Apr 29, 2010

Uncanny X-Men #524

COVER BY: Adi Granov
WRITER: Matt Fraction
PENCILS: Terry Dodson
INKS: Array
"SECOND COMING", CHAPTER SIX. A beloved X-Man died defending Hope, the returned mutant "messiah." As they lay their comrade to rest, the remaining X-Men are left to question: Is she worth it?

Apr 24, 2010

X-Force #26 Preview

Story: Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost
Art: Mike Choi
Cover: Adi Granov
Release Date: Wed, April 28th, 2010 
SECOND COMING, CHAPTER FIVE. As the X-Men make their desperate attempt to get Hope to Utopia, the battle will cost them one of their own. Nothing will ever be the same. $2.99


Apr 20, 2010

X-Solicitations July 2010

http://www.firstcomicsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/134_X_FORCE__SEX_AND_VIOLENCE_1.jpghttp://www.firstcomicsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/xmensecondcoming2.jpgX-MEN: SECOND COMING #2
Written by MATT FRACTION, CHRIS YOST, MIKE CAREY & ZEB WELLS
Penciled by
Cover by ADI GRANOV
The end is here. Sacrifices have been made. The most dangerous and successful attempt at the extermination of mutants is upon us. Who will walk away?

X-FORCE: SEX AND VIOLENCE #1 (of 3) Written by CRAIG KYLE & CHRISTOPHER YOST
Art and Cover by GABRIELE DEL’OTTO
Just when you thought it was over, we pull you back in—it’s the X-Force story everyone’s been talking about, finally delivered!  Wolverine and Domino have always had a special relationship, but everything goes upside down when the Assassins Guild puts out a hit on our gun wielding bombshell.  Why do they want her dead?  And more importantly, how many people have to die before Wolverine and Domino can spend some quality time together?  Get ready for the sexiest blood-soaked ride Craig Kyle and Chris Yost have ever delivered as they join forces with international superstar Gabriele Dell’otto to offer up their final X-Force story!

Apr 19, 2010

X-Men #1 Ongoing

 C2E2: Guarding the Secrets of a New 
X-MEN Ongoing Series

 The end of "Second Coming" and beginning of the "Heroic Age" brings a few series launches for Marvel's X-Men family of titles—including a brand-new X-Men #1 in July, by novelist and Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth scribe Victor Gischler and recent Deadpool artist Paco Medina.
The first arc's conflict centers around "mutants versus vampires," as "a new kind of X-Men team forms to combat threats unlike any the X-Men have faced before." It's also told the series will feature "some surprising new faces." The new "We are the X-Men" teasers most certainly have something to do with this new story.

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Victor Gischler: "Our story will pick up with a suicide bombing in San Francisco’s Union Square. But this is not Al Qaeda—this is the opening shot of a war," he writes. "Vampires are descending on the Bay Area, commanded by their, let’s just say, enigmatic leader, and mutants appear to be their target. What follows is a war on several fronts, as the X-Men defend their home from a threat unlike anything they’ve ever faced. There will be twists and turns you can’t see coming, and there will be some permanent status quo changes. [...] Depending on the mission and the situation, appropriate characters will be showing up to lend the X-Men a hand. Super heroes are helpful that way. [...] Probably we should think of these X-Men as an elite unit within [Cyclops'] army. [...] The cast of characters will be a combination of both big name and lesser known characters. I think we'll see a wider cast of characters for the first arc, while we're getting situated. Then the following arcs will kind of narrow things down to a core cast. [...] We've got the whole team and everybody is available for that first arc. Then in following stories we kind of whittle things down to the people we see every issue.
Plus, since the book is a part of the X-Men line, there's a good chance that we'll see characters rotate in and out from story to story. So new faces might come and go, but that will be along side the core cast that we see every month." 
This new monthly is not a supernatural-flavored X-Men title – it's a title that will firmly integrate the X-Men in the Marvel Universe, boasting new team-members from across the Marvel Universe as the X-Men contend with a host of threats -- including some of Marvel's most popular super-villains. That said, the first arc will pit mutants against another society of super-powered outcasts: vampires. The X-Men have some history with Dracula. It's about to come back and haunt them. [...]

It's easy to wonder if the future of Mike Carey's X-Men Legacy is in jeopardy giving this new title, especially since Legacy started its life as the 1991 adjectiveless X-Men comic. But it's continuing undeterred, and penciler Clay Mann is returning to the title.
"If you think we’re going to let Mike get away from us, you’re crazy," Alonso writes. "He’s got his next few arcs plotted out and they are going to shock the pants off of everyone. I hope none of you are going commando in coming months."

X-23 Ongoing!

Believe it or not - Laura Kinney will get her own ongoing series in September! Let's read the interviews (1, 2) with the soon-to-be-writer of our soon-to-be-favorite comic book! 

"She's been set loose from X-Force and is on a journey of self-discovery. It's going to be a dark, intense book."
Marjorie Liu: Almost two years ago my editor, John Barber, asked me to write a one-shot for X-23 -- partially to promote NYX, which I was working on at the time. That project fell to the wayside, but returned to life in late 2009 under my current editor, Jeanine Schaefer. I'm not certain how long the X-Office had been mulling the X-23 ongoing, but after I turned in the one-shot, I was invited to write the continuing series.

Nrama: X-23 has had a decent run as a supporting character in the X-Force series, but as a single character, she hasn't been quite as defined as a three-dimensional human being. For you, what's the appeal of a character like her?

Liu: I don't even know where to start. She's so damaged, and yet, despite all the terrible things that have happened to her, she's retained a particular compassion and dignity that is truly remarkable. She's ruthless, don't get me wrong -- but she has a primal sense of right and wrong that comes straight from the gut. I've heard some describe her as a robot, but I think the opposite is true: Laura feels too much, more than she can process or understand, and so she stuffs those emotions down. I think she's scared of feeling anything, because what she's endured is so tragic and awful...it's safer not to feel, to be still and quiet on the inside.
Problem is, you can't hide your heart forever. Something has gotta give.


Nrama: Something else that is particularly interesting is the darkness behind X-23's origin, much of which you helped introduce with NYX -- namely, the elements of control and dehumanization, whether that's her past as being abusively groomed into a living weapon or even living on the streets as a prostitute. First and foremost -- will you be returning to any of these themes in this book? And as a writer, how do you approach that sort of subject matter, in terms of walking that fine line between making it powerful and compelling and not making it something trivialized?

Liu: It's a very fine line. I hammered the issue home in the one-shot, as I considered that to be a character study -- and Laura's past is very much a part of what shaped her character. There's a risk, though, of going too far. The key to approaching that kind of subject matter, I believe, is to do so only when appropriate and necessary -- and then, delicately. I don't want to turn Laura into a victim, because she's not. She's tough, a survivor, unbroken -- capable of compassion and helping others, despite (or because of) what happened to her. That's to be admired, and one of the things I love about her character.
So yes, I'll be returning to those darker themes, but not in a heavy-handed manner. Only enough to show where Laura has been, where she is, and where she's going.

Nrama: It says here in the solicits that X-23 is going to have to "step up to fill [Wolverine's] shoes" -- what does that mean?
Liu: Laura isn't taking Logan's place on the X-Men team. If she's filling his shoes in any way, it's to follow his example of heroism against incredible odds, in the service of friends. She's going to try and help Wolverine. No matter the cost.

Nrama: So much about stories that tie into teams is the idea of relationships and character dynamics. How much of the other X-Men will we be seeing here? What do people on Utopia think of this quiet girl with the Adamantium claws? How about Wolverine himself? Will you be working out a new niche in the relationship between the original Canucklehead and his female clone?

Liu: The first arc will certainly involve Wolverine, though I haven't hammered out the specifics. Certainly, I'll be fleshing out their relationship -- in this arc, and in future ones -- although I should emphasize that it won't be the main focus of the ongoing. [..]
This initial story will definitely touch on Laura's feelings toward Wolverine. Complex emotions, to say the least. Laura has never had a father figure whom she can trust. Most men have betrayed or used her - or they're fellow soldiers, maybe friends - but that's not the same thing. That's not a father. That's not the kind of adult nurturer whom she can rest her heart on. Now, a lot of kids never have adults in their lives who can be trusted, ever. But that doesn't mean those kids stop looking, or hoping to find that one person who will take care of them (mentally, physically). It's an elusive thing, an emotional hunger, that sometimes isn't even consciously acknowledged.
Laura feels that hunger, but she doesn't acknowledge it. She can't. She doesn't understand those kinds of emotions well enough to even give them a name, except that they make her hurt, they overwhelm her at times, and she doesn't know why. All she can do is manage these feelings, divert them, bury them (sometimes with pain). She's a girl who feels too much, and so, doesn't allow herself to feel anything.
As such, Laura, on a superficial level, expects nothing from Logan. She acknowledges him as a mentor, a fellow fighter - the man she was cloned from. She respects him. She follows his lead. If this was a wolf pack, she'd be dominant - but he'd be her Alpha. On the surface of things, that's as deep as it gets for her. He exists, she exists, they survive, and that's that.
But deeper, much deeper, her feelings are different. Whether Laura is aware of it or not, she wants to be loved. She wants Logan to love her, as a father. She wants to know that she's not alone, even when she is. Not alone, because someone out there cares. She wants Logan to be the one who cares. She's a kid who hasn't had many good people in her life, but he's one of those good guys. And when push comes to shove, she will do whatever it takes to protect that tenuous, special relationship between them - even if she can't admit, or articulate, what that is.

Laura will often be on her own, journeying on her own, learning how to live on her own -- with a small supporting cast of regulars who pop in and out. Former X-Men, mostly, who are drawn to her despite a (perhaps wise) desire to keep their distance. As for what the people on Utopia think of her? No doubt they consider her to be quiet, a little strange, and very dangerous. But I'm not too worried about what they think. Laura won't be hanging around Utopia. [...] There are several [characters] who will act as mentors to Laura, but none I want to name at this point. [...] I won't be inventing anyone new for her to tackle -- there are enough bad guys already in the Marvel universe! And some of the good guys aren't all that great, either. Laura will have her hands full right off the bat. [...] Laura is getting out of San Francisco. She's cutting ties, learning how to be herself - exploring what it means to be herself, whoever that girl might be That can't be done around all the people (say, the X-Men), who might drag her back into her old familiar patterns of fight and obey. So yes, she'll be hitting the road, traveling. She might go around the world. She might spend some time in New York City. We'll see. The point is, though, nothing is holding her back. She can go anywhere now. Be anyone.

Ultimately, how fired up are you for "X-23?" If fans respond and the series takes off, would you want a good long run with the character?
I'm so fired up. I'm incredibly excited to be working on this book, and deeply appreciative of the opportunity to do so. If fans respond, I plan on sticking around for a good long time.

Apr 17, 2010

X-Men: Pixie Strikes Back #3 Preview


COVER BY: Stuart Immonen
WRITER: Kathryn Immonen
PENCILS: Sara Pichelli
THE STORY:
The illusion of high-school reality comes crashing down on Pixie, X-23 and the other X-Girls and it's not pretty. They're being held by a demon king who, shockingly enough, doesn't have their best interest at heart. The X-Men are coming to save the day, but will it matter? The secret of Pixie's parentage is out and no one will ever look at her the same way again. Rated A ...$3.99

  

X-Men Legacy #235 Preview


COVER BY: Adi Granov
WRITER: Mike Carey
PENCILS: Greg Land
THE STORY:
SECOND COMING, CHAPTER FOUR The X-Men chasing Cable and Hope have lost a teammate. They aren't giving up, but the trail has gone cold. That's where Rogue comes in. But how could she know where Hope and Cable are? And the battle between the New Mutants and Hodge's forces ends here! Rated A ...$2.99

Apr 15, 2010

X-Force #26 Preview

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COVER BY: John Cassaday
WRITER: Craig Kyle
Christopher Yost
PENCILS: Mike Choi
THE STORY:
SECOND COMING, CHAPTER FIVE As the X-Men make their desperate attempt to get Hope to Utopia, the battle will cost them one of their own. Nothing will ever be the same. Parental Advisory  

IN STORES: April 28, 2010 

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Apr 11, 2010

New Mutants #12 Preview

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Cover by: Adi Granov
Writer: Zeb Wells
Pencils & Inks: Ibraim Roberson
Colored by: Brian Reber
Lettered by: VC's Joe Caramagna
Variant Cover by: David Finch
SECOND COMING, Chapter 3
Fall of a New Mutant?! The X-Men are hot on the trail of Cable and Hope and meet Bastion's forces head-on, in the form of Bastion's capo William Stryker and his Purifier army. Stryker's forces score one casualty early, but who wins the battle? At the same time the New Mutants are hitting Bastion's second-in-command, Cameron Hodge. But going up against Hodge and 100 of his soldiers is way out of their league and one of them won't walk away from it.