March 2010 Solicitations

[TheCorpulent1]

I don't really care about that because I'm not reading X-Men right now. But the X-comics have been pretty awful for a while now anyway, so what's one little crappy love triangle on top of that?

 

[kguillou]

Hah, true that Corp, for the record i'm not reading either. After Joss Whedon left Astonishing, so did I, but do wish marvel would make an attempt not to screw the franchise over again so that i would read it.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Well, sometimes it takes a screwing to get it back into a position where it can be good again. We've got Siege and Mighty Avengers knitting the core of the Avengers franchise back together again after Disassembled. Maybe they bring Jean back now and after a few years of crappy love triangles and such, we end up with the X-Men rallying around the original five and being actual heroes again.

 

[CaptainCanada]

When have the original five ever been of any significance to the X-Men after the 1960s (as a group)? They're not; they were an unpopular lineup and got cancelled.

As to the books right now, most of them get good reviews from readers apart from Uncanny (which has a serious cast bloat) and Cable (which has just been dragging ever since it started, waiting for Hope to return to the present). Oh, and AXM I guess, but that book is so irrelevant it's hardly worth mentioning. X-Force is pretty good; would be better if Crain wasn't drawing it half the time. X-Factor is good.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, well, I can't stand the current X-comics except for X-Factor and the original five have always been among my favorites.

 

[bryanss3]

I've been enjoying all the X-Books except for Legacy. And Astonishing is actually coming out monthly now... lets see how long that lasts

 

[bored]

So am I the only one who's enjoyed "Uncanny"? That and "X-Factor" are the only X-Men books I read regularly.

Also, this might be one of the more badass line-ups in a while.

 

[CaptainCanada]

So am I the only one who's enjoyed "Uncanny"?

It's reasonably good whenever Dodson is drawing it. When Land is on, it suffers, and Fraction has generally been rather uneven on it. He's trying to make use of the whole X-universe, which is admirable and in principle a good idea for the flagship title, but in practice it just crowds out almost everyone. Which he perhaps recognizes, as he's been saying in interviews that he'll be going to a smaller main group of characters post-SC.

 

[bryanss3]

^^Yeah I can't stand Land's art. I think him and Dodson might be switching off every other issue now instead of each arc. I really wish they'd fix Legacy or give it a direction. It could be a great sister title to Uncanny if they did.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Is it just me, or does anyone else look at Rogue's costume and think that X looks like a big target?

 

[bryanss3]

yes lol and does this cover bother/creep out everyone

 

[Havok83]

So am I the only one who's enjoyed "Uncanny"? That and "X-Factor" are the only X-Men books I read regularly.

Also, this might be one of the more badass line-ups in a while.

I think Uncanny is a dreadful mess. Fraction needs to go bc the book is in some desperate need of some new blood

yes lol and does this not cover bother/creep out everyone

No bc its hot. One of the best covers Ive seen

When have the original five ever been of any significance to the X-Men after the 1960s (as a group)? They're not; they were an unpopular lineup and got cancelled.

Are you forgetting X-factor, the popular X book from the late 80s/early 90s which reunited them?

 

[bryanss3]

really

 

[kguillou]

See i dunno, if astonishing x-men has taught us anything is that team books only work when there is a tight cast and you focus on that cast and their relationships. Its funny how even after Morrison and Whedon used that formula and it proved incredibly effective, many writers try to cram their X-books anyway with tons and tons of characters. It just doesn't work.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Are you forgetting X-factor, the popular X book from the late 80s/early 90s which reunited them?

No, but that's not what I meant; I meant that the O5 aren't like the original seven JLA or or the original Avengers or whatever; they've never been held up as a shining example that set the bar and defined what the team was to successor members. With good reason, because that lineup wasn't popular, and the characters replacing them were mostly older than the original members.

 

[bryanss3]

See i dunno, if astonishing x-men has taught us anything is that team books only work when there is a tight cast and you focus on that cast and their relationships. Its funny how even after Morrison and Whedon used that formula and it proved incredibly effective, many writers try to cram their X-books anyway with tons and tons of characters. It just doesn't work.

True, but it makes sense to be using lots of characters in the current state this book is at. Though a lot of characters appear the Main Focus is on Scott, Emma, and Beast much like a lot of Fractions arc's have right now.

 

[Iron Man]

I'm really enjoying Fraction's run on Uncanny, although it's not as strong as his run on Invincible Iron Man has been. There have been one or two bad patches (the Sisterhood arc springs to mind - I thought Psylocke and Madelyne Pryor were two characters that couldn't be any more convoluted, but somehow it was managed) but overall it's been pretty good. I do agree that the massive cast limits its potential, though.

But when you take a look at the characters Fraction has really focused on, especially in the quieter scenes - Scott, Emma, Hank - I think you can see he's really developed them.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

I've got no probs w/ Fraction's UXM either

 

[Havok83]

True, but it makes sense to be using lots of characters in the current state this book is at. Though a lot of characters appear the Main Focus is on Scott, Emma, and Beast much like a lot of Fractions arc's have right now.

It makes less sense to me. One of the main purposes of deciMation was to limit the amount of mutants in the Marvel Universe. Things kinda got out of hand in the 90s with so many characters and X-men spinoff titles. There are less mutants now, yet MORE are crammed into the books than ever before. The X-men now have 100+ members. Thats completely ridiculous and not really feasible. The title consists of Scott/Emma and random cameos of the month. Then you have Legacy which is no longer a team book but a disguised solo series. Why have so many characters around if the vast majoirty of them arent even going to get any focus?

 

[runawayboulder]

The problem Fraction has is the same thing Bendis has, they struggle with a team book. Bendis on DD = fantastic, Bendis on NA = mediocre. Fraction on Iron Man = fantastic, Fraction on UXM = mediocre.

The past issue of IIM with all of the guest stars is a perfect example. Fraction has trouble juggling all of them into the story and BMB is the same, eventually the characters become stale.

 

[Iron Man]

It makes less sense to me. One of the main purposes of deciMation was to limit the amount of mutants in the Marvel Universe. Things kinda got out of hand in the 90s with so many characters and X-men spinoff titles. There are less mutants now, yet MORE are crammed into the books than ever before. The X-men now have 100+ members. Thats completely ridiculous and not really feasible. The title consists of Scott/Emma and random cameos of the month. Then you have Legacy which is no longer a team book but a disguised solo series. Why have so many characters around if the vast majoirty of them arent even going to get any focus?

In a way, I think by using so many characters Fraction is trying to show how few mutants there actually are - sure, a rotating cast of about 50 is massive in real life terms, but in the fictional context, it's tiny when you think that those are the only ones left. However, I do think there are better ways to go about showing this.

 

[Havok83]

I really dont think thats what he's going for. He loves Scott/Emma and the rest are there to provide filler. I think he likes having no restrictions and bein allowed to just write for anyone he wants. Too bad the writing has been disappointing and isnt really all that interesting

The problem Fraction has is the same thing Bendis has, they struggle with a team book. Bendis on DD = fantastic, Bendis on NA = mediocre. Fraction on Iron Man = fantastic, Fraction on UXM = mediocre.

The past issue of IIM with all of the guest stars is a perfect example. Fraction has trouble juggling all of them into the story and BMB is the same, eventually the characters become stale.

Funny as thats what they also said about his predecesser Brubaker. People said he was amazing on Captain America and Daredevil but not so much on a team title like UXM.

 

[runawayboulder]

I thought Brubaker was great on UXM. I think most people like to hate on the X-books just to go against the grain since the X-Men dominated the 90's.

 

[Havok83]

I thought Brubaker was great on UXM. I think most people like to hate on the X-books just to go against the grain since the X-Men dominated the 90's.

With the exception of the Morlock story, I liked him as well. Id rather he stayed on as writer or at least cowriter with Fraction than leaving Fraction to pen the title himself. Hopefully Second Coming will lead to a new creative team

 

[runawayboulder]

Well Fraction is taking over Thor so it's possible.