"X-Men: The Wedding Special #1 celebrates the Krakoan era and serves as a strong coda to "Immortal X-Men. Read Full Review

This was a fun, though inessential read. It's nice to see so many non-male creators gathered together in one book. It's a pity that Marvel only seems to break out this level of diversity for Pride. Read Full Review

X-Men: The Wedding Special #1 might be one of the best Pride anthologies ever, thanks to the cohesiveness between its stories and some deep-cut queer characters being utilized. This isn't just a grab-bag of stories celebrating queer characters and queer creators, but a meaningful chapter that has fun with its bride and bride. The curation is impeccable, and big props should go to Sarah Brunstad for making this one-shot truly special. Read Full Review

All of the stories in this compilation are fantastic. It treats queerness as an everyday part of life and for this I give it high marks. Read Full Review

Overall, X-Men Wedding Special #1 bolsters a talented team of creatives who celebrate a wedding centuries in the making, which conflicts with being 2024's Marvel's Voices Pride. I loved the wedding aspect, but I wish it had more stories and materials representing more queer and trans characters outside of solely X-Men ones. With Irene and Raven having Marvel's first sapphic wedding, its memorability and impact get slightly lessened with the other aspects the issue needs to juggle. As a result, X-Men Wedding Special #1 cannot solely be about their wedding but also has to carry the weight of being this year's Marvel's Voices Pride. I prefer if this served as a stand-alone special issue along with having a Marvel's Voices Pride 2024 issue. X-Men Wedding Special #1 celebrates the immortal love of Irene and Raven while struggling to showcase the diverse LGBTQ+ community in Marvel comics. Read Full Review

Marvel Comics celebrates the renewal of Mystique and Destiny's vows in X-Men: The Wedding Special, which doesn't shy away from the complexities inherent in the celebration of two women who have had careers as terrorists and been unrepentant murderers or accessories thereof. The Read Full Review

This was a lot of fun, with some really good messaging. Particularly, the Wolverine and Rogue stories hit particularly well. Wolverine's story on a more meta level with its messaging, and Rogue's story on a more character driven level. The contents of this book make for some really good representation comics. I find it incredibly frustrating, however, that for all the good the contents provide, the cover shows Marvel's continued unwillingness to fully embrace LGBTQ representation. Why can't Mystique and Destiny kiss on the cover? Why the reluctance? I mean, X-Men 30 showed Scott and Jean kissing just fine. I think this cover is a prime example of how, in spite of being art, mainstream comics are still a controlled product that has to fit the whims of stringent, fearful capitalism. The creators involved with this book do their best, and I just wish corporate and marketing weren't so scared to back them up. This cover choice may seem small and insignificant, but I think it speaks volumes. more

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JBL Reviews - May 29, 2024

You give one example of characters kissing on the cover, but if you look across comics at examples of wedding covers, some kiss and some don’t. It certainly doesn’t have to imply corporate fear when you take an objective look. https://www.pinterest.com/shaina_laurie/wedding-covers-comic-books/

The Gay-Mazing Psycamorean - May 29, 2024

I think the fact that the cover we got has the characters *just about to* kiss really proves my point. Why not just have them kiss? Why do this weird in-between?

JBL Reviews - May 29, 2024

For me, since so many other wedding covers are LESS physical (not kissing, not close to kissing), I’m not sure why this would bother people. If it were a man and a woman and they were shown about to kiss on the cover, most people wouldn’t blink an eye. So for me, if equal representation is what we are looking for, this is a pretty typical cover and goes even further than others.

The Gay-Mazing Psycamorean - May 29, 2024

Representation has to be actively affirming to be effective and this cover is not that. This cover is a half measure.

JBL Reviews - May 29, 2024

I guess I disagree and that’s ok for us to see it differently. Two woman poised to kiss on a wedding issue seems incredibly affirming to me. Thanks for the dialogue! Have a great one.

The Gay-Mazing Psycamorean - May 29, 2024

Fair enough.

The Gay-Mazing Psycamorean - May 29, 2024

I'm not happy with the integration of social progress and capitalist greed, no. But to explain that to you would be like explaining rocket science to an infant. Using DEI as a term is basically like running into a building full of people and screaming, "I'm a fucking idiot!". If you actually read this comic, you'd know there's a whole story in it about the problematic elements of Mystique and Destiny as villains. I have a feeling you won't understand the point of it though.

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