X-Nation 66 Preshow Thread

[PSB]

We'll be recording our coverage of the Month in X for May 2012 this coming weekend. Tell us what you thought of this month's books!

[CIBAWAG]

Christos Gage really solidified my approval for him on Legacy, with his entrance in to AvX. Hickman on the main book was terrible. I know all the main writers have dumbed down the characters to make the battle larger in scope, but Hickman just dumbed the whole thing up. Polar bears in Antartica? That dude needs more David Attenborough documentaries in his life. Between this, and his misuse of Spider-man on the FF, I just really don't like Hickman.

[Robot_Chicken_Hulk]

The Good: Wolverine and the X-Men, Uncanny X-Force.

X-Factor was good as well and Kirk's faces have improved which is a major plus.

X-MEN and Astonishing were okay. Nothing spectacular.

Legacy is on WATCH for me. I don't know how much longer I can take this book before I bail on it.

Apex is back in Uncanny. To write in Gillen terms, "Me no likey dis book. It bad." or "It is no bueno apex." If I hand't preorder these next issues I would have dropped it...AGAIN!!

AvX...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. There should be an AR code where someone pops up and says, "Can you believe we can somehow drag this out for 12 issues?" as they hold a bag with a dollar sign on it.

[MetoxoTheLavaMan]

The best: uncanny x-force, age of apocalypse, x-factor
The good: exiled cross over, x-men legacy, wolverine and the x-men
The meh: AvX, x-men
The bad: wolverine, astonishing, AvX vs
The worst: uncanny

[MadroxDupe42]

Best Book of the Month: The entire Exiled crossover
I know that's cheating, but it was the best X-related thing I read this month.

Worst Book of the Month: AvX: Vs #2
It has such low aspirations - and it still manages to underachieve.

Cover of the Month: X-Factor #236
Nice Liefeld pastiche, plus a floating-head box!

Character of the Month: Kid Loki
He's one of Marvel's best characters right now; the X-Men are lucky he's not around every month to dominate this category.

Wicked Moment of the Month: It's a gun that shoots knives!
My gun shoots knives. Your argument is invalid.

The rest:
Avengers vs X-Men #3-4: I feel like this would be better without the tie-ins; it wouldn't seem quite so uncoordinated. But hey - at least the Phoenix has already arrived, so maybe now the story can go somewhere better.
X-Men #28-9: Neat little Skrull story, although I suspect someone has forgotten that Pixie's mutant power is not magical teleportation.
Astonishing X-Men #50: A slight improvement, but I'm basically giving Liu a mulligan on this arc and waiting to see if the next is any better.
X-Men Legacy #266-7: Was encouraged to see some adults acting nearly adult-like for once in this event; then Moon Knight and Frenzy brought the crazy.
Uncanny X-Force #25: And just like that, this book goes back to bringing the awesome.
Uncanny X-Men #12: I don't hate Tabula Rasa or the Apex; thought this was a decent issue given its remit.
Wolverine & the X-Men #10-1: Some good, if a bit overdue, conversations; the heavy Shi'ar presence in this book is making more sense now.
Wolverine & the X-Men: Alpha and Omega #5: Decent mini when all was said and done, if stretched a little thin; has me excited to see what Wood will do with X-Men.
X-Factor #235-6: PAD makes good use of Longshot and Shatterstar's history to do a funny 90s parody and offer some commentary on modern media, while some slow-simmering plots continue to tantalize.

[Eric]

Uncanny X-Force is kicking ass, Wolverine and the X-Men is kicking ass, Avengers vs. X-Men is treading on thin ice. A v X feels like a giant attempt to get X-Men readers to check out the Avengers books. As far as I'm concerned, that shit isn't working.

[MJStarchilde]

I'm cool with all the xbooks I'm reading (uncanny,xmen,w&xm,xforce). AvX is making my eyes bleed.

[skapunknolooza]

Firstly, the media-frenzied issue of the month: Astonishing X-Men 50.
I must admit that I am a huge fan of the Marauders, despite their misuse in the past. I think they make a great morally-bankrupt villain to throw in the way of the X-Men. The underlying villain of the story is relatively lackluster so far. Not sure if it's the debut of a new character or just the reappearance of an obscure old one, but I was not impressed with her appearance in #49 and not sure if it was a good move to have her not even appear in issue 50. The art leaves something to be desired, but it gets the job done and the point across in most panels. As far as the writing goes, I loved it. Iceman ripping into Gambit for his playboy ways was priceless. The interactions between Jean-Paul and Kyle seemed relatively natural and actually sounded like issues that would come up in any relationship. Very well done.

My pick for character of the month is definitely Warbird simply because of her constant talk of mating rituals and making Iceman uncomfortable. It's about time he gets some.

AvX #4:
The interactions between Hope and Wolverine (especially the opening scene) focused heavily on the tension between the two. I liked that Hope has her own ideas of what is going to happen, even if it does seem like it's a little too similar to Scott's plans. This almost seemed like the sequel to the issue where Hope is kidnapped by Crimson Commando and Logan saved her. The Avengers/X-Men portions of the issue were same old fighty-fighty, hardly any focus on characterization. I did appreciate the added element of the Blue Area of the Moon. Lots of history there.

I would vote for Wicked Moment of the Month to be the last page of this issue. Every character is horrified...except for Magik, who is smiling at the arrival of the Phoenix. #Evil
This issue also makes me suggest that the walking punchline of the month was Gambit. Between being ripped on by Iceman in Astonishing and then his laughable "fight" against Cap (ending with a star-spangled shield version of a facepalm), Gambit is made out to be nothing but a joke. Sorry Liz and Antony, but it just wasn't his month.

Next is my vote for most entertaining issue of the month: X-Men Legacy 267.
ROGUE SMASH!!! Seriously, could this have been a better spotlight for Rogue to show off her control (and lack thereof sometimes) of her powers? Kitty uses her phasing ability against electronics, which we haven't seen in forever it seems. Did writers forget that this is part of her powers? Frenzy gets KNOCKED THE %!@# OUT!

For an issue that focuses so heavily on fighting, I think Gage provided just enough dialogue and internal monologue (sometimes internal dialogue) for almost each character to be explored. Incredibly well done. Rogue struggling with Moon Knight's MPD and She-Hulk's anger management issues is very reminiscent of her early appearances in the X-Men, particularly the Carol Danvers storyline. Good stuff! This issue also contains my other suggestion for the Wicked Moment of the Month: Moon Knight gladly taking a deck of charged cards to the arms so that he can expose his skin and then impose his Multiple Personality Disorder upon Rogue. This issue just had so many great plot elements that culminated with one of the most brutal scenes of Rogue ripping the Iron Man suit apart and shoving her boot through it. I only wish Stark would have been in there at the time.

So, to recap:
Media Frenzy of the Month: Astonishing X-Men 50
Character of the Month: Warbird and her libido (also, possibly the Rogue-Hulk)
Punchline of the Month: Gambit
Wicked Moment: Magik's obvious smile at the arrival of the Phoenix; Moon Knight purposefully face-hugging Rogue and giving her MPD

Can't wait to hear what you all think.

[DakenLeBeau]

Nice to have you aboard. Great, and intelligently put together overview - even if you do seem to be enjoying AvX.