The X-Men are a cornerstone franchise, the popularity of the book from the 70′s through the 80′s and it’s domination in the 90′s have helped shape an entire generation of artists and storytellers. The man behind most of that legacy is Chris Claremont, one of the most prolific creators in comic history. Now the story of his legendary run on Uncanny X-Men is being told as a documentary and you have a chance to help fund it.

Sequart and Respect Films are putting together the documentary and have set up a kickstarter page looking for funding from true believers like you. If successful, this documentary would be the first in a series of docs that focus on iconic series and creators that are worth telling, but likely would struggle to be big enough for a feature length doc.

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Of all the comic book characters out there, the X-Men are among the most popular. Maybe it’s the fact that they have so many unique and cool powers or that their struggle for equality resonates with readers. Or maybe it’s just that they kick a lot of ass.

Whatever the reason for their popularity, the X-Men are here to stay. So, to further that popularity, we bring you a preview for Marvel’s upcoming comic Chaos War: X-Men #1.

This one comes from the creative team of Chris Claremont, Louise Simonson, and Doug Braithwaite and tells the story of The Chaos King who has drafted the newly resurrected Thunderbird, Banshee, Stepford Cuckoos and many more into his war against reality. Will these former friends be able to help The Chaos King win the war?

Every mutant left alive has no choice but to fight to try and prevent this. Sounds cool to me.

Find out what happens when Chaos War: X-Men #1 hits store shelves on December 29. Until then, check out a preview of the book after the break.

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Hey comics fans, in honor of new comics coming out this week we’ve got your first look at an upcoming book from our friends at Marvel. This one is called New Mutants Forever and looks to take on some pretty serious subjects.

Written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Al Rio, the story concerns Magneto as he joins the Hellfire Club. Once that happens, the New Mutants have no choice but to ally themselves with the Black Queen, Selene, and as you may guess, lots of meyem ensues.

Picking up where he left off, Claremont teams with series co-creator Bob McLeod, and the legendary Bill Sienkiewicz, to bring fans a series no New Mutants fan can miss. You hear that? You can’t miss this.

Check out the previews for this comic after the jump. Look for New Mutants Forever at your local comic book store on August 4.

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Welcome to another edition of The Pull List Comic Reviews! Superboy’s Adventure comes to an end, Daytripper continues to be trippy and the Rhino gets a happy ending that may actually stick. As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

Adventure Comics #6
DC Comics – $3.99 US
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Francis Manapul
Score: 9/10

Superboy has been trying to “find himself” and determine if he’s more Superman than Lex Luthor, since his genetic make-up is made from both of them. Unfortunately, it’s Luthor who finds him first and serves notice that for all his intellect and power, Luthor still has that nasty little streak in him.

Honestly, this has been a fun, engaging run by superstar writer Geoff Johns. Equal parts adventure (which works great with the title) and drama, all revolved around Superboy’s own identity crisis, this arc hit all the right buttons without coming across as preachy or whiny; a testament to the writer’s considerable talent of making relevant topics matter in the pages of a comic book.

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Welcome to another edition of The Pull List Comic Reviews! Since the hectic holiday schedule and copious amounts of eggnog have affected my time and brain cells, respectively, this week’s reviews are more of the quickie variety. While short and sweet – well, as short and sweet as I’m going to get – there’s enough yuletide cheer to make even Gotham warm over. As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

Avengers: The Initiative #31
Marvel Comics – $2.99 US
Writer: Christos N Gage
Artist: Rafa Sandoval
Score: 8.5/10

The music’s pumping, the booze is flowing and the girls are dancing. Seems like Taskmaster’s right where he wants to be, until Norman Osborn decides to come to Camp H.A.M.M.E.R. for an inspection. Nobody said pimpin’ was easy, especially since Taskmaster has to get his place running on all cylinders before the boss arrives, bearing “gifts.”

Incredibly solid issue by writer Gage. Throughout the entire string of storylines, like “Civil War,” “Secret Invasion” and “Dark Reign,” select characters from both sides of the fight have begun to question whether or not they’re on the right side. Makes for some good reading and interesting dynamics as “Siege” starts to pick up steam. Artist Sandoval continues to be consistently good, especially where Taskmaster is included in the scene.

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I wasn’t the biggest fan of X-Men Origins: Wolverine.  It was a serviceable action flick in which Hugh Jackman brought his Wolverine A-game to the big screen once more. That is, of course, when Ryan Reynolds wasn’t completely upstaging him as Wade Wilson (aka Deadpool) in the first act of the film (the last act, no so much).

That said, I was encouraged by the film’s success for two reasons. The first, and most obvious (to me anyway), it would hopefully pave the way for a Deadpool spin-off movie, and second it would lead to a Wolverine sequel set in Japan. In past interviews Jackman has made no secret of  wanting to tell Wolverine’s tale set in Japan, a fact he reiterated in an interview with Katie “I’m not, like, a Wolverine Person” Couric (her words not mine):

“The whole time, from when I began, the one storyline that I went, ‘That’s a movie!’ — because I was reading the comics — was this whole saga in Japan, which was really beautiful and different and fantastic.”

Wolvie and ninjas! Where can I buy my ticket now?  I couldn’t agree more with Jackman’s sentiment about this particular story arc. The man behind it was legendary comic writer Chris Claremont who, in my opinion, wrote some of the most engaging stories for our favorite mutants.  I can’t wait to see where this goes and we’ll keep you up-to-date as the film develops.

In the meantime you can watch the CBS interview with Jackman after the jump.

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