This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending Wizard World in Chicago. Seeing as this was my first comic book convention, I did not know what to expect. I was not disappointed, as it turned into one of the most enjoyable days I have had in a long time.

The day started with a lot of waiting in line. After arriving at the show 1.5 hours early, we waited outside with lots of other die-hard fans, including some guys dressed like Nazis (they say it was for an anime, but I am still skeptical). After getting in the doors at 9 am, we headed to meet Brian Michael Bendis and get him to sign some books. I have to tell you, meeting him made my day. As anyone who reads this blog knows, I love his work, so getting to talk to him and tell him how much I enjoy his writing was a real thrill.

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It’s been a while and strangely I didn’t get through as many X-Treme X-Men comics as I wanted to since my last blog about this series, but nevertheless, I got to issue #12 and, again, I’m not really impressed. Effing Chris Claremont again turned the series from partially good to bad to pretty awesome to terrible within 6 issues.

Really, for a while I was digging the series (say issues #4-7) when all of a sudden, things started to just get blotchy with the story and I was constantly going back a page or two to see what the hell was going on. But what was different than from issues #1-6 than #7-12 is that starting with issue #8 the art was almost as confusing as the dialogue (which Claremont began to use to tell a portion of the story). Although stunning at times, a lot of the art had the characters in very weird angles and positions during fight scenes. A lot I could deal with, but for some parts I was just baffled as to where a character started and began.

As for the storytelling, Chris Claremont did exactly as I thought: started a great story and told it poorly. A lot of the plot points in these last 6 issues were mainly jumped right into with no warning. It was kind of confusing, given that I’m used to stories leading up to a plot point rather than just throwing one in.

In one issue, the X-team are walking along in a house when on the next page a monster breaks through the floor and Rogue and Gambit are being held up in the air… it’s way random and utterly confusing for a new reader. It really makes me wonder how this series kept selling…

Even still, Chris Claremont knows how to write an effing good storyline as a whole and I have to give it up to him for that… No spoilers this entry, sorry kids.

I’ll check back with my next 6 issues or so and let you know what’s what…

One of the big releases that I forgot to mention that I was excited about in my look at the comic book week ahead on Tuesday was Ultimate Spider-Man. I often make the mistake of forgetting about the Ultimate Universe sometimes, and I really shouldn’t, because some of the best stories by top Marvel artists can be found there. And Ultimate Spider-Man is no exception. After the break, I talk about the new issue of USM and the return of an old foe in this new arc of one of my favorite comics.

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I had fully intended to write my first blog post of the (comic) week on Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers, because I was most excited about this issue coming out this week. And after reading that comic first this week, I was already planning what I was going to write tonight. However, that synopsis/review is going to have to wait until tomorrow at least, because immediately after reading SI: Runways/Young Avengers, I read Fantastic Four #558 and HOLY SHIT!!! I was blown away. After the break, Doctor Doom is back, who are the New Defenders? and WTF?!?!?!? The Hulk? Prepare yourself, cause my full recap and review is after the break, with lots of awesome spoilers.

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Just yesterday I blogged about how I thought Marvel 1985 #2 was going to be straight up amazing and boy was I right. Mark Millar is basically taking the 1980s view on comics and printing it frame by frame and word by word in these comics. I seriously love this kind of stuff (see also: Kick-Ass), yet I can’t say anything until after the jump, but man-oh-man issue #2 was damn amazing.

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This week, we lucky kids who read in the Marvel universe are going to graced with some sweet comics. I’m talking über awesome.

First, we have a bunch of X-titles (and some related) coming our way: Angel: Revelations #2, Uncanny X-Men #499, Wolverine: First Class #4, Wolverine: Origins #26, and X-Men Legacy #213. Really, I’m most excited for Uncanny X-Men #499 and X-Men Legacy #213.

Second, my new love of a comic mini-series, Marvel 1985 #2 is coming out and I can do nothing but be extremely excited. This series is what any little kid dreams about and it simply came out of nowhere.. but of course, it’s another title by the ever-so-awesome Mark Millar, so it’s nothing short of pure gold.

**Spoilers of last week’s issues after the break**

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This is a huge release week for comics, especially in the Marvel Universe. On Wednesday, we are going to see a new story arc in Fantastic Four, an epic battle in Hulk and the start of the Runaways/Young Avengers‘ Secret Invasion tie-in. If that isn’t enough, we are going to see the end of Joss Whedon’s run on Runaways. And over on DC, the continuation of the major summer event Final Crisis

At the top of my “must-read” list this week is going to be Secret Invasion: Runways/Young Avengers #1. If you read Runaways, you’ll know why. First, you have the Runaways, who just scream teen drama (see the preview of Runaways #30 below for more info). Add to that the Young Avengers, which comes in a close second to Runaways in the teen drama department. Not to mention the fact that when these two groups teamed up in Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways, it made for one very compelling storyline. By all accounts, the series is sure to feature all the great writing that has been constant in both these series. There will also be plenty of action, as the teams are apparently going to be fighting one of the advance Skrull forces in Manhattan. The mini-series is only 3 issues long and if you are looking for a little more story to go along with Secret Invasion, this would be a great mini-series to pick up.

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Hey guys, Mike Rapin here… I’m going to try and blog some cool stuff about comics every day and give some insight as to what’s what in my mind with what I read… Just a warning, any link I have in any of my blog posts may contain spoilers (<-that one doesn’t haha), so be aware of what you’re clicking! And here goes:

On top of my weekly 5-10 comics I read from Marvel (primarily), Image, Vertigo and the like, I decided to read some back issues of X-Treme X-Men given that it parallels Grant Morrison’s New X-Men and Uncanny X-Men #410-443 all of which were very pivotal points in the X-Men world and both series’ I fucking loved–those two series’ got me hooked on comics. With that said, I know that the events of X-Treme X-Men are starting to come to light in the current X-titles (well, at least when New X-Men–not Grant Morrison’s stuff–was around and the whole Messiah Complex thing was kind of based around it–haha) and I figured I should dig into some of Chris Claremont’s X-Treme X-Men.

I got through the 5th issue today and here is where I’ll start–not so much with analysis of the issues, but with a sum up of story line as a whole and my opinions, the writing, and the art. (more…)

Last week, a new arc started in X-Factor and let me be the first to tell you that I really like the way this series is heading right now.

If you haven’t been reading X-Factor so far, drop what you are doing (including reading this post, cause there will be some spoilers) and start reading right now. What really sets X-Factor apart from other X-Men comics for me is the personal drama and the different type of “mission”. First, anyone who read my Amazing Spider-Man rant knows that I have a soft spot for personal drama. X-Factor delivers this by the truck load. From Rictor trying to kill himself due to a loss of his powers after M-Day, to Siryn being pregnant with Jamie Madrox’s child, to Layla Miller being trapped in a distopian future after traveling there with one of Madrox’s dups. As for the teams “missions”, their cases are more of a noir style. X-Factor is a detective agency after all, and the writing reflects this beautifully. Reading this series gives you a sense of reading an old detective novel.

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On Wednesday, I had the honor to pick up Wolverine #66, which begins the new story arc written by Mark Millar (Civil War, The Ultimates, Wanted). Now, I have been a pretty big fan of the Wolverine book since I started reading it. It has always been written really well and, let’s face it, you can write a lot about Wolverine. He has countless stories that can be told about him. Just look at how many Wolverine one-shots have been coming out lately. And there of course was the recent Logan mini-series that talked about his past in Japan. So, I was slightly surprised, with all this backstory that can be written about him, that Mark Millar decided to write a story about the future of Wolverine. And coming off of the outstanding “Get Mystique” arc, I was nervous how this would turn out. However, after reading the first issue, I can tell you that it seems like, as usual, Millar’s judgment is spot on.

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