Cable and Deadpool #25 - Marvel

This issue takes us all the way back to the attack on Cooperstown Alaska when Hope was born. It turns out that since Cable and Deadpool were involved with each other at the time . . their own series Cable & Deadpool was still up and running at that time in Marvel history . . it turns out that Deadpool was a lot more involved in the events of the day than we were previously led to believe. Well . . we weren't really led to believe anything. His name was just never really brought up. Cable was one of the first to arrive at the scene, attempting to save Hope, but he was still seconds behind the Purifiers. So he was in for a battle. What we didn't know previously was that he had called in Deadpool for back-up. Deadpool aids him in his departure from Cooperstown, and then is on hand when Cable and Hope are attacked by a Predator X and then a Sentinel. Apparently they split up shortly before Cable decided that he needed to take Hope into the future to protect her. As with any Deadpool story, this one was kind of goofy and sarcastic, but . . it was funny . . and entertaining. I still think that Cable and Deadpool made a good team. It's to bad that we're so far past that now. Although I'm sure that we'll see them together at some time or another. Unfortunately though . . it won't be in this book. This issue is the finale for this series. Hence the double sized issue and the special guest-star. But don't worry. I'm sure that Cable will be playing a big part in this Second Coming story-line unfolding across the X-Universe even as we speak. I thought that Duane Swierczynski finished out this series with a bang. It's got a beautiful Simone Bianchi cover, and Paco Medina did a great job with the interiors. I'm sorry to see this series go, but . . I'm sure we'll be seeing other new X-titles popping up here in the months to come. It's just the circle of life.

Cable #24 - Marvel

We almost get a wrap-up to the story this issue. I say almost because the story has gone as far as it will in this title. But it's leads straight from here into the X-Men Second Coming story-line. So there's not really a clear ending. Basically, throughout this book, Cable keeps jumping back and forth through time trying to get closer and closer to their destination. In the end they land in 1990. It's about the same time that Bishop and he first came to this time-period. He ends up sabotaging Bishops time device and sends him into the far future. When he tries to use his device to come back . . it's booby-trapped. So . . he's stuck. For now. I'm sure it's not the last we'll see of his character. He'll find some way to come back. Even if he has to sit and wait to cross paths with himself. Cable, on the other hand, uses his resources to prepare. Since this is when he first arrived, he knows of storage places around town where they can load up on supplies, guns and ammunition. On the final panel of the book they make the jump to the present. Which is where the Second Coming story-lines picks right up from. I enjoyed this issue. We still don't know much about Hope's character, but . . that's what I'm sure the next story-line is going to be all about. This issue was done in chapters. So while Duane Swierczynski wrote the whole thing, the artists were Giancarlo Caracuzzo, Alejandro Garza and Denys Cowan. With the cover done by Marko Djurdjevic. It was an ok issue. I'm more excited to see what's going to happen next. And . . on the next issue of this series, it shows that Deadpool will be joining the story. That's always interesting.

Cable #23 - Marvel

I'm sure it's not just ironic, but Cable and Hope have ended up back in New York City, 2044. Basically . . that's where this whole story started. When Cable and Hope went into the future they ended up here and Nate became involved with Sophie. He ended up helping here fight the Highway Men, or State Assembly . . whatever they were called. They were just a bunch of guys . . a gang, thieves and criminals, who were using their guns and numbers to hold dominion over the rest of the people living here. That is until Bishop showed up and, in thier fight, Nate and Sophie disappeared. Now it's 2 years later . . 16 or 17 for Nate and Hope, and Sophie feels like they've finally returned. The problem is . . if they've returned, so has Bishop. It isn't long before he gets the State Assembly to gather up arms and make a run at Nate by attacking Sophie's group. As they're driving into Central Park, their Jeep crashes and Nate feels the familiar 'ping' of a time-jump coming on. He wants to save Sophie, but he can't do both . . so he grabs Hope and they end up back in 1933. I'm enjoying this story, but . . I have to ask . . what really is the point of all of this jumping around? I mean . . if it progress' the story . . fine. But to me, it just seems to be delaying it. Eventually Hope's powers will manifest. There will be a show-down between Bishop and Nate & Hope. The questions are just . . where? . . when? . . and how long is it going to take for us to get there? And once her powers do manifest, will Nate see her as the threat that Bishop has been claiming? Maybe it's just me, but it just seems like we've been stalling for the last few issues. I've enjoyed Duane Swierczynski's story . . for the most part. But . . we just aren't getting to the point. I mean . . what was accomplished this issue? What was the point? To me . . absolutely nothing. Unless Duane is just trying to express to us the frustration that Nate is feeling in not being able to control the jumps. And the time that it's taking for him to zero in on the final destination. If that's his objective . . then he's accomplished his goal. Cause . . I'm feelin' the frustration. Anyways, Gabriel Guzman does the pencils, with Marko Djurdjevic on the cover. I think 25 issues of this is enough. Let's get past this and move Cable on to something else.

Cable #22 - Marvel

This cover looks pretty foreboding, but . . it's really not. The reason Hope is standing over Cable like that is because he has a heart attack after all of their time jumps. No she's not the dangerous person that Bishop claims that she will become. Not yet, anyways. Actually, this issue, the story doesn't really progress all that much. We really only find out two things. Last issue Cable took Bishop's time device out of his arm and is using it to try to get Hope back to the X-Men. She's tired of running and wants to be reunited with her extended family. She barely remembers them. Anyways, Cable seems to be having some kind of trouble with it and he can't hit his intended target, 2010. However, he is gradually homing in on it. 1614 to 2493. 1776 to 2220. 1840 to sometime in the near future. It's all these time-jumps that seems to be having a negative affect on Cable's physiology. And that's when he has the heart attack. The other thing we learn is that there appears to be some kind of back-up device with Bishop and that's why he keeps tagging along for the ride. He's not getting any more enjoyment out of it all than they are. But it's the last just that seems to open up old wounds for Hope . . or maybe Bishop. I'm thinking that this is the time when Bishop was in the internment camp and Hope is supposedly the world ending threat. Maybe next issue we'll finally figure out what it is about her that pisses of Bishop so much. So . . that was pretty much the gist of the entire issue. There wasn't really much story progress this time around. However, we do see Hope's eyes glow when she's trying to revive Cable. So . . I guess, that's something. Duane Swierczynski seems to be on a definite time-table here, but . . it's just moving so slowly. This issue just basically seemed like a fill-in issue. I don't know if it's because of the events in the rest of the X-Universe or what, but . . we just don't seem to be moving towards the finish line very fast. I'm not blaming Duane. Maybe he's doing this for character development. And, like I said, maybe it's not even his fault. I just hope next issue is a little more exciting . . and progress' the story. Gabriel Guzman does the art, with Marko Djurdjevic on the cover. Overall I liked the book. Cable is one of my favorite characters. It just seemed like we were in slow-motion. Sorry!

Cable #21 - Marvel

First of all . . you have to know how Cable and Hope get back to Earth. At the end of the last issue, they had crawled into some terraforming life-pods, and were headed back towards Earth. Last issue . . but 2 years ago. Bishop had to make a deal with the Brood Queen and traveled inside one of their space-whales . . the Acanti. Anyways, long story short . . they make it back to Earth, but . . shortly before doing so the Acanti catch up with them and swallow them. Cable hits Bishop with a psychic attack, which gets them spit out, but . . it also disrupts their landing trajectory. So they have to crash. But . . so does the Acanti and Bishop. Hope activates the terraforming pods, hoping for food, but . . 'Terraforming sequence to begin shortly. First wheat crop available in . . calculating . . approximately 7.9 years.' However, she did start the process so . . hopefully the future of the Earth is back on track. But the important events are when Hope and Bishop fight. Bishop takes out Cable first, and then goes after Hope. But in her adrenaline frenzy her powers begin to activate. She hits Bishop with a psychic blast, and then she's ready to kill him. But Cable, not completely down for the count, stops her. He uses the unconscious Bishop's own technology to fix his time traveling circuits. Hope wants to go back to see the X-Men. She wants to be part of the team. So Cable takes her back. But . . they land in New Amsterdam, circa 1614. And they don't know it, but . . Cable arrives shortly after them. I thought the story this issue made the most progress of probably the last 6 issues. They're finally back on Earth. They're close to being home. They just arrived about 400 years to early. I'm glad Duane Swierczynski moved the story forward. I was starting to get a little frustrated. Plus now, hopefully we'll see Hope in action. I do have a question though . . how come we've never seen, or even been concerned as to who Hope's parents are? We know she was born in Alaska, and . . there's a lot of Summers there, so . . maybe it's just a coincidence? I don't know if it's important or not. I'm just putting it out there. This issue is put together in 3 different chapters with as many artists. Humberto Ramos, Carlos Cuerva, Ian Medina, Robert Campanella and Paul Gulacy all provide art for this issue. Also . . that's a great cover by Marko Djurdjevic. Anyways . . hopefully the progress will continue.

Cable #20 - Marvel

Well, with this issue we move a little further along the time-line and a little further out into space. In the last few issues we found out that Emil had lead Bishop straight to Hope. He's the little boy that befriended her back on Earth. I think, deep down, he knew that Cable wasn't whom he said he was, but . . his desire to reunite with Hope overpowered his reason. That's what love does to boys. Right? Anyways, shortly after they arrived so to did the Brood. Even with the Brood attacking, Bishop's sole desire is to take out Hope with the atomic bomb in his arm. Anyways, long story short, Emil tries to help Hope escape. The problem is, there's only 2 pods. But Hope refuses to leave Cable behind. Cable meanwhile was swallowed by the Acanti, the giant space-faring whales that the Brood uses for traveling. Inside of it, the Acanti is trying to control Cable. While the Brood have captured and are similarly trying to control Bishop. Cable fights back and the Acanti spits him out. But he ends up face to face with the Brood and Bishop. In the ensuing battle, Cable takes out the Queen which thereby releases Bishop from her control. Cable does make it into the landing bay though so he talks Emil into launching he and Hope in the transports. Cable subjects himself to the Acanti, and Emil uses Cable's arm to blow up the ship, hoping that he'll take Cable with him. The final page is 2 years later. We see Cable and Hope still in their cyro-genic sleep, traveling through space. And not far behind them . . the Acanti. Bishop is in it's control, but . . I'm thinking without the Queen it's also following his desires. I like this book, and these characters, but I really wish we'd make some progress in this story. At least show us what it is that's driven Bishop to these extreme measures. Or show us what Hope's power really is. I think Duane Swierczynski has done a good job with this story, but . . to me, it's starting to seem like it's dragging on way to long. This is Cable's whole life now. What of his connection to the X-Men? Also, Gabriel Guzman's pencils are ok. He does some funky stuff sometimes with his framing. But I'm thinking he just needs more experience. He definitely shows potential. All in all I like this book . . I just feel like I've had enough of this story-line. Sorry!

Cable #19 - Marvel

Ok . . now everybody is out in space. The aren't even on, or near Earth anymore. The Brood have just landed on the ship that Nathan and Hope were escaping in, but . . last issue, right before they chewed their way in, Bishop had gotten the ship from the other city working, and he and Emil had also come after Hope. So now . . with the Brood on all sides of them, Bishop and Nathan are still fighting like thier only concern in life is doing in the other. Meanwhile, Hope's only concern is finding Emil and making sure that he's safe. Apparently the Brood arrived in some kind of gigantic space bubble, with all kind of space-fish floating around in it. I'm not sure what that's all about, but Emil figures out that they can breath in it and they both go outside of the ship to hide. Well . . actually, they're trying to get to the life-pods. Anyways, long story short . . Cable has to also come outside to save them from the fish, and he ends up getting swallowed by one. Meanwhile, Bishop is fighting for his life against the Brood, and tries negotiating with them. He tells them that Hope is even more powerful than he, and that he'll take them to her in exchange for his life. But they want to make sure that he's compliant, so . . on the final page it looks like the Queen has decided to impregnate him anyways. I like this book, and I love Cable's character. But . . I'd really like to know what it is about Hope that has Bishop so riled up. The guy's traveled to the ends of the Earth . . literally, to try to kill this girl. He's nothing if not single-minded. He's brought a nuke with him out to space, but he refuses to set it off without actually seeing his target while he's doing it. And how does all of this fit in with Cable's already established future with the Askani? I've enjoyed Duane Swiercyznski's stories. And I'm amazed that we've actually come all this way without really even knowing what all of this is about. Gabriel Guzman does the pencils for this issue. It all looked pretty good. So next month . . we'll see how all these characters get out of another fine mess. You'd think sooner or later somebody would die.

Cable #18 - Marvel

Now this book should be billed as . . Cable . . In Space! Last issue, Cable and Hope took off in Earth's only hope of salvation . . their only working spaceship. Because of Bishop's actions, this Earth has come to an end. It's not completely done yet, but it may as well be. They're all just waiting for it's final breath. So Cable's plan is . . head out into the universe and make it harder for Bishop to follow them or establish where they're going. This story picks up, it appears, about 7 or 8 years later. Hope is a teenager now. The people of Earth have Cable locked up in the brig, because he passed himself off as Stryfe when this mission began. Since they found that to not be true . . they arrested him. Unfortunately, now . . they're flying around through space with no idea where they're going. Or . . where they're at. However it isn't long . . well, long being relative, they've been in space for 7 or 8 years . . however, it isn't long, as far as this story goes, before they're boarded by another vessel. Of course it's Bishop and his followers from the 'clean-city'. Which includes Emil, Hope's child-hood friend . . also now a teenager. So, Bishop's plan, unbeknownst to Emil or the rest of the people form Earth, is to ensure that Hope is indeed still aboard this ship . . he has to see her with his own eyes, and then he's going to set off the nuclear bomb that he's got implanted in his cybernetic arm. Everyone dies . . including Hope and Bishop. However, shortly after their reunion, Hope tells Emil what's really going on. He helps her evade Bishop and hide in the ship. But it's not long before they come face to face. However, before he can trigger the device Emil attacks him. That of course doesn't last long. But then, before he can again trigger the bomb . . everyone is held in stasis. The ship has just been attacked, and overrun by . . . the Brood. "Bishop wasn't the only one interested in my girl." That was an ending that I wasn't expecting. This issue's title is Brood Chapter One: Bishop takes Pawn. Next issue is titled Queen Captures Bishop. An interesting play on words. Anyways . . this looks like it's going to shape up to be an interesting chapter in this on-going saga. Actually, I'm glad they're off Earth now. I think everything had run it's course there. The story would've seemed forced if they tried to remain inside that paradigm. I'm still questioning why, this far into the future, Cable still hasn't found the resources to fix his time-travelling device. But . . he's got a whole new threat to worry about now. I thought it was a good story by Duane Swierczynski and Gabriel Guzman. Also Gabriel's art throughout this issue looked pretty good. I can't wait to see where we go from here.

Cable #17 - Marvel

I like this book . . I've always liked this character. But . . this issue, and I guess this story-line in general, leaves me with a whole bunch of questions rolling around in my head. At the end of the Messiah-War story-line, Cable went to jump into the future, and Hope pulls away from him at the last second. Basically, she ends up 2 years in advance of him. So he has to figure out where she went, and try to be there when she gets there. Of course Bishop is still on their tail also. Here's my first question, Cable can't use his time-device because he can't go backwards, right? Sorry . . that's not the question. Cable has to just go forward, day by day, until he gets to the time where Hope is at. So lets say she jumps forward to August 12th, 2557 . . just for shits and giggles. Cable is stuck on August 12th, 2555. So when he gets to 2557 . . wouldn't that be the same day that Hope arrives? How can she age 2 years? If she did . . she should always be 2 years ahead of him. Right? Seriously! Am I thinking about this right? In order for her to age, he would've had to have jumped ahead of her. Correct? Ok. Maybe I'm thinking about that problem backwards. But even taking that into account, the time it would've taken them to travel to the cities . . the time it would've taken them to search . . not to mention the time that Cable wasted lying in the desert succumbing to the techno-virus ravaging his body . . it wouldn't have been exactly 2 years apart. Maybe with some good luck, 2 years and a couple of months. But I'm guessing it would've taken at least a year for them to come together . . 3 years total. I know. It's a comic book. It's just a story. But my mind has to get wrapped around these things. That's why time-travel stories give me a headache. Anyways, my second question . . what really was the whole point of the Messiah-war story-line? I mean, Cable and Hope are still running from Bishop. They just basically had a little burp in their continuing story-line. Was it all just to take out Stryfe and put Apocalypse back in power? And if so . . where's Apocalypse now? Heh-heh! That's funny. Or . . was it all just to bring Domino back into the X-fold? I'm not even mentioning that we still don't even know what Hope's powers are. And, now that they've reached the end of the Earth . . literally, where does Cable and Hope go from here? Well . . with the last question, it appears . . outer-space! Don't get me wrong, I like Duane Swierczynski's story. And I'm thrilled to get a chance to see more of Paul Gulacy's artwork. I'm just trying to figure out where this book is going, and what my investment is in it. Cable's always taken his own path, but . . you've got to admit that this path is a little out there. I hope we get some resolution soon. Please!

Cable #16 - Marvel

Ok, the question that keeps occurring to me is this . . if Cable is stuck so far into the future, and he's got these 2 celestial cities on the horizon, why can't he find the parts or the tech to pirate something to fix his time-sliding device? I mean, he built the thing afterall, so . . he should know how to fix it, or how it works and what parts he needs. Or is that technology even farther into the future than he is right now? It's just a question I have. Anyways, when X-Force took off last issue, Hope ends up pulling a bit of a childish act. She sensed a kinship with some of the people from her own time, so, as a child, when they go to leave, she thinks that she wants to be with them. Nathan is getting ready to slip into the future, and she pulls away from him. He's only powered up for a second, so they've only ended up like 2 years apart. But still, as a father, Nathan feels like he's let her down. He knows that she's got to be in the general vicinity . . there's no place else for her to go, but . . at the same time he's a bit disabled because of using up the last bits of his TK energy in his fight with Stryfe. Therefore, he's becoming ravaged by the techno-organic virus that fighting it's way through his system. And then . . Bishop shows up. But he soon realizes that Nathan is near invincible right now, plus . . Hope isn't with him. So he goes back into the past. Meanwhile, in the past Hope has made it to one of the cities. She's looking for food, and shelter. There she meets a boy, and over the course of time befriends him. But the issue ends when the boy sees his father close by and calls out to him. It ends up that he's a soldier, and the leader of his little platoon is Bishop. But all Cable has to do is find her. Hopefully she survived, and yes she'll be 2 years older, but . . at least he wouldn't have let her down. But first he has to survive himself. Paul Gulacy takes over the pencils on Duane Swiercyznski's story this month. I think it's a good opening chapter, but it appears that both of our main characters are in over their heads right now. It doesn't look good for either of them.

Cable #15 - Marvel

Again, we don't make a lot of progress in the story-line this issue. Some. But not much. We do learn a couple of things however. First of all, Stryfe has figured out what the 'big deal' is with Hope. He's gathered it from Elixir's mind, of all people. I'm not quite sure how he's aware of what her true potential is. Anyways, now that he knows . . Stryfe wants to take her over . . literally. I think he wants to put his consciousness into her body. And not in a perverted pedophile kind of way. So now everybody is trying to stop Stryfe, not just from taking hope, but also from doing the Vulcan mind-meld thing with her. On top of that, X, Domino and the Vanisher have figured out the source of the chronal net that's holding them in this time. It turns out it's one of X's friends . . Kiden Nixon. You know, from the Nyx mini-series. Deadpool tells them the Bishop and Stryfe picked her up back in 2009 . . or 2010. Either way, she's been there for a long time because she looks like she's in her 60's or 70's now. But, the one thing that may put a crimp in Stryfe's plans is that Archangel has brought Apocalypse back to his ship, the Celestial City. Warren took a little sympathy on him, because of the pathetic state he was in, but as he sees him connect to his ship and regain his former posture . . "I can't help but think . . I've made a huge mistake." Anyways, there's a whole lot of fighting, but . . this issue pretty much ends in the same spot in which it began . . Stryfe has pretty much beaten all of his opponents, and the gang can't decide what to do about Kiden. The issue ends with the timer she's connected to reaching 00:00:01. The next issue of X-Force, #16, is supposed to wrap up this story. Maybe then we'll finally find out just what the big deal is about Hope. Duane Swierczynski writes this story, and Ariel Olivetti does the art. I like the concept of this story . . where it's supposed to be going, and what they're trying to accomplish, but . . it seems like we keep rolling through the same paces every issue. There's a whole lot of filler in this story-line. It probably could've been done in 3 issues, instead of 7. I love all of these characters, and the fate of Hope, and Cable, rests on what happens here. I just wish we could've moved it along a little faster. There's not a lot of suspense . . just the endings of the various chapters, but . . there is a lot of fluff. All we can do is wait for the next chapter and see what happens.

Cable #14 - Marvel

This Messiah War story-line has been pretty intense, right from the very beginning. But now? Now things seem to be heating up even more. Now that Bishop and Stryfe have taken James and Hope . . Nathan is pretty worried. This is the moment that he's been dreading ever since he brought hope into the future. Now they have to accomplish 2 things. First and foremost, of course, is retrieving Hope. That takes precedence over everything else. Secondly, they have to shut down whatever it is that's blocking Logan and his group from returning to the past. Meanwhile, while Stryfe is interrogating James, he and Bishop are both trying to do everything in their power to block out their thoughts of Hope. Neither of them want Stryfe to know how important she is . . or will be. Bishop even uses a nanite bomb on Stryfe to try to get him to lower his psychic shield that he's holding Hope in. It affects him for a second, and in that brief instant he does get a shot off, but . . Stryfe quickly recovers. He immediately assumes that Bishop is trying to betray him, but . . it doesn't take much for him to 'read' that he was actually after the girl. When Stryfe realizes this, the pieces quickly come together. Especially, I'm sure, now that he knows what to look for. He allows Hope to take off his helmet, and of course he looks just like Nathan. "Nathan, is that you . . .? Has it been you this whole time? Are you here in disguise to rescue me?" Stryfe quickly plays on her confusion . . "Yes, Hope. I am here to rescue you from your false father." While all of this is interesting, I'm starting to think that the real story lies with Warren and Apocalypse. At the end of last issue Warren took off because of a voice in his head. During the battle he switched to his Archangel form which, I think, opened him up for Apocalypse's influence. I'm sure as soon as Apocalypse felt his presence he called out for him. Warren finds him near death in a cave. He thinks that Apocalypse is asking him to kill him, but actually I think he wants to feed off of his energy. Doesn't he feed off the mutants? I think he's hoping to feed off of those that have gathered near him. And I'm starting to wonder if maybe that isn't Hope's destiny. Maybe she's the one that's powerful enough that when Apocalypse feeds off of her it'll bring him back to his full glory. Maybe that's how she inadvertantly brings about the end of the world. But if that's the case, isn't Bishop equally as guilty. He is, after all, the one that brought this whole plan together and thereby put all the pieces into the same frying pan. It gives you quite a bit to think about. Huh? I'm really diggin' this story-arc. I can't wait to see how it all comes out. Duane Swierczynski and Ariel Olivetti are doing an outstanding job here. My hats off to all involved.

Cable #13 - Marvel

This is the next chapter in our Messiah War. This issue is basically set up to bring us all up to speed. At the end of last issue, over in X-Factor, Wolverine and his team came across the last person they expected to find here . . Deadpool. So now, Deadpool gives them the story of how he got here . . some 800 or so years into the future. It's a typical Deadpool story. But the interesting part is that we seem to be dealing with Stryfe here in the future . . not Apocalypse. We find out from the other front in this war . . Bishop and Stryfe, that Bishop's deal with Stryfe was to help him take out Apocalypse and then he would help him find Nate. We don't know how that happened, or even know for sure that it did happen. But that's what they say. Personally, I find it a bit hard to believe that Stryfe and Bishop would be able to handle Apocalypse alone. But . . I'm not going to worry about that right now. It appears that Apocalypse had a city set up in the future, with a lot of celestial technology. Now that Stryfe has beat him . . it's his. Anyways, this whole thing has turned out to be a double-cross. As if we didn't see that coming. Deadpool seems to be in league with Stryfe and his main purpose was finding the X-Men and then keeping them busy until Stryfe's army showed up. Which it does on the final page of the issue. The other interesting part of all of this is how Hope is listening to these stories, and watching everything that's going on . . including, I think, how Nate's personality has changed around these people . . and she's trying to piece all of this together. You know that point in your life where you start to realize that your parents may not be as huge, or as smart, or as invincible as you once thought? Well . . that's where I'm starting to think that Hope is right now. I know she's young, but she's very mature for her age. So, the question now is what is she going to do with that information, and how will it affect her development? Hell, we don't even know what it is she's capable of yet. This is going to be a very interesting story. Duane Swierczynski is doing a great job with this story, and these characters. I'm liking this path that he's set them on. And hopefully, on the other side, Nathan and Hope can get back to a normal life. Well, as normal as life his for him. As always, Ariel Olivetti's artwork is amazing. This is another book that I can't wait to read the next issue. I like that feeling.

X-Force/Cable: Messiah War Prologue #1 - Marvel

I actually thought this was a pretty decent book. Really, it's just setting up the groundwork for the upcoming Messiah War story-line. But it looks like it's going to be one heck of an event. We find out this issue that the stranger that Bishop meets up with in the bar is actually . . . . wait for it . . . Stryfe. But, was that really a surprise to anybody? I didn't think so. I think we could all see that one coming from a mile away. However, from Bishop and Stryfe's talk, it looks like we may be seeing Apocalypse again. X-Force, Wolverine and his merry band, have gone to the future to help out Cable. The year 2973 to be exact. Cable tells them they've walked into a trap, and shows them a city. "Holy $#@&. HIM?!" The only question I have is, is it Stryfe's or Apocalypse's? I would guess Apocalypses, but we don't know for sure yet. The other interesting part of this story is Bishop's skewing of events when he's talking to Stryfe. Stryfe agrees to help Bishop, but not because of Nathan's involvement . . he says he doesn't care about Cable anymore . . he decides to help because Bishop is offering him Apocalypse. That's really the only thing that gets his interest. But the story that Bishop's told Stryfe is exactly the opposite of actual events. He portrays Cable as the one destroying the future. So I'm wondering what'll happen when Stryfe finds out that he's been lying to him. Another interesting twist is when X-Force finds out that Deadpool is still alive in this distant future. He seems a little crazier than normal, but . . I would imagine that would be expected from living alone for so long. Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost write this book. I'm not sure if they'll be doing the whole Messiah War story-line, but . . the did this chapter. Mike Choi and Sonia Oback do the interior art, and . . it's simply incredible. If you're a follower of Cable's, your definitely going to have to check out this story that will be bouncing back and forth between Cable's book, and X-Force. Personally, I think it's a natural match-up of characters. This should be a heck of a story-line. And maybe we can finally find out what the threat is that Hope actually poses. It's been implied for quite a while now, but we don't know the specifics. Keep your arms and legs inside of the car at all time . . the rides about to begin.

Cable #11 &12 - Marvel

I gotta say, I've always dug Cable, and I've liked this series, for the most part, so far. But I will admit that just like most of the comic, uh, 'fans' out there, I'm turned on by some awesome art. I love a good story. To me, the story needs to be the strongest part of a book. It's what keeps your interest . . gets the reader bought in. However, some amazing art, like Ariel Olivetti's, can turn my head and get me to look at a book that I might not normally pick up. That wasn't the case here as I wanted to give Cable another chance. The amazing art was just icing on the cake. But, it appears that all of his hard work is catching up to him and Ariel had to take a break on these 2 issues. I mean, I don't blame the guy. He's turned is some amazing stuff to date. However, on these 2 issue, he only does the first 8 pages on issue #11, and the last 3 on issue #12. I'm not sure what the signifigance of that is . . the story was all pretty much the same, but hey . . whatever. The artist throughout the rest of the pages is Jamie McKelvie. I think he's a new-comer. His work is . . . ok. It's not terrible. It doesn't stand up well next to Ariel's, but . . then who's would. After reading through both issues you get used to it. And, he does have his own unique style. Anyways, Duane Swierczynski guides us through this future wasteland, as usual, but . . there's really not a whole lot going on in either of these issues. When New Liberty was attacked by the cockroach army, Nathan left because he thought they were after him. Cable, his wife Hope, and the child ventured back out into the real world. However, Hope was killed shortly after. So Cable and the child joined the resistance. I guess he felt he needed somebody to fight. In the beginning of issue #11 they've come up with some biological warfare that should wipe out the bugs. The problem is, it'll probably wipe out the humans also. Cable doesn't want to take the chance, but the resistance general does. So Cable and Hope . . yes, after his wife was killed he decided to call the child Hope also . . . Cable and Hope slide into the future to bypass the effects of all of this war. 100 years to be exact. The find that the weapon worked, but . . it worked the way that Cable was afraid of. The Earth is a barren wasteland. By the end of the issue, they've slided into the future twice to try to find some sign of life . . or food or water. Issue #12 is pretty much the same, but in this issue we find that Hope is starting to use some of the knowledge that Nathan been teaching her. Either that or she's been paying attention very, very well. They find some type of crashed ship, and some recycled water, but . . that's about it. So they head to Westchester. Of course the mansion is destroyed, but there's still pieces of it, to show where it was. Cable makes his way into the underground bunkers and finds most of the provisions he needs. He also finds a recording that Scott left behind for him. I'm surprised it still works some 300 or 400 years in the future. Anyways, it give him hope and a new drive to go on. By the end of the issue they've time-slid again . . now almost 1000 years in the future. They're still in Westchester, but . . this time there's something different. This time it appears that they've found some form of life. But, when the issue ends, and whomever they are are approaching . . . Cable doesn't know if they're friendly or not. So, he's prepared to shoot first and ask questions later. I like this book, and this character, but . . it's really moving slowly. Hope is probably about 5 or 6 now. I think that's about how long he's been in the future. I'm glad that we're getting some progress on her character. And, it appears that we're heading into the Messiah Wars storyline now. So things could heat up pretty fast. Overall I really enjoy this title. It's just a little slow . . . right now.

Cable #10 - Marvel

This is a book where the story is constantly moving forward. Where it's going to? That's another question. But, with the time-device in his arm messed up . . Cable doesn't really have any other choice than to move forward. Oh hey! We finally have a name for the 'mutant messiah' this issue . . . Hope! It's about time. Anyways, the cockroaches have invaded New Liberty. They're claiming they're American citizens and have been sent by the government. And . . they may have. Bishop has really messed up the world out there with his various attacks on each of the continents. I guess the fusing of the insect DNA was necessary to their survival. And, now that Cable has left New Liberty, and is starting to realize just how messed up this outside world has become . . and he's beginning to put the pieces together with Bishop . . I think he's going to have to go after Bishop in order to get this all straightened out. That decision will be a lot easier for him now because . . . his wife Hope has been killed. Meanwhile, back in the present, Bishop is still fighting with the X-Men. It appears that he came to the place where the X-Men's new headquarters would be, a few months ago, and set up some booby traps to help get him out if he was captured. Scott tells Logan that should they meet up again to . . " . . do what you do best." The issue ends with Bishop at a bar, in the near future, mysteriously meeting up with someone. But we don't know who yet. While I enjoy Duane Swierczynski's stories, I think he's going to have to make Cable go on the offensive sometime soon here. He's been in defensive mode ever since this series started. So far, Bishop has been calling all of the plays. I hope that changes soon. And as always Ariel Olivetti is doing a fantastic job with the art.

Cable #9 - Marvel

I like this book. Cable is one of my favorite characters, and I think Duane Swierczynski is doing a great job with his portrayal. However . . we're in the realm of this whole time-paradox thing again. To me, these themes tend to be more of a headache than they're worth. Ok, here's the way the plan is explained. First of all, Nathan is hiding in New Liberty. It's an urban legend. Even in the future . . the far future . . they talk about it like it's a myth. Nobody actually saw it, and nobody knew where it was. It's protected behind an impenetrable force field. But Nathan found his way in. Luckily Bishop doesn't know where he's at, but even if he did . . he wouldn't know where to find New Liberty anyways. So his plan was to go back to our time, steal some WMD's and go and destroy the future. He figured if Nathan had no place to jump to, it would be easier to narrow his chance for escape. Now, the problem I have is . . which future did he destroy. I mean . . aren't all futures just possibilities? So the one's he destroyed might not necessarily be the one's that Nathan would jump to? And how exactly is he justifying these actions? Is he thinking that since it's the future, and he's in the past, that he's actually not killing these people because they haven't been born yet? And if they haven't been born yet, who's to say that the future couldn't just roll out the same? Even if it was different, it would still be there. Right? Anyways, this is the thing about these time-travel stories that really give me a headache. There's 2 saving graces to this book. First is Nathan's character. He's a great character to watch and read about. And he always has an adventure to follow. Secondly is Ariel Olivetti's incredible art. He has been doing a fantastic job with this book and he continues to amaze me every issue. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy this book, and I've liked the stories so far. It's just that all of this time-travel stuff . . with all of it's various possibilities . . drive me crazy. The stories themselves are fun, but there's just to many variables and options available for it to be even remotely realistic. I know that's a jaded view, but . . that's how these stories leave me feeling.

Cable #8 - Marvel

This book is getting a little confusing. Right now they're keeping it in check pretty good, but . . it's really close to becoming convoluted. Duane Swierczynski and Ariel Olivetti are still the creative team . . thank god! And they're not really the problem . . I don't think. I think the problem is all of this cross-time stuff and trying to keep everything straight. Bishop has come back to the present to gather up some more supplies for his hunt. But, in the process, the X-Men were able to track and capture him. Now they're holding him and interrogating him to try to get some information as to what's happened to Nathan and the baby. While Scott and Emma are doing that, Hank is trying everything he can to get the time chip in his cybernetic arm to work. Meanwhile, in the future, in New Liberty, it appears that the United States government has found their little refuge and are drafting all of it's inhabitants into their fight to save America. The problem is . . they aren't really men. They're actually more cockroach than man, and it looks like Nathan's going to have to have to take a stand and fight. Something that he's been desperately trying to avoid, but . . the girl isn't giving him much of a choice. I like this book. I really do, but . . . first of all, I think that this cockroach thing is a little bit out there. And I'm not really comfortable with all of the lines that Scott seems to be crossing lately. Eventually he's going to get to a point that he can't come back from. I'm also not comfortable with how far removed this book seems to be from the regular X-Men titles. It doesn't have much to do with any of them . . really. But don't get me wrong, I still love Nathan's character, and I really want to see where this story is going. I just think we can do without all of the sci-fi stuff. I feel like I'm in an episode of Mystery Science Theatre.

Cable #7 - Marvel

I'm glad to see Ariel Olivetti back on the pencils this month. I was afraid that he was just going to do the art for the first story arc. I really like the feel that he brings this book. Duane Swierczynski brought Bishop back to the present, a couple of months after he left. Scott sends out X-Force to apprehend him as soon as possible . . and then the interrogation begins. Emma finds out from his sensors that he's actually been gone for 4 1/2 years. He explains to Scott that time is like a building that goes up and up forever. Nate can only go up in the building. So, rather than keep chasing him, Bishop has decided to try to figure out a way to burn the building down. Part of the reason he can't find him is because Nate's found sanctuary in New Liberty. It's a hidden haven that is spoke of in legend in Nate's time. "It does not appear on any map, not in the past, it's present or most of the future. Traces of it were only discovered during the 40th century, when I was raised by the Askani clan. It was heralded as another Roanoke . . a lost town that seemed to one day simply vanish from the face of the Earth." In that refuge, it's been almost 2 years since they've seen Bishop. Somehow Cable figured out how to breach the shields around the settlement, which held the outside world out and hid it from view. No one else has been able to do that . . until today. "Relax, good people of New Liberty. We're the government of the United States of America. We're here to help." That's never a good sign. Finally, this issue, someone, Hope, asks Nate . . "Don't you get tired of calling her 'little girl'? I mean, you do name your children where you come from, right?" But Nate feels it's not his place to name her because he's not her father. I really like this book. I like the feel of it and I love this character. He's had kind of a spotty history, but I've enjoyed all of his titles so far. Even though I didn't get Cable & Deadpool until after the fact. So I'm glad he's got his own book again. There's a lot of potential here.

Cable #6 - Marvel

Well, Ariel Olivetti takes a break from his outstanding pencils this issue . . sort of. Actually, he only draws about a third of this book . . the rest is done by Michel Lacombe. It's ok. It's not as good as Ariel's stuff, but . . that's kind of the point. This issue, after being focused on Cable for the last 5 issues, we get a glimpse of what Cable's father, Scott, is up to. So, Ariel does the Cable scenes, and Michel does the present day scenes. And of course Duane Swierczynski writes the story. Anyways, Scott has put a lot of plans in place since this whole Mutant Messiah thing wrapped up. We see a lot of what he's been up to this issue, but really . . I think it's only the tip of the ice-burg. Scott is nothing if not a master strategist. However, although at the time he felt he was 'right' in the decisions he made . . he's starting to have second thoughts and doubts. It's been six weeks now . . since Cable jumped in to the time stream . . and they haven't heard a word. Scott's dreaming about Bishop attacking him, but, since Cable jumped forward in time, he's temporarily given Bishop the slip. Of course that's not to say he doesn't have other things to worry about in the future. I've really liked the path of this book so far. I would just like to see Cable stop long enough to formulate and put a plan in place. He can't just 'wing-it' until this kid is 16 or 18. Can he? Keep it comin', because I'm diggin' it.