Starting Alt 9997: Earth X

Hearing the name of comic artist Alex Ross conjures images of photo-realistic books that explore the rich mythologies of Marvel and DC through classic stories like Marvels and Kingdom Come. With Earth X, he transforms his love of Silver and Bronze Age stories into a dystopian future recasting the legendary events in a new light that explores the iconic characters that he obviously loves.

There is a lot to read. Jim Krueger joins Alex Ross in telling an epic tale across three series: Earth X, Universe X, and Paradise X, and they are some dense reading. I wonder if they may have been better served as prose (still using the beautiful Alex Ross covers of course). I did not stick with the trilogy in part because they felt like a chore to read and in part because they just became such huge multiple issue events that my poor little budget couldn't sustain. As a result, we only have three posts:

• Earth X
• Universe X (Part 1)
• Universe X (Part 2)

Ending Era #9: Revolution

Era #9: C

I nearly gave up on this project as I forced myself through this era I started in August 2018, and I am only now (March 2021) closing it up. You would think that with the COVID lockdowns between March and August 2020 that I would have had plenty of time to read everything. Well, I did have the time, but I didn't have the will. Why? It was boring. There is nothing really "bad" with this era, but there was nothing really good about it either. The is about as average as it gets with no stand-out moments. The best I can say is that it is over.

In hindsight, I could have divided this era into 2 parts. The first part is a continuation of the standard superhero fare that we saw in Era 08. The direction abruptly changes with the Revolution in which Marvel attempts to take our mutant adventurers in a whole new direction. It doesn't take root, and the whole Revolution is scrapped about a year later. Marvel makes another more successful course correction for the entire franchise, but we will talk more about that when we get into Era #10.

Astonishing X-Men (C+): Howard Mackie and Brandon Peterson bring together a new X-Men team in this limited series that ends in perhaps the only big "shocking" moment.

Generation X #46-75 (C): The quirky direction that ended Era 08 shifts to some darker tales with Revolution. Unfortunately, it still fails to capture the spirit of the original run. The title ends with issues #75.

 - Jay Faerber & Terry Dodson (C+): Fifteen routine issues (all but four with Terry).

 - Warren Ellis & Steve Pugh (C): Warren starts the Revolution with a four-issue arc that moves the team in a new direction and an unexplained loss. 

 - Brian Wood & Steve Pugh (B-): Brian Wood continues Warren's direction in both tone and feel. 

Magneto Rex (C+): Joe Pruett and Brandon Peterson contribute a limited series at the start of the era that delves into Magneto's challenges as the new leader of Genosha. 

Uncanny X-Men #366-393 (C): I have never been a fan of Alan Davis's plots, but Chris Claremont's unexpected plots were only slightly better.   

 - Alan Davis (C): Alan's fifteen-issue run is done with Adam Kubert and Tom Raney. Alan shies away from the mutant struggle and focuses on the more bizarre, mind-bending science fiction. 

 - Chris Claremont (C): Chris Claremont is back, but in nine issues, he proves why it is difficult to return to a title (even with great art from both Adam Kubert and Salvador Larroca). 

 - Scott Lobdell & Salvador Larroca (C-): Scott Lobdell ends with the Eve of Destruction crossover event that allows him to tie up loose ends. 

X-Force #87-115 (C): The team transition again. This time it is from young adults navigating life to super spies.
 - John Francis Moore (C): These fourteen issues (about half of it with Jimmy Cheung) are more of the same with a single story, "Armaggedon Man", managing to stay in my memory. 

 - Warren Ellis & Whilce Portacio (B-): X-Force gets a new mentor in mutant, super-spy Pete Wisdom. We already know that Whilce is one my favorites!

 - Ian Edgington & Jorge Lucas (C): Staying with Warren Ellis's blueprint.

X-Men #85-113 (C): The X-Men and Uncanny X-Men stories run like it was a single title, so it is hard to make a distinction between the two during this era with the exception of the assigned artist to each book.

 - Alan Davis (C): Alan doubles up here as the writer and the artist. 

 - Chris Claremont  & Leinel Francis Yu (C+): Leinel is on tap for nine of the eleven issues. I love Leinel's artwork.

 - Scott Lobdell & Leinel Francis Yu (C): Leinel stays on for Scott Lobdell's final arc.

X-Men Unlimited #23-31 (C): I can't take it anymore. By this point, it felt like I was just giving Marvel money for mediocre storytelling with no real connection or relevance. I stopped collecting the title before its eventual end with issues X-Men Unlimited #50.