The Curtain Falls - Review Uncanny X-men #544

And there you have it, Uncanny X-men (Vol. 1) is officially history.  Marvel has finally pulled the plug on its longest unbroken run.  Yeah Avengers, Spider-man, and Fantastic Four have been around longer but they all at one time or another (if not several times) have been rebooted or renumbered since their inception, while Uncanny X-men has gone unscathed since the 60’s (except that one period where they were cancelled, but they came right back with the same numbering at issue #94).  I have long gone on record as being VERY anti-reboot/renumbering since to me it just seems like a cheap marketing ploy and now, and now those of us who have been collecting for years will forever be missing issues #545 through #599 (since I suspect they will revert to the old numbering at #600).  But enough griping about the cancellation of it all, let’s get on with the issue.

Now, looking past the whole “final issue” deal, this was an amazing issue.  Right off the bat, we were treated to a retro page that gave me tingles when I read it.  A flashback to the first page of X-men #1 from September 1963, with Professor X calling to his X-men from his wheelchair and asking for an update as to the status of his original X-men (minus Jean of course).  And to be honest the best part of this issue was that this was the end of the nostalgic pandering.  From there we moved right into the future as we see Bobby leaving (with Domino, Psylocke and Hope staying) and we witness him and Scott say their goodbyes.  Then just before he leaves he asks Scott if he remembers when…BOOM! Splash page of the X-men’s finest and worst moments! Magneto, Juggernaut, Sauron, Blue-furred Beast, Dark Phoenix, Emma Frost as the White Queen, Storm’s Mohawk, Sinister, Apocalypse, the Brood, and Scott and Jean Grey kissing at the very center of it.  Back to Bobby and Scott, Iceman leaves Utopia with a somber farewell to his best friend.  A quick snippy word with his other “best friend” Beast and Wolverine’s plane of his own X-men leaves, and the splitting of the X-men is complete.

Framing this entire affair is a eulogy by none other than Mr. Sinister himself.  As he disintegrated and reforms his own body over and over again, with different personality changes each time, he laborious writes in a text labeled the Uncanny X-men, as though trying to finish the volume with us.  LOVED IT!  Thank god hes, back, Miss Sinister was a joke, and I almost don’t care about whatever silly explanation they have for getting rid of her completely and bringing him back.  Would it be nice to have seen his return before now? Maybe, but the important thing is that he’s back!  Hearing him write out the final chapters of this title in his various personalities was hilarious, I can’t wait to see what he does in Uncanny X-men (Vol. 2) #1.

Watching Scott take down the old photos of past team lineups was sad, but it really showed that he was serious about moving forward into the future not backtracking into the past (which is how he sees Logan).  As sad as I am to see this volume go, I am forgoing my annoyance about the reboot and I am eagerly anticipating the new series.  I think they are making a good choice by opening it with a classic villain like Sinister, as opposed to some crappy vampire storyline like they did with X-men (Vol. 3).  So far ReGenesis is off to an amazing start and it has barely even started yet!

My Weekly Pull List - 10/26/11

Alright!  This week Annihilators vs. Avengers!  Finishing out Fear Itself! And Wolverine & the X-men FINALLY begins!

Annihilators: Earthfall #2
Astonishing X-Men #43

Avengers Academy #20

Avengers Solo #1

FF #11 
Journey into Mystery #630 FI

Mighty Thor #7 FI

New Mutants #32 FI 
Secret Avengers #18
Wolverine and the X-Men #1 RG

FI = Fear Itself
RG = ReGenesis

Marvel Comics On-sale - 10/26/11

Here it is!  The long awaiting Wolverine & the X-men #1...lets just hope its worth the hype!  The last few vestiges of Fear Itself hit stand this week also, and a brand new Incredible Hulk #1!

Amazing Spider-Man #672 SI

Annihilators Earthfall #2

Astonishing X-Men #43

Avengers Academy #20

Avengers Solo #1

Avengers Solo #1 (Captain America Movie Variant Cover)

Captain America and Bucky #623

Daken Dark Wolverine #16

Daredevil #3 (Rivera 2nd Printing Variant Cover)

Daredevil #5

Deadpool #45

Deadpool #45 (Horn Marvel Comics 50th Anniversary Variant Cover)

Disney Pixar Presents Toy Story

Dorothy and The Wizard In Oz #2

Dream Logic #4

FF #11

Incredible Hulk #1

Incredible Hulk #1 (Blank Variant Cover)

Incredible Hulk #1 (Keown Variant Cover)

Incredible Hulk #1 (Ladronn Variant Cover)

Incredible Hulk #1 (Silvestri Sketch Variant Cover)

Incredible Hulk #1 (Adams Variant Cover)

Incredible Hulk #1 (Portacio Variant Cover)

Journey into Mystery #630 FI

Mighty Thor #7 FI

Mighty Thor #7 (Davis Marvel Comics 50th Anniversary Variant Cover) FI

New Mutants #32 FI

Red Skull #4

Secret Avengers #18

Secret Avengers #18 (Aja Variant Cover)

Spider-Island Cloak & Dagger #3 SI

Spider-Island the Amazing Spider-Girl #3 SI

Spider-Island Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #3 SI

Spider-Man #19 (Marvel Adventures)

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #2 (Andrews 2nd Printing Variant Cover)

Ultimate Comics the Ultimates #3

Vampires the Marvel Undead #1

Venom #8

Wolverine and the X-Men #1 RG

Wolverine and the X-Men #1 (Blank Variant Cover) RG

Wolverine and the X-Men #1 (Cho Variant Cover) RG

Wolverine and the X-Men #1 (Bradshaw Regenesis Gold Variant Cover) RG


FI = Fear Itself
RG = ReGenesis
SI = Spider-Island

I Think Wolverine Has Some Nerve

OK So now that all is said and done, and the Schism has happened.  I have to ask…Where does Wolverine get off!  I know that this topic is highly controversial in comic circles, and I want to be clear that this is just my opinion.  

When we were waiting for the series to start, we all had our theories as far as what the schism would be caused by.  Even as it was happening my guesses were changing with every issue!  Is it over how to handle Quire?  Is it how to deal with the Sentinel? Is it over something else entirely??  No, it was over sending children into battle.  Let me be very clear, I am by no means advocating children being sent to war.  I don’t want to get any hate mail where people say that I am evil for sending kids to fight epic battles.  That being said, let me repeat, Where the hell does Wolverine get off?!

I understand that what happened with Idie was awful.  And yes, the children were marginally in better shape when they lived in a school.  But! Come on guys this is nothing new, right?  Haven’t the X-men been sending kids to battle since their very inception?  Didn’t Charles Xavier recruit a 16 year old Bobby Drake and send him against a powerful terrorist foe, Magneto?  Knowing full well that at that point in his crusade, the battle could have gone fatal?  And I didn’t see Wolverine throwing a fit when Kitty Pryde was brought to space to battle Brood creatures.  And just where was Logan when the New Mutants were traipsing through Asgard?  I didn’t see him take his ball and go home after that ordeal was over because Xavier didn’t shut down that team.  Back to Kitty Pryde, Wolverine couldn’t say anything to her about moving to England for Excalibur and fighting Necrom and Jaime Braddock, or Sat-yr-9 because by then he was dragging a 15 year old Jubilee (a mere 1 year old then Idie I might add) through Madripoor with a newly reconstructed, and possibly a touch insane, Psylocke then.  So all these situations were fine at the time but now, when there’s only a handful of mutants left and each regularly has to fight for their own survive, he suddenly has a massive non-ignorable problem.

Again, let me clarify that I am NOT supporting the flagrant sending of children to war, but Scott has a major point that is being completely ignored.  They don’t live in a world where they can hide anymore.  These children are on display for friend and foe alike and are expected to fend for themselves on a regular basis.  Not to mention that this specific situation they were literally the only force available to fight.  While Cyclops and Wolverine were having a childish tantrum with each other, the children defeated the sentinel that defeated or scatter many of the senior members of the team.  Should they be called on for that purpose as a regular occurrence, of course not, but if another force arises that requires their power and the skills they’ve been learning for years now, then why  shouldn’t they be allowed to fight for their own lives.  If anything they have more of a right to it then Kitty or Jubilee did because back then there were only a small number of children at a time to watch out for and a lot fewer massive threats directed at them, but now is a much larger number of children to be responsible, to the point where they couldn’t possibly be expected to keep track of each one at all times and they need to somewhat be responsible for themselves.

In the end, Wolverine is just being stubborn and unfair to Scott.  It was a tough situation where tough calls had to be made.  There was no right answer, there was only decisions made while trying to survive, and, in all fairness, that is exactly what Scott (or any leader) was chosen to do.  No major decisions are loved by everyone at all times, but for a top general in an army (for lack of a better metaphor) to quit just because he doesn’t like a call made is both immature and, I thought, beneath him.  And like it or not, the kids won the day.  There were no casualties, Utopia still floats, and the major threat was defeated with little to no help from any senior members.  If anything Wolverine should give credit that he made the wrong call rigging the place to blow up.  He doesn’t have to like it but, in the end, Scott made the right call and deserves, if not an apology, then at least the respect he earned.  But again remember, this is just my opinion and everyone is entitled to disagree with me.

Flash Review - 10/12/11

I want to apologize for the extreme lateness of this Flash Review.  School is still kicking my ass so I don't always get to these write-ups as quickly as I would like.  I appreciate the undestanding of my followers and fear not, I will never just STOP posting even if I am a bit late with things, and I promise that this late post date does not mean that everything will continue to be this late.

Alpha Flight #5 – Alpha Flight is back…to its so-so story telling…  This book has begun feeling very nostalgic in that the story telling is a bit mediocre.  Its not bad…but its not great either.  Just interesting enough to keep me reading but doesn’t excite me with thrills and wonder every time I open it like some other books do.  I will keep reading at least the next 3 issues (since it was supposed to be a maxi-series) but once those issues are up I might reconsider continuing the book.

Buffy Season 9 #2 – Buffy is back!  So much more so then she was during the last season.  Season 8 felt a little odd for the entire storyline, no bad mind you, just different and a little strange.  These first 2 issues gave are total throwback to some of the campier moments from the actual show.  Like when we are left with a cliffhanger as a demons comes for Buffy at the end of issue #1 only to find out its an out of work demons looking to collect her college loans at the beginning of the next.  CLASSIC JOSS.  Even the slow pace of the storyline (like how we still don’t really know anything that’s going on) is very much like the show where we usually didn’t find out about the main storylines for a few episodes into the season.  Keep it up Joss and this will be a huge success!

FF #10 – OK the countdown is on.  If you recall, a few weeks ago I complained that FF was boring and pointless and after issue 11, when Fantastic Four restarts, I was not going to continue it.  Well its now issue 10 and I feel the same.  They haven’t explored the kids much, the adults are still doing the same old things as before, nothing new OR exciting.  So I’m sorry Marvel but after next issue I will be dropping this title.

Fear Itself: Hulk vs. Dracula #3 – Fun book but no point.  I mean the Hulk is great and yeah Dracula is fun and all but did we really need ANOTHER Fear Itself tie-in to tell this story?  Didn’t the Hulk do enough damage already before getting launched across the ocean? The Forgiven however are an awesome group!  I don’t know that I would buy a book every month about them , but if there was a limited series and then some guest appearances I might be swayed into checking them out.  This entire series could very well be just a launch point for their story but we weren’t told that at the end so who knows.  

Generation Hope #12 – Wow.  Talk about bringing a book back to life!  Maybe some of you remember when this book first started, I was less than thrilled about it.  I wasn’t wowed by the kids, Hope was on my last nerve, and I just didn’t feel like we needed ANOTHER book.  But much like Avengers Academy, this book has really made a huge comeback!  The kids are amazing now, especially Laurie, and Hope is a lot less of a militant snot rag then she used to be.  I like that they even had her have a fling with Gabriel and the drama with Pixie that came with it.  And speaking of Pixie, I love that she is joining their team now.  I have loved her for a while but she never really had a set place in the X-men, just sorta bounced around from book to book whenever they needed transportation.  Now at last she has a place.  I will miss seeing Idie here every issue but I think she will be much better off and safer over at Wolverine’s new school.

Ghost Rider #4 - ::sigh groan:: I don’t know Marvel.  I LOVE Ghost Rider.  I was a huge Midnight Sons fan back in the 90’s (I missed the 2000’s series) and I was so psyched to get back into GR.  I was even willing to give a chance to this new female Ghost Rider.  But its just…lame.  Her attitude is annoying, her powers are too strong too quick, and the entire thing is just real boring, in my opinion.  The only thing I still see this book having for it is that Johnny Blaze is still around.  I say boot out this Alejandra chick and bring back Danny Ketch!

New Avengers #17 – Get it together guys!!  This is one of the best title Marvel puts out and it’s probably the main reason that I started collecting Avengers comics in general, but this issue was a total snore fest.  Last issue’s dramatic escape by Norman Osborn was exhilarating, and I usually feel some excitement after each issue of this book.  However, this issue was just all over the place and nothing really happened.  They had a whole issue about Daredevil joining the team…so where is  he?  Why is Spider-man wearing his FF costume to the Avengers suddenly?  Isn’t Wolverine busy starting a school, how does he have time to fight Ultimo?  And why did the writers  pull Ultimo out of their ass for this retarded issue.  This is such an amazing book so they can bury one bad issue (and this wasn’t even necessarily a BAD issue) but let’s get our acts together. With Fear Itself just ending and everything restructuring (again!) let’s just hope that New Avengers stays one of the top books!

Uncanny X-Force #17 – Un-Frickin-believable!  I love this book more and more every month.  Psylocke felt so stagnant ever since her return from the Exiles and this has really brought us back to the hardcore Psylocke from right after her Lady Mandarin days.  The relationship between her and Angel seems so much deeper and more realistic then it used to ::coughcoughcrimsondawncoughcough:: and makes everything happening here so much more believable.  I wouldn’t mind at the end of this seeing Angel be (somewhat) cured of Archangel and Psylocke being Death.  The only negative thing I have to say at all is that I feel it could have been condensed down one less issue so that ReGenesis could hit X-Force next month.  But aside from that, FLAWLESS!

X-men Legacy #257 – Ugh…I want to like this storyline, I do.  And maybe I’m just being impatient waiting for ReGenesis hits this title but I just want this story over.  We all know it ends with Alex Lorna and Rachel coming back.  We know the no one on Rogue’s team gets left behind (since they are all accounted for on a team during ReGenesis).. so I just feel like we’re wasting time waiting for it to be done with at this point.  That’s not to say that the storyline isn’t good, because it is.  I always love Shi’ar storylines, but it just feels like we’re filling empty space waiting for the storyline.  Poor planning Marvel!!

All New, All Different Mutant ReGenesis - Review X-men: ReGenesis

Here it is folks!  What we've been waiting for since the beginning of the year when they first started releasing promotional pictures...the X-men have split!  And what a split it is...

To start off I loved that this entire story was set in between the last few pages of Schism #5 as opposed to continuing on with the story from when Wolverine left with his group.  Instead of moving right on with the story, the writers took the time to walk us step by step through the dissolution of the mutant empire.  There were a few shocks, a lot of obvious choices, and even a few questionable decisions.  To be completely fair, a lot of us knew where a lot of mutants were ending up because of the teaser photos that Marvel releases in the preceding weeks, but seeing how they came to be that way was a little jarring in some cases.  In Storm's case I knew she was going to be on Cyclops' side when it all fell apart but WOW not in any way I expected.  She was gone ladies and gentlemen!  Out the door, and on her way.  It took Scott Summers, the first X-man, pleading with her to help save the soul of the X-men while their numbers include Magneto, Emma Frost, and Namor.  She agreed, but only out of obligation to the X-men, not to Scott in any way. And how about that Emma.  We've watched her play second fiddle in Scott's heart to the X-men and the ghost of Jean Grey, but we never dared believe it actually bothered her.  I honestly thought I couldn't love Emma more, and then she put Scott in his place about how he treats her and made him WORK to keep her there.  I do wonder if she ever had any intention of leaving or if it was an idle threat but ti was enough to rattle the broken leader.

Then there were some sad scenes to watch of course.  We all knew that Peter and Kitty broke up after he accepted the power of the Juggernaut, but to see them actually chose opposing sides (in Peter's case to purposely avoid contact with Kitty) was heartbreaking.  This couple has been working through their issues for almost as long as they have known each other and had only recently begun having a real chance at being together.  Even Rogue and Magneto, who had only barely begun to explore their real feelings for each other, are now in opposing camps in what I suspect will become a mutant cold war.  In both of these cases though, the decisions seemed pretty obvious since Magneto and Colossus would never fit in with what Wolverine is trying to build and Storm and Rogue have never really been on board with Utopia's mission.

And let us not forget, the entire animalistic tribal back story playing out behind the real action, mimicing the choices being made by each member while a feral Wolverine beast battles Cyclops' red eyed lion skin.  Watching as each member both embraced and rejected a friend and teammate, culminating in the two sides each walking away from the other, splitting friends and relationships, possibly, forever. 

Let's not forget that this is the third time that there's been an overcrowding of X-men and a decision has needed to be made with what to do with them.  First after the legendary Giant Size X-men #1, Professor X wondered "What are we going to do with 13 X-men!?"  The choice then was to have most of the original members leave the team.  In X-men (Vol. 2) #1, we saw them for the first time divide into two separate gold and blue team, as the original X-men returned to the fold after many years, but these separate squads still worked in tangent as part of the greater X-men machine.  This time however, with an abundance of X-men once again, also brings with it a massive split in ideals in addition members so now we will get to see not just separate squads but also separate camps, leaders, methodologies and just about everything else.  I questions the need for a brand new Wolverine & the X-men #1 when they could have just as easily given the X-men (Vol. 3) title to Wolverine and his new school.

This issue was everything I was waiting for and more.  It was more then worth the lengthy wait that Marvel put us through and the required suspension of disbelief in terms of continuity but still!  Such an amazing issue!  Really leaves me watering for Wolverine & the X-men #1 and Uncanny X-men #1 in the comic weeks!

Avengers 2-minute Promo!

I know that this is old news at this point, but with all the Comic Con insanity happening I never had a  chance to post this.  So here's the full 2 minute preview for next year's Avengers blockbuster!!!

My Weekly Pull List - 10/19/11

Let's all bid a sad farewell to Uncanny X-men as it joins the ranks of the rebooted and renumbered with its final issue before its brand new #1.  Who is BB is X-Factor??  And follow Valkyrie's quest to collect the Worthy hammers in the follow up to Fear Itself, Fearless!

Avengers #18

Avengers 1959 #2

Fear Itself #7

Fear Itself The Fearless #1

Fear Itself The Home Front #7

Fear Itself Youth in Revolt #6

Invincible Iron Man #509

Journey Into Mystery #629

Uncanny X-Men #544

Vengeance #4

X-Factor #226

Marvel Comics On-sale - 10/19/11

ITS OVER FOLKS!  This week Fear Itself comes to its shattering conclusion!  Who will be left to be the Avengers!  In other ending news, Uncanny X-men comes to its ending also...before its relaunch next month!  Big changes on the horizon for the Marvel Universe! 

Avengers #18

Avengers #18 (Meinerding Marvel Comics 50th Anniversary Variant Cover)

Avengers 1959 #2

Avenging Spider Daily Bugle #1

Captain America Corps #5

Daredevil #2 (Rivera 2nd Printing Variant Cover)

DeadpoolMAX 2 #1

Fear Itself #7

Fear Itself #7 (Tan Variant Cover)

Fear Itself #7 (Immonen Variant Cover)

Fear Itself The Fearless #1

Fear Itself The Fearless #1 (Cho Variant Cover)

Fear Itself The Fearless #1 (Deodata Variant Cover)

Fear Itself The Fearless #1 (Stegman Variant Cover)

Fear Itself The Fearless #1 (Larroca Variant Cover)

Fear Itself The Home Front #7

Fear Itself Youth In Revolt #6

Halo Fall of Reach Covenant #4

Herc #9

Hulk #43

Invincible Iron Man #509

John Carter: A Princess of Mars #2

Journey Into Mystery #629

Ka-Zar #5

New Avengers Annual #1 (Dell'Otto 2nd Printing Variant Cover)

Superior #6

Thunderbolts #163 (Walker 2nd Printing Variant Cover)

Ultimate Comics Hawkeye #3

Ultimate Comics The Ultimates #2 (Andrews 2nd Printing Variant Cover)

Uncanny X-Force #15 (Opena 2nd Printing Variant Cover)

Uncanny X-Men #544

Vengeance #4

Wolverine #17

Wolverine Punisher and Ghost Rider Official Index to the Marvel Universe #3

X-Factor #226

X-Men #1 (20th Anniversary Edition)

X-Men #17 (Molina 2nd Printing Variant Cover)

X-Men Schism #2 (Cho 3nd Printing Variant Cover)

My Day at the 2011 New York Comic Con - Part 2

I pushed my way through the crowd to get to the stage stairs and, as I waited on the line of jittering fans, realized that I wasn't prepared to have anything signed by Stan (since I never thought I would get chosen).  So I dropped to the ground and began digging through the bag full of comics I had already bought and tried to find something worth his signature.  And what do I find, but the same copy of Uncanny X-men #199 that was already signed by Chris Claremont.  I waited my turn and when I got to the front it was all I could do not to jump clear out of my own skin.  I walked up to Stan, he smiled at me and said "hi", and got right to signing comic.  After he was done, he shook my hand and, realizing that I might never get a chance like this again, I said "Thank you so much, its an absolute honor to meet you, sir". Still holding my hand, he answers, "Thank you, I appreciate hearing that".  Definitely one of the more amazing moments in my life, and I left the stage in a state of near shock.  My heart was racing, I was still jittering, and I had one of favorite issues ever with the signatures of not one, but two, comic book super hero legends.

After this unbelievable event, I had a bit of a lull in the day (which I sorely needed). The next signing I wanted to attend wasn't until 5 so I had lots of time to get lost in the madness.  This is when I dove straight into the sea or anime, manga, pornographic cartoons, dragon statutes, and yet more costumed enthusiasts (snapping  pictures of all as I went, to be posted later).  I made it a point to hit all the good booths (and of course by good I mean cheap) and, finished out lots of holes in my collections (finishing of entire runs like New Mutants (Vol. 1) and X-men (Vol. 2)).  I don’t recall if they were selling liquor last year at the Con , but they certainly were this year!!  So I went and got some food (needed to recharge) and had a cocktail (or two but who’s counting) and then before I knew it, it was 4:45 and I was off to the Midtown Comics booth for the next signing.

It approached 5pm and now I had some figuring out to do.  There were two signings happening at the same time and how to do both??  Well since they were for Kieron Gillen (writer, Uncanny X-men and X-men: ReGenesis) and Christos Gage and Rebekah Issacs (writer and artist, respectively, for Angel & Faith).  Now no offense to Christos and Rebekah, but with Uncanny X-men (Vol. 1) ending and X-men: ReGenesis coming out I felt like Kieron was going to be in higher demand so I decided to get the Angel & Faith  creative team first.  GOOD CALL!  There were only about 3 people on the line to get their autographs (including one wonderful seller who had a stack of duplicate issues for them to sign over and over again) so luckily I was able to get my copy of Angel & Faith pretty quickly and move on to the next  signing. 

Now of course as luck would have it, Midtown (where Christos and Rebekah were signing) was clear across the entire show floor from Marvel where Kieron Gillen was signing so I had to book it as quick as I could to make it to the next signing.  And thank god I did…there wasn’t quite the mammoth line there had been for Claremont, but this was still a sizeable queue to wait on.  The line was uneventful, the usual fan boy types to chat with as I waited for the line to move a bit, but even more fun was when it got to be my turn.  If anyone has read X-men: ReGenesis yet, they saw the tribal battle backstory between Cyclops and Wolverine.  Well I had been debating the relevance of the animalistic encounter with a friend of mine recently and we couldn’t come to an agreement about it, so now I had the opportunity to go to the source.  Luckily I was towards the end of the line so by the time I got up to the front there wasn’t too much of a rush behind me and I had time to actual talk the British writer.  We talked about how he felt about the Schism and his thoughts and reasons behind the entire tribal aspect of the encounter, and it was a lot of fun to hear his reaction to the fan community’s split reaction to Schism and ReGenesis.  At the tail end of our chat (almost an afterthought really) he took my copy of Uncanny X-men #534.1 and signed it, shook my hand took a picture with me, and I moved on to the next meeting in my exciting day!

Now it was 5:20 and the end of the Convention day was looming in the immediate distance.  My next signing was at 6 so I figured I had some time to relax first…WRONG!  As I walked away from Mr. Gillen, I noticed that there was already a huge crowd on the other side of the Marvel area so I walked over and asked someone online.  Apparently they were all there to meet Matt Fraction at 6…JUST LIKE ME!  So instead of having 30 minutes to wander aimlessly in the craziness, I had to jump right online.  Thankfully I had some fun chatty fans to stand with (including a father and son pair with a large stack of Fear Itself issues to be signed) or else this wait could have taken a very long time.  Now I feel like I should put a disclaimer here: I am just not that bright.  Here I was about to meet Matt Fraction, the writer for the epically sweeping Fear Itself storyline, and I forgot to bring ANY Fear Itself issues!!  Instead I brought a copy of Uncanny X-men #514, part of the Dark Reign/Utopia storyline…  Whatever though right?  The point is that I was getting an issue signed by this awesome writer!  Or so I thought, as I got to the front of the line and approached Matt his first words to me were, “Really? Why this issue??”  I was a little shocked but I rolled with it.  “Well to be honest I forgot to bring my copies of Fear Itself and Uncanny X-men is my favorite title”.  This seemed acceptable to him and we moved on.  I got him talking about the current state of Fear Itself and I learned a very important fact: He is as sick of that storyline as the rest of us are and can’t wait to move on!  More chatting, hand shaking and pictures taken with Mr. Fraction and then I was done. 

Whew!  6:25 and I had gotten all the signatures I wanted (and then some), bought more comics then I could almost reasonably carry, and snapped copious amounts of pictures of amazing costumes.  All in all a good day.  With the Convention closing at 7, I only had so much time left to squeeze more excitement in and I decided there was only one to spend these remaining minutes:  Playing the demo for the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII-2.  I made my way to the Square-Enix area of the floor to see what the line situation looked like.  The exhausted looking worker at the stand told me it was a great time to get on line since this was the shortest it had been all day.  Thrilled at my great timing I jumped on the line (which really didn’t look very long at all) and waited…and waited…and waited…  I know it was really only about 25 minutes but it seemed like forever and the line had no moved at all.  So unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to play the demo myself but I got to see several other people playing it and got a good idea of the game play.  It looks really similar to the original with just updated graphics and new characters to be honest, but, to obsessives like me, that’s just fine.

And there does my day come to a close.  At the end of a fantastic and exhausting day, I dragged my sorry carcass off that showroom floor at about 6:55 and sat down right outside.  I already saw a night of reading new comics and basking in Stan Lee’s autograph spreading out ahead of me and I couldn’t wait!  I looked around at the colorful people littered about me, all with the same drained and exhausted look that I am sure I had on my own face.  All in all this was an amazing Convention experience, even better than last year’s!  I met some amazing people (both famous and not), finished out several series that I had been trying to finish for some time and had the time of my life.  I was so sad to not be able to come back for another day but even just having this one day felt like a whole weekend and I already can’t WAIT until next year!

My Day at the 2011 New York Comic Con - Part 1

So yesterday I went to the New York Comic Con and it was, in a word, MINDBLOWING!  This was only my second year going to this legendary event and, to be honest, last year was almost overwhelming as I got lost in a sea of costumed heroes and gothic existential art.  So as I made my way to the Jacob Javitz Center in New York City, I was filled with a mix of nervous energy and unbridled excitement!  But this year I had a plan...

Last year my biggest mistake was going into the Convention blindly with no plans for what I wanted to do/buy.  So this time I did a little research ahead of time and found out what stores and companies would be there, what artists were signing in what area and when, and even tried to pull together a rough list of comics I was looking to buy (which is practically an endless list, but at least I tried).

So as I arrived in the Comic Con I thought I was READY!  I remembered the floor plan from last year so I was all set to go to my favorite areas...but the Con (looking to keep us all on our toes) had other ideas, and not only did I enter from a different door then last year but the entire floor plan was completely rearranged and different so already I was a bit thrown off.  But that was not stopping me!!!  I quickly found my keys areas in the convention hall:  Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Midtown Comics, Square-Enix and also kept an eye out for all the different stands with boxes upon boxes of 50 cent and $1 comics.  Then it was time to get ready for the day of comic buying and autographs!

I made my way to a random the stand for JC Comics (located in North Plainfield, NJ) and dove into their plethora of $1 comic books.  Where I found a copy of Uncanny X-men #199 (which I already owned but was a key Phoenix related issue) and made my way back to the Marvel Comics stand to meet legendary X-men scribe, Chris Claremont.  I waited on an ever growing line for what seemed like an eternity, and then he showed up (a little late, but when you are a comic god, you can do what you want).  He was friendly and funny and took the time to talk to every fan on line and signed as many as Con rules (and security) would allow.  When I got to the front he spent a few minutes talking with me about some of my favorite characters and stories and I got to show him my Phoenix tattoo.  He let me take a picture with him (which you see above) and shook my hand before I walked away thrilled to beyond belief.

The next person on my list was former Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada, but I needed to prepare!  So I dove into the madness of the showroom floor to seek out the next gem to have autographed by a Marvel bigwig.  Keep in mind that whenever you hear me say I stopped and picked up a comics to have signed, it is strongly implied that I took the time to decimate whatever stand I was at and also picked up at least 10-15 other issues at the same time.  So I picked up a copy of Marvel Knights #6 (and many many other issues) and made my way over to the stand where Mr. Quesada would be signing.  Nothing to crazy this time, I was close to the front of the line so it was a short wait before I got to Joe.  He signed my issue with a big smile on his face and leaned right in for a picture (also features above).

Now the greatest moment ever happened...but first some backstory.  I had been running a little bit late getting to the Con that morning so, rather than being inside right at 10am, I didn't make it inside until about 11-11:15 (which still left me with many hours to roam so I didn't really mind too much).  What I didn't know was the between 10 and 11 Marvel had given out tickets to get autographs from Stan Lee, the godfather of comic books, himself.  So now at around 1:30 there was a huge crowd gathering at the Avengers stage (because, you know, at Comic Con there's a HUGE Avengers stage) as they brought Stan "The Man" out and began calling up people with golden tickets (because, of course, you need a golden ticket to meet Stan Lee) up onto the stage.  I was disappointed but I still stayed just to be able to see this comic god in action.  And then the amazing happened... A security guard comes to the front of the stage and yells "Does anyone else want to have something signed by Stan?" The crowd went berserk!!  Every single person in listening distance went lost all composure and began yelling, jumping and waving their hands in the air...myself included, that is.  The guard begins picking random hysterical fans from the crowd to come on stage and have an item of their choice signed.  He must have passed over me 5 or 6 times, including once where I KNOW he made direct eye contact with me and moved on but I digress.  I was positive that I wasn't going to get chosen but I refused to stop trying to get his attention.  Then at the last second he swings back around comes to the edge of the stage in front of me and points right at me and say "OK you too", then to the crowd, "Alright everybody that's the last one!"  I was in and I made it by the skin of my teeth.  

End Part 1 – Tune in tomorrow for the rest of my Comic Con experience!

Flash Review - 10/5/11

Avengers 1959 - Eh! Kinda boring.  I wasn't really into this back story when they were running it in New Avengers but I decided to check out the series anyway.  Maybe I'm just not into these Noir-esque period stories, but the whole Jimmy Woo/Avengers Initiative thing just isn't grabbing me.  I do love seeing Namora (who I don't really know that well and am loving her) and I suppose its kinda cool seeing Sabretooth again, but even that's not enough.  I'll keep collecting it to see if they give any back story to the Avengers I suppose, but I don't have a lot of hope for this series.

X-men (Vol. 3) - OK I'm not going to say this was a bad story but...what even happened??  They went on a rescue mission to some otherworldly Savage Land-type place and what really ended up happening?  The people they went to rescue ended up staying there, so really they went through a lot of trouble for nothing, and they gained nothing from it at all.  No story or character development occurred here at all, we just sorta bummed around the jungle for a few issues and went home.  Doom betrayed us and then didn't OOOOOO TWIST!  The only somewhat fun part was at the very end when Scott and the Richards agreeing that the two couples should spend more time together.  I'd love to see Emma and Sue trying to bond over a game of Bridge.