A Descent into Dullness

While obviously not the actual finale to the X-Men movie franchise, an excellent cap to the original set of characters and their actors.  Jackman and Stewart bring a lot to their last outings as Wolverine and Proffesor X.  Stewart especially brings to mind his previous role as an super-spy suffering from Alzheimer's in Safe House (and yeesh, that was all the way back in '98).  And even if she doesn't return in a future X-property I hope Dafne Keen gets to expand on the promise she shows her as Laura/X-23.

I did like the hodge-podge of random Dark Future final X-Men (Warpath, Sunspot, Iceman, Bishop, Blink, Colossus and Shadow Cat).  And the use of time travel to give them more than one doomed last fight against the Nimrod-Sentinels.  Dinklage is always good.  But hell, the man gave gravitas Simon fucking  Barsinister in Underdog.  And props to any movie that basically decides to just erase X3 from existence.  Of course to do so the writers gruesomely murder 3/4 of the surviving First Class cast off-screen.  But a good supers movie, and a very good Marvel movie, especially for non-Marvel studios.  Possibly though they could have put the next-villain teaser not after the entire credits sequence...

A very big pull this week. Almost a dozen titles. Starting with the third issue of Saga. And Alana, Marko and baby Hazel have a meeting with the Horrors, the child ghosts of planet Cleave...

Glory begins to attempt and train young Riley in preparation for the coming danger. That doesn't go anywhere near as fast as they would like...

Over at Marvel, the Thunderbolts are confronted by a catastrophic Time Paradox. Which they work to solve in their normal way. No not with violence, but with a cunning and gigantic lie...

Daredevil finally finishes up the whole Omegadrive McGuffin story-arc. Though not before a forgotten player makes a move against Daredevil...

Sebastian Shaw is running loose at Avengers Academy, while loyalties are divided among the mutant students over the detaining of the GenHope kids...

Moving to DC, Hades and Wonder Woman prepare for a wedding, while other Olympians move around on the sidelines...

The Shade pauses for another Times Past story. This time Jill Thompson illustrates the Shade in start of the 20th century Paris and a meeting with one of his grandchildren and a violent rogue demon...

Saucer Country's cast expands across a broader spectrum of UFOlogist types. Plus creepy bunnies...

Dash and the newly freed Red Crow have a graveyard confrontation as the climax of Scalped draws ever closer. And it will be a wonder if anyone survives the way things are looking...

kaboom! latest Adventure Time has Finn and Jake cleaning up from the aftermath of the Magic Bag's destruction. And searching for a missing princess. Could the Ice King be involved in that? Cooooould be...

And finally Conan the Barbarian and Belit begin their plot to get revenge on the city of Argos. Sadly, Becky Cloonan isn't drawing this issue, but James Harren isn't a slouch in the art department...

X-Men: S.W.O.R.D: No Time to Breathe written by Kieron Gillen, pencils by Steven Sanders, Craig Yeung, colors by Matt Wilson, letters by Dave Lanphear

S.W.O.R.D. The Sentient World Observation and Response Department. The top-secret acronym agency of Marvel Earth, tasked with alien defense. Created, along with its commander the half-alien Abigail Brand during Joss Whedon's X-Men run. Originally meant to be the start of an ongoing series but then downgraded to a mini. Because people are stupid and I hate them...

In the wake of the latest Skrull invasion and the takeover of America's various acronym super-secret agencies by Norman "the Green Goblin" Osborn (don't ask) S.W.O.R.D. now has two commanders. Agent Brand and longtime government lackey Henry Gyrich. Who is plotting to take over. For the world's own good of course. In opposition? Well Brand. And her boyfriend, sometime X-Men and Avenger Hank "the Beast" McCoy. And one very melancholy little space dragon...

Kieron Gillen is probably the best thing to happen to the X-franchise since Grant Morrison. And this mini-series just helps reinforce why. I mean if nothing else for his use of Death's Head and the Adam X cameo...

X-Men First Class: New Beginnings written by Jeff Parker, pencils by Roger Cruz, inks by Victor Olazaba, colors by Val Staples, letters by Nate Piekos

X-Men First Class was Marvel's X-wangst free, continuity light X-book. Written by the talented Jeff Parker backed here by the sharp clean art of Roger Cruz on pencils and Victor Olazaba on inks. The series is set at some vague point early in the X-Men's history back when the original members were still actual students of Xavier's. This collection contains the first four issues of the second volume. With the X-men encountering an alien intelligence, vacationing in Florida and meeting the Lizard, dealing with the dangers of Scott's brain and finally teaming with Dr. Strange after Scott begins having demonic visions...

The First Class line of X-books (X-Men, Wolverine and Uncanny) are like the Marvel Adventures line. All the fun of the characters, produced by some top-notch talent and missing all the "realism" of the majority of Marvel's main line. Good stuff...

This week I am probably going to buy a comic from last week. Based on a single page of art that I know for a FACT is not indicitive of the entire issue. But it does not matter. Not owning this page of art would make my soul die a little more every day. And so X-Men: First Class Special #1 must be mine...