Review: Ultimate Comics X-Men: World War X – by Brian Wood

Ultimate Comics X-Men by Brian Wood Volume 3 by Brian Wood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Here’s the main thing: This whole volume is called World War X.

Mutant on Mutant violence. Utopia versus Tian.

What’s cool? Jean Gray is a bigger villain here than Magneto ever was in 616.
Just pure evil looking down on everyone.

Kitty shores up the troops (cue the arrival of Colossus), and realizes she can’t be a pacifist.

Jimmy Hudson betrays someone…or does he? Or he does? Hmm? It costs him…or does it?

Pixie is a hero.
Yes, Pixie.

Iceman and Husk appear on the side of angels.

Jean here written by Brian Wood is a delusional dictator who wants all power and control over the mutant people.

She does horrible things to Utopia in order to defeat them…she REALLY hates Kitty.

Everyone comes together to fight her off (funny enough, there’s not a ton of people who side with Jean…some nobodies…not even a Toad or Pyro to be seen lol.

The other cool part is the reaction of the US Gov’t/human populace to the events.

Kitty goes all out here, for a pacifist, she realizes somethings are bigger than ideals.

The final showdown between Kitty and Jean is pretty awesome. I’m sure it would have been moreso if I’d actually known what happened in vols 2-4…

I think this was the end of this series.

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Review: Ultimate Comics X-Men, by Brian Wood

Ultimate Comics X-Men by Brian Wood Volume 2 by Brian Wood
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

***I’m way behind, I only read the first Volume by Nick Spencer, so I’m behind about 18 issues or so, and I have no idea where most of this is coming from***

Kitty Pryde is the pacifist leader of the X-Men, living in Utopia (this time a reservation, terraformed, as opposed to an island). She has 2 factions, those that follow her, and those that follow Mach 2, a teen Morlock Mutant.

Those that follow Kitty include Storm (very much the same as Marvel 616 version), James “Jimmy” Hudson (son of Wolverine, very similar); Rogue (very different, sort of Earth Mother type here), and some others.

Mach 2 (Magneto type power over metal) has Warpath (same as 616), Psylocke (a very different version), and some others. Mach 2 is about retribution against human crimes (again similar to Magneto).

Throw into the mix that Jean Gray (who is Karen Grant here) is the mistress of Tian (the land of Zorn and Xorn) is at odds with Kitty, and wants all the mutants to live under her in Tian.

Clear yet?

Ya.

So meanwhile, the humans don’t like things, so bad humans send General Ross (yes, that one) to kick them off the reservation…except, he’s actually a pretty decent guy here, not the same 616 maniac.

Turns out, someone in Utopia is manipulating events to get Utopia to fall apart…

shock. If you don’t like teams fighting themselves, then this isn’t the book for you.

By the time the end of the volume rolls around, Jean Grey has infiltrated Utopia, they’ve fought off the military (thanks to Rogue and the environment – utopia is like Krakoa, an intelligent ecosystem), and Kitty and Jean have a head to head…which puts things thru to the next volume.

Meanwhile, Hudson has managed to get both factions in Utopia to work together (but only to fight invaders..)

Ya…so that’s what happens.

I don’t think I missed much.

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X-Men Vol 2: Muertas; by Brian Wood.

X-Men, Vol. 2: Muertas by Brian Wood
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is actually less than a 2-star book.

It should be called X-(wo)Men; how many ovaries can we throw into one book?

This was supposed to be a great idea, a team we could enjoy, by a great writer (Wood). Instead, it feels like a gimmick-y, quota-filler.

So from last time, and then the events of Battle of the Atom; Kitty is no longer in the picture, nor is Rogue (still not sure why on her). Instead we’ve got that chick who was in the coma and then became possessed by John Sublime’s “sister”, and is now back better than ever. Oh and some other girl. She seems pretty strong.

Apparently all they needed was a world-crisis, and Storm and Rach are besties again. (Maybe Kitty just pissed them both off?)

Anyhow, Lady Deathstrike returns (this time as an entity/spirit, who is unleashed by a rich Latino hottie teenager…who likes to paint herself like Day of the Dead…right.

Apparently all you need to do is bring back the “spirit/soul/aura” of anyone, shoot them into a new body, and boom. Wood seems to use this for everyone.

Last volume; here, with more baddie ladies: Maddy Pryor, Selene (both of the Hellfire Club) and the Enchantress, who was on Earth cast out by Thor? Apparently everyone wants to team up to get more power? IDK…really.

Honestly, I just gave up. I didn’t try to understand, I didn’t try to let it make sense, I just said OK, sure, whatever you say.

Storm decides to let Pryor and Selene go? Enchantress walks away? Lady Deathstrike doesn’t want to be her anymore? Seriously? WTF? I’m just so not interested. I swear, Wood just gave up and didn’t care anymore? Who knows.

I read this yesterday, and I’m already straining to remember more than good girls(and randoms) versus baddies(and randoms). There’s also more of the X-(wo)Men leaving to join some other dudettes I’ve never heard of either. WOW bust out the obscure shit…I like obscure, but not this much out of nowhere.

Really, a big swing and a miss for me.

Please don’t sit on this grenade.

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X-Men: Battle of the Atom; by Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Aaron & Brian Wood

X-Men: Battle of the Atom by Brian Michael Bendis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

OK All-New X-Men makes a LOT more sense now.

I read all of that and all of Wolverine & the X-Men before this.

Now that I’ve read it, it makes a bit more sense.

But still, as a whole, meh plus?

Yes that’s me straining to enjoy a bowel movement, much like RDJ.

There’s stuff to like here, as many friends have already mentioned:

It flows very well, you hardly know when you’ve changed books, because it flows man. Like the river. Whoa.

Aaron and Bendis are what’s missing from Wood’s X-Men…ie HUMOUR. Wood’s X-(wo)Men would be a perfect DCU book.

Iceman is awesome. Seeing not 1, not, 2, not 3…oh ya.

Also explains why Kitty leaves the Jean Grey School (and Iceman), and why the All New (PAST) X-Men end up where they are.

Explains why Jean has some serious confusion about things.

There’s also a lot to not like:

SOOO MUCH ANGER!!! INFIGHTING! GARRRGH!

This is from a documentary of my high school…I actually saw some kid flip a whole cafeteria table over during a MAGIC card game…it was awesome. I was hoping to see some spellcasting or at least a magic wand shoved somewhere dark, but no such luck…

If Hank McCoy is so smart, why has he continually fuct this up? Bringing people forward in time worked so well, why not bring more back in time? That oughta be cool right?

We get 3 versions of Beast, 2 Cyclops, 2 Jean (I mean…no…maybe we don’t? ummm…ya.) 4 Iceman…but only 1 Angel??? I mean seriously, he’s the only one who says “DUDES, WE DON’T BELONG HERE! LET US GO HOME TO THE LAND OF TV DINNERS AND HOTPANTS!”

Shockingly, there’s only 1 Wolverine, and that’s kinda telling, knowing what we know now.

There’s too many monologues and fighting, not enough questioning why, and then Kitty gets mad at the present X-Men (Wolverine’s gang) for trying to get Cyclops and Jean back when they run away (the past ones) and don’t want to go back…umm…isn’t that what you all knew you had to do to start with??? I mean I know letting people decide things for themselves was a good idea, but you can’t seriously think letting the teen X-Originals decide to run off and stay hiding in the present was a good idea?? Ugh. No.

There’s some cool characters we get to see:

Future Icem(e)n; Future Colossus, Magik gets to really let loose, we see how some of the X-kids do in the future (Quentin Quire) and we see what shit goes down (to a certain degree).

I love that Wolverine and Magneto come across as the voices of reason here…that’s too funny.

Iceman from the Future is great. Needs his own series, pronto. If it weren’t for Bobby Drake, I don’t think I’d have laughed once…”So If we’re going to the future, shouldn’t we pick up a sports almanac or something?”

Yup. THAT is how you do time travel and funny.

This book really hovers into nearly DCU levels of seriousness…not loving it.
I can see how this isn’t really meant to be funny, but see the Iceman? Make-a-the-funny words? MORE OF THIS!

So, it’s OK, there’s a few nifty moments, but it also causes more problems than it solves.

It is what it is, and if you’re not an X-person, stay away. FAR AWAY!

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Review: The Massive, by Brian Wood

The Massive, Vol. 1: Black Pacific by Brian Wood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’m a big Brian Wood fan. DMZ was a phenomenal series, and Northlanders was epic. So when I heard that his next non-supes venture was about dystopian/post-apocalyptic/environmental crusaders, I was VERY excited:

What always impresses me about Wood’s work is that it seems so very real, plausible in actuality. DMZ? Not that far-fetched. Northlanders? I don’t doubt it was like that.
Reading The Massive, I felt the actual fear of wondering what my own role would be after that sort of catastrophic enviromental event. When I can actually picture myself in a situation, it means I’ve been fully immersed, that the writer has me in their world. (Same thing with movies and books, I don’t think I’m the only one that feels that).