Uncanny X-Men: Poptopia

The X-Men are back in London. No, the mutant superteam Excalibur hasn't reformed. Though an original member of the group is one of the heroes visiting England. Cerebro, the X-Men's mutant locating super computer has registered a large population of mutants underneath the streets of London. Nightcrawler, Ice Man, Archangel and Wolverine are on a mission to offer membership to their brethren. However, they'll need to offer sanctuary as an enhanced madman is on the hunt for these 'genetic freaks.'

The X-Men also have a secondary agenda: retrieve the AWOL member of Generation-X, Chamber. After a catastrophic encounter that lead this new generation of X-Men fractured, Chamber fled to London, hoping to find himself. Instead, he finds himself as the British tabloids latest subject when he catches the eye of pop superstar Sugar Kane. 

This volume is book-ended with 2 solo stories. Jean Grey and Wolverine must address their complicated relationship when they are transported into the fracturing mind of a brand new mutant who is enamored with the militant ways of Magneto. Then Warren Worthington, III learns that his family run mega-corporation has invested in a place called the X-Ranch. It's pretty much what you think. The X-Ranch is a sordid bordello where wealthy homo sapiens spend a ton of cash to get their kinky licks in the arms of a harem of seductive homo superiors. 

Published in 2001, this era of the X-Men occurs after Grant Morrison's revamp of the Children of the Atom. Those really cool black with yellow trim uniforms are still in service. Only now everyone looks like they're a cross between a model for American Eagle and a goth frequent shopper at Hot Topic. 

For the most part, the art is really good. Only the costume and character design is too cyberpunk. And there's one issue where the guest artists tried to emulate the fantastic Bill Sienkiewicz and just failed miserably. Joe Casey's plots are good. But the dialogue needs work. Who used the phrase 'What's your major malfunction?' back in 2001. It's an example of how the dialogue was about 20 years too late to appear in a Marvel comic book. 

I found this book at a thrift shop where I don't think I paid more than $2 for it. The UK Sun stylized cover really caught my eye and the price was nice, of course. 'Poptopia' was like riding a roller-coaster. Only it wasn't because of the level of action. Instead, there were extreme moments of superior quality dipping into depths of really bad comic book creating. I'm one to talk. I'm sure that Sean Phillips and Ashley Wood, among others, are much better artists than I will ever be. However, I also felt like a very good portion of this collection of X-Men comics wouldn't have met the standards of former editors Stan Lee or Jim Shooter 

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Batman in Noir Alley #1

Batman in Noir Alley #1
Writers: Stuart Moore, Ed Brubaker
Artists: Valentine De Landro, Sean Phillips
Published by DC Comics and Turner Classic Movies

Of all the free Batman comics scheduled for release over the past several days, Noir Alley was the only one that was comprised of new material. This DC Comics promo comic was released in collaboration with Turner Classic Movie's Noir Alley, a weekly showcase of film noir.

There's two stories in this freebie.

The first story, Batman in Noir Alley, has Bruce Wayne in Hollywood, attending a special showing of a film based on a priceless relic called the Moroccan Raptor. The statue just happens to be on loan from the Gotham City Museum for the event as well. When the projectionist is murderer and the Moroccan Raptor disappears, Batman is on the scene. However, to bring the murderer to justice in a strange town, Batman will need some assistance. Help comes when the Dark Knight's investigation pairs him with the 'Czar of Noir' Eddie Muller, who is also on the case. But can this new player be trusted or will he succumb to the femme fatale behind the crimes?

I really liked this story by writer Stuart Moore (Wolverine Noir.) Though set in the modern era, it's got a very LA 1930s noir feel to it. A lot of this is thanks in very large part to artist Valentine De Landro (Bitch Planet). I think had Darwyn Cooke not passed away last year, he would have been the artist behind this story. But De Landro's style is so similar to the late artist that I think we've discovered the next Darwyn Cooke!

The one thing about this story that was odd to me was the use of Eddie Muller. Muller is the host of Noir Alley, the TCM series in which this book is a tie-in. Moore doesn't go right out and have Muller do a commercial for the show. Having Muller play a role in this story was a little hokey to me. It also detracts from the quality of the tale, but not that much thankfully.

A Detective on the Run

Then in the back-up feature, the action is set in 1949. The story is called Gotham Noir, a 2001 Elseworlds tale by Gotham Central's Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Here Jim Gordon is a disgraced police detective who must talk his way out of being apprehended by the Batman. Gordon's story will involve Selina Kyle, dirty two-bit thugs, and a tainted angel whose returned to Gotham in hopes of redeeming her soiled reputation.

My opinion towards this book is mixed. The story itself fits in the genre feel established in the first story. But you only get the first 12-pages of this mystery. Normally, this would upset me to no end because finding out a book is a cliffhanger and not having the rest of the story is a pet peeve of mine. But there's an ad in the back of the book that says the rest of the story is available on readdcentertainment.com, DC Comics' digital publication platform. But once you go to the site, you have to shell out $4.99 in order to get the rest of the story. I kinda feel like this is a bit underhanded. If you're going to advertise this in a promo comic, then the book offered needs to be free.

I had been waiting for Noir Alley to become available at my LCS ever since I saw an advertisement for this about 2 months ago. It was worth the wait but I'm not about to go digital to find out what happens at the end of Gotham Noir. I'll just wait until I come across it for a good deal in paper form.

Batman in Noir Alley is available for free in comic book shops nationwide now.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Criminal Vol. 2: Lawless

An escapee from a military prison returns to his home town to solve the mystery of his brother’s murder. His list of suspects is comprised of lil' bro’s former crew, whose most recent heist went sour and were the last folks to see him alive. Finding answers will also lead to discovering some painful family secrets as well.

The grit and grime of volume 1 have spilled over into this volume and it totally works. I thought each Criminal volume was a separate story. However, the speakeasy and some characters from volume 1: Coward appear in this story. While Lawless is a stand alone tale, Criminal is a brilliantly crafted series that weaves a mosaic of deceit, sex, and murder. Awesome stuff!

Worth Consuming.