Avengers Vs. X-Men: The Abridged Version Contents

Avengers Vs. X-Men The Abridged Version - Parts 1-5

Avengers Vs. X-Men The Abridged Version - Parts 6-8

Avengers Vs. X-Men The Abridged Version - Parts 9-11

Avengers Vs. X-Men The Abridged Version - Parts 12-15

X-Men: Red #5 - A Belated Review

Unbeknownst to Jean Grey, an old enemy of the X-Men is twisting the minds of various world leaders to hasten the anti-Mutant initiatives that are gaining popularity, at the same time a new breed of Sentinel is using social media to turn ordinary people into the puppets of hate groups and mutants into self-loathing suicide bombers. Thankfully, Jean and her new team of X-Men are not without resources or allies, but they still have a long battle ahead of them - one that will start with an effort to save mutant refugees from an advancing army.


I missed out on the fireworks when this issue originally came out and various forces held it up as a prime example of how the social justice warrior agenda is ruining Marvel Comics. Ignoring that Marvel Comics has a long history of doing this sort of thing (and indeed was build upon the work of several Veterans who specifically used their art to make political points) to say that an X-Men comic is not meant to be political seems incredibly ignorant.

For the sake of argument, let's consider this story as an action epic, free from Tom Taylor's drawing parallels between the social-media Sentinels that reprogram people's brains to turn them into anti-Mutant activists and the use of fake news in modern society. Does this comic still hold up?  Yes. Taylor writes a fantastic action sequence and the battle in which we see the X-Men placing themselves between an army and a group of refugees is a thrilling one.

All of this is ably illustrated by Mahmud Asrar, whose shadowy, heavily-outlined style is a good fit for the grim world that Taylor's script reveals. The colors are largely dull, save for the colors of the X-Men in their costumes - a brilliant conceit by colorist Rain Beredo that makes our heroes stand out like the beacons of hope they should be in a dark world. The letters by Cory Petit are well done, with a wide variety of texts in the caption boxes, the news scrolls and the action balloons.

Let the broflakes cry. This is X-Men done right, modernized for the 21st century - as political and powerful as it should be.

The Final Analysis: 9/10. The best X-Men book in years!

X-Men: Red #2 - A Review

Framed for murder before the entire nation, Jean Grey and her allies have claimed political asylum in Wakanda. Unfortunately, laying low while things are sorted out will not be an option once they are contacted by a technopath mutant named Trinary, who needs the X-Men's help escaping from a prison in India.


X-Men: Red #2 is somewhat stronger than the first issue in terms of plotting, given that the whole of the story is told without any flashbacks or jumps in time. As usual, the highlight of Tom Taylor's script is the interactions between his characters and his use of humor. He also does a fantastic job of establishing and introducing Trinary as a character.

The artwork isn't quite as strong, but Mahmud Asrar proves a capable partner. His character designs are memorable and the artwork looks fantastic in the close-ups, though the fine details seem lost past the middle distance. The color art is also fantastic, with some interesting blending effects in the issue's lightning.

It takes a lot for me to enjoy an X-Men comic. And I enjoy this X-Men comic.


 The Final Analysis: 8 out of 10.

All New Wolverine #17 - A Review

The good news is that Laura's friends in the X-Men have rescued her from the clutches of Kimura - an old enemy determined to turn the new Wolverine into her personal assassin. The bad news is that Laura is still trained to respond to "The Trigger Scent" created by Kimura and that Kimura's forces and SHIELD are still hunting for her. Jean Grey thinks she can undo the damage that was done to Laura's mind, but can she do it before they're all over-run by government agents and gangster thugs?


This is a merely passable issue of what is normally an excellent title. As much as I'd like to blame the presence of the X-Men for this, the fault lies with the creative team. Tom Taylor is playing against his strengths as a comedic writer and a dialogist, with most of the issue devoted to scenes of heroes fighting heroes when SHIELD shows up. Thankfully, the revelation of Laura's "happy place"makes up for a lot. It does not, however make up for the inconsistent artwork. Djibril Moristte-Phan's inks obscure far too much of the fine detail and Michael Garland's colors are oddly muted and weak.

Con Report: North Texas Comic Book Show - July 19, 2014 - Part One

North Texas Comic Book Show is a relatively new convention in Dallas.  The best way to describe it is intimate.  It's not the biggest convention and it doesn't have a lot of celebrity guests.  What it does have is what conventions are really all about - fans, love and a chance to meet the other glorious weirdos who share your interests.  I spent more of the day talking with friends than I did taking pictures.  But I still found time to snap a few choice cosplay pictures before the cosplay contest.


Wonder Woman

Archers Unite!  Yours truly with Katniss Everdeen.


Marvel Comics' Morgan LeFay 


Doctor Strange?  Where's the All-Seeing Eye Of Agamotto?

Kitana from Mortal Kombat and Codex from The Guild.
(Both these ladies run a cool site called Gone Catawampus you should check out.)

Conventions like this attract all manner of Rogues.

Ness from Earthbound.

Quicksilver and Polaris.  No sibling rivalry here.

Spider-Man and his two most famous lady-friends - Mary Jane Watson & Gwen Stacy.

Dallas Comic Con 2014 - ALL THE PICTURES! - Part Ten

Black Cat, Aquaman and Rogue



Red Robin, Batgirl and Nightwing


Flame Princess


Banshee and Booster Gold


Ant Man


Deadpool and Death


Edward Nygma and Poison Ivy from the Joel Schumacher Batman movies.


Dr. Zoidberg: So all of your friends treat you badly too?
Aquaman: You have NO idea...


The Riddler


Two Green Lanterns Power Up

Dallas Comic Con 2014 - ALL THE PICTURES! - Part Nine

Artist Jessica Cathryn Feinberg 


Skull E. Laye as Han Solo.


Robin


Daenerys Targaryen and Belle.


X-23


Green Arrow


Huntress


Daenerys Targaryen and an Arkham Asylum doctor.


Cyclops and Jean Grey


Rogue and Jubilee.


Batwoman and a pair of Stephs - Robin and Batgirl, Stephanie Browns.



Casual Dress Stormtrooper


Battle-Scared Terminator



All this fun at the convention and she's reading!  For shame, Belle!

Dallas Comic Con 2014 - ALL THE PICTURES! - Part Seven

Poison Ivy, Black Canary & Harley Quinn


Bombshell Wonder Woman seems to be enjoying this far more than M. Bison.


Black Canary & Zatanna


The Doctor attempting to hotwire Luke Skywalker's land-speeder.
This isn't exactly out of character for The Third Doctor...


Columbia from The Rocky Horror Picture Show and John Constantine.
Questionable British Deviants must be her type.


Another group of X-Men.


The Joker shilling for his own action figure.
Hey, laughing gas doesn't pay for itself!


Gambit


AT-ST Walker


Hope and Cable, defending the GeekLurv booth.

Dallas Comic Con 2014 - ALL THE PICTURES! - Part Six

The Doctor vs. Galactus - it's a license to print money, Marvel!
That's Reese of Reese's Pieces as Galactus.


This cosplayer tops himself every year with his balloon animal costumes.
This year: My Neighbor Totoro!


The Dread Pirate Wilson a.k.a. Pirate Deadpool



A rather sizable group of X-Men cosplayers.  Can you name them all?


Jubilee, Storm and Dazzler from the previous group.


Lara Croft - Tomb Raider. 


Hawkman


Gandalf The Grey


I'm not sure how I feel about this more-mature Sailor Moon reboot...


Derek The Red Dalek  - quite harmless after a visit from The Doctor.


The Crushinator from Futurama.


Ramona Flowers and Godzilla.