Marvel Has the X-Men Event, "DNX," Coming This Fall, and Maybe Too Many Events Occurring, Honestly

Comic-book companies (particularly Marvel and DC) love a big event every now and then. Some take up a bunch of the comic line, and others are a bit more focused. The X-Men have a new horror-styled event called, "DNX," just announced for this Fall. Featuring the tagline, "Evolution is contagious," it makes me wonder if Marvel is aiming for some kind of boost in the number of mutants as was happening pre, "House of M," before the number of mutants was drastically reduced and slowly started growing again to a level where they again work as, "hated and feared minority," without being outright, "Endangered," as they were for a bit.

At the moment, Marvel has a number of smaller events all planned or popping off at once for better and worse. As Bleedingcool discussed, "So that's DNX for the X-Men, Armageddon for Avengers, Death Spiral for Spider-Man and Venom, and Queen In Black for Venom and Thor… any more for any more?" They're being snarky, but have a point about, "Eventitis," as it is sometimes called. Marvel seems to be stuck either doing a single massive event or a bunch of small ones at a near-constant rate. DC, meanwhile, has been steadily gaining more of the comic market through a slow-and-steady growth of their massively popular, "Absolute," line and an event here and there, such as the recently concluded and generally inoffensively fun, "DC K.O." I'm not the head of either company so I am wholly unqualified to argue who is doing, "Better." I would say a lot more people are excited for DC comics these days than a lot of Marvel's output, however.

The last big X-Men event I gave much attention to was, "House of X/Powers of X," which led into an era of the X-Men and many mutants spending a lot of time living on the island of Krakoa before that all wound down with little of consequence to show for an epic start and whimper of a conclusion. That said, a lot of these events are about the journey, not the destination ("Flashpoint," was a ton of fun years ago and led into the ho-hum New 52). Will the, "Adventure," we have with DNX or any other Marvel event strike enough of a nerve that people will really dig them? We shall see, and in the end, the comics at Marvel almost seem like an afterthought with how much is undoubtedly riding on the Marvel Cinematic Universe and if, "Avengers Doomsday," and, "Secret Wars," will undo the general feeling of disinterest many folks have had towards the MCU since, "Endgame." It is going to be a pivotal 2026 for Marvel, that's for sure.

The X-Men Are Entering a New Era...and It's a Lot Like the Old Era

The X-Men have spent the last 5 or so years on Krakoa with their own nation-state. Various plots from the past came together to take the X-Men to one logical conclusion they'd form their own country and tell the rest of Earth to put up with it because they're sick of being hated by a humankind they wanted to protect. Magneto tried it on a small scale with Genosha, but Krakoa was a massive undertaking and resulted in some cool comics thanks to a major change in the usual X-Men status quo. It was never going to be permanent.

This coming Summer the X-Men will be back to living amongst regular humans in various cities where they'll hide out in military bases or such. It feels like a major step backward into the 1990s--something others have observed. The brand has had so much growth the past two decades and now we're reverting to the old ways? Perhaps I'm just bitter as I didn't really, "Get into," the X-Men until the early 2000's when Grant Morrison delivered what I feel is the best run on the series ever (no shade at Claremont). Their run on, "New X-Men," was amazing and changed so much that Marvel then sprung, "House of M," on everyone and made mutants incredibly endangered. Eventually, mutants started gaining bigger numbers and were then put on the editorial backburner whilst Marvel tried in vain against all logic to make the Inhumans popular and a replacement for the X-Men. That was until Jonathan Hickman ushered us into the Krakoan age in 2019 with, "House of X," and, "Powers of X." That resulted in some stellar comics, but it is coming to an end...and we're going back to how the X-Men were in the 1990s when I had minimal interest in the brand as a wee lad and preferred to read about Spider-Man (he's been through some changes for sure too, but that is a whole different article).

I'm not surprised with the vaguely retro revert (say that three times fast) the X-Men are getting. After all, that, "X-Men '97," show is coming to Disney+ and enough time has passed from the 1990s that folks are now nostalgic for it. Still, I didn't really like the X-Men then and besides Wolverine (he was always cool) could have cared less about all the other characters. The creative teams on the three big books are great and the other series could be good, but I just can't muster any excitement to go back to the old ways. 

I got into the X-Men during a period of huge change and always enjoyed the X-titles the most when things besides the usual, "Mutants protecting humans who hate and fear them," motif was used. I adored the aforementioned, "New X-Men run." I had a ton of fun when for a good year or so a team of X-Men was in space, I had a great time with, "House of M," and enjoyed the fallout of that event. The Krakoan age was insanely creative even if way too many comics were released relating to it (there was a ton of stuff to read if you wanted to keep up to date). When the X-Men are simply hiding out in a mansion or in old military bases in between going on missions to save humans who curse them out for being, "Dirty Muties!" I just don't care. It was done from about 1963 to 2000 and done especially spectacularly for years by Chris Claremont in one of the longest uninterrupted runs in comics ever (1975-1991). Old fans who miss the 90s are probably excited and younger comic fans might be intrigued who didn't live through the past stories. As for me? I said the creative teams look great (Jed MacKay and Gail Simone are both amazing writers and Ryan Stegman is a stellar artist, to name some folks), but I may just skim the new main books and secondary titles unless one manages to really grab my attention. Time will tell.

Jonathan Hickman and Valerio Schiti Are Revamping the Eternals

I think this news was revealed a tiny bit ago but I just heard it and am intrigued! You see, Jonathan Hickman has given us some epic stories with his creator-owned titles and at Marvel. He had a superb run on, "Fantastic Four," and, "Avengers," which led to, "Secret Wars." Then, he and artist Valerio Schiti totally revamped the X-Men with, "House of X/Powers of X," and that status quo is still ongoing where many mutants live on the island of Krakoa. Hickman and Schiti are now going to be doing a brand-new take on the Eternals with, "G.O.D.S." We recently had the Eternals tweaked during that big, "A.X.E. Judgement Day," event and now in the Fall of this year, we will read about how, "G.O.D.S. takes place in its own special corner of the Marvel Universe — in the cracks that lie at the intersection of science and magic," according to Hickman. More details will be revealed with a preview of, "G.O.D.S." in the upcoming Free Comic Book Day release from Marvel.

Huh, We Haven't Seen Much of Krakoa in the Dawn of X Comics Still

The big celebration on Krakoa when it was established as the new home of Mutants.

Josh Hilgenberg of the Comics Beat made a post today observing how all these new X-Men comics are about the X-men living on their own personal island-nation of Krakoa, but with little focus on the, "Living." We had the combination lead-in series, "House of X/Powers of X," that established the island for the mutants, but all comics since as part of the big launch of books under the banner, "Dawn of X," have had little focus on the island itself. That is a bit of a bummer. It is all about the island being invaded by an enemy here-and-there, the teams going to the rest of the World to fight other dangers or help mutants in need, going into space for fun, and other stuff. We have seen very little of what day-to-day life is actually like on Krakoa, the island-Nation mutants worked so hard for. It feels less like a real lived-in place than it does a way to move the plot forward.

Say what you will about the series, "District X," and how it was sometimes a bit wonky, it presented the story of an area of New York City where a bunch of mutants lived and it felt like a real place. Apartments, stores, and all that were in this place that seemed like a real district where mutants had gathered to live much how in cities you get certain demographics making an area a cultural hotbed. We got a feeling of a mutant culture and life in the city, as viewed through the eyes of mutant and non-mutant police trying to keep crime under control between uniquely mutant-affecting crimes and underground crime rings.

A mutant-focused nightclub in, "District X."

Then when reality was warped during "House of M," and the world temporarily was mostly mutants ("Mutopia X,"), it was interesting to see a flip-side where now the district was a grouping of what sapiens were left in NYC trying to make it in a World of mutants. The more things change the more they stay the same with someone always on top and someone always on the bottom.

"District X," felt like a real place in a city, Krakoa just feels like a storytelling tool right now. What do mutant residents of Krakoa do for work or fun? Is there a monetary currency, internet or television beyond how it is mentioned in one issue a cable hookup exists now to see what is going on in the outside world? Hopefully, as even more X-Men books keep coming out at least one or two will have a bit more fleshing-out take place of what life is like on Krakoa.

Suddenly Marvel is Really Big on the Fantastic Four and X-Men, For Obvious Reasons

Remember when Marvel claimed they were cancelling, "Fantastic Four," because it was comic that supposedly nobody read--with the cancellation happening right when the most recent movie (which was owned by Fox which at the time was not owned by Disney) came-out? It bombed, but that was because it sucked, not due to a lack of the comic. Also you may remember when Marvel was desperate to make the Inhumans popular as a newer-and-better-X-Men and even had plans for movie before that got scrapped and any concepts were dumped into a television show that lasted a season (and was quietly forgotten about by everyone so I forgive you if don't recall that)? Well, ever since Marvel and its parent Disney got the film rights back to the Fantastic Four they sure have been giddy about doing that big relaunch of the comic with the characters and having them pop-up in other books at assorted points; plus now that the X-Men have their film right's under a tight grip with Marvel/Disney those books have been having a renaissance too. Well, as if to further the point that thanks to having the movie-rights Marvel is pumped-up about the Fantastic Four and X-Men here comes a cross-over comic bluntly titled, "Fantastic Four/X-Men."

Now, the Fantastic Four and X-Men do not interact too much in the comics, but there is one big thing that unifies them which came about in the 1990's if my memory of that era serves me correctly. Franklin Richards, the son of Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) and Sue Storm (the Invisible Woman) is in fact a mutant, and an incredibly powerful one. While he is just a young child he has abilities that are almost God-like when he doesn't try to block-off his powers lest he destroy reality. Now, the X-Men have of course recently established their own Nation for mutants and prefer that anyone who is a mutant goes and lives there, so that's created some friction between the X-Men and the Fantastic Four (touched upon briefly during the recent, "House of X/Powers of X," series where the Fantastic Four popped-by briefly) as while Franklin's parents may have powers, they ain't mutants--it was some weird space-stuff that gave them abilities along with Sue's brother, Johnny Storm (the Human Touch) and friend Benjamin Grimm (the Thing).

The new comic, "Fantastic Four/X-Men," will be written by Chip Zdarsky and have art by Rachel and Terry Dodson, so it's a solid creative team for sure. It is a four-issue mini-series so it also will not wear-out its welcome and most likely there will be other little mini-series in the future tying-in the X-Men with other heroic teams they may butt-heads with. It makes sense as the main X-Men books may be busy telling the epic yarn kicked off by, "House of X/Powers of X," and now continuing in like 8 different comics because--as I said--Marvel is suddenly really big on the X-Men now thanks to getting the film rights back. The comics that have been coming out with all these hero-teams have been pretty good, so I guess even if Marvel/Disney acquiring Fox and the hero-teams it owned the rights to is another example of corporate monopolization to the point where eventually 3 or 4 mega-companies will own everything, at least we get some more good comics out of it and eventually some flicks...right?

Some Discussion of a Brief Thought I Had While Reading, "House of X," #1

Jonathan Hickman's big return to writing Marvel comics has begun with, "House of X," #1 which will be coming out every two weeks--"Powers of X," will be released in the alternating-weeks until the two intertwined mini-series finish and a bunch of new X-Men books re-launch in October ("Dawn of X,") using Hickman's groundwork as a foundation. Only a single issue has come out so far of Hickman's grand plan, so I am hesitant to offer any sort of review. I will say one brief thought however that occurred to me whilst reading, "Powers of X." It is as such: "This is the biggest re-imagining of the X-Men I've seen since Grant Morrison did his incredible run with, 'New X-Men,' and that makes me excited." Being able to say something, anything, involving the X-men excites me is a big deal.

The last huge X-Men story/run I can I definitively loved would be when Joss Whedon did, "Astonishing X-Men," which itself drew from Morrison's tenure. I liked, "House of M," as its own weird event, but that was more of a big thing that involved all of the Marvel Universe as opposed to being an X-Men-focused event. In other words, it has been awhile since I read an X-Men comic that I loved, and even longer since I was legitimately excited to see what the X-Men have in store for them. Jonathan Hickman is doing his usual weird thing of big ideas, complex graphs, and people with mysterious motives, and I'm down for it. Considering how dull the X-Men have been for years why not let Hickman just draw from a bunch of assorted stories while ignoring the plots or character deaths he chooses to make a new one about the X-men saying, "Screw it, we're making our own country and culture and going to offer humans incredible resources to leave us the Hell alone on an island," at this point when nothing else has been done with the characters of note for some time? The fact I'm excited about an X-Men comic means something to me, namely that Marvel and Hickman must be doing something right.

Side Note: I would feel bad if I did not mention Kireon Gillen was doing some interesting stuff a few years ago with, "Uncanny X-Men," but that petered-out before I could really get pumped for it.

Marvel Announced Some Comics at C2E2 This Friday and Saturday

Yesterday and today at C2E2 Marvel announced some comics. Some sound like events that might have lots of tie-ins (or we already know will thanks to previous statements) and others are more like mini-series. In chronological order...

War of the Realms, April 2019
This has already been announced, hyped, has tons of comics that relate to it, and I don't really have any interest in the thing. It relates to Thor and the Ten Realms of his mythological people. It has an absurd amount of tie-in comics and I'll perhaps read some summaries of it online and may inadvertently read one or two books that relate to it if they are titles I already enjoy that are dragged into the ordeal. One thing tangentially related to it that does sound fun though is a, "Valkyrie," series co-written by Al Ewing and Jason Aaron (no announced artist yet, I believe).

House of X and Powers of X, July 2019
This is what Marvel was teasing with those odd little promos the past weeks. Jonathan Hickman is returning to Marvel and doing two mini-series of six issues each involving a great deal of X-Men. They are titled, "House of X," and, "Powers of X," and apparently the letter X is supposed to be pronounced as a, "Ten," which is maybe some kind of story-hint. Many predicted he was going to be doing an, "Eternals," comic but as I generally love Hickman's work I am happy to see him doing whatever he's passionate about.

Absolute Carnage, August 2019
I have a big soft spot for Venom as someone who was a kid in the 1990's. That said, Carnage has often struck me as an attempt to do an even edgier and more bloodthirsty villain that tries way too hard. However, the newly announced, "Absolute Carnage," has Donny Cates writing it and Ryan Stegman is doing the art, so between those two stellar talents I'm willing to give this comic (be it an event or mini-series) a shot. It invovles, "every single character who has ever worn a symbiote and every symbiote that has ever been, going all the way back to when Peter found the black suit,” and Carnage trying to hunt them all down and kill them. Considering how almost everybody has had a symbiote attach itself to them at some point or the other it isn't an exaggeration when Cates says how, "Everyone is a target."

Mystery Comic, December 2019
Nobody knows what this or could be, hence it being a mystery. Currently I've seen the guess that it could be something relating to the Ultimate Universe coming back in some shape or form. It's mindless speculation, but that could be fun if it happened. Between some of the announced stuff sounding good and other things making me shrug, it should be a decent 2019 for Marvel in terms of their comics--I already know with, "Avengers: Endgame," coming in April its film division is gonna be swimming in money.