New X-Men

I recently dove back in to X-Men comics thanks to my friend's boyfriend Anthony (who is a total X-Men freak). I decided to pick up after House of M, since everyone knows what happened in the end anyways--NO MORE MUTANTS and 90% of the mutant population loses their powers. The issues of New X-Men that I read (20-43) deal with the fall out of M-Day for the students (a select few in particular) at Xavier's School.

A few of the older mutants make several appearances but it's mostly just Emma Frost's team that's front and center. These guys include: Surge, Prodigy (depowered), Hellion, Dust, Elixir, Mercury, Rockslide, and my favorite X-23. Later on Pixie and Anole join after the help everyone not get killed by the Devil.

Basically, it's all a big set up for Messiah Complex but some interesting stuff happens that's pretty essential to the X-Men universe. These comics also began my fascination with X-23 who is basically the female version of Wolverine. Love.

I Find No Peace

I find no peace, and all my war is done.
I fear and hope. I burn and freeze like ice.
I fly above the wind, yet can I not arise;
And nought I have, and all the world I season.
That loseth nor locketh holdeth me in prison
And holdeth me not--yet can I scape no wise--
Nor letteth me live nor die at my device,
And yet of death it giveth me occasion.
Without eyen I see, and without tongue I plain.
I desire to perish, and yet I ask health.
I love another, and thus I hate myself.
I feed me in sorrow and laugh in all my pain;
Likewise displeaseth me both life and death,
And my delight is causer of this strife.

-Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542)

The Blue Hotel

My English professor has a bit of a Stephen Crane fetish. She always assigns work and "A Dark Brown Dog" in every single of her classes. Anyway, this week we had to read "The Blue Hotel" and discuss it in depth for a pretty intense paper comparing the Realistic and Naturalistic themes.

Basically, this guy called The Swede travels "out west" because of his mini obsession with dime store novels. Hilarity, hostility, and paranoia ensue and he ends up dead. The last we see of The Swede is this:

"The corpse of the Swede, alone in the saloon, had its eyes fixed upon a dreadful legend that dwelt a-top of the cash-machine. 'This registers the amount of your purchase.'"

Interesting, ominous, symbolic--it's a hell of a way to end a life. As far as the story goes, it was really fun to read and kind of creepy. One of the better short stories I've read.