Hi all! The "New Comics Discussion Post" for last week is going up a bit late, because it was a big week and we all needed time to get through our stacks. I think we're going to lean toward waiting until the beginning of the week to talk about the previous week's comics, for that reason, but we welcome feedback from the community about what is the best time to post.

Certainly, if you've already written reaction posts to last week's books, feel free to link them in the comments here. We only have one request here which is please do not spoil (and do not link from here to posts that spoil) X-Factor #39. This has been requested by writer Peter David, within the book itself. He doesn't want people giving away the ending of his books online. The mods here have mixed opinions regarding whether this is really a good idea, and if he keeps saying this every month some of our patience might wear a little thin. But, this once at least, we'll indulge the writer's request.

Meanwhile, there were a lot of other X-Men and related comics out this past week. The one I'd like to talk about is

UNCANNY X-MEN ANNUAL #2
COVER BY: YANICK PAQUETTE
WRITER: MATT FRACTION
PENCILS: MITCH BREITWEISER

I have intensely mixed feelings about the character Emma Frost. She's not someone that I find it particularly easy to like -- at the core of the character, good or evil, I think she's both a bully and a snob -- but I often find people I don't particularly like to be interesting characters. Emma, though, I often find to be unevenly written. A lot of writers can capture her glittering surface, but it doesn't seem that often that they bother to dig deeper, so we get a character who's amusingly bitchy, or awesomely powerful, but gives little evidence of having motives or goals. Or, when writers do attempt to explore her, we get something like the short segment from the recent Manifest Destiny anthology story, where Emma sits around sulking about how everybody hates her because she used to be evil, until Wolverine yells at her to get over it. Or, possibly the least attractive alternative, writers who don't find the bitchy surface of Emma appealing, try to pretend it's not there. Then she becomes generic hero's girlfriend, or the woman who 'senses' things when the plot requires it -- like Counselor Troi in stripper gear.

Since Matt Fraction took over writing the X-Men, I've wondered which direction his Emma would end up taking, or if he would be the writer (the first since Joss Whedon, really) who gave Emma Frost some real substance. Based on this nnual, the outlook seems good. The most obvious purpose of this comic is to explain Emma's role in Norman Osborn's "Dark Reign" cabal. It's not that surprising that Emma would ally herself with Namor, King of Atlantis. Of the characters with a seat at Norman's table, Namor is the other one who isn't out-and-out evil. Rather, Emma and Namor both have strong political agendas that don't necessarily mesh with the powers-that- be, and they want to make sure those are protected. It doesn't hurt that they're also the kind of smart, snarky characters that Fraction obviously enjoys writing about.

The issue has parallel plots, drawn by artists with distinct styles (I liked them both; your mileage may vary). One has Emma in the present-day, plotting to secure Namor as an ally -- by indulging if not encouraging his sexual interest in her, as well as literally offering him the head of a rival. The other plot of the issue flashes back to show Emma's past interactions with Namor, with Sebastian Shaw, and some other power players in the Marvel U. (I didn't think Tony Stark or Norman Osborn's cameos here were strictly necessary, but I can roll with it for the sake of Dark Reign). In the flashback, Emma is part of a similar plan to manipulate Namor. I don't want to give away much more than that -- the plot has maybe got a few more twists than it needs -- but overall it's intricate and interesting. I really like Fraction's vision of Emma as a woman who's smart, bold, and more than a little reckless, fundamentally on her own even when she's ostensibly someone's consort. Also, Fraction's take on Namor is always a treat, and I wouldn't be at all sorry to see more of him in the X-Men books. He is, after all, a mutant, as this comic took pains to point out on several occasions.

So what did you think? Did you enjoy the story in the annual, and did it give you any hints of where the X-Men might be headed? What about other new books (or books you've read recently). X-Men: Legacy might have had my favorite plot twist of any book that came out last week, X-Factor included. X-Men: Manifest Destiny concluded the Mystiqe/Iceman story on a note I didn't really enjoy, but it did have Phonogram writer Kieron Gillen telling a Dazzler story.

What else struck you in this week's comics?

Spoilers for all released books (except for X-Factor) are allowed in comments. Please don't spoil any future books.