A.X.E.: Judgment Day #6 Spoilers & Art

Jean Grey mentions Betsy's mastery of psychic weapons and pays homage.

X-Men Monday #176 – X Me Anything With Jordan D. White

AIPT: Welcome back to X-Men Monday, Jordan D. White! We haven’t had a chance to talk about all those NYCC 2022 announcements, so let’s talk about all those NYCC 2022 announcements! First up, you’re known to be a big fan of Brian Braddock’s classic Captain Britain adventures. What has you most excited about Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain?

Jordan: Well, I’ve been excited about Betsy being Captain Britain since we made that change. I mean, both of those characters are characters I love. I think making her Captain Britain was a really great way to give her and Kwannon some distinction while still allowing us to use what makes both of their characters great.

In addition, I’m a fan of classic Brian Braddock stories — one of the most notable ones is about Betsy being Captain Britain — and it goes extremely poorly for her. So it’s been nice to give her some redemption on that. I wouldn’t say 100% she was a woman in a refrigerator in that story, but it’s certainly refrigerator-adjacent to the extent that it’s a story about her failing. So that’s unfortunate. It’s very much that her being hurt is there to elicit an enormous emotional response in Brian.

For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s the spoiler. It’s a classic story where Betsy becomes Captain Britain and Brian is retired from it. He’s like, “Fine, I’ll just go and hang out with my girlfriend Meggan.” And a character named Slaymaster comes up and is fighting Betsy Captain Britain and he pokes her eyes out and blinds her. And Brian, upon hearing this, is enraged and tracks Slaymaster down and kills him. I think Brian smashes his head in with a giant boulder.

It’s nice now to be able to bring her back as Captain Britain and redeem her and be like, “No, she’s not an incompetent character.” Now, obviously, she’s been through a lot since then. She rose to being a huge member of the X-Men in the time since then. But it’s nice that she gets to be Captain Britain again and show that she can in fact handle it. I’m also glad that we figured out a place for Brian, making him Captain Avalon. He’s very much a big part of this series. Tini Howard has been doing a great job shaping Betsy’s destiny over the last few years.

And it’s nice that this time, instead of featuring her in a team book, this is a book about her and gets to really spotlight her and focus in, as well as showing her newly formed relationship with Rachel — a thing that was kind of bubbling in the background of Excalibur and Knights of X that then came to the forefront in Knights of X and now gets to be an official thing that they are an item. I’m really excited for that. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of another X-book that was led by an LGBTQ relationship. Obviously, we’ve had a number led by people who are engaged in a straight relationship. We have one that we just announced — Rogue & Gambit. But it’s exciting that this one gets to be so front and center.

Tini Howard Talks 'Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain'

Substack: Here it is hot off the NYCC 2022 Women of Marvel panel - the solo comic to rule them all. From myself and stunning artist Vasco Georgiev comes BETSY BRADDOCK: CAPTAIN BRITAIN, launching in February 2023.

Titling a book is an art, not a science. In comics especially, when a bookseller is looking at a long list of what to order, they often don’t even get to see a picture, much less hear your little clever spiel. So your title has to sort of instantly do one of two things -

1. Tell the potential reader exactly what it is, and deliver what it says on the tin.

2. Intrigue them enough that they won’t care. This is the riskier option, and if I’m being honest? It’s the one I prefer.

I like my readers to be like me, inquisitive, and open to exploring, so I try to attract like with like.

I didn’t want to do that this time. After getting to spend 31 issues with Betsy Braddock so far, I feel more confident than ever that she’s ready to meet the rest of the Marvel Universe. And for that to happen, we need a no-bullshit title that lets everyone know what’s going on.

“How about Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain?” I suggested to my editors and pals over a particularly noodle-baking Zoom session. We’d tossed a lot of titles around, and I’m grateful to have a team of editors that will all drop and get on the phone when one of these creative challenges emerges.

I like it because it’s welcoming to new fans, fans who haven’t read a Captain Britain comic since the eighties, or fans who haven’t heard Betsy Braddock’s name since she wasn’t in her body. It’s a title that tells you what’s up, even if you haven’t read a Captain Britain comic since Betsy was Captain the first time.

We’re leaving Krakoa behind for a time, and heading Marvel Universe-ward, reuniting Betsy with her brothers Brian and Jamie and bringing along her girlfriend, Rachel Summers, the recently christened Askani. Vasco Georgiev is our artist and he’s bringing his bright, beautiful, gorgeous superhero style to Betsy’s new adventure, giving it a real neo-Alan Davis feel.

I have to show you guys a super secret panel crop, right? But I don’t want to give anything away, so…

I’ll give you something you’re expecting that you’ll hopefully love:

Unused Captain Britain Costume

Art by Erica D'urso

Costume Designed by Vasco Georgiev

Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain's Status as an Ongoing or Limited Series Confuses Readers

Marvel's "Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain" was initially announced as a 5-issue limited series by AiPT!, CBR, Newsarama, BleedingCool, among other media outlets.

Cover Artist Erica D'urso took to Instagram to announce it as a five-issue series as well and that she will work on all five covers:

Interior Artist Vasco Giorgiev confirmed it is a limited series for now:

AiPT! has now retracted their former statement via Twitter after reaching out to Marvel:

Hopefully, this matter can be clarified in the upcoming days as we all know Knights of X also announced as an ongoing was turned into a stealth limited series due to poor sales.

NYCC 2022: Marvel Announces "Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain" #1

BETSY BRADDOCK: CAPTAIN BRITAIN #1

Limited Series (1 of 5)

Written by TINI HOWARD

Penciled by VASCO GEORGIEV 

Cover by ERICA D'URSO

Variant Cover by PEACH MOMOKO 

Variant Cover by OTTO SCHMIDT 

Variant Cover by ERICA D’URSO  

On Sale February 2023

THE CAPTAIN COMES HOME!

And she’s got a whole new mission! With Otherworld settled, Braddock Manor restored, and her brother Captain Avalon at her side, you’d think things look pretty good for Betsy Braddock. Only it turns out, good ole Britain doesn’t want her back. No one wants a mutant menace carrying the shield of Captain Britain, and Betsy’s made more than a few enemies along her way. Quest-less and country-less, Betsy must define a role for herself. A fresh take on a beloved character, don’t miss the latest Tini Howard extravaganza and fan-favorite artist Vasco Georgiev’s Marvel debut!

New 'Captain Britain' Book Teaser

If you can identity the artist, feel free to comment below.

Captain Britain by Yannick Paquette

X-Men Monday #171 – X Me Anything With Jordan D. White

AIPT: While on the topic of telepaths, X-Fan Lystra said with Betsy Braddock banned from Britain, claiming Krakoan citizenship, and possibly going on multiverse adventures, what significance do you feel the Captain Britain mantle holds for her? It feels like the name and colors don’t match with her mission statement anymore.

Jordan: I think that’s Britain’s problem. [Laughs] I mean, she was chosen for the mantle and the Captain Britain Corps are bigger than any one country. She was chosen for the mantle and sinister forces within the British government are conspiring to deny her that right. For her to just abandon it would be just giving up and letting them win. And I don’t think that she has any interest in doing that. I also don’t think she’s ready to abandon Britain. So I don’t expect that story’s over. I think you will see future developments on that.

AIPT: When might we see those future developments?

Jordan: I can’t say but it won’t be too long.

August 2022 Sales Ranking: "Knights of X" Ends With a Whimper

Comic Book Revolution: Knights of X #5 continued its free fall as it plummeted from the number #79 spot to the number #143 spot. Now, to be fair, Knights of X #5 was released on August 31, 2022. However, a number 143 ranking is so awful that even it Knights of X #5 was released earlier in August its sales ranking still would have been outside of the Top 100.

Again, pay attention to the writers of these poorly performing titles. You will notice the same names resurfacing again and again. This title is a Tini Howard “gem.” Knights of X failed when it was Excalibur. We know that Marvel is already canceling Knights of X and is going to replace it with a similar title penned by Tini Howard. And we all know that the new title will also be a sales failure. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I am pretty sure that is the slogan for the X-Men editorial staff.

The full ranking for X-Books:

12 X-Men #13 A.X.E.

18 Immortal X-Men #5 A.X.E.

25 X-Men Red #5 A.X.E.

34 X-Men #14 A.X.E.

40 X-Men Legends #1

43 X-Force #30 A.X.E.

66 Ms. Marvel & Wolverine #1

74 Gambit #1 (Of 5) (Resolicitation)

81 New Mutants #28

84 Legion Of X #4

102 X-Men ’92 House of XCII #3 (Of 5)

107 X-Force #31 A.X.E.

112 Marauders #5

113 Gambit #2 (Of 5)

116 X-Men Unlimited X-Men Green #1 (Of 2)

122 X-Men ’92 House of XCII #4

133 Wolverine Patch #5 (Of 5)

143 Knights of X #5

190 X-Men Hellfire Gala #1 (Resolicitation)