worked from the very first issue.

The X-Men are one of the most iconic bunch of superheroes in existence. They have had everything from blockbuster films to celebrated cartoon shows. However, they had a rocky start. The book limped along through its first years of publication, never quite connecting with its audience. Indeed, the book almost died a quiet death in the early seventies, before writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum revived the team for a relaunched Giant-Sized X-Men. After that, Wein handed the book over to Chris Claremont, who really defined the book and its characters during an extended run on the title.

Reading these early issues, from Lee and Kirby, it’s quite clear that the X-Men aren’t working. There’s a lot of stilted awkwardness to the stories, as Lee and Kirby try to find a compelling hook for the team. They come quite close – it’s surprising how close at times – but it’s easy to see why the premise took so long to catch on.

To me, my X-Men!

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: atomic age, chris claremont, fantastic four, ian mckellen, jack kirby, Kirby, magneto, marvel comics, Professor X, Quicksilver, stan lee, wolverine, X-Mansion, x-men, X-Men: First Class | 3 Comments »

Rick Remender’s Uncanny X-Force (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Darren

Between Uncanny X-Force and Venom (and arguably his run on The Punisher), Rick Remender seems to have built a comic book career out of rehabilitating symbols of nineties excess. Taking a bunch of grim and nihilistic concepts that were very popular in mainstream comics during the nineties, Remender uses them to craft a compelling story about the wages of vengeance. Its premise and pedigree might lead you to believe that Uncanny X-Force is another throwaway comic about gratuitous violence. Instead, it’s a masterpiece about profound consequences.

Welcome to the World…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Alcoholics Anonymous, Christopher Yost, Craig Kyle, dark knight returns, Deadpool, Deathlok, Fantomex, Professor X, Remender, Rick Remender, Siege Perilous, Uncanny X-Force, venom, Wade, wolverine, x-force | 7 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Wolverine

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Darren

The Wolverine is pretty far from a perfect film. In the era following The Dark Knight, we’ve come to expect more ambition from our superhero blockbusters; tighter plots; well-drawn character arcs and motivations for more than just our heroes. In a summer where some have fallen just short of working within this new paradigm (Man of Steel) and others have succeeded (Iron Man 3), The Wolverine feels like a conscious throwback. It’s a nineties action movie masquerading as a superhero blockbuster. Had it been released in 2007, it would have been well-received.

And yet, there’s something quite fascinating and compelling about The Wolverine, despite the noticeable problems with the script’s third act. Director James Mangold struggles to keep things under control for as long as possible, Hugh Jackman still has a wonderful charm in the eponymous role, and The Wolverine has a fascinating thematic through-line and an approach to inter-movie continuity which is intriguing and strangely satisfying.

The Wolverine falls short of greatness, but it’s still a fun and enjoyable ride.

“You lookin’ at me, bub?”

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: dark knight, hugh jackman, iron man 3, James Mangold, Jean Grey, kenneth branagh, Marvel Studios, wolverine, x-men, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men: The Last Stand | 10 Comments »

Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost’s Run on X-Force – X-Necrosha (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Darren

I have a bit of a soft-spot for Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost’s X-Force. It’s nowhere near as good as Rick Remender’s Uncanny X-Force, and I’m not even sure that it’s good comics. However, it does capture the mood of the X-Men comics between House of M and Second Coming remarkably well.

Being frank, I think that the editorial direction of the X-Men line between House of M and Second Coming was a disaster. In fact, the work of Kieron Gillen on Uncanny X-Men and Jason Aaron on Wolverine & The X-Men following Schism demonstrates that the franchise spent six long years running in a gigantic circle to get back to where Grant Morrison’s New X-Men and Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men had left it.

However, Yost and Kyle’s X-Force captures the mood of the line a lot better than Ed Brubaker or Matt Fraction’s work on Uncanny X-Men, willing to embrace the cynically and nihilitistically nineties vibe of the entire line.

Country of the dead…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Bastion, business, Christopher Yost, Craig Kyle, joss whedon, magneto, marvel, Necrosha, new mutants, Recreation, retrospective, Rick Remender, Selene, spider man, uncanny x-men, United States, wolverine, x-force | 1 Comment »

Civil War: X-Men (Review)

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Darren

Ugh. There’s nothing like Civil War: X-Men to remind you just how unkind the middle part of the last decade was to Marvel’s merry mutants. It’s a soulless cash-in the worst sense of the word, a four-issue miniseries branded with the title of the gigantic universe-spanning crossover that was going on at the moment. One would imagine that the whole Civil War crossover would provide a multitude of compelling storytelling opportunities for the X-Men as a franchise.

After all, these are superheroes whose entire schtick is based around being hated and feared by the world they try to protect. You’d imagine that they’d have a few choice words for all the superheroes finding themselves suddenly confronted by the idea that the public isn’t too keen on people with superpowers just wandering around. Instead, we get a messy jumble of a plot that doesn’t make sense on its own terms, let alone as an attempt to contextualise the involvement of the X-Men in Marvel’s Civil War crossover.

Back in black…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: art, Autos, Avenger, avengers, brian michael bendis, captain america, Civil War, Cleveland, cyclops, emma frost, Leather, marvel, marvel comics, marvel universe, Recreation, Rick Remender, spider man, superman, United States, wolverine | 5 Comments »

Jason Aaron’s Run on Wolverine & The X-Men – Avengers vs. X-Men (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Darren

Wolverine and the X-Men is one of the best comics that is being published by Marvel at present. Along with Waid’s Daredevil and Fraction’s Hawkeye, it’s a celebration of the strange and surreal side of comics. Jason Aaron doesn’t get enough credit for his character work, but his handle on the wonderfully wacky side of the X-Men mythos makes Wolverine and the X-Men a joy to read for anybody with an open mind and a willingness to try something a bit different.

Although the Avengers vs. X-Men tie-in issues are hardly the best place to witness Aaron’s artful approach to the franchise, often feeling a little disjointed and more all-over-the-map than usual, they still contain a lot of what makes Aaron’s work with the characters so appealing.

Burn, baby, burn…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Aaron, arts, Avenger, captain america, Classic X-Men, Comics, Feds, Friday, hellfire club, Husk, Jason Aaron, joss whedon, Monday Wednesday, Peter Milligan, Rick Remender, Uncanny X-Force, wolverine, Wolverine & The X-Men, x-men | Leave a comment »

Civil War: Wolverine (Review)

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Darren

A lot of the recent big Marvel events, stretching from Brian Michael Bendis’ Avengers Disassembled through to at least Avengers vs. X-Men, can be read as commentaries on post-9/11 America. In particular, they focus on questions the relationship between the power and trust held by various authorities, and how those are earned or abused. Perhaps Civil War was the most overt of these, with the conflict in the comic coming down to the clash between the demands of liberty and security.

So, I suppose, at least Marc Guggenheim’s Wolverine tie-in to the event is explicit about what it’s trying to do. It’s any even more explicit 9/11 parable, casting the famous mutant as an investigator looking for his own kind of justice in the wake of a horrifying terror attack.

Talk about seeing eye-to-eye…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Alternative, American Civil War, brian michael bendis, Civil War, Gulf War, Health, history, Human-Growth-Hormone, iraq, Life Extension, List of comic book drugs, luke cage, Marc Guggenheim, marvel comics, Shopping, United States, wolverine, world war ii | 2 Comments »

Kieron Gillen’s Run on Uncanny X-Men – Avengers vs. X-Men (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Darren

Kieron Gillen is one of the unsung heroes of modern superhero comics. Over the past few years, Gillen has come to the attention of readers for replacing or supplementing a-list talent on a-list books. He took over Thor after J. Michael Straczynski abruptly wrapped up his run on the Norse god, only to shuffle off the book when Matt Fraction took over. While Straczynzki’s run was collected in an omnibus, Gillen’s has yet to receive hardcover status. He wrote the wonderfully underrated Journey into Mystery as a supplement to Fraction’s Thor, which might hopefully get a deluxe reprinting at some point in the future.

He took over Uncanny X-Men following Fraction’s departure. He barely had time to establish his run on Marvel’s merry mutants before writer Jason Aaron up-ended the status quo with Schism, essentially restructuring Marvel’s X-Men line. Gillen remained on Uncanny X-Men in the wake of Schism, the title resetting to #1. However, less than a year into the run, Gillen’s Uncanny X-Men was caught up in Marvel’s high profile crossover of the year, Avengers vs. X-Men.

Explosive…

Gillen departed the book following Avengers vs. X-Men, in yet another reshuffle of Marvel’s X-Men line. (Brian Bendis promised to push the line in a new direction, writing both All-New X-Men and Uncanny X-Men.) Half of Gillen’s run on the relaunched Uncanny X-Men was tied into the gigantic Avengers vs. X-Men.

But don’t let that fool you. It’s really very, very good. In fact, it ranks as among the very best X-Men work since Joss Whedon and John Cassaday left Astonishing X-Men.