Uncanny X-Men
Chain Reactions | Uncanny X-Men #1
Uncanny X-Men #1
Uncanny X-Men returned this past Wednesday with a new #1, just two weeks after the previous run ended. Written by Kieron Gillen with art by Carlos Pacheco, Cam Smith and Frank D’Armata, the story revolves around Cyclops and his post-Schism “Extinction Team” of Storm, Hope and a bunch of folks who couldn’t participate in a game of “raise your hand if you’ve never gone through a stage that others characterized as ‘mainly super villain.’” The book features a more serious tone and mission for the team than their back-in-Westchester friends appearing in Wolverine and the X-Men, as well as the villainy of Mr. Sinister and cameos by most of the other “Team Cyclops” mutant characters who decided to stay on the West Coast.
So what did folks think of this issue? Here’s a sampling of reviews on Uncanny X-Men #1:
Ron Richards, iFanboy: “Uncanny X-Men #1 is everything that Wolverine & The X-Men #1 was not, and I mean that in absolutely good way. Where Aaron delivered a whimsical, comedic at times, fresh new start for Wolverine and the mutants at the new school in Westchester, Gillen’s representation in Uncanny X-Men #1 is a serious, more adult world that these mutants live in. And that’s exactly how it should be.”
Comics A.M. | Susie Cagle arrested at Occupy Oakland; more on Steve Rude
Susie Cagle
Legal | Susie Cagle, the cartoonist covering Occupy Oakland who was tear-gassed last month, was arrested early Thursday morning during the protests in Oakland. According to her father, cartoonist Daryl Cagle, Susie was being held at Santa Rita Jail in Alameda County, Calif. and was charged with unlawful assembly, even though she was there covering the event and had a press badge. Update: According to her Twitter account, Susie Cagle is out of jail and was charged with a misdemeanor, “present at raid.” [Fishbowl LA]
Legal | Tom Spurgeon offers more details on comic artist Steve Rude’s Halloween altercation, which led to the Nexus creator’s arrest that same night. According to Rude’s wife by way of Spurgeon, Rude was in costume handing out Halloween candy to kids trick-or-treating when his neighbors’ dogs began barking. Rude threw rocks at the neighbors’ fence, which led to a confrontation with them. Rude tore the neighbor’s shirt and pushed him, leading to the assault charges. Rude suffered physical abuse during the arrest and in jail before posting bail. [The Comics Reporter]
Food or Comics? | Everybody wants a piece of the Action
Welcome to Food or Comics?, where every week we talk about what comics we’d buy at our local comic shop based on certain spending limits — $15 and $30 — as well as what we’d get if we had extra money or a gift card to spend on a “Splurge” item.
Check out Diamond’s release list or ComicList, and tell us what you’re getting in our comments field.
Graeme McMillan
It’s a slow week, this week; if I had $15, I’d use it to catch up on some recent enjoyments like Action Comics #3 (DC, $3.99) and OMAC #3 (DC, $2.99), two of my favorite titles from the New 52 relaunch–OMAC in particular has been a really weird and wonderful joy–as well as the final issue of Marvel’s great and sadly underrated Mystic revival (#4, $2.99). I’d also see if the parody-tastic Shame Itself #1 (Marvel, $3.99) lives up to its potential, because “Wyatt Cenac + Colleen Coover” sounds pretty promising to these ears.
Food or Comics? | Butcher Baker and Daredevil‘s Food Cake
Daredevil #1
Welcome to Food or Comics?, where every week we talk about what comics we’d buy at our local comic shop based on certain spending limits — $15 and $30 — as well as what we’d get if we had extra money or a gift card to spend on a “Splurge” item. We’re coming a little late today due to a power outage in my neck of the woods — due to a blackout, not because I spent the money for the electric bill on Flashpoint or Fear Itself tie-ins.
Check out Diamond’s release list or ComicList, and tell us what you’re getting in our comments field.
Graeme McMillan
Because I’m not doing San Diego this year, some kind of crazy comic karma has decided that this week will be filled with comics I want to read. For example, if I had $15, I’d run to grab Daredevil #1 (Marvel, $3.99), which I’ve been looking forward to for some time — Mark Waid, Paolo Rivera *and* Marcos Martin? How can anyone refuse? — before scooting back to the DC aisle to pick up both DC Retroactive: The Flash – The ’70s #1 and DC Retroactive: Wonder Woman – The ’70s #1 (Both DC, $4.99), because I am such a sucker for old-school DC that even this weird “slight return” of the same seems exciting to me.
Food or Comics? | Vengeance, Flight, crossovers and more
Vengeance #1
Welcome to Food or Comics?, where every week we talk about what comics we’d buy at our local comic shop based on certain spending limits — $15 and $30 — as well as what we’d get if we had extra money or a gift card to spend on a “Splurge” item. We’re coming a little late today due to a power outage in my neck of the woods — due to a blackout, not because I spent the money for the electric bill on Flashpoint or Fear Itself tie-ins.
Check out Diamond’s release list or ComicList, and tell us what you’re getting in our comments field.
Chris Arrant
If I had $15, my first pick off the shelf would be Vengeance #1 (Marvel, $3.99); I love Joe Casey, and especially when he’s given a long leash and room to play in a big universe. Seeing Nick Dragotta drawing this is an added bonus. Next up would be comics’ dueling summer blockbusters, Flashpoint #3 (DC, $3.99) and Fear Itself #4 (Marvel, $3.99). After that, I’d get the excellent Flashpoint: Batman, Knight of Vengeance #2 (DC, $2.99); when Azzarello is on the ball he’s great to read, and this seems to be that.
Invincible versus comic-book renumbering
From Invincible #80, by Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley
In what may be an incredible coincidence, an unlikely bit of last-minute dialogue rewriting, or a terrifying example of Robert Kirkman’s precognitive abilities, this week’s Invincible #80 offers a bit of commentary on the hot topic of conversation — comic-book renumbering. It seems the trend doesn’t end with DC’s superhero line and Marvel’s Uncanny X-Men. Even Dead Stuff is affected!
Multiversity Comics catches the panel in which Mark Grayson, aka Invincible, swings by his local comic shop after spending time in space only to discover every series has started over with a new No. 1. “Why do they do that?” he asks. “It doesn’t help sales long term and they always go back to the numbering for the next anniversary issue. What’s the point?!”
“Anything for a quick buck, man,” the clerk responds. “These companies have no integrity.”
Update: And while this doesn’t require prescience, the sequence also takes a perhaps self-effacing jab at a creator pledging to release work on time for a year. Check it out after the break.
Quote of the day | Kieron Gillen on the end of Uncanny X-Men
Uncanny X-Men #544
“When I joined Uncanny after S.W.O.R.D. I thought ‘There’s no way I can get THIS cancelled.’ But there are no limits to my power.”
– writer Kieron Gillen, reacting to this morning’s news that Marvel’s
long-running Uncanny X-Men series will end in October with Issue 544
as a result of X-Men: Schism
The Fifth Color | Azazel, the devil you don’t know
I can't get this out of my head...
Everyone has a a particular favorite in the X-Men. I mean, there’s so many to choose from! The list of Marvel’s merry mutants goes on and on, so it’s not surprising that someone’s a fan of that one guy from issue #86, third from the left (his name was Vindaloo). You may not be able to stand Meggan from Excalibur, but trust me. Someone has a livejournal devoted to her. Super fans dress up like Jubilee and campaigned to get her back in the X-books. Through staff dedication and fan outcry, we have two volumes of the Essential Dazzler. I am certain there is a comic convention by-law where for every so many people, there has to be a question posed for the return of an obscure X-Men character. Bring back Chrome! There are an amazing amount of X-characters contained in the Marvel Universe (despite Wanda’s wishes) and all of them are facets to the unique jewel of the X-titles.
So, who’s the guy who asked for Azazel?
I didn’t think he had a fan club. I didn’t think people wanted to remember the unbelievable “The Draco” storyline he came from. And now, he’s in a movie? Why? Out of all the characters who have had better origins, purposes and basic character design, why in Cerebro’s name did they pick a cheesy self-styled Satan for one of their antagonists?
WARNING: We are spoiler free!
Food or Comics? | This week’s comics on a budget
Hellboy
Welcome to Food or Comics?, where every week we talk about what comics we’d buy on Wednesday based on certain spending limits — $15 and $30 — as well as what we’d get if we had extra money or a gift card to spend on what we call our “Splurge” item.
Check out Diamond’s release list or ComicList if you’d like to play along in our comments section.
Michael May
If I had $15:
I’d get Hellboy: Buster Oakley Gets His Wish ($3.50) to see Hellboy fight some giant robots in space, Salt Water Taffy, Volume 4: Caldera’s Revenge ($5.99) to see Jack and Benny sign aboard a spooky ship in search of a Moby Dick-like whale, and Sweets #5 (2.99) to see Kody Chamberlain wrap up his delicious New Orleans murder mystery.
WonderCon | Don’t fear mutants, fear the beard
Uncanny X-Men #534 WonderCon variant
Although Marvel has held panels at WonderCon over the last couple of years, they haven’t exhibited on the show room floor … until this year, that is. Not only will they have a booth on the floor April 1-3 when the show returns to San Francisco, but they also plan to bring copies of Uncanny X-Men #534 featuring a cover by Giuseppe Camuncoli that Giants fans will appreciate. It’s awesome to see Cyclops and crew supporting their new hometown’s championship team.
“Being from San Francisco, I am ecstatic about how strong Marvel’s presence will be at WonderCon this year,” Axel Alonso, Marvel’s Editor-In-Chief, told Marvel.com. “And with San Francisco now the adopted hometown of the X-Men, it just made perfect sense to create a variant for this show which celebrated the city and its achievements.”
Where are May’s X-titles?
Cover to April 2011's NEW MUTANTS #24
Yesterday CBR posted Marvel’s advance solicitations for comics shipping in the month of May. There’s a lot to anticipate in May, from Fear Itself picking up steam, Chris Bachalo joining The Avengers, new #1s, several titles double-shipping and even some themed variant covers under the moniker of “X-Men Evolutions.” But there’s a couple things missing.
Uncanny X-Men, Uncanny X-Force, New Mutants and X-Men: Legacy are all missing from the May solicitations. In the previous month’s solicitations, Uncanny X-Men has three issues planned — a Point One issue as well as a #535 & #536. Uncanny X-Force also posts two issues in the month of April. The latter two are involved in the “Age of X” event which ends in April, but their absence in May could mean something. The last solicited New Mutants, April’s #24, is heralded as the end of the “Age of X” storyline.
A cursory search reveals a possible answer on Uncanny X-Force writer Rick Rememder’s twitter, where he states “Solicits for May issues of Uncanny X-Force held off for huge announcement of upcoming awesome power. Really is big. Really.”
This “announcement” Remender refers to could potentially relate to the other three books mentioned earlier.
So is Marvel holding back part of their solicits for May books? Will they show up in comic shops’ order catalog Previews, or will it be emailed as an addendum to buyers? Lots of questions here, so expect some answers from Marvel in the coming days.
In another lifetime, Kittyhawk led the New Mutants
Letters of Note, a blog that posts letters related to history and pop culture, shares a letter from John Byrne to Chris Claremont on the creation of Kitty Pryde. In the letter, which is now owned by Jonathan Mueller, Byrne provides not only an illustration but powers, potential codenames (including Sprite and Ariel, both of which were eventually used, and Kittyhawk, which wasn’t) and the suggestion that she be on a second team of “X-Men in training.”
Kieron Gillen on living as a comic writer and his pact with Jamie McKelvie
I’ve known Kieron Gillen for years. I’ve had the opportunity to interview him multiple times, from his early beginnings in the British indie-comics scene to his first formative pro work Phonogram and on to his growing resume at Marvel, which includes Thor, Ares, S.W.O.R.D., Generation Hope and his recently announced gig co-writing Uncanny X-Men with Matt Fraction. Prior to comics he was a video-games journalist, carving out a niche for himself in print magazines — and one that he continues with his website Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
This interview was conducted before news of his Uncanny X-Men gig was announced, so that’s not discussed; I’d like to think even if I knew about it I’d avoid mentioning it just for laughs.
Chris Arrant: Let’s start with an easy one — what are you working on today?
Kieron Gillen: It’s Saturday! I’m slacking.
Well … not just slacking. I’m basically letting my subconscious – and semiconscious — chew on something that hasn’t been announced yet.
I’ll probably write some of that down later. Alternatively, I’ll polish the basically done third issue of Generation Hope, which is going splendidly.
[Editor's note: This was emailed later by Kieron about his day] I scrawled out masses of notes from my subconscious in the evening, while watching a fairly middling film. See, the process: It works.