Episode 2 of School for Gifted Youngsters

In this jam-packed episode, Marius rejoins the cast. We begin by asking him what he thought of X-MEN/FANTASTIC FOUR #1 and MARAUDERS #7, which Ian and Nolan discussed on their own in the previous episode. We then go on to spend about half an hour on X-MEN #6, EXCALIBUR #7, and X-FORCE #7. Finally, we conclude by discussing the latter half of the 2019 INFERNO trade paperback. This TPB collects issues of X-FACTOR, UNCANNY X-MEN, X-TERMINATORS, and NEW MUTANTS from summer 1989. With HELLIONS beginning publication soon, several characters and events from INFERNO are about to be feature quite prominently in upcoming Dawn of X comics. X-MEN #6: All about Mystique Of the trio of comics that came out on 2/12, X-MEN #6 was by far the most significant. This issue followed Mystique as she did the bidding of Magneto and Professor X, hoping to persuade them to resurrect her wife Irene Adler, a.k.a. Destiny. The missions that we see Mystique take up include a flashback one back in the very early issues of HOUSE OF X/POWERS OF X. It seems that when she joined the doomed team in their attack on Orchis Master Mold facility in rotation around the sun, she had an additional secret mission. She was to plant a seed of Krakoa in the Orchis base. We then see her use the portal that grew from this seed to conduct further espionage. The Other Two 2/12 Issues EXCALIBUR #7 and X-FORCE #7 were devoted to setup, initiating new plot arcs after the conclusions to old ones that recently took place in each comic. Ian provides us valuable information on the new old villain (re)introduced in EXCALIBUR #7, Cullen Bloodstone. And Nolan congratulates him on being right about Exodus becoming involved in Apocalypse's medieval machinations. On X-FORCE the gang just waits to see what's in store for Domino. INFERNO! And to know what we have to say about the latter half of INFERNO, you'll just have to listen to the latter half of the episode!

Ian and Nolan dissect the late January X-Men issues, including conclusions to Fallen Angels and to arcs in X-Force and New Mutants, and introduce X-Men/Fantastic Four and Marauders #7 from early February

This is the fourth installment of the new podcast on Jonathan Hickman's DAWN OF X comics. After a two-week hiatus while Ian traveled in Japan, the gang is back. This week, they get around to finally introducing themselves, then spend a half hour discussing the major events of EXCALIBUR #6 and MARAUDERS #6, then spend another half hour discussing INFERNO. INFERNO was an X-title crossover event in 1989 that introduced many of the characters currently in play. It also introduced Madelyne Pryor, who'll be coming into play very soon. EXCALIBUR #6 and MARAUDERS #6 Will Kate Pryde finally find a way to use the Krakoa gates? What has Sebastian Shaw been up to and how did he allow his son Shinobi to be endangered like he was at the end of MARAUDERS #5? Will Brian Braddock ever have his mind and will returned to him? And what has Apocalypse really been up to, playing at leadership in an X-team like this? These two issues from Jan. 22nd answered a lot of these questions, so read them and then give us a listen to here our analysis. INFERNO This late Eighties summer event tested out the sales potential of X-comics and even expanded itself out into other titles set in New York City. It deals with a heat wave in Manhattan that has supernatural origins, and intermingles the origin stories of Illyana Rasputin, Madelyne Pryor, and even such rarely seen X-villains as Nanny and Orphan Maker. All three of those villains are soon to return in DAWN OF X, and Illyana is a major character in Hickman's own NEW MUTANTS issues. We predict big things to come for these characters, so we went back to read the first 250 or so pages of INFERNO. Next week, we'll finish out the comic and have some more to say about its significance for the mutant nation-state of Krakoa.

In this third installment to the new podcast, Ian, Nolan, and Marius get into the nitty-gritty. They finish last week's discussion of events to come by looking at several issue covers for March. Then they go issue-by-issue through this year's 6 issues as of 1/14. With FALLEN ANGELS published early. With more to say about X-MEN #4 and MARAUDERS #5, they have a lot to talk about. March Covers On this topic our trio makes predictions, some faulty and some sound, and some even the three of them can't agree on. Mostly they pick up where they left off wondering about characters left out of our Krakoan story. They're happy to see Pixie involved, and to see Sabretooth out of earth-jail. Ian tells the other two hosts what the name of that little Brood guy is and what run he comes from. Comics from the First Half of January The gang starts by offering fulsome praise to NEW MUTANTS #5. This issue saw a return to the younglings in space and to Hickman's penmanship. Returning to Ian's bold assertion in episode 2 that Magneto declared war on capitalism, the trio goes into more detail about Magneto's speech from X-MEN #4. Apocalypse and his responsibility for the Bronze Age Collapse serve as a jumping-off point for transitioning to EXCALIBUR #5. (Ian also explains to the gang what and when the Bronze Age Collapse was.) From EXCALIBUR they move on to MARAUDERS #5. Here they largely left Sebastian Shaw out of previous discussion, so he is a focus. Marius also recommends some background reading on Christian Frost. Finally, on FALLEN ANGELS #5 and X-FORCE #5 they agree that these issues have excellent art. They disagree, on the other hand, about whether FALLEN ANGELS deserves its upcoming cancellation, and about X-FORCE's natural place in the rankings. Whether FALLEN ANGELS deserves to be cancelled or not, Marius and Kitty Pryde both deserve it, as you'll hear in the episode.

Welcome to Episode 1 of "School for Gifted Youngsters," a regular podcast project dedicated to analyzing X-Men comics in the Jonathan Hickman-led HoXPoX/Dawn of X era of X comics. This era includes the 2019 miniseries HOUSE OF X/POWERS OF X as well as current ongoing titles X-MEN, EXCALIBUR, MARAUDERS, FALLEN ANGELS, X-FORCE and NEW MUTANTS. We are Ian, Nolan and Marius, two New Yorkers and a German, all long-time X-Men enthusiasts. Be warned: this episode includes spoilers for both HOUSE OF X and POWERS OF X as well as issues 1-3 of the successor comics. In this episode we first take the opportunity to reflect back on HOUSE OF X and POWERS OF X, this summer's two event miniseries that have restructured the X-Men comic book line. We talk about the implications of the recently canonized mutant immortality introduced in HOUSE OF X #5 and its impact on narrative stakes. We also take a closer look at each of the new ongoing X-titles and their differences in tone and genre. Themes in Hickman's X-Men and Our Episode Is there a noticeable "Game of Thrones"-ification of the X-Men line? In a concluding 20-minute segment we discuss one of the more controversial aspects of current X-Men comics: the villains! We explore Dawn of X's implications for characters such as Apocalypse and Magneto, in the context of other writers' portrayals. To what extent is the distinction between heroes and villains even still relevant on Krakoa? Lastly, we discuss some of the newly introduced non-mutant villains in Dawn of X. Will all new villains be non-mutants? Is this part of the of the mutants vs. technology theme Hickman is developing? Finally, we delve into some of the genre conventions being employed or disrupted by these comics. The episode concludes with a foray into cyberpunk fiction and allusions to it in FALLEN ANGELS. What genres are the other new comics? Listen to find out.

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