The great title of a comic ever:
ROCKTOPIA PART 8 OF 5
Comics should just stop having titles for individual issues, because no one's topping that for sheer coolness. Joe Casey owns your ass.
The issue begins with Warren and Logan arguing about how to handle the Vanisher, which leads Jono to ask if they have a problem that he's not aware of--and Warren responds, "No problem. We just don't like each other." I love that.
Stacy goes see the Vanisher and plants the idea that maybe he wants to expand his business empire to include the X-Ranch.
Nightcrawler discovers that a cardinal is a junkie for that mutant drug. The funniest damn part of the whole issue is when the cardinal mutates into a Thing-like being and yells "BEGONE, DEMON! at Nightcrawler. What a dumb asshole.
The Church of Humanity show up, kill the cardinal and then leave Nightcrawler alone because the Supreme Pontiff has plans for him. Dun dun DUNNNNNNNNN!
Meanwhile, Stacy is working her voodoo on the Vanisher and two weeks pass in total bliss. She tells him to go meet Worthington. At the meeting, Worthington informs the Vanisher that he's bought him out. He doubled the pay of everyone in the Vanisher's employ and has dismantled the supply of the mutant drug. The Vanisher tries to vanish and Iceman freezes him mid-vanish, which is pretty harsh.
And then, for some reason, two waiters at the restaurant shoot up on the mutant drug and cause some damage until Iceman freezes everyone.
The issue ends with Wolverine and Nightcrawler discussing how shit's gone down the past while with eyes to the future.
A strange conclusion to a strange run. Casey here shows his skills by having the X-Men out-think their opponent and use their various skills to get the job done. They are harsh, but fuck it, their enemy is a drug-dealing murdering scumbucket. The world is better off. Mutant justice and all that.
The final three issues (including the annual) don't fit into the larger run, which I still think is purposefully mediocre as Casey makes a grand statement about the X-books. Instead of attempting change when change will not be allowed (why change what sells?), he mocks the entire thing. And gets paid to do it. That's right, Marvel paid him good money to lay out in 14 issues (17 minus the three good ones) everything that is wrong with the X-books and then did three issues of quality stuff to show where they could go, how they could be more adult, mature and still be all-ages fun. (Although hookers and drug dealers all-ages?) The whole thing is a spectacular failure, but a purposeful one.
The ultimate irony about the X-books is that the core concept is evolution and they never change. Joe Casey got that.
Next up: an hour of Magic Eight Ball Midnight, a spin-off from Magic Eight Ball Mondays, which began this past week and got the site our second mention on Blog@Newsarama's "Meanwhile" feature (we've also been quoted on their quotes of the week feature). Remember, any and all yes/no questions will be asked if sent to me.
And pledge money for the Alzheimer Society of Canada via the sheep on the right.
Phoenix #5 annotations
1 hour ago
