X-Statix, Vol. 2: Good Guys and Bad Guys

X-Statix (Collected Editions) #4

by Peter Milligan (Writer)

Peter Milligan and Mike Allred present a bizarre new vision of the ever-popular X-Men. The Mutants in X-Statix have seen "Survivor," and they know that fame is the ultimate currency... and they're cashing in on their special ability. Now the squad is torn apart by interior squabbles. When push comes to shove, will their careers end at their own hands?

Collecting: X-Statix 6-10, Wolverine and Doop 1-2, and material from X-Men Unlimited 41

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, X Men, Superheroes, Fiction, Comic Book

176 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2003

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Peter Milligan is a British writer, best known for his work on X-Force / X-Statix, the X-Men, & the Vertigo series Human Target. He is also a scriptwriter.

He has been writing comics for some time and he has somewhat of a reputation for writing material that is highly outlandish, bizarre and/or absurd.

His highest profile projects to date include a run on X-Men, and his X-Force revamp that relaunched as X-Statix.

Many of Milligan's best works have been from DC Vertigo. These include: The Extremist (4 issues with artist Ted McKeever) The Minx (8 issues with artist Sean Phillips) Face (Prestige one-shot with artist Duncan Fegredo) The Eaters (Prestige one-shot with artist Dean Ormston) Vertigo Pop London (4 issues with artist Philip Bond) Enigma (8 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo) and Girl (3 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo).

Series:
* Human Target
* Greek Street
* X-Force / X-Statix

Reviews

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 3 out of 5]

What really makes this series interesting is the in depth exploration of the characters and the portrayal of social cynicism and materialism.

[C. Varn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Milligan's anti-heroes get a bit more focus in this volume, particularly in the Moons of Venus arc, which focuses on Venus De Milo's development. It moves away from the violence that characterized the Milligan/Allred X-force and somewhat silly dynamics of Orphan's attempts at Machiavellianism. Still the psycho-drama about if orphan is a good Guy or a bad Guy gets tiresome in and of itself. The O-Force sub-plot does interject a nice bit of meta-satire. The movie issue doesn't really seem to do that much, although it does pave the way for changes in the leadership of the team. However, arc around the Diaries of Edy Sawyer are top-notch and gets a lot of that back story fleshed out while somehow further humanizing Venus De Milo. The Doop/Wolverine cross-over inserts Doop into more standard X-force dynamics, but without Allred, the stylized art feels too cartoony. The plot is vapid, but deliberately and enjoyably so.

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volumes gives emphasis to X-Statix's new teleporter, Venus Dee Milo, who replaces the recently deceased U-Go-Girl. Though it seems like Orphan has moved on from U-Go-Girl, Venus feels her uncomfortable in her station as a wholesale replacement to her predecessor. While working alongside Professor Xavier, a door in Venus' psyche is knocked down leading to ghosts from her past coming out. Venus later delves deeper into the history of U-Go-Girls' tenure on the team via her diaries, and we get to see more of the earlier iteration of X-Force where Zeitgeist and others demonstrated just how media hungry they truly were. In the present day, Orphan deals with the guilt of having Arnie killed and plans to leave the team. X-Statix's billionaire backer, Spike Freeman, feels rebuked by this and provides Anarchist orders to have Orphan killed in exchange for the team leadership position.

Elsewhere, the rest of the X-Statix team feel rebuked by the sudden inclusion of a Hispanic mutant, El Guapo, to the cast of their film for representation reasons. El Guapo proves to be a popular addition to the movie making room for his full addition to the team proper.

This volume also collects the two-issue Wolverine/Doop miniseries where the unlikely duo chase after the mysterious Pink Mink in a story crafted like classic film noir. The story hardly makes any sense, but it has Darwyn Cooke on interiors so I'm willing to be more forgiving here.

"Good Guys and Bad Guys" is an overall solid entry to the series, but due to the decreased emphasis on the satirical elements I felt this was a slight dip in the series.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a lot of stories in this volume, with mixed reactions. Issues 6-8, The Moons of Venus, was a mostly disappointing issue about whether Guy Smith turned into an evil supervillain that tries to kill X-Statix, but ends on some touching character work on Venus (and Dead Girl, so it happens). I liked the constant questioning of whether Guy Smith is actually being a bad guy named Bad Guy or whether Guy Smith was a good guy (not named Good Guy, though), it was a humourous mix-up.

Issue 9 is a one-shot that delves more into Tike Alicar, who's been my favourite member of X-Statix, and has him dealing with some of his stress taking on more responsibility with the team.

Issue 10 is the real highlight, which has Venus going through the late Edie Sawyer's diaries. Guest artist Philip Bond does this issue, and he has a rougher less-detailed style than series regular Mike Allred. That works out in favour of the flashback story, and also gives it more of an edge that goes with Edie's rough path to joining the team. Post-humously it makes her an even more interesting character, and gives more context to where the team was at before the series started in X-Force.

The X-Men Unlimited #41 story is short and sweet, nothing big really happens but it's nice to get a Myles story since he's one of the least utilized characters in the series.

The Wolverine and Doop story was nice! A bit confusing, at times, but with some great Darwyn Cooke art.

Overall a decent volume, some highlights I really liked but a lot of stuff that's forgettable and doesn't have enough depth to it.

[Vittorio Rainone · Rating 3 out of 5]

In questo secondo volume la squadra acquisisce un nuovo membro che verosimilmente sarà duro da perdere: dead girl. Già morta, molto comoda in combattimento, con poteri che scoprirà col tempo. Intanto: il nuovo venuto Spike ci lascia le penne, seguito da U go girl. Insomma, continua l'elevatissimo tasso di mortalità della squadra, che fra litigi, dimostrazioni di coraggio e accordi coi media si avvia a cambiare nome. Come da ultime parole della teleporta morente, non si chiameranno X-storm, come vorrebbe il reparto marketing, ma X-Statix. La storia ha sempre quel ritmo indiavolato che trasforma le pagine in ciò che vuole Allred, e cioè una serie di poster bellissimi e coloratissimi. Il ritmo continua, per qualche strano motivo, a non essere troppo indiavolato. Insomma: X-statix, pur non essendo un iper capolavoro dotato di magnetica profondità, è fico.

[Clint · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining 3-issue arc opens this collection, following Mr. Sensitive’s leave from the team and possible turn to villainy. A one-off story about the team’s movie adaptation and an issue exploring the recently discovered diary entries of a deceased team member are next, before closing out on a madcap team-up between Doop and Wolverine, where they‘re each concerned the other might be going crazy and have to be eliminated.

Nothing is ever totally calm or settled with these characters, but enough of a status quo exists at the start of this volume to allow time to be spent exploring the team’s interpersonal dynamics in an interesting way. The Allred’s vibrant pop art continues to be a treat.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars...

Continues to be possibly the biggest (positive) surprise of this crazy x-read that I am on currently.

Would be four stars if not for the slightly disappointing wolverine/doop issues and the short story. (They were all decent reading but left a bit to be desired compared to the regular issues.

[Lillian Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

First 3 issues were great but the rest was not the best.
#10 had the dodgy artist back and focused on a dead character.
Wolverine/Doop had a cartoony style that sometimes works but isn't best suited for Wolverine. It also had a weird storyline.
The X-statix short story in X-men Unlimited #41 was (I think) an homage to the Beatles film, but I've not seen it so I can't be sure.

[Colm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was on the fence with how to rate this. Issues 6-9 were weak, very weak, but then the origin story for Edie was brilliantly done and very moving so... three?

[Jam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic volume. Really g
Hoping this gets bought back at some point.

[Brandon Daniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of the same. It’s solid, but the melodrama is getting a little repetitive.

[William Hawthorne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m enjoying this run quite a bit, looking forward to seeing how the social commentary and cynicism evolves or if it will.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Moons of Venus (6-8). A nice focus on Venus that really develops here as a character, and other than that some silly fighting [7/10].

The Movie (9). An OK issue without a lot of depth to it [6+/10].

The Diaries of Edie (10). A very nice character piece, both for U-Go Girl and for Venus [7+/10].

Wolverine / Doop. Milligan's pure weirdness style didn't intersect much with X-Force ... but it does here and the result is delightful. This very strange adventure is the perfect blend of the weird and the heroic ... and you can still see this foundation for Wolverine and Doop's relationship in Wolverine & The X-Men, many years later [7+/10].

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Things fall apart for the X-Statix and new member Venus De Milo hunts down her past, and the team deals with Guy Smith's conversion from hero to villain. Not all is as it seems in Milligan and Allred's second volume of mutant celebrities, as we get to see U-Go Girl's diaries, the Anarchist's promotion, and the upcoming X-Statix movie!

[Mark CC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have done a lot more with the movie concept, since meta exploration is pretty big thing in this run. But oh my god how great is it that a villain was called Bad Guy and they couldn't figure out if Bad Guy was bad Guy or just a bad guy I love it.

[Ryan Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would be a solid 4 stars if not for the Pink Mink issues and the final tale at the end.

[Matt Shaqfan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one's pretty Venus Dee Milo centric, which is cool. The two issue Wolverine/Doop thing in the back was just ok though (surprisingly).

[Ondra Král · Rating 3 out of 5]

Druhý book se točí hodně kolem Venus, která mě ale příliš nezajímá. Pořád je to fajn čtení, ale v rámci Milliganova runu zatím nejslabší. Minisérie Wolverine/Doop mě nebavila.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe 3.5