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Leah Williams is Getting a Fun New Comic: X-Terminators

I am a big fan of Leah Williams and am excited to pass along the news that she’s getting a new X-Men-esque mini-series this summer. She killed it on X-Factor before Marvel shuffled her and the series off to cancellation land. So hopefully this new series, X-Terminators, will provide some quality time for her writing.

I absolutely want to see more comics like X-Terminators in the Krakoa Era. Every single mutant character who has ever lived is available to use, both heroes and villains. And in this day and age, when Marvel is all about the 5-issue mini-series, just let some writers go nuts and have some wild fun with them.

In typical X-Men fashion, what starts as a wild night out gets even crazier when Jubilee, Boom-Boom, and Dazzler are kidnapped and put into elaborate death traps by a mysterious new army of enemies. What are three fierce mutants with the power to blow things up to do? Expect a hardcore, neon-fueled, down and dirty type of adventure unlike any seen before in X-Men history with all the light blasts, fireworks, time bombs, and brawling you can possibly hope for!  

The art will be by Carlos Gomez, and the pair of them promise a really fun romp of adventure and chaos. That sounds good to me!

X-Terminators arrives in July!

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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 8/1/20

Another week, another pile of enjoyable comics, proving that some aspects of life can get back to some semblance of normal. It’s good to have comics again. We’ve got nice issues of Power Rangers, Legion of Super-Heroes and even X-Men, kind of.

Comic Book of the Week goes to the first issue of X-Factor, possibly because I’m attached to the comic name, even if Multiple Man doesn’t appear in the issue at all. We do get Leah Williams writing the Blob again though! And an actually entertaining Daken!

Be prepared to legitimately enjoy Daken in a comic

Meanwhile, I’ve finally started my reread of the classic Milligan/Allred run on X-Force/X-Statix! I bought the first compendium volume and it is easily holding up after all these years. This comic was so insanely ahead of its time! I can’t even imagine how X-Statix would deal with Twitter.

Comic Reviews: Empyre #3, Legion of Super-Heroes #7, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #52, X-Factor #1 and X-Men #10.

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At Least Somebody on Krakoa is Getting New Uniforms!

In a recent interview at Marvel.com, we learned a bit more about the upcoming X-Factor comic, including the fact that the whole team is getting new costumes! Check out these bad boys, as designed by series artist David Baldeón!

XFactor Costumes 01

Rachel, Daken, Northstar, Aurora, Polaris, Prodigy and Eye-Boy

I like the look!

I also like that at least somebody is getting a new uniform for Dawn of X. I love it when the X-Men wear matching uniforms, or at least uniforms with a unifying theme. It really makes the X-Men stand out. And I would have hoped that Dawn of X would prompt a new uniform across the line, as a way to really re-enforce the new status quo. I loved the Grant Morrison uniforms, at least in hindsight.

I will admit to being rather disappointed that Dawn of X features a random mish mash of old and new uniforms. Something more solid for everybody would be fun. And it looks great on X-Factor!

I only wish the Blob got a fancy new X-Factor costume…

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Leah Williams is Bringing Back the Blob (Sort of) For a New X-Factor!

Look, I’m a friendly guy. I like people. I like getting along with people. I write this blog for fun and don’t have a mean bone in my body when it comes to comics. But apparently I’ve done something to anger the comic book gods, because now it seems that Dawn of X is going out of its way to target me and everything I specifically love about the X-Men.

A new X-Factor comic has been announced for April, written by Leah Williams, with art by David Baldeon.

XFactor Dawn of X 01

You’ll notice that lineup on the front cover…and you’ll notice there’s no Multiple Man. The one character who is most closely connected to the X-Factor brand and he doesn’t get to be involved. Sigh. I can’t help but take that personally.

Instead of Multiple Man, this series will focus on this new team — Northstar, Polaris, Daken, Eye-Boy, Prodigy and Prestige — assisting The Five, the resurrection mutants. This new X-Factor will investigate and confirm mutant deaths and all the various rules around the resurrection protocols…which sounds good. I am fully in favor of comics that actually explore the new Krakoan status quo.

There is one really hopeful thing that I didn’t see at first until I finally read through the actual announcement article on Polygon. I was worried that Leah Williams’ arrival in Dawn of X wasn’t going to feature the Blob after her stellar turn with the character in Age of X-Man.

Williams told Polygon that the Blob will indeed be a part of this new X-Factor!

“His new role (thanks to Ben Percy and Josh Cassara!) is perfect,” Williams said, “and gives Freddy a bigger path threading through all our books.”

OK, I can accept that. I will gladly trade a Multiple Man appearance for Williams continuing her work on rehabilitating the Blob.

Williams also mentioned that her series will focus a lot on Northstar and his human husband Kyle, and what life is like for Kyle on Krakoa. She said they’re going to explore more about humans on Krakoa. That could include the Mimic! I’ll get my hopes up about that.

But for now, I’m just excited that Leah Williams is indeed returning to the Blob! Even if just as a subplot!

X-Factor #1 arrives in April.

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Blob Does Not Get Much of an Age of X-Man Send-Off

I didn’t really read Age of X-Man. That’s on me. I’m in no real position to judge it. But I have been closely following the journey of the Blob through the X-Tremists comic, because he’s one of my favorite mutants and he had a pretty incredible story. For the first time in probably decades, if not ever, Blob was given more to do than just be a fat joke and a bully. All credit to writer Leah Williams for that.

But in the final issue, as the Age of X-Man wraps up, Blob doesn’t get much closure to his story.

Blob AoX 03

Speak for yourself, Psylocke

That’s it. That’s the one panel Blob gets. He and Psylocke, his love interest in this story, face the unknown future of returning to the real world, where he’s an asshole villain and she’s a heroic X-Woman.

What’s to become of them? How does the Blob go forward? How does Psylocke go forward? Does this amazing bit of Blob character work only get to exist as a whisper, a short, singular story that doesn’t matter in the long run?

I don’t have answers to any of those questions, because the X-Men as a whole are getting a major relaunch/revamp next week with the big Jonathan Hickman takeover. I’m actually all in favor of whatever Hickman has in store. I wrote two years ago that I wanted the X-Men to get a big slate-clearing relaunch. X-Men comics had become too complicated, and a clean break/new beginning is just what they need.

Of course, it makes sense when you think about my luck with getting what I want from the X-Men. I get to have my big, linewide relaunch…but before Marvel does it, they’re going to give me the sweetest of treats with this Blob storyline, then leave it dangling, never to be finished or explored further.

Yeah, that makes sense. I’m just cursed.

But yeah, maybe I’m wrong. Perhaps the Blob will somehow get a story going forward. With Strong Guy currently dead, maybe I’ll start a Blob Watch…

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