Are you “X-cited” about the new era of the X-Men?
ANOTHER MERRY MARVEL MUTANT REBOOT!
The Krakoa Era is ending, so it is time for the X-Men to rise!
We all know that nothing in comics sells better than a “number one” issue, so the mutants are ending their current runs of X-books, with “All-New, All-Different” titles coming in July! (I know I heard that somewhere before!)
As the House of Ideas recently announced, there will be two relaunch titles and one new mutant comic coming our way! There will be X-Men by Jed McCay and Ryan Stegman, Uncanny X-Men by Gail Simone and David Marquez, and Exception X-Men from Eve Ewing and Carmen Carnero. (I have to throw in my old joke that there will be a new comic that reveals that the Pointer Sisters are actually mutants, and their book will be called “I’m So X-Cited!”)
However, if you thought that the mutants were going to be limited to just three comics a month, you were wrong! There will also be books featuring Phoenix, X-Factor, Storm, NyX, X-Force, and Wolverine. I haven’t seen word on just what creative teams will be bringing these comics to your local comics shop, but I would X-pect that news to arrive shortly!
Get your wallets primed and ready for the latest mutant comic X-plosion! (All right, enough with the X-Jokes!)
KEEPING UP WITH X-CONTINUITY
Every so often, I dip my toe into the mutant gene pool, and it isn’t long before I realize that I’m woefully underarmed when it comes to X-Men continuity.
As a friend of mine who keeps up with these things likes to point out, you just never know when some bit of history from literally decades ago will pop up. You can always tell the faithful X-fans from the rest of us because we often have to run and ask those very people just what in the world just happened!
I’ve told the story before that I once had a roommate named Scott who liked the Cyclops character because they shared the same first name. Since I bought comics, he asked if I would pick up the latest X-titles so he could read what was going on with him. However, it wasn’t very long before he realized that he didn’t know what was taking place, so I noticed he had stopped reading the books I was buying for him. I asked him about it, and he did indeed admit that he was clueless when it came to just what was taking place in these comics. So, I stopped buying them.
Now, my twin brother always enjoyed the mutants’ stories, but he didn’t keep up with them like he needed to in order to understand what was going on all the time. He got back into them when the teams were named with colors—red, blue, etc. However, he suffered the same fate as my friend Scott—things and people started showing up that he didn’t know about, so he lost interest again.
I make my Marvel fan friends quite unhappy with me when I say that they complain when DC reboots their books every so often, but they’re perfectly fine with it when the mutants do the same thing.
I also like to point out that every “jumping on” point is also a “jumping off” point, so new number one’s give people who are teetering on the edge with a comic a chance to leave what was once their favorite book behind. Remember, though, that collectors also love number one issues, so they will likely turn out in droves for new X-comics re-launching.
MARVEL APPRECIATES THE LOYAL X-FANS
Especially with all the time, money, and effort it takes to keep up with the X-Men, I’m sure the House of Ideas sincerely appreciates each and ever loyal fan of mutantkind. Granted, their numbers aren’t as high as they used to be, but they still keep one of the most successful comic book franchises alive and going!
I know some of them, and the feeling is mutual! They love their X-comics!
Marvel has attempted, at times, to imitate the mutant level achievement with other comic successes, including Eternals, Avengers, and others. But the X-Men remain the House of Ideas’ gold standard.
What is it going to take to bring the X-titles back to their previously lofty heights? Honestly, I don’t know! But I have faith that there are some creators out there just itching to take their time at bat!
I’m particularly intrigued with Gail Simone taking over The Uncanny X-Men. She’s got an interesting group of mutants to work with, including Wolverine, Rogue, Nightcrawler, Gambit, and others, of course! I expect sales to do well on that particular title.
Then, too, X-Men looks to have a strong team, with Cyclops and Magneto (can you say conflict among them for leader?), Psylocke, Magik, Beast, and Juggernaut. They have a stacked line-up, you could say!
On the other hand, the book that worries me the most is Exceptional X-Men. With the White Queen in charge of a group of lesser-known mutants, that could be the one to watch as it comes out of the gate in July! Apparently they will include Bronze, Axo, and Melee, who “clearly need training and guidance,” according to a Marvel news release.
I’ll also be curious to see how the return of teams like X-Factor and X-Force will work with the other groups. And how will the individual titles about Phoenix, Storm, and Wolverine weave in among those already established teams? Only time will tell!
Conspicuously absent from the groupings so far is Jean Grey, Professor X, and Iceman, to name a few. We’ll see if they rear their heads, especially if one of the comics starts to falter.
You know, the X-Men and all of mutantdom took off because the readers who have felt some alienation in society at one point or another identified with them. Who among us hasn’t felt they were outside the norm at times, especially comics fans? The question is, will that continue moving forward? Again, we’ll have to read the new books to find out!
Do I have a favorite mutant? Well, I know who I do NOT like, and that includes the White Queen, Rogue, and Wolverine (who has “mutated” from an initially smelly, short, and “Bub” spouting outcast to someone who has run just about every team since then. Like my former roommate, I probably like Scott Summers the most, especially since I recently had eye surgery that makes me wear similar sunglasses whenever I go out into the sunshine. But I could be persuaded to go with another mutant if the right argument presents itself!
Anyway, 2024 could be the “summer of the mutants” if all nine books hit the ground running in July and the rest of that season. As the poster says, “From the Ashes – A New Beginning!”
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