Image Comics teased fans on Tumblr with this image for The Walking Dead #100: Lucille Is Coming. The milestone issue by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard arrives next month.
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The Walking Dead #100 Tease: Who Is Lucielle?
Category: Books
Astonishing X-Men’s Northstar: After the Gay Wedding
When a hero gets married it can lead to a dead end…creatively. Marvel even wiped out Peter Parker’s marraige to Mary Jane. Northstar gets hitched in Astonishing X-Men #51. After the headlines and hype over a gay wedding in a comic book what happens next for Jean-Paul and Kyle?
Writer Marjorie Liu tells Comics Newsarama how Northstar’s married life will fit into the series and the difference of telling a story with a married versus single hero.
“This is just the beginning. By getting married a whole new direction has opened up, story-wise, for them both. Marriage isn’t the end-point of a relationship. It’s just a stepping stone, one aspect of a long-term evolution between two people who have, for whatever reason, decided to take a leap of faith and say, “Well, hey, this is a person who I want to *try* with for the rest of my life.” Which is not a guarantee of perfection — far from it.
Certainly, the stresses haven’t changed. Kyle is still a human man who has to watch his husband leave at a moment’s notice to save the world, and who can’t be at his side, or help protect him. In some ways he’s a liability — in danger, because of his husband’s “profession” as super hero. For Northstar, he has to deal with the fact that he’s part of a team, a family, that will always understand what he’s going through in ways that Kyle never will — and that can be very lonely when he goes home.”
Northstar was Marvel’s first openly gay hero. Marjorie Liu was asked about the importance of Jean-Paul to Marvel and to fans.
“Northstar is certainly important as a representative of the gay community within the Marvel Universe. But his value as a character is also grounded on something more than just his sexual orientation (as would be the case in real life). He’s vain, arrogant, but also a man who risks his life without a thought in order to help others. You can count on his loyalty — and his quick temper — and he’s been portrayed, again and again, as someone who lives life to the absolute fullest, without regrets or second-guesses. He loves, and acts on that love; he gets angry, and then acts on that anger. Northstar is no fake.”
As a long-time fan of X-Men and Alpha Flight – I’m thrilled to see Aurora and rest of Jean-Paul’s Canadian team in the big wedding issue.
For the entire story and more preview art here’s the Comics Newsarama link.
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Jim Lee’s Justice League #11 Cover
Flash is front and center with his fellow heroes in the palm of a bad guy’s hand! DC Comics revealed Jim Lee’s variant cover to Justice League #11 as the iconic heroes battle Element Woman in part three of The Villain’s Journey.
The Geoff Johns penned issue also continues the back story origin of Shazam with Gary Frank on art. The issue arrives July 18.
Top 5 Comic Book Picks for 6/20/12
Astonishing X-Men #51 The wedding of Northstar and Kyle Jinadu will make comic book history this week. The first openly gay X-Man is getting hitched but he’s also a target. Who is the mystery woman behind the recent attack by a new team of Marauders? Northstar’s nightmare of the X-Men out to kill him is coming true. Could the wedding be just a dream too?
Avengers vs X-Men #6 Five of the most powerful X-Men are now possessed by the Phoenix Force. Earth is being radically changed. The Scarlet Witch enters the war but on whose side?
Nightwing #10 Dick Grayson is recovering from the shocking revelation from Night of the Owls when he checks out a double murder in Old Gotham. The evidence points the finger right back at….him? DC introduces a new threat to Batman’s battered ally. Who is Paragon and his Republic of Tomorrow?
Saga #4 An against all odds love story amid a galactic war. Two soldiers from enemy races fell in love, had a child and are now running for their lives. This issue introduces a distant planet where darkest fantasies can come true. Will this the runaway family’s safe haven or hell?
True Blood #2 A new comic book will help satisfy your craving for Sookie, Bill, Eric and all the other sexy scary characters from Bon Temps. Alan Ball, Ann Nocenti (Daredevil, Longshot) and Michael McMillan create a perfect companion to the HBO series.
Alpha Flight On The Run
Northstar gets hitched in Astonishing X-Men this week but before Jean-Paul rejoined the X-Men he was part of Canada’s premier super team. Now you can relive Alpha Flight’s short-lived comeback.
Guardian, Vindicator, Shaman and Marrina are resurrected from the dead to join Northstar, Aurora, Sasquatch and Snowbird. The reunited champions are branded traitors and fight a conspiracy within their own government in the aftermath of Fear Itself.
For Northstar and Kyle fans – this collection is a great way to see their back story. Kyle becomes collateral damage as the team fights the manipulations of the Unity party. A theme that continues as the couple have relocated to New York City and the X-Men.
Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente’s Alpha Flight Complete Series is collected and available in comic book shops and here’s the Amazon link. Ben Oliver and Dale Eaglesham provide the art with Phil Jiminez on covers.
Alpha Flight’s loss is the X-Men’s gain. From the previews for Astonishing X-Men #51 is appears Jean-Paul’s teammates will be there for the wedding in New York City. I’m big fan of John and Heather Hudson (Guardian and Vindicator) and hope Marvel could find a storyline for them.
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AVX: Daredevil Against Psylocke!
The Man Without Fear against the X-Men’s psychic ninja! Daredevil and Psylocke’s fight goes into overtime in AvX: Vs #4. Marvel.com revealed the cover and Brandon Peterson’s interior art.
Rick Remender writes the latest “all fights” issue. If you’ve read his Uncanny X-Force you know Remender really knows how to write Betsy Braddock. The character really evolved during The Dark Angel Saga. Betsy has a darker, harder edge. If Psylocke can gut her one-time lover expect Matt to feel the pain. I’m excited to see how this billy club to psychic knife fight will play out.
Seeing Brandon Peterson’s work takes me back to the 90’s when he was teamed with Fabian Nicieza on the X-Men book. Peterson drew Psylocke and her “twin” Revanche.
AvX: Vs #4 features not one but two fights. The other match picks up from Remender’s Secret Avengers AvX tie-in story with Thor against the Phoenix Force with art by Kaare Andrews.
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Mike Allred on Daredevil
Marvel is welcoming Mike Allred to the already stellar art team of Paolo Rivera and Chris Samnee on Daredevil. The Madman creator brings his signature style to Daredevil #17 out this August.
“Daredevil is my favorite current title. I’ve always been a huge fan of Mark’s, and he knows that. I don’t think he’s ever been given his due. He’s always been acclaimed, but never to the degree I think he’s deserved. It’s thrilling to be a part of this with these artists. As an outside observer, I felt like I had to let somebody know how special I thought this title was. To be able to join in even some small way is incredibly thrilling,” Allred tells Marvel.com.
Writer Mark Waid has thrown some old school and non-traditional enemies at Matt Murdock. Waid is bringing back a classic for Allred to draw.
“The villain for Mike’s issue is Stilt-Man. Of course it’s Stilt-Man! He’s the perfect villain for a Mike Allred story. On the surface of it, a goofy costume and goofy powers. On the other hand, if you were at the bottom of the Hudson River pinned down by one of those legs, he doesn’t seem so goofy,” said Waid.
For the entire liveblog plus more preview art here’s the Marvel.com link.
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X-Men Gay Wedding Week
Mainstream media hype hit. Protests came and went. All because a man proposed to the guy he loved. The man is an X-Man. The wedding is the week in Astonishing X-Men #51.
Northstar and Kyle Jinadu tie the knot in New York City just days before many American cities are celebrating gay pride. To the non-comic book reading world this may seem radical but the X-Men have always broken barriers with socially relevant stories and characters.
Marvel’s first openly gay hero, Jean-Paul Beaubier proposed to his boyfriend Kyle Jinadu in issue #50. Creative team Marjorie Liu, Mike Perkins and Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso talked about the landmark issue on Marvel.com.
“The Marvel Universe has always reflected the world outside your window, so we strive to make sure our characters, relationships and stories are grounded in that reality,” said Axel Alonso, Marvel Editor in Chief. “We’ve been working on this story for over a year to ensure Northstar and Kyle’s wedding reflects Marvel’s ‘world outside your window’ tradition.”
“The story of Northstar and Kyle is universal, and at the core of everything I write: a powerful love between two people who have to fight for it against all odds,” said writer Marjorie Liu. “This is the quintessential Marvel story, one that blends the modern world with the fantasy of super heroes in order to tell an exciting story that begins with a wedding—and continues in ways you can’t imagine.”
“As a long-time fan of the X-Men, it’s not only a true honor to be part of such a historically significant story but also a complete joy,” said artists Mike Perkins.
Northstar was born in Quebec and a member of the Canadian team Alpha Flight when he premiered in Uncanny X-Men #120. John Byrne wrote and drew the Alpha Flight original series and hinted as Jean-Paul’s sexual orientation. It wasn’t until 1992 when Northstar came out in an Alpha Flight #106 by writer Scott Lobdell. Northstar was recruited by Professor X to join the X-Men. Cyclops asked Jean-Paul to join the team when they moved to San Francisco. Kyle manages Northstar’s winter sports event company. The couple have been together since 2009 and recently moved to New York City after Wolverine invited Northstar to be part of his new school for mutants.
As a longtime X-Men fan it’s amazing to see how the story of mutants has evolved with the political and cultural times. When Northstar was first introduced in the 1980’s it was against editorial policy to have a character be gay. Northstar’s coming out in 1992 was controversial. Now we’re about see the wedding of a gay hero. Maybe Northstar will appear in a future X-Men movie?
Astonishing X-Men #51 arrives with two variant covers. Marko Djurdjevic created an intimate cover as Jean-Paul and Kyle embrace. What I think is more symbolic: the Create Your Own Wedding Album cover by Phil Noto. It’s important that Jean-Paul and Kyle’s ceremony in featured on the same page as Storm and the Black Panther, Reed and Susan Richards and other famous Marvel couples on their special day.
Northstar and Kyle’s relationship is just one element of Marjorie Liu’s early run on the book. The mystery woman behind the new Marauders, Warbird’s potentially lethal attraction to Iceman, the return of Karma and Cecelia Reyes are all intriguing reasons to enjoy the book.
Mutants are the evolution of the human race in the comic books. This week’s wedding is a sign how humanity is evolving to greater equality. The fight for equality is far from over. A comic book wedding may or may not change someone’s view on marriage equality. Seeing an openly gay superhero get married with the support of one of the world’s most popular teams may give someone hope that it does get better.
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