Six-Month-Old Comics: The September 14 Non-Event Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Amazing Spider-Man #9:  This issue is incredibly random.  

As I'm guessing other reviewers have said, it's mostly the timing that spoils it, as it takes place during the Hellfire Gala.  Maybe if we weren't already onto the next event, the two months (in real time) that passed between "Hellfire Gala" #1 and this issue wouldn't seem so long.  Instead, everything about this issue seems dated, including Mary Jane rebuffing Peter's offer to get coffee given the fact that they seemed in a better place recently.  

Given this series at the best of times seems scattered, a delayed tie-in issue to a minor event during an allegedly major event doesn't help matters.  Wells is clearly in no rush to let us know what atrocity Peter committed six months ago; it's all starting to feel like the "Superior Spider-Man" all over again.  If you've read this blog before, you know that I don't meant that as a compliment.

Dark Beach #6:  For this series to make sense, you have to believe that Dr. Jozef Stanley had complete and total control over all decision-making on Earth.  

Breaking into the New Reykjavik Corps of Engineer's (NRCE) Center for Science and Technology, Gordo and Eve manage to retrieve, respectively, a photo of the captured extraterrestrial and the data on Schulz's computer.  They release the information to the public, and Stanley is discredited given the revelation that the solar flares occurred due to corporate greed and not natural phenomena.  The series ends with the New Reykjavik Council (having replaced NRCE) deciding to move Earth to its original position, placating its extraterrestrial watchers.  

(One quibble I have here is that the extraterrestrial apparently landed on Earth before we left our original position.  I thought Earth only attracted their interest as a result of moving ourselves?)

Returning to my original proposition, Stanley seems to be the only actor trying to keep Earth in its new position (so that he could get the extraterrestrial to reveal the details of interstellar travel, though I still don't entirely get why those two developments were linked).  Did no one else have any interest in staying?  If not, did Stanley really have that level of control over Earth that we only stayed where we were on his say-so?  

As much as I enjoyed the start of this series, Ruiz-Unger wraps up everything a little too neatly here for my liking.  He seems to leave all sorts of interesting possibilities on the table, mostly to free up space for the extraterrestrial plot that didn't really have any impact on the story in the end.  It's a disappointing end to an otherwise solid series.

Spider-Punk #5:  This issue is a muddled mess of an ending as the Spider-Band wins mostly because it's supposed to win.  I honestly don't understand the mechanics, like Osborn's suddenly producing a minion army from nowhere or Hobie seemingly disintegrating Osborn with sound or RiRi inexplicably gaining control over Iron Man's armor.  But I'll admit it doesn't detract from my affection for these characters.  I hope to see them again soon in a story that maybe challenges their worldview a little, as opposed to the fascist-bad/anarchy-good tale that we got here.

Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #27:  This issue is something of a return to form as T'onga and her crew take a job protecting a Pyke boss celebrating a recent victory over "a rival" at the Accretion Disco, a nightclub that hovers at the Crseih black hole's event horizon so you can feel a little extra "tingle" in your dancing.  It's exactly the sort of premise that I hoped we'd see in this series.  

But this team is battered, so it isn't exactly a good time.  Losha is obsessed with matching Vukorah's brutality so she can get revenge for the Nexu, and Tasu kills the Pyke boss after learning from the Nar Kanji assassins hired to kill him that said boss' victory was taking out a school while the students slept.

I know it's a weird complaint, but I found this issue almost too character driven.  Although I like the theme of T'onga taking the job to keep the crew together, the characters' trauma is real.  It almost feels wrong to watch them struggle through this job.  Valance's decision to reciprocate his fellow officer's advances fits into this category as well.  

After weighing down this series for so long with the ultimately futile search for Cadeliah, I kind of feel like we need the crew to get a big enough score for a beach vacation or something.

Also Read:  Star Wars:  Obi-Wan Kenobi #5

Six-Month-Old Comics: The August 3 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Batman #126:  As expected, Zdarsky isn't fucking kidding.

The issue begins with a recovering Robin telling Batman to mind his own business when Bruce expresses concern that Tim is already on patrol.  Bruce returns to the Cave, and Zdarsky picks up the thread from last issue as Bruce muses how the kids don't understand that they ultimately can't keep their costumed identities and find "love and happiness."  (Yes, it's weird to see Bruce say the words "love and happiness.")  Before Bruce goes any farther down that road, Failsafe attacks!

Zdarsky makes it clear that Failsafe is Bruce's un-fucking-stoppable Doomsday.  Within six punches thrown, Bruce realizes that he's dead if he stays in the Cave.  He manages to grapple himself to the Batmobile and order it to speed to safety.  But the bomb Bruce throws at Failsafe as he leaves the Cave does no good as, still on fire, it finds Bruce in the city.  Bruce admits to Oracle that the situation is bad, and Jiménez does a great job of showing actual fear in Bruce's eyes as Failsafe grabs his cape and hurls him to the ground before he can escape up a fire escape.  

Bruce contemplates the end, which only doesn't happen because Batgirl (Cassandra), Signal, and Spoiler arrive.  Failsafe almost immediately takes out Stephanie, and Signal distracts Failsafe while Robin gets Bruce into the Batmobile so he can meet Leslie at the Cave.  A concussed Bruce murmurs to himself that Failsafe sounds familiar, and Tim floors it to flee the pursuing Failsafe.  Nightwing arrives in time to buy Tim time to escape.  Failsafe dismisses the team as "little soldiers" and takes out Batgirl and Spoiler.  He then rips off Duke's helmet and scans it, gaining access to the team's systems.

Leslie is startled to find Failsafe in the new Cave, but Bruce had Tim take him to the old one.  Cryptically recalling that he "went too far" in his early days before the "children" softened him, Bruce activates Zur-en-Arrh!

In the back-up story, two previously unidentified Penguin heirs - Addison and Aiden - have murdered their ten siblings.  Well, they tried to murder all ten:  Selina manages to prevent a disguised Aiden from murdering Ethan, from "Batgirl."  But he's left in a vegetative state.

Selina puts together this sequence of events the next day when Addison and Aiden arrive at the Executor's office for the will reading.  They have notarized copies of documents vouching for their DNA, and Selina recognizes Aiden is wearing the same cufflinks as Ethan's attacker.  Since the will excludes Ethan due to his vegetative state, the Executor announces that Addison and Aiden inherit the Iceberg Lounge and Penguin's other real-estate holdings.  Addison loses her mind, though, when the Executor announces that Penguin's money goes to the Flights of Fancy Bird Sanctuary in Metropolis.  Aiden then hustles her out the door.

Before Addison and Aiden arrived, Selina asked the Executor for the names of the mothers of Penguin's children so she could split her $500,000 fee among them .  After Addison and Aiden depart, she cryptically asks the Executor for one more address.

All in all, I couldn't be happier with Zdarksy's run so far.  As I hoped, the main story brings the sort of propulsive energy and astute characterization that he brought to Spider-Man, and the Catwoman mystery is a great accompaniment.

Immortal X-Men #5:  Oof.  

The best part of this issue is Bandini and Curiel's art, whose brightness and clarity brilliantly matches Exodus' story as a knight in the employ of a series of messiahs (Apocalypse, Magneto, and now Hope).

Unfortunately, the art does more to walk us through Exodus' thousand-year journey than anything Gillen does.

Exodus realizes that he's lost in his memories because the Uni-Mind is attacking and it's using this ploy on all the Council members to distract them from the attack.  I'll admit that it's a solid plan on the Uni-Mind's part.  I'll also admit that Gillen does a great job of scripting Exodus' fever-driven way of speaking and thinking.  Combined, however, the disjoint narrative and crazed script make the issue difficult to follow.  

I also don't know enough about Exodus' past to know whether Gillen is ret-conning his history, filling in gaps in said history, or rehashing events that we've seen elsewhere.  But it certainly feels odd for Gillen to spend so much time on Exodus' history when this issue also gives us the Hex attacking Krakoa for the first time.

Again, I keep reading this series because it's essential to understanding the X-Men's current status quo not because it's interesting in and of itself.

Moon Knight #14:  McKay and Cappuccio do a great job balancing Marc's characterization-driven conversation with Jake and Steve with the ass-kicking punishment he gets from Grand Mal and Nemean.  

For example, Jake and Steve point out Marc is getting his ass handed to him because he's trying too hard to keep them on the bench.  In fact, they note Marc is usually the one who gets them into trouble.  Marc says that he's trying to hide his disorder from Reece because he doesn't want to scare her away.  Jake and Steve point out Reece is actually managing her chronic disease unlike Marc, who is actively ignoring it.  All excellent points, fellas.

In the end Hunter's Moon and Tigra find Marc's broken body, and Marc agrees to let in Jake and Steve.  Of note, I was happy to see McKay mentioning previous series' events during the conversation, a rare creator who doesn't pretend he invented a legacy character from scratch.  Good times (for us, not Marc), they're a-comin'!

Spider-Man 2099:  Exodus #5:  This issue is similar to the previous ones:  a long series of expository conversations to update us the status quo of another B-list 2099 hero.  This time, it's the X-Men's turn.

The mutants are homeless after the Cabal used its Sentinels to seize the mutant homeland in the Savage Land for reasons I don't think Orlando specifies other than the Cabal is e-v-i-l.  The action (such as it is) starts when Northstar discovers a mutant at the heart of the Celestial Garden, which Cerebra decides means it's the new mutant homeland.  (Ballsy.)

Upon arriving, the X-Men discover an adamantium mountain that Rogue turns to gas using Voght's powers. Inside is a Doom-manufactured canister holding X-Man's eye.  Before Orlando can explain, the Cabal's Sentinels attack.  Spidey and Nostromo arrive to help just as Osborn arrives with more goons.

This issue is perhaps the most wooden of an already mediocre series, as the X-Men are little more than plot-advancing mouthpieces.  I'm glad we're finally wrapping up this series so someone other than Orlando can hopefully take the 2099 ball and run with it.  It isn't a lot, but it's what I've got.

Spider-Punk #4:  When the villain spares the hero in the penultimate chapter, it's usually the author's naked ploy to amp up the drama.  It is here, too.  Unusually, though, Ziglar gives Green Goblin a solid reason for "sparing" Hobie, Kamala, Karl, and Riri:  he's going to execute them publicly!  During his various super-villain monologues, Norman - whose head survived Hobie decapitating him due to the Venom symbiote - explains to Hobie that his death at Hobie's hands made him a martyr to all the fascists and racists who supported him.  I actually thought at various moments that one or more of the Spider-Band might die, so I'm really not sure how next issue is going to go, y'all!

X-Men Red #5:  Unlike "Immortal X-Men" #5, Ewing shines in this tie-in issue, showing us how Uranos decimated Arakko, as we saw in "A.X.E.:  Judgment Day" #1.

It isn't just Uranos himself attacking the Arakkii, but his "armories," a series of destructive tools that range from a bio-metallic slime infecting the Morrowlands to a self-replicating machine army invading Argyre Planitia.  Ewing provides a timer in each panel, underscoring how devastating Uranos' attack is when Brand, Cable, and Magneto are all dead before Uranos uses up 20 minutes of the hour Druig allowed him.  

The scene where Uranos rips out Magneto's heart is particularly brutal and shocking, which makes the last page's revelation that Magneto somehow survives without his heart all the more confusing.  Other than that, it's a pretty spectacular issue that underscores the threat the mutants face in the Eternals.

Three-Month-Old Comics: The July 13 Edition - The Everything-Else Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Moon Knight #13:  Ooo, this series keeps getting better and better.

Moon Knight has set his sights on Tutor and his vampire pyramid-scheme, which remains one of the best and funniest plots that I've ever read in a comic.  According to Moon Knight, he's put off getting vengeance for what Tutor did to Reese for too long.  It's a solid enough excuse; he's had a lot on his plate since then.  I was actually impressed with McKay returning to it.  It's like how the best Batman and Spider-Man writers get the balance between "monthly idiot villain" and "shadowy scheming adversary" just right.  Even though Joker is planning on blowing up Gotham, it doesn't mean Calendar Man isn't also trying to rob a bank.

But McKay goes one further:  Reese and Tigra discuss how Steve is really doing it as revenge for Soldier.  The way everyone talked about Soldier, I figured that we were going to see him in comatose in a hospital.  Instead, Reese turned him into a vampire!  Brilliant!  That said, Tutor is pissed, because he believes that he's the only person in New York who can convert people.  He hires Taskmaster as a consultant and tries to get him to take out Moon Knight.  Taskmaster, wisely, declines.  As such, Tutor hires Grand Mal and Nemean, who I don't know but look, um, unfriendly.

Meanwhile, Reese wants more information about Steve, which Steve is unwilling to provide at this point.  But he does call a meeting between the various personalities, which promises to make next issue a fun one.

I'm really impressed with McKay moving us into such a great premise for the next arc.  These transitions are usually difficult, but McKay launches us here into a status quo that makes perfect sense in terms of where we've been.  Read this series!

Spider-Man 2099:  Exodus #4:  At some point, it became clear that Orlando wasn't putting in too much effort to tell whatever story he initially intended to tell.  For example, Miguel starts this issue by suddenly informing us that he needs to find the Black Widow so that she can lead him to Doom's heir, a technopathic mutant named Nostromo.  Apparently Nostromo turned over Latveria to its people so Miguel figures that he can use his technopathic powers to take out the Cabal's Black Cards without feeling tempted to use said Black Cards.  (Of course, I don't understand why the Cabal couldn't just make new Black Cards, but, again, we're kind of past trying to find narrative logic here.)  

I had to read it twice to (almost) understand, but Nostromo is in hiding because he knows that Doom (and not Osborn) actually killed Jovion the Enactor with Hawkeye's help.  Hawkeye wants Nostromo dead because the Cabal would otherwise want him dead as the only other person who knows that Doom, and not Osborn, killed the Celestial.  (It has something to do with the right of ownership, I think?)  Anyway, after finding Nostromo, Black Widow travels to Hawkeye's orbiting station and kills Hawkeye before he can kill Nostromo.  She's Yelena, somehow, and Hawkeye apparently killed Natasha.  So it's revenge.  Sure.  Great.

Miguel takes Nostromo to the Celestial Garden but Sentinels are attacking so the X-Men on next issue's "heroes of the month."  [Sigh.]  We'll just stop there.

Spider-Punk #3:  This series continues to be the best time in comics.  After the Spider-Van dies in a confrontation with Kingpin's Marauders (a brilliant combination of Armor, Daken, and Sunfire that I wouldn't mind seeing in the real world), Hobie and Kamala put together a side project (hilarious) with Philly's Daredevil to take out Kingpin and free the goods that he hoards so they can fix the van.  (It gave me March 2020 flashbacks, y'all.)  Along the way, we get the same whip-smart banter that we've gotten through out this series.  I love it so, and I would love to see what Ziglar could do beyond the five-issue structure.  But, if I only get these five issues, I'll take it.

Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #25:  This issue is like an old "Challenge of the Super-Friends" episode, as T'onga and her crew battle the Knights of Ren.  Obviously, that's high praise

Sacks does something here that we often don't see, namely putting the series' main characters in a situation they can't overcome.  When Bossk realizes that they're facing the Knights of Ren and immediately suggests they run, Tasu is dismissive.  By the time the team is lucky enough to escape with their lives, Tasu realizes that the guy with maybe more muscles than he has (i.e., Ren) almost beat him.  I'm hoping Sacks follows up this realization with a deep dive into Tasu's psyche, since it seems like his abilities are almost like Gladiator's, dependent on his self-confidence.  T'onga releasing the injured crew to continue what now seems like a suicide mission to get Cadeliah is poignant, a sign of just how close this crew has become.  It isn't all emotion, though, as Sacks has the characters also get in some pretty great banter.

My only criticism is that Valance continues to feel like an afterthought here.  That said, Sacks ups the stakes as Haydenn learns that the Empire wiped out the Rebel base where Yuralla was stationed.  She declines to tell Valance that, as she's trying to get him to see that he could be happy with the Empire, introducing him to the engineers he saved.  (I don't recall that happening but it sounds like it happened last issue.  I only remember the failure to prevent the officer's assassination last issue.)

The good news is that I feel like Sacks is moving us where we need to be, concluding T'onga's quest for Cadeliah while at the same time preparing Valance for the next stage.  I'm curious where we go when that happens.

Undiscovered Country #19:  This issue is straight to the point.  

While Charlotte and Valentina are stuck in a time loop in Revolutionary War America -- dying in a hail of bullets every time they're discovered -- Ace, Chang, and Janet find themselves at a "V-Day" parade in Times Square.  A besuited President [Alex] Graves is cheering the "great liberators" - Ace, Charlotte, Daniel, Pavel, and Valentina - but the crowd recoils in horror  when they realize the "great villains of our greater nation" are in the crowd - Chang and Janet!

In their era, Charlotte and Valentina wonder how they've gone backwards in history, and it's clear that Ace, Chang, and Janet have gone forward, possibly to an era after the Closing.  It implies some treachery on Chang and Janet's part, treachery that the rest of the team overcame.  But it also raises the question how Alex can be in two times at once, unless he and Daniel arrived here after the events of "Undiscovered Country:  Destiny Man Special" #1.

In other words, it isn't the most exciting issue in and of itself, but it sets up a story that I think could really get to the core of what Snyder and Soule are doing here.

Three-Month-Old Comics: The May 18 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Immortal X-Men #2:  This issue is fun.  Gillen corrects a problem that I didn't quite realize has plagued the Hickman era since its inception, namely the Council members sitting out most of the action despite the fact that they're some of Earth's most power mutants.  Hope and Sinister shine here, as Sinister uses one of his specialty chimera blends to incapacitate Selene's External Gate kaiju and Hope uses her various abilities to take out Selene herself (thanks to a tip from Destiny).  Crisis averted.  Along the way, Gillen shows how Destiny and Hope are not only powerful additions to the Council but significantly change its dynamics.  As I said last issue, I'm not entirely sure how stoked I am about this series overall, but Gillen moves me farther along that path here.

New Mutants #25:  Ayala starts us down an interesting road here, as Magik's attempt to turn over Limbo to Madeleine Pryor goes awry when a newly powerful S'ym attacks.  

Earlier, we saw a mysterious figure help S'ym create a weapon seemingly from his soul - a Soulclub, if you will.  S'ym then uses the Soulclub to destroy the Soulsword.  A wounded Illyana manages to teleport herself, Dani, Madeleine, and Rahne somewhere else in Limbo.  But they're functionally trapped given Illyana no longer has control over Limbo.  Ayala does a solid job of making it really unclear how they're going to escape - let alone win - this one.  

I haven't been the biggest fan of Ayala's work on this title, but she makes the right call in significantly narrowing the cast and focus for this arc.  She also leaves us some interesting breadcrumbs, particularly in the form of the mysterious goblin who pledges to help Illyana upon the team's arrival in Limbo.  I'm happy to see where we go from here.

Spider-Punk #2:  This series continues to be a rollicking good time.  

Taskmaster exposits that someone hired him - and he hired Kraven and the Hunters in turn - to take out the Spider-Band because their HQ was sitting on an Osborn blacksite.  Kraven eventually detonates himself to try to take out the Band, but Ri Ri throws up a shield in time to save the team.  (Taskmaster escaped, natch.). The team realizes that the blacksite under their HQ is just one of many blacksites that Osborn left behind and decides to go on tour to dismantle the sites and Osborn's remaining network.  

In other words, Ziglar really steps up the plot side of this endeavor, giving the heroes a mission that perfectly matches their modus operandi.  Along the way, we continue to get the character moments that make this series the fun it is.  

Star Wars:  Han Solo and Chewbacca #2:  It probably isn't a surprise to anyone other than Han that Graves' safe was empty.  It means either Greedo's information was wrong or Greedo is plotting against Han.  Either way, Han, his "father" (Ovan), and Greedo find themselves at the end of the issue trapped on the other side of the door from Graves' security forces, which he hired after Han broke into his penthouse last issue.  

Earlier in the issue, Han brought along Ovan on the job because his work for the Corellian Engineering Corporation (CEC) meant that he had access to a plasma cutter, which Han and he used to open the safe.  As they interact, Ovan has enough information about Han that he seems to start believing that he might be his father, which means that he probably definitely isn't.  Meanwhile, Marshal Buck Vanto is in pursuit of Han and uses leverage that he has over Bib Fortuna (something to do with him getting "dragged back to Ryloth") to find out he's on Corellia.  

In other words, Han is in a lot of trouble on multiple fronts but, typically, doesn't understand just how much trouble...yet.

X-Men Red #2:  I'm down with everything Ewing is doing here, particularly Brand realizing that her false-flag operation - in the form of Mars' X-Men - is no match for Ororo.  When Brand has Orchis send the Progenitors to Mars as a way to collect information on how Cable interacts with his techno-organic virus, she isn't expecting Storm and the Brotherhood to appear and save the day.

My only issue with this issue is the reversion of Vulcan to his previous iteration.  That said, I acknowledge that Ewing isn't just willy-nilly wiping away his previous characterization.  Ewing makes it clear that whatever good outer shell the mysterious alien trinity from "X-Men (2019)" #10 installed around Vulcan's evil inner self is coming undone.  Vulcan's deteriorating mental state is obvious, particularly when we learn that Petra and Sway haven't been resurrected but are constructs that Gabriel created.

At some point, though, someone has to explain why the trinity created that shell in the first place.  We also need to learn if Gabriel's insanity is due to, or cause of, the unraveling outer shell.  In the meantime, it's certainly going to be fun to see Gabriel unleashed on Arakko.

Also Read:  My Brother, Teddy #1

One-Month-Old Comics: The April 6 (2022) Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

All right, I've gotten through enough of my superhero-comic backlog that I can finally start reviewing all my comics at the same time.  As such, I'll start reviewing the "Star Wars" and other "top-shelf" series with the superhero comics.  Onwars and upwards!

Devil's Reign #6 (April 6):  It's weird to be happy that Wilson Fisk gets a happy ending, but Zdarksy's brilliance is what makes that possible.  

After Luke inspires the freed Purple Child to summon the strength to break the Purple Man's hold on New York City, Wilson's plan is in shambles.  He doesn't care, though.  He thinks that he's killed Matt Murdoch, when we know that he's really killed Mike Murdoch.  When Daredevil hears that Mike is dead, he rushes to kill Fisk.  In the end, though, Elektra convinces him not to do it, because he isn't an assassin who strikes in shadows.  (Isn't he, though?)

As Wilson is brought to jail, Butch intervenes and brings him to the Stromwyns.  Wilson violently rejects their "offer" to make him president, potentially killing them in his rampage through their guards.  This entire experience has made him realize that he really just wants to be with Mary.  He tells Butch to tell everyone that Kingpin killed Matt Murdoch and Butch killed him.  

As such, "Devil's Reign" ends with both Daredevil and Kingpin free of who they were.  Daredevil agrees to help Elektra form the Fist, and Kingpin and Mary literally sail into the sunset.  Although primarily a Daredevil story, Marvel isn't wrong, for once, that this mini-series will have serious ramifications throughout the New York City-based hero community.  Fisk is no longer the mayor, and Luke Cage (!) looks set to become the mayor.  

As these events go, Zdarsky did much better than his colleagues before him.  He kept the story focused and didn't trying to do too much.  The story of Kingpin's fall as Mayor was literally years in the making, and I'm really satisfied with the outcome.

Marauders #1 (April 6):  This issue is uneven, but it's a solid enough start for this new team.  I feel like Orlando probably needed two full issues to tell the story that he wanted to tell here, first establishing the new team and its dynamic and then sending them on their first mission.  Then again, after the time that he had to spend establishing that Krakoa has determined Cassandra Nova is a mutant, maybe it was a good idea to end with a bang.  

And a bang it is:  Cassandra reveals that the Shi'ar have been holding the first generation of mutants captive for millennia.  As Kate and company head to the Imperium, Delphos reveals herself to Xandra as Delphos the Red, a member of a secret society created to keep the mutants imprisoned lest the Imperium fall.  She reveals their secret history to Xandra, who's sufficiently terrified of what would happen if the Marauders discover the truth that she sends Erik the Red after them.  

Looking at next issue, I'm hoping that we'll see some tighter art and writing, but, all in all, it isn't a terrible new start for Kate and company.

Spider-Punk #1 (April 6):  I'm hit or miss with Cody Ziglar, but this issue is seriously fun.  Hobie and his Spider-Band of anarchist, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ super-friends protect Brooklyn from Kraven and the Hunters, who've accepted weapons from a mysterious benefactor to help him gentrify the neighborhood.  It could be eye-roll inducing, but Ziglar infuses the story with enough heart and humor (i.e., "What's the Furthest Place from Here?" was missing) that it isn't.  If you want your Spider-Man a little more cyberpunk and a little more queer, this series is for you.

X-Men Red #1 (April 6):  This series is exactly what I was hoping it would be.  

Ewing uses Storm and Sunspot as our eyes into how difficult trying to fit Earth and Arakko societies together is going to be.  For Bobby, he's excited at the possibility that Arakko brings, looking to become Arakko's premier party planner, essentially.  It's the perfect role for him.  Fuck A.I.M.  Bringing disco to Arakko is his calling.  

But, Earth's misfit toys are causing trouble.  Vulcan loses his shit at the Red Lagoon, Bobby's bar, when a Shi'ar diplomat doesn't recognize him, his former "king."  Before Abigail Brand and Cable can calm down the situation, Vulcan starts waling on Bobby.  Then, Thunderbird arrives and loses his shit and he starts waling on Vulcan.  But, Brand understands the situation and does what I've been saying that the mutants' leaders need to do to keep the younger mutants in line:  Thunderbird and Vulcan just need jobs.

Meanwhile, Ewing shows that Storm is handling her task a little better than Bobby.  As imperious as Isca the Unbeaten is, Storm notes that she constantly abstains and refuses to accept the burden for decisions that Isca wants her (Storm) to accept.  (Because Isca so frequently abstains, Storm often has to cast the tying vote.)  To emphasize this point, Brand proposes that Storm create an X-Men for Mars.  She wants Storm to lead it as Queen of Mars, which leads Storm, as she does frequently throughout this issue, to insist that she's Regent of Arakko.

As these events develop, Magneto strikes up a friendship with the Fisher King, a human born in the Tarn's prisons who lives on one of Arakko's isolated continents.  Bobby later approaches Magneto (with the Fisher King present) about creating a new X-Men team to keep an eye on Brand, and Storm arrives to propose something similar.  Knowing Brand is going to build her own X-Men (presumably with Thunderbird and Vulcan on the team) for her own ends, though, Storm suggests that they are instead the Brotherhood.  Yes!

In other words, it's "John Carter of Mars" meets "Days of Future Past" meets "Blade Runner" meets "Red Mars."  In other words, it's spectacular.  Ewing excels at showing both Storm and Sunspot's strengths and weaknesses in one issue.  Storm's commitment to peace makes her turn an inadvisably blind eye to the Arakkii's true nature, but her experience, insight, and values make her capable of actually bringing about that peace.  Bobby is too optimistic, maybe, but also pays more attention than people think that he does.  Ewing is also putting together characters that we've never really seen interact, which makes it all the more exciting.  I can't tell if Storm is going to hate or love Bobby, but we'll see.

In other words, I am so fucking here for this series.

Also Read:  Moon Knight #10 (April 6)