Do you think X-Comics are boring?

[Wedge Antilles]

Not boring at all.

That said, the series seems to struggle with itself and the monster that is change, at times. Let's break up Jean and Scott... let's break up Scott and Emma... Nightcrawler should be killed off... when do we bring Nightcrawler back... let's keep teasing Jean coming back from the grave...

Sometimes the change feels natural and right... other times, well...

[sureshot]

Not boring just badly written for the most part. Too many writers with too many favored characters. Writing other characters poorly to push favored characters. Continuity thrown out the window again to push favored characters. The 05 is imo a good example of this. Trying to cash in on any movie with the X-men at all costs. Prof X engaging oin a sex fantasy with Mystique comes to mind. It's not all bad to be sure. It could be a hell of a lot better though

[MYCMTSC]

Magneto and X-Force are the only books with a pulse.

W&TXM has been tonally flat so far. I wish "No More Phoenix" lasted as long as "No More Mutants". The Phoenix Corporation is just another shark this particular X-mytho has jumped. I'm over it. If this is suppposed to be the vehicle that makes Quentin a major X-character, I don't believe in it. I am a fan of future Idie and I'm okay with future Genesis wreaking havoc, but none of it has been amazing.

All-New X-Men is bizarre. I think Mystique being downgraded to a cackling robber and X-surrogate is a sad state of affairs. The future X-Men and the past X-Men are like the worst of fan fiction and I am astonished more people aren't seeing it. I wish Bendis was bringing his social/political drama metaphors to the X-Men with him, but it appears he's bringing his D-game to the X-Men.

In Uncanny, his new characters are awful. I don't care about which Academy X characters they're replacing, but they are still ciphers who I cannot see holding a series as adult X-Men. If this is the future, the future is bleak. I enjoyed Bendis' Magneto, though.

All-New X-Factor is just boring, but I've never been a huge fan of the cast. The mysteries behind Serval aren't bringing me in each month, sorry.

X-Men has such stiff dialogue, anti-climatic drama, and seems like its being made up on the spot. I love the cast, but it needs Rogue, Kitty Pryde, and a breath of life to its stories. This cast is amazing because of the history between the characters (and even though Monet just has history with Jubilee, it was a complicated and hilarious match-up I was dying to see again) but their dynamic is frigidly disjointed.

[Mia]

These are the only books I get mointhly
All New X-Men is a fun read, not boring. But then again not really a scintillating read.
Cable and X-Force: Primarily buying it for the appearance of Psylocke. It's okay....But if Betsy wasn't in it, I would drop it.
X-Men: Again okay. I like the portrayal of the older characters and honestly wish that it would be just limited to them. Then the book would flow better.

[sureshot]

W&TXM has been tonally flat so far. I wish "No More Phoenix" lasted as long as "No More Mutants". The Phoenix Corporation is just another shark this particular X-mytho has jumped. I'm over it. If this is suppposed to be the vehicle that makes Quentin a major X-character, I don't believe in it. I am a fan of future Idie and I'm okay with future Genesis wreaking havoc, but none of it has been amazing.

The sad part is it used to be one of the more fun titles to read. Then Aaron decided to turn it into whatever favored character he wanted to push at the expense of others. I'm all for well written villains. When the villains can do everything and anything what's the point. The X-men have a Krakoa. The Hellfire Brats just have four of course.

All-New X-Men is bizarre. I think Mystique being downgraded to a cackling robber and X-surrogate is a sad state of affairs. The future X-Men and the past X-Men are like the worst of fan fiction and I am astonished more people aren't seeing it. I wish Bendis was bringing his social/political drama metaphors to the X-Men with him, but it appears he's bringing his D-game to the X-Men.

As a Mystique fan it's just sad to see a once complex character ruined. Has not written well at all. Post Messiah Complex it's been psycho, sociopath anti-X-men obession 24/7. Her having sex with Prof X and having a kid and giving the child up is not doing favors for her character development. It feels like they are trying to cash in on the movie. The characters motivations are all over the place. Greedy. Wanting a island. Anti-X-men obsession. Taking out Shield. Insane character or no she is all over the place.

[Sardorim]

I find this very strange to be honest. She may as well not have been in WaTX and Wood's X-Men did that completely bizarre and nonsensical flirtation between her and a sentient bacteria that very nearly ruined the whole world. Other than that....

I meant her being ignored and sidelined from the main X-Books - All-New and Uncanny. There's no good reason not to her have on the Revolution Team or at the NXS.

[mrbowlman]

There needs to be a clear A-List flagship book. Wood's X-Men could've been that book, but it got mugged by Remender, Bendis, and BotA.

[Tomppa]

Some of it is boring but most is just bad writing or poor management

Bendis' books seem like they're the only ones with clear mission statement and direction. But then his writing is probably the only one that is actually boring still because on UXM it's decompressed and slow which doesn't sit well with the idea of trying to introduce multiple new characters and make readers care about them when there are already so many great ones. And on ANXM it's decompressed and mostly done for nerdrage and to troll and aiming at the highest shock value. Like Xavier and Mystique? Ugh.

Basically
UXM: The Big revolution (finally) starts for the 20th time on this issue! Honest to god, we swear it's going to start. Shit is going down ya'll!
and
ANXM: Who will Jean kiss next, Scott or someone else?! Who will Laura kiss now that Scott is off the Earth or will she kiss anybody?! Will Jean go Phoenix for the 100th time?!
Wow, that is some truly riveting storytelling and oh so original. If I wanted to read an interesting modern take on O5 I'll stick with Marvel Season One X-Men.


Spurrier is a great writer if you just can get used to his style. You'll have to stick with him for about 6-10 issues to really start seeing what he's all about. Maybe that's just not very good these days when people are so ADHD and with the current market being what it is. The problem for me is that it started slow and now that it's finally picking up most of the readership has already deserted the ship and it will be on life support soon.

PAD is also a great old school writer who does ongoing plots alongside characterization which is fantastic but unfortunately he also started slow and to be honest kind of boring. So his book is in the same situation as Spurrier's book: picking up but saleswise it might be too little too late.

Latour I haven't read much but Aaron's characters don't exactly have me holding my breath and if he really has brought Askani back it's nice I guess but QQ as Phoenix and Phoenix Corporation don't make me want to read it. I thought there was supposed to be a much needed 'No More Phoenix' in effect after AvX but I guess not. Too bad.

Aaron was okay on Wolverine. I didn't love all of his stuff but at least it was okay and he did something new with Melita and the Mongrels and the Red Right Hand, I loved the idea of group of ordinary people who had suffered losses due to superheroes' battles and then trying to get revenge on the hero. Just too bad Aaron went over board with WatXM by creating a cast that was comprised of visual gags more than characters and his writing was too juvenile. And AXM I didn't get into because to me basing book's whole premise on a single 'resurrection of a character' arc without any direction beyond that seemed unwise and weak.

Wood certainly left a bit to be desired but like I've said before it's kind of hard to blame him alone since his whole title was plagued by editorial mismanagement and him deciding to leave the book kind of makes me think that it was worse than we might even know. But yeah, I could live with that title even if it was by no means perfect. With a little more commitment from people involved and some room to develop it could have been great.

All in all I feel like the whole X-Men franchise has jumped the shark now with most of the stories centering on shocking stuff like Xavier/Mystique kid even though it makes zero sense from the characterization point and aimlessness and sense that the franchise as a whole lacks direction and passion from the creative stand point. And the awful awful new characters. My god. None of the Bendis/Aaron creations are something that I expect to see around after awhile. If NXM and Gen Hope faded into the background then these have no hope what so ever of staying relevant in the long term. At least NXM/Gen Hope still have some fans asking for their return to spotlight but how many people would be requesting Bendis/Aaron creations to return if they disappeared from x-books? Hard to believe that even one person would care.

[cybrestrike]

The X-Books had a lot of promise after the Schism, but things now seem to have gone off the rails, most likely due to editorial (as usual).

Anyway, here are my takes on the books that I'm currently reading...

Uncanny: I wish there would be more direct revolutionary acts here. There's so much potential, but it seems to be wasted by Bendis' decompressed writing style. The new characters (Tempus, Triage, Hijack, Goldballs, and Morph) haven't been fleshed out as much as I'd like. They seem to just be there. The issue with Benjamin Deeds was promising, but we haven't gotten much more characterization. Bendis hasn't given me much of a reason to be attached to any of them at this point.

X-Men: Editorial pretty much screwed Wood out of a good chance to make this a better title. Switching artists, getting stuck in one of the more mediocre X-overs, and getting two main cast members ganked didn't help things either. I don't think this title will last long after Guggenheim takes over, but I promised to give his run a one-arc trial period--only because this is probably the only book where Storm and Rachel Grey get to do things.

Wolverine & the X-Men: Aaron started strong, and I thought it was the right balance between old school X-Men/Excalibur madcap weirdness. Then the Hellfire Brats stuck around and ruined everything. Latour has started off well, but I feel as if it's trying to make Kid Omega happen way too hard.

X-Factor: PAD has started up the All-New era of this pretty well. I like the characters, but wish there was minority representation on the team (it's still early days, so there's a chance we'll get another member or something). The stories so far have been interesting, and the new corporate angle is something worth looking at. And the art is on point. Plus, Cypher and Warlock aren't in limbo anymore...Gambit's actually doing something not involving Rogue...and Polaris is fun again.

Amazing X-Men: I really like this title. Nightcrawler's back, the art is fantastic, and the stories so far are pretty much close to what I'd expect in an X-book--high adventure with characters that I like a whole lot together. Firestar sticks out like a sore thumb, but that's about the only gripe that I have with this book--and it's not enough of a gripe to make me drop this title.

All-New X-Men: Initially I thought the idea of having the O5 in the present was stupid. Bendis actually pulled this off pretty well. But the fact that they couldn't go back to their own timeline was sort of ridiculous. Shadowcat as Professor K has promise, but so far she's seemed a lot angrier than I remember her being. Sure, she wanted to hit things in her younger days as a neophyte X-Man...but I dunno. Wish Angel and Iceman had more to do though.

Cyclops: This is actually the only good thing that I've liked about the O5 staying in the present. Issue #1 was a good read and leads to a cool concept if done the right way.

Nightcrawler: Old school Claremont. Loved the first issue. Wondering where this will go. But I'm along for the ride, especially since Daytripper is back in circulation.

Can't comment on Wolverine, X-Force, or Deadpool since they're not in my pull list.

[idiyona]

ANXM: Who will Jean kiss next, Scott or someone else?! Who will Laura kiss now that Scott is off the Earth or will she kiss anybody?! Will Jean go Phoenix for the 100th time?!
Wow, that is some truly riveting storytelling and oh so original. If I wanted to read an interesting modern take on O5 I'll stick with Marvel Season One X-Men.

I know. It's honestly pretty annoying once you think about how Bendis isn't doing anything regarding the team dynamic. Instead of characters learning and changing from what's around them it's mostly just hey this happened to Jean or this happened to Tyke (kissing someone, learns X about his/her past, etc.) and watch them react to it while everyone else gets to be wallpaper. It's less of a team book and more of a solo (before Tyke left it was a duo). Hell since issue #1 Beast hasn't moved past contemplating the future and Bobby hasn't moved past making goofy comments. Angel started to react to everything but his development was sacrificed to the altar of Jean going nuts again and he hasn't done anything since (it's implied it might change in the next issues. maybe) . Kitty just gets angry and Laura gets angry about Tyke.

I get that it's supposed to be centered around Jean and Scott blah blah blah they learn not to go nuts or something but the others are barely even secondary characters. They're wallpaper more often than not.

[Xargukon]

I don't think you can really classify an entire range of comic books under the same umbrella.
All of the different X-Book's have different writers and styles and each has it's own pros and cons.
I wouldn't really classify any of them as 'boring' though.

Uncanny X-Men: I really like the primary cast and I generally enjoy this book every issue.
All-New X-men: Originally I wasn't a fan, but I've grown to like it and the development paths the O5 are taking.
Cyclops: LOVED issue 1. Very nice.
All-New X-Factor: Great cast. Some of my favorite X-Men getting some good coverage, so pretty happy with this one.
X-Men: Never really got into it. Read a few issue and can see how it would appeal to others. I enjoyed the interactions between the villains more than the protagonists.
Wolverine and the X-Men: It's alright, holding off on judgement of the new Volume until I see where this new arc is going.
Magneto: Pretty neat so far. Got it's own distinct vibe.
X-Force: I'm liking the direction, though a bit iffy on some of the team members.
Amazing X-Men: Meh, I've been reading this. But I didn't really have any fondness for the first arc, I felt it was a little forced.
Nightcrawler: Haven't picked this one up yet.

[Magneto]

I blame Schism

[FluffyCyclopsRLZ]

Well, the Gold Siders sure as hell seem to think their lives are boring and directionless when Cyclops isn't around.

[Sea Hound]

House of M, even if you didn't like it gave the books a sense of urgency: that "we could all be exterminated" feeling. The Utopia era had proper villains, a coherent narrative, (I'm not saying the books were perfect, or without flaws) and a sense that all of the books were telling different aspects of the same story that was going somewhere.

Then came AvX, which derailed the story which was being told, giving it a different and poor ending.

Now I feel the franchise is wallowing like a ship without a rudder. It's like office politics with superpowers. The biggest conflict is this boring old Schism, and there's no interesting villains. If people ask "which Xbook is the main one I should read?", I have no idea what to tell them. There's no sense of peril or urgency. Even the X-Men seem a bit disinterested.

Individual books, (eg. magneto, X Force, X Factor) are working out because they're completely ignoring the allegedly core books and telling their own stories.

[Sundowhn]

Define "boring". Only some of the books interest me, if that's what you're talking about. The overall driving direction of the franchise doesn't.

As far as particular books go: for me, regarding roster balance, the franchise has two core books: Uncanny X-Men and Amazing X-Men. (To get a fix of most of the iconic team members, you have to read both.)

Uncanny has an absolutely awesome premise -- a group of X-Men who've broken away from Charles' peaceful coexistence stance and are declaring war on anyone who doesn't see eye to eye with them. It's gritty, it's risky and it puts the reader in mind of God Loves, Man Kills -- but only in theory. In execution, it fails hard. It's full of Bendisspeak. You have to trace speech bubbles back to the faces to have any idea of who is talking and then the voice still makes little sense in connection with the character. The character development is lacking in substance and its pacing is abysmal. I can't bring myself to pick up every issue of this any longer because there's no point. Hardly anything ever happens of note. It feels like the past year has been one long set up issue. It's supposedly setting the tone for the franchise, but it just doesn't follow through.

Amazing, on the other hand, has only the loosest of premises. They're from the traditional side of the X-Men, they care about one another and they fight bad guys. That's it, so far. We're only past the first arc, and that was a rescue mission. (The book is in limbo as far as potential future direction until Kyost takes over.) What it lacks in premise, it makes up for in execution and character portrayal, though. They all have distinct voices. They all act in ways that go with their character history. The pacing is a blend of character moments and actions and there is a feeling of something happening in every issue.

ANXM is one I only rarely pick up these days. It still reads like a teen sitcom, which doesn't interest me. I agree with what someone else was saying on BMB using it to play with readers.

ANXF is well written, but keeps to itself, same with UXF. No complaints about either writer, though.

X-Men started off well, but lost steam fast and is a bit too high on the snark-o-meter these days for my tastes. WatXM rambles along aimlessly.

I'm really enjoying the solos. Magneto is strong with a good story, I love Claremont being back on Nightcrawler and hope he'll get another book added and the Cyke book was kind of cute. I'm looking forward to the Storm solo, too.