It’s Alive! Jason Aaron and Nick Bradshaw are mad scientists who may have created their most twisted issue yet with Wolverine and the X-Men #21.
It was supposed to be a new year of new beginnings. New mutants and the kids from Utopia joined the Jean Grey School. Storm agreed to join the faculty. The dream turns into a nightmare of monsters, clowns and circus freaks.
This week’s issue begins with the teachers gone. Troublemaker Quentin Quire knows this is too easy and suspects the teachers are testing him. The Hellfire Club continues their manipulation of Idie. I’m stumped as to why the villains have created a fake church and pastor to seduce Idie to their latest campaign of revenge against Wolverine and the school.
Wolverine and the X-Men #21 courtesy Marvel
We soon learn where the teachers have gone! Logan, Kitty, Storm, Beast, Bobby and Rachel are willing star performers in a wickedly bizarre circus owned by…Frankenstein. Yes, that Frankenstein. I can’t help but remember when the X-Men were hypnotized into becoming circus stars by Mesmero way back in the Chris Claremont & John Byrne era. This sideshow is even freakier and with a supernatural twist happenning to the audience. This Murder Circus is part of Frankenstein’s revenge against one of Aaron’s newest characters. in The final panel pits is monster against victim and X-Men fighting their own students.
Jason Aaron continues to masterfully spin several storylines and give multiple characters memorable moments. Nick Bradshaw continues to impress. You are watching the birth of a major art superstar. If you were knocked out by Bradshaw’s Planet Sin casino scenes in previous arc wait until you seen his Murder Circus. The creative team pack so much on the pages – watch for a hilarious Doop cameo – but it never feels stuffed. Wolverine and the X-Men remains the X-book delivering the most fun and surprises every issue. Come on. Wolverine transformed into a clown? You know Frank’s in for a world of hurt!
X-Man, Avenger, Mentor, Headmaster, Lover, Killer! Wolverine is a hero with many titles and star of many comic book titles!
Paul Cornell returns to Marvel with a brand new Wolverine series premiering in March 2013. The legendary Alan Davis will be the artist on Logan’s new solo book. Cornell talked with Marvel.com about his return to the House of Ideas and his take on the fan favorite X-Man.
“This is the series that gets into what makes James Logan tick, that shows him being, as he puts it, “a regular guy,” interacting with civilian friends of his in New York City. The most amazing thing about James is that he’s been alive so long, gone through so many extraordinary things, is such a strange being, but holds on—very hard—to being a guy who likes to hang out in bars with good company, who can run a school, who’s a decent, civilized man. Most of the time. No vampire alienation and boredom for him. He’s a man of the people. I’m going to poke that and see what happens.”
The challenge for any new writer is Wolverine’s history of iconic stories by specific writers (Weapon X, Old Man Logan). Cornell explains his big influence and how he will stake his claim in the Logan legacy.
“By looking hard at who he is, dealing with him in the here and now, exploring that voice I’m so fond of. Why does he call people “bub?” That’s now a tic that’s peculiar, that says something. I’ve been a Dad for four weeks now, and it occurs to me that James is the super hero I would be most comfortable in handing my child to. You know he’s going to take care of him, you know he’d be willing to just about die to do it, that while he’s got him, nothing is going to hurt that child. That’s what we’re going to get into: James the determined, bastard hard defender of innocents. I’m an enormous fan of Chris Claremont. I think his contribution to comics is just gigantic, that these days he’s enormously undervalued, to a degree that just staggers me. I’ll be drawing on the love of this character I felt from my childhood, and that means drawing on my own inner Claremont.'”
Wolverine: Weapon X #1 cover by Alan Davis courtesy Marvel
Cornell teases the first arc of the new series:
“James is involved in a hostage situation in the heart of New York, which spirals into an action-movie chase with him pursuing…he has no idea, and neither do we. It’s something absolutely disciplined, ruthless, and absolutely unconcerned with harming innocents. James has to do something not very nice in front of one such innocent. He’s damned if he’s going to let it happen again.
Cornell revealed he will explore the humanity of Wolverine:
“He’s one of the few super heroes who one could have a drink with. And he really should be a lot weirder. So there’s something going on there. I’ll also be examining the consequences of some recent decisions he’s made, but that would only be obvious for those who’ve been following the character lately. You can start with this first issue, not knowing anything, and absolutely know who he is, and what he does. It’s kind of a continuity-free first issue, from which we’ll gradually move to bring in wider aspects of the universe.”
Cornell reveal he’s creating a new villain and new supporting cast members (police officers, bar owners) for Wolverine’s NYC stomping grounds.
Cornell made comparisons between the X-Man and a certain caped hero of the competition when explains Wolverine’s role in the Marvel Now.
“I want it, and him, to be central. I want other titles reacting to what happens here. It’s an accident of history that WOLVERINE as a title has often been following what happens in other books, rather than originating the direction of the character because the title started so late. A new number one gives us the chance to change James’ standing a little, to make him as obvious a lead as Batman is, not just the eternal supporting character.”
Wolverine Annual #1 courtesy Marvel, a Comic Book Resources exclusive
Op/Ed: Alan Davis is on my list of (I MUST MEET THEM) comic book creators! In fact I could program an entire Alan Davis Comicon based on this amazing career which includes X-Men, Excaliburruns as writer/artist and artist with Chris Claremont writing.
Alan Davis recently brought back his ClanDestine in several Marvel Annuals including Wolverine, drew Ed Brubaker’s final volume of Captain America, If you can get your hands on his Wolverine graphic novel Bloodlust– grab it!
For Cornell’s entire interview here’s the Marvel.com link.
Captain America #1The Star-Spangled Avenger’s new adventure take a sci-fi spin. No country. No allies. Steve Rogers is alone in a bizarre dimension packed with new enemies and an amped up old villain
Indestructible Hulk #1 Bruce Banner and his monstrous alter ego working together? Meet SHIELD’s biggest, brainiest new agent!
Batwoman #14The thrilling showdown between Kate and Wonder Woman against the madness of Medusa!
Star Trek #15You’ve got to love Spock in a stache! Yes, it’s time for a brand new adventure in the Mirror, Mirror universe!
Wolverine and the X-Men #21 This may be Thanksgiving week but a terrifying new villain stalks the staff and kids of the Jean Grey School! Frankenstein’s Murder Circus turns Storm, Logan and Bobby into their strangest new showstopppers.
Storm has joined the teaching staff of the Jean Grey School but new villains appear to be delivering a lesson in cruelty and death in this week’s Wolverine and the X-Men #20. Frankenstein’s Murder Circus is coming to Salem Center. From the issue cover it appears Logan, Ororo and Bobby have been forced to join the freaky carnival.
I love that Storm is on the faculty and this image by Nick Bradshaw takes me way back to the Chris Claremont/John Byrne Uncanny X-Men era when Mesmero hypnotized the X-Men into thinking they were part of his traveling circus. Continue reading Storm Joins Wolverine’s X-Men
Hugh Jackman as The Wolverine courtesy Marvel and 20th Century Fox
The success of Iron Man paved the way for other Avengers solo films (Thor, Captain America) and the shared universe that became the box-office smash Marvel’s The Avengers for Marvel/Disney.
Fox controls the cinematic rights to Marvel’s X-Men and Fantastic Four. Fox Creative Consultant calls Hugh Jackman’s next Wolverine the beginning of a shared universe among the Fox franchises.
“I felt like Iron Man was really the beginning of something for the Marvel Studios movies, and ‘The Wolverine’ will be a similar starting point to build a lot off of for the Fox movies,” Millar told Comic Book Resources.
That idea will roll into X-Men: Days of Future Past when it starts production in April. There was a recent change in roles behind the scenes for the upcoming film. Original X-Men director Bryan Singer will now direct and X-Men: First Class director/Millar friend Matthew Vaughn will produce.
“Bryan’s worked as a producer even on the X-Men movies that he didn’t direct — he was a producer on ‘First Class.’ So when Matthew decided he wasn’t going to do the sequel, they just switched places with Matthew producing and Bryan coming on to direct. That’s got nothing to do with me, but I’m delighted that Bryan and I will get to work together over the next few years. I’ve been working with Josh Trank on ‘Fantastic Four,’ and I have a lot of ideas of other places we can go with the characters Fox has the rights to.”
A big question for me: Will Hugh Jackman appear in Days of Future Past? The story is partly set in a dark future in which an older Logan leads the surviving X-Men (Storm, Kate Pryde, Colossus, Magneto, the daughter of Scott and Jean, the son of Fantastic Four’s Reed and Sue against the Sentinels.)
This week is the finale of Rick Remender’s Final Execution in Uncanny X-Force #33. It’s been brutally violent, insanely ambitious and packed with “OH —-!” moments. This may be Wolverine’s covert team but the incredible way Remender evolved Psylocke, Angel, Deadpool and Fantomex has been masterful.
As Final Execution concludes it’s the manipulations of Mystique at her best (or should I say baddest?) and the Age of Apocalypse Nightcrawler that may seal the face of the team.
This series has not been just about these dark heroes but about a child named Evan. A kid murdered, brought back as a clone, kidnapped and mentally tortured. This poor child is Apocalypse. The heroes of this series have shattered the lines of right and wrong and the story of Evan is the story of good and evil and can it be altered? Does a child destined to be a force of evil be changed?
In the final chapter of The Final Execution in Uncanny X-Force #33 Logan’s team strikes back at the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in an effort to save Evan but they were betrayed by one of their own.
Remender told Comic Book Resources he’s leaving the title with December’s Uncanny X-Force #35. The last chapter of Final Execution will be the series finale.
“There were a lot of different factors involved. It was a very tough decision to make and it came down to a conversation I had about it with Kieron Gillen about how long I would stay past this. He said, “Know when to get off the stage.” That’s something that we maybe overlook.
I’m now doing “Uncanny Avengers” and “Captain America” and I realized that in order for me to do those and not want to blow my brains out, I might have to walk away from “Venom,” “Secret Avengers” and “Uncanny X-Force.” That was a bummer because I put so much into building them and getting the trains out of the station. I love all the characters, but that’s just the reality. With “X-Force,” I feel like this final story, which I’m very excited and have been building towards for a while now, pretty much wraps up everything we’ve been doing. It says everything I wanted to say about a kill squad while also really digging into the X-Universe that I loved so much as a kid growing up. So it really did come down to the fact that it was time to get off the stage.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to stick a nice landing with “Final Execution” and people will really enjoy it, so the series will never have that part where it tapered and stopped being as good. That’s the upshot. You do your best work — and we all have — and then you wrap things up and walk away from it.”
The Cast of X-Men: First Class courtesy Marvel.com
Fox is turning to a director of hits past to carry on the X-Men franchise. Bryan Singer is officially coming back to the mansion! The director who launched the X-Men film franchise will helm X-Men: Days of Future Past according to Deadline. X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn stepped away the director’s chair but may continue to have a role as a producer.
The story will be based on the classic story by Chris Claremont and John Byrne. In the mutants have been nearly wiped out by giant robots called Sentinels. Imprisoned X-Men from the future send Kitty Pryde into the past to rally the X-Men of the time to prevent an assassination that leads to their horrific future. Wolverine leads the resistance movement and a last stand (pardon the pun and remembrance of movies past) against the Sentinels. This storyline could mean the possibility of Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Ellen Page and Daniel Cudmore reprising their roles. With makeup magic that could appear as older, broken versions of the characters they played in the first trilogy. This story is also noted for the introduction of Rachel Summers (daughter of Cyclops and Jean Grey) and Franklin Richards (son of Reed and Sue of the Fantastic Four.)
A+X #1 Let the healing begin! A brand new team-up series in the post-Avengers vs. X-Men world! Wolverine teams up with the Hulk. Captain America and Cable? Did Nathan recently tried to take out the Avengers?
Batgirl Annual #1 The first meeting of Barbara Gordon and Catwoman in the New 52! Will they clash when they cross paths? Plus, the Talon from Night of the Owls is stalking Barbara and wants a rematch!
Doctor Who #2An evil force is stealing time from anyone it touches. Can the Doctor save the next victim? It looks like this new Time Lord tale could be a sequel of sorts to one of my favorite Tom Baker serials The Pyramids of Mars. All the visual clues are there! We’ll see.
Fatale #9Get ready for one HELL of a showdown as Jo confronts the demonic force that’s been stalking her through the decades. Sex, death, and cults in seedy 1970’s Hollywood. Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips wrap their latest arc of horror noir that’s not like anything else in the comic shop!
Wolverine and the X-Men #19 After last issue’s shocking murder how will Logan pull the students and staff of the Jean Grey School together? What does the Hellfire Club have planned next?
