X-Sanction #1

I feel kind of sorry for the X-Sanction mini-series. The creative team of Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness have nothing to do with it. Unfortunately for X-Sanction, it comes before and is a prequel of sorts to the upcoming Avengers vs. X-Men mega-crossover. That said, it still looks like an interesting book.

I can sum up this issue pretty quickly. Cable has been informed that Hope, the last mutant born after M-Day (the time Scarlet Witch wished all the mutants away) and his ersatz daughter, will be killed at the hands of the Avengers. Obviously, he’s not going to let that happens so our time-travelling cyborg mutant has his sights set on them. This issue has him taking out Falcon and ends with him in a position to literally pull the trigger on Captain America.

You can’t help but have that feeling that you know what is going to happen by the end of the mini series. Cable is going to do something drastic that is only going to widen the rift between two sides. I think I’m going to wait till this is in a hardcover or trade paperback format to continue reading. That’s no fault of Loeb or McGuinness; I just have too much other stuff already in the reading pile at this point.

Jim Lee tweets Batman: Hush Unwrapped preview

Jim Lee (@jimlee00) posted this image of the new Batman: Hush Unwrapped Edition on his twitter. This new edition of 2002’s year long story by Lee and writer Jeph Loeb is stripped down, just featuring Lee’s original pencils and the text.

Comic art fans can see how much work went into producing the book. If your a fan of Lee, this only reaffirms that. But if you are not, this gives a compelling argument on why he is so popular.

Storywise, Loeb crafted a fun tale pitting Batman against his entire rogue’s gallery and his personal circle of friends to determine who the new masked criminal Hush is and why he knows so much about Bruce Wayne.

You can pick this up at your friendly neighbordhood comic book store and other fine retailers on July 19.