Welcome to the premiere edition of the Uncanny X-Piles! In this weekly column, X-Men junkies Andy and Jeff will be reviewing each and every new X-book, whether it has an ‘X’ in the title or not. So check back each week as the guys play with mutants and romp around in the Danger Room!
Dark Wolverine #88
Writer: Marjorie Liu + Daniel Way
Artist: Stephen Segovia
Cover: Simone Bianchi
Like Deadpool, this series has been pretty poopy since it began with issue #75 of Wolverine. Daken is cool, I like him, but nothing has really happened to him in the last year or so. Remember when he had pieces of the Muramasa Blade fused to each of his third claws? Yeah, that was a plot line that went absolutely nowhere. We never saw him reference those deadly claws again until they were ripped out at the end of the recent Dark Wolverine/Wolverine Origins crossover. Anyway, this issue focuses on FrankenCastle (such a stupid name…) out to get his revenge on Daken for cutting him up in Dark Reign: The List: Punisher way back in 2009. Actually, surprisingly, this was a pretty good revenge fight for Punish- er, FrankenCastle. Seriously, it wasn’t bad! I think FrankenCastle is the most moronic thing to come out of The House of Ideas recently, but this issue did a good job of keeping things interesting. I hope Daken puts an end to FrankenCastle by the end of the arc though, just so we can stop saying the name FrankenCastle. -AL
Deadpool #25
Writer: Daniel Way
Artist: Carlo Barberi
Cover: Jason Pearson
Soooo who here is sick and tired of Deadpool mania? Yeah, count me in that group, too. That being said, this issue was…alright. To be honest, I think this current Deadpool series has been lackluster from the get go. I mean, Deadpool saves the day from the Skrulls during Secret Invasion? Yeah, ok. The only story arc I really got into was when he joined the X-Men. That was pretty darn tootin’. Oh, and when he was a pirate, too, I liked those two issues. But regarding this issue, it was just a whole lotta hoopla without any real payoff. Basically, Deadpool betrays a couple people (including a guy dressed as a bear) in his own goofy way and he ends up with a giant mech warrior suit. Woo hoo. -AL
New Mutants #15
Writer: Zeb Wells
Artist: Leonard Kirk
Cover Artist: Dave Wilkins
Boy, these mutants have been through hell…and it’s looking like it’s not going to let up. After a harrowing gauntlet of Legion, Necrosha, and Second Coming, the team gets some much needed R & R. I love the X-Men scenes where the team is having downtime from their adventures. Wells does a good job of reminding us that these characters have a tremendous history with one another, and we’re finally seeing them realistically get to be X-Men. The new villains in this book are intriguing, and even though I’m not typically a fan of Limbo stuff, I like where this is going. Leonard Kirk’s art isn’t the strongest here, especially in his faces. But overall, I’m enjoying watching this group get the crap beat out of them! -JJ
Thunderbolts #146
Writer: Jeff Parker
Artist: Kev Walker
Cover: Marko Djurdjevic
Three issues into the run and I’m really digging this new direction with the T-Bolts. Luke Cage is THE MAN to get this group of ruffians in order, and so far, he’s towing the line. So you may be wondering, “What the hell is a Thunderbolts review doing in an article packed with X-books?” Well fair citizen, The Uncanny X-Piles does not discriminate amongst mutants and those who associate with mutants. We’ll be trying hard each week to cover any book that contains a mutant or a regular X-character (except maybe the Avengers books because Wolverine is just everywhere), and in the case of the Thunderbolts, it’s Juggernaut! Yep, Juggs, next to Cage, is the heavy hitter on the squad, and in this issue he finally gets to crushing stuff – like a giant oozy creature thing. He smashed the bejeezus out of it, but it must have been made of some sort of acid or something, because it burned his arms and knocked ol’ Cain out of the fight. All in all, this was a solid issue, complete with great art and a fast tempo. Jeff Parker rocks. -AL
X-Factor #207
Writer: Peter David
Artist: Sebastian Fiumara
Cover Artist: David Yardin with Nathan Fairbairn
This book’s ending was solicited as being right up there with the revelation of Madrox & Siryn’s baby and the Shatterstar/Rictor reveal, and that really hurt this issue. Because of that solicitation, I was really disappointed with the ending. That said, this was still a fantastic issue of X-Factor. It still has an interesting new case for the team to solve, this time pitting Hela against Pip the Troll of all people! It still has a cool twist with what happened with Monet and Baron Mordo. It has some great character moments with Shatterstar and Rictor, and while the ending felt over-hyped, I still can’t wait to see what happens next to my favorite team of mutants. Peter David has just nailed this series from day one. He’s joined on art by Sebastian Fiumara, who is another great artist in the lineage of Ryan Sook, Dennis Calero, & Valentine De Landro. The tone of the book is still perfect, and we’re on to another great arc! -JJ
Tune in next week, and for everything else X-Men click here!
Jeff Jackson
jeff@comicattack.net
Andy Liegl
andy@comicattack.net
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You know, I passed on that Deadpool issue. I used to love that series. It has tuckered out. I don’t agree that the whole series has been pretty much lame, though. Remember when he wore a Meat-Suit to battle Bullseye and the flashback to his childhood that caused the Meat Suit? And this series also featured the best onomatopoeia for a fart in a comic book. Ever!
Nice round up of reviews. I like the concept!
Great job guys. I really thought that X-Factor fell a little flat throughout the entire book. I mean, c’mon, Baron Mordo is going to be tricked by a chick that was in Generation X a few years ago? On the other hand, I thought New Mutants was great. Really cool to see the team get some downtime…but not for long. Can’t wait to see if this “Ulysses” guy has anything to do with Ulysses Bloodstone.
Baron Mordo is a jerky loser. Monet totally owns him.