Ending Era #6: Fatal Attractions

Era #6: B-

A lot is going on with my life, but I remained loyal to the X-Men despite the departure of some of the creators I really liked. The number of X-Men titles exploded in Era #6 making in a chore to to keep up. Over the last three months I tried to group the 86 issues in a readable order which proved to be no easy task. Crossovers continued to dominate requiring me to spend more money than I had available. In hindsight, many of the stories were unoriginal, but out of the seemingly normal comic fare (and in some cases bad plots such as the Upstarts) came the Acolytes, Omega Red, Bishop and the X-Cutioner's Song. In the end, Fatal Attractions threatened to change everything with impacts that will continue to haunt the X-Men well into Era #7.

Cable: Blood & Metal (B): It is Cable's first limited series from Fabian Nicieza and John Romita, Jr.

Gambit (D): Gambit also gets his first limited series. Rogue joins the Cajun thief in adventure presented by Howard Mackie and Lee Weeks.

Uncanny X-Men #281-307 (B-): As with most of the core titles, Uncanny X-Men suffered from an unsteady ride throughout the era thanks in large part to the Image X-odus.
Whilce Portacio (B): Whilce receives a lot of help from Jim Lee and John Byrne.
Scott Lobdell & Brandon Peterson (B): I really liked Brandon Peterson's artwork and was disappointed to see him move on after a short 6 issue run.
Scott Lobdell & John Romita, Jr. (C+): This is a mix of really good stories and some not so good stories in the 5 issue span.

X-Force #5-25 (C+): The end-in-your-face approach looses both its appeal and its lead creator leaving the students turned soldiers with some run of the mill tales.
Rob Liefeld & Fabian Nicieza (B): An interesting story for this 4 issue collaborative conclusion.
Fabian Nicieza & Mark Pacella (C+): This is the transition from Rob Liefeld to Fabian Nicieza. This short run simply closes (awkwardly) open stories.
Fabian Nicieza & Greg Capullo (C+): It is really just more of the same for 11 issues.

X-Men (v2) #1-26 (B): It is my favorite title of the era, particularly with Jim Lee at the helm.
Jim Lee (A-): Wow! Sure there is a less than fantastic story buried in here, but this 11 issue run is great none-the-less.
Fabian Nicieza & Andy Kubert (B): The momentum (and solid art) carries the title along for an enjoyable 12 issue run.

X-Men Unlimited #1-2 (C+): It is the beginning of a X-Men anthology series that will continue through Era #11.