All-New X-Factor vol 3 – “Axis”
Don’t panic. Take deep breaths. This is the last Axis story we have to cover.
Actually, only three of these issues – #15-17 – are Axis tie-ins. Before that, we have a couple of issues in which Quicksilver rebuilds his relationship with Luna (which is basically Pietro taking a bit of responsibility and winning back some trust), and Lorna builds some bridges with Wanda (just in time for Axis to retcon away the relationship that makes that story worthwhile, so that’s odd). And after the tie-in, well, it’s cancellation time.
Charts – 25 January 2015
Our run of exceedingly dull charts finally comes to an end… next week. This week, though, there’s virtually nothing happening at all. Not on the singles chart, at any rate – the album release schedules are at least back in business.
2. Meghan Trainor – “Lips Are Movin”
Royal Rumble 2015
Oh, alright, then. I’m going to watch this show, so why not set out a few thoughts as I do that, and open a comments thread for anyone who wants to chip in?
I’m watching this on Monday night on Apple TV – which, by the way, doesn’t have a WWE Network app in the UK, whatever the WWE website may claim, so I’m Airplaying it from an iPad, which is terribly convenient.
Death of Wolverine: The Weapon X Program
We’re running a few weeks behind here – the first Wolverines arc will be finished imminently, come to think of it – but let’s not allow Weapon X Program to completely pass us by. That said. we probably need to say a few worlds about Secret Wars first, don’t we?
The official line from Marvel is that Secret Wars represents the end of the Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Universe, after which we’re going to get “Battleworld”, which seems to be some sort of mash-up of alternate worlds and such forth. This is, pretty obviously, what Jonathan Hickman has been building to in Avengers for a while, and also what Brian Bendis has been moving towards with all the stuff about time breaking down, as which of course forms the central premise of All-New X-Men.
Chikara 15.1: “A New Start”
So, then. As trailed last month, we’re going to take a crack at covering the 2015 Chikara season. We won’t be doing every show – probably just the main ones to check in on how they’re doing, and I might do them as reviews rather than previews, given that I suspect relatively few readers of this blog are actually watching. Obviously we’re moving here into territory which far fewer people will be familiar with here, but quite aside from being a far more entertaining use of my time, I do think Chikara makes an interesting contrast with the dominant product.
This is also going to be a very long post, since there’s a lot to set up here – not just the show, but the promotion as a whole and many of the characters. And I haven’t had as much time as I’d have liked to cut down the first draft, but hey, the show’s on Sunday.
Let’s start with a primer on how things work in Chikara.
The Handbook Tapes
Charts – 18 January 2015
Since the UK music industry believes firmly in (a) promoting everything for weeks before release, and (b) not promoting anything new in the run-up to Christmas, the dead period meanders on…
Climbing 11 places, in one of the few notable movements in the lower half of the charts. Otherwise, it’s most just stuff that’s been out for ages, still swilling around waiting to be displaced.
16. Avicii – “The Nights”
Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy
The exigencies of event storytelling (and shared-universe storytelling more generally) can lead to some weird ways of constructing stories; a format that sees the same overall story pursued through multiple parallel narratives that aren’t even appearing in chronological sequence would normally be regarded as at least an interesting creative choice.
In this case, we have a rather odd transition going on between what are in effect two versions of the ongoing Wolverine series – the Death of Wolverine mini, and the Wolverines weekly. Bridging the gap between those titles are two separate minis, each serving to introduce (or at least set up) half of the cast of the weekly, and to collectively establish the premise: a bunch of characters, some established and some new, have all been the victim of potentially fatal experimentation by Dr Cornelius, and must join forces to find a cure.
Charts – 11 January 2015
We’re still in the post-Christmas dead period. Spare a thought, if you will, for Tulisa Contostavlos, formerly of N-Dubz and X Factor, who released her comeback single “Living Without You” in this deadest of weeks and sees it limp to 44, even with a complete absence of competition. It’s looking like the end of the road there.
39. Echosmith – “Cool Kids”
