Tag Archives: x-men: blue

Preview: X-Men: Blue #23

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X-Men: Blue #23

Story: Cullen Bunn Art: Jorge Molina
Color: Matt Milla, Jay David Ramos Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover: Jorge Millina Variant: Clayton Crain
Rated T+
In Shops: Mar 14, 2018
SRP: $3.99

CRY HAVOK Part 1
• With the X-MEN lost in space, EMMA FROST, HAVOK, BASTION and MISS SINISTER hatch their devious plans!
• Is there a worse time for their most dangerous enemies to strike?
• And wouldn’t it make matters much, much worse if POLARIS once again fell victim to the body-stealing MALICE?

Exclusive Preview: X-Men: Blue #22

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X-Men: Blue #22

(W) Cullen Bunn (A) Jacopo Camagni (CA) Arthur Adams
Rated T+
In Shops: Feb 28, 2018
SRP: $3.99

POISON X PART 4
• The X-MEN have given themselves a power boost – in the form of ALIEN SYMBIOTES!
• But their new powers have made them the targets of the symbiote-consuming POISONS!

Review: X-Men: Blue #21

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So, where else can you take the Blue team X-Men after time travel/dimensional shenanigans? Well, screw it, take them to space! It’s not like it’s the first time the X-Men have traveled to space. Though Venom is an added bonus given as we speak, Marvel is hooked on Venom yet again, just in time for his movie coming this October. Regardless of what you think of the character, Venom is here to stay and…I don’t mind it, I’m sorry, I like Venom. He’s a better Spider-Man villain than the Green Goblin anyway. Bias talking, yeah but still.

Regardless, this is the next arc for the Blue team of our merry mutants. Our merry, time displaced teenage mutants but still. X-Men: Blue #21 continues off from the annual issue where Corsair and the Starjammers are captured by space pirates. By the way, for those new to comics, Corsair is the father of Scott Summers a.k.a. Cyclops. Why is his dad in space? Long, long story but bear with me here. Anyway, it’s basically a search for his father with Scott hellbent on finding him and the rest of the team consisting of Jean Grey (Marvel Girl), Angel and Beast are along with the ride and along with the main symbiote himself, Venom.

And it turns out the space pirates who kidnapped Corsair and the Starjammers are space pirates infected with symbiotes. To be fair, I imagine this will be a better executed version of Planet of the Symbiotes.

So it’s an overall race to find answers as to what’s even going on and where are they whilst being on the run and of course, Venom has his own methods of finding answers. Spoiler alert, it’s not pretty. Then again, it’s Venom, nothing ever ends pretty.

Characterization is decent, Cullen Bunn is still writing the time displaced X-Men pretty well with each character feeling distinct and Cyclops does the most narration that never felt over the top, so there’s a feel as to how personally he’s taking this whole scenario. Venom is even well written himself. He’s brutal, tough and is just kind of casual about himself and the symbiote. And what’s interesting of note is that during a fight scene, he explains what having the symbiote is like, saying it’s like having a rush but it’s like a bad relationship the more you stick with it. This reminded of a conversation I had in that the relationship between Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote, is a literal toxic relationship. Yeah it’s easy to call it a drug metaphor but toxic relationships is a better analog between this comic and the Venom stories before it because it really kind of is. Venom in a nutshell can be manifestations of Eddie Brock’s violent, inner rage and the symbiote feeds that and given the ending with the X-Men, this will not end well for everyone.

Art by Jacopo Camagni at first I thought is decent but the more I look and think back to it, the more it not only fits but it does look very good. Nothing seems amiss with how the characters are drawn. Got to say though, this is the most normal I’ve ever seen Venom looked. Nothing is very exaggerated with how he’s drawn. I’m so used to how he’s usually dawn with the very sharp teeth and too muscular body but here, he looks perfect. He’s buff but not ridiculously so. I do wish for more sharp teeth but he looks very cool and much praise to the action as well, seems like good sync between Bunn’s writing and Camagni’s art. And the colors on the book are smooth and well lit. Kudos to the colorists really.

It’s a good arc so far and there’s promising stuff, if you’re a fan of either this book or the Venom character, check it out. You may like this one.

Preview: X-Men: Blue #21

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X-Men: Blue #21

(W) Cullen Bunn (A) Jacopo Camagni (CA) Arthur Adams
Rated T+
In Shops: Feb 14, 2018
SRP: $3.99

POISON X PART 2
• SYMBIOTE SPACE PIRATES!
• THE X-MEN and VENOM have been asking the wrong questions in the wrong seedy spaceport cantina!
• Vicious SPACE PIRATES are bad enough…but they’re even worse when they’re using ALIEN SYMBIOTES as weapons!

New Mutant Variant Covers in March!

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This March, a paranormal mystery will be unleashed in the Marvel Universe…and only the members of the New Mutants can stop it! In celebration of this six-issue limited series from writer Matt Rosenberg and artist Adam Gorham, Marvel has revealed the New Mutant Variant Cover Program, featuring dark portraits of your favorite Marvel heroes from acclaimed artists such as Dan Mora, Declan Shalvey, Mike Deodato and more.

Look for Marvel’s New Mutant variant covers on these select titles:

  1. All-New Wolverine #32 by Mike Deodato
  2. Avengers #685 by Terry Dodson
  3. Cable #155 by Tyler Kirkham
  4. Despicable Deadpool #296 by Declan Shalvey
  5. Doctor Strange: Damnation #3 by Leinil Yu
  6. Old Man Logan #36 by Dave Johnson
  7. Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #301 by Bilquis Evely
  8. X-Men Blue #23 by Clayton Crain
  9. X-Men Gold #23 by Jason Pearson
  10. X-Men Red #2 by Dan Mora

Don’t miss your chance to collect all 10 variant covers, coming to comic shops this March!

Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!

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Wednesdays are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in!

Each week our contributors are choosing up to five books and why they’re choosing the books. In other words, this is what we’re looking forward to and think you should be taking a look!

Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this Wednesday.

Joe

Top Pick: Curse Words Vol. 2 TP (Image) – Charles Soule and Ryan Browne have done such a great job on this book. For Christmas I like to buy graphic novels as gifts, and the first volume of this series made the list. If you like goofy titles with some great art, look no further than this series featuring Wizord, the wizard with an attitude, and a talking koala.

Mister Miracle #6 (DC Comics) – Tom King and Mitch Gerads have done a great job on this book, and doing it in their own original way. This is a totally different take on the Scott Free you may (or may not) know. This gets us halfway through the 12 issue limited series.

Royal City #9 (Image) – A return to the form that lets Lemire shine. Here he does the art, and the writing and both go so well together. This series touches on small town America, loss, and real family problems that are relatable.

 

Paul

Top Pick: Phoenix Resurrection #3 (Marvel) – This has been a trippy ride so far, and I am living for every second of it. The nods to X-Men dead and gone, mentions of past writers from X-Men history and a story that has you second guessing everything equals a story that I haven’t really seen before, and I can’t wait for my girl to FINALLY make her return to the Marvel Universe and to see where she’s going to go from there.

Avengers #675 (Marvel) – Something BIG must be happening to bring all the Avengers teams together to face it. I’m excited to see all the teams join forces and curious to see what this new cosmic threat will bring. Maybe erase Secret Empire from our memories? One can hope.

X-Men Blue #19 (Marvel) – The last couple of issues have been fun, seeing the team bounce through different periods of time, meeting alternate versions of X-Men and being told they’re the reason the various times are so dark and bleak. Is it really the fault of the X-Men? I’m still pointing my finger at the furry blue guy who brought them all through time in the first place. But, still curious to see where this all leads.

X-Men Gold Annual #1 (Marvel) – Excalibur reunion! The cover is enough to get me excited for this annual. And look, Brian and Megan are parents, awwww!

 

Brett

Top Pick: Mech Cadet Yu #5 (BOOM! Studios) – The fact this series has been turned into an ongoing has me beyond excited. On its surface this series is giant robots being piloted by kids, but underneath there’s also a story about class and privilege. A fantastic all ages series that’s one of my favorites being published today.

Action Comics #995 (DC Comics) – Booster Gold and Superman running around time! So far the storyline has had a great retro vibe to it all and there’s the march to issue #1000! Really exciting to see where this series and character is going.

Catalyst Prime: Accell Vol. 2 #3 (Lion Forge Comics) – My favorite of the Catalyst Prime comics is their take on the classic speedster superhero. There’s just something fun about it all and how it’s differing itself from all of the others out there.

Coyotes #3 (Image Comics) – A multilayered story that could be about a young girl fighting werewolves or it could be a deeper story about the exploitation of women and immigrants and fighting against the abuse they endure.

Old Man Hawkeye #1 (Marvel) – I loved the character in the original story and have been wonder how this miniseries will hold up. We’ll find out soon I guess and I’m excited to revisit this future world.

Preview: X-Men: Blue #19

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X-Men: Blue #19

(W) Cullen Bunn (A) R. B. Silva (CA) Arthur Adams
Rated T+
In Shops: Jan 10, 2018
SRP: $3.99

CROSS-TIME CAPERS Part 3
• The timestream is in ruins… And it is the fault of the X-MEN!
• Can the X-Men fix everything that has gone wrong…even if it means battling against themselves?
• At long last, the original X-Men are reunited with PROFESSOR X!

Review: X-Men: Blue #18

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Nothing that Marvel Girl, Cyclops, Jimmy Hudson, Iceman, Bloodstorm, or Beast have done has cured the timestream, causing bits and pieces of history to blink out of existence. Luckily, the original Generation X crew is here to help! Or fight?

For three issues “Cross Time Capers” has felt more like a “this is your life” than anything else. But, with X-Men: Blue #18 writer Cullen Bunn finally gives us an idea as to what’s going on. With this issue’s reveal, I’m actually digging the storyline more.

Initially, we were sent to the future meeting the X-Men of 2099 and a world that felt familiar but a bit off. Now, it’s Generation X and while things also feel familiar eventually the charade is lifted and we see things have changed, a lot. This isn’t the timeline we expected, it’s another totally different one but what happened? We get a glimpse but no full explanation but we have an idea. And, what went from “meh” is now bordering “cool.”

The art by R. B. Silva is good too. The Generation X kids look great and the battle (because of course there’s a battle) packs a lot in and makes things clear. These last three issues have been good when it comes to the art and up to this point, the series has felt shaky in that department.

Bunn has shaken things a bit with this issue and in doing so also delivers some great moments (Jubilee with Bloodstorm for instance). Where’s this going? Can’t say for sure but I want to find out. What was an interesting if forgettable storyline is shaping up to be something that just might stand out from the bunch. And what’s even better, no idea where it’s all going.

Story: Cullen Bunn Art: R. B. Silva Cover Art: Arthur Adams
Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Preview: X-Men: Blue #18

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X-Men: Blue #18

(W) Cullen Bunn (A) R. B. Silva (CA) Arthur Adams
Rated T+
In Shops: Dec 27, 2017
SRP: $3.99

CROSS-TIME CAPERS Part 3
• Nothing that MARVEL GIRL, CYCLOPS, JIMMY HUDSON, ICEMAN, BLOODSTORM or BEAST have done has cured the timestream, causing bits and pieces of history to blink out of existence.
• Luckily, the original GENERATION X crew is here to help! Or fight? Guess we’ll find out!
• GUEST-STARRING CHAMBER, JUBILEE, HUSK, MONET, and so many others that we can’t fit them into one solicit!

Review: X-Men: Blue #17

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Lost in time, Jean Grey and her team of X-Men must survive long enough to fix what is wrong with the timestream… which isn’t easy with the teens stranded in the not-too-far future. If only there were a similar group of mutant heroes to help them out. Oh, wait! There totally is, the X-Men of 2099!

I generally enjoyed the last issue, the first part of “Cross Time Capers,” but something is off with X-Men: Blue #17 in both story and dialogue. Writer Cullen Bunn has brought back the X-Men of 2099 in an unexpected twist that had me excited as the last issue ended. I remember loving that series back in the day (and the entire 2099 line) though I’m sure if I revisited it I’d be a little let down. So, X-Men 2099, cool. The story that’s presented a bit also cool. There’s something with Alchemex which was taken over the X-Men at some point and honestly I don’t remember much of the original run so it all feels like a new and interesting concept that has me wanting to dare and go back and read the original material. The concepts thrown out there are really neat, but how they’re presented feel a bit choppy with dialogue that is beyond stilted at times.

Bunn has the two teams regroup to asses things and then they’re attacked and there’s a battle with Alchemex but all of it has a flow of an ADD kid who’s missing just enough detail to make things a bit clearer and enjoyable. That isn’t helped by the fact there’s panels of dialogue that feel like they come out of nowhere and just doesn’t fit with what’s going on. The last issue flowed well and this has just way too many bumps on the road to make it as enjoyable and too much thrown out there without enough explanation to really appreciate anything. A dialed back issue with less conflict might have been a better way to go.

The art by R.B. Silva is good but again is missing something compared to last issue. There’s at times too much going on with the scenes too panned out to get a good amount of detail or much emotional oomph from anyone talking or even some of the action.

The issue had so much potential with the re-introduction of X-Men 2099 but things feel squandered and rushed. It’s clearer at the end of the issue that we shouldn’t expect depth instead we’re sort of getting a “this is your life” tour of X moments throughout the decades. That could work as a whole but as individual pieces it misses something until the end is near. Not enough focus creates an issue that’s more nostalgia than anything interesting.

Story: Cullen Bunn Art: R.B. Silva
Story: 6.5 Art: 7.4 Overall: 6.75 Recommendation: Read

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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