Why Is This Blog Called Key Issue Comics?

If you've been reading this blog you may be wondering, "Why the hell is it called 'Key Issue Comics?'  The only thing here is a bunch of comic reviews and links to comic related stuff."  Well, I started this blog so that I could put together lists of key issues of various comic book titles.  That was and still is my intention.  I got back into collecting comics after an absence of nearly 13 years.  Triggered primarily by a couple of articles I read about the new Wonder Woman costume and the new X-Men title.  Probably more important is that I can actually afford it now.

I enjoy reading comics and I also hope that someday someone will pay outrageous amounts of money for the ones I've collected.  So I'm always on the lookout for "REALLY good deals" on collectible books.  Like the New Mutants #98 that I found for about 80 cents.  I haven't had it graded yet but my guess is that it's probably VF/NM 9.0.  That's what I mean by really good deals.  If that book had been 40 bucks or more I probably would have passed on it.  Thanks to many generations of my family, I'm what you might call a tightwad.

Deadpool Red Band Trailer and 1st Appearances

Though the prices are skyrocketing into bubble territory for all of these first appearances (several of these were in the $1 box just a year ago), I wanted to make a list of them just to highlight the awesome red band trailer for Deadpool.  I'm almost as excited for this movie as I was for Star Wars The Force Awakens.  In case you don't know, Deadpool was written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick who wrote the the funniest zombie movie ever, Zombieland.  The director, Tim Miller, doesn't have a long list of credits behind his name, but he did direct the opening sequence of Thor: The Dark World which is incredible.  Red Band Trailer (NSFW) below followed by the list of 1st appearances.

New Mutants #98 - 1st appearance of Deadpool. 1st appearance of Copycat posing as Domino.
X-Force #19 - 1st appearance of Copycat as Copycat.
Morlocks #1 - 1st appearance of Angel Dust.
Deadpool #14 - 1st appearance of Ajax.
Cable #3 - 1st appearance of Weasel.
New X-Men #115 - 1st appearance of Negasonic Teenage Warhead.
Giant-Size X-Men #1 - 1st appearance of Colossus.
Deadpool #1 - 1st appearance of Blind Al.

Cullen Bunn Just Made My Day

Teaser Image by Greg Land

For those of you like me who have CompleX feelings about Marvel's direction for the X-Men after Secret Wars, we were offered an additional glimmer of hope today.  I say additional because I already have high hopes for Cullen Bunn's Uncanny X-Men.  As revealed over at CBR, the Uncanny X-Men roster will include Monet St. Croix and what I hope is the real Archangel.

As much as I loved Rick Remender's X-Force run, the only thing I disliked more than the Fantomex 3-way split was the transformation of Archangel back to the uncannily vanilla Angel.  I couldn't understand why a character with such conflicting motivations was reduced to a shell and then put on a shelf.  If I remember correctly, he had maybe two or three appearances in Wolverine and the X-Men and was never heard from again.

Regardless, it appears that our Archangel is back.  I don't really care how.  I just want interesting multi-dimensional characters and it appears that Cullen Bunn does as well. Otherwise, why would he have chosen this group of dual-nature mutants with the some of the most interesting and heartbreaking backstories.

I've mentioned before that his Magneto series is/was the best book that Marvel has published over the past year and a half. Is it because it is vastly different than everything else Marvel is publishing?  Not really.  Is Magneto just that awesome no matter who writes him?  Definitely not.  I think it's primarily because Cullen Bunn really understands what makes Magneto work.  He is a villain for sure, but he's also been a victim.  Though in his own really messed up way, he is a hero. Maybe not by homo sapiens standards, but if you were a mutant kid being bullied by humans, you'd probably look up to Magneto. During the series, Bunn also chose to show us Magneto's acknowledgement of his shortcomings. This allowed us to empathize with Eric the same way we would with a Tony Soprano or a Dexter Morgan and suddenly half of our brain cheered for the bad guy while the other half told us you shouldn't be cheering for the bad guy.

Maybe this series will be cathartic for those of us with a CompleX.  Just like the mutant kid who idolizes Magneto, we'll be rooting for these Uncanny X-Men to take on the humans, the Inhumans, and Marvel itself.

Finally, just in case you're thinking I forgot that the blog is called Key Issue Comics, here's a list of the first appearances for Cullen Bunn's Uncanny X-Men:

The X-Men #1 (1963) - 1st appearance of Magneto. 1st appearance of Warren Worthington III (Angel).
Ms. Marvel #16 - 18 (1978)  -  1st Appearance of Mystique.  This one is tough to judge. Mystique cameos in #16, disguises herself as Nick Fury in #17, and makes her first full appearance as Mystique in #18.
New X-Men #128 (2002) - 1st appearance of Fantomex.
Iron Fist #14 (1977) - 1st appearance of Sabretooth.
Captain Britain #8 (1976) - 1st appearance of Psylocke. Her first appearance in US comics was New Mutants Annual #2.
Uncanny X-Men #316 (1994) - 1st appearance of Monet St. Croix.

Key Issues - The Uncanny X-Men - Part Three

Uncanny X-men #428 by Phillip Tan 

I finally got around to finishing the third part of the Uncanny X-Men key issues list.  Parts one and two can be found at the respective links.  We've reached #400 - #544 and I had to dig deep to find key issues.  In this era of the X-Men a lot happens without anything really happening at least until you get to Brubaker's run starting in #475.  At that point lots of great storylines come out with Messiah Complex, Messiah War, Nation X, Second Coming, etc.  I was planning on ending this with #544 but with #600 announced to come out in October 2015, perhaps I'll do a part 4 that includes, the two Uncanny volumes, Wolverine and the X-Men, and All-New X-Men just to tidy things up before the new Marvel Universe debuts in September.


Uncanny X-Men #401 - Banshee forms X-Corps.  1st appearance of X-Corps.

Uncanny X-Men #404 - Death of Sunpyre (Leyu Yoshida).

Uncanny X-Men #410 - 1st appearance of Sammy Pare (Squid Boy).

Uncanny X-Men #411 - 1st appearances of Annie and Carter Ghazikhanian.
Uncanny X-Men #415 - Revealed that Iceman will permanently mutate into ice.  Northstar has a crush on Iceman.

Uncanny X-Men #417 - 1st appearance of Maximus Lobo.

Uncanny X-Men #493
 by  Billy Tan

Uncanny X-men #420 - Angel revealed to have healing abilities.

Uncanny X-Men #423 - Deaths of Bedlam and Skin, they were crucified by the Church of Humanity.

Uncanny X-Men #428 - 1st appearance of Azazel.  Azazel revealed as Nightcrawler's father.
Uncanny X-Men #429 - 1st appearance of the Neyaphim: Ginniyeh, Jillian, Kiwi Black, Ophis, and Ydrazil. 1st appearances of Maryin Hannah and Sanji Yamamoto.
Uncanny X-Men #435 - 1st appearance of Earth-A She-Hulk.
Uncanny X-Men #437 - 1st appearance of Julia Cabot.
Uncanny X-Men #444 - 1st appearances of the Weaponeers, Rogue's Advocate Squad: Boggart, Naiad, Pinpoint, Trovao, Umbra, Xenon.
Uncanny X-Men #445 - 1st appearance of the Fury.

Uncanny X-Men #455 - 1st appearance of the Hauk'ka.
Uncanny X-Men #462 - 1st appearances of Flight Leader and Sky Captain of the Captain Britain Corps.
Uncanny X-Men #466 - 1st appearance of Colonel Miguel Reyes.

Uncanny X-Men #526
 by Terry and Rachel Dodson

Uncanny X-Men #467 - 1st appearance of the Shi'ar Death Commandos: Black Cloak, Colony, Devo, Hypershot, Krait, Offset, Sega, Shell, and Warshot.
Uncanny X-Men #468 - 1st appearance of Flaw of the Shi'ar Death Commandos.
Uncanny X-Men #475 - 1st appearance of Warpath's vibranium knives.
Uncanny X-Men #478 - 1st appearance of Korvus Rook'shir.
Uncanny X-Men #493 - X-Force is reformed to track down Cable and baby Hope.
Uncanny X-Men #500 - The X-Men relocate to San Francisco.
Uncanny X-Men #526 - 1st appearance of Transonic.
Uncanny X-Men #527 - 1st appearance of Velocidad.
Uncanny X-Men #528 - 1st appearance of Idie Okonkwo.
Uncanny X-Men #529 - 1st appearance of Teon.
Uncanny X-Men #542 - Colossus becomes the Juggernaut.

Key Issues - Uncanny X-Men - Part One
Key Issues - Uncanny X-Men - Part Two

-

Glossing Over the Death of Wolverine

It was with great anticipation that I picked up Death of Wolverine #4 today.  And then, disappointment.  Not with Charles Soule, Steve McNiven, Jay Leisten, or Justin Ponsor who did a masterful job of sending our hero off with beautiful artwork and a subtle story of self-sacrifice.  The entire series was wonderful even though it seemed a bit hurried.  Perhaps one or two more issues would have been better.

The real letdown is how Marvel is treating Wolverine's death. Let's start with the timing of this mini-series and the timing of Axis, the latest Marvel event.  Apparently, there were some slight delays with Death of Wolverine, but dropping this issue in the middle of Axis seems to give short shrift to his death.  Wolverine, an Avenger and arguably the most popular of all the X-Men, dies before the events of Axis (I'm assuming, otherwise why wouldn't he be there fighting alongside all of his teammates) and no one even makes mention of it.  Sad and inexcusable.

In another stupid scheduling move, Marvel releases Wolverine and the X-Men #10 on the same day with a "Death of Wolverine" banner across the cover.  Ideally, this issue would show up a week later after some time for his death to resonate both with fans and Wolverine's students and fellow X-Men.  Instead, we get a poorly written issue with way too many artists depicting those closest to Wolverine who apparently skipped the first four stages of grief and moved on to acceptance.

I haven't read the Logan Legacy #1 yet, but from what I've heard, the book will really only deal with other Weapon X program characters.

None of this would matter if Logan were suddenly resurrected in a week, but from Axel Alonso down to Charles Soule, we've been told that there's been no thought given to how he would come back and that dead Wolverine will be the status quo for the foreseeable future.  Disheartening when you consider that Marvel is usually planning stories two to three years out.  Even more disheartening to see one of the characters that helped keep Marvel out of bankruptcy paid such little respect.

Why Marvel's De-emphasis of the X-Men Would Be a Good Thing

Because the conversation and rumors surrounding Marvel's plans for the X-Men don't seem to be going away (this was posted on Tom Breevort's Tumblr page today), I thought I'd add my two cents...

Fourteen. That is the number of current ongoing Marvel titles featuring the X-Men, a subset of X-Men, or a solo series for a character from the X-Men. Add in Specials, Annuals, One-Shots, and mini-series and your total cost for X-titles will be over $60 per month. To be fair, the Avengers titles do have more ongoings if you count anyone who's been an Avenger. Though almost everyone has been an Avenger at some point in their superhero career.

When I started collecting, I typically bought three to four titles a week. At the time, there were only four in continuity X-books: Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, X-Factor, and X-Force. So each week I got my one X-book and had enough money left to pick up some other titles.  Maybe it was Captain America, Batman, Wonder Woman. The next week I'd pick up another X-book and two or three others. Maybe this time it was Spawn and Moon Knight.

For those of us that enjoy the shared universe and like to follow all of the storylines for our favorite characters, this is almost impossible today. If comic book pricing suddenly dropped by 50%, I might be able to manage it. However, the number of titles in each family today means I need to make a choice.  I can either read all the X-books and their solo titles or give up on some continuity and pick up a few other series. Talk to DC readers and you'll hear the same complaint about the Batman family of titles.

This is one of the primary factors for low sales of B and C list characters. I'd love to pick up an issue of All New Ghost Rider or Elektra as I've heard these are fantastic series. There's just no room on my pull list to get these books if I'm interested in continuity for my favorites. I've read the first four issues of Dan Slott's Silver Surfer. It's not for everyone, but I loved it. Unfortunately, I don't have the budget to add it. So this progression follows; consumers with limited budgets trying to keep up with continuity or crossover storylines leads to low sales of B and C list characters which leads to cancellations which leads ultimately to less familiarity with these characters.

Here's where that will come back to bite Marvel and DC. Eventually, an actor's contract runs out (already seeing this with Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans) or an actor will get older (Anthony Hopkins can't possibly live as long as the All-Father, Odin). This means that film franchises will end and they'll need to replace it with a new franchise. People flocked to see Avengers because they'd been waiting almost 50 years for someone to make that movie. However, in my opinion, the Guardians of the Galaxy success is a bit of a fluke. Yes, Marvel Studios did everything to make it a success: perfect director for the film, the perfect ensemble cast, and fantastic marketing. What's not obvious to most people who saw that film is that incredible source material already existed to base that script on.  If Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning hadn't had an opportunity to create their stellar series in 2008, that film wouldn't have been possible. Will there be similar recent material for Inhumans?  Not if Charles Soule's series doesn't start selling better. It should be selling better because it's very good.

Armchair quarterbacking here, but if I had any sway at Marvel I'd be slowly reducing the number of titles in each family. This would leave room in comic buyers budgets for a new Black Panther or Dr. Strange series or the current Inhuman series. With all of the rumors swirling behind the outcomes of Axis and Time Runs Out and a possible refresh of the Marvel Universe, maybe this is already underway.

Key Issues - The Uncanny X-Men - Part Two

Uncanny X-Men #268 by Jim Lee

It's been over 8 months since I posted Key Issues -The Uncanny X-Men -Part One, but I finally found time to put this list together.  Part Three definitely won't take that long.  As always, let me know if I missed anything.

Uncanny X-Men #200 - Magneto becomes headmaster of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.
Uncanny X-Men #201 - 1st appearance of Nathan Summers.
Uncanny X-Men #210 - 1st appearance of the Marauders, Arclight, Harpoon, Malice, Scalphunter, Scrambler, and Vertigo.

Uncanny X-Men #213
by Alan Davis

Uncanny X-Men #211 - 1st appearance of Riptide.
Uncanny X-Men #213 - Psylocke joins the X-Men.  1st cameo appearance of Mister Sinister.
Uncanny X-Men #215 - Longshot joins the X-Men.  1st appearance of Crimson Commando, Stonewall, Super Sabre.
Uncanny X-Men #219 - Havok joins the X-Men.
Uncanny X-Men #221 - 1st full appearance of Mister Sinister.
Uncanny X-Men #226 - Storm regains her powers after losing them in Uncanny X-Men #185.
Uncanny X-Men #229 - 1st appearance of Gateway, the Reavers, Pretty Boy, Bonebreaker, and Skullbuster.
Uncanny X-Men #234 - Madelyne Pryor becomes the Goblin Queen.
Uncanny X-Men #235 - 1st appearance of the Press Gang, Hawkshaw, Pipeline, Punchout, Jennifer Ransom, and Genosha.
Uncanny X-Men #236 - 1st appearance of Phillip Moreau, Wipeout.

Uncanny X-Men #282
by Whilce Portacio

Uncanny X-Men #244 - 1st appearance of Jubilee.
Uncanny X-Men #248 - 1st Jim Lee on art.
Uncanny X-Men #249 - 1st appearance of Whiteout.
Uncanny X-Men #250 - 1st appearance of Worm.
Uncanny X-Men #255 - 1st appearance of Matsu'o Tsurayaba.
Uncanny X-Men #256 - Psylocke is a ninja!
Uncanny X-Men #266 - 1st appearance of Gambit.
Uncanny X-Men #268 - Captain America, Black Widow, and Wolverine story during WWII.
Uncanny X-Men #279 - End of Chris Claremont's run.
Uncanny X-Men #281 - 1st appearance of Trevor Fitzroy.
Uncanny X-Men #282 - 1st appearance of Bishop, Xavier's Security Enforcers.
Uncanny X-Men #283 - 1st appearance of Gamesmaster.
Uncanny X-Men #287 - 1st appearance of the Witness.
Uncanny X-Men #291 - 1st appearance of the Friends of Humanity.

Uncanny X-Men #399
by Tom Raney

Uncanny X-Men #298 - 1st appearance of Unuscione.
Uncanny X-Men #300 - 1st appearance of the Legacy Virus.
Uncanny X-Men #316 - 1st appearance of the M Twins, Claudette and Nicole St. Croix.
Uncanny X-Men #317 - 1st appearance of Blink. 1st appearance of Skin.
Uncanny X-Men #318 - Generation X is formed.Uncanny X-Men #327 - 1st appearance of Magneto's clone, Joseph.
Uncanny X-Men #332 - 1st appearance of Ozymandias.
Uncanny X-Men #345 - 1st appearance of Maggott.
Uncanny X-Men #390 - "Death" of Colossus.  He won't be seen for nearly 3 years until Joss Whedon brings him back in Amazing X-Men #4.
Uncanny X-Men #399 - 1st appearance of Stacy X.

Key Issues - Uncanny X-Men - Part One
Key Issues - Uncanny X-Men - Part Three

Key Issues - The Uncanny X-Men - Part One

So the key issues list that everyone who finds their way to this blog really wants to see. I'm breaking this up into parts because it has taken me so long to put together.  As with earlier lists, I haven't included issues for the beginning of runs by different creators because there are just too many to list.  What I found amazing during the research is that so many of the characters appearing in just the first 200 issues have had and continue to have a huge impact even today. Part one of the key issues list for The (Uncanny) X-Men after the jump.

X-Men: Days of Future Past - 1st Appearances

If you are at all like me, you are counting the days until May 23, 2014 in anticipation of X-Men: Days of Future Past.  As I did previously for X-Men: First Class which you can find here, I put together a 1st appearance list for all of the characters that we know about so far. There is one other that should probably be on this list, but I'll wait until the movie comes out in case anyone is avoiding the spoilers.  Also worth noting is that the story is based on Uncanny X-Men #141 and #142.



The (Uncanny) X-Men #1:  1st Appearance of Professor Xavier, Magneto, Beast, Iceman

The (Uncanny) X-Men #4:  1st Appearance of Quicksilver

The (Uncanny) X-Men #14:  1st Appearance of Bolivar Trask

The (Uncanny) X-Men #54:  1st Appearance of Havok

The Incredible Hulk #180:  1st Cameo of Wolverine

The Incredible Hulk #181:  1st Full Appearance of Wolverine

Giant Size X-Men #1:  1st Appearance of Storm, Colossus

Ms. Marvel #16 - 18:  1st Appearance of Mystique.  This one is tough to judge. Mystique cameos in #16, disguises herself as Nick Fury in #17, and makes her first full appearance as Mystique in #18.

The (Uncanny) X-Men #129:  1st Appearance of Kitty Pryde

Avengers Annual #10:  1st Appearance of Rogue

Marvel Graphic Novel #4 (The New Mutants):  1st Appearance of Sunspot

Marvel Graphic Novel #5 (God Loves, Man Kills):  1st Appearance of William Stryker

New Mutants #16:  1st Appearance of Warpath

Uncanny X-Men #282:  1st Appearance of Bishop

Uncanny X-Men #317:  1st Appearance of Blink

Key Issues - X-Men Volume 2 aka New X-Men aka X-Men Legacy

X-Men #1 by Jim Lee

Lately, I've been trying to compile these key issue lists based on Google search terms that bring people to my blog.  A pretty common search that ends up here is "x-men key issues."  Most of those people are probably looking for Uncanny X-Men but I thought I'd show a little appreciation for volume 2.  This volume is running right now as X-Men Legacy and is about to hit issue #250.  Though it's not really my cup of tea, there are loads of Mike Carey fans who think it's excellent.  As always, please let me know if I've overlooked something.  I didn't include the notable writers and artist list because it would have been almost everyone who has worked on the title.

X-Men #1:  1st appearance of The Acolytes
X-Men #4:  1st appearance of Omega Red
X-Men #5:  1st appearance of Maverick aka Agent Zero
X-Men #6:  1st appearance of Birdy

X-Men #109 by Leinil
Francis Yu and Mark
Morales

X-Men #8:  1st appearance of Bella Donna Boudreaux
X-Men #17:  1st appearance of Kwannon (Revanche).
X-Men #25:  Magneto removes the adamantium from Wolverine's bones.  "Removes" sounds a little too genteel as if Wolvie was having outpatient surgery.  Magneto really messes Wolverine up in this issue.
X-Men #27:  1st appearance of Threnody, death of Infectia.
X-Men #30:  Wedding of Jean Grey and Cyclops
X-Men #36:  1st appearance of Synch
X-Men #41:  Legion kills his father Charles Xavier in the past creating the Age of Apocalypse reality.
X-Men #42:  Death of Rusty Collins
X-Men #46:  1st appearance of Joseph, the clone of Magneto
X-Men #50:  1st appearance of Post
X-Men #52:  1st appearance of Bastion
X-Men #53:  1st appearance of Onslaught
X-Men #54:  Onslaught is revealed to be Professor X
X-Men #61:  Death of Candra
X-Men #65:  1st appearance of Cecilia Reyes
X-Men #99:  1st appearance of the Neo
X-Men #100:  1st appearance of Thunderbird (Neal Shaara)
X-Men #108:  Death of Moira MacTaggert
X-Men #109:  Storm picks the team that will become the X-treme X-Men
New X-Men #114 - 116:  "E is for Extinction" arc.  #115 is the 1st appearance of Negasonic Teenage Warhead.  In #116 Emma Frost joins the X-Men.
New X-Men Annual 2001:  1st appearance of Xorn, John Sublime, U-Men
New X-Men #117:  1st appearance of Beak, Glob Herman
New X-Men #118:  1st appearance of Angel Salvadore, No-Girl, Stepford Cuckoos
New X-Men #127:  1st appearance of Mutant Town (District X), Xorn joins the X-Men
New X-Men #128:  1st appearance of Fantomex
New X-Men #129:  1st appearance of Fantomex's E.V.A.
New X-Men #130:  Death of Darkstar (Laynia Petrovna
New X-Men #133:  1st appearance of Dust
New X-men #134:  1st appearance of Quentin Quire (Kid Omega)
New X-Men #135 - 138:  "Riot at Xavier's" arc
New X-Men #146 - 150:  "Planet X" arc

X-Men #157 by Salvador
Larroca and Liquid!

X-Men #157:  1st appearance of Shen Xorn
X-Men #161:  1st appearance of Mammomax
X-Men #162:  Death of Squidboy (Sammy Pare)
X-Men #188:  1st appearance of the Children of the Vault
X-Men Legacy #214:  1st appearance of Miss Sinister


Crossover Issues:
X-Cutioner's Song:  #14 - #16
Fatal Attractions:  #25
Bloodties:  #26
Phalanx Covenant:  #36 - #37
X-Men Legion Quest:  #40 - #41
Onslaught:  #50, #53 - #57
X-Men Zero Tolerance:  #65 - #70
X-Men The Hunt for Xavier:  #82 - #83
The Magneto War: #86 - #87
X-Men The Shattering:  #92 - #94
Apocalypse The Twelve:  #96 - #97
X-Men Dreams End:  #108
X-Men Eve of Destruction:  #112 - #113

X-Men: First Class - 1st Appearances

The X-Men #1, Cover by Jack Kirby and Sol Brodsky

I knew I'd have to post something like this sooner or later.  I was waiting to put this together a little closer to the movie release date.  However, I've already noticed a few people have made it to my site searching for comic book issues related to the movie.  Well, so far the only thing I can come up with is a list of first appearances for the characters that will be in the movie.  It's virtually impossible to come up with a list of issues relating to events in the story.  This story is in it's own continuity.  It's not Marvel 616 and I'm guessing that when Marvel gets the film rights back that it won't be Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) either.  This story is...Fox X-Men Universe.  I think I just coined that term.  We can abbreviate it FXU.  I'm sure all the fanboys that hate this movie will love it.  Feel free to use it.  You don't even have to pay me royalties.

Alright, on to the list of 1st appearances.  First, the bad news.  If you're trying to collect all of these comics in near mint condition it will cost you about $27,000.  The good news, about $26,000 of that amount is all in one book, The (Uncanny) X-Men #1.  You could likely pick up all the others for around $900 bucks or so.

The (Uncanny) X-Men #1:  1st Appearance of Professor Xavier, Magneto, Beast 

The (Uncanny) X-Men #28:  1st Appearance of Banshee

The (Uncanny) X-Men #54:  1st Appearance of Havok

The (Uncanny) X-Men #96:  1st Appearance of Moira McTaggert

The (Uncanny) X-Men #129:  1st Appearance of Emma Frost, Sebastian Shaw

The Uncanny X-Men #210:  1st Appearance of Riptide

Uncanny X-Men #428:  1st Appearance of Azazel

Ms. Marvel #18:  1st full Appearance of Mystique

New X-Men #118:  1st Appearance of Angel Salvadore

X-Men: Deadly Genesis #2:  1st Appearance of Darwin

X-Men: First Class Trailer

In case you haven't seen it, here's the trailer for X-Men: First Class.



I think that it looks pretty effing awesome.  Lots of people will talk trash about this movie saying it's not true to the comics.  I don't really care if it's true to the comics.  Why?  Because it's not a comic.  It's a movie.  They can take all of the liberties they want with the characters as long as it kicks ass.  Just in the trailer I saw three reasons to see it.

Deadpool #30 & #31 (Curse of the Mutants)

Like many X-Men fans when I heard there would be a third ongoing series with X-Men in the title, I was skeptical but still had to have it.  After finishing X-Men #6, the final issue of the first arc titled "Curse of the Mutants," I have decided I no longer have to have it.  I enjoyed it, but just can't figure out where it fits with all of the other X-books.  I read an interview with Victor Gischler where he said it was supposed to tie the X-Men to the rest of the Marvel Universe.  I guess that's the case if you count Blade showing up in the first arc and in the next they will be with Spidey in NYC.  However, Fraction and Gillen have the X-Men quarantined on Utopia fighting off a mutant virus.  This isn't like the old days of Blue Team and Gold Team X-Men.  They are using the same characters with no mention of what's happening in the other books.  This is really pissing me off so I'm going to drop X-Men (Vol 3?) and pretend that it doesn't exist.

Okay so I'm moving outside of what I really wanted to tell you about which is the highlight of this 'Curse of the Mutants" arc.  Not even really a part of the story but Deadpool #30 and #31 have the "Curse of the Mutants" tag on the cover.  That's the reason I picked it up.  I normally don't read Deadpool but this story is awesome.  Wade gets hired to protect a group of vampires who didn't buy into Xarus' uniting of the vampire clans (there's the tie-in) from one of the clans who did.  Deadpool is simultaneously killing vampires and falling in love/lust with a sexy doctor who works at the hospital sitting on top of the vampire lair.  The dialogue is hilarious and there is plenty of action.  That's all I really want from a Deadpool book.  I like Deadpool the most when he's written like Evil Dead/Army of Darkness Ash.  Daniel Way has been writing Deadpool since the first issue so based on #30 and #31 looks like I've got quite a few back issues to catch up on.

What Pip Bought and Was It Worth It 12-3-10

Generation Hope #2 - Worth it. I like this book that spun out of the "Five Lights" story in Uncanny X-men. Newly mutated mutants discovering their powers. Some of them headstrong, others hesitant. Though like all X-books there's absolutely no continuity. Here Wolverine is in Tokyo while in Uncanny he's in Utopia, in X-force he's on the moon, and in X-men vol 3 he's just finished being a vampire. Can we go back to three or four X-books please?
Wolverine: The Best There Is #1 - Speaking of Wolverine, I was quite disappointed in this book. Sure it's the bloody and gross bordering on a horror title Wolvie fans have always wanted, but why are we bleeping characters especially when there is a Parental Advisory on the cover. To top it off Wolverine is dancing in a night club. Worth it for the 1st issue but won’t be buying #2.
Heroes for Hire #1 – Definitely worth it. Artwork is amazing. I’m hoping that this will be the basis for one of the rumored shows that Marvel has in development. It’s also nice that fans of characters who don’t sell as well as the big names now have a book to call home other than some Avengers book. I quit reading the Avengers titles because it seems these days everyone is an Avenger.
Batman 80 Page Giant – I bought this based on the recommendation of InvestComics for the collector aspect. To be honest I’ve only gotten a chance to reader the first Joker story but it was wickedly cool. Worth it.