Starting with issue #260.1, Christos Gage took over X-Men Legacy from the title’s long-serving writer Mike Carey, who has probably done more for the franchise than anyone since Grant Morrison exited New X-Men back in 2004. Gage’s first issue suffered from a few problems: the need to establish the cast of characters he’ll be using going forward got in the way of the story’s structure to some extent, the writing occasionally lapsed into cliche, and at times it felt as though he was trying a little too hard to make an impression. However, three issues in and he’s definitely found his voice. If Uncanny X-Men is a traditional superhero comic and Wolverine and the X-Men is overblown fun, X-Men Legacy looks set to be the soap opera book, following on in the grand tradition established by Chris Claremont, and that’s as good a function as any for it to serve in an already crowded line.

The current storyline sees the team pitched against Exodus, who – like many superhero villains – has been defeated so often and so decisively that it’s difficult to take the declarations of his supposedly unstoppable power seriously. As tends to be the case when he appears, he plays the role of self-anointed mutant saviour (despite the fact that he’s never done one thing to actually help the species), and Gage does a good job of rehabilitating him, making him interesting to old and new readers alike. On art, David Baldeon is well suited to the material; his facial expressions could benefit from a little more emotion and variety, but he’s certainly one to watch. The buzz around this one is growing, and I’m only too happy to validate it.

X-Factor has for years now been Peter David’s corner of the X-universe, with the writer (almost) free to do as he pleases, consistently taking unpromising characters and making the reader care about them. His stint on the title has had its ups and downs, with some story arcs more successful than others, but he’s built up a loyal audience, which is why X-Factor has avoided cancellation despite being a low seller. When the X-Men brand undergoes one of its frequent relaunches/reshuffles, David generally pays lip service to it, and that was certainly the case in They Keep Killing Madrox, the tale running through issues #229 to #232. Unfortunately, the arc fell a little flat, despite having such a wonderful name.

The positives: well, Emanuela Lupacchino is a spectacular superhero artist, and will propel herself to the A-list sooner or later if she maintains the high standard of these issues. On the writing side, by this point David has full command of his characters, and has worked hard to develop a unique voice for each and every one. That sense of identity is really beneficial in a team book setting, where even the best writers can sometimes struggle to differentiate the voices of each individual. On the downside, in this arc his pacing and structure isn’t always effective. Issue #230 is the only one that features all of the book’s extended cast, and yet barely features Madrox at all; when read in one go, the effect is particularly jarring, as the flow of the main story grinds to a halt so that the other characters can stand around and argue a lot, before the final page then introduces two major new additions who don’t feature at all in #231 and #232. It’s possible that the Regenesis initiative interrupted David’s intended narrative to some extent, and the work that eventually surfaced was subject to a few last minute changes. Even so, at four issues the story feels overlong and inconsequential, as though the book is treading water ahead of whatever comes next. That will be the real test for X-Factor, and it will need to justify its place in the line once more.

And finally, there is Uncanny X-Force. Disappointingly, I appear to have jumped on at the wrong time. Issue #19 was essentially a postscript to the critically acclaimed Dark Angel Saga, and in the last three issues Rick Remender has been telling the story of Otherworld, a magical realm based on Celtic and Welsh mythology. The mix of this fantastical element and the title’s modus operandi of grim and gritty, violent antics has proven interesting but ultimately unsuccessful, and a large part of the problem has been Greg Tocchini’s art. To be charitable, his work could be described as an acquired taste; his influences are clearly more interesting that your average comicbook artist, touching upon impressionism and other staples of art history. Taking a less generous stance, one could argue that the work featured in issues #20 and #21 had no business being published, given its lack of clarity and detail. Issue #22 is fortunately a vast improvement, and if he could raise the bar just a little and then operate at that standard consistently, he’d be one hell of a talent. He was presumably chosen for this story arc because of the almost dream-like qualities Otherworld is supposed to evoke. However, when he’s called upon to deliver a particularly gory scene in issue #22 (spoiler: one of the characters loses their face) he can’t pull it off. His style simply doesn’t suit the hyperviolence that is supposed to be a part of the book’s high concept.

As for the story? Well, it has been underwhelming so far, to be honest. The setting and stakes aren’t particularly interesting; Otherworld rarely crops up in the Marvel universe, and most of the individuals who inhabit it are so minor it’s hard to care about their fates, or else they’re C-level superheroes that, regardless of the outcome, will crop up in someone else’s story in a few months time, ostensibly unchanged by the events of this tale. Like X-Factor, Uncanny X-Force seems to be killing time, and hopefully the next arc will be a return to form.

So in summary: X-Men Legacy stands out as the best of the satellite titles; it doesn’t quite achieve the same level of quality as Uncanny X-Men and Wolverine and the X-Men, but it’s up there. As for X-Factor and Uncanny X-Force, wait and see: the talent involved with both titles have delivered in the past, and hopefully the next storylines will be an improvement over the current ones.

So, time to catch up with Regenesis, which by now has had plenty enough time to make its mark. It’s fair to say the relaunch has offered its share of both good news and bad news. First, the bad news: Marvel still insists on publishing superfluous titles that have no compelling reason to exist, and in fact serve to dilute the entire line. New Mutants and Generation Hope are not bad comicbooks, but their existence seems predicated on the knowledge that completists will likely pick them up, rather than any pressing creative or artistic need to tell a story. Ultimately, it’s serviceable genre fare that I’ve already stopped purchasing.

X-Men doesn’t deserve to get off so lightly.  Victor Gischler – who has proven elsewhere that he is a perfectly talented writer – has been dragging out a story for four issues that could’ve been wrapped up in two. It got off to a bad start by utilising the ‘superheroes fight following a misunderstanding, then team up to take on the bad guys’ template that is as old as the genre, and thus overused to such an extent that the only suitable reaction is a cataclysmic yawn. Meanwhile, the plot is all-too-familiar: an upstart nation gets its hands on advanced technology (in this case, Sentinels), ostensibly in order to better protect its borders from international threats, but in reality to go on the offensive. What would be fine as a b-plot (or even c-plot) seems interminable at this length, and I won’t be sticking round for future issues.

Fortunately, the good news is that the two flagship titles have been excellent. Wolverine and the X-Men has given the line a shot in the arm, with Jason Aaron seemingly having no interest in the “grim and gritty” storylines that have come to define the franchise (all death and dystopian futures). Instead, he’s penning a silly little action book of the best kind, one that embraces the more ridiculous and outre genre conventions and ramps them up to 11. To this end, the villains of the first arc were the latest version of the Hellfire Club, a collection of prepubescent sociopaths with too much time and money on their hands and an intense hatred of mutantkind. Moving at a brisk pace, the hero of the piece turns out to be teen anarchistic and reluctant member of Wolverine’s Jean Grey School for Higher Learning Quentin Quire, a Grant Morrison creation whose sensibilities mesh perfectly with Aaron’s. Fantastic stuff.

The first Uncanny X-Men story arc was no less impressive. Kieron Gillen – who cut his teeth writing the Britpop-inspired Phonogram – writes an excellent Cyclops, and it should be interesting to see how his X-Men team (which comprises several individuals of morally dubious character, including Magneto) manage to co-exist. Their role is twofold: to help humanity, but also to show them how powerful mutants really are, and what a bad idea it is to mess with the species. It’s an interesting setup, helped by the fact that they were pitted against Mister Sinister, with Gillen successfully redefining the role and purpose of a villain who has for too long been shrouded in pointless mystery and ambiguity. On art, Carlos Pacheco is on top form, turning in his most impressive work in recent memory. The two should be commended for embracing the superhero team book template and making it seem vital again.

So in summary: seek out the first three issues of both Wolverine and the X-Men and Uncanny X-Men, and skip the other three titles I’ve discussed. Next time out, we’ll look at whether X-Men Legacy, Uncanny X-Force, and X-Factor are worth a read.

Did you read My Life In Comicbooks? You did? Okay, let’s get to it then!

The recent X-Men: Schism miniseries tore a rift in the very heart of the X-Men, and resulted in an ideological split between Cyclops and Wolverine. The reason? As always, to sell more comics. But, cynicism aside, splitting the mutants into two different camps does make a lot of sense; in theory, it should allow each title to focus on character-driven stories, something that has been lacking at times in recent years.

As the title tasked with establishing the new direction, X-Men: Regenesis #1 is best viewed as a necessity, one that puts the relevant pieces into place for what comes next. Outside of that remit, it does little to dazzle. In particular, the decision to use a tribal gathering as a metaphor for the split between Cyclops and Wolverine is massively misjudged; it adds nothing to the story, and thematically it is a tenuous fit at best, coming across as a cheap attempt to add some action to an issue that is otherwise entirely devoted to talking heads. Still, the conversation scenes are well-written, and carry the kind of weight you would hope for, given they are supposed to sell the important nature of the decisions being made. Some strong character scenes lift this into above average territory.

Rather than doing anything dramatically different, Wolverine and the X-Men #1 follows a rather tried and true approach (calling to mind, for example, Grant Morrison’s Riot at Xavier’s arc), and yet still manages to feel like a breath of fresh air. That’s largely down to the injection of a sense of humour; X-Men comics are typically handwringing affairs, what with the constant deaths and victories that look more like defeats. Jason Aaron undoubtedly has a handle on the characters, with his version of Beast (as a super-genius far too occupied with his intellect to pay attention to anyone or anything else) feeling as true to the character as any in recent years. Chris Bachalo’s art tends to be an acquired taste, but I’ve always been a big fan of his brand of hyper-expressiveness, and the bright colour palettes inkers tend to use for his work. The clarity of the splash page that ends the issue could be questioned; the villain is ambiguous in a way I’m not convinced is intentional. But that’s a minor quibble. and other than that this is an excellent first issue.

The senses-shattering introduction to Onward, Manchester’s coverage of the X-Men relaunch.

When you’re still in single digit ages, your life pretty much revolves around cartoons. Or at least mine did. Nothing, however, grabbed me quite the way X-Men: The Animated Series did. Complex characters with inner turmoils; it seemed like a massive step up from my usual fare. I was quickly hooked.

From those humble origins my love of comicbooks did blossom. Arcadia Comics opened up in Ashton-under-Lyne in 1994, at exactly the right time to foster my interest and capture the majority of my pocket money. Eschewing the rest of the Marvel line (with the exception of the odd Spider-man comic here and there) and ignoring DC Comics altogether, my focus was very much on the X-Men, and its labyrinthine continuity.

As I progressed through high school, I stopped visiting, for fear of being associated with a medium that might be viewed as “uncool.” By the time college rolled around, however, my love of the written word had become all-encompassing, and eventually led me towards a couple of critically acclaimed graphic novels, Blankets by Craig Thompson and Maus by Art Spiegelman (both of which fall into “must read before you die” territory). I sought out everything I could, discovering Scott Pilgrim before there was a bandwagon to jump upon, delighting in the work of the Hernandez Brothers, and digging Daniel Clowes’ worldview.

Eventually, this path led me back to superhero comicbooks, and even back to Arcadia, and its rows upon rows of back issues from the era I cared about the most. Being employed, I could afford to be more extravagant (splashing upwards of £30 on Uncanny X-Men #266, the first appearance of Gambit, for example), and used to depart the store with epic hauls. During a Jeffrey Brown book signing I discovered that OK Comics in Leeds was also well-stocked in that department, so I made a pilgrimage or two when I could find the time.

By 2006, eBay had replaced the need for me to travel out of the city centre for back issues. The proprietor of Arcadia (which had closed down one year previously) was arrested and charged for an unsolved murder, for which an innocent man had served 16 years in jail for. My interest has waxed and waned over the last decade, usually in sync with my bank balance, but something always brings me back. I almost caved when DC relaunched its entire line in September; the X-Men relaunch proved impossible to resist.

So here I am. Back on the hook. So very glad you chose to join me.

Coming soon: reviews of X-Men: Regenesis, Wolverine and the X-Men #1, and plenty more besides!