Dark X-Men TheBeginning 2 cover

When Cloak and Dagger were revealed as members of the (Dark) X-Men, my initial reaction was ‘Huh?’

They are favourite characters of mine, and have been ever since their first appearance all those years ago in the Spider Man titles. In fact, they soon became my main reason for reading the Spider-Man titles, I never had much time for Peter at that age, not that I have a great deal now. (A story has to be highly recommended for me to dig it out of the back issue bins.)

However, despite one encounter with four of the New Mutants back in an old Marvel team-Up annual, and maybe the big face off with the Beyonder at the culmination of the second Secret Wars where both they and the X-Men were present, our duo have never had a great deal to do with the Marvel mutant community.

And working for Osbourne? I had assumed that the talents of Emma Frost would be required to reel them into his clutches in the first place. It didn’t gel with me, despite being visually striking. Like his recruiting of Psionex and the Force Of Nature into the Initiative program, it just seemed like a random decision, played out mainly to give the story some background colour.

Boy was I wrong.

Dark X-Men – The Beginning #2 started off with the story of exactly how Tandy and Tyrone ended up in Norman’s latest team. It is believable, very realistic (well, as realistic as one can get in a world of mutants, thunder gods and aliens), and true to their character. The pair, led as ever by Dagger walk reluctantly into an offer that is too good for them to refuse, mainly government support in their own war against drugs. Cloak as ever is appalled and rebellious, but even he cannot deny what Osbourne dangles before them.

Of course now they are in Emma Frost’s tender care, but I wonder at just how much she would be able to dominate Cloak, as even his mind seems to exist within the Dark Dimension. But it would be great to see them enter into the X-Universe full time, the pair have been skirting comic book limbo for far too long.

There are a few questions that still need answering however. Unless I have missed a major storyline somewhere, how is it that the pair are back together again. The last I remember was that they had had a fall out and parted ways. Still, I suppose Cloak will always be drawn back to Dagger, as she remains the only one that can assuage the hunger of the darkness within his cloak. A true symbol of addiction, as caused by the drugs they make war upon.

Now if you are unfamiliar with the pair, then I have a recommendation for you from your local back issue bins. The second series of Strange Tales (1987-88) was 18 issues split between Doctor Strange and our duo, both very good stories in my eyes and well worth digging out.

So, here’s hoping we get to see a lot more of Cloak and Dagger in the future.

(One word of apology, this looks to have been uploaded late as it floated in the system and should have come out last week.  I must have had a brain lapse.  Oops.)

An interesting addition to the team is Prof. X’s son, Legion. The last time we saw him was when he ushered in The Age of Apocalypse. It will be interesting to find out how a super mutant like Legion who is deranged has been allowed to join the team. Rumors are that he’s actually instrumental in reforming the New Mutants.

Can’t wait to find out.

Rumors are going around the net that Marvel Comics’ Captain Britain and MI: 13 is going to be cancelled because of low sales it has been posting right after the Secret Invasion summer event.

But Marvel has assured fans that Paul Cornell written comic book is not going to be cancelled after all. In fact, a new storyline is about to commence that Marvel said will forever change the whole team. The new storyline will begin in issue #10 of the series. Fans should look forward to the return of Meggan as well as an appearance of the whole team in the pages of the Mighty Avengers.

I’ve been collecting comicbooks since I was a young teen and I have never lost my love for the superheroes that I have grown up with. Even though I would sometimes stop collecting (the pressures of fatherhood can sometimes be a sobering jerk towards reality and practicality) I never lose track of what is happening to my favorite titles.

What got me surprised though is a new way of presenting comics — and no, it’s not the comic scans that are proliferating on the net right now. Marvel has pioneered the presentation of comics that move. Yes, you read it right — Marvel now offers motion comic books.

The new comics “format” will be made available on both the iPhone and iPod Touch. Basically the presentation here is just like scanned comic but with certain animated frames and also voiceovers for the text. Kids will probably fall in love with this format. But I don’t see the appeal. Marvel, there’s nothing wrong with READING and IMAGINATION.

First, Ash (of the Evil Dead trilogy) fought Herbert West: Re-Animator. Then, he was pitted against the Vampire King himself, Dracula. Next, he teamed up with Sam Raimi’s cult classic anti-hero, Darkman. So, what other horror franchise could Ash possibly crossover with next?

The freakin’ Marvel Zombies.

Didn’t see that one coming. For those unaware, the Marvel “Zombieverse” is an alternate reality where nearly all the heroes and villains of the Marvel unvierse were stricken with a virus that transformed them into flesh-eating zombies. The Marvel Zombies debuted in Ultimate Fantastic Four #24, and then in their own best-selling miniseries, aptly titled “Marvel Zombies”.

Well, taking place as a prequel to the Marvel Zombies miniseries is this crossover with Ash from the Evil Dead films and Dynamite Entertainment’s Army of Darkness comic. No news on the story yet, but who cares? All I wanna see is Ash kicking zombie-Daredevil’s ass (that pansy).

Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness will be a 5-issue limited series, written by John Layman with artwork by Fabiano Neves and June Chung and covers by Arthur Suydam. The first issue is set for release in March 2007.

Source: Newsarama