This is my first Auction Highlight of 2012 and I think it’s a good time to try to  take stock of the market, to see where some of the most heavily traded “blue chip” comic books stand. Perhaps these results are barometers of what’s to come?

By no means is this a comprehensive assessment of the market, it’s just one auction and I’m only picking a handful of books but again, perhaps we can fish out a trend or a wave or an inkling or a something that will help us navigate the mined waters of the 2012 back issue market.

ComicLink’s January Focused Auction looks a little bit different. This time they’ve put three major lots of books up for auction. A late Bronze Age to Modern lot was on offer as was a Golden Age lot and the lot this Auction Highlight is covering, the Silver to Early Bronze Age lot, was first to go up.

This Silver Bronze lot of books was once again dominated by Marvel. Of the top 50 comics by value 47 were Marvel (well 44 plus 3 pre-Marvel Atlas books). The only 3 DC comics to make the top 50 were high grade copies of Showcase #30 (33^rd), Aquaman #1 (40^th) and a stunning CGC 9.8 copy of Batman #200 (46^th).

Top dog for the auction was a very nice CGC 9.6 copy of Avengers #4. The $50k it got pales in comparison to the $90k plus one got last year. Oddly enough the second biggest book of this auction was another Avengers #4, a CGC 9.4 copy that fetched $17,615.

So let’s have a quick peep at some of the results.

2 copies of Amazing Fantasy #15, Marvel Comics, (August, 1962) One graded by CGC at 4.0 with Off-White pages sold on January 24^th for $8233. The Overstreet Guide value for this book at 4.0 is $7,000. Another copy graded at CGC 3.0 with Cream to Off-White pages sold on January 24^th for $4637. The Overstreet Guide value for a 3.0 is $5,250.

In essense Spider-Man is the Silver Age market and this being the most important Spider-Man book it’s hard to overstate just how important Amazing Fantasy #15 is to the back issue market at large.

OK so what gives? We have a 4.0 getting almost 118% of guide while the 3.0 gets only 88% of guide. As far as I’m concerned this is another example of what I’ve been trying to say this past year. The CGC 4.0 copy looks like a 4.0 if not better (it’s got that 4.5 look to me), it has the visual appeal that backs the grade on the CGC label. Scroll down and have a look at the CGC 3.0, I’m sorry but that book does not look 1 grade point worse than the one above it, I think bidders saw the page quality and the aesthitics, compared it with the 4.0 and came up with their own judgement. Bidders have graded with their wallet.

Advantage Buyer on both books though, a 4.0 AF #15 that looks that good is a deal and the price paid on the 3.0 is less than what the last CGC 2.5 got.

2 copies of Amazing Spider-Man #129, Marvel Comics, (February, 1974) One graded by CGC at 9.4 with White pages sold on January 24^th for $913. The Overstreet Guide value for this book at 9.2 is $925. Another copy graded at CGC 9.2 with Off-White to White pages sold on January 24^th for $695. The Overstreet Guide value for a 9.2 is $925.

These results don’t seem right! I was busy Tuesday night and I could not participate in the bidding but I would not have let these books go so cheap. I mean a solid looking 9.2 copy of this book going for only 75% of guide? And a 9.4 White pages copy selling for less than the 9.2 price? Somebody got a deal. The great thing about Amazing Spider-Man #129 is that it is a book that sells well locally, the book still sells at guide or over at any comic shop lucky enough to have one and try heading down to your town’s comic con and picking a high grade copy up for 75% of guide, it won’t happen.

Advantage buyer on both copies!

Batman #232, DC Comics, (June, 1971) Graded by CGC at 9.0 with White pages sold for $305 on January 24th. The Overstreet Guide value for this book at 9.0 is, oddly enough, $232.

This is a very healthy 31% above guide for a 9.0. I wouldn’t start calling a Batman #232 high grade until 9.2 (you are not going to believe this but there are, you guessed it, 232 graded at 9.2 or better as of this post).

What makes things worse for this book is that it has a pretty bad mis-crop. I think 2 buyers needed a solid copy and both got a bit carried away.

Advantage seller!

Green Lantern #76, DC Comics, (April, 1970) Graded by CGC at 8.0 with Off-White to White pages sold for $700 on January 24th. The Overstreet Guide value for this book at 8.0 is $816.

OK so this book gets 86% of guide and it looks like a solid copy on the scan. Granted that as of this post there are 210 copies graded nicer but the market just doesn’t seem to be reacting too favorably to this book in this grade in relation to the guide anyway. Perhaps the book has shot up too quickly over the past few years; perhaps the grade price splits are wrong. The good thing for the buyer is that like the ASM #129, this book does well locally. There’s always someone looking for a nice copy of this book and the local markets can always bring guide values.

I think GL #76 will continue to entrench itself as one of the must have books of the Bronze Age, I think over time we’ll see less and less of this comic.

Advantage buyer!

2 copies of Incredible Hulk #181, Marvel Comics, (November, 1974) One graded by CGC at 9.8 with Off-White to White pages sold on January 25^th for $12,000. The Overstreet Guide value for this book at 9.2 is $1,700. Another copy graded at CGC 9.6 with White pages sold on January 25^th for $4,000. The Overstreet Guide value for a 9.2 is $1,700.

This book is an excellent market indicator, there are just so many of these on the market at any given time.

The CGC 9.8 realizing $12 K is a bit of a pleasant surprise. I remember a few Auction Highlights ago one sold for below $10 K and I called Advantage Buyer, I knew the book had a few more sales above the $10 K mark though I do think the book will settle at just below $10 K eventually. This particular 9.8 copy has a bit too much white showing on the spine for my liking and I think the page quality will have to be White for best results in the future.

The 9.6 copy on the other hand has perfect page quality and it is almost perfectly square. I like this copy long term because though the book seems to have settled at about $4 K at 9.6 this particular example is most likely one of the better examples, something that will play a bigger role in the years to come..

Advantage seller on the 9.8 and advantage buyer on the 9.6!

Tales of Suspense #39, Marvel Comics, (March, 1963) Graded by CGC at 8.0 with Cream to Off-White pages sold for $8,060 on January 25th. The Overstreet Guide value for this book at 8.0 is  $8,100.

Of all the Marvel Keys I think Tales of Suspense #39 has the best long term potential. Iron Man is the perfect character for the coming century and Disney/Marvel know this. Look for Iron Man’s star to keep rising and by extension look for the value of Tales of Suspense #39 to keep rising too! Though I do not like the Cream to Off-White page quality it’s hard to argue with a book that is among the top 100 graded copies available and that falls into the top 13.5% of the available graded copies (there are 781 Universally graded as of this post and 98 are 8.0 or better).

Picking up an 8.0 at below guide is a good deal.

Advantage Buyer

Well there you have a quick look at some of the more marquee books that went up on ComicLink for their January Focused Auction. There were some very nice books available, it was a quality auction.  I thought the Spidey #129s went for surprisingly low, I thought the AF #15s highlighted the way buyers are not necessarily buying solely based on the CGC grade itself and I thought Hulk #181 was doing a good job holding it’s own.

Did you win any books at this auction. Let me know in the comments field below and I will dispense my judgement on you!

Besides their continuing popularity, these characters have another thing in common: they were all born in the Bronze Age of 1970 to 1985. During the Bronze Age, many of the creators, artists, and writers that defined the Silver Age stepped aside for younger talent. The Stan Lee/Jack Kirby X-Men of 1963 vanished in 1969, resurfacing in 1975 with Len Wein and David Cockrum at the helm. In addition to new talent taking the reins, social issues such as racism, drugs, and alcoholism influenced storylines, ushering in a darker, more realist tone. Who could forget Harry Osborn’s LSD trip in Amazing Spider-Man #120?

As a final sweetener to this collection, all titles will be graded 9.8 by CGC.

Would you be shocked if I told you this collection has experienced a devastating loss in market value over the last two years? In late 2009 a collection of key Bronze Age titles (list below) would have been worth approximately $65,000. Using the latest auction data, this collection would be worth around $36,000 today. A stunning 45% drop.

This basket of comics includes Amazing Spider-Man #129, Amazing Spider-Man #252, Amazing Spider-Man #238, Daredevil #168, Giant-Size X-Men #1, Incredible Hulk #181, Iron Fist #14, Secret Wars #8, Uncanny X-Men #129, Wolverine Vol 1 #1, X-Men #94, and X-Men #101. Transaction data taken from real auctions completed at eBay, Heritage Aucitons, and ComicLink. Titles chosen based on available auction data.

Why have these titles fallen so far? Well, perhaps a better question is why were they so high in the first place? Why did Amazing Spider-Man #129 settle at nearly $15,000 in a 2008 Heritage auction? The latest auctions have settled around the $5,000 mark! Rampant speculation due to the stampede of superhero movies? The tail end of a CGC/slabbing mania? The mirage of high grade scarcity? All of the above!

I’m going out on a limb to say that the violent price declines are over. To be sure, these comics might continue to fall in value. However, I believe that high grade Bronze Age values should stabilize here. Any near mint raw titles lurking out there have had plenty of time to be slabbed (the number of 9.8 X-Men #94s on the CGC census has jumped from 3 to 11). Movie mania has died down. These titles now stand on their own merit.  No, they will NOT skyrocket back to anywhere near their 2009 peak values. But if you’re a fan of these characters (the most important thing) and believe they will continue to have an important role in the comic world and pop culture in general, buying at current prices is not an outrageous idea.

Writer: Jason Aaron

Artist: Chris Bachalo

Inkers: Tim Townsend and Jaime Mendoza

Letterer: Rob Steen

Cover: Chris Bachalo and Tim Townsend

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Last week the second issue of Wolverine and the X-Men hit shelves. With a lackluster first issue behind it, I’m left to wonder how Aaron and Bachalo can recover. Let’s take a look at issue two of Wolverine and the X-Men.

The Road So Far…

With the X-Men split into two camps, Cyclops and Wolverine lead two very different teams of X-Men headquartered in San Francisco and Westchester respectively. With the latter believing the younger X-Men shouldn’t be thrown into the heat of battle to protect mutantkind, Wolverine reopens the Professor Xavier’s school and dedicates it to Jean Grey. They have little time to settle in though as Kade Kilgore and his new Hellfire Club attack the school to continue their mission to profit off the world’s hatred for mutantkind.

What’s The Story?

Iceman comes to the rescue in issue two.

Two weeks prior to the Kilgore attack, we find Bobby and Logan standing on the grounds of the as yet to rebuilt mansion, where Logan asks Bobby to more than he ever has before. Present day, we find Bobby fully transformed into Iceman as he attempts to take down Kilgore’s latest creations as a part of a collective attempt to save the school from further destruction. While many have been left unconscious, Wolverine asks Rachel Grey to get into the minds of every staff member and student and wake them up. While Kilgore and his friends watch from afar, the second phase of their attack begins as the members from the board of education begin to transform into monstrous fiends to add to Wolverine’s troubles. That is but a distraction, as the new Hellfire Club launch mortars which open to reveal entire platoons of miniature, genetically-engineered combat troops that grow upon contact with air. As the soldiers open their attack by using flamethrowers to scorch the earth, buildings and possibly students, Wolverine’s team joins the fray to fend off the Hellfire Club’s troops. Strangely it’s Iceman who helps them gain the upper-hand once he transcends popular conceptions of him and becomes something “more” in Wolverine’s words. Creating a regiment of Icemen, Bobby successfully helps the X-Men fend off their attackers much to the distress of the Hellfire Club. Although upset at the latest development, they regain their composure and unleash Krakoa on Wolverine and his X-Men.

Unlike the previous issue of of this book, I feel like it at least worked towards pushing the story forward. With the issue centered around Iceman, the tone of the story switched a little bit from the previous issue and was at least entertaining. I still can’t get into Aaron’s seemingly kid-friendly Wolverine story and it feels like there’s very little substantial story here to maintain a solid hold on readers’ attentions. Although a fun book, the plot feels awkward with Wolverine as headmaster of the school, while very much of the plot feels thrown together for the sake of compiling a blockbuster story. The end result though feels bloated without any resemblance of literary nutritional value.

The new Hellfire Club sits atop a hill as their soldiers lay siege to Wolverine's school.

The Pretty, Pretty Pictures

Bachalo returns in the second issue of Wolverine and the X-Men, and with him is his trademarked, love it or hate it cartoonish art style. I personally dislike his work, which upon second thought may have more do with his colours than the work itself. Although his pencil work is odd and misshapen, his dull colouring doesn’t do the artwork any favours in improving its presentation on the page. In fact, the most vibrant aspects of the  pages are Steen’s letter-art lettering work, which is much more complicated than you would think.  Bachalo’s very unrealistic characters take quite a bit away from the book as a whole, and although Aaron’s story is hardly compelling, a book can often be saved by fantastic artwork. This unfortunately isn’t one of those situations. As with the first issue, Bachalo’s strong points are his tremendous landscapes, monstrous creations, and to his credit, changing the colouring tone of the pages featuring Bobby and Logan’s conversation two weeks prior to the Kilgore attack. I thought his Krakoa page looked fantastic, as did his rendering of Quintin Quire sitting in a lazy-boy chair holding a soft drink. There are aspects of Bachalo’s work I do like, the army of Icemen as another example, but it’s not enough unfortunately to make up for the rest of the book.

Final Thoughts

Although better than the previous issue, Wolverine and the X-Men #2 still doesn’t succeed in hooking my interest any more than its predecessor. Much of the plot feels cobbled together, using many of the X-Men’s classic threats to hurl Wolverine and his team into a sense of urgency as they try to reopen their fabled school of higher learning. Aaron excels at Wolverine stories, and while this at its heart is one, I feel like he’s ill-equipped at this point to tell a broader X-Men story beyond that of everyone’s favourite canucklehead. Wolverine and the X-Men is a good, kid-friendly book, but is one where the central character is used completely out of context and beyond its element. The end result is a hokey story that aspires to be something it can’t be.

The ComicLink Focused Auction has just ended. OK I thought September’s ComicLink Auction was Marvel heavy but boy this was even worse!

There was only 1 DC in the top 75 and that of course was our old standby Green Lantern #76. A nice CGC 9.6 GL #76 went for $6,110. There were two old Atlas Tales of Suspense copies (which are kind of Marvels) that make it into the top 75 and the rest were Marvels!

The bell of the ball this month was a very nice CGC 9.6 copy of Fantastic Four #12, it fetched a smooth $43,777.

As always there were some interesting results, so let’s have a peek.

Incredible Hulk #181, Marvel Comics, (November 1974) Graded by CGC at 9.8 with Off-White to White pages sold for $11,752.00 on ComicLink on October 26^th.  Overstreet price guide value for this comic at 9.2 is $1,700.00.

The 9.8 price for a CGC 9.8 Hulk #181 continues its long slow decline. Consider that as of this post there are over 800 high grade CGC graded copies (I’m calling a 9.2 or better high grade) and 47 of these at 9.8s.

I’m note sure if this is statistically correct but I’m going to say that Hulk #181 is probably still over performing if we measured its supply vs. price. In other words there are 47 graded copies available and they still trade in the $12 K + range.

I expect at least a dozen more CGC 9.8s to populate the census over the next few years and expect White page copies to trade at or just above $10 K while Off White copies will settle in below $9 K. Advantage Seller due to page quality.

Tales of Suspense #39, Marvel Comics (March/1963) Graded by CGC at 9.4 Restored with Off White to White pages sold for $8,200.00 on ComicLink on Octover 27^th. The Overstreet price guide value for this comic at 9.2 is $25,000.00.

OK here’s a tough one. Purple (a purple CGC label means the book has been restored in some way) has been the kiss of death for CGC graded books. So how should we interpret this result? On the surface one third of the Overstreet 9.2 price looks pretty solid but when we realize that $147,000 was the price the last CGC 9.4 un-restored copy sold for we realize that Purple is still the kiss of death. The restored copy did not even realize 6% of the un-restored sale price.

The CGC grading comments say that restoration includes: color touch, piece added, tear seals, reinforced, staples replaced and they describe the restoration level as moderate. All thinks are cyclical and I do see a softening of attitudes toward restoration coming, remember you can’t turn any rag into a CGC 9.4 through moderate restoration. Advantage Buyer.

Avengers #100, Marvel Comics (June 1972) Graded by CGC at 9.8 with White pages sold on ComicLink for $$1,111 on October 25^th. The Overstreet price guide value for this comic at 9.2 is $165.00.

I chose this one in honor of my 100^th Undervalued Spotlight. This is a great comic, it was one of the must haves for all the kids collecting comic books in Hamilton, Ontario in the mid 1970s.

100^th Anniversary issue, Smith art, all past Avengers Assemble and all roads leading to the Avengers movie next May make this comic even more of a must have.

There are only 15 CGC 9.8s and no 9.9s so this copy with its White Pages makes it the best possible copy. Advantage Buyer (at least for the next 6 months).

Catwoman #1, DC Comics (August 1993) Graded by CGC at 10.0 with White pages sold for $929.00 on ComicLink on October 25^th. Overstreet price guide value for this comic at 9.2 is $3.00.

So 310 times Guide! Well it is a one of a kind and will most likely remain so.

I suck at 10.0s, I mean what is the buyer paying for here, the book or the grade? Catwoman has been enjoying some interest and notoriety since her sex infused series launch in DCs new 52 line up.

The way I see it Batman is never going away and since the Comics Code Authority just recently did go away we’re likely to see more raunchy rendezvous between Catwoman and Batman. The rise in Catwoman’s stock is directly correlated to the rise in Batman’s umm, temperature. Advantage Buyer.

Silver Surfer #3, Marvel Comics, (December 1968) Graded by CGC at 9.2 with Off White to White pages sold for $251.00 on ComicLink on October 27^th. The Overstreet price guide value for this comic at 9.2 is $400.00.

This is one of the auctions I won. I really liked the quality of this book structurally, I’m convinced by the scan at least that this is a strictly graded 9.2. I bought it with resale in mind and historically I’ve sold quite quickly every copy of Surfer #3 I’ve ever had. The cover sells itself!

The math looks to be in my favor too, 62.75% of Overstreet for a solid 9.2 of an in demand comic seems like a winning combination. Advantage Buyer

So there you have it. Please chime in with your thoughts. Did you win any books at this auction? Let us know below in the comments field, I’ll dispense my opinion of advantage at no extra charge.

Comic Culture is produced by Anthony Falcone and is engineered by James McIntosh.

Enjoy Comic Culture September 14th 2011 Edition.

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Scott Summers and Wolverine clash in Schism #5

With Schism winding down, ironically with the end of mutantkind’s unity in tow, Marvel has been slowly revealing the members of the 21st century versions of the X-Men blue and gold teams. When the eight post-schism X-Men covers were first revealed in August, all we knew for certain was that the X-Men universe was going to be divided along philosophical lines (again), this time pitting Cyclops’ vision for mutantkind against Wolverine’s. Although there are still two issues left in the series and we’re not quite sure yet what will cause the divide, we can surely make educated guesses. Surely we can assume placing the younger X-Men in harm’s way more readily will weigh heavily considering the previous issue and its events revolving around the young X-Man, Idie. Factor in as well the re-emergence of Quentin Quire and his handling and we have two ingredients for what will ultimately result in what’s been described as the “gnarliest” brawl ever between Cyclops and Wolverine. Whatever the final tipping point is between “Slim” and “Wolvie,” it’s huge enough to split Utopia in half.

When Marvel released the original teasers featuring Sebastian Shaw, Jubilee, Emma Frost and Nate Grey on Cyclops’s “blue team,” and AoA Nightcrawler, Rogue, Alex Summers and Wolverine himself on the “gold team,” the remaining members were but silhouettes across the covers of very different landscapes. On Sept. 9, Marvel revealed the final rosters for both sides after slowly revealing them over the last few weeks.

First let’s take a look at Cyclops’ team.

Generation Hope: Zero, Velocidad, Primal, Sebastian Shaw, Transonic and Hope.

X-Men: Jubilee, Warpath, Psylocke, Domino and Storm

Uncanny X-Men: Magneto, Danger, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Magik and Colossus

New Mutants: Moonstar, Nate Grey, Cypher, Magma, Sunspot and Warlock

And now Wolverine’s team:

Uncanny X-Force: Psylocke, Deadpool, AoA Nightcrawler, Fantomex and Toad

Wolverine and the X-Men: Quentin Quire, Idie, Wolverine, Ice Man, Beast and Kitty Pryde

X-Men Legacy: Gambit, Rachel Summers, Rogue and Frenzy

X-Factor: Shatterstar, Madrox, Longshot, Polaris, Strong Guy, Wolfsbane, Siryn, Layla Miller, Rictor, Monet and Havok

Upon looking at the two posters, there are some glaring members who stick out. Foremost, Psylocke appears to be playing both sides of the split, but what it’s going to mean story wise is unclear. If you’ve been following Uncanny X-Force, Psylocke has been the equivalent of Emma Frost for the team, keeping the team’s members in constant contact during missions, while believing in the credo of the group fully. Yet, she also appears prominently on the cover of X-Men. What this means for her allegiances is undetermined, but she’ll obviously have a clear decision to make eventually. Another glaring point between the two posters: with Archangel M.I.A. and Jean Grey long dead, the remaining members of the original five X-Men are on Wolverine’s side, as is half the Summers clan in both Rachel and Alex Summers. Also, joining Havok is Polaris, which is interesting considering Magneto is on Cyclops’ team. What shouldn’t come as a surprise though is that Gambit and Rogue are together, while it seems much of X-Factor Investigations will remain intact. Truly the most interesting addition to the team, especially considering Schism thus far, is the inclusion of Quentin Quire on Wolverine’s side.

Cyclops’ side has its surprises, but is also home to arguably the more powerful roster. Cyclops aside, Nate Grey is formerly one of the most powerful mutants with his telekinesis, telepathy and reality altering powers. But with them exhausted, he’s apparently left only with residual telekinesis. New Mutants otherwise remains unchanged, although as a recent issue hinted, Hope and Nate may be hanging around together a little more, and considering her mimic-cry powers and how she can use anyone’s powers to their full extent regardless of whether they’re depleted, Hope on her own is quite the juggernaut when in proximity to Nate Grey. Speaking of which, Cyclops’ team also boasts a Juggernaut-esque Colossus, having recently begun his service to Cyttorak, in addition to the aforementioned Magneto and Danger. The teams do boast additional parallels in including characters who can alter their luck to varying degrees in Domino and Longshot, but as is the case with both sides, they possess game changers in Storm and the very difficult to defeat Sebastian Shaw.

There are plenty of questions surrounding the events of Schism, and more, its fallout. Where characters like Archangel, Cable, Professor X or even Cannonball figure into the landscape is unclear. Who has the stronger team though as of now? It’s a toss-up, but I’d say Cyke’s side takes this debate.

A hush overwhelmed the crowd as Arune Singh, Marvel’s director of communications, asked that the room’s lights be dimmed, directing the crowd’s attention to the projector screen. After several anxious moments, two sets of claw slashes faded onto the screen, strongly indicating a new Wolverine project is potentially in development.

The panel, also consisting of Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso, Senior Vice-President of Creative Development C.B. Cebulski, X-Men editor Jeanine Schaeffer, and Schism writer Jason Aaron, didn’t elaborate further on the reveal, other than confirming Brian Wood would be joining Marvel and would be writing the project in 2012.

Wood is best known for his work on DMZ and Northlanders, two of DC’s more notable titles under the Vertigo imprint.

Schism

Alonso confirmed the Schism storyline was to bring a new dynamic to the world of the X-Men, but noted that it wasn’t something where there was going to be a gray area.

“It’s not the kind of schism where you can do that,” Alonso said in response to a question asking whether any of the X-Men will switch allegiances between Cyclops’ vision and Wolverine’s vision. “You can’t just jump back and forth.”

While details are still scarce on where the story is heading, Marvel recently released a series of X-Men title covers post-schism featuring the title characters surrounded by silhouettes of other characters, some of which are more distinguished and recognizable than others. The teams are being split into two teams, similarly to the early-90s blue team-gold team dynamics, only now the divide is more philosophical than tactical.

“Every single character has chosen a side,” Alonso said.

"Schism" and "Wolverine" writer Jason Aaron fields a question from the audience at the X-Men panel at Fan Expo.

Jason Aaron, the series’ writer, said he enjoyed working on the new Hellfire club, adding it complements the story he’s trying to tell.

“Children are very much a part of what’s going on with both sides of the battle,” Aaron said.

While X-Men Regenesis will deal with the fallout of Schism, how we get to that point is the interesting part of the story as the mini-series develops. Singh promised a very a gritty battle between Wolverine and Cyclops in issue four of Schism, christening it as round one of their conflict.

“I don’t think Professor X ever stabbed Magneto,” Singh said, adding in the short-term and the long-term there will be conflicts, physical or otherwise, between the two sides that will reflect the decisions each has made.

C.B. Cebulski and Axel Alonso answer questions at the X-Men panel at Fan Expo on Aug. 27

Alonso believes though that neither Cyclops or Wolverine is necessarily wrong in their opinion of mutantkind’s state.

“They’re both defensible, they both hold water,” he said, “How do you deal when you’re an oppressed minority. The mutants are in even more of a crucible, they’re both defensible.”

Singh added that this is a story that is essentially about Scott Summers and Wolverine, two of the X-Men’s alpha males who have been at each other’s throats either on the battlefield or over the same woman (in Jean Grey), or have been at each other’s sides hinging on a stable hint of mutual respect. The end result of the story is a tale about what happens, considering the landscape for mutants, when they disagree on a point.

Cebulski said although little is still known about who is siding with whom, nothing is set in stone and the rest of the silhouettes may surprise fans.

“There will be surprises on both sides,” he said.

Cebulski also confirmed that Fear Itself and Schism ending simultaneously was not an accident, wishing to ensure that they line up all their ducks in a row so Marvel can move forward with its big plans for the X-Men in 2012.

Marvel's Arune Singh at Marvel's X-Men panel

Additional Notes

• Longtime X-Men Legacy writer Mike Carey will be leaving the title after Regenesis.
• Sebastian Shaw and Havok were confirmed to be on Wolverine’s side, while the version of Nightcrawler on the previewed cover of Uncanny X-Force is confirmed to be from the “Age of Apocalypse” dimension.
• A teaser image was shown of Cyclops kissing a mohawked Storm
• Daken will relocate to L.A. to step away from the shadow of his father, while Schaeffer confirmed he will have run-ins with both Moon Knight and the Runaways.
• A Magneto mini-series is forthcoming: “A story about Magneto that may take you to where you expect, and it might not.”
• Although no new news was confirmed for Jeph Loeb’s Cable Reborn series, fans were assured it would do his death justice and enhance the father-daughter dynamic between Hope and Cable that was entrenched at the end of Second Coming. They promise Loeb has a really great story planned.
• X-Force will still be Black-Ops, although Schism will have an effect on the team composition.
• The panel was asked which character they were most alike: Cebulski joked Moonstar, Alonso said Cyclops, Aaron said Wolverine and Schaeffer said Jubilee. The panel was also asked which character’s vision they side with between Wolverine and Cyclops, with Cebulski and Aaron choosing Wolverine, while Alonso and Schaeffer chose Cyclops. Singh was on the fence.
• Aaron joked that Marvel creators have no say in how stories are told on other platforms: “Creators have no say in movies, because otherwise Wolverine Origins wouldn’t have happened.”

All photos courtesy of Andrew Ardizzi.

The panel featured Matt Fraction, writer, Stuart Immonen, art, Fred Van Lente, writer, Jeanine Shaeffer, editor, C.B. Cebulski, Marvel SVP, Creator and Content development and Axel Alonso, Marvel Editor-in-chief in a chat about what’s coming readers way in 2012.

Marvel: Fear Itself - Left to Right, C.B. Cebulski, Jeanine Schaeffer, Axel Alfonso, Stuart Immonen, and Matt Fraction.

At the busiest panel I’ve attended yet, the convention room was packed with fans, the buzz in the room an audible roar. The crowd cheered and shouted as things got going.

Fraction and Immonen called working on Fear Itself like a blur. Issue #6, set to be released in October, will mark a breaking point in the series. The entire cast of superheroes bracing for the ultimate.

Fraction and Immonen, seated beside one another, make it clear early on in the panel they work closely together. “‘We’ve had two or three email chains about the upcoming promo posters – ‘Should there be one shell casing or two shell casings?’ – we care that much!” Fraction said of working out the details in epic phone and email conversations.

The series has pumped out nine full issues worth of comics in seven months and all the issues have been on time so far. “Thirty-Eight pages is a lot of work in the heat of summer,” Immonen said.

“It’s a huge piece of work,” Fraction said. “Everything that could have gone wrong to the creative team, has gone wrong. And we’re still on schedule which is kind of amazing.”

“Details Matt, details, you got a new computer, I got a new computer and not because we wanted too,” Immonen counters.

Marvel editors have set up various intersecting titles through Fear Itself. The project has been so large Fraction jokes he’s made a list – Things to do after Fear Itself.

Also tied into Fear Itself is the return of Alpha Flight, a title with Canadian roots.  The series will be a four or five issue limited series with a number of surprises.

“After Fear Itself Alpha Flight embark on a new career as outlaws,” Van Lente said. “We have Wolverine, along with some others, traveling up north to find out what’s going on with Alpha Flight and we learn Alpha Flight is a member of a super-super-team of heroes called the Commonwealth of Superheroes, so Captain Britain and MI-18 are going to be showing up.”

Shattered Heroes is the next line of books that will affect all the major heroes.

Fear Itself 7.1, slated for November release, will set up Captain America for 2012 and is written by Ed Brubaker.

Fear Itself 7.2, written by Fraction, is going to focus on Thor. “I’d much rather tell a story of a war than reconstruction. So, it’s the beginning of reconstruction, the book ends there,” Fraction said about the Fear Itself wrap up. “I wanted it to start fast and end fast.”

The Fearless is a 12-part series launching in October. “This is the story of what happens to the hammers, most simply,” Fraction said. “These are the weapons that are capable of breaking the world open. Who gets them? Who keeps them safe? Who has plans for them? What happens next?”

“I’m honored to be associated with the book, so many talented people are working on it,” Fraction said.

The Hulk issue #1 promo also was release during the panel – “The only one that can save Banner is his better half” the 30-second promo teases. The book centers around Banner and the Hulk who have been physically separated. It promises to be Banner vs. Hulk in a whole new way.

Fraction also takes a moment to assure fans there’s a reason why Fear Itself and X-Men: Schism are ending at the same time.

A huge event is coming in 2012. “It’s very character driven, where these characters end up is how they deal with the changes that have occurred, who’s able to deal with the crisis at hand,” Marvel Editor-in-chief, Axel Alonso said.

“The long and short of it is, I think if you’ve been reading Marvel for the last decade you’re going to be rewarded in a story that ties up a lot of things,” Alonso said. “You’ll see that there was always a tie, there’s always been a plan.”

Writer: Rick Remender

Pencils: Mark Brooks

Inkers: Andrew Currie and Mark Brooks

Colours: Dean White with Richard Isanove

Letters: Cory Petit

Cover: Esad Ribic; Adam Kubert with Justin Ponsor (variant)

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Throughout Remender’s run on the latest incarnation of X-Force, Warren Worthington’s continuing struggle with his Archangel personality has been front and centre through the team’s initial missions straight through the latest story arc, the Dark Angel Saga. Now in its second part, X-Force (sans Worthington) have travelled to the Age of Apocalypse (AoA) dimension to find the one thing that can save Warren, but have found only double crosses, awkward encounters and surprises.

The Road So Far…

After travelling into the AoA dimension along with Dark Beast to recover the Life Seed, the team is left stranded when Dark Beast leaves without them once the dimension’s mutants destroy the Seed. It being the only thing that can save Warren, X-Force is left scrambling for both a way home and solution to save their friend. The remaining mutants in the world take X-Force to New Atlantis where they meet the leaders of Mutantkind: an aged Magneto and Jean Grey.

What’s the Story?

Wolverine and Jean chat about old times.

Deep in the heart of New Atlantis, Logan stands atop a balcony looking into the deep blue ocean. He’s eventually joined by the AoA world’s Jean Grey and they talk about their differing pasts and the loves they’ve lost. The two share some tense moments where they get caught up in their lust for each other, Logan making it clear that he isn’t her “Wolverine,” noting in his internal monologue that he’s promised to another woman. Regardless, they share a kiss that’s quickly interrupted by a Sentinel. It attacks Jean and Logan, but she steps in to fend off the Sentinel, believing she can simply get it done faster than the Canucklehead. Jean quickly realizes that the anti-mutant forces have found their location and they need to evacuate. The mutants reconvene and decide to move out and find Gateway, a mutant who can travel between dimensions. They travel to the location he’s imprisoned within but are met with some unexpected surprises: the Brotherhood and a man long presumed dead in that dimension–Wolverine.

The issue felt as though it slowly boiled to its conclusion. It provided some tense, emotional moments throughout the early pages as AoA Jean Grey and 616 Wolverine reminisce about their pasts and lost loves, all building towards a clandestine kiss obvious from 10 kilometers away. There was very little surprise in it, much less the majority of the issue which was largely uneventful as it focused a substantial amount of plot to the Wolverine-Jean story. It was very an unfulfilling issue for much of the book, although I enjoyed watching Wolverine as he was forced to interact with both Jean Grey and Nightcrawler. Beyond the rather expected kiss, the biggest surprise was saved for the end when it’s revealed that the AoA Wolverine has survived and taken up a prominent position in the dimension’s hierarchy. Considering the conversation had between Jean and the 616 Wolverine, it should create fairly tense decisions in the coming issues where she may face the choice of either staying to fight, or returning with Wolverine and X-Force to their home dimension. The issue only incrementally moved the Dark Angel story forward, but still packed enough to be enjoyably readable.

X-Force and the AoA mutants hanging out and relaxing

The Pretty, Pretty Pictures

I really liked the first page of the issue. In a series of five horizontal panels, the page gradually pulls in closer and closer to Wolverine who we eventually find is standing by himself at a balcony deep within the New Atlantis stronghold. It nicely characterizes the immensity of the weight Logan’s thoughts are having on him, contrasted against the large scope of the landscape; a solitary man with much on his mind while an entire world functions around him. The page was followed by another series on the balcony where Jean crept up behind Logan and joined him at the balcony. I liked how the sequence was put together as Jean slowly comes into the picture from the shadows and eventually takes her place alongside Wolverine; the final panel showing them side-by-side as they recollect their pasts and how they felt about the alternate versions of each other.

Fantomex and Psylocke share some words

The next several pages are fairly straight forward, focusing more on the moment-by-moment interactions between the characters. This all built up to the kiss, however I didn’t like how the panels were arranged on that page. It begins with a single panel at the top, moving then to the right, and then awkwardly to the left side of the page before continuing on to successive panels down the right side. Each captured their kiss almost frame-by-frame up until its occurrence, before breaking away once the Sentinel arrives. This leads further on into a great fight scene where we’re reminded just how strong Jean Grey is as she decimates the Sentinel in seconds. The issue employs much of the same throughout, but uses perhaps too much white space in a number of pages later on, while almost mirroring the Jean-Wolverine kiss with another towards the end of the issue. The rest of the issue is solid, anchored mostly by Brooks’ strong pencil work; most notably however were the final few pages leading up to the last page where X-Force and company are running through the halls and Kirika is blasted by an unknown assailant, revealed to be Wolverine on the final page.

Final Thoughts

Jean and Wolvie, sitting in a tree...

I feel like the issue was a mixed-bag. The story was moved forward only marginally, focusing more on the re-establishment of the Jean Grey-Wolverine relationship rather than pushing the Dark Angel story ahead. The Jean-Logan kiss felt like it happened organically and didn’t feel forced despite the obviousness of its build-up. The emotional roller-coaster dove down from that point was blandly steady for much of the book’s middle before the incremental crescendo leading to the final page. The book successfully hit its emotional points, although the story itself was rather uneventful beyond the Jean Grey-Logan conversation and the final few pages building towards the issue’s revelation. The artwork was very good throughout much of the issue, and I was pleased with how the story was conveyed through the team’s art. Although not a great issue, it functioned to move the Dark Angel arc ahead by adding another layer to the story. Despite this being an “off” issue in story development, it still was successful in setting the stage for the rest of the arc and affords it some fun places to go.