Because no one asked for it. Chuck Austen's Uncanny X-Men run. See what happens to the characters that Morrison and Claremont didn't care about! And then see Austen IMMEDIATELY retcon Morrison's run the second it ends.
Claremont returns to the books in 2000. It's underwhelming. Probably editorial's fault. They bring Morrison in. Claremont is offereda choice of one of the core titles, or a third "new title." He takes the new title (X-Treme X-Men) and his plots and characters migrate over there. Joe Casey plays around with the leftovers in Uncanny a bit from 394 - 409. Austen takes over Uncanny around the time X-Force is relaunched as X-Statix, Cable is rebranded Soldier-X, and Deadpool was replaced with Agent X. Frank Tieri is also running a Weapon-X ongoing around this time featuring a-listers like Sauron and Marrow.
It's 2002, and Uncanny X-Men is the worst of the pack. Here we go folks.
>Day 1: 410 - 416 - Here the fuck we are. Welcome Nurse Annie!
>Day 2: 417 - 422
>Day 3: 423 - 427
>Day 4: 428 - 434
>Day 5: 434 - 438
>Day 6: 439 - 443
>>77878655
I read this once before and I'm not doing it again. God speed to those who do read it.
>>77878687
Agreed
>>77878655
>Nurse Annie
Have mercy, OP.
>>77878687
>>77878703
you don't want to provide color commentary?
I will be a contrarian and say that I enjoyed Austen's run.
>>77878789
I enjoy Juggernaut/Squidboy. The Nightcrawler stuff is awful and the art is uneven throughout the entire run. Otherwise it's not REALLY as bad as people make it out to be.
>>77878779
Sure why not
OH FUCK NOT AGAIN
>>77878838
I know I shed a tear in two Austen stories:
1) the one from Unlimited about animal cruelty
2) The Rome and Juliet story with Guthrie family
Both Juggernaut and Northstar were great in this run.
>>77878942
>>77878961
I mean, Xavier redirects his flight because he picks up on a young mutant about to do something awful? Hank isn't a total cunt? It ain't that bad.
>>77878920
Pretty much
One thing that people actualyl complained the most about Austen-Men was that the X-Men were constantly horny, and that book was heavily sexualized.
Also, it's funny in hindsight that Northstar had a crush on Iceman, while Iceman was oblivious to Northstar's gayness.
>>77879053
>>77879079
Yeah, there is a strong soap opera quality to these issues. It's also the X-Men.
>>77879079
And family guy made a iceman being gay I think it was back 2000.
>>77878687
Same as you, except I'm going on the ride again, since I lost all the shit I saved from last time
Bumping for Maximus motherfucking Lobo!!
>>77878838
Same here
>>77878942
>2) The Rome and Juliet story with Guthrie family
I just fucking hated that one. It dragged on too long and I couldn't give a single fuck by the end
Here she is. The fun can start.
I actually like X-Stacy, freaky look and unique powers, perfect early 2000s character
Too bad Her and Emma share the the same role as team skank, no room for the both at Uncle Charlie's pleasure ranch.
taking a taco break. be back in a jiffy.
>>77879411
Well, I can bump meanwhile
The team that makes this run worth reading.
>>77878655
still somehow better than bendis
>>77880342
ya know, I'm reading these issues for the first time in years and yeah...it's better than bendis.
>>77880383
Well, back then, Marvel still had some standards in terms of storytelling and compression.
Bendis proved to them, that you don't need either to sell comics.
>>77879012
>It ain't that bad.
Austin's run undeniably has its low-points, but there's a lot to like about it, too. I think it has an undeservedly bad reputation just for basically not being Morrison.
>>77880342
Yup
>>77880621
>>77880638
>>77880529
>Squidboy saving Juggs
>Northstar and this poor kid
I've gotten a little emotional at the end of two issues so far. Bendis ain't got that.
>>77880621
He get bad rep for Azazel and Xorn.
And while people hate Azazel, he appeared in a movie, and Aaron reused him.
Xorn was editorially mandated.
Also, X-Men fighting Collective Man was cool.
I don't mind when X-Men fight some mutants from other books. Have they ever fought Whirlwind?
>>77880873
>He get bad rep for Azazel and Xorn.
Spot on. I'm not a fan of the mangaka art we're about to hit either.
>>77880704
More than 4 years on xmen and nothing memorable ever happen except for the iceman Jean thing.
>>77880925
I mean, he did bring the O5 into the present. But yeah. I know what you mean.
>YOU TRYIN TO SHOW MY WIFE HOW TO MAKE BABIES!?!?
>>77880957
I fucking hate young Jean. But the /co/ edits are glorious http://i.imgur.com/FhhYEIY.jpg
>>77880957
Still there is this so bad it's good scene, when Havok literallypissess off Iceman
and now THIS art starts
>>77881074
>Maybe he just doesn't know it yet.
AUSTEN YOU MADMAN!
>>77881104
>>77881109
shoulda skipped em too. damn it
Bumping the best thread on /co/
Alright folks that's it for tonight. Tune in tommorrow afternoon at 4:19pm central time for more. Dominant Species begins tomorrow. A "fan" favorite(?)
>>77881559
Thank you
>>77880621
Maybe it's because I'm not an X men fan, or maybe it's because I've been exposed to things that are far, far worse, but this really wasn't as abominable as people say it was. There are very, very stupid, shitty things in it, like the romance and whatever the fuck that Nightcrawler arc was, but there's some good spots in it, like the fish kid, who I thought I'd absolutely fucking hate, as well as Cain.
>>77881559
I'm glad I tuned in randomly. I've never actually read any X-stuff, but this was fun.
>>77881559
Thank you. I'll be there.
>>77879079
Austen is a good friend of Bendis and apparently his idea man.
>>77881885
Yeah right. Bendis can dream to have a based friend like Austen.
>>77881722
>>77881742
OP here, I honestly hadn't read some of this since it came out (specifically the last two issues we did today), and I'm pleasantly surprised at the quality. Juggernaut/Squidboy is hands-down my favorite part of the arc. Angel and Iceman have a lot of meat as well. I'm liking Stacy-X A LOT more than the first time around. I'm REALLY enjoying this era of Professor X.
As mentioned earlier in the thread, some of the more controversial aspects of the run have yet to occur. Tune in on Days 4 (Saturday) and 6 (Monday) for that stuff.
>>77878655
The thing that makes me maddest about this run is it was never finished. They just dropped it and never concluded it.
>>77881559
This is when it starts getting truly bad.
If it weren't for Nightcrawler, manga art and the oversexuality, I wouldn't mind the series as much. I'm even fine with Xorn since I hated seeing Magneto 180'd for no reason other than Morrison hadn't read an X-book since Byrne.
If I had to rank it versus Bendis, it'd be hard; Bendis had some great artists carrying him along. Bendis had things set up for him and it went nowhere, whereas Austen had to work with scraps on a main title. I think he did well, all things considered. Exiles and NXM were the only decent books back then, and they are hard to compete with.
>>77884996
he's coming
>>77885930
>manga art
The art isn't even "bad" as much as it's just tonally inconsistent, especially after Garney and Phillips. I'm gonna try to give it a shot tomorrow. Maybe I'll be less forgiving this time around.
>Bendis artists, chracters
The character roaster is actually the strong point of this section of Uncanny to me. None of the usual domineering personalities (wolverine, cyclops, storm, magneto). Iceman and Angel are the two OG reps on the team. Nightcrawler, while handled terribly, is around. I always appreciate GenX and New Mutant characters being involved, so the presence of the Guthries is a nice addition.
The Juggernaut material is great. Northstar, Polaris and Havok are always welcome.
And speaking of Bendis, he was kicking ass on Daredevil around this time. As odd as it sounds now, his type of dialogue was actually refreshing back then.
>>77885930
>oversexuality
I meant to address this as well. I can't tell if Austen is trying to emulate the Claremont soap opera style or what.
This is a far pre-Disney Marvel that is trying desperately to make their books more mature and inline with the movie aesthetic. I think the relationship/sex stuff is partly "for show." Hey look, these characters are ADULTS, and it's the 21st century, blah blah. It ends up a bit excessive though. The characters come off like hormonal teenagers.
Having said that, X-Men have always been hyper emotional. In retrospect, I'm coming around to the idea of a "telenovela" era of X-Men.
>>77881074
Maybe someone shoulda shown this issue to Bendis cuz God knows he doesn't do research
How did Bendis end up having a worse run than this?
>>77881074
>Alex's face
WAKE ME UP
What was Austen's Avengers like? It gets overshadowed by Bendis
>>77878655
> Frank Tieri is also running a Weapon-X ongoing around this time featuring a-listers like Sauron and Marrow.
jesus it's like the perfect storm of the worst book
Funny how not too long ago, "X-Men" was synonymous with "Marvel", now it just feels like a weird side project
>>77886943
Truth is? I think he just can't handle anything that isn't street. When he writes big universe shaking stuff he can't really make you care. He tells you a threat, but it rings hollow because you can't see the effect on characters. When you have a character stab another character and make it personal? Then his stories get tense. He works better small scale. The X-men are also big, hammy and not very down to earth. He can't make a grand romantic melodrama. He can have a character hook up and say I love you. Simple. He tries to be complicated but the fact is, the less he has to work with the better he as a writer.
>>77889490
truth
This thread is alive? Let's bump for all those who have good taste in comics.
>>77878655
>see Austen JUSTIFIABLY retcon Morrison's run the second it ends.
Fixed it.
>>77878795
Monet's a cunt.
>>77878992
>i can do it through you.
GAAAAYYYYYY
This is worse than Bendis.
>>77900426
I disagree. The art is wonky, but it doesn't seem ashamed of its past. Bendis is a bit too reconstructionist with his ideas of what certain characters represent.
>Xavier is a compassionate intellectual, not a morally grey manipulator
>Iceman is a womanizing smart ass, not a repressed homosexual
>No obvious waifu in sight.
Jean and Emma are in NXM, Storm and Rogue are in XX, Illyana and Psylocke are dead, Kitty Pryde is not relevant. The most prominent women in the book are Stacy X, Husk and Polaris. That's pretty rad.Ok, Nurse Annie is a god damn chore but whatever.
>>77900426
NOTHING is worse than Bendis. NOTHING.
Bendis is literally the worst writer ever.
>>77897733
This
>>77886377
Polaris is probably the most shattered character damaged by Austen's writing. He turns her into an irrational, homicidal bridezilla.
At least no one else had a major personality shift like that, as far as I recall.
>>77880334
Oh god.
Someone help Northstar, what is wrong with his face?
>>77880837
>>77880849
>bobby is now gay
Uhh, is Northstar currently in any relationships or...?
>>77902740
I haven't read that section since it came out, though I'm inclined to completely agree with you. We'll see tomorrow though.
>>77903100
Gay Married.
>>77903535
That's very Gay (as in queer, as in happy)
Well folks, in anticipation of today's storytime, here are some ads from #416 and #417, just to help you get in the proper mindset.
Also, December 2002 charts
>1 Ultimate War 1 $2.25 Marvel 131,829
>2 Ultimate War 2 $2.25 Marvel 124,458
>3 Batman 610 $2.25 DC 117,380
>4 Ultimates 9 (Res) $2.25 Marvel 109,222
>5 Ultimate Spider-Man 33 $2.25 Marvel 106,639
>6 New X-Men 135 $2.25 Marvel 103,153
>7 Amazing Spider-Man 48 $2.25 Marvel 100,700
>8 Ultimate Spider-Man 32 $2.25 Marvel 98,869
>9 Uncanny X-Men 416 $2.25 Marvel 94,702
>10 Ultimate X-Men 26 $2.25 Marvel 94,291
>11 Transformers War Within 3 $2.95 Dreamwave 78,727
>12 Transformers Armada 6 $2.95 Dreamwave 72,811
>13 Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra 2 $2.25 Marvel 72,693
>14 Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra 3 $2.25 Marvel 71,191
>15 Wolverine 184 $2.25 Marvel 69,324
>16 Masters of the Universe 2 $2.95 Image 67,000
>17 JLA 76 $2.25 DC 66,038
>18 Truth 2 $3.50 Marvel 65,322
>19 Captain America 7 (Res) $2.99 Marvel 61,589
>20 Thundercats 5 $2.95 DC 61,425
>21 Avengers 61 $2.25 Marvel 59,547
>22 Avengers 62 $2.25 Marvel 59,159
>23 G.I. Joe 13 $2.95 Image 58,901
>24 Daredevil 40 $2.99 Marvel 58,244
>25 Green Arrow 20 $2.50 DC 57,657
And these ads are from #417
January 2003 Charts
>1 Batman 611 $2.25 DC 129,377
>2 Ultimate War 3 $2.25 Marvel 114,693
>3 Ultimate Spider-Man 34 $2.25 Marvel 101,082
>4 Ultimate Spider-Man 35 $2.25 Marvel 100,746
>5 New X-Men 136 $2.25 Marvel 100,720
>6 Amazing Spider-Man 49 $2.25 Marvel 97,033
>7 Ultimate X-Men 27 $2.25 Marvel 91,172
>8 Ultimate X-Men 28 $2.25 Marvel 90,978
>9 Uncanny X-Men 417 $2.25 Marvel 90,447
>10 Uncanny X-Men 418 $2.25 Marvel 90,163
>11 Transformers Armada 7 $2.95 Dreamwave 73,861
>12 Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra 4 $2.25 Marvel 71,248
>13 Daredevil 42 $2.99 Marvel 67,651
>14 Wolverine 185 $2.25 Marvel 67,056
>15 X-Treme X-Men 20 $2.99 Marvel 65,232
>16 JLA 77 $2.25 DC 65,103
>17 Transformers War Within 4 $2.95 Dreamwave 63,861
>18 Avengers 63 $2.25 Marvel 59,759
>19 Captain America 8 $2.99 Marvel 59,229
>20 Truth 3 $3.50 Marvel 57,586
>21 Green Arrow 21 $2.50 DC 56,641
>22 Hulk/Wolverine 6 Hours 1 $2.99 Marvel 55,503
>23 Spider-Man Peter Parker 52 $2.25 Marvel 53,446
>24 Fantastic Four 65 $2.25 Marvel 52,954
>25 Masters of the Universe 3 $2.95 Image 52,825
Just dropping by to say thanks. Time for sleep now so Ill catch the next storytime tomorrow.
It's on
>>77907478
It's on
Bump a day keeps the doctor away
>>77908939
heh
>>77881150
haha! Glooooooob
>>77908939
WHERE WERE YOU FOR DAY 2 MY BRO
>>77887551
Austen's Avengers was basically just vamping until Bendis took over the book. The first storyline is the Avengers version of Austen's "look at us, we're edgy" approach, but to be fair to him he makes a pretty good case, based on then-recent continuity, for why Hank Pym can't be redeemed.
The second story was just a setup for his short-lived Invaders series, and then Bendis comes in.
A lot of people thought based on the run that he was setting up Hank Pym as the bad guy of what eventually became Avengers Disassembled, but that could just have been misdirection. (Johns and Austen both teased the idea that something horrible was going to happen to the Avengers and it's generally agreed that Avengers Disassembled was Bendis's version of a story that had been kicking around for a while.)
