X-Termination : Q&A with David Lapham, Marjorie Liu and Greg Pak

By Jim Beard (originally posted here at Marvel.com)

Age of Apocalypse #13
 cover by Greg Land
(click to enlarge)

Sometimes X-Men events get so big it takes more than just multiple titles to contain them; it requires more than one reality.

The universe-jumping X-Termination will spill out not only from its own Alpha and Omega bookend issues, but also into Astonishing X-Men, X-Treme X-Men and Age of Apocalypse beginning this March. We contacted Marjorie Liu, Greg Pak and David Lapham—the respective authors of the aforementioned X-titles—and posed a few questions to them about alternate realities, alternate points of view, and lots and lots of alternate X-Men.

Week In Review : All New X-Men #2 + Thor God of Thunder #2 + Witch Doctor Mal Practice #1

Hey folks, welcome to another new week of reviews! We've got three very exciting and anticipated titles for you today. Some surprising results and some great finds for you to check out as well as a surprise after the reviews, so let's get to it!

- Always Assistive Akshay

All New X-Men #1 (Marvel)

Story : Brian Michael Bendis

Art : Stuart Immonen, Wade von Grawbadger

(Reviewed by Akshay Dhar)

Well, it's finally here, the much anticipated (re)debut of Brian M. Bendis as the scribe for an X-Men book after he turned the mutant world upside down waaaay back in House of M in 2005. Now that catastrophe has been reversed thanks to the recent finale of the much-hyped but really mindlessly boring Avengers Vs. X-Men - which could have been so much better – and the world is replete with mutants again.

When last we saw Cyclops (a.k.a Scott Summers) in the genuinely awesome AvX: Consequences mini-series, he was torn on what path to take – to be a martyr or to keep fighting or to face justice for what he has done. It was really well handled and the closing moments of that series lay the base for this one with Scott having escaped thanks to Magneto and his new allies. This series picks up that thread and shows us a determined and motivated “Team Cyclops” who are now renegade, kicking arse and taking names. I quite liked that and had been waiting for it.

Week In Review : B.P.R.D 1948 #2 + Captain America #1 + Deadpool #2

Hey folks!! Welcome back to another week - we're running a little late, but here's some of our picks from the week past. 

New reviews of this weeks books will be here this weekend so stick around!

B.P.R.D 1948 #2 (Dark Horse)

Story : Mike Mignola and John Arcudi

Art : Max Fiumara

(Reviewed by Anirudh Singh)

Well awesome another BPRD book. I cannot get me enough of these books. They never disappoint and each book leaves me with the growing realization that the end of the world will be brought about when Hellboy breaks out of Hell and runs loose - on Mignola's schedule, not the Mayans'. But that is a personal view. Anyhow, 1948 serves as a throwback, taking us into a simpler time when The Professor was still a little green around the edges and Hellboy was a little monster learning the ropes from his army family. Which means it is a time when some major reveals can really happen. But alas, my hopes are undone.

So far.

Week In Review : Deadpool #1 + Earth 2 #6

...and more madness for this week as we play catch-up! Other reviews for the week are HERE and these two wrap up our picks of the new comics this week. 

Stick around and we'll have more coming hot and fresh to your plate asap!

Deadpool #1 (Marvel)

Story : Gerry Duggan & Brian Posehn

Art : Tony Moore

(Reviewed by Anant Sagar)

(Insert Morgan Freeman voice here) “A new era dawns upon us. Marvel has begun its reboot. Although Deadpool believes it is not a reboot.”

Deadpool finally gets his Marvel NOW issue #1, and I couldn’t be happier! Now you’re probably wondering, “What? How is Anant happy with a reboot?”

It’s simple:

1. Deadpool is here. Giving him this series means he isn’t getting phased out. (like all his other titles, I miss Deadpool Corps and Deadpool Team-Up.)

2. Deadpool is fighting ZOMBIES!!!! And not just any zombies, Presidential Zombies.

3. His healing factor is back!!

Week In Review : AvX Consequences #4 + Bedlam #1

It's been a big week folks and we had some great comics reviewed for you and now we bring the final new-release reviews for the past week - two monster reviews of books you really should be checking out in our estimation. Enjoy!

- Akshay the Amused

AvX Consequences #4 of 5 (Marvel)

Story : Kieron Gillen

Art : Mark Brooks

(Reviewed by Mayank Khurana)

Who knew that the mediocre AvX summer event could lead to such a fantastic series!

For me it was all marked by inscrutable agendas, out-of-character actions and an overdone “fight first-speak later” mentality. The entire event left a sour taste, despite it being a culmination of so many story lines that I've been following and collecting avidly these last eight years.

I'd almost decided to not read AvX : Consequences as I thought it'd be a cash grab from the “House of Ideas” and didn't think that it would matter. Shows how much I know! I only picked it up because of the writer attached to it, Keiron Gillen, the man behind the awesome Journey Into Mystery and a brilliant run on Thor. He once again rewarded my faith in him by making AvX Consequences THE story to follow if you are remotely interested in the mutant side of Marvel-U.

Week In Review : Avenging Spiderman Annual #1 + Happy #2 + Masters of the Universe: The Origin of Skeletor OS

Avenging Spiderman Annual #1 (Marvel)

Story : Rob Williams

Art : Brad Walker (pencils), John Livesay (inks), Chris Sotomayor (colour)

(Reviewed by Anant Sagar)

The Thing and Spidey have been teaming up quite a bit lately. That and Spidey has a good relationship with the FF so this team up makes sense.

The good part about this issue had to be the art. Its fluid and the characters are really well drawn. Spiderman looks fluid and flexible and seems to jump from panel to panel with ease.

Having a team up with the Thing and throwing in the “Richards Kids”, Franklin and Val, makes it fun. Those kids are fun to read. The dialogues given to them made me laugh.

Week of October 24th Reviews : Bravest Warriors #1 + Deadpool #63 + Talon #1

IT'S TIME! ONCE AGAIN! FOR EVERYBODY!! TO COME ABOARD THE ZEROOOOOOO-DAY TRAIN!!!!
...so enjoy folks. Cheers.
- A-bit-embaressed-by-that Akshay

Bravest Warriors #1 (Boom Studios)

Story : Joey Comeau

Art : Mike Holmes

(Reviewed by Akshay Dhar)

Well it's safe to say I've never read a comic quite like this one. (And I picked this out of the 4 inaugural covers because I'm a huge Star Wars – original trilogy! – nerd...)

I should start by saying, “FANS OF ADVENTURE TIME, REJOICE!” For you see, this series is also created by Pendleton Ward, the brains behind that cult favourite series. And a pretty entertainingly bizarre creation it is indeed! We follow a teen-age interstellar/galactic super-group that is as kooky and quirky as any I've ever seen.

I've never really dabbled in Adventure Time, so this was a bit of an experiment for me and an exercise in trying out something out of my regular sphere – a good habit for anyone to have.

Marvel NOW Review: Uncanny Avengers #1 + Red She-Hulk #1

The big world-changing, ground-breaking, soul-shaking (yadda, yadda, blah, blah, insert more standard hype here, etc...) event that has been building over at the House of Ideas is finally here!Marvel NOW officially launched last week with the first of the new wave of titles - Uncanny Avengers and Red She-Hulk.

Today our own dynamic(-ish) duo of Mayank and Akshay take us through them both to see whether these measured up to all the hype!

Red She-Hulk #1

Script : Jeff Parker

Art : Carlo Pugalayan & Wellington Alves (pencils), Val Staples (colours)

Mayank says:

The second release under the “Marvel Now” banner for last week. The focus of Hulk shifts from father to daughter, from Red Hulk (RULK) to Red She Hulk (Betty Ross), while Rulk moves to the new team of Thunderbolts (along with Elektra and Punisher.. man that’s gonna rock!). Jeff parker continues to play around with the concepts he introduced and I gotta say man, I am loving this book. This title isn’t going to change your life, it’s not going to make you think or try to prove its relevance by using real world scenarios or create pseudo-reasons for a hero vs hero fight... but this is the most fun I had reading a comic book in quite some time.

Week In Review : Deadpool #61 + Happy #1 + Invincible #95

CAPTAIN! ICE-BERG AHEAD!!! ...no not really, it's actually just some awesome new comics, including the much-awaited return of super-scribe Grant Morrison to creator owned writing – so keep reading and enjoy!
- Akshay the amused

Deadpool #61 (Marvel)

Story : Daniel Way

Art : Ale Garza (pencils) + Sean Parsons (inks)

(Reviewed by )

YEAH BAY-BEE!! Hit Monkey’s back.

So this first issue after the Blacklisted saga, we see Wade explaining himself to what seems like somebody 'off-camera'.

So this issue is all about a ex-FBI agent who has a vendetta against good ol’ Wade.

What’s awesome is how eloquent Wade seems to sound when he’s trying to stop HIT MONKEY from KILLING him.. Yes I’m excited. Hit Monkey is awesome. If only I did all my reviews with this intensity.

Hit Monkey holds a special place in my heart, and in the hearts of many a Deadpool fan. Although what pissed me off was the lack of him in the issue and why he’s going ballistic.

So anyway back to the former agent. Yeah, so she was caught in Wade’s line of fire back when she was undercover, now she’s disabled. And, of course, wants DP dead.

Week In Review : Deadpool #60 + Fairest #07 + Green Lantern v5 #0

More new comics!! No blather, just enjoy!- Eager Editor

Deadpool #60 (Marvel)

Story : Daniel Way

Art : Salva Espin

(Reviewed by Anant Sagar)

Quick recap for those of you not up to date..

Deadpool, the merc with a mouth (and a healing factor as awesome as the legendary Wolverine), has lost his healing factor. He can’t super heal anymore.

Now the knowledge has reached the Deadpool hating baddie, Black Box, who's sent a bunch of villains who have “problems” with Wade after him - namely Black Swan (former awesome merc) and arch nemesis (of sorts) Black Tom Cassidy.

And now, onward!

When Wade was in school he liked to put a lit matchstick near his backside. Cut to the present fight, he puts a fuel pipe between his legs and a lighter near his a$$ and screams “I’m the Human Flamethrower.” Thus with the power of a flaming derriere, Wade defeats Black Tom and Black Box, and burns himself in the process.

Week In Review : All-Star Western #12 + America's Got Powers #3 + Web of Spider-Man #129.1

Hey folks! Another new week, another bunch of new comics for you! This week we got a trio that covers some excellent titles from the Big-3! Enjoy!- Waiting-for-the-weekend Akshay

All-Star Western #12 (DC)

Story : Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray

Art : Moritat

(Reviewed by Anant Sagar)

Ah, Jonah Hex! What new madness have you brought before us.

All-Star western takes place primarily in Gotham City back in the days of the wild wild west. Not the Will Smith movie. With our heroes (of sorts) Hex and Dr. Arkham captured and chained, we wonder what in God’s name is going on. Their “guest-star” this time, a crazy young lady by the name of Tallulah Black, has managed to escape the chains our friends are caught in and ends up saving their backsides all by herself. And boy is she violent! Chops of heads with an axe, throws knives, shoots bad guy brains out - damn this girl is nuts. She’s also tappin' Jonah!! Not much about Jonah Hex in this issue, seems to be very backstory driven about his meeting with Wayne (yes, Batman’s ancestor). But apart from the little bit of action with the crazy chick, this issue kind of bored me.

Art’s ok, story is ok. Re-readability was just not there for me.

SCORE : 5 / 10

Week In Review : Archer and Armstrong #1 + Deadpool #59 + Idolized #1 + Pathfinder #1

Another week gone by and a lovely new load of comics coming your way!We've been busy getting the new avatar of Comic Addicts ready for you so only a few new reviews this week, but we've picked some awesome ones - 3 shiny new #1's for starters! So enjoy and stick around, loads more comic goodness to be had with Comic Addicts.- Already-craving-the-weekend Akshay

Archer and Armstrong #1 (Valiant)

Story : Fred Van Lente

Art : Clayton Henry

(Reviewed by Akshay Dhar)

The world is wiped clean, a new one arise - secret sects, immortals, a spiritual quest, mythos, clever religiosity, fighting. Yeah, this issue has a lot going for it.

Tells the story of a deadly young warrior named Obidiah Archer, trained in multiple martial arts – but looks to be barely out of his teens – who is a religious zealot, trained since childhood by his parents (who are heads of a quasi-religious/christian-y cult/sect) to be a warrior with a mission. And then he is sent out into the REAL world – for the first time in his life. His first “friend” is a familiar looking fellow named Armstrong who drinks and bounces at a bar where Archer... creates some ruckus. And then things start to get crazier and a wee bit scarier – for Archer anyway.

Nicely written out with a sufficient amount of character development and a good mix of plot building, action and a hint of humour, the issue was a joy to read and I was sad to see it finish.

Week In Review : Hawkeye #1 + Infected #1 + The First X-Men #1

Three more #1's folks! This week has been choc-full of new-comic goodness and we've got some doozies here for you today! The hotly anticipated Hawkeye and First X-Men as well as IDW's new offering. Enjoy!
- Always-helpful Akshay

Hawkeye #1 (Marvel)

Story : Matt Fraction

Art : David Aja (linework), Matt Holingsworth (colors)

(Reviewed by Anubhav Dasgupta)

Marvel is winning.

I can’t believe I typed that. I’m a harcore DC guy and I typed “Marvel is winning.”

Now, I don’t know a lot about Hawkeye beyond what I’ve read since the Heroic Age. I wasn’t really a fan until I read last year’s Hawkeye & Mockingbird by Jim McCann, which was amazing fun. But this one… it’s textbook. It’s brilliant. It’s so good that it makes making brilliant comics look easy.

This comic doesn’t have any epic fights between super-powered heroes or alien invasions or another stupid plot involving the Phoenix, rather it’s a human story. It’s what happens when Hawkeye isn’t 'Avengering'. It’s what Clint Barton does when he isn’t hanging around with Tony Stark or Steve Rogers.

Week In Review : Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe #1 + Harvest #1 + Think Tank #1

Welcome to another new week of comics and to start things off we have a trio of fantastic new #1's that we think you will really enjoy!

So what are you waiting for? Read on!

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe #1 (Marvel)

Story : Cullen Bunn

Art : Dalibor Talajic (art) and Lee Loughridge (colours)

(Reviewed by Anant Sagar)

Yes true believers, you read that correctly. Deadpool kills the marvel universe.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if Deadpool finally lost it and went all out against everyone? What would happen to Wade? Would he kill or be killed? A DP vs FF face-off - who would survive?

All such questions are now answered.

The issue begins with the Watcher telling us of the death of the Fantastic Four. Deadpool kills them all. Gets his head blown off by Sue Richards, grows it back (Yes, this is a “what if” and he has his healing factor here!) and kills her too.

Now as we continue, we find out that DP was actually brainwashed, or that a minute super villain by the name of Psycho Man tried to brainwash him. But the results were somewhat different than what was expected. Psycho Man’s plan was to brainwash Earths super villains to make an army for himself.

Week In Review : Deadpool #58 + Wolverine and the X-Men #14 + X-Treme X-Men #1

Greetings and salutations folks young and old!

Step right on in and enjoy as we bring you a bunch of new releases, today in a special Marvel Monday set of reviews!

(Psst! And of course, drop back in tomorrow for more reviews!)

Deadpool #58 (Marvel)

Story : Daniel Way

Art : Salvador Espin

(Reviewed by Anant Sagar)

So epic-ness continues in this issue as Deadpool faces off against Black Swan. No not Natalie Portman from the movie, I’m talking about an assassin from back in Deadpool’s past.

He was apparently the best. That is until Deadpool killed him......or so he thought.

Over the course of the issue we find out that Taskmaster had told Black Box that Wade doesn’t have a healing factor anymore. So now BB wants Wade dead. He finds Black Swan to tell him that he can kill him now.

Swan catches Wade on the toilet while he’s taking a... um... #2. Insists that he flushes before he dies. Wade dodges and jumps into the bathtub which has an ANTI BALLISTIC SHOWER CURTAIN!! I was like WHAT???

So anyhow, Swan dies. Again!

But that doesn’t deter Black Box. Turns out now that BB has the info that Wade can die, he’s going to be making a lot of calls to a lot of people. Because we all know how many people want him dead, and next in Black box’s list is BLACK TOM CASSIDY.

What is it with this guy and BLACK? Black Box, Swan, and now Tom.

Week-In-Review : Daredevil #15 + Saga #5 + X-O Manowar #3

Welcome back fellow comic-addicts! It's been too long a gap and we're happy once again to bring back our weekly reviews! No wasting of your time here, let's just dive straight into some of this past week's releases and remember, more tomorrow!

Daredevil #15 (Marvel)

Story : Mark Waid

Art : Chris Samnee

(Reviewed by Anupam Sarkar)

In the previous issue, while trying to escape Latveria , Daredevil started to lose his senses one by one (thanks to Dr. Doom) and was finally captured by Dr. Doom's 'subjects'.

One of the best things that I love about Waid's take on Daredevil is the amount of characterization he puts into the character. For instance, in this issue, Matt Murdock realizes that he's starting to lose his senses. He can't feel, see or hear a damn thing. He's weak and so are his senses. Still, he tries to escape Latveria again to call Avengers for help. But, he get's shot and is captured.
You turn the next page, and suddenly Iron Man jumps in outta the blue. The issue ends with Iron Man rescuing Daredevil and giving a good hint to keep the readers waiting for the next issue.
This issue is not as good as its predecessors . Though, Waid's writing is flawless and he experiments with Murdock's senses, the issue is not very engaging compared to the previous ones. But keeping the con's aside, there are very few writers who are consistent with each every issue, and Mark Waid is one of them. Even his 'bad' issues are better compared to the other comics in the market.

All the buzz on MARVEL NOW! in one place!

As we move now well past the halfway mark of Avengers vs. X-Men (a.k.a AvX) and head into the final stretch of this marathon of mindless mauling, big news arrives!

The good folks over at Marvel Comics have announced a huge new “game-changing” move they are calling Marvel Now! that will start to build momentum towards what they are calling a “soft” reboot.

What exactly is the purpose and nature of this reboot? Especially now? Is this just a ploy to get back at their chief rival, DC Comics, who had a hard reboot of their whole line and for the first time in ages beat Marvel in the sales numbers? Is it a genuinely thought out, brave and innovative move? Or is it just a hurriedly put-together gimmick because they have nothing else to do?

We don't know all the answers, but we are committed to bringing you as much information as we can so keep going past the jump for everything on this event out in the news thus far – and remember to stick around in the coming weeks for more!

WEEK IN REVIEW : American Vampire-Lord of Nightmares #1 + Avengers #27 + AvX Versus #3 + Deadpool #56 + Knight Errant - Escape #1

Welcome back to more new-release reviews! Today is dominated by Marvel titles because this week there were a bunch of new AvX related tie-ins that we knew folks would want to read.

But despair not if you have little interest in the Marvel Summer Event, there are a couple of less fighty-spandex titles on the list as well, starting with this Vertigo wonder that kicks the list off!

American Vampire: Lord of Nightmares #1 (Vertigo)

Story : Scott Snyder

Art : Dustin Nguyen

(Reviewed by Anirudh Singh)

Another Felicia Book story, and this one steeped heavily in Vassals of Morning Star lore. Needless to say you should not be picking this book up unless you are an American Vampire fan. And in case you are an American Vampire fan, then congratulations... you just found another American Vampire comic book. An awesome continuation of an awesome series. With only slightly less awesome characters.

What? I'm a Skinner Sweet fan okay. And Felicia just never did it for me.

But that doesn't mean she didn't do it for anyone. And even though I begrudge her slow yet inevitable takeover of the limelight in the American Vampire saga, I do respect her prowess and recognize her necessity. She is the perfect heroine for this saga. And it seems that the vassals of the Morning Star have let loose the perfect villain for the saga as well.

Week In Review : Batman #10 + Before Watchmen:Silk Spectre #1 + Conan The Barbarian #5 + Planetoid #1 + Spider-Men #1

I love a good new-release day and this week has been an amazing one, with a slew of great comics to check out!

Not only do we have several titles from DC fresh after the harrowing events on the Night of Owls, but also the start of the second Before Watchmen series and many, many more to read.

Here's some of our picks of the ongoings and even a new Image series - now go ahead and enjoy! (and make sure to be back here tomorrow for more new releases in burst-reviews!)

- Editor

Batman #10 (DC)

Story : Scott Snyder

Art : Greg Capullo (main story) & Rafael Albuquerque (back-up)

(Reviewed by Anupam Sarkar)

I've been reading Batman comics from time immemorial (actually, about 10 years) and to me this issue is the perfect example of why I like Batman. While most go with action or a relationship crisis, very few writers can capture the detective in Batman. Amongst those few is now Scott Snyder.

To start with, the story - Snyder does a masterful job. Not going knee deep into spoilers, I can say that this issue has a major revelation at the end (cough...something to do with Lincoln March...cough). And everybody's going to love it. Not only does it give weight to the “New 52 Batman”, but it also shows that the Wayne's are not as squeaky clean as people thought they were.

As of the artwork, Greg Capullo amazes me after each consecutive issue. The man is an active volcano of talent! There are however only a few panels which show the Court of Owls, in all of which they are dead (literally). But, throughout the issue Capullo maintains the owl vibe. One of my favorites is the second page from the issue. Be sure to check it out.

Week In Review : Before Watchman Minutemen #1 + Mighty Thor Annual #1 + Pantha #1 + Voltron Year One # 3

AT LAST IT BEGINS!!
This week's reviews include the highly anticipated and hotly debated kick-off to Before Watchmen by DC comics and we bring it to you along with much more!
Enjoy!

Before Watchman : Minutemen #1 (DC)

Story & Art : Darwyn Cooke

(Reviewed by Anirudh Singh)

Alright, alright, the argument of intellectual property matters for naught to me in comic books. Hence, we shall not have it here. Instead we shall talk about Minutemen, one of my favourite parts about the Watchmen storyline that got all too brief a time in the limelight. 

This first installment from Before Watchmen starts with the story of the Minutemen, narrated through the eyes of Hollis Mason (a.k.a Night Owl). The writing is a little word heavy and Cooke is definitely no Alan Moore, but the art more than makes up for it. And eventually the initial awkwardness of the writing tumbles into a smoother narrative that gels very well with the artwork.

Darwyn Cooke does a marvelous job of bringing back the magic of the Silver Age. With glorious colours and art we get a sneak peek into the comings and goings of the famous mystery men of the day: Captain Metropolis, Nite Owl, Sally Jupiter and Hooded Justice, a vigilante adept at inspiring terror in the criminal element... and even the Comedian gets a brief flourish. Before Watchmen : Minutemen #1 sets the perfect platform for the series and the titles to follow.