Check coaxial for LOST or write Harry.

Now as far as "getting Morrison", I think I do.

I truly love the man's work, but I think he was handed a veritable mess with FC.

He has the sole task of trying to pick up the pieces of the past few years of build-up. He's doing that, but I tried to look at this book as a stand-alone piece (which is difficult).

As a solitary story my reviiew stands. Now I am going to try and see if I can pay someone to break the OD cherry. Wish me luck.

And yeah, Ennis probably hates superheroes. And I don't think Warren Ellis is a big fan. I think Millar loves superheroes but deconstructs them and darkens them up anyway because he doesn't know how else to do it.

Because the 200 other X-Men comics have just been great. And in all honesty, "badass Wolverine" has been done to death multiple times. Whedon brings a change of pace to one of the single most overused characters in comics. Forget that he's made Cyclops interesting for the first time in, uh, ever; let's focus on the unnaceptably light take on Wolverine.

Oh, and All Star Superman was the best Superman comic ever, as usual.

For shits and giggles I put it on the coffee table outside of my office today at work and I think I counted 25 people that at least picked it up, 7 people actually sat there and read it.

OK, now that I have expressed my appreciation of Morrison, I have to say Final Crisis was totally pwned by Secret Invasion. And I have hated Marvel's events for three years now, while liking all of the DC ones except Identity Misogyny Crisis. A return to the Silver Age is something that Marvel needs, not DC. DC stood for Dorky Comics back in the day. We used to make fun of "square," dated books in the old days by saying "that's so DC." Haven't said that for years, and don't want to start saying it now.

Now I loved his New X-Men run, don't Don't DON"T get me wrong. It was masterfully choreographed. But everything has been screwed since.

I don't want that to happen to Batman.

Shigeru-it is very interesting to me that you really like the action in Astonishing. That is not a compliment I would have expected. I just disagree so much. I do, however, like the jokes. And I don't have a problem with the characterization, I just don't get into it. It bored me, rather than entertaining me, but I know I'm in the minority on that.

Speaking of Wolverine, I really enjoyed the whole "get Mystique" storyline that just ended.

Seven Soldiers...during it's run, that was one of my all-time favorites, but the ending was so disappointingly "whatever" that it dimmed my appreciation of the whole thing. Still, it was pretty good.

Invisibles and Filth are Morrison work that is just too out there for my taste.

So there's a Doctor, who hates Batman, and whose name starts with the letters HU? Ring any bells?

And then that doctor *tells us* he's doped up Bruce Wayne to make him more susceptible to suggestion, and THEN Jezebel starts in on the guilt trip? And the whole "Bruce, what if you're insane and you're the badguy?" And you don't think maybe she's full of shit and in on it and Bruce is only falling for it cuz he's been drugged?

And then some random old bullshit file appears making his parents look like degenerate animals, and you assume it's real and not a plant by the bad guys out to get him?

There are red herrings all over the place, as well as hints about what's going on...but that whole DRUGGED UP AND OPEN TO SUGGESTION thing? That's not really a hint, y'know? It's pretty blatant, really.

Go back and reread this issue, people, and tell me how you can *possibly* take the claims about the Waynes seriously, and how you can *possibly* think Jet isn't there to help tear Bruce down. It's plain as day. Or it's part of the red herrings. But it sure as hell isn't the straigtforward thing you guys are pretending it is. Jeez louise.

...

Crap. Forgot to use my other screenname before I posted this...

Time to drag this argument back up and beat it around some more...

Whedon might not bring a fresh perspective to the comic as far as his writing style goes, but most of the billion other X-Men comics are just such a convuluted mess it's nice to read a comic with less time-travel, secret agents, secret pacts, whatever, etc. The ending og the comic was preditable, but that's what made it so fuckin tragic. One thing Whedon can do well is emotion. Everyone knew it was going to end the way it did. Maybe not with the exact specific details... but shit man, it's just such a downer when it happens. I saw Cloverfield last night and found it more depressing than scary. I felt the same way about this final issue of AXM. (Except instead of not being very scary, it wasn't very action-y.) Not that the action was totally lacking. It had some great moments as usual. And one good jaw-dropper.

Warped Elements, if you ever compare Astonishing X-Men to Michael Bay again, shit, if you ever compare Civil War or All Star Batman to a Michael Bay movie, I will personally come to your house and rip your eyeballs out and then piss in your eye sockets and then make you jerk off in a cup and then I will use that cup to inseminate your mother and then when she gives birth to a mutant baby, I will make both of you eat it alive and then I will feed your mom to a dog and then I will make you eat the dog's shit afterwards and then I will order the '98 Miami Dolphins to sodomize you one by one until your small intestine falls out of your asshole, then I will squirt intestines in your eye sockets and shove them down your throat until you die. Just sayin' Joss Whedon will never be Michael Bay (And I've never even seen any of his TV shows.)

"Does this really change Batman's reason for being? Does it in fact topple the foundation of the character? Or does it just add more complications to that foundation? I mean, his mother and himself were still victims of evil; he's still scarred by the event. If anything, it could give more nuance to his mission, make it even more personal-- ditto his own role as father. Or am I completely crackers?"

That's why God created the animated series books, Archie and Richie Rich.

That said, why would anyone who writes/draws/etc comics say they are intended for kids only? That's a good way to destroy your sales. And, as has been pointed out, there's plenty of "kid-oriented" books out there. The good ones (Runaways, for example) appeal to young and old alike.

Plus I think it would have to be an advanced 11 year old or less that would want to read something that emotion heavy.

I was talking lil lil kids.

I got my first pair of glasses at 4 becasue I was reading Richie Rich in bed at night. Thanks for the literacy and the myopia Mom and Dad.

Nowadays kids have a shit load of choices, I'm jealous.

Morrison has always amazed me with his knowledge of comics. Alan Moore knows more (somebody always knows more; you don't wanna be the guy who knows the most -- talk about chick repellent)but he retires more often than Stephen King.

I would (seriously) say Mark Millar. I generally like his stuff, but his comics are indeed, mean, immature and violent. However, I've never read them by strobe light while Bernie Mack shouts at me, so I didn't get the full effect.

Warped, you know I'm just kidding, right? Incest is gross. And for all I know, you could be right about Whedon never changing, because Astonishing X-Men is the only thing of his I've ever read. Maybe when I get a year to sit around and do nothing, I'll check out those TV shows everyone's talking about. I have to respectfully disagree with you on the "pissing on continuity" aspect, though. Xaviers's actions regarding Danger seemed forced for the sake of the story, but everything else fit; and please don't drag out the old "comic relief/badass Wolverine" thing again, because the comic isn't really about Wolverine. It's Kitty Pryde and the X-Men.

See though I think comics are at a perfect place right now. You have the movie and TV related books, while the main titles serve a more adult flair.

I think the houses are starting to realize that they will have to evolve these characters to keep the duckets flowing in.

Lood, I think it's great your sister loves Runaways. I wasn't trying to put 12 as the magic number, but not having kids it seemed like a good digit to pull out of my ass.

I sometimes forget that kids are miniature people and some of the things that resonate with adults will in fact resonate with lil people as well.

Everyone matures at a different rate and I've actually found comic collectors (especially kids) to be very mature if slightly off center.

I am very happy not to buy any comic that is intended for kids. Marvel, DC, etc, let me know and I won't buy it. For example, the Avengers book with Giant Girl. Emotionally regressed or not, I drop well over $100 a month at the LCO, and I don't think it's because of me (and others who have caused comics to become "adult")the kids ain't buying the comics...they aren't buying them because they're too expensive until they're like 25 or something and can afford them.

There are a ton of clearly kid books out there, and there ain't no spinners in no stores. The whole cause and effect are flipped in Greggers' post. Comics aren't dwindling because they're written for stunted adults. Comics are written for "regressed" adults because the kids quit buying them, and the adults were all that was left of the market. Ahem-I used to buy comics for 35 cents, and inflation ain't that bad.

Now, Steve Gerber was a hippie you could respect...