Here's another comic book thread brought to you by James W. Powell....


I'm a little torn on the whole X-Men Reload by Marvel. I grew up loving Marvel comics, but I've been very unimpressed with the company's creativity (or lack thereof) now that I've jumped back into reading comics. I don't appreciate Marvel as a business either, but that's beside the point.

The more I get back into comics, the more I love the titles that aren't specifically superhero, beefcake, spandex battle books. But that's not to say I wouldn't like to read some awesome X-Men stories.

Plus, I have a limited budget. If I add even only 2-3 of the Reload books, I'll need to drop something else.

So, what are you getting? Why? Why not? I'm curious to hear what everyone thinks since the posters here seem to be more intellectual and though provoking, as opposed to the "X-Men Sucks" or "Claremont's a loser" without hearing any reason for the statements.

I'm only going to check out the Astonishing X-Men. I'm a fan of Cassady's artwork, though I completely forget who's writing it...

The other stuff didn't much appeal to me, but honestly, I'm more a fan of the X-characters than of the X comics (too much convolution in the storyline and too many supporting characters).

Love Ult X-Men tho (with few exceptions).

the whedon/cassasay xmen book sounds promising but other than that, this holds little interest for me. [begin rant] i am tired of marvel contiunously renumbering or relaunching or whatever they call it this month. maybe if they would focus more on quality books instead of gimmicks, i might care.[/end rant]

I'll check out at least the first couple issues of Astonishing X-Men. That'll be it - I gave up on general X-continuity a long time ago.

I probably won't check them out, as it seems like yet another gimmick by Marvel to sell more comics.

That being said, I've lost a lot of interest in the regular X-Men universe and have instead been focusing on the Ultimate universe which is volumes better, IMO.

I wouldn't really call this thing a gimmick. It's kinda like Tsunami last year. They were going to launch a bunch of new books anyway and they just decided to do it all at the same time to maximize the promotion of these titles. I agree there's too many X-titles, but considering that they're dealing with so many different characters it's nowhere near as big a deal as the ridiculous number of Superman and Batman comics that come out every year. The only title that's really being relaunched/renumbered is New Mutants and that book is only like a year old anyway.

As far as what I'm going to buy, of course I can't wait for Astonishing. I already buy Ultimate X-men, X-statix (actually a MK title now), and New X-men. I'm dropping New X-men when Morrison leaves. I'll stay with Ultimate X-men at least as long as one of the 2 Brians is on the series. Hehe, I just remembered that Bryan Singer is maybe supposed to take this series over later. I meant Bendis and Vaughn of course.

The big one I can't decide on is Exiles. I absolutely loved it when Winick was wrtiting it, but I dropped it when Winick left for good. I've read some Negation and plan on reading more and I like what I've read so far. Some people have said Austen's run has been really good, so I don't know if I should buy his issues also if I decide to buy the new run of Exiles.

The only one that remotely interests me is Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday. And even then, I'm going to wait for the hardcover collection.

JP, it's creepy how similar we are w/ comics.

The X-books are what got me into comics. The orginal New Mutants (#48?) is the first comic I ever picked up, & Excalibur will always be my all-time favorite comics. And I have a near full fun of Uncanny X-men. As a kid I read the X-books & nothing else, but now that I'm older, I still get most of the X books but I haven't liked them in years. Uncanny X-men for the past 5 years has pretty much been the worste comic I've ever read. Morrison's run on New X-men ended with a fizzle. Weapon X is actually the best X title right now & even that isn't too good.

That said, I'm a little different than most. I'll read all of the new Reloaded titles, (b/c I don't pay for them), but the only one I will actualy probably get is Astonishing X-men only b/c of Cassaday's mind-blowing art. I cannot stand Joss Whedon, I think the man is a hack. (Sorry Buffy fans).

But the entire idea of this Reloaded crap makes me mad & why I hate Marvel more & more. These titles will all be cancelled within a year or two. I know that, most fans know that, yet Marvel still published this garbage. Can anyone actually pictuer a New X-men: Acedamy X #234[/b]. And there is already a New Mutants title, what the hell is the point of Academy X. And District X :rolleyes Holy crap have they run out of ideas. I always hated Bishop anyway.

I wish they would just do like DC, & instead of trying to create a million new pointless tiles, hire some top notch talent on the core X books & start cranking out some epic story-lines instead of all of these 4-6 part story arcs that all are pointless with no continuity whatsoever.

Oh yeah, & everyone look for my review of She-Hulk #1 & Action Comics #813 up any day now over at the best comic book website on the net: http://brokenfrontier.com/

Sessa,

Wow, if the day ever comes in which you have to pay for X books, you'll be in a delimna: pay for crappy comics or end your near complete run of the titles.

I'm giving Marvel the benefit of the doubt on the Bishop story. I actually liked him when he was introduced, but I'm not sure where they took the character from there. Plus, I'm into the whole crime/cop thing. I'll read 3 issues and decide after that.

The point you made about all these books being canceled in a couple of years is a good one. That's one thing I hate about Marvel. I don't mind them pumping out minis if that's what they want, but when they continue to create "new" series that go bust, well, it just shows that they're not concerned with creating something special. The whole "see what sticks" attitude is the wrong one.

As I write this, I've realized that my pull list is 70% DC now, but based on this month's previews, I'm getting more and more small press stuff. I'm trying my hand at STRAY BULLETS, OPTIC NERVE, REMAINS, BLACK EYED SUSAN, etc. I can seriously one day see me without any Marvel books.

Well, while some of the greenlit series must sound horrible on paper, I do appreciate Marvel at least taking some chances. Granted, most of the X-books don't interest me and sound like pointless relaunches, as do the newest wave of Marvel Universe Titles (Capt America/Falcon, Alpha Flight, Cable/Deadpool), but the Tsunami line launched Runaways, Sentinel, and Mystique that were worth reading...

I did a positive post because I thought people were unfairly attacking the reload for no reason, but I do agree with some of your points. I too am really pissed off that most of these are going to be cancelled. I also want to see some epic storylines with continuity.

Also, I haven't read Dead@17, so feel free to correct me, but it seemed like it would be a Buffy rip-off. I was surprised to see you call Whedon a hack. Man, you hate Bendis, Whedon, and Marvel. It's getting harder for me to post around here.

No need to stop posting just because your tastes vary nny. I think the wide range of thoughts is what makes this forum so cool.

If you haven't read it how can you tell what it seems like? I never understood this logic. Just b/c it contains one or two similar things doesn't mean something is a rip-off. Raging Bull is about boxing & Rocky is about boxing, so does that mean Rocky is a rip-off of Raging Bull? Of coarse not. I think Hidalgo, looks like it has a lot of similarites with Lawrence of Arabia, does that mean it's a rip-off, I don't know, I'll wait & actually see it before I make such a strong statement.

Quote:

I was surprised to see you call Whedon a hack.

Hack is a strong word. Horribly, horribly, horribly overrated is what I should have posted. It's just not my taste. The writing on Buffy is horrendous from what I've seen, his dialogue literally makes me embarrased watchinig it & I cringe at the lines he makes his characters say. The writing on his much praised Frey comic was also theysame Whedon fluffy wannabe teenage retoric. Aliens Resurrection is, well . . . do I need to even go there. My fear with him is he is going to focus even more on the soap opera elements of the X-men, & make them all sound like high school kids. I hope I'm wrong. I do admit he is not a hack though.

Quote:

Man, you hate Bendis,

I've never said I hate Bendis, so I don't know where you get this from. I LOVE Powers. Absolutely one of the best comics of the last decade. I HATE Bendis on anything but Powers. He is a one trick pony. All of his dialogue is the same, redundant drivel & he can spend over 2 years on a comic without having one single thing happen in 2 years.

Quote:

and Marvel. It's getting harder for me to post around here.

I hate modern Marvel. Most of my favorite characters & all-time favorite comics are all Marvel, they are the publisher completely resoponsible for making me a comic book fan. That is just all the more reason why I hate what they have become & what they stand for in today's ever shrinking comic book world, which also frustrates me why more fans can't see this. I know from running a story, the phrase "Marvel zombie" could not be more true. Marvel has become the most piss poor, half-assed publisher today, & I don't think they should be supported for that. They have the same 3-4 (this time I mean) hack creators writing almost all of there titles, cutting down greatly on making diverse products & upcoming talent. They constantly delay books for months, even years at time b/c they know there fans will still buy the product no matter when it is released. They constantly solicite comics before they are finished (something DC never does, except the god-awful DKR2 disaster). Marvel constantly creates new titles, with no confidence are promotion behind them, cancelling them within a year of beginning. They don't allow re-orders for retailers. I can go on & on & on. I don't want o hate Marvel, but when you have other companies putting out quality that is FAR FAR superior & other companies that actually care about there fans, it amazes me how Marvel can do what they do & people don't seem to mind.

And this is all just opinions. Looking at sales, the average comic book fan clearlly disagrees with my taste & thinks what I enjoy is junk not worth buying, so I must be wrong. I'm just one opionion, don't let my taste make it hard for you to post here. We all love comics, something that becomes more & more rare, so any comic book talk is good talk IMO.

Hehe, I was kinda half joking about the harder to post around here comment. It's just that it sometimes feels like we're going in circles since you two are pretty much the only people around here that post a lot of comments about comics and we disagree so much. I'm like Sessa's and JP's archenemy.

And about the Dead@17 comment, I didn't mean to attack it. I was just curious and I'm probably not going to try it anytime soon considering how different our tastes are. I'll probably try it eventually if I see it at a comic shop and maybe if I can get a discount.

I was just looking through your post again and I don't understand this statement. As far as I know, the only writer doing more than two series over at Marvel is Bendis (Chuck Austen's on 3 right now, but I think Exiles was kinda a temporary thing). I know you're exaggerating, but I think they have a pretty diverse lineup. I actually think having writers doing more titles in a comic universe might be a good thing so we could try doing some more epic stories with fewer continuity problems.

Yeah, the only guy who fits the 'hack' description and jumps to mind is Austen.

I read Amaz Spidey, Daredevil, FF, Pulse, Runaways, Supreme Power, Wolverine, and all the Ultimate Stuff (along with various minis). The only writer on the list overly represented is Bendis (JMS writes two), and I enjoy all his books. I would definitely say those are among the top books at Marvel now.

I personally have never watched an episode of Buffy, nor have I read Fray, so I'm still looking forward to reading Whedon's work on Astonshing X-Men...to land a high-profile gig like that, you have to have *some* talent (or a hella lot of connections).

I do agree with you a little bit here. Whedon isn't the god of TV writing that a lot of people make him out to be. Believe me, I'm a huge fan of his shows, but you're right, a lot of his dialogue is horrible. Look no further than the last Whedon-penned episode of Angel (5.15, "A Hole in the World", from 2 weeks ago), which many fans enjoyed tearing to shreds because of all the painful lines we had to listen to. I mean, come on, Joss. "Not this girl, not this day"? "Winifred Burkle. Go.". Stop, my ears! A lot of that stuff fit well in early Buffy when most of the characters were teenage high-school students, but when he's writing for a cast of mostly adult characters, their lines often seem really off.

Another example: He wrote Storm's "Do you know what happens when a toad is hit by lightning?" line from the movie. Yeah, it was kind of funny, but can you really picture Ororo saying something like that? It really sounds more like a line that a smartass teenager (like Buffy or a young Spider-Man) would say.

That said, dialogue isn't everything (though he has written some really funny & witty dialogue over the years), and he's come up with some awesome ideas, though he tends to recycle some of it. It's just that his dialogue can be weak at times. I'll probably give Astonishing X-Men a try, just to fill the void left by Morrison.

I think I'm gonna drop Exiles after this current arc is over. Is Winick really done for good? I haven't been keeping up with comics news lately, but I was always under the impression that he was still involved with the series, he just wasn't going to write every single arc. If he isn't coming back, then neither am I. The title has been pretty shitty for quite a while now.

Claremont back on Uncanny with a decent artist is enough for me. I dropped all comics a couple of years back because Morrison Just wasn't doing it for me and Uncanny has sucked since Claremont was taken off. If you can't tell I'm and old school X-men fan and to me Claremont is the X-men and the X-men is Claremont. People think he's wordy and what not but in my opinion he writes the best stories. I like stories that are continuity heavy and last for more then 3 parts. I've cut out my weekly trip to the comic book store but I might have go once a month and pick up Uncanny and maybe Excalibur (now that Kordey isn't drawing it)

So, Lessee...

Astonishing X-Men
Written by Joss Whedon
Pencils & Cover by John Cassaday

• Definitely picking this one up. Mainly out of curiosity. Oh, and Cassaday's artwork.

Uncanny X-Men
Written by Chris Claremont
Pencils & Cover by Alan Davis

• No brainer. And like Timber said "Claremont IS the X-Men". Not to mention I LOVE Davis' artwork. Grew up on Excalibur, man.

X-Men
Written by Chuck Austen
Pencils & Cover by Salvador Larroca

• VERY weak stories. VERY great art. Can't we meet somewhere in the middle?

New X-Men: Academy X
Written by Nunzio DeFilippis & Christina Weir
Pencils & Cover by Randy Green

• Not really sure about this. I'll probably just read it at the store or the preview...

Excalibur
Written by Chris Claremont
Penciled by Igor Kordey

• Part of me wishes Davis was drawing this [the whole "nostalgia" thing], but Kordey's X-treme run was MUCH BETTER than any one of his New X-Men fill in issues.

the Official Handbook Of the Marvel Universe: X-Men 2004

• Will Eliot R. Brown be in charge of this? I'm sure the Internet/computers made this book obsolete, but it was a bible back in the day.

District X
Written by David Hine
Penciled by David Yardin

• Bishop's not really a favourite character of mine, but I think i'll read this one after i'm done with Academy X.

Exiles
Written by Tony Bedard
Pencils & Covers by Mizuki Sakakibara

• Stopped collecting this. Not going to start again either.

Weapon X
Written by Frank Tieri
Penciled by Tom Mandrake

• This comic's had its moments, i'll stick with it to see where it's going.

Mystique
Written by Sean McKeever
Penciled by Manuel Garcia

• I like this book. I don't know why. I liked Linsner's covers. I liked the original artist [now on Iron Man, I think]. And some of the stories were entertaining too. On the other hand, I also liked Sentinel, so we'll see what McKeever has in store for her.

Alpha Flight
Written by Scott Lobdell
Pencils & Cover by Clayton Henry

• Well, I bought the first issue. It seems Lobdell is going for that Giffen/DeMatties "comedy" vibe. The art by Henry is alright, but not too distinctive. I'm on the fence about this one. It WAS nice to see Lobdell acknowledge that Byrne did it "best" [and "first"].

Emma Frost
Written by Karl Bollers
Penciled by Carlo Pagulayan

• Believe it or not, i've been buying this, but haven't had time to read any of them. I used to be able to appreciate Horn's covers until someone in this forum pointed out that it's mostly CG. Now I can't look at it without thinking that [Damn You! whoever you were ]. And, if i'm correct, Pagulayan's art isn't that bad.

Cable/Deadpool
Written by Fabian Nicieza
Penciled by Mark Brooks

• I'm down for this. Fabe's been pretty good in the past [I liked his New Warriors run]. Could do without Liefield on covers though.

Ultimate X-Men
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils & Cover by David Finch

• I get this book. But, like Emma Frost, I haven't read it since the 'teens. Brandon Peterson will be drawing an issue. Can't wait.

All in all, I guess i'm Marvel's bitch. And this is just the "X" Universe. I'm slowly kicking some things to the curb as my priorities and tolerance for bullshit changes.

But i'll always be an X fan.

Just a quick note. Kordey was "fired" from Marvel so he's no longer drawing Excalibur. I think I read that Aaron Lopesti(sp?) is the new penciler on it.

This is off-topic, but I just read about a pretty funny relaunch. Avengers is going to revert to it's original numbering for issue 500 and the new team of Bendis and David Finch. Then the series is going to end 3 issues later and is believed to be relaunching with a new number 1 a few months later.

Oh well, crazy numbering aside, I think everybody can agree that going from Austen to Bendis is an improvement.

I will never again buy an Austen penned x-title again. I was only around for the first couple of issues of Hope but I just couldn't stomach it. From the sound of things it only got worse after that. There are a bunch of writers they could've gotten for X-Men or hell just cancel it and go with Astonishing and Uncanny.

I'm going to get the Whedon/Cassady first issue. If I like it/hear its good, I'll get the trade.

Other than that, none of the other titles even remotely interest me.