Rogue returns from her outer space adventure to find the X-men divided into rival camps but her feelings are torn between Magneto and Gambit. This is the first part of Mike Carey’s final X-Men arc after a 5+ years of innovative storytelling.
BPRD: Being Human
Terror tales starring Hellboy’s trusted team on the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. This trade paperback collects stories of the undead, dark magic and how the strange heroes cope with love and loss.
Archie #625 (aka Archie Meets KISS #1)
The Riverdale High gang will Rock and Roll ALLLLLLLL NIGHT! It’s the strangest comic book mashup I never expected. The world’s most famous rock band invades Archie’s hometown to save the night when monsters are unleashed on Riverdale Rock City.
Thunder Agents Volume 1 and number 1
Would you prefer to burn out in a blaze of glory or fade away? Regular people are given the chance to be super heroes but with a catch – the powers will eventually kill them. Volume one collects the first ten issues. A new number one issue marks the new adventures of the team willing to die for superhero glory.
Captain America: Man Out of Time
Captain America sacrificed himself in World War Two. Decades later, Steve was revived to face a modern U.S. he didn’t recognize and meet the heroes who were inspired by his legend. In this tale will Cap risk everything to go back and save his best friend from death? It’s the Avengers versus Captain America for the fate of the timesteam. This trade paperback collects the 6 part series by legendary writer Mark Waid.
Grant Morrison took cheating on your spouse to a new level – a psychic level-during his New X-Men run. Cyclops is psychically unfaithful to Jean Grey with Emma Frost, former White Queen of the Hellfire Club. It’s like the old argument: Is it really cheating if there’s no physical sex? It didn’t seem to matter when Jean discovered the truth. Never cheat on a telepath with telepath!
Wolverine and Domino have an action packed fling in X-Force: Sex & Violence. The Assassins Guild puts a hit on Domino. Her special relationship with Logan goes to a whole new level as the two battle an army of killers.
Archie meets KISS debuts this week in comic book stores. The world’s most famous rock and rollers rock Riverdale when monsters invade Archie’s hometown. It’s wacky enough to work. Every few years the comic book industry gets creative with a crossover that makes you say ‘huh!”
There are plenty more but these are the out there crossovers that I remember:
Star Trek/X-Men Odd but in theory, it wasn’t impossible for Marvel’s mutants to encounter the Enterprise crew. The X-Men had survived outer space adventures in the Shiar Empire. The Star Trek crew had travelled in Earth’s past. X-Villain Proteus and Star Trek villain Gary Seven were the cause for the Marvel mashup with gorgeous art by Marc Silvestri.
Superman versus Muhammad Ali DC’s most iconic superhero took on Earth’s most celebrated athlete in a boxing match for the fate of the world? I was very young when I saw this comic at the grocery store in my hometown. I can’t remember what book I asked my mom to buy me instead – if only.
Avengers #239 courtesy Marvel.com
Avengers/David Letterman Yes, it happened in Avengers #239, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes were guests on Late Night with David Letterman back when he was on NBC. That issue was part of a Marvel marketing stunt called Assistant Editors Month.
Call the issues an editor gone wild or a wacky marketing idea too far – they get attention and a special place in comic history. Those are some of the memorable comic crossovers that baffled my brain – what are yours?
Uncanny X-Force 17 from Marvel.com. Cover Art by Esad Ribic
Today the Dark Angel Saga Volume 1 is available. This collects the first chapters of Rick Remender’s violent epic starring Wolverine’s covert team – it’s one of my favorite storylines of 2011.
As The Dark Angel Saga races to the finale in Uncanny X-Force I recall the twisted tales that serve as the foundation for this adventure. Wolverine’s covert ops team has been searching for the Life Seed to save original X-Man Warren Worthington/Archangel from becoming the next Apocalypse. The seeds for this story are definitely worth reading. There are links to the books throughout the post.
Logan and Wolverine’s covert squad traveled to the Age of Apocalypse. This alternative timeline is where Apocalypse conquered North America. Back in the 90’s Marvel made a radical move by cancelling all the X-titles. During Legion Quest Professor X had been killed in a freak time travel incident by his own son and never formed the X-Men. Without opposition, the evil mutant Apocalypse rose to power. The new titles reflected this dark new status quo. Reality was eventually restored but some beings from that dimension escaped into the real Marvel universe and the X-Men have been pulled back into this alternate realm in previous stories.
Uncanny X-Men #1 Marvel.com
Warren Worthington was always the golden boy of the original X-Men. Being rich, blonde, athletic and born with mutant wings, Warren was christened Angel by creator Stan Lee.
Many years later the original five X-Men regrouped to form X-Factor. This is when the golden boy’s life turned tragic. During the Mutant Massacre, Angel was brutally attacked and his wings had to be amputated. But Warren would fly again thanks to Apocalypse. Warren was now armed with wings of poisoned blades that he could shoot at his enemies. Under Louise Simonson’s reign as writer Angel became the Archangel, one of Apocalypse’s Four Horseman. It was just one of the game changing stories affecting all the X-teams during the Fall of the Mutants event.
I believe this stands as one of the most radical transformations in comics and lead to emotional storytelling and some vicious showdowns that included Archangel versus Wolverine. One of Archangel’s most vicious battles was in the X-Tinction Agenda.
Eventually Angel was reborn. Warren’s white wings returned but the blue skin stayed. During this period Warren and Psylocke fell in love. Psylocke is a fellow X-man who underwent a radical change from telepathic British model to Asian psychic ninja. Psylocke’s transformation deserves a whole post – I’ll work on that!
During the Messiah Complex epic Cyclops and Wolverine created a covert team to do the dirty work the X-Men couldn’t. X-Force was created to take out threats to mutants even if it meant killing. During the first mission Warren’s white wings were shredded again and the Archangel persona took over during a clash with the Purifiers. After the events of Second Coming Cyclops ordered Logan to disband X-Force.
Uncanny X-Force: The Apocalypse Solution cover courtesy Marvel.com
Warren and Logan form their own covert team to seek and destroy the newly resurrected Apocalypse in The Apocalypse Solution. The story raises a lot of questions about ends justifying the means and when a hero’s actions are really heroic. X-Force is definitely not for every reader.
I think those storylines are the seeds to give you the foundation for The Dark Angel Saga. These epics are always exciting to enjoy anytime. You may want to give them a read to give you more context while you wait for the final chapter and learn Warren’s fate.
Comics Superstar Mark Millar warns that digital distribution could be “disastrous” to the industry.
Miller is one of my favorite writers of Marvel epics like Civil War, Old Man Logan and Wolverine: Enemy of the State. Millar was a key creator in the launch of Marvel’s Ultimate line writing the Ultimates and Ultimate X-Men. My all time favorite work of Millar is his run on The Authority.
Mark Millar created Kick-Ass which became a motion picture. He is currently working on Kick-Ass 2 (issue 5 out today) and Superior. For more of Millar’s projects visit MillarWord.
Millar told Comic Book Resources that publishers switching to the same day and date release digital plan could have a “disastrous” impact on the comics market.
Civil War Hard Cover courtesy Marvel.com
My take:
I don’t have the right answer on this issue but when a creative force like Mark Miller speaks out – I want to share it. Now I’m on my way to my favorite comic shop to pick up my new comics. I can’t wait to turn the pages!
Wolverine and the X-Men #2 Cover courtesy Marvel.com
Top 5 Comic Picks Week of 11/23/11
Wolverine and the X-Men #2
Logan rebuilt the X-School in Westchester but will it be destroyed the first day of class? The new Hellfire Club leaves a nasty surprise underneath the academy. Issue 1 was full of surprises with a heavy dose of humor and fun. It looks like the action kicks in this issue as the smarmy Black King of the Hellfire Club unleashes a monster that looks an awfully lot like Krakoa, the mutant living island from Giant Size X-Men #1. Krakoa’s capture of the original team was responsible for the formation of the “new” X-men including Wolverine.
Fantastic Four #600
The 50th Anniversary of Marvel’s First Family. Fans have seen big changes to the book and team during Jonathan Hickman’s run. With the Human Torch lost, Spider Man joined the team. Reed renamed the team the Future Foundation. No one stays dead in comics so could this celebration story arc lead to the return of Johnny Storm? There’s another way to celebrate the milestone with the recently released Fantastic Four Omnibus showcasing the legendary run of writer/artist John Byrne. Current writer Jonathan Hickman and Byrne both were masters at capturing the sense of adventure. Both writers were not afraid to shake up the team dynamic.
Batman Dark Knight #3
Fear takes over Gotham City after a toxin boosts the powers of its most notorious villains. Batman’s brawl with a supersized Two-Face last issue was brutal. This issue a hero becomes infected and the trail leads to the sexy White Rabbit. Is this new temptress behind the plot that’s making Batman’s Rogues Gallery more powerful and dangerous than ever?
Astonishing X-Men 4
Storm sporting her former Mohawk and locking lips with Cyclops – it was the teaser cover that got fans buzzing about Greg Pak taking over the title. Pak is known for his epic Planet Hulk and X-Men: Phoenix: Endsong epics. With Storm in her late 1980’s look, I’m suspecting this will be another cross-time adventure with X-Men from different timelines. It’s been done. But Pak knows how to tell action packed stories with a science fiction edge so I’m in!
Teen Titans #3
Teen Titans #3 from DC Comics. Art by Brett Booth.
A new gay superhero debuts this week. Bunker joins the Teen Titans with issue number three. When the new character was introduced online creators said Bunker would be openly gay and flamboyant. The teaser sparked scorn, praise and controversy. This week you can grab the new issue and decide for yourself.
Bunker is a Mexican teen named Miguel Barragan with the power to build brick like force fields and he likes to wear purple. Scott Lobdell and Brett Booth created this new character to join established DC teen heroes like Red Robin, Wonder Girl and Kid Flash.
Bunker debuts in Teen Titans #3 this week. Creators say the Mexican teen is openly gay and flamboyant. The online teaser sparked debate, praise and some scorn. Robot 6 has a good post about the early reaction.
Comic book universes are still dominated by white males in the pages of comics and behind the scenes. Bunker is the a new creation as part of an effort to make the DC universe more diverse. Bunker’s arrival made me think of the GLBT heroes that I’ve followed over the years.
Northstar to the rescue. Courtesy Marvel.com
I would have to say that Marvel has taking the lead when it comes to creating gay heroes. Northstar of the Canadian team Alpha Flight was created in 1979 but finally came out in 1992. With news of Alpha Flight being cancelled I’m hoping Northstar will return to the X-Men. In last week’s post I made my case for Jean-Paul joining Wolverine’s new school and team.
The X-Men family of books have always has a theme of diversity and anti-discrimination with several GLBT characters. Rictor and Shatterstar are boyfriends in X-Factor. Karma is a lesbian member of New Mutants. Anole and Graymalkin are young mutants still in training to be be potential X-Men.
One of my favorite titles is the Young Avengers. Hulkling and Wiccan are boyfriends but being gay is the least of their family troubles. Hulking is an alien wanted by two enemy races. Wiccan may be the long lost son of the Scarlet Witch. Avengers: The Children’s Crusade may reveal the truth about Wiccan’s parentage.
DC’s most famous gay characters are Apollo and Midnighter. The duo was created in Stormwatch which morphed into The Authority under the Wildstorm banner. Imagine Superman and a Batman/Wolverine hybrid as a gay couple and you have Apollo and Midnighter. I would say The Authority is for mature readers for the graphic violence. The two heroes were married. Apollo and Midnighter are members of the new Stormwatch.
Batwoman #1 from DC Comics
DC is the only publisher to feature a lesbian as the star of her own series. When Batwoman was revamped a few years ago, Kate Kane came out and has been kicking butt in Gotham City. Batman’s home turf is the home to another lesbian character. Detective Renee Montoya was introduced on Batman the Animated Series but when she joined the book Gotham Central she was made a lesbian and made more butch.
Teen Titans #3 could be a book to buy for historical reasons. As far as I know, Bunker will be the most flamboyant openly gay character in a mainstream title. As for how out there, we’ll have to read and see. If you know of other gay heroes and heroines I may have left out – I want to hear from you.
Uncanny X-Men #137 art by John Byrne and Terry Austin. Published by Marvel Comics
Story:
An original page from Uncanny X-Men #137 sold for $65,725! That 1980 issue features the death of the Phoenix/Jean Grey. The art is by John Byrne and Terry Austin. This issue is the final chapter in the Dark Phoenix Saga. The panels show Jean begging Scott Summer/Cyclops to kill her before she loses control and the Dark Phoenix takes over. Thanks for Robot 6 for this scoop. There’s a very rich X-fan out there.
Essential X-Men Volume 2. Art by John Byrne and Terry Austin. Courtesy Marvel.com
Opinion:
The Dark Phoenix Saga is the greatest X-Men and comic book story ever told. Claremont and Byrne weaved an intergalactic, action packed epic filled with emotion. I swear I didn’t cry. I still have my issue #137 and every few years I reread the whole saga and sometimes the entire Clarement/Byrne era.
. This alternative timeline is where 
