Kieron Gillen and Carlos Pacheco’s introduction to the new volume of Uncanny X-Men is a solid first issue that gives a good idea of what to expect from the series: universe class threats, incredible displays of power and the X-Men striving to become Earth’s mightiest heroes. This comes along with their interpersonal struggles as Cyclops has assembled a team of former (and perhaps future) super-villains each powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with teams of heroes on their own if they chose. Much like last week’s Wolverine and the X-Men #1, there is some silliness, but here it is coupled with a lot more action and the reemergence of an old threat with some new tricks.

Spoilers for Uncanny X-Men Volume 2 #1 will follow.

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Let me start by saying I’m not a fan of the cancellation and renumbering of long standing series, but I understand it from a business standpoint. I’ve had the luxury of seeing the title I’m most invested in maintain a continuous run since I began collecting, but that ended two weeks ago. Marvel Comics published the final issue of Uncanny X-Men to make way for a new post-Schism relaunch to go along with Wolverine and the X-Men as part of this Fall’s X-Men: Regenesis. Putting the renumbering and relaunch aside, the series’ conclusion was remarkably sentimental and left me with a genuine sense of loss.

Spoilers for Uncanny X-Men #544 will follow.

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I am an unabashed fan and reader of Marvel Comics’ X-Men, but I am also a collector. As a consequence, I’ll go out of my way to track down variant covers of issues from most titles in the X-franchise. A quick disclaimer before we go on, I know the interior pages are identical, I know the book will not command the price I’ll pay for it going forward, and I know I can get a high resolution digital version of the cover image on my computer that will be far more accessible long term. I seek this stuff out because I want it in my collection. It’s OK if you want to consider it a disorder, disease or other malady; synonyms are really just variant covers for words.

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Spinning out of the annual Vengeance pay-per-view, the action continued on WWE’s Monday Night Raw in Austin, Texas. The show seemed to suffer from some poor choices with its use of air time, but overall it was an entertaining show. A lot of ground work was laid for the next big event, November 20th’s Survivor Series, and the return of the Rock. Tonight’s Halloween edition of the show should continue to move things in that direction, but the real treat will be special guest stars, The Muppets. When the Rock and Muppets are mentioned together I can’t help but think of Derek Jeter.

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Recently Dark Horse Comics provided MLD with digital copies of many of their upcoming comics. I don’t read many Dark Horse books on a monthly basis, so this offered the perfect opportunity to sample a few series and find out what they’re all about. It’s also always interesting picking up single issues of titles that you’re unfamiliar with in this era of writing for trades, especially when it isn’t the debut issue. Every single issue might be someone’s first, so can these books stand on their own? Having said that, I’ve done no research on these books beyond reading them, so I’ll be coming into most of them as a completely new reader. Spoilers will follow.

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