Comics Review: X-Men: Legacy, Batman, Inc, Buffy Season 8

Is X-Men: Legacy always this confusing? X-Men: Legacy # 250 - Lost Legions, Part 1; Flashback; Into the Abyss This is only my second issue of X-Men: Legacy, but it seems to jump around more than the other Marvel books I’m reading. When #249 ended, we saw Rogue and Magneto maybe about to get it on. This issue - no mention of it at all. Really, after how big a deal it was in the previous issue you’d think there’d at least be some more movement on whether rogue was going to stay with Magneto. Instead, all of a sudden we’re looking for Legion’s personalities. Where the heck did that come from? In 249 he was just cycling through his personalities while connected to some machine. Still, it was a fun fight and the personality they have to catch in this issue has a neat power. Makes it really hard to fight him legitimately.

The second story is tricky. I had to read all the way to the end of the first page to realize it was going to go backwards. But then I had to read all the way to the end to realize when it was going to go forwards again. Still, I’m pretty psyched to see where that story goes. Much more so than the first story. Either way, how do these stories tie in with Schism? Does Legacy take place on a different timeline like Astonishing where we’ll find out where it fits into the scheme of things later? I haven’t gotten into the unbranded X-Men 12 and 13 yet, so maybe it’ll make sense once I read those, but right now between X-Men, X-Men: Legacy, and Prelude to Schism, I can’t really tell what’s going on. What happened to the old days when Marvel would say, to continue the story go to book X issue Y? Right now it feels like three different stories in three different timelines and who knows when/where they’ll converge.

The last one is a reprint of an old issue to help catch up people who are wondering who the hell this Legion kid is. The funny thing is, I just read all this stuff on Comic Vine earlier in the week. I’m not a huge fan of the art style in that story, but whatever.

Overall, a lot of stuff is getting setup, but Schism starts in July so who knows what’s about to happen.

WTF? Batman, Incorporated # 5 - Masterspy Am I the only one that had no idea wtf was going on in this issue? I’ve read it twice and I’m still not sure on the details. Especially the first few pages after they leave the guy in the wheelchair. Grant Morrison’s a great writer, but sometimes his conspiracies are so dense I can’t get what’s going on. The artwork was great. I loved the attention to details as well. For example, the British guy and the Argentinian guy fighting. I wonder how many people would get that? It was such a tiny war that I never learned about it in school, I think I came across it in a wiki walk at Wikipedia one day.

So where is this story continued? Because the last few pages of this issue seem to imply that issue #6 is with Batwing - Batman of Africa. Is the story continued in Batman? Detective Comics? Batgirl? I have no idea. That’s one place where Marvel was traditionally better at letting you know where to look next.

So, a bit confusing, great art, where to next? That’s my assessment of this issue.

A Good Start to a New Format Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight: The Long Way Home # 1 - The Long Way Home I enjoy Buffy, but I’m not the biggest fan. These books belong to my wife, but I recently decided to start reading them. I’ve seen all of the last two season and key episodes here and there in the earlier ones. (My wife’s seen them all - we have the DVDs) I really only have one criticism - with comics made from live action series it’s often hard to draw it well. I guess the best way to explain what I mean is that I don’t have problems telling comic book characters apart or recognizing them. I have a bit more of a problem when they’re based on real humans - perhaps because it’s not as stylized?

I like the writing. I understand that some of the staff from the show worked on this book. The Buffy-speak is preserved, so the characters appear to be just like they were in the TV show. I’ve enjoyed all the nerdy banter that was in the show, but not to as much of a degree. You get to play to a slightly different crowd with comics, so they’re definitely playing to that.

The other key difference is that they now essentially have an infinite budget so it seems they decided to go gang-busters and include all kinds of neat stuff just because they could. (Like the joke about why Dawn’s huge) So far I’m enjoying it, but I’m not hooked.

My favorite was the final story in which they go back to something that seemed like a throwaway line in the beginning of the first story - how there are Buffy doubles to throw off the bad guys. It reminded me a lot of some of the stories in the Animatrix. Specifically, Kid’s Story. I won’t spoil it, but I felt it was the one that elicited the biggest emotional response from me and also is the one that made me want to keep going onto book two.

Neat Bit of Drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight: No Future for You # 1 - No Future For You I enjoyed this second collection of Buffy Season 8. The stories with Faith were great. The only bad thing is that I’m left unsure of how much she’s grown. On the one hand, her character’s had to deal with a LOT of trauma. So she’s got this huge demon in her (not literally) and until she properly works that through, it may stunt her growth. But, then again, when you look at the end of her arc, maybe she is showing a bit.

Buffy, on the other hand, has definitely started to crack. The first book has her decided to go on the forbidden path of killing humans (since they’re after her). This book reveals that she might be up to some more shady things. (Not that Willow is clean, either) But it sets up a good conflict. Buffy was no Mary Sue during the TV show, but she’s gained even more realism than even then. She’s moved even further into a grey area.

We also finally learn the truth of why Dawn’s huge. Unfortunately, no real growth for Xander, Warren, or any of the Slayerettes. Well, we’ll see what the next book brings.

This is the Funny Book Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight: Wolves at the Gate # 1 - Wolves at the Gate After all the drama of the previous book, this is the hilarious one. This one was back-to-back laughs. The part where Andrew walks in on Buffy and the person who kissed her (yeah, we finally get that mystery solved) is awesome. The part where the guy touches Buffy’s things. Xander and Dracula were awesome. And there were SOOOO many more hilarious parts, but I don’t want to spoil them all. Perhaps I’ve said too much already? There was a little tiny bit of drama, but I really think this was a great chance to take a breather and enjoy the fun before it potentially gets all dramatic again.

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