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Reign of X Vol. 12 by Benjamin Percy, Zeb Wells, Tini Howard, Jonathan Hickman, Gerry Duggan
boards_books_and_brews's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
jammasterjamie's review
3.0
Buyer beware: If you already own the Hellfire Gala collection, you've already got everything in this book. That said, the Hellfire Gala is pretty fun, so if you haven't read them then this will be worth your time, but personally I'd spend the money on the complete Hellfire Gala collection rather than getting it piecemeal through the Reign of X books.
crookedtreehouse's review
2.0
Much ado about nothing. The Hellfire Gala is a good idea that's executed just fine. A party for mutants that crosses over between all the titles, allowing you to see the party from several different angles before the announcement of the new X-Men team. Unfortunately, it's diminishing returns for me. The longer it went on, the less I cared at all about what was happening.
Maraduers #21 was fun. 4*. It set up stakes for the gala, introduced some subterfuge, and apart from Emma Frost's first gown (think Power Girl in a Yeti suit), it was fun to look at. It set such a fun tone, while still having a plot percolating beneath it.
Following it up with Classic X-Men #7 from the Claremont era was inspired. A great callback. I loved its inclusion in the book, as it's the o.g. hellfire gala from the 80s. 4*
X-Force # 20 was also fun. It moved the party in an interesting direction and set up a twist that, sadly, we didn't get t0 see in this collection, which knocks it down to 3*.
Hellions #12 was a 1* mess. It appears that it's supposed to be funny? Hahaha, the parent murderer wants to get drunk. Hohoho, the murderous nanny is drunk and wants to be mean. Bwhahahahaha, Mr. Sinister just can't get respect when he tries to socialize with The Avengers, who he pretends not to know. This is what is called...humorous? There were a couple of moments of continuity porn that were nearly interesting but then they were cast away either in the form of a joke, or because the story moved on to something less interesting. I can't wait for this series to be over.
I still can't get into Excalibur which, I always want to point out, isn't a bug, it's a feature. Tini Howard's Excalibur is really true to Claremont and Davis's run, I'm just not interested in the British portion of the Marvel Universe with its Camelot references and dull side dimensions. It did flesh out the British storyline from Marauders #21, so it at least had a narrative. 2*
The final issue doesn't pick up many of the threads from the beginning issues, which were the most interesting. Instead, it focused on announcing the new X-Men team. Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooring. I skipped some of the opening Namor scene, as Namor is an exhausting character when he's involved in the X-Men. Yea, yea, yea, he's grumpy and wants to rule the world. Give him an actual personality so I can care about him. There were also "cameos" where they inserted real life people into the books: Patton Oswalt, Kevin Feige, George RR Martin, and Meredith Salenger. I had to look them up, though, because the references were obtuse and unnecessary. This was a waste of paper issue, and a terrible wet fart for Jonathan Hickman to go out on. 1*
I'm now a little anxious about volume 13, and then the Trials Of X books. While the Dawn Of X books were inconsistent, they were buoyed by the stronger issues, and an overall sense of promise. The Reign Of X books have gone pretty steadily downhill (though even this volume was practically [b:Astonishing X-Men, Volume 1: Gifted|31979|Astonishing X-Men, Volume 1 Gifted|Joss Whedon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1500464817l/31979._SY75_.jpg|154982] compared to the unreadable dreck that was [b:X-Men: X of Swords|52851829|X-Men X of Swords|Jonathan Hickman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1614787008l/52851829._SX50_.jpg|79034287]). Fingers crossed that it picks up again soon. Preferably after they cancel Hellions.
Maraduers #21 was fun. 4*. It set up stakes for the gala, introduced some subterfuge, and apart from Emma Frost's first gown (think Power Girl in a Yeti suit), it was fun to look at. It set such a fun tone, while still having a plot percolating beneath it.
Following it up with Classic X-Men #7 from the Claremont era was inspired. A great callback. I loved its inclusion in the book, as it's the o.g. hellfire gala from the 80s. 4*
X-Force # 20 was also fun. It moved the party in an interesting direction and set up a twist that, sadly, we didn't get t0 see in this collection, which knocks it down to 3*.
Hellions #12 was a 1* mess. It appears that it's supposed to be funny? Hahaha, the parent murderer wants to get drunk. Hohoho, the murderous nanny is drunk and wants to be mean. Bwhahahahaha, Mr. Sinister just can't get respect when he tries to socialize with The Avengers, who he pretends not to know. This is what is called...humorous? There were a couple of moments of continuity porn that were nearly interesting but then they were cast away either in the form of a joke, or because the story moved on to something less interesting. I can't wait for this series to be over.
I still can't get into Excalibur which, I always want to point out, isn't a bug, it's a feature. Tini Howard's Excalibur is really true to Claremont and Davis's run, I'm just not interested in the British portion of the Marvel Universe with its Camelot references and dull side dimensions. It did flesh out the British storyline from Marauders #21, so it at least had a narrative. 2*
The final issue doesn't pick up many of the threads from the beginning issues, which were the most interesting. Instead, it focused on announcing the new X-Men team. Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooring. I skipped some of the opening Namor scene, as Namor is an exhausting character when he's involved in the X-Men. Yea, yea, yea, he's grumpy and wants to rule the world. Give him an actual personality so I can care about him. There were also "cameos" where they inserted real life people into the books: Patton Oswalt, Kevin Feige, George RR Martin, and Meredith Salenger. I had to look them up, though, because the references were obtuse and unnecessary. This was a waste of paper issue, and a terrible wet fart for Jonathan Hickman to go out on. 1*
I'm now a little anxious about volume 13, and then the Trials Of X books. While the Dawn Of X books were inconsistent, they were buoyed by the stronger issues, and an overall sense of promise. The Reign Of X books have gone pretty steadily downhill (though even this volume was practically [b:Astonishing X-Men, Volume 1: Gifted|31979|Astonishing X-Men, Volume 1 Gifted|Joss Whedon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1500464817l/31979._SY75_.jpg|154982] compared to the unreadable dreck that was [b:X-Men: X of Swords|52851829|X-Men X of Swords|Jonathan Hickman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1614787008l/52851829._SX50_.jpg|79034287]). Fingers crossed that it picks up again soon. Preferably after they cancel Hellions.
vroodles's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Hellfire Gala! I think I like Excalibur the best of this volume, but Deadpool was a welcome addition back to X-Force and it's great to see some consequences to Beast's schemes.
afreen7's review
3.0
Marauders #21 - 2/5 ( so much expectations and the art is like this! i took points for the terrible costumes alone)
X-Force #20 - 4/5
Hellions #12 - 4/5
Excalibur #21 - 3.5/5
X-Men #21 - 3/5 (Kevin feige!?)
X-Force #20 - 4/5
Hellions #12 - 4/5
Excalibur #21 - 3.5/5
X-Men #21 - 3/5 (Kevin feige!?)
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