NEW X-MEN 137

Synopsis/Review

by Jake Ball

PURCHASE HERE

Riot at Xavier's

Quentin Quire kicks his riot into full swing, forcing the teaching staff of the Xavier Institute is forced to show their students and the whole world that the situation is well in hand, or is it?

Synopsis

As one might expect, this issue continues exactly where the last one left off. Quentin Quire and his Omega Gang of drugged up, power crazy mutants have kidnapped Professor Xavier in an attempt to lay waste to the dream of peaceful integration between mutants and humans that is symbolic with the X-Men themselves. On the school's first Open Day, when humans fill the lush campus of the Xavier Institute, a riot begins that will change the lives of students, teachers and humans all across the world. Heroes will be born, and friends will fall in an insane attempt by one immensely powerful boy who just wants to impress the girl of his dreams. A girl who shows the world we can all be a hero, if we look deep inside ourselves and rise above the insecurities and petty doubts that prevent the courage within from rushing out.

CONTINUED

RANT FROM THE NORTH

by Jay Mckiernan

I suppose the big news of the week is that Marvel has announced the next ‘wave’ of Tsunami Comics that are coming in May. You’ll see more information in the next edition of Previews and I’m sure that I’m going to make a few more comments when I write the Newsletter for that one.
But since the info is already here, let’s take a look at what’s coming:

Wolverine: Snikt!, a six-shot limited series by Tsutomu Nihei, will lead off this group. Wolverine devolves into his savage, berserker state forever in a barren wasteland in which he battles against parasitic robot organisms.
Inhumans, an ongoing series by Sean McKeever and Danny Miki, will star the next generation of this superteam.
The Crew, an ongoing series by Priest, Joe Bennett, and Danny Miki will follow from the event's of Truth: Red, White & Black.
New Mutants is an ongoing series by Nunzio DeFilippis & Christina Weir, Keron Grant and cover artist Josh Middleton.

CONTINUED AT COMIXTREME

ERIC MOREELS: HE’S NOT JUST X-FAN ANYMORE!

ComiXtreme’s Tom Toner recently caught up with Eric Moreels to talk about his contribution on the up and coming X-Men Encyclopedia.

Tom Toner: Everyone knows you as X-Fan, the creator of the online website X-Fan. What can you tell us about the man himself, Eric J. Moreels?

Eric Moreels: Well, I'm 34, Australian, live in Adelaide, am married to my beautiful wife Sarah, have two kids, a cat, love watching football (the real kind, Aussie Rules; not the uber-padding thing you call football), and have been working on X-Fan for around six years now.

TT: How does it feel to have been chosen by Marvel to do the X-Men Encyclopedia?

EM: An incredible honor. I feel very lucky to have been asked by Marvel to work on a book such as this.

TT: What makes you different then anyone else out there that could have been on this book? I guess really what I’m asking is, why you?

EM: That's the million-dollar question, isn't it? To be honest, I think it's because of X-Fan and the good reputation that the site has. I've worked with some editors at Marvel on various other things, like a survey for a letters page in Wolverine as one example, but nothing of this magnitude. X-Fan has long had character bios as a staple feature, and many creators have tapped them as a resource for crafting their stories, so it seems to be a natural extension of that whereby Marvel asked me.

CONTINUED AT COMIXTREME

APRIL PREVIEWS FROM THE NORTH

A Look at titles available for April Pre-order

by Jay Mckiernan

DC Comics

Page 52 - Thundercats / Battle of the Planets Special #1 - Written and illustrated by Kaare Andrews - Oh boy - words can't describe just how excited I am by this big time team up. Actually, three words can describe how excited I am by this: Not At All. I guess these characters don't make me very nostalgic, nor do I really care to see them teamed up in one big comic. Kaare Andrews is a good enough artist to make this worth checking out solely for that reason, but most of these inter-company team-ups tend to just fizzle and fall flat. Anyone else remember the horrible Spawn / Batman ones from a few years ago? Ugh.

Page 54 - Superman: Red Son #1 - Written by Mark Millar, Art by Dave Johnson - It's another very interesting Elseworlds project. This mini-series shows what it would have been like if Kal-El had crashed into the Soviet Union and was active during the Cold War, protecting Communist Russia. For me, the big selling point is an entire issue of Johnson art - his covers for 100 Bullets are incredible and I want to see what he can do with a whole issue. Millar is a fan favorite writer, with his work on the Ultimate line making him one of the hottest writers in comics right now. Most Elseworlds books tend to start with a great concept and then, kinda fizzle. This one might just hold up and is worth a look.

Page 56 - Orbiter HC - Written by Warren Ellis, Art by Colleen Doran - Okay, I've already said enough in these columns about just how good Ellis is as a writer, but this one is going to focus on the artists. Doran is someone who really deserves more recognition and attention than she's getting. Hopefully this graphic novel will be the one to get her name higher up the ladder, so to speak. This book should look great, and it's got a great premise - looking into what's waiting for humanity once they get into space. It's a Vertigo book, which means that it's not for the young, but this should be one of the best books out in April.

Page 63 - Beware The Creeper #1 - Written by Jason Hall, Art by Cliff Chiang - Yet another classic DC character gets put through the Vertigo spinner and comes out the other side looking nothing like had come before. Fans may remember the Creeper as the mischievous character with green hair, yellow skin and a bizarre, cackling laugh. This creeper is female, works in Paris in the twenties, and doesn't have any super-powers. This book looks good - Hall is the co-creator of a much lauded indie book called Pistolwhip and Chiang just finished a great run on the back-up story in Detective Comics that really made me want to see more of his stuff. Another mature readers book, but one worth checking out.

Page 64 - Batgirl #39 - Written by Dylan Horrocks, Art by Adrian Sibar and Andy Owens - If nothing else, this means that Daimon Scott's consecutive issues streak is over. Actually, this is kind of a weird announcement - Horrocks is replacing long-time writer Kelley Puckett and Sibar is replacing Scott and this could be a very big adjustment for long-time fans of the book. Horrocks has been writing Hunter: The Age of Magic for Vertigo and he's got a pretty verbose style, not something that Batgirl has ever been. Judging solely by the art given in this Previews, I'm not too sure if this is an improvement, artistically. I'll refrain from judgement until I see the issue, but I wonder if shaking up the creative team is what this book needs.

Page 67 - Planetary #16 - Written by Warren Ellis, Art by John Cassaday - Do I really need to tell you why this is good news. Planetary is, without hyperbole, one of the best comics on the market. Or was, when it was actually being printed. But it's been on a long sabbatical while the creators worked on other things (cough..Captain America…cough) and other projects. I've recommended the trades before, and will do so again, and if you're a fan of mature comics that are well-written and well-drawn, then check out this book.

Page 69 - Green Lantern / Green Arrow: Black Circle, Urban Knights - Green Arrow #23 , 24, 25 (May), Green Lantern #162 ,163 , 164 (MAY)Written by Ben Raab and Judd Winick, Art by Charlie Adlard - Back in the seventies, this was one of the best teams in comics. Their book was making waves, breaking boundaries, and making names for creators Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams. This, however, is probably just an attempt to get fans to check out Green Lantern and see what kind of book it is. But that would be a cynical view, I know. If nothing else, reading these for Adlard's artwork will be worth the price. Winick's a great writer, and since he's going to be taking over Green Arrow pretty soon, you'll get a sneak peak at what he can do with the Emerald Archer. Stunt or not, this could be one of those rare crossovers that works.

Page 71 - JLA: Age of Wonder #1 - Written by Adisakdi Tantimedh, Art by Galen Showman - I will be the first to admit that this book is a complete crap shoot. The preview hype calls the writer an indie filmmaker - but I've never heard of him and couldn't find him on IMDB.com. Showman's a little more recognizable to comic fans, and the art including in the preview looks very good. But this is another Elseworlds book, so if you're a fan of those, and want to see a new look at the JSA, circa 1876, then check this one out. I like the concept and this might be one of those books that flies under the radar but really deserves some more attention.

Page 72 - Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Volume 12 HC - Written by Cary Bates, Jim Shooter and Paul Levitz, Art by Mike Grell, Ric Estrada, Michael Nasser and others - Why do I point this out? As long time readers of my rants and columns know, I'm a huge old-school Legion fan. Well I just noticed that we're now getting into Archives of the title that are reprinting comics that I actually own. Ugh. Something about this just makes me feel really old. There's something incredibly strange about reading these comics nowadays, when they were originally printed in the early 70's. The stories DC was putting out were simplistic and basic, and did their best to appeal to the widest possible audience of children. If nothing else, this archive will be worth checking out to see some old Grell artwork - man, that guy's been doing great stuff for a long time now.

Page 73 - Adam Strange: The Man of Two Worlds TP - Written by Richard Bruning, Art by Andy and Adam Kubert - I remember picking this mini-series up when it first hit the stands way, way back in 1990. The brothers Kubert were only known as sons of the famous Joe, not for what they've since accomplished. This was a prestige format series that took a popular sci-fi hero for DC and completely turned his life upside down. It was shocking to see what Bruning did to the world of Adam Strange, and that's what made this story all the more powerful. If you want to see how Kubert's artwork has changed in 13 years, this is worth a look - but it's also a great story that got missed when it was first released.

Image Comics

Page 104 - The Agents #1 - Written by Kevin Gunstone, Art by Ben Dunn - At first glance, this book looks a lot like it's got some great retro feel to it, but put through a decidedly manga filter. Dunn is a great manga artist, and he's going to give this book a great look and style that you don't see from most books. The other plus has to be that simple fact that it's got enough spy intrigue and action to make most comic fans really excited. I've never heard of Gunstone before, so I can't tell you whether he's going to make this book better, but judging from what I've seen, this looks to be a solid mini-series.

Page 106 - The Bunker GN - Written and drawn by Bruce Mutard - This is for everyone out there who complains that there are too many books on the market featuring super-heroes and not enough telling other kinds of stories. This book couldn't be more opposite of a super-hero book and it's something worth checking out if you want to read about the trials and tribulations of a young man's life, especially when dealing with the girl he has a crush on. This really looks like one of those tender stories that should get more attention than it will, so I'm urging everyone to give this one a look.

Page 114 - Heirs of Eternity #1 - Written by Jose L. Torres, Art by Jae Tsai and Jim Royal - I don't mention this because I think this is a book worth checking out. It's manga month at Image, and this is another offering for that concept. No, I mention this solely because you should check out the written hype for this comic. It doesn't talk about the comic, what the comic is about, or give you any clue as to what you could expect. Instead, it's a rambling missive about disorder, so pretentious that it can only serve to keep people from reading the comic.

Page 125 - Miracleman Resin Statue - from McFarlane Toys - Ummm…I'm pretty sure that the court decision wasn't this clear…but I could be wrong. I guess the big question that I have is whether anyone actually believes that this is going to get into comic shops any time soon. Forget about the fact that McFarlane is notoriously late with everything - there's got to be a court injunction against this product as soon as humanly possible. What's really sad about all this is the simple fact that this horrible legal battle is making everyone forget about the fact that these were some of the best comics ever published, and it's making it harder and harder for new fans to see them reprinted.

NOTE FROM EDITOR-Because of the lateness of Spawn (nearly 1 year late of issue 121 which Image/McFarlane prods did not bother to even re-solicit but instead made people wait 1 year for their pre-orders, X-World is no longer carrying Spawn nor we we be taking pre-orders for the above staute. It simply is not fair to our customers to do so.

Page 134 - Soul of a Samurai #1 - Written and drawn by Will Dixon - What happens when a samurai turns his back on duty and family in order to face four demons within his soul? What happens when he chooses a spiritual quest over one closer to home? That's the driving questions behind this book, and that might just be what makes this book stand out from the rest of the manga month stuff Image is offering. I checked out the five page preview on www.imagecomics.com , the art is amazing. This is a book worth checking out, people. Trust me.

Page 140 - Battle of the Planets / Thundercats Special #1 - Written by Munier Sharrieff, Art by Alvin Lee - Well, we got one from DC, so of course we had to get one from Top Cow. Read my comments above to know just how excited this makes me.

Marvel Comics

Marvel Tsunami kicks off this month, with a whole bunch of new titles and books for your to check out - I'll make mention at the Tsunami books when I get to them. The basic concept is that this will feature a wave of new books that are looking towards the future of comics… starring characters created over 30 years ago… he he. I think this line can be described simply - the manga-zation of the Marvel Universe.

Page 151 - Namor #1 & 2 - Tsunami - Written by Bill Jemas and Andi Watson, Art by Mizuki Sakakibara I'm not sure if they're making Namor young again (and forgetting all his past history) or if this story takes place in the past, but you've got to admit that this won't be like a lot of stuff Marvel's publishing right now. I also wonder if this is part of the constant DC / Marvel feud and since DC's already brought out a new Aquaman comic, Marvel has to follow with Namor. This first issue of this book is 25 cents, so that will mean a lot of people will be giving this one a try.

Page 154 - Human Torch #1 - Tsunami - Written by Karl Kesel, Art by Skottie Young - Because everyone was demanding that the least popular member of the Fantastic Four should get his own series. The artwork used for this ad has already been making the rounds on the net and was rumoured to be connected to the Ultimate Fantastic Four series that we've been hearing about for a long time now. Instead, we've got this. I'd be lying if I was just a little disappointed. It looks like they're turning the Human Torch young again and Kesel has shown that he can handle young, powerful super-heroes as proven with his work on Superboy.

Page 155 - Sentinel #1 - Tsunami - Written by Sean McKeever, Art by Udon - A high school kid finds the remains of a Sentinel in his family's salvage yard, which leads to the most important question - what would an American teenager do with a weapon of destruction? This book could either turn into a really dark version of Americana or could follow the safe path of 'with great power…blah blah'. McKeever is the reason to buy this one - he's a great writer who's good at creating unique characters and having fun with conventions.

Page 156 - Runaways #1 - Tsunami - Written by Brian K. Vaughn, Art by Adrian Alphona - With more of a European feel to it, this book could the one that has the most crossover interest. It doesn't look like it's tied to any of Marvel's regular books and could appeal to the widest audience as a result. Vaughn's showing off his skills on Y - The Last Man every month but this could be the book that takes him to bigger heights. It's teen angst, which everyone wants to see.

Page 157 - Venom #1 - Tsunami - Written by Daniel Way, Art by Francisco Herrera - Odds are that this will be the best selling of the Tsunami books, and probably the one that I'm least interested in reading. It looks like they're not only trying to turn Venom into somewhat of an anti-hero, but also focus more on the horror aspect of the character. I'm not too familiar with either creator, so I don't know what to expect from this book. But I'm sure that this one will sell some comics - everyone seems to love Venom.

Page 158 - Mystique #1 - Tsunami - Written by Brian K. Vaughn, Art by Jorge Lucas - I guess the other thing that Tsunami is focusing on is books about the villains. That's always a positive thing that young readers need to see… Once again, it's Vaughn, so we know the stories are going to be solid. Lucas is a really good artist as well - so this might just be the book that I'm gonna want to see the most. The one positive about all this, and why this might just work, is that the world of the X-Men has always been very grey. The villains and the heroes tend to want the same things - to protect mutants - they just go about it with different methods. Consider this book that dark version.

Page 159 - Wolverine X-Isle #1 - 5 - Written by Bruce Jones, Art by Jorge Lucas - Continuing Marvel's efforts to cash in on the expected success of the second X-Men film, this mini-series is released weekly while the movie is playing. Jones is a strong writer, and Marvel has been using him on a lot of their high profile books. Lucas is a good, up-and-coming artist who I think will really start to impress more and more people. Hey, if nothing else, this should be another interesting Wolverine story - and we need more of those.

Page 161 - X-Men 2: The Movie - Written by Chuck Austen, Art by Patrick Zircher - If you just can't wait for the movie, and really want to know what's happening, then buy this one. This one will be released a full month before the movie hits screens - doesn't the film company care about this? Well, consider that they're gonna sell around 80,000 of these, probably not.

Page 165 - X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills Reprint Edition - Written by Chris Claremont, Art by Brent Anderson - This is the graphic novel that inspired the new X-Men movie. It's also a great book, forgetting all about that. When I was talking about great Marvel graphic novels, this one always makes the top of the list of books that you should check out. The story and art are excellent and this was done when Claremont was really at the top of his game. There will also probably be a nice little preview of the rumoured sequel, but I don't know that for sure.

Page 169 - X-Men Unlimited #46 - Written by Ian Edgington and Bruce Jones, Art by Simon Bisley and Shin Nagasawa - Okay, as much as I'm happy to see Bisley back doing comics, and am interested in seeing what Nagasawa can bring to the table, do we really need another book with two Wolverine stories? Are we reaching the saturation point where fans just start not caring even a bit for the character and actually hope he doesn't show up in any books so that he's not everywhere? And to think I remember the time when I and my friends would wonder why he didn't have his own series yet.

Page 178 - 411 #1 - Written by Mark Millar, Chuck Austen and David Rees - Art by Frank Quitely, Phil Winslade and Tony Salmons - This three issue mini-series is dedicated to bring attention to the peacemakers of the world, people who try to fight against terrorism and tyranny through non-violent methods. The cynic in me wonders why, then, the writer who's turned the Avengers into the ultra-violent Ultimates would be included, but that's too easy of a shot. I admire Marvel for doing something like this - but I wonder if as long as they continue to publish comics where violence is the resolution for everything, this whole effort is more than a little naïve.

CG Entertainment

Page 267 - Scion Traveller - Vol. 1 - Crisis of Conscience - Written by Ron Marz, Art by Jim Cheung and Don Hillsman III - Okay, I've been raving about this book for a long time, and I've mentioned that Crossgen was doing something interesting with their trades - and here is the perfect opportunity to try out this book. This traveller edition is smaller than the normal comics (5.4" by 8.2") and is also only ten bucks American. You're saving cash and still getting the same great story. Crossgen is really doing a great job with their trade program - it kinda makes me wish Marvel and DC were paying attention.

Jay's Picks of the Month
1) Gotham Central #6
2) Powers #31
3) Legion #19
4) New X-Men #139
5) Superman #192

My Trade Paperback of the Month:

It's trade paperback month here at X-World, which means that I'm not going to pick one trade this month. Instead, I'm going to give you the names of a number of trades that are worth checking out. I'm not going to go into any details, or that many, but just give you a nice comprehensive list of stuff that you should check out if you happen to have an extra couple of bucks. I'm also going to try to pick books that I haven't mentioned before, just for a little more fun.

DC Comics

Batman: A Death in the Family TP - Written by Jim Starlin, Art by Jim Aparo and Mike DeCarlo - $12.95 / $20.00 CDN - This is the story where the second Robin was voted by the fans to be killed by the Joker. One of the strangest stunts in comics history, but it made for a great story.

Superman For All Seasons TP - Written by Jeph Loeb, Art by Tim Sale - HC - $24.95 / $34.00 CDN - SC - $14.95 / $24.95 CDN - Loeb's currently turning heads with his run on Batman and these two make for a great team, as shown on the Batman minis like Dark Victory and Long Halloween and the Marvel minis like Spider-Man: Blue and Daredevil: Yellow. This series got a little ignored when it first came out, but it's another solid book from these two and both show off their impressive abilities.

The Flash: The Return of Barry Allen TP - Written by Mark Waid, Art by Greg LaRoque and Roy Richardson - $12.95 - It was the story that every Flash fan was waiting for, and the curveball that no one was expecting. The Silver Age Flash, Barry Allen, was back from the dead and new Flash Wally West was having to deal with this new hero. Waid showed off his writing skills and made this book worth reading again.

Planetary: Around the World and Other Stories TP - Written by Warren Ellis, Art by John Cassaday - $14.95 - This trade reprints the first six issues of the series, and if this doesn't get you hooked on one of the best books on the market, I don't know what will. I know that it sounds like pure praise and hyperbole (twice I've used that this column) but I honestly think that this would be the one book that I'd recommend above all others.

The Books of Magic TP - Written by Neil Gaiman, Art by John Bolton, Scott Hampton, Charles Vess and Paul Johnson - Quite simply one of the most beautiful series that DC has ever published - it's also one of the best written as well. The concept is simple - a young British boy named Tim Hunter has the potential to be the greatest magician ever. So four of DC's supernatural characters take him on a tour of magic in the DC Universe.

Image (who's trade listings are getting smaller and smaller)

Jinx: The Definitive Collection TP - Written and drawn by Brian Michael Bendis - $24.95 - Bendis' stories about a female bounty hunter really got his work noticed and brought him to the forefront of indie comics before taking all those jobs with Marvel. It's gritty and dark, but he also showed off his uncanny ear for dialogue and his great pencil and ink work.

Leave It To Chance HC Vol. 1 : Shaman's Rain - Written by James Robinson, Art by Paul Smith - $14.95 - When this book first hit the stands, Robinson was a big name because of DC's Starman and Smith was known for his great run on Uncanny X-Men. They combined their talents to do this great book about a teenage girl with a pet dragon. This is a great book for young girls, and perfect for all ages.

Marvel (who really need to start printing a complete trade listing in each Previews)

Daredevil Legends Vol. 1: Daredevil Yellow TP - Written by Jeph Loeb, Art by Tim Sale - $14.99 - I've already mentioned how good this team is, so if you're loving the new Daredevil movie, then check this trade out as well. A great retro feel to the comic. Sale is a master of making his work look like something that would have been published 30 years ago, but still with a modern feel.

Incredible Hulk Vol. 1 TP - Written by Bruce Jones, Art by John Romita, Jr. - $12.99 - See why everyone's buying this book again and why the buzz is so big. Jones took over the book and suddenly, people were interested in the big green giant again. With the movie coming out soon (and the CGI probably being redone after everyone compared him to Shrek during the Superbowl), this is a character who's getting interesting again.

Alias Vol. 1 TP - Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Art by Michael Gaydos - $19.99 - This book is most definitely for adult readers, but it's also a very interesting look into another corner of Marvel's universe. Here's a super-hero who's given up the costume and is now working as a private investigator. These stories are completely up Bendis' alley and it shows that he's loving working on this.

Captain Marvel Vol. 1: Nothing to Lose TP - Written by Peter David, Art by Crisscross, Ivan Reis, and Paco Medina - $12.99 - Considering I just picked up issue #5 in the comic shop, I'm guessing that this is being rushed out to show the support for the book. If you missed these early issues, this is a good chance to read some great stories and see why everyone keeps lauding it.

NOTE: Opinions here may not reflect those of X-World Comics LLC or it's staff and are solely the opinions of the writer

RETRO REVISITS

by Tom Toner

LOOKING BACK IN THE MIRROR

Ya know, I had someone asks me the other day, "Tom, at what limits do you stop talking about the 80s?" That question really had me thinking. It was ever since my column took shape from its original 'comic only' mold and move onto anything that I could think of from the 80s. We've talked about Freddy Kruger and Jason to the female influence in Rainbow Brite and Strawberry Shortcake. We've talked about Tiffany and Kylie as well as touched down on one of the greatest football teams around. And you know, I don't know where that limit is. I didn't know how to answer them, all I could say was "hey, Transformers: Generation One volume 2's coming out soon, you stoked?" I probably could have come up with a better answer, heh. This person eventually asked me, "but really, what are the limits? Are you gonna talk about the news from the 80s?" I couldn't muster anymore to talk to this person, and had to walk away. But through it all, that same person asked me "why the 80s? What is so special about the 80s that you're writing about? And does anyone really care?" I walked

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ULTIMATE WAR 3 REVIEW

by Jake Ball

Ultimate War has provided us with two issues on fantastic art and intelligent writing, and this month's issue is, of course, no exception. In the wake of last issue's attack on The Triskelion, The Ultimates have moved the President to a secure (Secure, hah, is anything secure where Magneto is concerned?) location and Colonel Fury initiates a conversation where he reveals his true feelings about everyone's favorite leather-clad mutant teens. He no longer sees them as heroes of any sorts, and even after the President's doubts about Fury's take on The X-Men, the stone cold Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. seems hell bent on killing each and everyone of Xavier's pupils.
The scene that comes next is perhaps my favorite in the whole issue. The heart-felt dialogue Millar crafted between Wasp and Captain America and one of the best renditions of Cap's suit I have ever seen make it very enjoyable and memorable.

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ET CETERA

by Mike Weaver

Yet Another Imprint

So, the mystery of Marvel's teaser posters is out, sort of. Marvel will be unleashing a new imprint this year called Tsunami and featuring a variety of titles that seem to have little to do with each other. I'll talk a little about each of the six titles I'm aware of, which run the gamut from promising to, well, not so promising.

First off, although I don't believe that an official criteria has been released, I believe that the imprint is largely intended to be manga-inspired tales, which has its benefits and detriments. Granted, Dragon Ball Z and Yu-Gi-Oh! are hot properties right now, especially among younger people, the traditional comic buying demographic. Also, many older comics fans are interested in anime and manga as well as American comics. For a very long time, these segments of the population have been very intrigued by properties of a Japanese origin, from Godzilla to the Power Rangers to Voltron to Pokemon to Transformers.

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RETRO REVISITS

by Tom Toner

Ninja Turtles in the End Zone

This edition of the Retro Revisits will be two stories in one. From the start, I told myself that I would one day write up a section on football. And with the "big game", aka the Super Bowl, coming up on Sunday, there would be no better time than now. But after talking to a few people, I got mixed reactions to this. Last week's Retro Revisits didn't get as many hits as I thought it would, so I need something to spice it up. So in the 2nd half of this column, I'll be talking about the latest Nostalgia title to come back.

CONTINUED

UPDATE

JAN 20, 2003-I just want to take a moment to let everyone know of a brand new feature that we are excited about. Andrea Speed, one of our X-world reviewers, is going to be doing a new feature for our sister site at Comixtreme tentatively called First Look Reviews. Each Monday she will post reviews of the upcoming week's Marvel releases (we hope to have reviews for other publishers soon) before they hit the X-world store. She will post the good, the bad and yes, even the ugly, so hopefully it will be interesting for those of you who like reading other people's opinions, and it might also help some of you to spend or not spend your hard earned $ on titles you are riding the fence on. Andrea has been doing reviews for X-World for quite awhile now, and always offers a lot of valuable insight.

Anyway, we started the feature this week, and you can find the new First Look reviews for this weeek's titles here.

The opinions in the editorial columns are those of the writer alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of X-World comics, it's staff, ownership or affiliates.