X-Statix #26

Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
October 2004
***

A fairly blatant ripoff of Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, as the team gets KIA with Mr. S & Tike A. gunned down in a suicide charge. It would’ve worked better if they hadn’t held each other at arm’s length since the retitling. Or if the run’s last two years had been compressed into one. Ah well.

last issue: X-Statix #25
continued in X-Statix Presents: Dead Girl #1 of 5

also indexed for Oct. ’04
Astonishing X-Men #4
Daredevil #63
Fantastic Four #517
Secret War #3 of 5

X-Statix #25

Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
September 2004
***

The Avengers/X-Statix War ends in détente before a bigger enemy (of course it does). Milligan’s heart isn’t in this arc, whose guest stars smack of editorial edict. Even if not, the last-minute acceptance of X-Statix by the Avs feels rushed. Anyone else disappointed that Doop can speak English?

last issue: X-Statix #24
next issue: X-Statix #26

also indexed for Sept. ’04
Astonishing X-Men #3
Daredevil #62
Fantastic Four #516
The Pulse #4
Thanos #12

X-Statix #24

Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
August 2004
***

It’s the ol’ JSA formula: members split off on solo missions. The final face-off is Iron Man v. Mr. Sensitive, mano a mano and nude! Milligan has them strip their protective armors in a contrivance involving French holy nudists. Silly, plus Allred doesn’t take advantage of the opportunity for beefcake!

last issue: X-Statix #23
next issue: X-Statix #25

also indexed for Aug. ’04
Astonishing X-Men #2
Daredevil #61
Fantastic Four #515
Thanos #11

X-Statix #23

Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
July 2004
***

Milligan rips off the Avengers/Defenders War, pitting two teams of heroes in a race to collect maguffins. This ish pairs Hawkeye & Vivisector in a post-colonial Africa, and Venus DM v. Ant-Man in Antarctica. Pairing #1 displays a Silver Age charm but #2 can’t suss out the heroine’s Kirbydot anatomy.

last issue: X-Statix #22
next issue: X-Statix #24

also indexed for Jul. ’04
Astonishing X-Men #1
Daredevil #60
Fantastic Four #513
Fantastic Four #514
The Pulse #3
Secret War #2 of 5
Thanos #10

X-Statix #22

Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
late Jun. ’04
***

X-Stat‘s finale pits the team against the Avengers on a hunt for Doop’s brain! Milligan doesn’t ‘get’ Cap, so the face-off w/ Tike Alicar disappoints. Not so the Scarlet Witch, who also inspires Allred’s pencils. She’s outweirded by Dead Girl while swimming in toxic waste on a haunted freighter.

last issue: X-Statix #21
next issue: X-Statix #23

also indexed for Jun. ’04
Daredevil #59
Fantastic Four #512
Thanos #9
X-Statix #21

X-Statix #21

Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
early June 2004
****

When Doop’s lobotomized brain gets weaponized, our heroes must ask the Avengers for help with its recovery. Rather than contrast our super-celebs with a team of noble heroes, this ish shows a classic roster that’s just as venal & arrogant. Plus it hints that Doop is the product of Cold War science!

last issue: X-Statix #20
next issue: X-Statix #22

also indexed for Jun. ’04
Daredevil #59
Fantastic Four #512
Thanos #9
X-Statix #22

X-Statix #20

Peter Milligan // Nick Dragotta
May 2004
****

Aside from the Princess Di arc, this team mag has been slack since the retitle. Spotlight issues like this one focusing on Vivisector are clever & fun but they don’t move any greater plot or theme forward. Here, however, Dragotta’s newsprint-cartoon style adds to the Universal Horror vibe.

last issue: X-Statix #19
next issue: X-Statix #21

also indexed for May ’04
Daredevil #58
Fantastic Four #511
New X-Men #154
The Pulse #2
Thanos #7
Thanos #8

X-Statix #19

Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
April 2004
***

Milligan intros a ‘cure’ for mutancy as a metaphor for odious anti-homosexual ‘therapies’ less than half a year before Whedon. It’s actually a juicy bit of mad science meant to steal Vivisector’s superpower (& results in a mopey Spider-Man No More sequence) so the basic concept remains unexplored.

last issue: X-Statix #18
next issue: X-Statix #20

also indexed for Apr. ’04
Daredevil #57
Fantastic Four #510
New X-Men #153
The Pulse #1
Secret War #1 of 5

X-Statix #18

Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
March 2004
****

In a riff on The Ring, the team’s pop princess haunts & kills anyone who sings her posthumous single. Grisly deaths demo the morbid glee of a ’50s crypt comic, esp the skating accident that befalls el parapalegic Guapo! But happily the funeral for Phat (also KIA last issue) has emotional resonance.

last issue: X-Statix #17
next issue: X-Statix #19

also indexed for Mar. ’04
Daredevil #56
Fantastic Four #509
New X-Men #151
New X-Men #152

X-Statix #17

Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
February 2004
****

Some good focus on Mr S, whose quick thinking, strong leadership, super-senses, & ability to levitate nearly win the day as he & the team face Mr. Code, a Ditko-like baddie (= suit & generic mask). Also cool is Dead Girl’s trip into the afterlife to barter with the team’s sleazy late employer.

last issue: X-Statix #16
next issue: X-Statix #18

also indexed for Feb. ’04
Daredevil #55
Fantastic Four #508
New X-Men #150

X-Statix #16

Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
January 2004
****

If this mag’s losing a bit of steam, its satire is also getting darker & so are its heroes. Their craven owner has implicated them in arming S. Hussein so they snap his neck! Meanwhile the glam super-princess fouls up as Director of Homeland ‘Defense’. Gleeful politicking, so rare in caped comics!

last issue: X-Statix #15
next issue: X-Statix #17

also indexed for Jan. ’04
Alias #28
Daredevil #54
Fantastic Four #506
Fantastic Four #507
New X-Men #149

X-Statix #15

Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
December 2003
*****

Grant that, in this arc, Princess Di plays Supergirl in a gorgeous raven wig. You’ll read a great arc of cynical British leftie politics. Taking aim at the current fiasco in Iraq, one squaddie gets a leg blown off! X-Statix bickers in X-soap style, but they’re fighting over whether to kill a member!

last issue: X-Statix #14
next issue: X-Statix #16

also indexed for Dec. ’03
Alias #27
Avengers/JLA #4 of 4
Daredevil #53
Fantastic Four #504
Fantastic Four #505
New X-Men #148

X-Statix #14

Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
November 2003
***

The heroes rescue the ersatz Princess Diana and see her usurp their trademark superstar egotism with her superceleb status. Frankly I’m curious about her approach to heroism, since this satire has run its course. Plus Spidey’s guest appearance is disappointing, esp. his too Kirby-like rendering by Allred.

last issue: X-Statix #13
next issue: X-Statix #15

also indexed for Nov. ’03
Alias #26
Daredevil #51
Daredevil #52
Fantastic Four #502
Fantastic Four #503
JLA/Avengers #3 of 4
New X-Men #146
New X-Men #147

X-Statix #13

Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
October 2003
****

A celeb rises from the dead to make the world a better place with X-Statix. Word is, this pop idol/philanthropic activist was to be Princess Di (you can still see the resemblance in Allred’s tight work). Pity that this black joke was edited away, since its current form, though cheeky, lacks teeth.

last issue: X-Statix #12
next issue: X-Statix #14

also indexed for Oct. ’03
Alias #25
Avengers/JLA #2 of 4
Daredevil #50
Fantastic Four #501
New X-Men #145

X-Statix #12

Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
September 2003
*****

After over a year on the team, Dead Girl finally gets some time centerstage, & she makes the most of the spotlight. Her mutant ability to speak with the dead allows her to protect a goth suicide from her necrophiliac dad. The disturbing weird tale brings out Allred’s best work since the retitling.

last issue: X-Statix #11
next issue: X-Statix #13

also indexed for Sept. ’03
Alias #24
Daredevil #49
Fantastic Four #500
JLA/Avengers #1 of 4
New X-Men #144

X-Statix #11

Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
August 2003
***

X-Stat’s new recruit is a throwback to ’90s kewl: a focus-tested Latino mutant skater with ‘tween appeal & a symbiotic relationship with his board. But instead of a satiric approach, Milligan shows the mag’s more sinister side as Doop et al work on peeling the kid away from his norm GF.

continued from Wolverine/Doop #2 of 2
last issue: X-Statix #10
next issue: X-Statix #12

also indexed for Aug. ’03
Alias #23
Daredevil #48
New X-Men #142
New X-Men #143
Fantastic Four #70

X-Statix #10

Peter Milligan // Philip Bond
June 2003
*****

Death doesn’t stop Edie Sawyer from getting an origin issue—she’s haunting this mag just like Jean Grey did Claremont’s mid-era X-Men. It’s a sour Hollywood tale even once she invents herself to become an X-star. Bond, w/ a thick-lined cartoon style, continues the run’s roll of superb bullpen artists.

continued in Wolverine/Doop #1 of 2
last issue: X-Statix #9
next issue: X-Statix #11

also indexed for Jun .’03
Alias #21
Daredevil #46
Fantastic Four #68
New X-Men #139
New X-Men #140

X-Statix #9

Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
May 2003
****

A visit to Hollywood—in the ’60s a standard plot, & perfect for this mag. It advances the love triangle btw Venus DM, Mr. Sensitive, & U-Go Girl via a flirty starlet playing the late heroine. #9 also develops Tike A, in his new role as team leader, his racial views, & in his manifestations of OCD.

last issue: X-Statix #8
next issue: X-Statix #11

also indexed for May ’03
Alias #20
Daredevil #45
Fantastic Four #67
New X-Men #138

X-Statix #8

Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
April 2003
****

Supplying what #7 lacked, #8 explains that the arc’s monster has manifested as Venus DM’s worst nightmare. Plus a fraternal reconciliation btw Guy Smith & Tike Alicar, a sororal moment btw VDM & Dead Girl, & best of all, a Doop’s-eye-perspec on VDM’s loss of virginity, as she teleports to ‘heaven’!

last issue: X-Statix #7
next issue: X-Statix #9

also indexed for Apr. ’03
Alias #19
Daredevil #43
Daredevil #44
Fantastic Four #66
New X-Men #137

X-Statix #7

Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
March 2003
***

This 3-issue arc spotlights Venus Dee Milo, a black girl (yay!) made of Kirby Dots & fitted by Prof X with a red latex suit. Crushing on Mr. Sensitive, she’s facing an evil mirror-self: an extra-dimensional monster also fitted w/ X-suits. It’s a solid concept but doesn’t inform her character.

last issue: X-Statix #6
next issue: X-Statix #8

also indexed for Mar. ’03
Alias #18
Daredevil #41
Daredevil #42
Fantastic Four #65
New X-Men #136

X-Statix #6

Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
February 2003
****

It’s Professor X, designing suits that help a mutant control his or her powers! But the gear’s been stolen by a supervillain—is it Mr. Sensitive, in disgrace after last issue’s intrigue? Doubtful, but that set-up, plus the destruction on Rodeo Drive recall the original X-mag at its (low) best.

last issue: X-Statix #5
next issue: X-Statix #7

also indexed for Feb. ’03
Alias #17
Daredevil #40
Fantastic Four #64
New X-Men #135

X-Statix #5

Peter Milligan // Paul Pope
January 2003
*****

Mr. Sensitive has Lacuna (“the 8th member of X-Statix”) assassinate his new & highly dangerous recruit mid-mission. In one dark issue, Milligan undercuts my misgivings about a loss of edge. He’s also more savage, less tolerant, of celebrity worship—a theme enhanced by Pope’s lovely ugliness.

last issue: X-Statix #4
next issue: X-Statix #6

also indexed for Jan. ’03
Alias #16
Daredevil #39
Fantastic Four #63
New X-Men #134

X-Statix #4

Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
December 2002
****

The Orphan, AKA Mr. Sensitive (a better moniker, as one character points out) rouses his dispirited teammates into action by facing solo a 13-year-old misfit who can alter reality. As usual, excellent technique in script & art—though the view of superheroism is sentimental rather than satiric.

last issue: X-Statix #3
next issue: X-Statix #5

also indexed for Dec. 02
Alias #15
Daredevil #38
Fantastic Four #62
New X-Men #133

X-Statix #3

Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
November 2002
****

X-Statix disintegrates in the wake of U-Go Girl’s death, while a rival team of celebrity mutants face a small-town kid w/ reality-altering powers out of The Twilight Zone. Allred’s charming, retro art plays against the horror—note how this arc’s shyster looks like a Moldoff/Sprang Bat-character!

last issue: X-Statix #2
next issue: X-Statix #4

also indexed for Nov. ’02
Alias #14
Daredevil #37
Fantastic Four #61
New X-Men #132

X-Statix #2

Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
October 2002
****

This arc intros a prefab, fame-hungry superteam (AKA O-Force) as foils to show how far this mag’s heroes have come in its first year. While Milligan keeps tossing out fun concepts (like the dysmorphic Phat’s conflict w/ queerness & class), his second act has slowed, as if in mourning for U-Go Girl.

last issue: X-Statix #1
next issue: X-Statix#3

also indexed for Oct. ’02
Alias #13
Daredevil #36
Fantastic Four #60
New X-Men #130
New X-Men #131

X-Statix #1

A-story: Peter Milligan // Mike Allred
B-story: Peter Milligan // Darwyn Cooke
September 2002
A-story: ****
B-story: ****

This gonzo, au currant approach to superteams gets a rename. Too bad: the franchise exploitation was central to the theme & part of the fun. More to the point, the new #1 is more an act-two opener & not the revolution that #117 was. U-Go Girl’s replacement (a girl made of Kirby dots) has immediate visual appeal. A back-up is a macabre riff with Doop on the stale Blair Witch.

continued from X-Force #129
next issue: X-Statix #2

also indexed for Sept. ’02
Alias #11
Alias #12
Avengers #56
Daredevil #35
New X-Men #129