A Traitor Revealed In Messiah CompleX Chapter Nine & Chapter Ten!

For months, fans have known that one would rise to lead mutants, one might be their savior and another would betray them—and the traitor’s true identity will leave you speechless! In X-Men #206, featuring Chapter 9 of Messiah CompleX, the X-Men, Cable, The Purifiers and Reavers must all pick up the pieces from their recent conflicts. Who lives? Who dies? And just what does this all mean for the mutant child at the heart of this hunt?

Then in Uncanny X-Men #494, featuring Messiah CompleX Chapter 10, still reeling from the shocking revelations of Chapter 9, the all new X-Force does battle the Marauders. ‘Nuff Said, True Believer!

“This is quintessential X-Men; only these characters could be involved in this event. And that’s a testament to the guys working on it,” gushed Matt Powell of WizardUniverse.Com

Daniel Crown of IGN.Com called Messiah CompleX “easily the best X-Men crossover in over a decade.”

Marvel urges retailers to check their orders on all issues of Messiah CompleX, as all five chapters released thus far, including X-Men #205, have sold out at Diamond (though copies may be available at the retail level). Please note that Marvel currently has no plans to go back to press on X-Men #205.

As one betrays the X-Men, X-Force must find a way to defeat the Marauders, while Layla & Madrox continue their crucial journey. Who walks away alive? Find out in X-Men #206 and Uncanny X-Men #494!

Don’t miss a single chapter of Messiah CompleX!

What happens when the “maybe we just need a little space” trial separation makes you realize you’re actually happier apart and have no interest in getting back together?

Well, if you’re me and writing about and reviewing comics on a semi-regular basis is what you needed a break from, you stall one more month hoping for the good feelings to return before finally acknowledging the truth and writing the requisite farewell post for the 3-5 people who might still care.

In other words, it’s officially “adios” for good this time!

To the comics internet, at least. I’m not done with comics themselves, of course; I’m just reading less of them these days and have no interest in feeling obligated to write about them, never mind writing about the incestuous and too-often petty little world of comics publishing and online fandom. Catching up on my myriad Google Reader subscriptions this weekend pretty much clinched it.

It’s been real, it’s been fun — I’ve written some things I’m proud of and made some good friends I wouldn’t have otherwise — but not unlike the break from poetry that ultimately led me to reading comics again and eventually writing about them, things have come full circle and I’m going back to my first true love. More importantly, I’m taking the next big step in our relationship and building us a new home, aka the NYC-centric online literary journal I’m officially launching in January 2008 called Spindle.

To Jon, Howard, Rich, Adan, Matt and my other fellow writers here at PopCultureShock, past and present; and everyone who ever left a comment or dropped me a backchannel email, positive or negative: thanks for everything — the camaraderie, the support, the feedback, and most importantly, the passion each of you brought to the site. PCS will always be my online home for comics and I plan to check in more often now that the guilt over not carrying my weight the past few months will be lifted!

An extra-special shout-out to Katherine and Erin, whose insightful coverage gave me some helpful direction in my still nascent exploration of manga (I’m officially hooked on Eden and Planetes!) and made it that much easier to kick the Marvel/DC habit that was draining my wallet and tainting my appreciation of the form.

Remember, reading comics you don’t enjoy is stupid. It’s like drinking Budweiser or Coors just because they’re cheaper than Magic Hat.*

Don’t be stupid!

Love,
Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
PCS, 2005-2007

*NOTE: Like certain Essential and Showcase volumes, there’s always a time and place for a cold PBR!

With apologies to Jon and the PCS crew (as well as to Charles LePage, who reprints my “For Your Consideration” column over at ComicList), Comic Book Commentary will be taking a short hiatus for a few weeks as the “Not Comics” part of my life is getting a bit hectic again and the self-imposed pressure to post more regularly combined with my hating writing rushed, half-assed posts has left me a bit paralyzed. My Bloglines and Google Reader folders are overflowing with unread posts so I’m just going to hit my mental reset button and jump back in later this summer.

I’m still reading comics, of course, just feeling less and less inclined to write anything about them.

Here’s a quick list of titles I’ve enjoyed recently and would recommend via legitimate reviews if I had the time:

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Free time is a precious thing. Don’t waste it reading bad comics out of habit!

Have you seen Ratatouille yet? Amazing! Brad Bird’s a genius, bringing more humanity to his CGI creations than most directors bring to their live action efforts. It’s Pixar’s best yet, beating out previous faves The Incredibles and Finding Nemo, in spite of the whole rat thing still not quite working for me. (Ick!) I had my doubts going in, thinking it might be their first bomb — relatively speaking, that is — but now I think it’s going to have the kind of legs none of the other summer sequels have had and end up posting some very nice box office numbers.

You know what ongoing comics are working for me like Ratatouille did these days? Very few. :-(

That said, here’s my weekly look at select comic books being released Thursday, 7/5/07. The full shipping list, as always, is available at ComicList.

[NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com]

PICK OF THE WEEK

GI Joe: Americas Elite #25 (Devil’s Due)

DEVILS DUE PUBLISHING
GI Joe Americas Elite #25, $3.50

It’s not that I’m tired of the “Big Event”, because I’m totally looking forward to “World War III” in the GIJU. The difference? It’s self-contained, it’s taking place within an ongoing series that I’ve already been enjoying, and it makes sense within the context of the series to-date. As long as Devil’s Due doesn’t get crazy with the spin-offs, I’m onboard for the full ride.

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I’m just going to put it as plainly and simply as I can:

Dan Didio’s DCU is dead in the water and overdue for a dramatic overhaul.

The Beat has posted Paul O’Brien’s analysis of Marvel’s sales figures for May, and he sums it up this way: “With all their big sellers hitting the shelves, Marvel slaughtered DC, with a margin of 47% to 31% in unit share, and 43% to 28% in dollar share.”

I (Continued)

Free time is a precious thing. Don’t waste it reading bad comics out of habit!

I finally made it to MoCCA this past weekend and while it was a good time, it reinforced the sense that I’m steadily drifting towards becoming a casual comics reader with little interest in blogging on a regular basis. I’ll have a write-up later this week, including my impressions of the Comics Foundry preview and how its success or failure will play into the future of comics. [insert dramatic cliffhanger music here…]

Without further ado, here’s my weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 6/27/07. The full shipping list, as always, is available at ComicList. (Note: For the “just the facts, ma’am” crowd, ComicList impresario Charles LePage has launched a no-frills version of his invaluable list called The Bullpen Bulletin.)

[NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com]

PICK OF THE WEEK*

Showcase Presents: Batman Vol 2 (DC Comics)

ANDREWS AND MCMEEL
Harry Potter Order of Phoenix 2008 Wall Calendar, $13.99

Like with Buffy, I swear I’m the only comics fan who doesn’t give a hoot about Harry. I saw the first movie, and while it was entertaining enough, I just don’t get the fuss and have never had any interest in the reading the books despite them seemingly being right up my alley.

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(via ACK)

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The MoCCA Art Festival is this weekend, and after missing out the last two years, I’m finally going to make it this year. I’ll be taking my son, Isaac, with me on Saturday, and am looking forward to checking out what’s what from the impressive roster of exhibitors and creators, particularly these:

Exhibitors
AdHouse Books, First Second Books, Friends of Lulu New York Chapter, NBM Publishing, Pantheon

Creators
Jessica Abel, Ivan Brandon, Alex Cahill, Tania del Rio, Ryan Dunlavey, Keith Knight, Ken Knudtsen, Andy MacDonald, Richard J. Marcej, Bryan Lee O’Malley, Bill Sienkiewicz, Fred Van Lente.

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