Feb. 21 – Avengers: Siege, Uncanny X-Men, and Sandman

Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 #299 by Scott Lobdell and Brandon Peterson (1993) This is a great issue, as are many that feature more talking than fighting. Here, we get conversations that drive the tension up, and further how we see the relationships between characters. Brandon Peterson is very good here. This is definitely my favorite

Feb. 20 – Avengers: Siege, Uncanny X-Men, and Sandman: The Wake

Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 #298 by Scott Lobdell and Brandon Peterson (1993) I honestly forgot all about the acolytes of Magneto. Having them bully a random schoolkid with Down’s Syndrome is really weird. Sharon died for almost no reason here. Kind of a waste. Grade: B- Siege Vol. 1 #4 / New Avengers Vol. 1

Feb. 19 – Avengers: Siege, X-Men: A Skinning of Souls, and Sandman: The Wake

X-Men Vol. 2 #19 by Fabian Nicieza and Andy Kubert (1993) Colossus yelling at Psylocke to knife the random kid is really funny. Unfortunately, the antagonist didn’t do anything for me, and the focus on abandoned kids is too similar to X-Cutioner’s Song to have impact. Grade: B Siege Vol. 1 #3 / New Avengers

Feb. 18 – Avengers: Siege, X-Men: A Skinning of Souls, and Sandman: The Wake

X-Men Vol. 2 #18 by Fabian Nicieza and Andy Kubert (1993) I’m not a fan of them using Illyana already, but I think that Nicieza doesn’t actually end up going through with it. Peter is so overdramatic constantly in these issues. I know he’s been through a lot recently, but damn, dude. Grade: B New

Feb. 14: New Avengers, Excalibur, and Sandman: The Wake

Excalibur Vol. 1 #57 by Alan Davis, Scott Lobdell, and Joe Madureira (1992) Seeing the two teams interact with each other is fun, especially since they don’t have the cliche misunderstanding fight. Unfortunately, Lobdell is doing the dialogue and Madureira is doing the art, and neither can stand up to the incredible standard that Davis

Feb. 13: New Avengers, Excalibur, and Sandman: The Wake

Excalibur Vol. 1 #56 by Alan Davis (1992) I’m impressed that Davis is committing to his deaths. Excalibur is the premier X-title of 1992, and it isn’t particularly close. Grade: A New Avengers Vol. 1 #59-60 by Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen (2010) The Red Hood gang parts of this arc are annoying to

Feb. 12: New Avengers, Excalibur, and Sandman: The Kindly Ones

Excalibur Vol. 1 #55 by Alan Davis (1992) This is a really fun issue, and I’m glad that Davis seems to have finally realized that Courtney Ross got replaced like 40 issues ago. Is Alysande Stuart actually dead? That’s fairly significant. It’s fine for an issue, but I’d like a real cover back. Grade: A-

Feb. 11: New Avengers, X-Force, and Sandman: The Kindly Ones

X-Force Vol. 1 #19 by Fabian Nicieza and Greg Capullo (1993) These issues are the best. There’s a ton of character development here, and Sam is really showing how much he has grown into his new role as the team leader. Grade: A- New Avengers Vol. 1 #55-56 by Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen

Feb. 10: Dark Avengers, Uncanny X-Men, and Sandman: The Kindly Ones

Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 #297 by Scott Lobdell and Brandon Peterson (1993) The art of Xavier is extremely weird in this issue. It makes him seem almost pervy in a way that is definitely not intended. The sentimental aspects are great, and I want to see more of it in the 90s. Grade: A- Dark

Feb. 7: Utopia, X-Cutioner’s Song, and Sandman: The Kindly Ones

X-Factor Vol. 1 #86 by Peter David and Jae Lee (1993) I’m liking the Apocalypse team-up aspect of this, and Stryfe being generally batshit insane is good fun. Grade: B+ Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 #514/Dark Avengers Vol. 1 #8 by Matt Fraction, Terry Dodson, and Luke Ross (2009) The Trask robot-people make the whole plot