Avengers vs. X-men #10 (of 12)
AvX is starting to feel like a NASCAR race, and not in any kind of good way. We’ve been watching the Avengers and the X-men run around in a giant left turn for hours, and no one has gotten in a wreck yet. Sure we’ve had some close calls, but no one has crashed and burned yet. NASCAR fans will never admit this, but the crash is the only real reason they watch the whole race. It’s also the reason why most comic fans read the major event crossovers. AvX wouldn’t do much to change the larger scheme of things, except maybe the X-men since they have made a career of getting the short end of the stick, but there always has to be some kind of death to mark the end of these events. I didn’t really consider issue ten to be ‘bad’, but the feeling that this event is rounding its final laps can’t be escaped.
We still have a couple months to go, but I’m already ready for the finale. Maybe with some better arc structuring AvX would have worked out better as a twelve issue comic, but both teams have had to make too many pit stops. At least with comic book major events you know someone is going to die and we’re not just wasting our time until the checkered flag is waved. In AvX, just like a NASCAR race, does anyone care who actually wins?
The Color Twelve
It’s almost been twelve months since DC did their big reboot. A year has gone by and… we find ourselves pretty much where we started. Next month DC is releasing zero issues for each series in an attempt to do what they should have done to begin with. There are also a large number of annual issues coming out that will probably be a varying degree of side stories and story arc conclusions. I personally dislike the annual issue because there is nothing in it that they shouldn’t squeeze into the main comic and it’s just an extra issue for fans to buy. But with so many reminders of the fact that a year has passed, it got me thinking about how well the reboot has gone so far.
Well, to be honest, it’s been a mixed bag. Some titles like Batman and Batwoman continue to slam it out of the park month after month. Some, like Action Comics and Red Hood, have tampered off from my initial reaction even though I still like them. Others, like Birds of Prey, make me wonder why I’m still reading them. The entire year for DC has been a large amount of highs and lows with an unsettling lack of focus. There also hasn’t been a major event comic since Flashpoint which makes me wonder if DC has a long term plan for this reboot. The addition of several alternative universe comics was a welcome surprise, but the gay Green Lantern felt too much like pandering. We’ve even had a few comics leave us, i.e. Mr. Terrific.
The reboot probably would have come out better as a whole if DC had learned from the mistakes of the past, which I don’t think they have. There just aren’t enough characters that feel reinvented for the twenty-first century world. Superman is a prime example. Grant Morrison knows how to write Superman, but none of his great ideas transfer over to Justice League or Superman proper. Thankfully most of the writers that started with issue #1 are still on their assigned comics. Changing writers out too often does seem to be one lesson DC has learned. I still think the reboot was a good thing, but there were just too many things wrong with it for me to say that with a great deal of confidence.
Also, in a shameless plug to myself, check out Bruce Osborne on Facebook. I post/link all my stuff there, including chapters on a book I’m working on. Feel free to hit the ‘Like’ button as if you’re an addict.
I also write publish works of fiction on my Bruce Osborne Blog. Feel free to read, follow, or even hate my stuff. I don’t care if people like it, only that they read it.
There are too many movies for me to review in full, so I created a twitter account to give brief opinions on the many movies I view. If you wish to read my smart ass remarks, follow M.O.V.I.E. Reviewer @MutantOpossum.
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 Avengers Silhouette… $5.00
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 Avengers Pinback Bu… $12.00
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 Pixel People – X-Me… $12.00
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 X Men Wolverine ret… $19.00
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 X-Men Jean Grey Pho… $4.00
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 DC Comic inspired v… $2.00
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 Back in stock – DC … $10.50
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