Marching In

X as a Weapon

Mike Carey’s ongoing adjectiveless X-Men run has been exciting so far. I’m liking it, see, but I do have problems with Chris Bachalo’s art from time to time. I preferred his style back in the ‘90s, during his first year or so of Generation X. Now, I dunno, his figures seem to be extra-cartoony and the shapes of figures are hard to distinguish sometimes. So that really keeps me from enjoying and appreciating the story. He still does certain pinup shots well, though, as this particular panel shows:

Anyway, I love this lineup. Rogue’s the leader, and this strike force isn’t tasked with teaching at the Xavier Institute. It’s an interesting, diverse mix with Cable, Cannonball, Mystique, Iceman, Lady Mastermind, Karima Shapandar, and Sabretooth. I’m really not into the idea of having unrepentant villains coerced into service, as in the Thunderbolts post-Civil War, but somehow, Sabretooth as the team’s loose cannon feels more naturally done. Also, as many on it can be counted as reformed villains or have different backgrounds, it’s good to see that this team’s fighting approach is different from the other X-teams’.

I do hope that there’d be really memorable villains in the coming issues (the Children of the Vault and Pandemic characters were just okay), and that Carey’s promising team lasts for some time. May this tough X-group's adventures be bigger and illustrated better.

Zack Snyder!

Oh, here’s my article on filmmaker Zack Snyder, published last Saturday (thank you editors!). I did that phoner about a month back, shortly after watching 300 (thank you Warner publicists!). That interview went well. The guy sounded energetic from the start; instead of just saying “hello,” his first words were a loud “Zack Snyder!!!” So that was smooth from the get-go. He did a great job on Frank Miller’s work, and he’s now doing Alan Moore’s Watchmen, too, so let’s all cross our fingers.

300 opens today in the Philippines, I believe.

Like Toy Soldiers

Was able to get some of the Marvel Legends/X-Men/Spidey figures I’ve been fancying for quite some time. I hope I can still find a Mad Jack or Toxin figure though. Or a white costume repaint of Storm. But, yeah, am quite happy with what I have right now.

One thing I wasn’t too satisfied with, however, was the Iron Man-Mandarin Face-Off set. It took some time to get a decently painted one, because many were disappointingly, shoddily done. And, once I opened the one I bought, I was kinda dismayed to discover that Mandarin wasn’t poseable, since he’s wearing a thick rubber robe. Yargh.

Oh, and the comic book? Iron Fist. The same that came with the Iron Fist figure in early 2006. Yeek.