Astonishing X-Men C/D

Oh, and the art is stunning.

Looks like we're in for plenty of Scott coming to terms with his boring-ass self and Logan playing surly comic relief though, *sigh*.

I'm geeked simply for more Cassaday goodness - as long as Whedon doesn't have the same issues w/ coherence and plausability other X-franchise writers seem to have nowadays, I'm in (once I get some cash money, that is).

I would've been happy never seeing Cyclops again, honestly.

Still, Morrison is good at pulling that kind of rabbit out of the hat. I'm going to pick up the TPBs at some point soon.

didn't he list Cyclops as one of his ten favourite superheroes in the Face last year? I think - somebody correct me if I'm wrong - that the Flash was No.1.

I'm a little befuddled by him and Emma being a couple, and don't know when Jean died this time, but let me guess, that's another reason for me to get the Morrison trades?

Kitty looks a little weird, but the quasi-flashback touches with her were nice. And all in all, this is a well-chosen team.

John Cassaday is a god.

Which I'll do soon, then.

Dan, you aren't interested in seeing what Kitty and Wolverine are like now that she's not a kid? I figure that's potentially cool in a Faith-and-Wesley-if-they-were-the-other-way-around way.

- Astonishing X-Men
- New X-Men
- Uncanny X-Men
- X-Men
- Excalibur
- District X
- Weapon X
- Mystique
- Cable / Deadpool
- Wolverine
- Emma Frost
- Rogue
- Nightcrawler
- MadroX
- Jubilee(!!!)

...and I know I missed a mini or 12.

I'm still reading Rucka's Wolverine but it's really pretty boring. Is there really going to be a Rogue book? I know there's a Gambit one coming up, but I hadn't heard about that.

- NYX
- Starjammers
- X-Force
- and, yeah, Gambit

WE WANT LOCKHEED DAMMIT! (Also, I feel for Paul O'Brien, unless Marvel continues their spotty release schedule.)

Here's a rundown from Wizard World Philadelphia.

One reason I kinda frown on Fabian Nicienza - for whatever reason, a scene from PAD's X-Factor (involving a jar of mayo and a bunch of dialogue) was redone in a Gus Van Sant-does-Psycho type way for an X-Factor annual FN wrote. There might've been some significance for that move/homage (aside from editors getting distracted by boobies), but I dunno what.

I seem to remember PAD leaving X-Factor without warning, and I was a little miffed. Great artist, tho'. Who was that?

Strong Guy (AKA Guido, or Guide, if you're Venga) is gonna be part of the MadroX series, I think!

I couldn't find the thread where someone said tht Beast was getting dumber again, but I thought that was just a part of the nano-mite nonsense/Cassandra Nova messing with his mind. The last few pages of #2 seem to show him still pretty smart.

I did wonder about the panel where Kitty seemed to be halfway through the floor and also knocking someone over - I thought it was one or the other. NB: I know next to nothing about her.

I'm actually somewhat conflicted because I've REALLY enjoyed the first two issues, yet I still have "WAAAH WAAAH I've seen all of these stories/dynamics except for Emma/Scott and Emma/Kitty" issues. I wish they'd thrown in some more characters to conflict directly with Emma (like Iceman or any of the New Mutants).

Has anyone been reading the new Claremont issues? I've heard good / semi-decent things about them (from the X-Axis, no less!), but I'm skeptical (esp. w/ what's happening in _Excalibur_).

BTW, speaking of the 139 X-books Marvel offers, District X (AKA Bishop in NYPD Blue) is is on the happy side of Pretty Damn Good.

"Astonishing X-Men" writer Joss Whedon and the stars of the upcoming film "Serenity" assembled at WonderCon in San Francisco earlier today. In addition to a lot of "Serentity" news, a full write-up of which will be included a bit later today, Whedon announced that he and artist John Cassaday would be continuing their run on Marvel's premiere mutant title for an additional 24 issues. The duo would produce twelve issues, followed by a short break, and then get back to the title with an additional twelve issues. No word on whether the title would simply take a break or if fill-in creative teams would participate.

The Hellfire Club should brought back, because they're all sideburns, bodices and victorian porn. But there's much more mileage in an all-new White Queen who's younger than Emma and can squeeze into a tighter corset, because that would be Emma's WORST NIGHTMARE.

I'm a huge fan of the Wesley/Lilah arc, so I'm very curious.

1) They are Evil.
2) The White Queen was there, and evil. Now she isn't. Or is she, etc.
3) Er...
4) That's it.

The Hellfire Club were involved in the now-canonical Dark Phoenix Saga boggins (back during the halcyon Claremont / Byrne days). I think I tried to explain what was going on in another thread, but I'll offer a "short" version (assuming, of course, you have no idea what's going on). Emma was the White Queen in the Hellfire Club, a group of elitist mutant-types bent on world domination and fine brandy. The only guy I recognized in that splash page was the head of the Hellfire Club, Sebastian Shaw. He (along w/ Ms. Frost, & a few other mutants) conspired to drag the Phoenix'd Jean Grey into their clutches. These machinations only served to accelerate Jean's gradual transformation from Happy-Go-Lucky Phoenix to Evil Phoenix, tho.

So, for the continuity phreaks, the significance is: Sebastian Shaw & the Hellfire Club is (supposedly) once again plotting to take Cyclops' one true love away. That his one true love was once a member of the Hellfire Club adds a little spice to the broth.

I'm all for bringing the HFC back as well (see Vic's assessment), and I also don't think it's as cut & dry as other folks on this thread are making it. But, hey, we have a year+ to think on this, so wahey!

The news about Nimrod makes me weep for humanity.

Yeah fair enough, but she's been doing that for aaages. The letter column bobbins seemed to imply that the reveal of their identity on the last page was earth-shattering. So I was confused.

The only guy I recognized in that splash page was the head of the Hellfire Club, Sebastian Shaw

I recognized him from Morrison's XMen run, when the Hellfire Club seemed to have been converted into a mutant tittie bar. The lady in the hat is Cassandra Nova, though.

Given the luv of bodices & such, it was only time before SS made the club into a Victorian-era gentlemen's club. Unless it was already, and Claremont's been holding out on us (you sneak).

Really?!

I would argue that Wesley wanted to believe that Fred was his true love, but the reality was that his "soul mate" was Lilah, and if the show kept going, Illyria. It's the difference between what he wanted to be vs. who he actually was. He had a real relationship (even if it was a little fucked up) with Lilah - he only ever had a fantasy with Fred.

That's definitely Cassandra on that page, and she's the real reason why that last page is exciting. Sebastian Shaw is a chump and always will be a chump. Whedon is clearly trying to make some sense out of Grant's run in terms of the relationship between its events - Cassandra and the Genoshan massacre, Emma joining the group, Sebastian Shaw's odd appearance in the Weapon Plus arc, etc. And that's Negasonic Teenage Warhead, which makes it soooooooooo odd.

http://www.silverbulletcomics.com/news/story.php?a=699

p.s. Cassandra Nova in the Hellfire Club? I didn't catch that! I'll have to read it again NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I know Grant tried to add some extra stuff, but Emma is primarily a powerful psychic. I might easily feel, were I writing a superhero book, that two such, not distinguished in major ways, is one too many. And if I were thinking of bringing Jean back, as every writer must at least consider when they aren't killing her, the problem is exacerbated. This may be a way of removing Emma from the team.

But Matthew's logic is of a kind to which I have no access these days, and is probably more compelling than any of mine.

But so, that one character I'm not too familiar with, at least not as a hero, is Emma Frost. I've read somewhere (maybe here?) that she's currently superpopular with the fanbase. Other than her two most obvious attributes, why the hell is that so? She serves the dynamic of this current team well, but as a character she's pretty damn uninteresting. She's good for an occasional witty line, but as a conflation of both the vain witch stereotype and the "reformed villain who may not be entirely reformed" cliche she doesn't seem to have much depth. It's like Cordelia and Spike in the person of a Frederic's model, or something. Do reasonable people find her interesting, or is it just 12-year-old boys too stupid to use the internet properly? Of course my complete ignorance of the last 16 years of X-history might have something to do with my lack of understanding.

As for Ms. Frost, GM, your caveat - "Of course my complete ignorance of the last 16 years of X-history might have something to do with my lack of understanding." - is so OTM when it comes to Ms. Frost it's stoopid, as most of the heavy lifting re: making Ms. Frost teh hottness, has happened since 1990, if not the past 5 years. See: any thread where ILC praises Grant Morrison's X-run.

I was thinking last night that maybe the X-Man who is fated to destroy the Breakworld is Kitty via the huge mega-Sentinel/Danger combo.

Did anyone else read the new issue? The right amount of plot movement, but I'd forgotten how po-faced Astonishing is.

This was definitely my favorite issue of the series thus far. It's the one where it most felt like Joss Whedon felt like he was entirely at home writing the characters rather than taking a holiday in mutantville.

I was very concerned about him retconning stuff from Grant's run, but I think this is going to turn out well.

I think maybe my feeling sprang from coming to it having read some of Milligan's run, where the characterisation is entirely tongue-in-cheek, and also some early-90s Superman books, which are nothing but light - and effective - soap characterisation with almost no sense of portent.

(SPOILER)Nothing fucking happens.(/SPOILER)

And his Emma Frost is starting to remind of Jodie Marsh.

but, i've always liked the hellfire club! so i am into this.

Did Tep ever pick up the Morrison trades?

And can somebody explain to me how Cassandra Nova is up and walking around? I don't get that. Did I miss something?

It's lame, but I don't blame them - Cassandra is the only really memorable new Marvel or DC villain of the past ten years or so.

I think there would have been a much better story with Ernst gradually turning back into Cassandra, but whatever.

PS: All of the stuff in the final arc wouldn't happen anyway because Cyclops didn't abandon the X-Men. Didn't you read the last issue?

-- Matthew C Perpetua (perpetu...), September 5th, 2005 2:10 PM. (inca)

PWNED

Well, he pissed all over the 'Alien' movies, so it's in character.

Apparently, I have missed the point entirely. BACK TO SCHOOL WITH ME!

You can read the script here. Scanning it for a minute, seems like the main change is that the movie scaled down the climactic fight to keep it in space. The Newborn's still in it, though the concept's a bit different. Character bits are in it ("Father's dead, asshole.", etc.) Hm.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien:_Resurrection

Of course, by going into outerspace he can obviously fuck it all up again, but I have some sliver of hope.

Is he actually writing Astonishing any more, I though that was his time up?

Oh, and Buffy sucks too, so there! Yah! Boo!

so the cartoon version of this is on watch instantly and it's the ugliest thing i've ever seen. i guess they spent basically nothing to make it?

You mean this thing?

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.comicsalliance.com/media/2010/08/wolvielovespizza.gif

Never seen, but it sounds just ridiculous. See this review. Anyone else remember this kind of thing being sold for like $20 a pop as "CD-ROMix" back in the early 90s?