X-Statix

X-Statix was kind of like my last hurrah with Marvel. I mean, even though now I still ordering Astonishing X-Men, I feel like an outsider who happens to buy some Marvel comics now and then, rather than a guy who reads Marvel comics who also happens to buy comics outside of Marvel. The people who are cool that read comics and make comics today all got weened on the "Marvel on Top" school of thought; forget Superman and Batman, they're practically Marvel comics in terms of quality anyway. But then Marvel went wrong. It took a lot, but I had to orchestrate my secession from the Marvel colony. Its like your buddy who gets into stupid stuff all the time, and then he goes one time too far, and you have to just step back and let him mess up his own life. Meanwhile you're not going to be bothered with having to make excuses for him anymore and you continue doing what you wanted to do anyway, which was read good comics.

X-Statix is written by Peter Milligan, and drawn by Mike Allred. I had never heard of Milligan before I obtained the entire X-Statix series, but I had known, and loved, Allred from Madman. His art style is a throwback, if not a satire, of the so-called "Golden Age" of comics, as well as other art mediums of that time period.

Milligan, who had done plenty of work before X-Statix, grew on me rapidly, and remains one of my favorite writers today. After X-Statix, Milligan moved on to write X-Men.

Here we have a great satire of the pop/superhero genre of comics. Like any good satire, it is a self-aware and (in this case) willing contribution to the genre while simultaneously being resistent to it, and at times even rejecting it. The MO for the series is set by the creators in the first issue, where we are introduced to a brand new team of "celebrity superheroes" who choose their missions based on based on money and publicity. Almost the entire team is killed at the end of the first issue.

The X-Statix series progresses with a variety of hilarious situations, most parodying pop culture and the marvel universe. The final arc, and the final issue, come to terms with the fact that, despite such a winning concept, the schtick can only go so far. Milligan and Allred, give it a clean break in the aptly title "Downbeat yet Strangely Moving Final Issue."

This past spring the two joined forces once again for a "Dead Girl" miniseries, featuring Dr. Strange, which is a welcome and entertaining complement to X-Statix.

P.S. I should mention that the "first" issue of X-Statix was in fact, X-force 116. X-Force was turned into X-Statix after issue 129.