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Resumption of X: Purchase #6

Posted on March 8, 2021 by Walt

In the ongoing "Resumption of X" I’m chronicling the material actuality of my trying to as quickly as possible catch up on the Hickman-era/Dawn of X family of X-titles.

Here’s another purchase from Comic Heaven, with what I call "priced back issues" (that is, comics bagged/boarded, priced, and filed in longboxes–as opposed to "recent back issues" that are still out loose on the "rack" or such simply at cover price).

This time, snagged a couple more issues of the Hickman "adjectiveless" X-Men core title…as well as another issue of Excalibur.

Unfortunately for me, I had neglected to mark in my phone’s checklist that I’d already ordered the X-Men issue with Mystique on the cover, so…oops. I’m not too keen on some of the duplicates I’m winding up with between mistakes like that, and variants/2nd printings.

But with a couple more online orders supplementing what I’m able to get at the LCS, and looking at another local show coming up, I’m thinking even if I can’t score any "grails", I’m wondering if I might be able to be "caught up to current" on this era of X-books by April?

Time shall tell!

Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, Resumption of X | Tagged: cable, collecting, collecting comics, comics, Dawn of X, Deadpool, Excalibur, Fallen Angels, Hellions, Hickman, jonathan hickman, Juggernaut, Marauders, New Mutants, Reign of X, Resumption of X, Wolverine, X of Swords, X-Factor, x-force, x-men | Leave a comment »

Resumption of X: Purchase #5

Posted on March 3, 2021 by Walt

In my ongoing quest for catching up on the Dawn of X-era X-comics, I had aimed to visit Comics and Friends for the first time in farrrrr too long (first time since stuff started reopening after the initial shutdowns last year) on the Saturday before Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately, I also ran a couple of other errands and found myself having arrived at the mall about 15 minutes after closing time. Whether that was just online-posted closing time I wasn’t sure but I decided to forego hiking through a cold parking lot just to find a gated store and such.

So I went back Sunday afternoon and had no problem getting in and as hoped/expected, finding a small selection of recent back-issues!

Several more issues of New Mutants and Excalibur starting out.

Then three issues of X-Men. Couldn’t find anything from any of the other titles that I didn’t already have or have coming soon from the online shops.

But I did notice Juggernaut. While they didn’t have the first issue…they had 2-5, which I snagged with the expectation that by the time I get around to reading the series I should hopefully have been able to find the first issue.

While not strictly-speaking a Dawn of X title, I’ve heard good stuff about it and figure–like Deadpool‘s recently-concluded 10-issue maxi-series–it would be a decent addition to my mass of issues.

Despite these significant purchases, I’ve still got quite a few issues to track down for the Dawn of X-era stuff. But I’d say I’m probably a good 3/4 of the way there, and I think what I’m missing is pre-X of Swords, which means I can at least READ the stuff on Marvel Unlimited, even if I don’t yet have it in my OCD-fueled print collection.

Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: cable, collecting, collecting comics, comics, Dawn of X, Deadpool, Excalibur, Fallen Angels, Hellions, Hickman, jonathan hickman, Juggernaut, Marauders, New Mutants, Reign of X, Resumption of X, Wolverine, X of Swords, X-Factor, x-force, x-men | Leave a comment »

Resumption of X: Purchase #4

Posted on March 1, 2021 by Walt

Visiting Kenmore Komics I was able to snag another 21 issues of the Dawn of X-era X-comics. I think all the issues were a whopping one cent over cover price–rounding that penny from $3.99 to $4 even.

And with buying a bunch, got an unexpected (but welcome) discount on the issues!

A scattering of issues from Excalibur, Hellions, Marauders, Wolverine, and X-Men…

Then a good chunk of X-Force, a little over a third of the run!

And another chunk of New Mutants; about a third of its run! The covers threw me a bit, but as best I can tell, the issues are all first prints and "A" covers, rather than variants. A bit trippy, though on some of those! But somehow reminiscent of what I know of the original series and its art, so that’s fitting, I suppose?

I definitely had not planned on getting so many issues, but I was armed with a checklist of everything I was aware being out so far for the Dawn of X stuff, and basically went through the back-issue bins and I’m pretty sure I pulled every first print "A" cover available!

Since I’m after the issues anyway and going to be spending the money anyway, even with a bigger chunk at once, just as well to go ahead and buy ’em while I actually have the money and rather than dragging the whole thing out…or at least, that’s how I’ve been justifying to myself such a huge outlay of cash lately on X-comics.

Resumption of X: Purchase #3

Posted on February 24, 2021 by Walt

While I shared this in my "Weekly Haul" post for February 10th, I realized it deffffinitely fit this series and should be called out as its own thing! Especially with utilizing a number of comic shops to track down as many of these issues as I can as "recent back issues" or roughly-cover-price back issues!

At Comic Heaven, I was able to snag 7 recent back issues–Marauders, Excalibur, and Hellions issues–as well as a couple of "priced back issues" bagged and boarded in the official back issue bins for about 25 cents above cover price (which to me covers the bag-and-board!)

Though apparently I did overlap on Marauders #17…oops! I guess that could be worse, and I’m not too concerned in the grand scheme…especially considering how much I’m spending lately to try to catch up on 16-18 months’ worth of an entire family of modern titles in very short order!

While I can largely go with publication order for the first six issues of the initial wave of titles, I’m honestly not quite sure what issues of which series take place after or during X of Swords–with stuff like (I believe) New Mutants having only a single issue in the mix, while other titles may’ve had 3 or more issues in the crossover.

I suppose I’ll get that figured out eventually…part of me is eager to dive into post-X of Swords reading while part of me wants to fly through/catch up TO the event from the beginning before going forward.

If nothing else, I imagine i’ll at least be following Chris Sheehan and the issue order he takes for his X-Lapsed podcast covering every. single. issue. of Dawn of X (and then some!).

Resumption of X: Purchase #2

Posted on February 23, 2021 by Walt

In tandem with an order placed with Midtown Comics, I placed an order with Lonestar Comics (mycomicshop.com) for a number of other Dawn of X/Reign of X issues.

Three issues of Wolverine, including the first! And six issues of Excalibur…though I didn’t realize the one issue was a 2nd print. Sort of annoyed with myself but could be worse I guess. Also some double-dipping where i’d been "forced" to buy variants or 2nd print for X of Swords issues just to get ’em at all.

I get particularly annoyed with variants and covers that don’t look like their marketing and such…and not at all keen on "settling" for 2nd or later prints, especially when the firsts should be around overall!

Five issues of Marauders, and four of X-Men. I don’t think I’d realized any of the actual X-Men issues had tied in with the Empyre thing…I thought it was an Empyre: X-Men mini-series separately. Or maybe there was that as well as these. I dunno…I’ll figure it out eventually!

Finally, the first seven issues of X-Factor. Definitely a big chunk, but very cool to be able to get the whole series thus far. (At least, I think it’s the entire series thus far!)

I definitely like the logo on this one as well. It keeps the Dawn of X style but is a definite callback to the classic original series.

25 issues and another expensive chunk down…but issues being at cover price or under was again a definite advantage here!

Resumption of X: Purchase #1

Posted on February 18, 2021 by Walt

A couple weeks back, I took the plunge and bought a bunch of X-issues from the X of Swords crossover. I suppose for this post series, that’d make it the "Resumption of X: Purchase #0".

I ended up deciding to start looking at exactly how hard it would really be to dive in and "catch up" on the single issues for the current iterations of the X-titles; the Dawn of X or Reign of X or whatever.

Just out of curiosity as to just HOW MANY printings there’d been for the first issues of the initial series and recalling numerous reprints with House of X/Powers of X and such…I found that several of the first print, regular cover issues were available for slightly under cover price at Midtown Comics…so I decided to put in an order.

I’d already had X-Men #1…after the two HoXPoX minis, I bought the single issue before throwing in the towel over pricing and info pages and all that…as well as stuff being so drastically different from "my" X-titles.

Here are four more of the #1s from that initial wave of books–X-Force #1, New Mutants #1, Excalibur #1, and Fallen Angels #1.

Of the "first wave" of #1s that I recently (re)read via Marvel Unlimited, by far my favorite was Marauders #1. I’d already pretty much decided that I was at least interested in tracking down that first issue in print and possibly the rest of the series for the heckuvit.

Here are seven issues of the series–more than a third of its run so far–which put me closer than any of the other titles to a full run to present.

11 issues…while cover price or slightly under, definitely showed me that this "Resumption of X" or catching up won’t be cheap. But seeking "retail therapy" lately this has been a good focus. And while I’m NOT much of a "thrill of the hunt" kinda guy, there’s a bit of excitement at diving fully into a line of comics and being able to "score" first issues and such at cover price rather than inflated prices and hunting for any but excess variants.

The Weekly Haul: Week of February 10, 2021

Posted on February 12, 2021 by Walt

Another week, another haul…made particularly large this week by including some recent back issues, and a couple of back issues. The Dawn of X single-issue collection is coming along a bit…

So we have a new issue of TMNT–#114–and I’d have to check, but I think this one lines up more with the description of the previous issue. And hey…Tokka and Rahzar!

Radiant Black #1 hit this week–I feel like I thought it was going to be a couple weeks later, but not complaining! I enjoyed it well enough on a quick read, and do think I’ll give it a few issues. Something about it also reminded me of Hickman and the current X stuff…just without the info pages.

Robin Eternal #2 (of 2!) should be my last DC Future State book. Then I think outside of $1 reprints and/or facsimile editions, Batman/Catwoman will be about the extent of my DC for awhile.

Two GI Joe: A Real American Hero issues this week. #278 of the ongoing, and a reprint of GI Joe Yearbook #1 from the classic Marvel run.

I’m less-keen on Amazing Spider-Man post-Last Remains but apparently going a bit further. Since I had #58 and #59 was out this week, I figure that’ll at least give me fuller context for #60, which had caught my attention for its cover that I saw somewhere online.

Annnnnd jumping onto the X bandwagon, X-Force #17 and Excalibur #18. I’m in the midst of reading X of Swords as of this typing, so at least going to wait til I finish that and catch up reading from there…as well as having a lot of pre-XoS to catch up reading!

Morrrrrrrre Batman with Comic Shop News. I am so thoroughly sick and tired of sooooooooo much Batman. I’m wavering on Batman/Catwoman but the upcoming 3rd issue’s cover is a huge part of what sold me on the series outside of it being the continuation of King‘s run. But outside of that–because it’s (to me) THE continuation of what I’d been buying for the last few years–it just feels to me like the character is so vastly over-used. But DC being AT&DC at this point, it doesn’t seem like they’re going to be doing much other than Batman, since apparently Batman’s what sells.

And with B/C…even to me.

Snagged a bunch of additional X books from the recent-back-issues…and even a couple of bagged-and-boarded-filed-away actual back-issues that–once combined with what should be coming soon in the mail–will leave me with mayyyybe one issue to chase down of Marauders. (Which for starting at the beginning with reading the Dawn of X stuff was definitely my favorite of the #1s!)

And there we go…another week of getting this "Weekly Haul" post up as an individual week, and another week of (week)daily posts. That makes 3 5-day weeks and a 4-day week before that. About how I got rolling about this time in 2016 and rolled through to late summer 2017.

Personal life is not allowing for that again…so we’ll see what shakes out in the near-future schedule/regularity-wise!

Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: Amazing Spider-Man, DC, DC Comics, Excalibur, Future State, G.I. Joe, GI Joe: A Real American Hero, IDW, Image, Image Comics, MARVEL, Marvel Comics, Ninja Turtles, Radiant Black, Robin Eternal, TMNT, x-force | 1 Comment »

Age of Apocalypse Revisited: X-Calibre #4

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Walt

On Fire

Writer: Warren Ellis
Pencils: Ken Lashley
Inks: Tom Wegrzyn with Philip Moy
Colors: Joe Rosas
Letters: Richard Starkings and Comicraft
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Cover:
Editors: Suzanne Gaffney, Bob Harras
Published by: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: June 1995
Cover Price: $1.95

Damask, Switchback, Mystique, and Nightcrawler pause for a moment before heading back to Avalon to try again to convince Destiny to return with Kurt to Magneto. Before long, a new presence is discovered…the Shadow King has arrived, and causes all sorts of death and destruction. He’s able to possess others, trigger parts of their mind…yet by possessing he can cause physical danger for others while he himself–as a psionic entity–continues on if a host body is destroyed. Eventually he possesses Mystique, triggering a desperate idea for Kurt. Utilizing teamwork, a combination of his own powers and those of Switchback and Damask, Kurt leads his "X-Calibre" team to take on the Shadow King, despite the dream that was Avalon now being so much ash and remnants of destruction.

Here we are with another "final issue" of "a four issue series," and again we don’t have a true ending so much as a turning point or point of continuity, where a fleshed-out adventure moves characters as pieces around a board to get them where they need to be for X-Men: Omega.

Unlike the previous issues, I read this in eagerness to get THROUGH it…the end of the Age of Apocalypse is in sight and I am very much looking forward to getting to X-Men Omega. Like previous issues, I didn’t recall any details of this series, so it reads like a "new" issue, though I knew if not its endpoint, at least its end result. Given my mindset reading this, I didn’t notice much of anything distinctly Ellis in the story. I simply saw the characters, watched the story unfold, and got to the end of the issue sooner than expected, not realizing how much ground is yet to be covered between this final page and where Kurt and Destiny go in X-Men: Omega.

The art holds to a consistent quality; characters look familiar to my memory of prior issues, and the art itself never distracts. The layouts, however, prove distracting much as in Weapon X, as there are multiple double-page spreads where I have to physically rotate the entire issue 90 degrees to read the sideways double-page top to bottom. Forcing such movement proved quite distracting.

All in all…not a bad issue, not a great issue. Characters picked up with the term "X-Calibre" and used it as a team-name to describe the group, which is sort of disappointing to me after thinking for awhile since the previous issue how cool it was to have the title referenced as it was on a "meta" level without actually being otherwise referenced within the story. Granted, it FITS in this way, it just changes things a bit. And we again get an ending of "intent" though we have to see actual action to get the characters from here (point A) to X-Men: Omega (point B) or trust that it’ll be explained as having happened off-panel.

The end is in sight, and I think I’d’ve enjoyed this issue more in and of itself if I weren’t so eager to get to the end of everything.

Filed under: 2015 posts, The '90s Revisited, X-Men: Age of Apocalypse | Tagged: Age of Apocalypse, apocalypse, Bob Harras, Comic Reviews, Comicraft, comics, Destiny, Digital Chameleon, Excalibur, Joe Rosas, Ken Lashley, MARVEL, Marvel Comics, Mystique, Nightcrawler, On Fire, Philip Moy, Richard Starkings, Suzanne Gaffney, Tom Wegrzyn, Warren Ellis, X-Calibre, x-men | Leave a comment »

Age of Apocalypse Revisited: X-Calibre #3

Posted on March 24, 2015 by Walt

Body Heat

Writer: Warren Ellis
Pencils: Ken Lashley
Inks: Tom Wegrzyn, Philip Moy
Colors: Joe Rosas, Digital Chameleon
Letters: Richard Starkings, Comicraft
Cover: Ken Lashley
Editors: Suzanne Gaffney, Bob Harras
Published by: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: May 1995
Cover Price: $1.95

Three issues in, and Nightcrawler has finally found Mystique (actually, she found him) though the reunion isn’t the greatest as they still have work ahead of them–getting to Destiny…something Mystique is actually quite hesitant on, for her own reasons. The two eventually get to Avalon, connect with Destiny…though SHE is hesitant to leave, speculating that it could be her leaving that causes everything to be destroyed as it appeared in her visions. Still, the place is found out and Mystique and Nightcrawler defend the group against Apocalypse’s agents–Damask and Dead Man Wade. Realizing the beauty of the place, though, Damask turns on Wade and he’s taken out. The group–Nightcrawler, Mystique, Switchback, and Damask–then prepares to take Destiny and get out.

Toward the end of the issue, Switchback asks Mystique about the bullets she has, the only markings being an "X." Mystique explains them:

"They WERE Magnum loads for a .44 calibre, but I customized them. The ‘X’ was kind of a joke."

And thus we get the title of this series: X-Calibre, a literalness that works, and juxtaposes nicely with the regular X-title Excalibur, referencing the legendary sword. The fact that that is worked into this reminds me of what I often very much enjoy in movies that seem to have a random title–explanation is given within the story as to the title…perhaps explicit, perhaps not…but noticeable when caught and yet not particularly intrusive. We also get a brief exchange between Nightcrawler and Mystique suggesting they both–in the Age of Apocalypse–know who Kurt’s father is, though I don’t believe THAT was revealed until nearly a decade later in the main Marvel universe.

This issue moves things forward into a second act, in a way. The first act (issues 1-2) involved Nightcrawler seeking Mystique in order to be able to then seek Destiny. The "finding" occurring at the end of last issue left this issue for them to proceed in seeking Destiny, and now we’re left with Avalon no longer being safe and though they HAVE Destiny, they still have to get her to Magneto to do her thing.

And as with the earlier issues, this was an enjoyable enough read. It may not be my favorite, but it’s not bad. I had to flip back through to find where Switchback came in, having totally glossed over her as an incidental character and not realizing she’d be significant at the issue’s end.

Overall I very much enjoyed the art, especially the first page with Nightcrawler and Mystique–linework, coloring, all of it–the two characters definitely look the part of mother/son (if not husband/wife or such)–the family appearance is there. I don’t quite "get" the sideways-double-page layouts from this time period, and though that’s mainly been something I’ve noticed in Wolverine (and thus Weapon X) opening this issue to that brought it back to conscious thought. That was the main ‘distraction’ to reading the issue, though.

I actually don’t recall anything offhand from the fourth issue, so whatever transpires between this and Destiny’s role in X-Men: Omega will be like another "new issue" for me…something I do look forward to.

Filed under: 2015 posts, The '90s Revisited, X-Men: Age of Apocalypse | Tagged: Age of Apocalypse, apocalypse, Bob Harras, Body Heat, Comic Reviews, Comicraft, comics, Digital Chameleon, Excalibur, Joe Rosas, Ken Lashley, MARVEL, Marvel Comics, Mystique, Nightcrawler, Philip Moy, Richard Starkings, Suzanne Gaffney, Tom Wegrzyn, Warren Ellis, X-Calibre, x-men | Leave a comment »

Age of Apocalypse Revisited: X-Calibre #1

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Walt

The Infernal Gallop

Writer: Warren Ellis
Penciller: Ken Lashley
Colorist: Joe Rosas
Lettering: Starkings/Comicraft
Inkers: Wegrzyn, Moy, Larosa
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Cover: Ken Lashley
Editor: Suzanne Gaffney
Published by: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: March 1995
Cover Price: $1.95

I was eager to get to this issue for what I remembered as a focus on Nightcrawler. While it’s not quite AS focused on the character as I thought I remembered, there’s still enough, and I found it rather interesting to revisit the character and address some perceived issues with more contemporary takes on the character.

In a quasi-cinematic or television-like way, the issue opens with an extended scene of a mutant being ferried and guided to Avalon…a haven for mutants and humans, in the Antarctic (a tamed Savage Land, apparently). We then jump back to the U.S., to Manhattan, where we catch up with Nightcrawler who is securing transit from America TO the Antarctic by way of Warren Worthington–Angel–at Heaven. Angel claims to have gone "legit" and not want to deal with "terrorists" like Magneto and his X-Men, but Kurt has none of it and we see there’s no love between the two. Meanwhile, Magneto converses with Mystique, informing her of why she will welcome her son and take him to Avalon to extract Destiny. Back in Avalon, the young mutant arrives and is introduced to Destiny…who promptly has a horrifying vision of the Apocalypse.

Visually, I quite enjoyed this issue. I really liked several of the panels of Nightcrawler in particular, and generally found myself rather appreciative of the way characters were shown. Aside from the art in and of itself I certainly appreciate what appears to my issue-by-issue eye to be a consistency in costuming with characters–and in this case specifically, Magneto. Nothing about him stands out as contradictory to other appearances…such contradictions being something some part of me pretty much would "expect" based on contemporary comics where the import seems to lie on the individual vision and touches over a consistency and continuity.

I like the story…from the pacing with the opening, getting into the heart of things; learning details of what Kurt’s to do, foreshadowing of what he’ll be facing, character appearances, and so on. I’m a little more conscious now of the author–that this is a Warren Ellis story, and in the back of my mind that influenced my reading, though this doesn’t exactly have the "feel" of a Warren Ellis story (whatever that would actually be). Yet I suppose I attribute stuff like the opening to an Ellis-style. There’s a darkness I did not recall, especially to Nightcrawler…but that puts the character in line with the contemporary version, putting that into a different light than I anticipated going into this issue.

I didn’t and don’t remember much detail from this series from all those years ago when I first read it, but this time through was rather enjoyable. I think even having overall broad-stroke memories of the Age of Apocalypse books, I’m getting added enjoyment from this re-reading project from the fact that I apparently never have actually gone back through and re-read the entire thing…so the faded memories and lack of details retained make the reading similar to reading something for the first time.

Of course…I’m especially looking forward to Amazing X-Men and X-Men Chronicles to finish out the month. But I’m also looking forward to the next issue of this mini and further experience with Nightcrawler.

Filed under: The '90s Revisited, X-Men: Age of Apocalypse | Tagged: Age of Apocalypse, apocalypse, Comic Reviews, Comicraft, comics, Digital Chameleon, Excalibur, Joe Rosas, Ken Lashley, Larosa, MARVEL, Marvel Comics, Moy, Starkings, Suzanne Gaffney, The Infernal Gallop, Warren Ellis, Wegrzyn, X-Calibre, x-men | Leave a comment »

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The Weekly Haul: Week of February 10, 2021

Age of Apocalypse Revisited: X-Calibre #4

Age of Apocalypse Revisited: X-Calibre #3

Age of Apocalypse Revisited: X-Calibre #1

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