I think we need a thread praising Cullen Bunn for all he’s done with the X Men!

[Arachne]

Was it as bad as the last New Mutant run when the team got kicked out of their own comic?

I really wish they'd think about the overall quality of the books when they plan crossovers. Is the sales boost from a crossover really worth making the rest of the run nearly unreadable?

[Thievery]

Was it as bad as the last New Mutant run when the team got kicked out of their own comic?

I really wish they'd think about the overall quality of the books when they plan crossovers. Is the sales boost from a crossover really worth making the rest of the run nearly unreadable?

Is the New Mutant run that you are talking about the one by Zubb? I have been trying to re-read it as I had to stop short the first time. Was this the comic that was cut off for Young X-Men, or do I have my timeline for the comics messed up? It's been a while.

And with as bad as comic sales are right now, I am guessing the sales boost is something that Marvel would take every time. Not saying that I agree with it. And yeah, you would hope that they would coordinate their stories a little better, and not spring cross overs on writers after they have already made their plans for their comics.

[Arachne]

No, I'm talking about Zeb Wells' run. (It was after Guggenheim's Young X-men.) During Second Coming and Age of X there were issues where the team didn't even appear, and they only had minor rules in the other comics. It was really frustrating.

I wonder his many people drop titles because of this like that. Readership might be higher overall if they eased back a bit on them.

As I understand it, sales really aren't that bad when you factor in digital and trades. It's just the floppies that aren't doing as well as they used to. (That said, I think I read something about returns not being accounted for in the past so the old numbers were inflated some. I could be totally wrong on that, though.)

[Soulsword323]

I've really enjoyed Bunn's work for the most part. His Magneto was great, and demonstrated a firm understanding of the character. When his run of Uncanny was announced, I wasn't interested, but it ended up being great. I've thoroughly enjoyed Blue, it had some duds, and I wasn't always crazy about his interpretation of Polaris, but felt like it was a solid run. In particular, his teen Jean was amazing. I thought Bunn understood teen Jean's voice the most of all the people who've written her. I know that Jean isn't the type of character he prefers to write, but I do wish we could see him stick around and write more for Jean. I'd love to see what he would do with the adult version.

[Thievery]

No, I'm talking about Zeb Wells' run. (It was after Guggenheim's Young X-men.) During Second Coming and Age of X there were issues where the team didn't even appear, and they only had minor rules in the other comics. It was really frustrating.

I wonder his many people drop titles because of this like that. Readership might be higher overall if they eased back a bit on them.

Did I get Zubb and Zeb Wells' names mixed up. I do that a lot.
And I will definitely drop a comic because of crossovers. Partly because I may be uninterested in the crossover itself, or because I simply cant afford all of the issues if they are not in my budget. That is what happened for me with Weapon x. I couldn't afford the Hulk issues that went with the series and dropped Weapon X. Weapon X is one of the few times that I started reading a comic after dropping it because of a crossover though.


But my liking of Bunn's work is what got me to stay with his books despite the crossovers.

[Celestialbodies]

Agreed, I can't sing enough praise for Bunn he truly will be missed. And I still attest that X-men Black should have been branded an ongoing and handed to Cullen on a platter!

[blinkingblah]

Agreed, I can't sing enough praise for Bunn he truly will be missed. And I still attest that X-men Black should have been branded an ongoing and handed to Cullen on a platter!

Agreed!!! For some reason I really want to see a Sabretooth mini with Bunns.

[salarta]

Hi. I have words.

When I first heard about Bunn, it was due to him writing the Magneto solo. Which I felt was good. I supported it because Magneto was connected to Polaris, and I hoped that eventually that would lead to Bunn writing Lorna. I went by the assumption that good writing of Magneto (in my opinion) would translate into good writing for Lorna.

I ended up complaining about how he wrote Lorna on X-Men Blue. A lot. I feel for a whole lot of very good, entirely justified reasons that I still completely stand by. There were also some issues I saw and deliberately kept to myself, or said a few times and then shut up about, because I realized those complaints could cause entirely unnecessary problems for him.

He made some improvement for some of the problems I saw. Course correcting on Lorna's dynamic with Magneto was the big one. But there were still bigger problems that persisted to the very end. They all revolved around forcing Havok onto all her affairs, defining her by her history with Havok, and using her to promote Havok's issues and stories. I don't know how much of that was Bunn, and how much was editors and execs above him. They all bear some blame regardless. Whether it's Bunn just going along with what he's told to do, or editors above him not giving him the guidance he needed to be better, or executives meddling in good creative work for their personal hang-ups (a la Dick Giordano toward Supergirl and Batgirl).

I came away from Blue thinking a few different things. I think his time focused on Magneto stuck him in a male-centric POV, so he failed to see Lorna as her own character with value to explore. I think Blue was yet more proof that Havok needs to be kept the hell away from Lorna for at least a decade. I think Marvel isn't anywhere near as progressive as they try to pretend they are. If Marvel was truly progressive, they wouldn't have followed up her treatment on Blue by giving Havok his own team book and throwing Lorna away completely. "Lorna's not an A-lister" (in their old guard minds relying on artificial hierarchies) is no excuse. They may as well be Dick Giordano if that's their attitude.

In all of this, though, an important message: writing is all about getting better.

All of the complaints I've made are not things that are eternal truths with no way to ever change them. Bunn is perfectly capable of improving and doing better. And in fact, that's a huge chunk of why I was so caustic in my complaints. I know he can be better. I saw it in his writing of Magneto. I don't believe he was a terrible writer doing the best he could. I believe he's a potentially excellent writer that wasn't pushing himself enough to treat Lorna right. And I think a big chunk of that is artificial limits he's put on himself, like not thinking about how Lorna would really think and feel in a scene cause he's too focused on Magneto's or Havok's perspective.

I think Blue showed he's not ready to write her. But I think if he puts real effort into improving as a writer, breaking those fake barriers, then he could be good for her in a few years.

[Sam Robards, Comic Fan]

When's the last time that didn't happen to a run?

Honestly, Mike Carey's run was pretty unencumbered by editorial. He came on after HoM, so he knew the setting, and the only crossovers that were in the main X-Books after that were the Messiah Trilogy, and he spearheaded Messiah CompleX, which explains why it's a masterclass in event storytelling. After that storyline wrapped up, Marvel pretty much let him do what he wanted for as long as he wanted.

*Sigh* To have him back again, even if it were for an OGN like No More Humans.

But this is a Bunn appreciation thread! If Marvel was smart enough to bring him back to the X-Books, even if it was just for a mini or OGN, I'd definitely be game.

EDIT: I forgot Carey was roped into tying into Necrosha, but did you read that Proteus story? It was freaking amazing. He also wrote the X-Men: Secret Invasion tie-in, but that was a standalone mini. Spoiler warning: It was awesome, too.

[AbnormallyNormal]

Agreed, I can't sing enough praise for Bunn he truly will be missed. And I still attest that X-men Black should have been branded an ongoing and handed to Cullen on a platter!

Yeah no kidding. His "future brotherhood" was very appealing

I would love for him to be able to write about sort of a quasi villain squad or something even

But give the characters more depth and make them interesting while still maybe not letting the audience necessarily AGREE with what they do, or make audience feel guilt when you realize you've ended up rooting for them

That'd be cool

[Del torro]

I've really enjoyed Bunn's work for the most part. His Magneto was great, and demonstrated a firm understanding of the character. When his run of Uncanny was announced, I wasn't interested, but it ended up being great. I've thoroughly enjoyed Blue, it had some duds, and I wasn't always crazy about his interpretation of Polaris, but felt like it was a solid run. In particular, his teen Jean was amazing. I thought Bunn understood teen Jean's voice the most of all the people who've written her. I know that Jean isn't the type of character he prefers to write, but I do wish we could see him stick around and write more for Jean. I'd love to see what he would do with the adult version.

Yeah, Bunn is the only writer that had Jean show remorse for her actions in Bendis X-men, and showed how she had changed and only used telepathy with consent from fear of becoming a mind controlling monster.

[Heroine Addict]

He'll almost certainly be remembered best for his work with Magneto, and rightfully so. But for me personally, as a Polaris fan first, I'll always value his times with her most:

• https://www.amazon.com/House-M-Warzo.../dp/0785198725

... and...

... highlighting her most recent comics appearances, post 2015's Secret Wars:

• https://www.amazon.com/Deadpool-Merc...ercs+for+money
• https://www.amazon.com/X-Men-Blue-Vo...il+and+Trouble
• https://www.amazon.com/X-Men-Blue-Vo...l.+4+cry+havok

They're in chronological order, with the (second) being an enjoyable but only minor, alternate future version. Links are included below the images shown, for the collected editions featuring each (and more), with hopes of providing convenience.

While Blue didn't quite meet my admittedly high eXpectations, I did find things to like & appreciate, and am thankful for all the non-negative eXposure he helped give her. I'll always want more when it comes to her character, that's a given with all things considered. But that doesn't mean I can't and/or won't find the worth, in things that don't eXactly measure up, to what I was hoping for and/or imagined.

So thank you, Cullen Bunn, and Godspeed my good man. You'll be remembered fondly by me, and I wish you all the best in your future endeavors. And ya never know, maybe I'll see you there, in some of them. I haven't forgotten Fearless Defenders either, where I first met you, here on the CBR Forum. 8)

[MyriVerse]

IMO, the last thing good Bunn did was when Magneto's series ended. Everything since that seems horrible like it's written by someone else using his name.

[OBrianTallent]

I'm trying to remember when I first came to really appreciate Bunn's work and I think it might have been Uncanny, no it was Fearless Defenders. I wasn't going to pick the book up, but decided to go ahead anyway. From there, I've hit the back issue bins for Magneto and been getting Blue. I didn't see the need to have the O5 teens left in the 'current' time frame and gave up on their original series that Bendis wrote around issue 14 or 15, but after Uncanny I decided to give Blue a try (and that he put Polaris in it was a major plus) but found he made the characters interesting and compelling. I was very shocked to read that he wasn't on any of the upcoming X titles and thought for sure he would have been a definite for the Uncanny team, I will never understand some of Marvel's hiring choices. Perhaps DC will pick him up (I would love to see what he could do with the Titans!!)

[Vegan Daddy]

That Magneto run could’ve been something special. Imagine if it wasn’t derailed by crossovers and mediocre fill-in artists.