ASTONISHING X-MEN Vol.2: DANGEROUS (TPB)
- Joss Whedon & John Cassaday

So the second trade paperback of Whedon's run on AXM has (finally!) been released. It collects the second arc of his run, #7-12, and after such an amazing start with his first six issues, expectations were high to say the least. So does it live up to the hype? Well duh! It's JOSS WHEDON, boys and girls.

If you are unaware (and let's face it, there's no reason for you to be otherwise) I am a very big fan of the man Whedon. His CV reads basically like a list of some of my favourite things in the worlds of TV, film, and comics over the past 10 years. Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Serenity... it's not right for a man to be that talented.

But what of AXM? Well, this second arc has everything that made the first so enjoyable: excellent dialogue, crisp characterisation, and absolutely gorgeous artwork from John Cassaday. I read through the whole trade in one sitting just as I did the first, but truth be told I didn't find the story quite as intriguing as the first. The whole 'mutant cure' thing from "Gifted" is hardly touched upon, which surprised me. And whilst I didn't find the story of the Danger Room becoming sentient quite as silly as some did, the lack of progression on threads set up in the first arc did leave a nagging feeling of dissatisfaction. But these really are minor niggles for what is one of the best reads in mainstream comics today. Whedon has made the X-Men glorious again, and for that we should be thankful. He's injected a sense of fun (not to mention all that intrigue) into a group of characters who were becoming very old hat. Even Grant Morrison could only avoid that by going really far out with his run. But Whedon and Cassaday have made them superheroes again. He's bringing the humour, which is all to the good.

I can't say enough good things about Whedon's dialogue. I don't think anyone has blended dialogue with characterisation as well as this before. A single quote can tell you all you need to know about the characters. And has there ever been as perfect a match 'tween writer and artist as Whedon and Cassaday. If Marvel had any sense, they'd do all they could to tie these two down for the next several years. On the other hand, I'm having a geekgasm just thinking about what these two could do if they were let rip on something bigger than the X-Men. A Whedon/Cassaday Spider-Man book? Yes, please! Or even better, how about shipping them over to the Distinguished Competition where we might get... wipe that drool away... a Whedon/Cassaday Batman book?

So overall then, this is a must-read for comics fans and non-comics fans alike. It's far and away one of the best comics around, and the best news is that having been on a brief hiatus (partly because Joss was busy promoting "Serenity", and partly because it freed the characters up for use in the "House of M" storyline) the book is now coming back for its second year, starting in February. Because of his inability to meet deadlines every single month (hey, I never said the guy was perfect), Marvel have made the sensible decision to make AXM bi-monthly. Unfortunately, for us 'wait-for-the-trade'-ers, that means we probably won't see Vol.3 until at least February 2007. 2007! Still, there are still some story threads that Joss has promised to pick up. Just what is going on with Emma Frost? Where do her loyalties lie, and what the hell was the Hellfire Club doing on Genosha? Have the X-Men really severed all ties with Professor X? Is there more to come regarding the mutant cure? And exactly which X-man is destined to destroy another planet - 'cause you just know we haven't seen the last of Ord or the Breakworld. And perhaps most interesting of all: the 'Astonishing' aftermath of House of M. Only 198 mutants left in the world?! You really think Joss is gonna ignore that? Hell no.
So even if it is a long (loooooooong) way away, I guarantee it'll be worth it. It's going to be a helluva ride.

ULTIMATE X-MEN Vol.12: HARD LESSONS (TPB)
- Brian K. Vaughan & various

After whipping through the second AXM trade in one sitting, getting very excited about how good comics are right now, and praising the heavens that I'm alive when Joss Whedon was pumping out work-of-genius after work-of-genius, I was in a pretty damn fine mood when I sat down to read Vol.12 of the generally superb Ultimate X-Men. It's with a heavy heart, therefore, that I must report how disapointed I was. Vaughan is a fantastic writer and on the whole I've enjoyed his run on UXM. But I've never fully shaken the feeling that he's at his best when working on one of his own series. Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina are two of my favourite comic books at the moment, two of the best comics at the moment, but Vaughan hasn't quite managed to spread his magic onto the Ultimate X-Men. Don't get me wrong, there's some been some great stuff during his run, some very inventive things too. But Whedon's run on Astonishing has put all other X-books in the shade, and when you see how good things can be, it's frustrating when that quality isn't met across the board. There's just... something... missing, and I can't put my finger on what it is.
My mood wasn't helped when I saw that this trade re-printed the UXM Annual. The Ultimate annuals that were released a few months back were one of the few times when I actually bought 'floppies' (normal comic books) because I wanted to make sure I could keep them in chronological order to their respective series. I don't think the Ultimate Spider-Man or The Ultimates annuals are being collected in their next trades, so why is this one? If there weren't enough issues to warrant a trade, why not just keep the issues and put them in with the next one? At least them we get one slightly longer TPB, instead of what we have now - a trade basically consisting of a two-part story bookended by standalone issues. Like I said, I was pretty disapointed overall with this trade. Well, except for one thing. I must admit it was a pleasant surprise was seeing Steve Dillon's artwork in the first issue collected in this volume. Unfortunately it was a pretty flat issue story-wise; it wasn't a great showcase for Dillon, who I always feel is at his best when really allowed to let loose and be creative. This just wasn't the issue for that, and made me long for the days when Dillon was teamed with Garth Ennis on Preacher. Aahh, Preacher... y'know, it just might be time to re-read those books again.

So here's the thing: I haven't been around for a while. Not that I've been out of commission or anything; it's nothing but laziness on my part. I had meant to post regular reviews of... well, whatever I had to review. Guess that didn't pan out, huh?

Hopefully, when I get re-motivated, the posts will become more frequent, and the reviews will flow like wine. Or water. Some flow-y thing, anyway. For now, though, I'll just tease you with some recommendations in lieu of full reviews. Just head for the end of this post.

But the real kicker this week is the passing of Eddie Guerrero. If you're not a wrestling fan this will mean nothing to you, but the IWC (that's internet wrestling community to the rest of you) is in mourning BIG TIME at the moment. This week's "WWE Raw" was a tribute to Eddie much the like the Owen Hart tribute show a few years back. I don't mind telling you, I was bawling my eyes out watching that show. It's such a sad loss, especially when Eddie overcame so many demons to finally find some peace with himself and his life. Do yourself a favour - go out and buy (or rent) the DVD "Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story" that WWE put out last year. Wrestling fan or no, you won't be able to help being moved by his story. And hell, if anyone can lure you into the wacky world of pro wrestling fandom, it's the man Guerrero. After WWE came back to Cardiff last year for the first time in over a decade, I was so glad it was the Raw roster and not the SmackDown roster. And when SmackDown cam earlier this year, I passed on it 'cause I couldn't really afford it, and anyway I figured they'd be back some other time. Well, they might be back again, but I've missed my chance to see Eddie Guererro live. This is one of those things that I'll regret for a long time. I so wish I'd gone to see the SmackDown show when I had the chance.
R.I.P. Eddie. Thanks for the memories.

As for me? I have a cold. The kind of cold where I have to gasp for breath out of my mouth because I can't breathe out of my gorramn nose. The kind of cold where my innards seem to go out'ard every time I cough. And you don't wanna know what's been coming out of my nose.
Aren't you glad I shared that with you?

I caught the damn thing at work. In fact it seems to be moving up the table in a disturbingly deliberate pattern.

What is with Americans? How could they let a film as brilliant as "Serenity" stutter at the box office the way it did? What utter cretins. Anyway, for those of you who didn't go and see it at the cinema (despite my recommendations to everybody I knew), then start counting the days for the DVD release, which should be early 2006 in this country. You can order it from the States if you like (it's out December 20th), but the cover artwork is hideous. Here's hoping we get something better.

So it's the old man's birthday today. He and I will be heading down to my grandad's, and then out for a few bevvies. Three generations out on the town.

And that's all I have to say for now. If the gods are smiling on me (or, to put it a slightly less absurd way, if I can make the gorramn effort) then these entries will be more frequent. But if anyone's expecting daily posts... just move along there, pal.

Outsider's Recommendations:
TV: Lost (Season One - E4)

DVD: War of the Worlds; Billy Connolly: Live in New York

MOVIES: Sod all. I mean it, there's bugger-all out at the moment that appeals to me. "Barry Trotter and the Droplet of Piss" or whatever it's called? No thanks. Haven't been even slightly tempted by either the books or the films.

BOOKS: "The Truth (with Jokes)" - by Al Franken

VIDEO GAMES: Fable: The Lost Chapters (Xbox). And don't forget that (at last - AT LONG LAST!) Half-Life 2 is out on Xbox this Friday! See you in the queue.

COMICS: Are you kidding? If you're a comics fan and you're NOT reading Infinite Crisis... seriously, my friend, what's the matter with you?

The first entry in my first blog. I've thought long and hard about what I should say here, and after so much rumination I've decided that I... have no gorramn idea what to say.

See, here's the thing: I had originally planned to open this journal about a week ago, at which time I would open with a review of "Serenity" and then shill the hell out of it, urging any foolish people who happened to stumble upon this journal that this was a film they should see.

Clearly things didn't quite work out that way. It's now a week later and - somehow - reviewing "Serenity" now seems a tad pointless. There are plenty of review elsewhere on the 'net, and I'm not convinced I could add anything that hasn't already been said.(Though, if you're that bothered, I think "Serenity" is a brilliant film that EVERYONE should see.)

So where do we go now, then? Well, this past week, there has been something else that's causing ructions in the land of the geek. Ever heard of a little thing called the "Infinite Crisis"?

If you haven't, chances are pretty good that ypu don't dabble much in the wonderful world of comics - DC Comics in particular. This is an event that has been brewing for a long while now, and is finally coming to fruition. To try and compress the build-up to this new 7-issue mini-series would be damn near impossible. Suffice to say it's been pretty damn impressive (not to mention comprehensive - how many tie-ins were there in the end?)

But this isn't just any old mini-series. It is nothing less than a sequel (of a sort) to one of the most important stories in comic book history - "Crisis on Infinite Earths", the story which in the eighties streamlined the DC universe by trimming away a lot of the fat, and (apparently) combining all the different universes into one cohesive whole. The question was always, how long will that last? Would DC ever revisit this part of their history? Well, it seems the time has come.

Not wanting to spoil anyone who may not yet have read the first issue, I won't talk about specific plot points (but what about that last page, huh?), but let's look at the intent behind the story. Beyond simply acknowledging the anniversary of the original "Crisis", and beyond merely paying a tribute to its effects, this "Infinite Crisis" is (according to the Powers That Be at DC) just as necessary in its own way as the original was in the eighties. Whilst the DCU is not quite the confusing... well, mess, that it was back then with all the alternate realities, can it be said that the modern DCU has become a bit bloated once again? Maybe it's time to trim some more fat? Maybe it's time bring a greater level of cohesion to the universe, especially with the main players, the holy trinity, of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman?

Of course it's still too early to tell what the aftermath will be. Speculation is rife, and there's a great article over at Newsarama looking at the first issue. There are MASSIVE SPOILERS, however, so read it at your own risk. Don't say I didn't warn you. Check it out here: http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?s=261f5541049a19adbbcbd3be9b080562&threadid=46268

Bring on issue 2!

So, how has this first entry gone, do we think? It's not quite the introduction I was planning, and hopefully I'll be a bit more personal in future entries. But hell, it could have been worse... right?