.....WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN #2.....

   WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN #2

STORY BY Jason Aaron
ART BY Chris Bachalo
COVER BY Chris Bachalo
PUBLISHER Marvel Comics

X-MEN REGENESIS Wolverine and his X-Men have very little chance of surviving the new Hellfire Club. And that's without another classic villain returning!

.....WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN #1.....

   WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN #1
REGENESIS!

STORY BY Jason Aaron
ART BY Chris Bachalo
COVER BY Chris Bachalo
PUBLISHER Marvel Comics

Spinning directly out of X-MEN: SCHISM, the X-Men are split in two. In the oversized debut issue of the new ongoing flagship X-series, Wolverine takes one half of the X-Men back to Westchester to start over again. But the new Hellfire Club outlast its first day ? Join Marvel Architect Jason Aaron (X-MEN: SCHISM, WOLVERINE) and legendary X-Artist Chris Bachalo (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, GENERATION X) for a brand new action-packed take on the X-Men that will set a new standard for the Children of the Atom.

.....X-MEN LEGACY #261.....

   X-MEN LEGACY #261
LOST TRIBES PART 1

STORY BY Christos Gage

ART BY David Baldeon, Jordan Tarragona
COLORS BY Sonia Oback
LETTERS BY Cory Petit
COVER BY Mark Brooks
PUBLISHER Marvel Comics

With this whole “Regenesis” non-event-event going on in the X-Men family of titles, I’ve dipped my toes into the X-Men pool and found the water surprisingly refreshing. Sure, there are things I’ve missed since I last regularly read any X-Men titles, but “X-Men Legacy” doesn’t waste time lingering on what has happened, choosing instead to move forward. Well, except for the whole “reflecting on the non-break-up of Rogue and Magneto” bit.

Rachel Grey (when did we stop calling her “Marvel Girl” and “Phoenix”?) insists on breaking down Rogue’s choice to move back to Westchester in a cutesy sitcom kind of way. Christos Gage shines at these character moments. This issue would be rather anti-climatic if that was all that happened though. Luckily, remaining true to the cover, Exodus drops in on campus to rile the faculty.

The battle is exciting and filled with moments that help define the characters and their powers for readers, but those scenes stop at moments. Rogue gets the most time in the spotlight and casually tries to absorb the powers of Exodus and Kid Gladiator. Granted, I’ve been away from the adventures of Rogue for a bit, but this seemed wildly out of character and rather odd in the lack of effect her powers had on the characters she borrowed from. Complicating matters, the resolution to the conflict is anticlimactic and unfulfilling.

         

.....X-MEN LEGACY#260.1.....

   X-MEN LEGACY#260.
REGENESIS

STORY BY Christos Gage
ART BY David Baldeon, Jordan Tarragona
COLORS BY Sonia Oback
LETTERS BY Cory Petit
COVER BY Mark Brooks
PUBLISHER Marvel Comics

Fans of Mike Carey and his long run on “X-Men Legacy,” as well as fans of Rogue, likely have a close eye on this title as it shifts to a new creative team in the form of Christos Gage and David Baldeon.

“X-Men Legacy” #260.1 finds the Legacy team (Rogue, Gambit, Frenzy and Rachel Grey seem to be the primary team) playing a game of ‘powers football’ with a handful of students as an educational exercise. In the process, a portal to a demon dimension is opened on school grounds, and the team spends the rest of the issue trying to shut down the threat while keeping the kids blissfully unaware of the battle outside their windows. The latter seems highly dubious.

It’s easy to see why Gage is setting the book up like this. It's to tie Rogue’s team to the school and also show them as a separate and more “grown up” book than the way “Wolverine and The X-Men” feels. Unfortunately, it’s pretty clunky. Gage is a writer whose work I have enjoyed quite a bit of late, especially his very good work on Dark Horse’s “Angel & Faith”, but it feels like he’s trying to hard in this issue. In general he has a good ear for the dialogue, and he creates some very funny moments, which are much appreciated. But everything feels slightly forced. You can see that Gambit and Frenzy are going to make out on the last page from the very first panels, so it takes all the surprise out of that reveal. Rogue feels like that teacher that you hate because she’s constantly trying to be your best friend that really “knows what it’s like to be you” and as a result has all the subtlety and charm of a Mack truck.

 

.....X-MEN: LEGACY #259.....

   X-MEN: LEGACY #259


STORY:Mike Carey

ART: Khoi Pham

COVER: Clay Mann, Nicjk Bradshaw, David Yardin

PUBLISHER: Marvel Comics

RELEASE DATE: Wed, November 30th, 2011

SCHISM AFTERMATH The X-Men are divided. As the teammates part ways, Rogue, Magneto and Gambit attend to unfinished business, hoping to avoid answering the question: Whose side are they on?

In the end, Carey turns in an incredibly clever script that twists the mundane into the intriguing, but the art fails to consistently do the same, thus holding this issue back considerably.  A quieter issue like this would rarely be a landmark "must read" comic simply because of the subject matter, but with stronger art it could have stood out as one of those surprising little stories that sneaks up on you and becomes a favorite.

                                

.....X-MEN LEGACY #258.....

   X-MEN LEGACY #258


Writer: Mike Carey

Penciller: Steve Kurth

Penciller (cover): Mico Suayan

Orig. Published: November 09, 2011

“FIVE MILES SOUTH OF THE UNIVERSE” CONCLUSION! Locked in psychic combat with an extraterrestrial opponent who far outclasses her, and trapped on a space station that’s hurtling toward an exploding sun, Marvel Girl finds herself in dire straits. With the lives of the station’s inhabitants and her teammates on the line, just how far will she go to win the day?