New X-Men #146

Grant Morrison // Phil Jimenez
early November 2003
**

Sometimes Morrison’s compressed storytelling works, but not in #146, where he rushes to end his X-epic prematurely. A big reveal undoes two of his strongest issues & best characters by conflating Xorn w/ the “late” Magneto. Still, Jiminez provides solid craft, incl. several silent pages in space.

last issue: New X-Men #145
next issue: New X-Men #147

also indexed for Nov. ’03
Alias #26
JLA/Avengers #3 of 4
New X-Men #147

New X-Men #145

Grant Morrison // Chris Bachalo
October 2003
****

GM brings the run back to techno-pop adventure, tho’ he forfeits Wolvie & Cyke’s emotional arcs. The baddie who created the U-Men also leads Weapon Plus, a program of Sentinel supersoldiers disguised as a comic book team! All this on an exploding orbital satellite laid out superbly by Bachalo.

last issue: New X-Men #144
next issue: New X-Men #146

also indexed for Oct. ’03
Alias #25
Avengers/JLA #2 of 4

New X-Men #144

Grant Morrison // Chris Bachalo
September 2003
****

Much of #144 has Fantomex exposit on Weapon Plus, the anti-mutant corp that bred him. The ultra-cool antihero, like his creator, delights in misdirection as a mode of self-definition. Under all that, however, lies an autopilot conceit: Weapon XV, spliced w/ a super-Sentinel, awakens to megalomania.

last issue: New X-Men #143
next issue: New X-Men #145

also indexed for Sept. ’03
Alias #24
JLA/Avengers #1 of 4

New X-Men #143

Grant Morrison // Chris Bachalo
late August 2003
*****
Synthetic time speed-breeds generations of supersoldiers in an artificial city surveilled by corporate scientists—until one test subject escapes! But Fantomex drags Logan & Summers to the scene. Bachalo’s design sense complements the arc’s theme of 21C superscience well—just look at his AIM outfits!
[last issue: New X-Men #142]
[next issue: New X-Men #144]