X-men: Divided We Stand # 1Review

Authors: Mike Carey, Chris Yost, Craig Kyle, Matt Fraction, and Skottie Young
Artist: Brandon Peterson, Sana Takeda, Skottie Young, and Jamie McKelvie

I thought they had cancelled X-men Unlimited? I was almost 100% they had, but for some reason what I am reading feels like an issue of an overpriced X-men Unlimited comic. This book is a collection of short stories that deal with the aftermath of Messiah Complex. But did we really have that many loose ends to tie up?

We get five stories that feature Cannonball, Nightcrawler, Anole, Nehzno, and Hellion. Cannonball returns home to Kentucky to be picked up by Paige and they hit a bar, because Cannonball is depressed that the X-men broke up and needs to drown his sorrows. Then we get the stereotypical family vs. family in KY from Chuck Austen’s horrible run. It’s the Guthries vs. the Cabots in a bar brawl….yeeeeehhhhaaawwww! Nehzno makes his return to Wakkanda to be reminded that his “kind” isn’t welcome there, even by family. Northstar pays a visit to Anole who feels like he doesn’t belong in his own town thanks to the X-men, Hellion looks to Magneto for vengeance against the X-men, and Scalphunter gets a visit from Nightcrawler to discuss how good his migas plate is.

So, back to my question; Is this two issue limited series really needed to tie up loose ends? Sure, but it would have made a hell of a lot more sense to release it right after Messiah Complex ended. While I appreciate the character study we get in each chapter, the stories were just dull. The best one comes from Skottie Young, even though Northstar has mysteriously lost his French accent, it was still a touching story about not able to fit in at home after you have seen the things you have while in the X-mansion. Anole (who I had no idea was gay) feels like an exile and hurts because he doesn’t trust himself around his family and his town. But it’s also a dual theme of not just hurt, but abandonment, much like the Hellion story.

The remaining three were just boring and really served no purpose. So what if the X-men disbanded? Why is Cannonball so pissed? Just call Boom Boom, Boomer, Meltdown, or whatever the fuck she is calling herself these days and get X-force together again. Shit, I’m sure Sunspot and Magma aren’t doing anything but eating bonbons and watching reruns of Where are they Now: New Mutants Edition! Nehzno can’t fit in because he is an outsider, not because he is a mutant. Way to rule your kingdom Black Panther! I found Fraction’s story really lame. Nicieza already gave us a look at humanizing Scalphunter in the Gambit series. He even talked about how clones can’t have a soul, but that part didn’t bother me. What bothered me the most in this story is for Nightcrawler (who is still a man of the cloth right?) to even threaten to kill him is just out of character. What is the purpose of Nightcrawler visiting this guy for days, eating his food, and quoting Walter Benjamin? What I guess was supposed to be an emotional story about finding God, really felt empty (this is coming from the wuzz that cries at movies too.)

Skottie Young really defined the way the New X-men looked and I really miss his art in a monthly book. Brandon Peterson has really changed the way his art looks, he has come a long way from the days of being a Jim Lee clone. To be hones the art was fine in every story. The only bad thing I can say is Takeda’s art makes everyone look really young. I couldn’t tell an age difference between Nehzno and his mother, unless of course Wakkanda women just age well. I have mixed feeling about this book. I feel like its stories that needed to be told, but not really necessary to buy. But hey, if you want to know what happened to some of these characters after Messiah Complex, you know you already have a copy. C+

Young Avengers Present: Wiccan & Speed Review

Author: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Art: Alina Urusov
Cover: Jim Cheung

It’s been years in the making and I really couldn’t wait to read this issue. Since we found out that the Scarlett Witch was Speed’s and Wiccan’s mother I have been anxiously awaiting this reunion. I’m assuming Marvel was waiting for Heinberg to tell this story, but it doesn’t seem like he is coming back anytime soon. So they let RAS handle this chore. What I thought was going to be an emotional reunion turned out to be an unexpected great read instead.

Wiccan and his brother Speed are planning to search for their real mother. Wiccan tells Hulkling to impersonate him for his foster parent’s sake. There is a nice and subtle moment where they express to each other their feelings when they say goodbye. Wiccan and Speed then head to Genosha, Wundagore, and Cresskill in search of their mother. However, instead of running into Wanda, they run into an old lame villain….the Master of Pandemonium. It seems that through him they learn not to look for their past history, but to live for the moment.

I had no idea that P-town stood for Provincetown, MA and it has a reputation as a gay resort. Had to do a little research, but that’s what I found. I found it interesting how RAS (who is openly gay) handled the boys’ relationship. It was refreshing to see a gay character and relationship treated in the same way a straight relationship would have been handled. While I was hoping for the boys to reunite with their mom, Wiccan does learns not to live in his past and that it doesn't matter whose blood is flowing in his veins. It was nice to see Speed as well, since the character was introduced so late in the series.

The only gripe I have is with the inconsistency in Urusov’s art. At times it’s gorgeous and just as stunning as Josh Middleton, but sometimes his faces just seem off and uneven. It was still a fun read and damn I wish someone would let a creative team take over a monthly YA book. A-

Young X-men # 1 Review

Author: Marc Guggenheim
Penciller: Yanick Paquette
Inker: Ray Snyder
Cover: Terry Dodson

It’s only been two months since Cyclops disbanded the X-men and already he is putting a new team of young mutants together. Wonder why he didn’t just keep his old team of New X-men together? I wasn’t thrilled when I saw the solicitations for this book. Paquette’s art puts me to sleep and his pencils can look rough at times. That cover by Dodson is rather boring and wouldn’t get my attention if I was looking to pick up a new comic.

I really thought the book was going to start us off in the Danger Room when I saw the Young X-men taking on Pierce, but to my surprise it was Blindside that was having a premonition dream. It seems that Cyclops is recruiting a new team of mutants to take on the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. In this issue he recruits ex-New X-men members Dust and Rockslide as well as a new more grown up Blindfold, Dust, Wolf Cub, and a new Tattoo mutant. It seems that Wolf Cub is connected to the Werewolf arc from Chuck Austen’s run. Tattoo seems to be another lame mutant who can manipulate the tattoos on his body…of course we have seen this before with characters created by Grant Morrison and Chris Claremont. The ending shows a picture of this new brotherhood of evil mutants and it is made up of Cannonball, Sunspot, Moonstar, and Magma

I don’t know where I stand with this book, since it’s the first issue it’s really hard judge. The idea of ex New Mutants becoming a New Brotherhood of Evil doesn’t make any sense. Perhaps Sunspot, since he has ties to the Hellfire Club and at one time was a villain named Reignfire, but that’s even pushing it. This better be some kind of damn test for these new kids. I thought it was silly of Cyclops to have gone and search for these kids. Couldn’t he just give them a ring and ask these kids to join? Breaking someone out of jail and destroying property really doesn’t seem like the Cyclops I know. Of course he is probably being written more like a hard ass.

The story is okay and Guggenheim really has a new cast of characters on the team, so he can’t screw up the dialogue that much. Even though I don’t think this is the same Blinfold I’ve been reading on Astonishing. I really don’t have anything nice to say about the art, except it looks cleaner and I can tell there are figures in this book. There are hardly any backgrounds and the figures themselves aren’t easy on the eyes. I’ll keep reading the book and see what happens, but my expectations are very low. C

Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. #27

Writers: Daniel and Charles Knauf
Artists: Carlo Pagulayan & Jeffrey Huet

Iron Man keeps on ticking.  The focus of this book since the Knuafs came on has always been Tony Stark and technology, and now that Tony is director of S.H.I.E.L.D. we've seen the book take a more spy vs. terrorist approach.  Except here, the spy is Tony Stark and the terrorist is the Mandarin.  This issue has Tony telling Maya Hansen that the Mandarin has broken the Extremis virus to make it deadly and airborne, and that she needs to decode it so they can come up with some counter-measures.  Maya hesitates, saying she needs proof that the Mandarin has done so, because she doesn't want anyone stealing her formula.  Meanwhile, Tony is dealing with the mini-nuke he dropped on the Extremis infected thugs last issue.  This issue is not a huge step forward in terms of storyline, but when read in sucession with the other chapters of this story, it will read as a good middle chapter.

Carlo Pagulayan steps in for art chores this issue and does a bang up job.  His stuff  looks similar to what Butch Guice and Roberto de la Torre have been putting out in previous issues of the book, keeping the dirty gritty feel going.  I thought I had more to say when I started writing this review, but I realize now that this was a middle chapter and not much happened in it, which is dissapointing, looking back, even though I enjoyed reading it. C-