Uncanny X-Men #529
Written by Mat Fraction. Pencils by Whilce Portacio with Harvey Tolibao

The "Five Lights" storyline continues as Hope and gang find the fourth light and Emma Frost tries to make up for past sins by sneaking Sebastian Shaw out of Utopia with the help of Fantomex.

This was the first issue in a while that left me feeling disappointed. It was more of an in-between issue to set up the story for the Generation Hope mini series than anything else. The fourth “light,” Teon, is a laughable character that storms the scene with animalistic urges. Fight, flight, and mate are his only emotions and words.

It’s been a few years since there was a fresh mutant character, something original or at least intriguing, and we are given Teon—a dog on two legs? A throwaway character like Teon degrades the significance of Hope as the savior of the mutant race and the importance of the “Second Coming” story arc. I really expected the five lights to bring something grand to the X-Men but now I am not so sure. But I digress.

This issue’s real appeal was in Emma Frost’s story and development. Fraction really tapped into the essence of her character and has made her better than ever by heightening her angst, fear, and sorrow. The dialogue among Emma Frost, Fantomex, and Kitty Pryde regarding her significance as a person and the pain she has endured are brilliant and reveals a part of Frost that I was convinced didn’t exist. Apparently, I’m not the only one who thought so as Danger reveals that is let Emma take Sebastian Shaw as a test to show her true colors.

The artistry of the book was also lacking. Portacio did his usual, but Harvey Tolbao did the last four pages, seemingly for no reason. Not that he did a bad job, but there is nothing more annoying than the change of artists within a book if there is no reason!

It’s a somewhat dull issue, but the set-up for the next Uncanny X-Men accomplished what it was meant to.

Echo #26

Story and Art by Terry Moore

I haven’t read every issue, but what I’ve seen is remarkable. Moore is consistent with his beautiful artwork and character driven storyline. But I’m not too thrilled at the fact that every issue ends so abruptly. Most issues don’t even have a cliffhanger. Just an end.

I really like this book and I believe Moore is probably doing the best work of his career on this title, but it’s continually amazing to me that every issue just seems to cut off. Echo really reads like a long form story that Moore cuts off every 18 pages, whether it really works as a cut-off point or not.

However, this issue probably isn’t the best starting point because it’s driven more by the dialogue than anything else. Also, because it’s almost the end of the entire series.

We see the gang—composed of Dillon, Ivy, Vijay, and Annie whose mind/spirit lives on in Julie through the experimental and seemingly nuclear armor known as Alloy 618—searching for a government base in the outskirts of the Alaskan Arctic Circle. The base holds the Phi Collider and the four are attempting to stop its use, as it would destroy the planet.

Moore’s strength is certainly in his ability to handle people’s emotions and the interactions between people, and that is on display here as well, with some great interactions between our heroes. The language is so natural and it reads better than most comic books. They react like a normal people would to such insane situations.

Top notch work there by Moore.

This is a great comic book that’s well worth reading. With the plot and characters so concrete and defined, it’s easy to get hooked, even if there isn’t a lot of action going on in the panels.

The Cat's Out of the Bag

Gotham City Sirens #17

Written by Peter Calloway with pencils by Andres Guinaldo and inks by Walden Wong.

Official DC Synopsis: Catwoman’s been kidnapped, and now Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn must team up with Talia Al Ghul and Zatanna to free her before she gives up her most valuable secret – a secret that will force Talia to desperate measures.

With the return of Bruce Wayne taking center stage in all the other bat-books, it is nice to read something that isn’t weighed down by that story, but that’s about as far as my relief for this issue goes.

Continuing from #16, this issue begins with Catwoman in a dream-like state, being reunited with Bruce, until they are suddenly attacked by some strange sort of Clayface-like monsters. In the “real world”, Ivy, Harley, Talia and Zatanna continue to bicker over what Selina’s abduction is really about. (But as we already know, her abduction is part of a scheme to discover Batman’s secret identity)

Soon afterwards, the gang discovers in an underground cave that the person responsible for all of this is a former member of the League of Assassins, named Shrike. After a brief scuffle, the gang finds Selina, who has been under some sort of mystical spell by a sensei named Senpai. It turns out Senpai has a serious grudge against Batman, so he decided Selina would be his key to finding him. (And he was right, as he manages to pry Bruce Wayne’s identity from her mind)

I have to say that while I was not terribly excited by the last issue, this issue just felt even stranger. I wasn’t at all surprised that the villains turned out to be members of the League of Assassins due to Talia’s involvement in the story, but I’m still trying to figure out what exactly Zatanna is doing here.

More to the point, the story progression was awkward and hard to follow and the resolution(along with the cliffhanger) was a bit dull and lack-luster. I gave it a chance and, although there’s nothing specifically wrong with the portrayal of characters, I’ve never been a fan of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. And with Catwoman out of commission, this issue falls to the wayside.

Mean [Green] Girls

She Hulks #1

Written by Harrison Wilcox. Pencils by Ryan Stegman, inks by Michael Babinski, and colors by Guru eFX

My feelings about the Hulk (any of them, take your pick) have always been negative. They all remind me of the Jolly Green Giant… Only not so jolly and hyped up on steroids.

The same applies to She-Hulks #1. Admittedly, I only bought the issue because I was expecting it to be terrible. (I like to have a good variety of reviews) I mean really, take a look at the cover. I really don’t know how She-Hulk plans to throw a punch in that stance with her chest thrust forward like that. However, I’m happy to say that the cover artists and story artists are not the same and I really enjoyed reading this issue.

It does struggle with getting things in motion, (despite the action sequence detailed in the first few pages) but anyone familiar with the events of Civil war and World War Hulk will be able to follow along relatively easily. Not to mention, the plot has been focused on one primary goal: Catch the Intelligencia.

Again, I wasn’t too impressed with the progression of the story, but the characters were interesting enough to keep me hooked throughout. The only part I would like to change is when Lyra attends public school. The sequence of events at school almost mirrors “Mean Girls.”

Not that I hate “Mean Girls,” but really? Wilcox couldn’t think of anything different?

Speaking of differences, the characters could benefit from a little more diversity. Besides the red hair, both She-Hulks look relatively the same. (Even the costumes are similar) And in the comic’s only two-page panel, the same two bikini-clad women are drawn over and over again.

And can I just say that it’s nice to see She-Hulk looking normal? Still green, but not overly-muscled like this version:

Been There, Done That

Morning Glories #2

Written by Nick Spencer with art by Joe Eisma.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from “Morning Glories,” but the premise of a prep school mystery is certainly one that I’ve seen before: Morning Glory Academy isn’t what it seems.

The series kicks off with an escape attempt from the prep school, which involves blowing up part of the school. There’s no explanation for what’s going on and Spencer makes sure to keep the readers predominantly in the dark, only granting us with small details to this mystery.

So here’s what we know: The comic consists of six newly enrolled students at a new-age, highly successful prep school known as Morning Glory Academy. All of our protagonists share the same birthday, hinting at some revelation later on in the series. Their parents no longer remember who they are and, in the case of one student (Casey), her parents were murdered by the cliché, sadistic, librarian-esque teacher responsible for the children.

#2 opens with a sequence of panels detailing Casey’s torture at the hands of the dominatrix teacher. After refusing to answer her question, she’s thrown in detention, where she finds the other protagonists. I can honestly say that seeing all the characters at once is a bit disappointing. The guys are stereotypical, only chasing after barely-clad girls afterhours. The girls are even more disappointingly flat. Throughout the entire issue, the girls are subjected to an attempted murder, torture, and then almost drowned, all in the interest of the dominatrix establishing power and authority.

Spoiler: She wins by flooding the detention room. (Probably because the students are more interested in getting laid than getting out of a place that’s obviously not safe)

This issue is supposed to be about Casey, but she’s literally drowned out by the flashback stories of how the other students wound up in detention. And because the comic changes perspectives each issue, #3 will focus on Jade, a girl for whom I’ve already developed distaste,. But I’ll hold my judgments until then. It has potential if written well, but with the amount of female torture in these 26 pages, something tells me not to hold my breath.

And Now...

For the bad news:

X-Men #3

Written by Victor Gischler. Penciled by Paco Medina. Inked by Juan Vlasco. Colored by Marte Gracia.

We won't really focus on the plot the of this issue. In fact, the only background information you should know is that the X-Men are fighting a lot of vampires that Dracula's son is leading. And when I say the X-Men are fighting vampires, it's true. Not much fighting from the women. But I guess it doesn't really matter since the bulk of this issue is about Wolverine's search for Jubilee.

Jubilee used to be one of my favorite X-Men back when the TV series was airing. She was a Chinese-American girl, who lived in Beverly Hills with her wealthy immigrant parents, but then her parents were murdered. Later in life, she discovered her mutant ability and joined the X-Men family, but then she lost her power and went back to being a human. (Which, with the way mutants are treated in the Marvel universe, I was somewhat happy for her, but it did mean that she would probably only ever make cameo appearances from then on) But the torture didn't stop there, Jubilee went from being human to a hungry, sexy, dead thing.

And wow, did they make her sexy. She's not even recognizable to me. It really can't be the same girl so instead, we'll call her Boobilee:

And look at her legs! They're almost double the length of her torso and head. But more importantly, look at these two pictures:

Okay, okay. Now that you're over the shock that Boobilee bit Wolverine, let's actually take a look at how similar these two images are. The one on the right is a WWII propaganda poster. This particular poster shows a Japanese terrorist who's been likened to the vampire myth. Notice the fanged teeth, the obvious sex-and-death intent to a poor American victim, and the implication that if you don't invest in war bonds, it's like inviting this vampire into your home.

However, the image on the left is slightly different: The roles are reversed and now the Asian woman is depicted as the soulless vampire. Essentially, this image represents how our culture feels about women: They will kill you, even if you're the strongest, most masculine, and one of America's most favorite superheroes. (And if you know anything about comics, you know that Wolverine is that man) Also, this image represents how our culture feels about Asians. Yes, Jubilee is a Chinese-American woman, but she's also a stand-in for North Korea because she's one of the more popular characters with Asian heritage and Marvel doesn't have a North Korean comic book character.

To take things a step further, it's important to note that Boobilee wasn't turned into a vampire by being bitten. No, she was infected with a virus that Dracula's son created and released into a crowd of people. (Kinda like bio-terrorism) The sex metaphor is absent in her vamp story, but is certainly present in the image above with Wolverine. In this instance, Asian/woman rapes/kills man.

And that's all you really need to know about this story. It's sad to see one of my favorite superhero teams take such an awful turn. I don't plan to continue reading and I advise against anyone else picking it up.

Following in Daddy's Footsteps?

It’s time to review another X-Man comic and, despite my early reservations, this comic pleasantly surprised me.

X-23 #1

Written by Marjorie Liu. Art by Will Conrad and color art by John Rauch

X-23 is a mutant first introduced back in 2004. Her past is, not surprisingly, very similar to her father, Wolverine. (Marvel insists that she’s actually a genetic twin, but more about that later) I’m not a fan of Wolverine so I don’t expect X-23 to be much different. She was created in a lab and trained to kill like the femme fatale that every comic book nerd loves. Even in her origin story, the word used is “dehumanized.”

X-23 was supposed to be a clone of Wolverine, but the scientists were unable to reconstruct the Y chromosome and one of the scientists provided the X chromosome. (Hence, Wolverine is more of a father than a twin) So basically, women are an alternative to men in the comic book world, but what else is new.

When she eventually escaped the lab, Laura Kinney (the name her surrogate mother gave her) made her way to the X-Men. Although a teenager, her assassination skills instantly prompted Cyclops to recruit her into the X-Men’s black ops team.

After a brief time with the black ops team, Wolverine dismisses her, saying that it’s time she made her own decisions instead of always following orders. That’s where X-23 #1 picks up.

Besides the cliché character, X-23 is often described as feral (in fact, she can’t even control her actions sometimes) and incapable of doing anything without being ordered. She’s also been a prostitute, is commonly depicted cutting her wrists, and her origin story screams sexism.

With all that being said, I don’t have any complaints about this issue. Sure, Laura is messed up, but what child of Wolverine wouldn’t have problems or Daddy issues? What’s most striking about this comic is the potential it has for real character development.

The advertisement leading up to this issue was for a crossover event involving Wolverine, X-23, and Dark Wolverine. The headline reads, “Wolverine goes to Hell! And everyone must pay for his sins!”

Clearly, Laura’s got some tough times ahead of her, but it seems that this new series will give her the opportunity to grow and escape her father’s shadow, hopefully with less merciless killing involved. She has potential.