Xtract: Wolverine & the X-Men #2 Snap Recap!

Today I present to you the Wolverine & the X-Men #2 issue in 5 pages! Check it out HERE by ComicBookNerdsAreHot.com's Tim Barklay!


I quite often feel guilty that I don't post enough "comics" news out here on the blog & since I'd like to think that this blog encompasses all the various media of the X-Universe I think I need to start getting you guys more info on this front...

The thing is I'm based in Mumbai, India- comics aren't as big here as in the US & there is no concept of a "comic book store" AT ALL out here! If you do happen to chance upon any comics in a bookstore, they will most probably be older issues...To get our fix of comics, most of us guys have to download em off the Net. Yes, it's wrong I'm aware, but we don't have a choice do we??

Enter Xtract! I don't have the time these days to actually download the comics & read em so I get whatever current news I have from the Net- news sites like ComicBookMovie.com are part of my daily fix. And then I have my 2 trusty Facebook groups that I go to- X-Men & Comic Book Nerds Are Hot! The latter is linked with the website that features today's xtract (you guys should totally check it out some time!). That's what Xtract is about- I get the stories that these Xperts put out on the Net to you guys!

But back to the issue at hand! Lotsa exciting happenings in W&TXM #2- someone gets kissed, Iceman has a new (more powerful) avatar & Wolverine...? Well he does what he ALONE can do best! LOL Hope you enjoy it...And expect more posts like these in the future, keeping you up-to-date on what's happenin' in the X-verse!

Oh & if you wanna meet loads of X-nerds & comic afficiondos you can joing the 2 FB groups I've posted about above! But don't forget to let 'em know where you came from! ;P

Xstatic! Just 3 weeks left for the US release of Wolverine Anime in English!

Marvel will be bringing us 4 anime shows this year together with Japanese animation studio Madhouse based on 4 of their most popular characters: Iron Man, Wolverine, X-Men & Blade. AND the Iron Man & Wolverine Anime toons will be releasing in English on G4 in the US from July 29! Just 3 weeks away! The English X-Men & Blade anime episodes will be airing later this year.

^The mutants are back to storm your TV & computer screens this year!

The last dedicated X-Men cartoon that we witnessed on our telly screens (or computers as in my case :P ) was back in 2008! Yes, I'm talking about that seriously AWESOME cartoon, Wolverine and the X-Men, that used to be aired on Nicktoons in the US.

It continued for a good 26 episodes from 2008-09 in it's first & sadly, only season (so far!). In fact concept art & ideas for Season 2 can be found on the 1 Million to save WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN FB group (do join that cause if you wish to see this amazing show back again) but all plans were stalled due to unresolved issues between Marvel Animation & their financial partners. But the show is popular still & Nicktoons even decided to air a 10 hour marathon of the show last Monday (the 4th of July) in the US!

It was basically about Wolverine having to lead the X-Men after Professor X's mysterious disappearance. Check out the trailer for the show, if you (still??) haven't seen the show yet! Hitler saw it- & even HE was pissed off it got cancelled! LMAO!


Anywho, onto the topic at hand! Iron Man & Wolverine have already both aired in Japan on Animax, but let's talk about the Wolverine & X-Men anime toons.

The first season of Marvel Anime: Wolverine has 12 action-packed episodes. The Wolverine you'll see in this version is highly "Japan-ized" almost to the point of being unrecognizable (besides the claws, of course) irking scores of X-fans in the US. Here, Wolverine finds out that his girlfriend Mariko Yashida, has been kidnapped by her father Shingen (an AIM supplier who also happens to be a Tokyo crime lord). This takes him on his journey to Japan.

Mariko, btw, is a character who does appear prominently in Wolverine's Japanese storyline in the comics. Who knows she may even make an appearance in The Wolverine...? It would be great to see that dynamic- Mariko & Logan being torn apart by the Lady Deathstrike & the Silver Samurai (Mariko's step brother & the MAIN thorn in Logan's side in Japan)! But there I go straying off track again lol! Just enjoy this trailer for Marvel Anime: Wolverine...It's for the Japanese version but doesn't have any dialogues so no sweat!



Excited?? Well some more news then- Wolverine is gonna be voiced by Heroes' Milo Ventimiglia in the English version. And fyi, his onscreen Heroes' bro, Adrian Pasdar will be voicing Iron Man. I can certainly imagine Pasdar as Mr. Stark. His voice has all that sophistication & intellect it oughta carry, but I can't get my mind around Milo voicing Wolverine! It's strange Marvel didn't use their go-to guy Steve Blum for Wolvie's voice...he's voiced the mighty clawed mutant for almost EVERY animated feature that includes him! Here's another shorter (subbed) trailer but it will give you a better idea of how the series will be like:



Some of the popular X-characters who will be featured in MA: Wolverine include Cyclops & Omega Red. Cyclops on the other hand will be taking center stage in Marvel Anime: X-Men! Also comprising of 12 episodes, Season 1 will have Cyke & all our other favorites: Wolverine, Jean Grey /Phoenix, Storm, Emma Frost, Beast & of course, Professor X, amongst others.

It begins after the death of Jean Grey. Professor X summons his X-Men to travel to Japan after fellow (Japanese- as in the comics) X-Man, Armor is abducted. Here they face-off against the U-Men- a refreshing change for those of us who've seen A LOT of the Brotherhood. Just like in the comics, out here the U-Men are a human supremacist group who harvest mutant body parts &/or powers so that they can gain superpowers for themselves. It's basically like the Brotherhood of Evil Humans, instead of Mutants lol! Check out the trailer below, but be warned- the Japanese narration may just turn you off a weeee bit :P



Watch this space for updates on when the X-Men Anime show will air in English in the US. Until then the countdown begins for Wolverine (& of course, Iron Man)!

XD I Got "Monitored" AND "Mugged" by X-Men Movies India! :p

Okay, so from this post all you X-readers of mine (I'm starting to veer towards the term X-rays lol- how you'll like that?! haha) found out that I won not one but two contests that were held by the X-Men Movies India FB group...And I did promise all of you, pics of the merchandise once I picked it up right? Well this is that post & below are the pics! Just picked 'em up this afternoon! :D

This was the mug that I was talking about...Looks plain at first sight, but then check out the third & fourth pics below! :D

The mug's all worth it just for this awesome red logo that all we Marvel fans know & love! :)

Turn the mug on the right & you get the Fox studios logo!

Alright now imo Fox India has committed a grave sin by palming off X3 VCDs as one of the prizes LOL! What about the X1 & X2 VCDs? haha Anyways it's all good. Love the cover itself! lol

Now the mother of all prizes that I may have EVER won in any competition in my life! A 15" AOC LCD monitor!

Ahh! I can stare at this pretty pic for hours! LOL A hell lotta thanks goes out to the guys running the X-Men Movies India FB group! You guys ROCK!


And congrats to the two winners who won mugs & VCDs for the poster competition I wrote about here !

XD I Got "Mugged" on my Birthday! :p

Okay, okay...So I know a post has been long time coming from me but I have a REAL valid reason X-fans: Monday (27th June) was my birthday. And having a party on Monday for pals ensured my weekend would be busy & hectic! But it was great, so thanks for asking! lol

Now how did I get "mugged" on my birthday. Well one of my best friends, Sheetal, gifted me this awesome surprise! She knows what a HUGE X-fanatic I really am- she's aware about the blog & how much I loved X-Men First Class & all that...So her gift was only fitting: a totally RAD X-Men First Class mug! It's so cool! Check out the pics below!

Do notice the nice touch of my cybername "njferns" in the bottom corners of the mug's picture!

Now you wouldn't know this but I won 2 out of 3 competitions held by the X-Men Movies India FB group. In fact I had got the call on Monday itself to go & collect the prizes! But being my birthday & all I obviously haven't done it yet.

The first contest was for the best profile pic that was posted on their Wall, having the custom-made XFC badge they had created for us X-fans in the group. You can see the profile pic I had created out here. For this I'm getting an X-Men First Class mug (yup another one for me! lol) & a X-Men VCD. The funny thing was that when I was unwrapping Sheetal's gift I was just telling her about getting an XFC mug for this contest & when I completely opened the gift & was getting her mug out I was stunned (I dunno for how long I had my mouth open! lol) & then we both had a hearty laugh!

For the second contest I won a 15" LCD monitor(!) for my answer to the question they posted:
Do you think humans need supernatural or mutant abilities to help bring crime to justice or can it be achieved without it?
My Answer: "As we have already seen, whether you have superpowers or not a mutant is very much capable for using them for good & evil. Just like we are capable of using our intelligence & talents for good & bad purposes...So it doesn't matter if you have superpowers, justice can still be achieved.
"Superpowers can make a Professor X but they can also make a Magneto. So powers never matter, its the heart, conscience & personality of a person that matters & their will to do & see good things happen in this world.Superpowers can never be the answer to fighting crime in a real world. For all you know it may cause more problems & complications."
What say X-fans? Agree with my answer? Or do you have another point of view? Would love to hear 'em!

Once I do collect these prizes, I'll definitely be updating this post posting about it! And don't worry guys, more regular posts from now on once again! :D

UPDATE (30/6/11): Check out all the pics of the prizes I won out here! yup, finally collected them this afternoon! :D

Xtreme: X-Men Evolutions Variant Covers' Artwork

Okay so I have to admit- for hardcore X-fans, this will be old news. And I hadn't actually thought of putting this as my first post for comic book artwork...But I've seen quite a few people on this Facebook X-Men group talk about & gawk at these (nothing but awesome) variant covers that have been done just in time for the X-Men: First To Last (May) storyline. Christopher Yost returns to the X-Men with artists Paco Medina and Dalibor Talijic.

According to Marvel, the series will make you "discover the staggering consequences when Xavier’s first class arrives in the future to tackle their greatest foe yet! The next shocking X-Men arc starts right here and, when it’s all over, a major new figure will tower over the team’s past and their undecided future."

That's right! It goes right back to the First Class...Convenient huh? With the First Class movie out et all? The following "X-Men Evolutions" variant covers were released in mid-May & are brilliant pieces of artwork (very wallpaper-worthy). So I am posting all 13 pics that were released, out here...Each as been done by a different artist but all are equally EPIC! As always, click to enlarge the pics!

Xstatic! X-Men First Class BO Takings: Weekend 2 & 3

So the US Box Office weekend 3 numbers are in!

Here's what the current US Box Office Top 5 looks like:
1. Green Lantern $52,685,000
2. Super 8 $21,250,000
3. Mr. Popper's Penguins $18,200,000
4. X-Men: First Class $11,500,000
5. The Hangover Part II $9,635,000
(Just FYI, Kung Fu Panda 2 fights for the no. 6 spot with $8,700,000 while Captain Jack Sparrow has sailed down to no. 8 with a booty of $6,236,000).

According to Box Office Mojo X-Men: First Class accumulated this $11 mil+ with it being screened at 3,375 cinemas across the US. This is 317 screens less than those of weekend 2. The Top 5 for weekend 2 is as below:
1. Super 8 $35,451,168
2. X-Men: First Class $24,128,986
3. The Hangover Part II $17,667,329
4. Kung Fu Panda 2 $16,543,166
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides $10,945,764

So all those articles that were popping up all over the Net wondering if Super 8 could really upstage the First Class act by the X-Men got their answer- It did. But XFC still sat pretty at the number 2 spot.



I'm guessing it's the movie's studio (in this case Fox) that decides in how many cinemas a movie will screen. After seeing the tremendous response for the flick in Weekend 1 the number of screening theaters increased from 3,641 in weekend 1 to 3,692 for the next, enabling XFC get a cool $25 mil!

Though you can read about it in detail in this post, here's just a reminder about the first weekend takings:
1. X-Men: First Class $55,101,604
2. The Hangover Part 2 $31,381,234
3. Kung Fu Panda 2 $23,887,914
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides $17,954,603
5. Bridesmaids $12,040,875

So there you have it guys! Our beloved X-Men First Class has totally netted in $119,925,000.

The movie was officially made on a budget of $160 million. But, they did receive up to $20 million back from tax cuts or breaks for filming overseas, etc., making the final budget around $140 million. And that's why you may find the budget figures fluctuate from article to article online.

You guys can scrutinize the Weekend 1, Weekend 2 & Weekend 3 figures for X-Men First Class & the other movies it had to battle all thanks to Box Office Mojo! Also special thanks to the 1 Million to save WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN Facebook group for the heads-up!

Wanna watch XFC in HD anytime you want at home?? Pre-order your Blu-ray &/or DVD today!