‘X-Men’ Archives
Uncanny X-Men #500-512
Here is the first year of Matt Fraction's run on Uncanny. This title hasn't been that great lately, so I'm happy to see a new hot writer taking a stab at it. It all starts with the anniversary issue 500, which lays down some of the upcoming stories in the series. The X-Men are relocating to San Francisco, but Magneto comes back only to be [...]
X-Infernus
Summary: Pixie brings X-Men to limbo, looking for Magik. Belasco's daughter wants to reclaim Limbo, and gets the amulet. Even takes another piece of Pixie's soul. In the end Illyana goes back to X-Men, with her soulsword without amulet. She doesn't have a soul, but Kurt tells her she has a choice. This mini aims to evoke the classic Inferno [...]
Wolverine by Jason Aaron
Here are some random issues of Wolverine by Jason Aaron before his new ongoing Weapon X starts. 56) (art by Howard Chaykin): Wendell shoots at Wolverine in a pit. He starts talking to him, telling him about his mother died at childbirth. Then his dad beat him, and he beat others as a cop. So he wants to die, and frees Wolverine, but Wolverine [...]
Cable #6-12
These issues are a slight improvement over the first 5, I am more interested in these shorter stories, even though we still don't know much about the baby. Issue 6 is a departure from Cable's future. It stars Cyclops in the present worrying about Cable and the baby. It's a nice issue that sets up future storylines and ends with a typical [...]
X-Force #1-13
X-Force is the darkest of the X-Titles, not only in art but content. The Purifiers are the villains in the first arc. Their leader Risman resurrects Bastion and puts his head on Nimrod's body. But more classic x-villains are coming back: Bastion brings back Graydon Creed, Donald Pierce, Stephen Land, William Stryker, Leper Queen, Cameron [...]
X-Men: Legacy #215-218
Xavier's journey continues with another story filled with past histories. This time he goes to Cyclops trying to find if Sinister put any mental blocks. Instead he's taken on a walk-through by Emma. They revisit his past mistakes and let him deal with them. He seems to be accepting them just so he doesn't have to think about them. [...]
Astonishing X-Men 1-24
This series has been a favorite for many readers, but due to its lateness I didn't read past the first 12 issues. Now that it's finished, I went back and read the whole series and it was a very pleasant read. Whedon is obviously a fan of the X-Men, and he had a clear overall storyline spanning 25 issues. The plot has its ups and downs, but the [...]
X-Men Legacy 208-214
After Messiah Complex, X-Men has been transformed into basically a solo book starring Xavier. In the first story arc, after the gunshot by Bishop, Xavier has been kidnapped by Exodus who is trying to restore his fractured mind. He even seeks Magneto's help, hoping to kickstart Xavier's subconscious. His ultimate goal is to ask X to lead them in [...]
Cable #1-5
At the end of Messiah Complex I was really looking forward to the new Cable series. It felt like the logical sequel to Messiah Complex, saving the baby for the future of mutantkind. I was intrigued by the change in Bishop, making him the villain even though he is sure that killing the baby will save mutants. And I was also curious about the [...]
Uncanny X-Men #495-499
The first post-Messiah Complex arc is complete. It was well executed, it was mostly a self contained arc, and I think it's a good jumping on point for new readers. There are two story threads running in parallel and they don't have anything to do with each other. The first is about Cyclops and Emma in San Francisco, a transformed city that [...]
Logan #1-3
Brian K. Vaughn has done great things in his indy work, but I haven't been impressed by his superhero work (haven't read Runaways yet). This mini was well done, but again it didn't impress me. Ever since the first Wolverine mini, Japan has become an important part of Logan's past, but putting him in Hiroshima at the time of the bombing feels [...]
X-Men: Messiah Complex
And finally the big event is over, a new chapter in the X-Men's life begins. Compared to past crossover events, this was a very entertaining one. There is plenty of action, some small character bits, and plenty of classic appearances. There are a lot of villains at play, even though there is only one main group, the Marauders. But we also see [...]
X-Men: Endangered Species
Endangered Species is not exactly a crossover. This is a story that runs as 17 chapters, each an 8 pages back-up story running in the 4 main X-Titles, at no extra cost. This story is about Beast's search to the imminent extinction on the mutant population. There isn't a lot of action here, but a lot of characterization for Beast, as well as an [...]
X-Men: Blood of Apocalypse
One of the main questions I had after reading the Carey run on X-Men was why did Gambit leave the X-Men. So I went and found that storyline, Blood of Apocalypse. This is the last arc in Peter Milligan's run on X-Men. It features the return of Apocalypse, how he chose his horsemen and how he transforms them. Basically the usual Apocalypse [...]
Uncanny X-Men: The Extremists
I wasn't very impressed by the first 12 issue story arc by Ed Brubaker on Uncanny X-Men. I didn't feel that story needed that many issues. This second arc is more focused, but it is also part of the big event starting soon. This story (487-491) stars the Morlocks, and we see how they deal with the events of M-day. The themes of this arc are [...]
X-Men 188-204
This is Mike Carey's run on X-Men so far, including issues 188-204. This to me is the title that tried to introduce new villains, as well as being at the center of the X-Universe, something that Uncanny X-Men was supposed to be, but failed in the Rise of the Shi-Ar Empire run. In Supernovas (188-193) Carey introduces the Children of the Vault, [...]
X-Men reading
I started reading American comics with X-Men (around the time Jim Lee started drawing them), and at one time I used to read all x-titles in their Italian translation. After a while I lost touch with them due to my moving out of the country. However I always tried to keep up with what happened in them, at least the big picture. I also read [...]
Uncanny X-Men: Rise & Fall of the Shi’ar Empire
When Ed Brubaker was announced as the new writer of Uncanny X-Men I was excited. His previous work at DC was of my liking, so I was happy that he got to write my own favorite series. Unfortunately the result was not what I expected at all. The first 12 issues in Brubaker's run (475-486) tell a space story involving the Shi'Ar and the long lost [...]
Uncanny X-Men Omnibus vol.1
X-Men was my favorite superhero series, so I was very interested in getting this uber volume containing the first adventures of the "new" X-Men. These are classic stories written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Dave Cockrum and John Byrne. Ever since the first issue, Claremont's style of long term plotting was evident. One off stories that seem [...]
X-Men: Deadly Genesis
This is the mini-series that brought Ed Brubaker to the X-Men universe. In this series he retro-fitted the first story featuring the "New X-Men", meaning Wolverine, Colossus, Banshee etc.. (not the Morrisons's New X-Men). It seems to fit nicely (I have to go back and re-read that first story), but it also introduces huge changes in the [...]