Some replies to past points:
On X-MEN IN SPACE, AD NAUSEM: Technically you could also claim the "X-Men vs aliens" stuff started way before Claremont, in the Lee & Kirby days. But, EVERYONE fought aliens back then at least once or twice. They were standard for any hero. Even Mr. Down-To-Earth SPIDER-MAN fought "aliens" in ASM #2, until they were later retconned as costumed folk (thankfully). And yes, Claremont wrote some good space epics. But to me, space has become to the X-Men what ninjas were to Wolverine back in the mid to late 90's; something every writer seems to to do "channel the past" but all it does it endlessly copy the same tired 80's cliches while keeping the property itself in spin-cycle. Now, the flaw of all ongoing franchises is they CAN'T end so long as sales are there so you can only go so "far" with some plotlines. But the X-Men seemingly get this worse than some other properties. I mean, at least Peter Parker got out of college eventually.
The X-Men, after Claremont revived them, became not a gaggle of superheroes but true to their original purpose which was to serve as an allegory against discrimination issues. Alien stuff only distracts from their core purpose, which is to deal with the mutant situation on Earth. Morrison's NEW X-MEN was apparently the only run willing to actually pave new ground with the X-Men's premise, his problem was he did it in a manner that apparently fans and the editorial board couldn't live with (namely, typical European "weirdness" and cramming about 7 years of development into about 2). I think there is a lot of room for the X-Men to continue along their premise in a manner that seeks to do it in a way that isn't as extreme as Morrison but keeps some of that spirit around and tweaks it. But Marvel doesn't want that, and endless space stories don't help. Both ASTONISHING and UNCANNY are relying on it heavilly. It's a distraction, and it usually goes nowhere but random violence. Let the Avengers fight aliens.
I mean, we have the X-Men fighting space warriors and the New Avengers, at one point, fighting Sauron and the Silver Samurai. WTF?
ON CIVIL WAR:
I don't think it's "crap". I admit it is heavilly flawed. It's one-sided but pretentiously denies it. It relies on shock value death, grimness, and warping any character to fit the story, instead of writing a story about characters. This is a big one because I honestly believe at this point fans read comics for the characters they like, not the actual plot of the month. Therefore, when these characters act in totally mind-boggling ways to suit a story, it seems "phoney". And finally, while it is currently relivent, it's just the typical liberal bleating. Any conservative idea is "wrong", and they'll prove it by making the conservatives either idiots, brutes, or fascists. Only MS. MARVEL and occasional issues of FRONTLINE and YA/RUNAWAYS have even attempted to at least complicate that stereotype. And finally, if the real THOR doesn't appear in CW, then the Prelude issues of FF (that sold horribly well due to that tie in) were a scam, and I don't appreciate it, even if "Clor" makes more sense (as in, "I could never see the real Thor acting that way, but a Clor? Yes").
So why do I like it? Firstly, unlike HOM, it's not boring. You don't wait for 3 issues of the main title for stuff to happen. Secondly, the art is good and thirdly, Millar usually rocks on action, which I admit I can be a sucker for. Plus, while the A + B listers get butchered either in flesh or character, a lot of C listers may end up more popular than ever if they live through it, and many faces who haven't seen an interior panel in years are showing up. Yes, yes, the New Warriors got hosed, but when was the last time they were used ANYWHERE seriously? When was the last time one could really see a reassembled roster of the NW's, with remaining founders and some newbs, actually working? When was the last time we saw Shroud, Prodigy, Solo, etc. do anything? The title does embrace the entire Terran MU, even if only to stab it in the back. And lastly, while the current political relivence is a downer, it also, well, makes it relivant, which is worth something. And it's provided some good quality spin-off books like YA/RUNAWAYS, MS. MARVEL, etc., and gave Bendis something good to do on NEW AVENGERS.
That all said, ANNIHILATION is rocking arse without the delays, the overhype, the massive tie-ins, and the lateness. It's not out to cynically try to reinvent the wheel like CW wants to, and it's not afraid of expectations of the genre. In embraces the genre and simply does it well and effectively. However, much like ETERNALS, because CW is clogging the racks, it sells worse than it deserves to.