Quarantined Comics

We conclude X-MONTH, with one of the latest and greatest X-Sagas - Jonathan Hickman's HOUSE OF X / POWERS OF X (HoX PoX). Beyond being all about the infographics and Mutant West Wing / C-Span, HoX PoX was actually TWO concurrent mini-series from 2019 - to once again attempt a fresh take for not just the X-Men, but ALL of Marvel's merry mutants.

More than a reset or reboot - HoX PoX was more of a realignment, making some dramatic changes all mutants in the Marvel universe - respectful of all that had come before, but choosing not to be bogged down in so many convenient tropes of fan-service - and taking the X-Men boldly into the future.

As the Summer of 2019 was a bit of a pop culture vaccum (Avengers Endgame concluded the MCU, Game of Thrones came to whimpering conclusion, and the disappointmenting conclusion to the Star Wars saga was around the corner), so for 12 straight weeks, HoX PoX had many a nerd flocking to their local comic book store for an excitement they had not felt in a long time.

HoX PoX has some big ideas. With Professor X, Magneto, and a few more familiar faces making a dramatic shift to mutantdom's place in the world.

Intrigued?

Then DON'T listen to ths podcast YET. Go pick up HoX PoX, read it, and come back for a listen when you're done. Otherwise, we might just ruin something new and fantastic about a well worn franchise...

dedicated to the one and only Auntie Pinky.

The hiring of Joss Whedon to launch of Astonishing X-Men in 2004 was an interesting move by Marvel for a lot of reasons. This was Marvel’s 2ND attempt to reinvigorate the X-Men, after Grant Morrison, who we just spent some time talking about. The run almost feels like a counter-argument to much of what Morrison set up - and Marvel wanted to disavvow.

This was not the first time a TV/film writer had penned a popular comic - Joss Whedon (pre MCU/Avengers) had a really loyal following from his runs on much loved shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the critically acclaimed, but quickly cancelled Firefly.

And while Whedon picks up on many of the threads Grant Morrison established, he UNDOES more than a few of them as well, and adds his own trademarked quippy take on superheroes, young female leads, drama, and dysfunction. Throw in one of the most disappointing alien species, and you’ve got a semi-fresh, mostly fun, often familiar take on the X-Men. But hey, it's got Kitty Pryde!

In 2001, superstar writer Grant Morrison took the X-Men on a wild ride. By this point, the X-Men had become an unwieldy mess, with an overstocked roster and convoluted lore.

Morrison reinvigorated the characters by focusing on what made the X-Men so unique in the first place: unlike other superheroes, the X-Men are hated and feared by the people they save. With every conflict stemming from that premise, Morrison breathed new life into a stale title.

We'll take a look at how we he think he did it, what he did amazingly well, and when this massive experiment ended with the lab burning down.

In 1991, Marvel superstar artist Jim Lee launched a fresh new vision for the X-Men. 30(!) years later, does it hold up?

Well...

Admittedly, there's a lot of stuff here that doesn't work at all, but Jim Lee's early-nineties X-Men run is still a fascinating time capsule of superheroes then, and how much they've changed now that they've become mainstream.

For 4 UNCANNY weeks in (mostly) September, we're binging some of the X-Men's MODERN greats (to see if they hold up). What could go wrong?

8/28: Mutant Genesis (Jim Lee)

Matt Fraction & David Aha's HAWKEYE run from 2015 is a fun - often funny - character-driven romp, with beautiful, minimalist sepia art - and features more than just a LOT of Eastern European gangsters saying BRO. It features not one, but TWO Hawkeyes.

You may know Hawkeye, aka Clint Barton, as the avenging archer from some very popular movies. But while this is just about a guy with a bow and arrows - it's anything BUT the stuff of Hollywood blockbusters. Often described as "Hawkeye's day off" - this series makes it painfully obvious that Clint's just a flawed dude just trying to do the right thing, with varying degrees of success. Basically, his life is a mess.

Clint is joined by his newfound pal Kate Bishop - a young whippersnapper who’s now also assumed the mantle of Hawkeye - and his newly adopted dog Arrow. He’s also supported by a who’s who of ex-lady friends, a cast of working class neighbors who like their rooftop grill-outs, and more than a few lady frinds (a work-wife AND an ex-wife). Throw in the occasional super-criminals and evil spies, and you’ve got a real FUN romp across Brookyln, Madripoor, and Los Angeles.

Stick around for the end of the episode for a special preview of...X-MONTH.

Are you into Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, Grant Morrison and Garth Ennis? Well, they derived a lot of inspiration from Bryan Talbot's multiverse epic The Adventures of Luther Arkwright, which we're picking apart in this episode.

Guest-host Adam Boretz, an editor at The Millions and Publishers Weekly, swings by to share his take and lecture us about nachos in the 80s (among other things). How does Luther Arkwright hold up after all these decades? Why are British comic authors so obsessed with tantric sex? Why does reading the first third of this fantasy yarn feel like Ryan just assigned everyone homework?

The Adventures of Luther Arkwright is beautiful, multilayered, and complex - often too compelx for its own intelligibility. In Raman's words, "It's not just tits and the hobbit."

I know, I should've written a description for this episode. But this week, I am just so. Damned. Tired.