Spotlight on Uncanny X-Men #1: As disappointed as I am with All-New All-Different Marvel generally, and the newest crop of X-titles specifically, there’s no way I’d pass up the debut of another volume of Uncanny X-Men.

The hook for this latest relaunch is that the team is populated primarily by villains and antagonists like Sabretooth, Mystique, and their leader Magneto. While I’m unclear on what’s motivating these characters to stand together as heroes, there’s potential given writer Cullen Bunn’s success with his recent Magneto solo series. Bunn has a reputation for doing good things with the bad guys and he has a lot of badness to work with here.

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Marvel’s Uncanny X-Men #600 arrives in comic shops today and its release is enough to bring me out of self-imposed exile. In addition to bearing a landmark issue number, the book is also the long awaited finalé to Brian Bendis’ three year run on both Uncanny X-Men and All-New X-Men, and sports no less than twelve different covers. That merits an evaluation here on MLD as both a Marvel Milestone issue and as part of our ongoing Standard Deviations series looking at variant covers.

Read on for a discussion of the covers, the numbers, and more.

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Weekly comic books are a big part of my life and below is a list of what I’ll be picking up this Wednesday along with cover artwork and previews courtesy of Comixology’s Pull List app.

Ten new books on my list this week and a fair number actually aren’t part of the Marvel Universe. The ones that are fall almost entirely under the Avengers vs. X-Men banner.

• AVENGERS #26 – Of all the AvX tie-ins I’m reading, Brian Bendis’ Avengers one is possibly the weakest. It’s not a bad book, but it has some strong competition including Bendis’ New Avengers which is tremendously enjoyable. I have faith that things will pick up here and having Walt Simonson drawing the book makes it a must read.
• AVENGERS ACADEMY #30 – The first AvX issue of this title did little for me until the final pages. Sebastian Shaw has been a ticking time bomb since returning in Generation Hope and it looks like time’s up.
• AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #4 – I’m enjoying this event title well enough, but there have been moments where characters just haven’t seemed like themselves (particularly Cyclops and Captain America). This is clearly a series that I’ll follow to the end, but I’m looking for more of Hope Summers and the Scarlet Witch. Hopefully it’s coming soon.
• AVX VS. #2 – This book delivered exactly what it promised: nothing but fights that spill out of the main AvX series. My chief complaint from the first issue was declaring a winner from each match up when no one really “won.” It’s hard to believe we’re headed for anything but double count-out finish for the whole series.
• JUSTICE LEAGUE #9 – Jim Lee returns to continue the story of the JLA in the current New 52 universe. Admittedly, I didn’t pay a lot of attention to the two issues Lee was away for, and I’m hoping this starts immediately moving toward the events of DC’s Free Comic Book Day issue and Trinity War.
• THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS #3 – Image Comics is publishing a host of great new series as they celebrate their 20th anniversary, and Jonathan Hickman’s The Manhattan Projects is right up my alley with its alternate history, supernatural stuff, and science(!).
• NEW MUTANTS #42 – Part three of the Exiled crossover with Journey Into Mystery. It’s nice to see that not every book is getting pulled into AvX, but it’s been tough keeping up with this crossover as it seems like it’s shipping every week.
• SAGA #3 – Another Image series that’s captured my attention. It’s no surprise given Saga‘s creative team of Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, and so far this has delivered something remarkable with each issue.
• UNCANNY X-MEN #12 – I really like the way Kieron Gillen is working AvX into his ongoing story. This issue looks to be heavy on the fighting, and unfortunately there’s a lot of that going around this week. Plus it’s another issue featuring Greg Land art.
• X-FACTOR #236 – There’s a lot happening in this book right now with Havok and Madrox’s power struggle, the return of the Isolationist, and a new villain stalking the would-be-heroes of Seattle. All this along with some strong hints that the connection between Longshot and Shatterstar may soon be revealed. My money’s still on Shatterstar as the child of Longshot and Spiral.

Check back every week to see what’s on My Latest Pull List and please share your thoughts on these titles and everything you’re reading this week in the comments.

Weekly comic books are a big part of my life and I’ve been thinking of sharing something regularly on MLD for some time now. I just discovered a feature within Comixology’s pull list app (which I’ve been using for years) to share my list along with cover artwork and previews.

This is a somewhat lighter week for me than last with eight new books on my list. Three are Avengers versus X-Men tie-ins (plus the first issue of the “AvX VS” series), but they’re all titles I regularly buy.

• AQUAMAN #8 – I’m still still surprised by just how good this series has been. I need to read #7, but the mysteries of Atlantis are shaping another intriguing story arc.
• ASTONISHING X-MEN #49 – Another book I’ve fallen behind on. I still read this title like it’s shipping every six months.
• AVX VS. #1 – Magneto vs. Iron Man, Thing vs. Namor. This could be a lot of fun, but AvX #2 already seemed like a lot of fighting and this might not add much.
• NEW AVENGERS #25 – So far Brian Bendis’ Avengers tie-ins for AvX haven’t really been for me (the Walt Simonson art on last week’s Avengers #25 helped), but I tend to appreciate his event books more from a distance.
• SECRET AVENGERS #26 – This could be a great AvX tie-in as a team takes to outer space to intercept the Phoenix.
• THE TWELVE #12 – I don’t even know if I have all of these. The book began being published in 2008, but it feels like it’s been running since the ’40s when these characters debuted.
• UNCANNY X-MEN #11 – Another AvX tie-in, and while Red Hulk vs. Colossus/Juggernaut doesn’t thrill me, Kieron Gillen’s work on this book has. Of course, there’s also the Greg Land art to consider…
• X-MEN: LEGACY #265 – This book has grown on me since Christos Gage took over. The solicit suggests a “friend from the past” may save the day and I’m honestly intrigued by the possibilities.

Check back every week to see what’s on My Latest Pull List and please share your thoughts on these titles, along with everything you’re reading, in the comments.

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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