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Underground > Comic Books >

New X-Men #129

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Matthew Fluxington

18:25 / 11.07.02

Here's a sneak preview. It's out next week. It's Igor Kordey's final issue.

19:24 / 11.07.02

At the risk of sounding unoriginal, Kordey's art is rancid.

Whatever, the ideas look good, and the cover looks great.

Matthew Fluxington

19:29 / 11.07.02

Igor's art looks 'rancid', but you still think Igor's cover looks 'great'? Weird.

Anyway, can we maybe give something a shot? How about for this entire thread, when we discuss the issue we all refrain from going on about Igor Kordey's art, and focus on the content? This is Igor's last issue. There's no sense in banging on about it anymore, he's gone. This is it. Let's move on, and talk about the ideas.

22:08 / 11.07.02

I disagree with Igor looking 'rancid' yet again. The preview shots actually look pretty good. Certainly a lot better than the stuff he pumped out during the imperial storyline.

A

03:44 / 12.07.02

The art actually looks pretty good, which is quite surprising. The characters do still look kind of ugly, and slightly misshapen, but that aside, it's not at all bad. I guess Kordey didn't just toss this issue off during a coffee break, or whatever it is he usually does, but maybe the rest of the issue will prove me wrong.

The Natural Way

09:07 / 12.07.02

Hey, rancid's the new cool (see the Filth for details)!

Actually, I know what Fecund means: Kordey's art's still all lumpy head, but the cover's not so bad - it just works somehow.

The Natural Way

09:09 / 12.07.02

Just seen Flux's perfectly justifiable grouch. I propose we talk about the UFO. The UFO's good.

10:51 / 13.07.02

I contradict myself? So I contrdict myself. I am large and contain multitudes!

Pedantry must end.

10:52 / 13.07.02

The UFO is very good.

We must praise the UFO.

yawn - thing's buddy

17:07 / 14.07.02

Fantomex is an fiction-space ancestor of that other masked fleshbeast, Fantomas, who knocked about the Paris, France area about one hundred years ago.

Fantomas is one of Brendan McCarthy's favourite things.

Brendan McCarthy is one of Grant Morrison's favourite things.

Grant Morrison's sister was for several years, Brendan McCarthy's favourite thing.

19:31 / 14.07.02

http://www.fantomas-lives.com/

i only heard of this guy five minutes ago and already he's one of my favourite things ever

yawn - thing's buddy

21:54 / 14.07.02

Yeah - fantomas seems to cast a rather large shadow across much of contemporary fiction, whether film, comic book, tv show or even painting and sculpture - he's the diseased c**t who's too good at what he does and has no real reason for being a c**t either. (unless he holds society in general responsible for his awfulness)

Sounds like the paradigm-personality for today's so called 'Stormers'....

The Natural Way

09:48 / 18.07.02

129: Fantomex is probably the best X creation since Wolverine. Official. Simple as that. His UFO rules (someone dig up the meaning of the E.V.A. acronymn), his house rules, his private collection rules....his Mum rules.

Weapon 12 also rules. Things're hotting up. Grant gives life to all the X world's funt toys - quickens them. Fiddles about. How static must this book have been w/out him?

Igor K : grouch. But gone now.

The Natural Way

09:51 / 18.07.02

Oh, and is Leon drawing the next ish? Expecting lots of nice, pretty OOOOH! factor

The Natural Way

09:56 / 18.07.02

And mutants really are better at everything, aren't they? They even have better receptionists/PAs. I reckon she's a 2000 words a minute girl.

yawn - thing's buddy

10:16 / 18.07.02

are you reading that at work or do you have the day off?

yawn - thing's buddy

10:36 / 18.07.02

moore does the 9 panel grid better than anyone else dunty?

that art is real classss

The Natural Way

10:38 / 18.07.02

Naughty yawn. Wrong thread. But yes.

At work, but dossing. Will get fired soon.

yawn - thing's buddy

12:17 / 18.07.02

oops!

The Natural Way

12:23 / 18.07.02

But probably not.

Matthew Fluxington

14:35 / 18.07.02

Kind of a dull issue, I think. I like Fantomex alright - he's charming. The best x-character since Wolverine? Not a chance. I think that this was another issue that was padded out, it felt like it should have been edited down to six or seven pages of another issue. I really wish that Grant had given some time over to Scott/Emma, or showed us what Henry and Xorn are up to. I'm not entirely clear on what Weapon XII is...I understand that it was created by humans through a very convoluted process, but what does it DO?

The one thing that really confused me was when Fantomex says that Xavier has "at least three" millionaires on his teaching staff. Well, there's Warren "Archangel" Worthinton III and Emma Frost, but who else? I can imagine that Henry has earned a sizeable chunk of money thanks to his "brilliant scientist" career. I feel as though I might be forgetting an obvious one...

The Natural Way

14:56 / 18.07.02

Weapon 12 radically evolves Sentinel enriched (attack)humans: a million or so years of KILL! CRUSH! DESTROY! perfection crammed into 18 months. Convoluted I know, but I like nevertheless.

And yr wrong about Fantomex. He is so the best in the world ever!
Seriously, though, I think he's got loads of potential - that guy's a wicked toy. Look at all his cool shit. And he's got a Mum! Basically, he's got loads in common w/ a Wolverine style character, so I think coolness comparisons are fair enough. Really distinct and groovy.

And I didn't feel the ish was padded at all - loads of sessential exposition (and another example of the new mutant psychic-bludgeoning that, rather than hurting people, encourages them to nurse the retarded. Hoorah!)....and that's fine by me. And it had a weird organic, living UFO in it. Where can you go wrong?

And Weapon 12 is way spooky.

Professor Silly

15:32 / 18.07.02

Flux: thank you for noticing the lack of Scott/Emma. How do you have an ending like 128 and not even mention it in the following issue? What the fuck?!?

All in all this seemed like an issue of philosophy--the whole thing probably doesn't last more than 23 minutes or so (the Weapon XII fight's still going on, with Fantomex, Prof. X, and Phoenix on the way as backup). So yeah, it did seem short, like not much happened. Just the philosophic contrast between two pacifist mutants and one mercenary.

As for the third millionare...I'm not sure. Emma (as a member of the Hellfire Club) definately qualifies...I had thought Warren lost his fortune, but I could be wrong...as for the third I'm a little stumped. Hank seems a marginal choice (I suppose if he won a couple Nobel prizes and invested wisely...or perhaps the Avengers pay really well?) Perhaps Magneto left money in his will? I dunno.

I thought it a cool twist to rename the "Weapon X/Ecks" project "Weapon X/10" Considering both Wolverine and Sabretooth were a part of the Xth project, it makes me wonder about the first nine, and that XIth project that must have come between then and now.

At least the issues are coming out more often now.

Matthew Fluxington

16:15 / 18.07.02

Warren Worthington III is still very much a millionaire. If you read the last two issues of Joe Casey and Sean Phillips' Uncanny X-Men, the story was about Warren using corporate methods to shut down The Vanisher's drug rings. They were pretty good issues too - I find myself wondering why Casey waited til his final two issues to write a solid, worthwhile, and original X-Men story. After 15 issues of lame overlong stories and virtually nothing in the way of characterization, Casey finally gets it right, and he's off. Too bad.

17:01 / 18.07.02

Third millionaire = Xavier. No?

Matthew Fluxington

17:14 / 18.07.02

Well, I think that it was sort of implied in the conversation that Fantomex meant teachers on Xavier's staff other than Xavier himself, since he was directly addressing Xavier.

17:25 / 18.07.02

What about Wolverine as the third millionare? I mean, he's been alive for quite awhile maybe he invested a bunch of money at one time and it paid off.

The Natural Way

18:18 / 18.07.02

Yeah, look: the ish, along w/ the exposition, was about setting a mood, giving us a feel for characters and place. I think it succeeded.

Oh, and weapon 12 = the wild hunt. Really nice. I expected Herne to turn up any minute. Grant's digging around in european myth for this'n.
The tunnel's so claustrophobic it hurts.

19:08 / 18.07.02

Prunce;

"someone dig up the meaning of the E.V.A. acronymn"

Could you please tell me where you got this from? And what it stands for? If you respond in kind, I will tell you why I ask.

Sincerely,

19:32 / 18.07.02

Haven't read the comic, but from context I'd guess it's Extra-Vehicular Activity: i.e., going outside a space-ship in a protective suit.

00:55 / 19.07.02

I got the impression that it was hinted by Fantomex that the super soldier project that produced Captain America was one of the early Weapon Plus projects.

Nice little tie-in there.

06:28 / 19.07.02

Okay, it was late at night when I sat down to read the damn thing, and I was tired and a little bit cranky from work and I'd had a couple of glasses of wine.

But... it's evident that I seem to be the only one here not enjoying New X-Men much. It just seems a bit dull and flat to me. Not time for proper critical analysis now, but later.

The Natural Way

07:55 / 19.07.02

I think I understand why someone wouldn't enjoy xmen, but, one thing: try reading it more slowly and allowing the mind to linger on some of the ideas a little bit more - it moves so fast sometimes, it can feel little insubstantial (what yawn refers to as the "inbetween-the-panels approach", that really calls for concise crisp, information-rich art), but, if you give it a bit more time, it seems to come together. For me at least. I tend to enjoy it the most stoned and on the 3rd read through.

yawn - thing's buddy

12:07 / 19.07.02

i thought this was a very interesting slice.

fantomex is pretty cool. complex mutherfucker too.

runce: you called him a great 'toy': I love that. I remember DMA design (lemmings, GTA etc) refered to their products as toys and that put a whole different spin on my understanding of video games.

you've just done the same with x-men characters (and by extension any character within a continuous comic book universe) - okay it's similar to fiction suit but somehow seems less personal thus allowing more freedom for interpretation by future writers/artists.

'fantomex the toy' also has loads of smart gadgets and that house - I want to see quitely space it up properly - it looks potentially amazing.

so he's obviously got some sort of mind blochk shit in his cap too. nice. he's well tooled up.

He gives off a confident swagger/sexuality too.

I'm lookin for a twist with this character.

Not knowing fuckall about xmen familt trees I'll not hazard who he might be, but I've got a feeling he may be someone familiar dressed in a new suit?

dunno. was drunk when i read it last night. this is most unusual for me.

Our Lady of The Two Towers

16:41 / 19.07.02

Though no-where near as bad as his Imperial issues, it did seem a bit of a step down from last issue. Was Igor rushed again? Some nice ideas and dialogue to disguise the lack of any real action. The bit with Animal made me worry that Grant was going to go all Garth Ennis on us, what a relief that was avoided. I'm hoping we'll see next issue what Grant's hardcore new Xavier will do when faced with a mutant who doesn't want to play by his rules. Seeing as he considers Magneto to be dead this may be the closest we get to an alternative...

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