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X-Statix 24 - X-Statix vs Avengers (Probable spoilers)

ONLY NICE THINGS

09:18 / 03.07.04

I wonder at times if the "one good monthly" statement made about Peter Milligan is true - on one level the X-Statix vs Avengers idea feels a bit self-conscious, in a far smarter but comparable way to the way Superman vs the Elite felt self-conscious. Butbutbut - the fights themselves have been so nicely done that this gets swept away in the glorious stupidity of the adventure.

This issue must contain one of the best fights ever... Iron Man and Guy Smith gently prodding and poking each other. I thought the Cable things was overdone, though. Liefeld is coming back to write X-Force. This is an apalling retrograde step. We. Get. It.

Still, nice to see the codesof the heroes in competition (the competition for a prize, the sudden realisation that their actions are damading the innocent aliens in the neutral ground they have chosen, the reverse) being so thoroughly pissed about with. And yay for Surrender Monkey...

yawn - thing's buddy

11:15 / 03.07.04

i loved the tony stark (is that iron man's name?)twist at the end.

He's a smart bugger.

but the sheer nonsense of the story was just superb.

Superheroes fighting naked in a monastery - milligan is just the best at this effortlessly funny crap.

Haus of Mystery

18:00 / 03.07.04

Yeah - loved this issue, bored by some previous... I think sometimes Milligan clearly can't be arsed. His sporadicity(new word - FACT!) can be a bit irritating, but when he shines (Rogan Gosh etc) he shines. Best bit - Tony and Guy (um...?) fighting with bits of grass.

sleazenation

11:08 / 05.07.04

-- My highlight for this issue was the return of surrender monkey... but yes, this whole storyline has been great fun with plenty of meta-textual meat.

I keep hearing that this has been cancelled, but haven't seen any official announcement yet.

Matthew Fluxington

18:47 / 05.07.04

Is it cancelled, or is it just almost done? It seems like the story is winding down now, in a pretty natural way. Sure, it may have gone on a bit longer if the sales were better, but it seems like it's about time to stop anyhow. As Guy kind of points out, the joke is getting a bit old, as it were. I've been very happy with this series from the start - the only time it ever lost me was during that Good Guy/Bad Guy storyline. Milligan is still in top form, though I can sense Allred's strain - the book doesn't look as fresh and sexy as it used to.

Krug

08:51 / 06.07.04

26 is the last one.

yawn - thing's buddy

08:28 / 13.07.04

perfect.

a lovely series.

thank comics for milligan.

bigsunnydavros

11:12 / 13.07.04

Loved the latest issue -- just brilliant, really. The Milligan/Allred team-up has brought out some of the best work that either creator has ever done -- this is a total pop comic, and far more straightforward than it appears on first glance. It's a cynical, self-aware soap opera about cynical, self-aware people, and as such, it's perfect.

grant

18:09 / 02.11.04

Is this series done and gone and my comic shop just doesn't have the last two issues?

The Falcon

20:07 / 02.11.04

Sounds like it.

Last ish was officially 'downbeat yet strangely moving'.

There's always Venom & Carnage which I'll lay heavy odds I'm the only Barbelite buying. Art's interesting. Some good lines.

Why are you staring?

FinderWolf

16:50 / 01.06.05

from this week's Lying in the Gutters:

>> IN OTHER NEWS

In conversation with "X-Statix" inker Nick Craine at the recent Toronto Comics Arts Festival, he announced that Marvel is planning to return the "X-Statix" property in some form. Coupled with Joe Quesada's recent expressed love for the concept, and writer Pete Milligan's new profile on "X-Men," expect to see the media-obsessed satirical mutant book return in the near future in some form.

The Falcon

22:00 / 01.06.05

I'd not mind an original graphic novel, like that Human Target one (which was prolly the best stuff with the character,) but apparently Marvel doesn't do OGNs just now.

I do think of X-Statix as symbolic of an era when Marvel were being more original, but there's been a slight return on that score with (the excellent) Livewires, and other miniserieses.

This Sunday

22:30 / 01.06.05

Actually, both 'Live Wires' and 'X-Statix' strike me, less as 'When Marvel was good and innovative' and more 'When Milligan and Warren are good and innovative'. That they were published by Marvel is almost inconsequential.
If Marvel grabbed some nigh-unknown and got something of equal quality/interest out of them, I might be more inclined to let the company take credit. If the Powers Above put down an order of 'be creative, innovative, interesting, and good or be destroyed by the wrath of the bored!' than I would definitely give the company credit.

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